Pakal

[meditions142]

Wonderful update!

I must agree with tirepanted that the take out of the four sentries was absolutely fantastic. The set up is great. Just a group of low level guards, not taking their job as serious as they should. We even get the great situation where a guard is talking about how boring guard duty is and how she wishes for some excitement.

The take outs are fantastic. We get Sofia grabbed and dragged into the bushes while Rachele doesn't even notice. And then forcing Sofia to stay quite with the threat and the knife. And then the wonderful fact her attacker even discusses the fact the helmet design will add projection. Once it is off, even though Sofia cooperated, she gets a neck chop to knock her out.

Then we get the wonderful darting of Rachele. Love how she has time to realize it is a dart and not a bug but then just passes out. And I love the idea of an intruder rushing out to catch her falling body and then hooking her hands under her underarms and dragging her off out of sight.

Then the wonderful attack on Paola and Madelena. First off, I have always loved the magic touch. And the double attack is so cool. And the idea of the attacker letting Paola fall into another intruder's hands while she keep Madelena's unconscious body is fantastic.

And I love the description of what happens to the women: "Paola’s and Madelena’s eyes widened, then rolled back. They moaned for a long time." That magic touch has a great effect.

I also love the fact the four unconscious women are hidden in the chariot and then later moved to a better hiding spot.

Such a great scene. The four women are just so easily taken out.

[rufusluciusivan]

Tirepanted: I hesitated to wait the next day to write all my comments, because I was really tired when I wrote so I was a lot less peppy than usual and it probably sounded worst than I intended, but I feared I wouldn't have the time to read your part and write long comments before the next week-end, so... Though I stand by what I said about me wanting to finish this story. While I like these characters, I think it's time to conclude their arcs. I probably won't finish the entire series this year as I first intended, but I'd like to at least finish chapter 6. Chapter 7 shouldn't be as long as some other chapters, at least the way I envision it for now. More something akin to 'the final infiltration'. One big final infiltration. And after that, I think it'll be the end of my long series. Maybe some short stories from time to time, but most likely a much slower pace, and certainly no longer big sagas.

The comparison between Tsuki and Emery is spot-on, because there's the same narrative concept behind the two of them. They are darker than the other characters, or even than the general mood of the story, to emphasize their threat. I guess it's a double-edged sword.

Meditions: We should cut these guards some slack though. It's not that they're terrible at their job, though indeed they could be more professional, it's just that the heroines are very good at theirs. I'm glad you enjoyed the scene. While it wasn't anything new, I was at least able to put a variety of takeouts in short succession in the same scene... Plus guards dragged out of sight seems to always be a safe bet.

[esercito sconfitto]

Rufusluciusivan, I regret so much that I not have been able to provide long and detailed critiques of this saga, Pakal but I assure you I read every new installment and am immensely grateful for the whole narrative arc

for reasons you know ( after all my "thing" is the "defeated army") my attention has been drawn to background details as the female sailorettes captured stripped of their uniforms and sent to captivity ... but the real reason of my comment is elsewhere.

It's about your confession about how difficult is to find new scenes and situations...may I encourage you to discover the treasures of the "repetition" ? don't look for new scenario's , just embrace the same action repeated and repeated.

You know, there are novelists who write all the time the same book . over and over, with different titles... well,according to some philosophers variety is a path to the perfection of the Universe...but also serial scenes are a path to the perfection

[rufusluciusivan]

esercito sconfitto: Thanks for your comment. Glad you enjoy this series. Don't have many opportunities to feature groups of 'military' women in this sort of stories, so I'm always satisfied when I manage to feature one, because I know you appreciate them.

It's about your confession about how difficult is to find new scenes and situations...may I encourage you to discover the treasures of the "repetition" ? don't look for new scenario's , just embrace the same action repeated and repeated.

In a way, I've embraced repetition for more than three years now... And by the time Pakal (and maybe an other small project) is finally over, I'll most likely be close to four years... Honestly, my point was also mostly to announce that I will most likely slow things down in 2022, and onwards. I've already indirectly touched upon the subject a few times, but 2021 will probably be the last year of 'intensive activity' (by that, I mean posting chapters at least once per month - sometimes more often). This is a rythm I remember having for most of the past two years now, and it may start to become incompatible with some real-life projects I have. I wanted to be transparent with all of you guys, since you've been so nicely following me and commenting on my stories. I didn't want to take you by surprise at the end of Pakal by abruptly saying: 'By the way, this is probably my last project. Take care!' The way I see things at the moment, once Pakal is finished, there will be a drastic slowing down of my activities, at least when it comes to writing. Nothing completely set in stone, but I thought it was fair that I told you.

[rufusluciusivan]

Just a little disclaimer, the second half of this part will be very plot-heavy and somewhat lacking in uniform stealings. No spoiler, but some important characters finally get the closure of their story arc, and I wanted to do them justice. Sadly, including uniform stealings in the last part proved to be a lot harder than usual… Feel free to skip through the exposition if you don't like it.

Anyway, enjoy!






Chapter 6: Part 5

**************

The woman had a dark copper-coloured skin, and brown almond-shaped eyes. Her braided waist-long hair were dark brown, and adorned with white stone beads. She also had a curvy body, shapely legs, firm breasts, and a soft round-shaped face.

She was also half-naked, clad in only a white strapless knee-long light dress clipped under the shoulders. Said underdress’ borders were orange, with a black diamond pattern. The woman was hog-tied and gagged with makeshift ropes made of clothes.

“Tsu’ went through here.” Yuka blankly muttered to herself.

At least this woman was still alive. From what Yuka had heard, Tsuki’s other victims in the palace hadn’t been as lucky.

The bound-and-gagged woman was also conscious. Tsuki probably hadn’t bothered to use much power to knock her out. When she saw Yuka and her group, the woman mewled as loud as she could in her gag, wiggling her bound feet and her toes.

“Calm down. We’re working with the Mages.” Yuka lied, as she was still playing the part of Marquess Tosca.

The half-naked woman nodded frantically. Apparently, she was aware of who Tosca was.

Yuka removed the gag. Her friends made sure to watch the surroundings. They were behind a building in one of the palace complex’s courts, but they wanted to make sure that nobody would see them.

“Don’t scream. Tell me what happened. Who are you?” Yuka added.

The frantic woman answered: “I’m a servant of the palace! It was a woman! She stole my clothes! Her hands… She knocked me out… just by touching me… Please! You have to save me! I’ve seen her face! She may come back to finish me off!”

“Don’t worry. She won’t. You’ve already lost all interest to her.” Yuka softly answered.

The servant frowned. She was starting to realize that something was odd about Yuka’s and her group’s attitude.

“Could you… untie me please?” The woman gulped and grimaced. “You… You’re going to release me, right?”

A short moment of silence.

“R- Right?”

“Apologies. I can’t let you be rescued too soon. We need this part of the palace to stay quiet, so that we can enter the cells area…”

Yuka clamped a hand over the servant’s mouth before she could scream.

“Mmlp!” the woman whimpered.

“It’s best for you that you sleep the rest of the night off. Things may become violent.”

Yuka’s palm glowed. The woman blinked several times very quickly. Then her eyes rolled back, and she passed out with a faint moan. Yuka then put the servant’s cleave-gag back in its place.

Azeneth opened her mouth to say something.

“Later.” Yuka interrupted her. She took a deep breath, and added: “Please, Az’. Just… Just wait until this mission is over. I’m fine. I won’t break down just because Tsu’ is involved.”

The metis hesitated, but nodded.

Yuka cut the strip of cloth hog-tying the servant. Then she and Azeneth carried her further away behind the building. They bound her back in a seated position.

Jinora soaked a piece of cloth with a sleeping potion, and tied it over the woman’s mouth… and under her nose, so that she would breath the narcotic fumes. Thanks to them, the maid would sleep the rest of the night.

They left the half-naked servant concealed in an alcove, seated with her left side and cheek resting against a wall.

“We’ll have to be wary of all the servants.” Nahid commented.

Yuka shook her head. “We’ll have to be wary of all the WOMEN. Tsu’ is…” She grimaced. “… She's insatiable. And if the Mages truly have no control over her anymore… She’ll be free to indulge in her every whims. We have to assume she may have stolen someone else’s identity already.”

“Wouldn’t it make more sense for her to leave the palace and skip town with her servant outfit?” one of Nahid’s bodyguards asked.

Yuka shook her head. “For her, it’s a game. A game and an addiction at the same time.”

“She’s like a monstrous child, playing with her toys.” Azeneth added. “Except that her toys are living people. And she plays ROUGH-” The metis stopped talking when she saw Yuka’s expression. “Sorry Yu’.”

“Don’t apologize. Your analysis is right. Cold, but right.” Yuka looked at her friends. “Listen to me. If we come across Tsu’, you must leave her to me. I’m the only one she won’t try to kill. I have to finish this, once and for all. I have to correct my mistakes.”

Azeneth simply punched the shapeshifter’s shoulder.

“Ouch! What was that for?” Yuka complained while rubbing the area her friend had hit.

“For forgetting we’re a team.” Azeneth retorted. “We’re in this together. Whether you like it or not, we will help you. Got it?”

Jinora and Yisüi approved her.

“Sorry.” Yuka rubbed her sore shoulder, but smiled. “And thank you…”

“Let’s set our priorities straight.” Jinora intervened. “First, we release everyone. Once Coulter is at our side, neutralizing Tsuki shouldn’t be too hard anymore.”

Yuka nodded. “You’re right. Let’s start with saving our friends.”

**************

It took them a little more time, but their group finally reached their destination. However, there was an obstacle.

Yuka glanced at the access to the building of the complex in which the cells were.

“There are men watching the entrance of the cells’ building. I don’t think they’ll let strangers enter this part of the complex. Not even the Marquess.”

Azeneth completed her thought. “We need other sets of clothes.”

“Let’s go hunting.” Yuka concluded.

Nahid was quietly observing them, still in awe of their teamwork and efficiency.

**************

Safiye had been tasked by the Mages with helping the search for Tsuki. Normally, she wouldn’t have accepted such a dangerous job. However, she was sure that the deranged shapeshifter had already left the palace complex. And the Mages were offering her a hefty sum. It was easy money. She hadn’t been able to resist.

Safiye had therefore gathered a group of guards, and was searching the palace’s corridors.

Astrid was following the brown-haired mercenary. The blonde was wearing her metallic armour, and was carrying her battle axe. “I still can’t believe Tsuki cracked… She looked so innocent… So nice…” she was commenting.

Safiye had a hard time hiding her scorn. “You really need to learn to read between the lines with people like her. She wasn’t innocent, she was utterly INSANE.”

Astrid didn’t answer anything.

Safiye gave instructions to her squad: “We’ll search for clues. I want everyone to-”

A loud high-pitched shriek interrupted her however. The sound reverberated in the corridor.

Astrid reflexively grabbed her battle axe.

Safiye warily looked around her. “What’s this? Some kind of wild animal?”

However, the soldiers accompanying her didn’t look scared. On the contrary, they were looking… blasé.

One guard shook her head. “Ichtaca.” she explained.

Safiye frowned. “Ichtaca? Who’s Ichtaca?”

**************

Ce-Acatl’s personal mistress was a high-ranked member of the capital city’s nobility named Ichtaca. Her body was as beautiful as her personality was atrocious.

She was a busty woman with a shapely bottom and well-toned legs. Her skin was dark, her round face was soft-looking, and her almond-shaped eyes were dark brown. She had slick black hair, tied up into two waist-long braids adorned with precious stones. As befitting of her social status, she was wearing gorgeous clothes. Her huipil and her headdress were both golden yellow, and adorned with small jade stones. Her ankle-long dress was bright red, with a black bottom adorned with rubies. A pure white cloth sash with gold threads was tied around her waist. Her sandals were gold-plated. There were large bracelets made of gold and adorned with jade around her forearms. Her earrings were also made of gold and jade.

Ichtaca was accompanied by a group of ladies-in-waiting, noblewomen of lower status who were composing her retinue. They were all from Pakal as well, and therefore had oval-shaped faces, brown eyes, a dark skin, and slick black hair. They were all wearing the same outfit: a white headdress, a red huipil with white borders and gold embroideries; a green, yellow and red ankle-long dress; a cloth sash tied around the waist, and gold-plated sandals; as well as a gold medallion necklace, small jade bracelets and jade earrings. While gorgeous and expensive in their own rights, these outfits were also designed to highlight Ichtaca’s own clothes.

When she was walking in the corridors with her retinue, Ichtaca was looking like a queen bee surrounded by her hive.

Currently, while she was walking the corridors, the noblewoman was busy angrily complaining. She had just come back from a meeting with Ce-Acatl, who had dismissed her because he had ‘more urging State matters’.

“This is an outrage! I refuse to let this red-haired whore upstage me!” Ichtaca was loudly exclaiming while going back to her room. “Who does she think she is?! She’s just a lowly Charioteer! Vermin! Trash!”

Most of the women of her retinue agreed with her, like the good sycophants they were.

However, one of her ladies-in-waiting, who was either braver or more foolish than the others, tried to intervene: “It’s part of an operation to strengthen the Empire.”

“That’s what HE says! But I have seen how he LUSTS over her! Just give me the time to arrange my hair, and I’ll pay this whore a visit! I’ll teach her her place! Stupid Charioteer! We should have cleansed our Empire of her kind ages ago...”

Unbeknownst to the group of women however, they were being observed from a nearby corridor.

Jinora shook her head with a saddened expression, and Yisüi grimaced in disgust.

Nahid sullenly commented: “We have the same ones at Ghazan’s court. They give aristocracy a bad name.”

Azeneth also didn’t try to hide her scorn. “Is this idiot for real? Does she even realize what ‘breeding program’ means?”

Yuka was sharing their disdain. In fact, she was tempted to jump the group, and to punch their lights out here and there. Simply to teach them a lesson. “Looks like Ce-Acatl doesn’t choose them for their smarts.” She glanced one more time at the gorgeous-looking woman and her clothes. “And what does she think she’s doing, walking in the open without guards during a jailbreak? This idiot is lucky Tsuki didn’t jump her and snap her neck for her dress!”

“Still, all the palace must know of her intention to go see Coulter, now that she basically screamed it in the corridors. What do you think?” Azeneth remarked.

Yuka scratched her chin. “It’s worth a shot. We haven’t been able to find any opportunity with the guards, and we don’t have much time.”

Indeed, they hadn’t been able to find a group of guards numerous enough, and picking them up one by one was too risky with all of the people running right and left to try and find Tsuki. Plus, half of the soldiers were men with uniforms too wide for Yuka’s team.

“Plus, I WON’T refuse an opportunity to teach some manners to this spoiled whore. Let’s go after them. We’ll ambush these idiots as soon as we have an opportunity.” Yuka concluded.

“Oh yes please, let’s do it!” Yisüi intervened.

Yuka was a little surprised by her eagerness. Indeed, even though the blonde had become a lot more confident, Yisüi was usually quiet and good-natured. However, the shapeshifter then remembered that her blond friend used to be a slave. Yisüi probably had had to put up with such spoiled aristocrats when she was working for Ce-Tlaloc.

Except that when you were a slave, these overgrown children could have you whipped for minor transgressions…

Yisüi was a good person at heart, but she also hailed from a harsh land. As proven by what had happened during the confrontation with Heather and her slavers, the blonde could be harsh with the people who deserved it in her eyes.

“We’ll let you deal with Ichtaca.” Yuka proposed to her friend.

Yisüi looked her in the eyes, and smiled. “Thank you...”

**************

Following Ichtaca’s trail from afar was very easy: They simply had to listen to the rants.

Ce-Acatl’s mistress walked across several corridors, and finally entered her personal quarters in the Imperial Palace.

Yuka and her group checked that there was no guard in sight. Once they were satisfied, they ran inside the aisle and closed the door behind them.

Ichtaca and her ladies-in-waiting were still gathered in the same living room.

“What is the meaning of this?!” Ichtaca imperiously shouted.

Yuka, Azeneth, Jinora, Yisüi, Nahid, and her two bodyguards didn’t bother to reply to her. They charged the fancily-dressed women, and let their fists speak for them.

The was a short concert of grunts, groans, ‘Ouch!’, ‘Ugh!’, and ‘Ow!’

Yuka and Azeneth distributed swift precise neck-chops.

Nahid and her two bodyguards weren’t trained in knocking out someone, but their opponents weren’t fighters anyway. One stomach-punch was enough to make them surrender.

Yuka and Azeneth were there to provide with the additional neck-chops needed to put the women out of commission.

In record time, Ichtaca was the last woman standing, surrounded by moaning half-conscious ladies.

Yisüi grabbed the noblewoman by the collar.

“How dare you?! I am Ce-Acatl’s-”

PUNCH!

“Ow!”

Ichtaca fell on her butt. She was shouting and massaging her jaw at the same time.

“You missed the spot.” Azeneth commented to her friend.

“On purpose.” Yisüi was looking both ecstatic and a little embarrassed at the same time. She blushed, and added as an explanation: “I thought she deserved at least two punches…”

The metis chuckled. “Fair enough. Please proceed.”

Yisüi approached Ichtaca.

The latter apparently wasn’t smart enough to know when to keep her mouth shut. “You northerner trash! Your kind has no right to lay their hands on me! I’ll have you fried alive for this! I’ll-”

PUNCH! PUNCH!

Therefore, Yisüi threw one additional punch before knocking her out by hitting her temple to knock her out. For good measure.

**************

Yuka, Azeneth, Yisüi, Jinora, Nahid, and her bodyguards each dragged one woman into Ichtaca’s personal bedroom.

They then thoroughly stripped each lady of her expensive gorgeous garments. They also took the sandals, the headdresses, and the jewels.

Ichtaca was wearing a gold yellow sleeveless underslip with a huge neckline as undergarment. It was revealing most of her legs, and was adorned with a complex pattern of white-and-red threads. Her ladies-in-waiting were also wearing sleeveless underslips, though theirs were white, and less revealing. There was no neckline, and they were knee-long.

In Ichtaca’s wardrobe, the intruders found expensive dresses and cloth sashes. A good chunk of them were turned into makeshift ropes, and the rest was turned into makeshift gags.

They stuff-gagged and cleave-gagged each woman, then bound their wrists, thighs, knees, and ankles.

The few surviving cloth sashes of the wardrobe were soaked with a sleeping potion. Then one was wrapped over each woman’s lower face to cover her mouth, under the nostrils so that they would breath the narcotic fumes.

The intruders took care of piling up all the ladies-in-waiting onto Ichtaca, who therefore was at the bottom of the pile.

Yuka slipped into Ichtaca’s garments, put on her expensive jewels and sandals, then took a deep breath. She modified her physical appearance to match Ichtaca’s.

Her teammates disguised themselves as the noblewoman’s ladies-in-waiting. They also took the jewels. A few make-up was added to rectify the colour of their skins and hair.

Jinora found some colourful shawls. "We'll use them to hide most of our heads." she proposed the others. "It'll make it harder to see we're impostors."

The others agreed with her idea.

“Let’s head to the cells. I don’t know how much time we have left.” Yuka concluded.

**************

Safiye made a detour by the palace’s gate to interrogate the sentries guarding them.

“I’ve never seen this palace under siege for as long as I’ve lived. We are thankful that you’ve agreed to help us.” one of them commented in the middle of the discussion.

Safiye resisted the urge to roll her eyes, and to retort: ‘Nobody asked you your life story.’

The sentry didn’t notice her expression, and added: “Yes! Between you and Marquess Tosca, this traitor doesn’t stand the ghost of a chance!”

“So the Marquess is here too? Her hawk may come in handy.” Astrid commented.

“Her what?” the guard asked.

“Her bird.”

The palace sentries exchanged a few glances.

“She didn’t come with any bird.” one commented.

Safiye’s interest was suddenly peaked. “Oh really?” She pensively scratched her chin.

The guard frowned. “Is there a problem?”

“No… I think not… Except…”

Safiye had an intuition.

“Where did the marquess go actually?”

**************

Tsuki tilted her head. She was surprised to see that the servant she had mugged wasn’t where she had left her. Since her curiosity had been peaked, she decided to take a quick look.

Under the servant’s nose, a piece of cloth soaked with a smelly narcotic potion was tied. It wasn’t here before. Plus, she was now bound in a seated position, not hog-tied.

“So they went through here.” Tsuki commented to herself.

Following Yuka’s trail was rather easy. She just had to follow the stripped women.

“Though who am I to judge? People can follow MY trail the same way!”

Tsuki chuckled to herself.

She briefly touched the piece of cloth tied under the woman’s nose, but then walked away without moving it. The servant had already lost all interest in her eyes.

The shapeshifter left the girl to her fate.

As she was walking away, Tsuki muttered to herself: “They must be trying to regroup with their friend in the cells… I have to find a way to go there… Servants aren’t allowed in that building… I’ll need a guard outfit… A shame I cut the previous one into pieces…”

Pause.

Tsuki laughed.

“What am I saying? I just need to get my hands on an other guard! Now, I COULD just change my appearance, but where would be the fun?”

**************

When they reached the entrance of the building containing the cells, Yuka walked forward, leaving her friends in her shadow. The others used their stolen shawls to hide their heads and faces.

The shapeshifter knew she needed to divert all the attention on herself, to make sure the guards wouldn’t pay too much attention to the fact that the ladies-in-waiting weren’t the same as usual.

Luckily for her, Ichtaca was a vain woman who wasn’t satisfied unless all attention was focused on her.

The shapeshifter simply had to get in-character.

“I demand to enter! I need to see Ce-Acatl’s new whore. I will remind her her place!” Yuka shouted while making wide gestures of the arms. She didn’t bother with saluting the guard. The real Ichtaca wouldn’t be polite with people of lower social status than her.

The officer commanding the guards exchanged a quick glance with his soldiers.

“We have received orders. No civilians or servants are allowed in the cells. Not even you.”

“How dare you?! Do you know who I am?! The Archmage will-”

“Ce-Acatl himself gave us the order.” the man respectfully interrupted her. “Only officers are allowed. He specified that he won’t hold it against us if we prevent you from entering. We will have to ask you to return to your quarters.”

There was a short moment of silence.

“Shoot. All these risks for nothing…” Nahid discreetly muttered.

“Maybe not.” Azeneth whispered back.

Nahid raised an eyebrow.

“You have to read between the lines. He said that officers are allowed inside the building. And officers often travel with an escort of imperial guards.” Azeneth explained.

Indeed, the soldiers protecting the Imperial Palace formed a distinct army corps, separate from the low-ranked militia and the normal troops.

“I still have a lot to learn.” Nahid commented.

“You’re with the right women for that.” Azeneth smiled. “Now, just watch Yu’ work her magic.” she whispered.

Yuka had indeed, on her own, come up to the same conclusions as Azeneth.

She haughtily put her foot down and exclaimed: “You’re saying to me the palace is under siege, and you want me to return to my room on my own?! I demand an escort!”

The officer nodded. He wasn’t high-ranked enough to retort that ‘Ichtaca’ had already come here without an escort.

“We will give you one.”

“And it better not be men.” Yuka added.

“Of course.” He looked at a female imperial guard. “Necahual. Accompany-”

“Are you trying to insult me?!” Yuka interrupted her. “I have the favours of the Archmage himself! How dare you give me such a small escort?! My ladies-in-waiting and I are seven! I demand at least the same number of guards! What would I look like without THAT?!”

“Of course.”

“And they will all be women! I don’t want rumours to spread!”

“Of course.”

“And there better be an officer among them! I am not a whore from the docks’ brothels! I want an escort worthy of my status!”

“Of course.”

Yuka admired the soldier’s patience. She wouldn’t have been able to remain calm if faced by a spoiled aristocrat throwing such a childish temper tantrum!

The officer gave a few orders to go fetch a squad of female imperial guards.

“Impressive…” Nahid commented, in awe.

“I appreciate their attention… They’re so considerate…” Azeneth joked with a discreet smile.

**************

The officer made good on his promise. The escort consisted of seven women.

The Imperial guards were wearing a different uniform from the normal soldiers. Instead of red, their knee-longtunics were pure white with golden yellow threads and golden yellow borders. Their headbands were striped white-and-golden-yellow. Leather protections were strapped onto their forearms and legs. They were armed with short steel swords, and ceremonial obsidian daggers. They all had tall well-toned bodies, short braided dark hair, a tanned skin, and dark eyes.

Their officer was a tall dark-skinned woman with an oval-shaped face, almond-shaped emerald green eyes (a rarity among full-blooded Pakal women), and thick neck-long black hair that were tightly braided. She was wearing the same sort of white knee-long tunic with golden yellow threads and borders, except that hers also featured a big stylized golden yellow sun on the front and the back. Her headband was completely golden yellow. Her leather protective equipment and her weapons were the same as her soldiers.

Yuka admired the soldiers’ professionalism. They were almost successful at hiding their utter scorn for ‘Ichtaca’. Someone less good than Yuka at reading people’s faces, like the real Ichtaca, would have been fooled.

Though the shapeshifter couldn’t blame the guards. One of their own had been murdered, and instead of helping their comrades catch the dangerous culprit, they were forced to escort a spoiled womanchild who probably never had to get her hands dirty her entire life.

The officer led the (fake) Ichtaca and her (fake) ladies-in-waiting in front of the door of Ichtaca’s bedroom.

“There you are, mistress. Safe and sound. Are we dismissed?” she asked with a blank professional-sounding voice, to hide her anger.

Yuka stayed in character. “What if there is an intruder inside my bedroom? I demand all of you to search it!”

The officer’s right eye briefly twitched. “Of course.” she finally said through gritted teeth. She gave an order to her soldiers.

The squad entered the quarters’ living room and started to search it.

Yuka’s team took advantage of their distraction. They discreetly entered the room, and closed to door to muffle any upcoming sounds.

The officer noticed them.

“Our search isn’t over. What now?” she asked, barely able to conceal her annoyance.

“Now?” Yuka smiled.

She moved forward, and grabbed a specific spot between the officer’s neck and shoulder. Her hand was glowing. She pinched.

The officer’s eyes widened, but when she opened her mouth to shout an order, only a weird moan came out. Her eyes rolled back, and her limp unconscious body fell forward, into Yuka’s arms.

At the same time, Nahid’s bodyguards immobilized two of the imperial guards from behind, and wrapped an arm around the throat to restrain them.

Azeneth punched one soldier in the cheek. The groggy woman spinned and fell on her ass. A second punch to the temple put her out of commission.

Nahid was trained in hand to hand combat. When the soldier she was targeting tried to hit her with her obsidian dagger, she dodged and disarmed the woman. Then she used a throw to make the guard fall onto the floor, and immobilized her by twisting her arm behind her back.

Jinora and Yisüi each assaulted a guard from behind, and clamped a rag soaked with sleeping potion over their respective woman’s mouth and nose. The soldiers had superior training, but they were taken by surprise. By the time they started to fight back, the narcotic potion had already dulled their senses. In their disadvantageous position, they weren’t able to free themselves. Soon, their struggles weakened, and their bodies went limp and slumped into the arms of their attackers.

The two guards immobilized by Nahid’s bodyguards stared at the scene in disbelief. They had a hard time accepting the fact that their squad had been defeated so quickly. The latter two were pressing their arm against the soldiers’ throats, not tightly enough to completely strangle them, but tightly enough to prevent them from screaming.

Azeneth looked at the guards with a smile. “I know. It’s always impressive the first time.” She nonchalantly pulled out a knife, pointed it at the sentries, and added: “Now, could you please remove your uniforms? It would help us buy some time.”

**************

The guards were all stripped down to their undergarments: Each was wearing a black loincloth. White bands were wrapped around their breasts to cover them.

Yuka and her friends then used some of the bedrooms belonging to Ichtaca’s ladies-in-waiting to conceal their victims.

They restrained the guards to the frames of the beds with strips of bedsheets: They bound them spread-eagle. They gagged and blindfolded them with smaller strips of bedsheets.

Once all the guards were restrained, Yuka and her friends all slipped into a uniform. Yuka put on the officer’s uniform, while her friends put on the guards’. They took the time to change their haircut, and to put on more make-up to darken the skin.

Yuka changed shape. She of course didn’t take the appearance of the officer she had just mugged, since seeing that one return to the cells would have appeared suspicious. Thanks to Rashid’s spies, Yuka indeed knew the faces of some officers of the Imperial Palace. She simply took the appearance of one.

“I wish I was here to see the reaction of the people who’ll find all these women…” Azeneth commented with a chuckle. “They’ll think some weird orgy happened!”

“I hope it will destroy Ichtaca’s reputation…” Yisüi added.

“Well, at the very least, we’ve destroyed her self-esteem, her bedding, AND her wardrobe. I consider it a small victory.” Yuka concluded. "Now, let's go."

**************

Yuka had thought of a convincing lie if the guards of the cells' building asked her why she was visiting the prisoners.

However, the officer didn’t question her. He simply saluted her.

Of course, it was actually a test. His hand sign was a code.

Thankfully, Yuka knew the codes and hand signs of the Imperial guards. She replied with the right gesture of the hand, and he looked satisfied. He let them all in.

Once they were out of sight, Nahid and her bodyguards breathed in relief.

“Information is everything. That’s why Rashid took years to build a powerful spy network.” Azeneth explained to them.

“Now, we simply need to neutralize the wardens noiselessly…” Yuka commented.

**************

The wardens were two women. They were wearing ample brown hooded tunics, with a thick leather belt tied around the waist, brown long leather skirts tied around the waist with a rope, and black leather sandals.

The first one had a copper-coloured skin, dark brown eyes, and raven black hair. Her hair were tied into a thick long braid adorned with obsidian stones.

The second one probably had ancestors from outside the Empire. While her skin was tanned, her eyes were light brown and her hair were auburn. The right side of her hair was shaven, while the left side was shoulder long with side swept bangs. There was a steel ring in her left ear. Clearly, this woman knew she was at the bottom of the Empire’s social ladder, therefore she didn’t bother with having what was considered an ‘appropriate’ appearance.

Both wardens were sitting next to each other at a table. They were whispering with each other, and were looking very glum.

They stopped talking when they saw the squad of guards.

“There’s a problem?” Yuka asked the wardens as she was approaching them.

Of course, she didn’t care much about their answer. She was only stalling for time.

The time for her to put these two women within her reach.

“That shape-shifting demon killed two of ours. My husband was one of them. So how do you think I feel?” the black-haired warden retorted.

To speak so rudely to an officer, that woman was probably feeling very angry.

There was a moment of awkward silence. Yuka actually stopped walking for a few seconds.

She could feel Azeneth’s, Jinora’s, and Yisüi’s eyes in her back.

Yuka took a small breath. “I apologize for your loss. Truly.” she said to the wardens.

Then, she suddenly walked towards them, and pinched at the same time a very specific part of each woman’s body, between the neck and shoulder, while infusing some power into her hands.

The wardens grunted and groaned, almost instantly knocked out cold. Their bodies went limp, and they fell forward. Their foreheads and chests landed on the table with soft ‘thuds’.

Azeneth stepped forward. “Yu’…”

“We’ve already had this conversation, Az’. Please don’t make me repeat myself. I said: ‘AFTER we’ve rescued our friends’.”

There was an other short moment of awkward silence. Yuka and Azeneth were avoiding each other’s eyes.

“Maybe we should take their clothes and leave them concealed out of sight?” Nahid proposed as a diversion. She was looking at the two wardens.

“Good idea. You’re already thinking like one of us…” Azeneth commented. Though her enthusiasm was forced.

“My bodyguards can assume their role.” Nahid added.

Yuka nodded. “Yes. But it’s best they still come with us. The moment we’ve freed everyone, Coulter will transport us all. We won’t need to exit the building.”

The group quickly stripped the wardens down to their undergarments. The black-haired woman was wearing faded red open drawers. A faded red strip of cloth was wrapped around her breasts and back. The auburn-haired woman was clad in a grey sleeveless undershirt, and matching knee-long underpants.

They used ropes to truss up the women. They ball-tied the wardens in a seated position, with the knees against the breasts and the chin resting on the knees. The women’s wrists were bound behind the back. A piece of cloth was shoved into their mouths, and a rag was tied around the lower face, below the nose.

Nahid’s bodyguards slipped into the warden’s clothes.

They stashed the two bound-and-gagged real wardens into a supply closet, leaving the door slightly open to allow a crack of air to enter. The two women were left leaning against each other in a seated position.

Yuka nodded, then commented: “Now, let’s hurry up. Our disguises won’t last long.”

**************

Safiye had chosen to look for Tosca.

“The Marquess and her retinue weren’t in the barracks. Where do you think they can be?” Astrid asked.

“Let’s go to the cells. I need to check something.” Safiye answered.

“You think they may be impostors-” the blonde said in disbelief.

“Let’s just say I have an intuition. Tsuki isn’t the only one who can change shape.” Safiye explained while whispering. “But don’t say a word to anyone yet. I don’t want to alarm all the palace for nothing.”

Most importantly, Safiye knew that there would be a huge reward for the woman who could capture Rashid’s pet shapeshifter. And she didn’t want to share the money.

Of course, she had already earned a lot of money. But MORE gold never hurt anyone, right? With that extra income, she would be sure to live in luxury and to never need to work for the rest of her life.

Safiye and Astrid led their group of guards in the palace’s garrison’s barracks.

Among the guards, the one at the back of the column was suddenly grabbed and pulled into a secondary corridor. A few muffled cries and a short struggle were soon followed by silence.

The woman who exited the corridor was looking like the guard’s twin sister, and was wearing the same uniform. But her eyes briefly turned black before becoming normal again.

She hurried up towards the cells’ building.

**************

Yuka and her friends came across Rashid’s cell first.

“We’ll try to locate Coulter and the others.” Azeneth said. “Yu’. Release him.”

“I’m coming too.” Nahid intervened.

One of her bodyguards had taken the wardens’ keys. She used them to open the cell.

Yuka rushed inside. Nahid was following her.

Rashid looked unhurt. Of course, the Mages wouldn’t harm a precious political hostage. Still, she was relieved.

"Rashid..." she muttered.

Yuka couldn’t help it. She hugged him, briefly but tightly. She ignored Nahid’s surprised look.

“Where are the others?” she then asked Rashid.

He looked down. His face was betraying his guilt. “The Mages didn’t want to waste time with the ones they couldn’t use as political hostages... They’ve… They’ve executed all the other prisoners save for Coulter… I’m sorry.”

Yuka clenched her fists, and blocked a wave of sadness. “The Mages will also pay for that.” she muttered. “First, let’s regroup with the others.”

**************

Coulter was actually locked in the next cell. Yuka, Rashid, and Nahid regrouped with Azeneth, Jinora, Yisüi, and Nahid’s bodyguards inside.

Currently, Azeneth was trying to find a way to remove Coulter’s manacles.

“So you all came.” the redhead commented when she saw Yuka.

She was looking sour and disapproving, but Yuka was nevertheless delighted to see her grumpy face.

“Wow, please, show less gratitude. You’re going to make me feel embarrassed!” she retorted as a joke. “Truly, you’re the sunshine in our lives.”

Coulter rolled her eyes. “Must you always repeat that?”

“Try smiling more often, and complimenting us from time to time. It’ll help us stop.”

“Yu’. We have a problem with Coulter’s manacles.” Jinora intervened. “These aren’t normal. They haven’t a lock.”

Coulter groaned, out of patience. “They are made to restrain magic users. So you need magic to open and close them. It should be obvious.”

“Good to see you’re as agreeable as usual.” Azeneth commented while rolling her eyes. “Makes all the troubles we had coming up with a rescue plan worth it. I mean, it’s not like we risked our lives for you or something.”

Coulter bit her lower lip. She looked a little guilty. “Listen, I’m sorr-” She interrupted herself. “- I’m grateful that you all came for me. I really am. But you’re all in danger here. You have to flee while you still can.”

“Aw! So you’re worried for us? You DO care!”

Azeneth playfully tousled the redhead’s fluffy mane of hair.

“Not the hair!” the latter retorted while trying to get away. “And it’s not fair. You goaded me into confessing it.”

Azeneth tousled the hair again. “All’s fair in friendship and war.”

“I said: Don’t touch my hair!”

“Sorry to ruin the mood, but we’re not making any progress on removing the manacles.” Jinora intervened to keep them on track. “And as long as they’re here, Coulter can’t use her magic. Therefore, she can’t transport us to safety. Which is a HUGE part of our plan.”

Yuka’s mind was racing. She hadn’t anticipated such a problem. She had thought that Coulter’s restraints could be removed by mundane means.

“I may have the tool we need to release her.” Nahid intervened.

There was a short moment of silence.

"What?" Yuka flatly said.

Nahid pulled out a small yellow gemstone from her purse.

“This crystal will remove the magic infused in the manacles. Once it’s gone, she should be able to use her powers again.”

“That’s perfect.” Yuka commented.

“You can thank the aristocracy’s greatest power. Money.” Nahid joked.

Yuka couldn’t help but smile. She wanted to joke back, to show to Nahid that she was part of their team.

Alas, an other voice interrupted her...

“Well, well, well! Who do we have here?”

They knew that voice all too well.

It was Safiye.

**************

The brown-haired woman was escorted by Astrid, who was wearing her metallic armour and was brandishing her battle axe, and by a group of guards.

Safiye saw that Coulter’s hands were still restrained by the manacles inhibiting her powers.

She smiled confidently. She knew she had the advantage as long as the redhead couldn’t use her magic.

“So that explains why the wardens aren’t at their post anymore. Hopefully, you’ve left these ones alive. Unlike your friend.” the brunette commented with a mocking tone of voice.

Yuka saw red. “You shut your mouth! You know nothing about her!”

“After all the time I’ve spent with Tsuki, I think I know her pretty well. Probably better than you, actually.”

Azeneth and Jinora each grabbed one of Yuka’s shoulders, to prevent her from jumping Safiye to squeeze her throat.

“Don’t listen to her. She’s goading you.” Azeneth warned her friend.

“She knows she has the advantage. Don’t let yourself get captured so easily.” Jinora added.

Safiye chuckled. “As if I need to be subtle with the likes of you. As you can see, I effortlessly saw through your charade. The plan was bold, I'll give you that. But way too reckless.”

However, Safiye was so busy gloating that she didn’t see Nahid slowly approach Coulter. Hidden in the aristocrat’s palm, there was the small yellow crystal needed to free the redhead.

“Apologies, ladies, but I can’t let you release your friend. Nothing personal. It's just good business." Safiye concluded. "Plus, the Mages will offer me a hefty sum of money for you. Between Rashid’s pet shapeshifter and Nahid, I think I’ll double my fortune.”

Azeneth forgot about her own advice of cautiousness. “Who you’re calling a ‘pet’, whore?! Yuka’s a human being! More human than you can ever hope to be!” she angrily shouted.

Safiye sighed.

“This conversation isn’t leading us anywhere.”

She snapped her fingers.

“Get them. Kill all those who resist, except for Nahid. And the shapeshifter." She smiled mockingly. "Maybe the Mages will want her too, for their breeding program.”

The guards charged.

Nahid smashed the yellow crystal against Coulter’s manacles.

There was a small burst of light when the crystal broke. Nahid grunted in pain. Her palm had been burnt by the crystal’s small explosion.

Reflexively, Yuka went to help her.

The soldiers were almost on them.

However, Nahid’s crystal had done its job.

The sun magic imbuing the chains had been removed.

Coulter got up. She released the raw power inhabiting her body. Her manacles broke.

Safiye recoiled in fear, but her guards didn’t notice in time the crucial detail. The redhead was now free.

A spell and a brutal wave of sheer power sent all the guards flying across the cell. They hit the walls or the floor, grunted, and went still.

One of them was in the middle of jumping Yuka, and actually managed to scratch her face and her neck with her nails.

Astrid’s armour allowed her to withstand the spell. She grabbed Safiye and shielded her to prevent her from being sent flying like the others.

“Impossible! How can you use magic?!” the brown-haired woman shouted.

Coulter didn’t retort anything. Around her, the guards had all been knocked out by the impacts. Half-conscious, most of them were moaning. They would wake up with strong headaches, and probably some broken bones as well.

Safiye started to panic. “Why aren’t the Mages doing anything?! They should have sensed her by now!”

Astrid shook her head. She didn’t understand either.

Safiye then noticed the black crystal in one of Coulter’s hands. Azeneth had handed it to her. A crystal that could conceal her use of magic…?

The redhead glared at Safiye with unhidden hatred. She casted a spell to crush the spy’s body.

Safiye jumped behind Astrid. Without any hesitation, she used the blond knight as a human shield.

Taken aback by the brunette’s treachery, Coulter didn’t have the time to deflect her spell.

Astrid’s armour bent because of the impact of Coulter’s spell.

The blond knight cried in pain when the impact crushed her torso. Her eyes widened.

“S- Safiye?! Why?” she stuttered as her eyes were tearing.

“Sorry.” Safiye commented, without feeling sorry at all. “Nothing personal. Better you than me.”

She took advantage of everyone’s surprise, pushed her human shield away, and jumped out of the cell to run away.

Astrid fell on her knees, and coughed blood. The blond knight looked at Yuka with anger.

“This… This is all your fault…” she barked at her.

Yuka remembered that Astrid wouldn’t have gotten involved, had she not stolen her armour back in Dun Merida. She sadly shook her head. “I guess you’re right…”

Coulter, however, didn’t remain shocked by Safiye’s betrayal for long. One spell, and she transported herself out of the cell.

**************

Safiye was running in the corridors of the cells’ area. She certainly wasn’t going to give up! If she found a Mage, she could warn them about Coulter’s escape and benefit from their protection.

However, unfortunately for the brunette, an obstacle soon appeared in front of her.

A figure with a bronze-coloured skin, and a mane of bright red hair.

Safiye felt her heart skip a beat.

“No…” she whispered.

Coulter made a gesture of the hands.

“Not like that...”

The air around Safiye blurred. An invisible force immobilized the brown-haired woman’s body. It was as if the air had become as heavy as lead. Even her jaw was immobilized, therefore she couldn’t speak.

“Leaving so soon?” the mage-woman commented.

**************

Astrid was lying on her back.

Yuka left Nahid under the care of her bodyguards, who bandaged her burnt palm. She and Yisüi tried to see what they could do for the blond knight. At the same time, Azeneth and Jinora were hog-tying and gagging the guards. The soldiers were half-unconscious, and most of them had probably lost all will to fight, but the intruders preferred to be careful. Rashid was observing them, he was trying to recover.

Coulter appeared in the middle of the cell, still holding Safiye captive with her magic.

Yuka ignored the treacherous brown-haired mercenary.

“Can you do something for her?” she asked the redhead while pointing at Astrid.

Coulter grimaced, and shook her head. “Sun magic can’t heal.”

“But it can de-bend her armour, right?”

“I guess so. But it’s best to do it once we’re safely out of the palace.”

“You can transport us all?”

“With ease.”

“I see you’ve captured Safiye.” Rashid commented. “We could-”

Coulter interrupted him. “This one is mine.”

“Coulter, she may have information-”

“Don’t you dare!” Coulter interrupted him again. “I refuse to give her even one chance to worm her way out of her punishment! There will be no deal! If you try to stop me, you’ll have to find someone else to defeat the Mages!”

“It’s not a good idea.” Yuka intervened.

The red-haired mage-woman glared at her. “What?”

Yuka looked her in the eyes. “Coulter. You have to let it go. Or it will eat you from the inside. I’m not saying it for her. I’m saying it for you.”

There was a short moment of silence.

Coulter hesitated, but finally shook her head. She had made her mind. Her eyes were harsh.

“I’ve waited for too long. I can’t.” she retorted. The redhead wasn’t even sounding angry anymore. Her voice was simply cold and blank, as if she was stating the obvious.

Coulter didn’t add anything. She didn’t even give them the time to add anything. She casted a first spell to transport them all to safety, in one of Rashid’s hideouts in the capital city.

Then she grabbed Safiye by the collar, and the two women disappeared before Yuka could say something.

**************

The night was cold.

“Where are we?! Where did you transport me?!” Safiye exclaimed.

The brown-haired spy suddenly realized that she was alone.

Alone with Coulter.

Alone with a woman whose entire family was slaughtered because of her, and who spent the rest of her life stewing in her traumatic nightmares and her anger.

Safiye got on her knees.

“I... Please have mercy... I... I was just following orders... It... It was my first mission for the Mages... I...”

“I am not going to kill you.” Coulter interrupted her.

“Oh, thank you! Thank you so much!”

However, Safiye’s smile of relief disappeared when she saw Coulter’s expression. Now that the two of them were alone, the redhead's eyes were burning with boundless hatred.

“You don't have to thank me. Killing you would be mercy. Haven't you realized yet where we are?”

Safiye looked around her, and paled.

Thanks to the light of the moon, she could see that the landscape was made of arid rocky lands, with scrawny thorny bushes and grass as its only vegetation.

“The Scorched Lands.” Coulter announced.

The lands south-west of the Yr Widdfa were harsh and arid. A scorching wasteland the day, and a freezing wasteland the night. Theoretically, it was under the control of the Empire. But nobody was wasteful enough to try to truly colonize these lands.

“My uncle and my wagon train went to this desert one time, when I was still a child. They were looking for rare ores. Even now, I still remember how horrible this place was. Sun Magic can only transport you to places you’ve already seen. And this is the most hostile land I have ever encountered.” Coulter explained. Her voice was cold and harsh. “My clan died because of you. You owe me sixty-seven lives. Today, it is time to pay your debt.”

“No...”

“I will leave you the same way you left Eztli and Xochitl. Stripped, bound, and defenseless, with no food or water in the middle of an arid land.”

“No, wait! I beg you!”

The red-haired woman moved her hands. Safiye's clothes were ripped, as if invisible blades were cutting them. The scraps fell onto the ground, leaving the brown-haired spy clad in only her light green undergarments.

Then, the scraps of clothes came to life again. Animated by magic, they flew in the air, as swift and as quick as snakes. They wrapped themselves around Safiye's legs, arms and mouth. The brown-haired spy fell on the ground and wiggled.

She pleadingly looked at Coulter.

But in the redhead's amber eyes, she only saw the flames of hatred and revenge. Safiye realized that she had been a fool to believe that the crime she had committed when she sold out Coulter’s wagon train to the Mages would be left unpunished... Safiye had sold them out, knowing full well that the Mages would slaughter everyone from the elderly to the newborns. And she was now facing her retribution.

“What? Can't take what you dish out?” Coulter coldly asked. “You should be grateful. I respected your hypocritical code of honor. I didn't kill you... directly.”

Coulter casted a spell and disappeared.

Safiye was left alone in the middle of the desert.

**************

In the cell from which Yuka and her friends had escaped, one defeated guard suddenly opened her eyes. The bruises she had received when hitting the wall had already disappeared.

The woman smiled in her gag, and contorted herself. In no time, she freed herself from her hog-tie and removed her gag.

Tsuki got on her feet, and stretched.

She had chosen to not directly interfere in the cell. Coulter was free. And while Tsuki’s enhanced body was supposed to be impervious to sun magic, she feared the redhead’s raw power may be so huge that even the Black Star couldn’t protect her from a direct hit.

But now, they thought they had won. They thought they were safe in their little hideout. They weren’t expecting someone to find them.

Tsuki was going to pay them a visit.

Indeed, while she couldn’t use the Black Star’s power to track down a person, a part of her own body was something entirely different… Even a fragment of a fingernail…

Like the one currently in Yuka's neck.

After finding their hideout, Tsuki would simply need to wait until they weren’t with the mage-woman...

[rufusluciusivan]

Note: This is the second post. Make sure you read the previous one first.


























































**************

Yuka chose to not comment on what Coulter had done when the redhead reappeared alone in the room.

Instead, she pointed at Astrid. The blond knight had passed out. She was lying on a bed. Currently, Azeneth, Yuka, Yisüi, and Jinora were trying to heal her. Nahid and her bodyguards, as well as Rashid, were in an other room, trying to plan their next move.

“Can you help us?” Yuka asked.

Coulter nodded. She used her magic to loosen the crushed armor. The other women worked together to remove it. Astrid moaned in pain.

Jinora and Yisüi then checked her wounds.

Coulter looked at Yuka. “Say what you want about the bitter aftertaste of revenge. In the moment, it feels as sweet as honey.” she defiantly commented.

Yuka sighed. She wanted to retort something, but she couldn’t find the words.

Ultimately, who was she to judge the redhead anyway? She still remembered the vision she had once had of Coulter’s past. The wagons on fire. The smell of the burning flesh. The screams of the men, women, and children burning alive. Yuka knew what it was like to lose her family. Had she been able to catch the direct culprit of Hinata’s death, would she have been strong enough to renounce getting an expeditious revenge? She didn’t know.

“I won’t feel sorry for Safiye, but I just hope it won’t hurt you even more.” Yuka finally said.

Coulter refused to answer.

Next to them, Jinora and Yisüi were finished inspecting Astrid’s wounds.

“I think she’ll make it out alive.” Jinora concluded. “The ribs appear to be broken, but her spine looks intact.”

“We’ll bandage her.” Yisüi added. “Az’, Coulter, Yu’, just let us take over from here. You can rest.”

Coulter nodded bluntly, and left the room without adding a word. The message was crystal clear. She wanted to be alone.

Azeneth watched her leave.

When Yuka exited the room, the metis followed her.

“And about Tsuki…?” she asked.

Yuka bit her lower lip.

Azeneth looked her in the eyes. Her facial expression was severe. “You thought I’d forget if you postponed the talk long enough, didn’t you?”

“N- No… It’s just…” Yuka shook her head. “Az’, I know what we have to do. Now that the Mages have lost control of her, nothing will reign her in. She’ll be a threat to you, to all my friends.”

“To any woman.” Azeneth corrected her.

“Yes. Our next priority will be… to neutralize her.”

Deep down inside, Yuka knew there was no safe way to non-lethally restrain Tsuki. She knew their confrontation would result in someone’s death. But even in the privacy of her mind, she couldn’t bear even thinking to kill her, let alone saying it.

"You won't have to do it alone." Azeneth tried to reassure her. "You won't bear the responsability of that alone."

Yuka sighed. “Where’s Rashid? I need to see him.”

“In his room.” Azeneth answered.

“Thank you.” Yuka left.

On her way, she felt a faint pain in her neck, but she ignored it.

**************

Still under the guise of a guard, Tsuki was nonchalantly walking the streets of the capital city. She was humming to herself a merry little song, with a smile on her lips.

These losers didn’t even leave Chichen Itza.

Oh, in a way, the move was clever. The Mages weren’t expecting their enemies to use a hideout so close to their previous hideout. Tsuki admired the boldness.

Of course, she was appreciating even more the fact that it was making it easier for her to reach her preys.

However, suddenly, she heard a whisper in her head.

“Tsuki… Look...”

The woman was a city dweller, probably well-off given the quality of her clothes. A merchant or a merchant’s wife, most likely. She was wearing an orange ankle-long skirt with red-and-white edges, a bright red thigh-long huipil with blue edges and black spiral pattern on the shoulders. Around her neck, an orange neckscarf was tied. A white cloth headband adorned with small light pink seashells was tied around her forehead. As jewelries, she was wearing earrings made of white seashells.

Her eyes were brown and green. Her skin was dark. Her black hair were braided, the long braid was adorned with colourful stone beads. She had a curvy body and a cute face.

“Pretty…”

Tsuki licked her lips. The woman was beautiful enough to peak her interest. Unlucky her.

“Entertainment…” the Black Star whispered.

Tsuki could feel the craving. Bigger than ever.

Still, the shapeshifter reflexively commented: “The Mages don’t want me to mug random civilians on the streets-”

She interrupted herself.

Oh, right… She wasn’t working for the Mages anymore…

“Surely Safiye will nag that-”

Tsuki interrupted herself again.

Oh, right… Safiye wasn’t here to reign her in anymore…

In fact, NOBODY was here to reign her in anymore.

She was free to indulge in whatever she wanted. Just like in her humble beginnings, before the Mages recruited her. Except that now, the craving was a lot stronger than during her humble beginnings.

Tsuki looked one more time at the woman, and grinned from ears to ears.

“Oh… Why not? We’ll have to make it quick, though. I’m late, to a very important date.”

Tsuki approached the unsuspecting woman. She mimicked the confident demeanour of a guard.

“Hey you!”

She grabbed the woman by the shoulder.

“I didn’t do anything!” the latter protested.

“Of course you did. Why would you be out at such a time of the day if you didn’t? And wearing such clothes too?”

“B- But…” The civilian didn’t dare protest against a woman wearing the uniform of an Imperial soldier.

Tsuki led the woman in an empty alleyway. “Now, follow me. Time for a thorough questioning. And body search.”

The moment they were out of sight, there was a punching sound, a grunt, and the sound of a body falling onto the ground.

Tsuki stripped the woman down to her undergarments: a light orange knee-long underdress clipped under the armpits and tied around the waist with a small rope, leaving her shoulders bare.

She crammed the woman into an alcove. The girl was therefore forcefully curled up on herself, with her breasts pressed against her knees, so that she would fit in the tight space.

Once she was done, Tsuki slipped into the woman’s warm clothes. She took a deep breath to take her victim’s appearance. For one second, she felt the rush of adrenaline and well-being she was looking for. Then, it was gone. Replaced by even more craving.

An other one… She needed an other one…

She needed more. She needed to find Yuka.

**************

Yuka didn’t anticipate the strong emotions she would feel once alone with Rashid in his room.

She wanted to talk about their next course of action, about their plans. But she wasn’t able to control the words coming out of her mouth:

“I was worried I’d never see you again.” she said, speaking with her heart.

Rashid shook his head. “Me too.” he admitted. He didn’t add anything yet. He too seemed to have a hard time finding his words.

The tension became stronger. Unbearable.

Yuka decided that tonight, just tonight, she wasn’t going to care about the consequences. She was going to ignore the social classes, the big political plans and all this bull crap.

She simply grabbed Rashid, and kissed him.

Rashid returned her kiss. Just like her, he had been waiting for that moment for years.

**************

Yuka was experiencing a strong emotion. Tsuki could feel it, thanks to her little ‘gift’ in her clan sister’s neck. She felt a sudden burst of intense jealousy, but the Black Star’s essence buried it under waves of pure bliss.

Tsuki sped up her pace. She still had to travel half of the capital city if she wanted to reach Yuka…

However, suddenly, she heard a whisper in her head.

“Tsuki… Look…”

The woman was from a country overseas, probably some sort of trader. Her hair were dark blond, and tied up into a shoulder-long ponytail by a black ribbon. Her eyes were blue. Her white skin was tanned by the sun and the salt. Some areas were a little red due to sunburns.

She was clad in a blue light button-up jacket, a white tunic, brown trousers, and a black three-cornered hat.

And at her feet… at her feet she was wearing black long boots with a metallic buckle.

Boots. In the warm Empire, Tsuki rarely had the occasion to steal some. She glanced at her plain tight sandals. The other woman’s footwear looked so much more comfortable…

“Entertainment…”

Surely some quick fun would help her forget about her jealousy... Tsuki put a hand on her cheek, as if she had just been given a romantic gift.

“Maybe just one last treat today…”

She saw the woman turn around a corner. She was entering an empty alleyway.

“Well, now she’s just asking for it.” Tsuki said with a chuckle.

She jogged after the boot-wearing woman in the alleyway, and grabbed her by the shoulder.

“Yoink!”

Her hands glowed brightly.

“Ah?! Ah! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa…”

The blond woman’s eyes widened, and rolled back. Her body went limp.

Tsuki dropped her onto the ground. She removed the woman’s boots, socks and outer clothes, leaving her victim clad only in a beige sleeveless undershirt and light grey open drawers.

She carried and threw the motionless woman inside an empty barrel, then closed it.

Tsuki admired the boots. Footwear had always been one of the few articles of clothes she couldn’t create. Her flesh could only be ripped and turned into fabric.

She removed her current clothes, and put on the freshly stolen ones. She put on the socks and the boots last, and enjoyed the feeling.

“Nice.”

However, the thrill of the novelty only lasted a few seconds. Once more, there was the craving. An other one… She needed an other one…

She needed more. She needed to find Yuka.

**************

Yuka and Rashid were lying under the sheets, tightly embracing each other.

Their clothes and UNDERclothes were scattered across the floor.

“I don’t think we’ll be able to keep this a secret.” Yuka muttered. “This sort of information always finds a way to spread.”

“I don’t care.” Rashid answered.

“Your father won’t agree.”

“I can stand up to him.”

He was trying to sound braver than he was really feeling, but Yuka could easily see that he was sincere. For her, he'd be able to stand up to his controlling father. She was genuinely touched.

Yuka suddenly felt a small burst of pain in her neck. She grimaced.

“You’re hurt?” Rashid worriedly asked.

“There’s something in my neck. Something a little painful. I’ll ask Yisü’ or Jinora to check it as soon as I can.” She smiled. “Or, more precisely, as soon as we’re finished.”

**************

Of course, the craving was so intense that Tsuki was contemplating breaking her ‘one last treat’ self-promise the second an other woman peaked her interest.

The girl was a cute black-haired young woman with a soft tanned skin and dark brown eyes. She was oblivious to the danger.

However, just as Tsuki was about to grab her, something tilted in her head.

Yuka may find my beacon soon.

Tsuki completely forgot about the girl, who therefore would never know how close she had been to a traumatic and potentially fatal encounter.

The unhinged shapeshifter started to run. She wasn’t worried about tiring out. The Black Star was giving her way enough energy. But she was worried about Yuka finding too soon her little ‘gift’.

She had a very important appointment that she didn’t want to miss.

Tsuki had a plan. She already knew which appearance to take in order to approach the place...

**************

On her way to find Yisüi or Jinora, Yuka came across Coulter. The redhead was quietly moping while seated on a chair.

It was something she loved doing. Yuka had often had the occasion to see the redhead brooding in silence during the years spent around her. It was eery to see how some things never changed...

Coulter glanced at Yuka. “I know what you’re thinking. If you dare say it out loud, I’ll give you a black eye.”

Of course, Yuka ignored the warning. “Getting your revenge on Safiye didn’t change anything, did it?”

Coulter clenched her fists, and Yuka realized the redhead wasn’t joking about her ‘black eye’ promise. She changed the topic.

“Why don’t you hang out more with us? When you’re not on a mission, you’re either training your magic or brooding alone for hours. There are more positive activities to do during your idle time. Having a good laugh with us. Or sharing stories for instance.”

Long silence.

Since Coulter didn’t seem willing to answer, Yuka walked away.

“There was a boy and a girl.” Coulter suddenly said.

“Uh?”

“When you saw my empress counterpart, you were curious to know if I was into boys or girls. There’s your answer. We grew up together. I was close to the both of them. I- I wasn’t able to sort out my feelings… My brother and sister always teased me about it.”

Yuka didn’t know what to answer. It was so rare to hear Coulter talk about her past, and she had just done it so bluntly...

“Thanks to Safiye, I guess I’ll never know.” the redhead concluded.

She refused to add anything else. Not even their names. And yet Coulter had said more about her past in these few sentences than during all the previous years. Until now, Yuka didn't even know the redhead used to have siblings.

There was a moment of silence.

“I’m sorry.” Yuka finally said.

Coulter shrugged. She didn’t want to talk any more. Yuka left her in peace.

**************

Tsuki found the building which would allow her to access Yuka’s hideout. From the outside, it looked like a legitimate small shop. And it probably was one.

She took a deep breath, and changed shape. Luckily, Tsuki already knew a few appearances that could allow her to fool the person manning the shop. Including the form of a woman she had already impersonated.

Tsuki knocked on the door.

A small doorhole was opened, and a pair of eyes looked at Tsuki.

“Nahid?! What are you doing here?”

The sentry was a woman. She probably had some ancestors from Ghazan. While her skin was tanned, it wasn’t as dark as the copper-coloured skin of the Pakal women. Her eyes were a mix of chestnut brown and emerald green, and there were lighter brown locks in her soft luscious black hair. Her hair were braided.

Of course, the woman should have known better. After all, her boss was working with a shapeshifter. However, the sentry remained a human at heart. She didn’t fully realize how easy it was for someone like Tsuki to steal a person’s identity. The human’s first reflex was to open the door. Her first thought wasn’t to assume the woman who looked exactly like Nahid was an impostor.

The sentry allowed Tsuki to enter the small shop. She was a woman pretending to be a merchant. Therefore, she wasn’t dressed as a guard. She was wearing a bright orange Pakal huipil with red black blue stripes that was reaching up to the knees, a warm orange cloth sash with a pattern of black diamonds, and a green sleeveless long dress with red and black threads. An orange headband adorned with black seashells was tied around her forehead. Her earrings and bracelets were made of copper.

Tsuki immediately took an interest in the woman’s colourful clothes.

“I thought you were inside, Nahid…” the sentry commented.

Tsuki didn’t bother with small talks or deception once she realized she and her victim were alone in the room. She clamped a hand over the fake merchant’s mouth, and used her glowing ‘touch’ to knock her out.

“Mhhhhhhhhhh…”

“You thought well.” Tsuki commented.

She gazed into the woman’s eyes, appreciating how they were becoming more and more vacant. Then, they rolled back. The sentry moaned one last time, a long faint noise. She slumped into her captor’s arms.

Tsuki couldn’t resist the temptation to steal the sentry’s appearance. She grabbed the woman’s cloth sash, huipil and dress. She didn’t bother with the sandals though. Under her outer clothes, the sentry was wearing a brownish red loincloth and a bright red strap of cloth wrapped over the chest and the back.

Tsuki didn’t waste more time with the half-naked sentry. She threw her in a corner of the room. Then, she put on the stolen clothes.

She didn’t put on the sandals though. She couldn’t resist keeping her boots. She thought they were so much cooler...

Tsuki briefly touched her jade earrings. Yuka's gift. She ran inside the hideout.

She had a very important appointment.

**************

Yisüi was looking at Yuka’s neck. “You could have had that checked sooner.” she commented. She was sounding disapproving.

“It was just a scratch, honestly. I had other things in mind…”

“I heard it, when I passed near the door of Rashid’s room.” the blonde joked.

Embarrassed, Yuka stuttered. “Did- Did anyone else hear… something?”

“Az’ did. But don’t worry. She and Jinora worked together to prevent other people to walk by the corridor. With some luck, we’re the only ones in the knowing.”

Of course, it was a relief. Though Yuka knew that Azeneth would NEVER let her live that one out.

“They’re going to tease me for the rest of my life, aren’t they?”

“Obviously.” Yisüi answered with an amused smile. “They’re talking together right now. I guess Az’ is trying to come up with the best jokes.”

Yuka laughed sheepishly.

"They're happy for you. Az' says it was about time you-" Yisüi suddenly frowned. “I think I’ve found the problem. There’s something in your neck. That’s why you’re feeling pain.”

The blonde removed the minuscule thing.

“What’s this?”

At the same time, the door of the room opened.

It was the sentry watching the fake shop which was used as the hideout’s entrance.

“I need to see you.” she said to Yuka. “It’s important.”

However, Yuka didn’t answer her immediately. As she was about to talk, she saw what Yisüi had extracted from her neck. She was mesmerized by the sight. It was a small nail.

Yuka suddenly got an intuition.

She had noticed a detail when the sentry had entered the room. The woman wasn’t wearing sandals. She was wearing boots. And on her ears...

There were jade earrings!

Yuka turned her head just in time to see the sentry point her fingers at Yisüi. Her bones had jutted out.

Yuka pushed Yisüi out of the way. The woman shot small pointy projectiles made of bone.

Yuka was fast enough to save her friend’s life, but not fast enough to prevent the blonde from being hurt.

Yisüi cried in pain when the projectiles hit her arm and shoulder.

“Yisü’!” Yuka worriedly exclaimed.

The blonde fell on the floor, clutching her arm and shoulder. Yuka took a knee to help her.

“So you even have little nicknames for them…” the impostor commented.

Her facial features blurred.

Of course, it was Tsuki.

Her eyes were pitch black now. Her cheeks were streaked with little black veins.

Yisüi was crying in pain, curled up on herself.

Yuka felt a mixture of anger, distress, and despair. “Tsu’… What have you done…?”

Tsuki shook her head.

“Look at what YOU have done.” She gestured towards the wounded Yisüi. “Why did you interfere? She wouldn’t have felt anything… She wouldn’t even have realized her time had come… And look at her now. Yu’! Why must you always make things difficult?”

Yuka ignored the weak attempt at guilt-tripping her. She moved in front of her friend to shield her with her body.

“I won’t let you hurt her!”

“This is her fate, Yu’. She’s just an extra. People like her don’t really exist. They don’t matter. Their only purpose is to make us look better. To give us some quick fun, and a convenient way to disguise ourselves. They are unimportant. Once they've served their purpose, they can be cast away and forgotten about. The Black Star will show you this truth.”

“Don’t come any closer!”

Tsuki tilted her head. “Why the angry face, Yu’? You should be ecstatic! Soon, there will be no more distractions to go in-between us anymore…”

She looked Yuka in the eyes.

“And once you tell me where the Black Star is, things will finally be perfect.” her clan sister added.

Yuka shook her head.

My clan sister...

Tsuki wasn’t her clan sister. Not anymore. Only a receptacle, inhabited by impious powers and shallow cravings. A grotesque parody of life. The embodiment of callousness and short-sighted hedonism.

“I’ll never tell you!” Yuka retorted.

“You don’t know what you’re missing, Yu’. The thrills. The rush. The power. They could be yours.”

As she was talking, Tsuki was looking for a window to shoot at Yisüi.

Yuka realized it.

“No!”

Yuka jumped Tsuki. She tackled her onto the floor. Her hands were glowing. Yuka was trying to use her ‘touch’ on her foe.

Of course, it wasn’t working. Shapeshifters were immune to the ‘touch’ of their brethren. Tsuki was the only one strong enough to make it work, and even then it was because of the impious powers flowing through her body.

Tsuki chuckled. “It tickles…”

Yuka punched her in the forehead.

She immediately cried in pain. It was as if she had hit a stone. Yuka had forgotten that her foe could use the power to harden her body.

Tsuki wasn’t even fazed. On the contrary, still with a smile on her face, she violently headbutted Yuka.

The latter saw stars, and rolled on her back.

Tsuki got up, and dusted herself. “Now, this is starting to become embarrassing.” Her palms glowed. “You’ll take a nap, Yu’. SOMEBODY has to put this story back on track. It's time you stop focusing on the nameless extras.”

Yuka refused to give up. She used a move Azeneth had taught her. As Tsuki was bending forward to grab her, she kicked her in the arm. Then, taking advantage of the fact that her foe was unbalanced, she got back on her feet in one swift motion.

Tsuki didn’t look impressed. “I still think this is embarrassing.” She readied her body to jump Yuka.

Suddenly, a voice intervened.

“What’s going on here?”

Yuka’s eyes widened.

No no no no no no…

Of course they would hear the noise… Of course they would come to investigate…

Azeneth and Jinora were here. Coulter was following them from afar.

“Don’t come any closer! Flee!” Yuka shouted.

“What are you saying-”

Azeneth saw Yisüi hurt. Then she recognized Tsuki, who winked at her mockingly. Her lips twisted themselves into a grimace of pure hatred.

“This time, you’re going down!” she shouted.

“Az’! No! Don’t attack her directly!” Yuka tried to warn her.

But Azeneth was too angry to listen. She drew two knives, and charged. However, it meant that she ran into Coulter’s line of sight, preventing her from casting a spell.

Tsuki pointed her fingers. Her bones jutted out. She shot.

Azeneth dodged the projectiles, and attacked Tsuki. She bypassed the woman’s defenses, and stabbed.

Unfortunately for her, Tsuki had learned her lesson since their last fight. Her flesh maybe still looked normal, but was now in truth harder than steel. Their was a metallic sound when the blade hit her. But not a scratch.

Tsuki smiled. Then, she moved inhumanely fast. She kneed Azeneth in the stomach, forcing her to fall on her knees, and grabbed her by the hair. She changed the shape of her fingers. Metallic claws grew on her fingers.

Tsuki threatened the metis with her claws. She was putting Azeneth between Coulter and her, to use her as a human shield.

Jinora grabbed a metallic torchere, and attempted to strike Tsuki in the back.

However, the latter had sensed her assault. She took one deep breath, and wings quickly sprouted in her back. Jinora was hit by the monstrous appendages, and was forced to take a few steps back. The feathers of the wings were made of steel. They were protecting Tsuki’s back.

The latter looked at Yuka. Black veins were spreading across her body. Parts of her skin were bubbling.

“Now, you will tell me, Yu’. Where is the Black Star? Where is She?! Where did you send Her?! If you don’t tell me…” She pressed her claws against Azeneth’s throat. “… I’ll show you just HOW meaningless she is.”

Yuka grimaced. She had no choice. Azeneth’s life was in the balance.

But there was no way of knowing how Tsuki would react to the reveal...

“I sent it at the bottom of the ocean!” Yuka confessed.

"What?!"

“In a place so deep that the sun’s light can’t reach it! You can’t find Her! You’ll never be able to find Her! Even if you grow gills, because fishes can’t live there! Even if you turn your body into steel, because the water crushes even the strongest metal there!”

Tsuki blinked once. The time seemed to stop.

“So you mean that... from the beginning… my quest was doomed to fail?” Her voice was slow and soft.

“I’m sorry.” Yuka couldn’t help but answer.

Tsuki started to laugh.

“All this time… wasted? Just like my quest to reach the sky… or to take the appearance of every woman of this world… or to have you back at my side... Doomed to fail. That’s… That’s basically the story of my life… Now that’s HILARIOUS!”

Jinora walked around her to drag Yisüi away from the danger.

Coulter was looking uneasy. Now that their foe was distracted, the redhead was confident she could hit Tsuki without harming her hostage, but she was hesitating. She was looking at Yuka for confirmation.

Without adding anything, without even a rant or a justification, Tsuki raised her clawed hand to kill Azeneth. Just like that. Because she could.

Out of spite.

Tsuki looked Yuka in the eyes, to defy her. Her eyes were pitch-black. She was lost.

Yuka had no choice this time. She couldn’t do things by halves, or else she’d lose two friends.

“Coulter! Save her!” she begged. Though even she didn't know if she was taling about Azeneth... or about Tsuki.

The red-haired mage-woman clenched her fists.

Yuka saw the air around Tsuki blur. The essence of the Black Star was trying to block the crushing power of Coulter’s sun magic.

Tsuki smiled derisively. Her clawed hand moved insanely fast to hit Azeneth.

Coulter cursed. She reinforced the power of her spell. The red-haired mage-woman was sweating, but she kept her fists closed, using all her strength.

Tsuki’s clawed hand was about to stab Azeneth’s head.

Suddenly, there was a sickening crushing sound. Tsuki screamed in pain and surprise. Her hand stopped a few millimeters away from Azeneth’s head.

The unhinged shapeshifter staggered. She was looking flabbergasted, as if she couldn’t believe that something had been able to truly hurt her. Her torso and her ribs were crushed. Blood was dripping from her ears, her eyes, and her nose.

The Black Star’s essence was making Tsuki’s body unnaturally impervious to many threats, including sun magic. But Coulter’s powers were unnaturally strong too… And Tsuki only had a fragment of the Black Star’s essence inside her. Not enough.

Her body had been crushed from the inside. Even with her impious powers, she couldn't recover from such a blow.

Tsuki fell on her back.

“TSU’!” Yuka screamed.

Tsuki’s wings decayed at a crazy speed, and soon turned into dust.

Yuka couldn’t help it. She rushed at her friend’s side. She was worried Tsuki’s body would start to decay as well.

At the same time, Jinora grabbed Azeneth to lead her away. The two women retreated next to Yisüi to protect her.

Tsuki was muttering to herself. “It can’t be… Not like that... Not yet… I haven’t had enough women...”

She changed shape to look like a curvy servant of Ce-Acatl.

“Not enough...”

Tsuki changed shape to look like Giulia, Rashid’s contact in Bommare.

“Not enough…”

“Tsu’, stop it.” Yuka pleaded with her. “You're hurting yourself.”

“Not enough… Not enough… Not enough...”

Tsuki changed shape faster and faster. She was taking the appearances of women whom Yuka didn’t know. The many victims of Tsuki’s shallow quest of entertainment and hedonism. A Pakal soldier called Citlalli. A belly dancer called Fatma. A rookie roadwarden called Ziyane. And many nameless others.

“Not enough...”

It was like witnessing Tsuki’s story in reverse. When she started to take the forms of women whom Yuka could recognize again, the latter knew that she had reached the part before the Black Star. The part of Tsuki’s life during which YUKA was the one encouraging her bad habits.

Ultimately, Tsuki took the appearance of the village girl she had ambushed with Yuka years ago.

A lifetime ago.

Yuka held her body close to her.

“Tsu’, calm down… Please… I’m here for you… I’m here...”

Tsuki suddenly relaxed. She took back her true appearance, and let out a long sigh. As if she had been relieved of a huge burden. A thick black smoke slowly escaped for her open mouth, and disappeared.

Tsuki blinked, as if she had woken up from a deep slumber.

Yuka frowned. “Tsu’… Your… Your eyes…”

They were sky blue again. The black veins around them had disappeared. Tsuki looked around her.

“Yu’? Is that you? I’m feeling so strange… My mind is so blurry…”

“Tsu’. Don’t move and stay still. I will find a way to patch you up and-”

“It’s no use…” Tsuki interrupted her. “The Black Star’s essence... has left me…”

“And these are wonderful news… You’re yourself again…”

“My body won’t be able to go on… without the Black Star… I’m not sure I’d even WANT to go on without Her…” Tsuki looked around her. “The world seems so… drab without Her… so dull and morose...”

“I’ll save you!”

Tsuki shook her head. More blood was coming out of her nose, her mouth, and her ears. There were tears of blood on her cheeks. “You can’t. You never even had a chance. It was over the second I touched the Star. Since that moment, I’ve belonged to Her… forever...” She coughed some more blood. "This is the only way I can be free. And maybe it's for the best... I've done so much wrong... I guess the gods found a way to punish me... in the end..."

“Tsu’… I promised myself I’d-”

Her friend interrupted her. “It doesn't matter... anymore... anyway… In fact, I only want to know one thing...”

Tsuki looked Yuka in the eyes.

“Why- Why did you choose these humans... over me? What is it that they have... that I don't?”

Yuka didn't know what to answer. “Tsu', I...”

“Am I not your best friend? Tell me I'm still your best friend…”

Yuka blinked.

“Of course. You’re my clan sister.”

Tsuki chuckled.

“I know you're lying to make me feel better. But it's okay, I forgive you.”

“I’m not lying!”

However, Yuka could see in Tsuki’s eyes that she wasn’t believing her.

Tsuki grimaced. She was in pain.

Yuka was desperately trying to think of a way to heal her, but she couldn’t find anything. From the outside, her clan sister was looking fine. Her injuries were inside her body.

Coulter couldn’t help her. Her magic could only destroy, not restore. Powerless, she shook her head.

“Yu'... Would you agree... to stay with me… til the end?” Tsuki suddenly asked.

One blink.

Then Tsuki confessed with a small voice: “I'm scared.”

Another blink.

Yuka cried.

“Of course I will...”

What else could she do?

She sat next to Tsuki, and took her hand. She sat with her friend, and waited for her time to come… Coulter, Azeneth, and Jinora didn’t interrupt her. They knew she needed to do that alone. They instead bandaged Yisüi.

“It reminds me of Hinata...” Tsuki commented. “You remember when she used to have night terrors?”

“Sure do. We laid at her sides, and we each held one of her hands until she fell asleep.” Yuka answered. She couldn’t help but smile sadly while remembering the fond memory.

Tsuki coughed, then added: “The elders said she had received the gift of prescience… she could see the future in her dreams… and it was why she had so many night terrors… One day… One day she said to me we would be separated… She terrified me. But she was right… in the end…”

“I remember. But she did it because you stole her slice of pie, Tsu’. She wanted to teach you a lesson. Hina’ was nice, but she had her limits. You knew the rule. Never touch her food.” Yuka gently objected. “She also predicted that we would change everything for the better in the Empire. You remember it, Tsu'? You remember how she said that we were going to change everything for the better?”

No answer.

Yuka hesitated. She didn't dare to look at Tsuki's face.

“Tsu'?” she repeated.

But she was only trying to delay the inevitable...

Tsuki was gone. Her eyes were still, and gazing into the ceiling – as if she was watching the sky she had longed to reach.

She had passed away during Yuka’s recalling. The latter didn’t know exactly when.

Yuka crossed Tsuki's hands together, on her friend’s stomach. Then she gently kissed her clan sister on the forehead. Finally, she closed Tsuki’s eyes.

“You two… wherever your are... save some room for me… One day, we will be reunited…” the shapeshifter whispered.

Yuka took a deep breath.

Then the realization finally dawned on her.

Tsuki was gone. Her last clan sister. The last member of her clan. The last connection to her childhood.

She broke down.

Yuka held Tsuki’s body close to her, and sobbed.

Her friends exchanged uneasy looks.

Time passed.

Finally, Azeneth approached Yuka, and put a hand on her shoulder.

“Yu’…” the metis gently said.

Yuka pushed her away.

“NO!” she shouted. “I… I can’t leave her yet!”

“Yu’...”

“I can’t leave her like that! I can’t leave her all alone! Not again!”

Azeneth exchanged a desperate look with her friends.

“I can’t leave her alone… She’ll be afraid if I leave her… She’ll be cold...” Yuka exclaimed.

Azeneth didn’t try to argue anymore. She simply took Yuka in her arms, and held her close, allowing her friend to cry in her shoulder.

“It’s all my fault… I did this to her… It’s my fault she became like that… It’s my fault...”

Azeneth didn’t know what to say. She didn’t want to give her empty words. She hugged Yuka tighter.”

“She was my clan sister, Az’… She did terrible things... but she was still my clan sister… How can I- How can I go on now?”

“You’ll have us. As always.”

Yuka clung on to her.

Jinora helped Yisüi walk, and while being careful to not press against the blonde’s wounded side, they joined the embrace.

Coulter hesitated, bit a lower lip, then she warily approacheed them and put a hand on Yuka’s shoulder.

It took her a long time to stop crying.

**************

The sun was high and harsh.

At first, Safiye had been relieved to see the sun set, as spending the cold night half-naked was a terrible experience. However, she had quickly realized that the sun was a poisoned gift. With no water and no way to protect her head, she was suffering.

“I have to survive... I have to survive… I have to survive...”

Safiye had managed to free herself from the ropes binding her. She was now desperately trying to find water... to find help... to find clothes… to leave the land... to do something, anything!

Safiye was becoming delirious because of the sun.

Her feverish mind, weakened by the heat, was clinging to one crazy hope.

Didn’t Tsuki say they were soul-linked? Didn’t she always appear behind her back when Safiye thought that she got rid of her?

Yes. Tsuki will come. She’ll help me. a delirious Safiye thought to herself.

It was a telling proof of how desperate she was...

Suddenly, Safiye felt a strange sensation. As if a thread woven around her heart was broken.

The brown-haired woman immediately understood.

Tsuki had said it herself. She and Safiye were soul-linked… but only till death.

Tsuki was dead.

Tsuki wouldn’t come.

Safiye blinked.

To the very end… To the very end she chose the path of action that disserved me the most… Even in death, she managed to find a way to screw me over...

Safiye was rid of the unhinged shapeshifter, the thing she had wanted ever since she had started to work with her. She was alone.

What they say was true. Be careful what you wish for…

No matter where she was, in paradise or in hell, Tsuki was probably smiling right now.

Safiye laughed mad.

The sun was high.

The sun was harsh.

The brown-haired woman suddenly saw a figure in the distance. A young woman. She had a dark soft skin, green eyes, and brown hair.

Safiye smiled. Maybe she could take this woman's clothes to protect herself from the sun... The brown-haired spy approached the young woman.

However, she soon noticed something strange.

The young woman was wearing a gorgeous ruby red courtesan dress. A garment that was absolutely NOT made for the desert.

And her face was familiar.

“Z... Zaïde?!” Safiye whispered.

How was it possible? Zaïde, her friend, was dead. Wasn’t she?

Safiye blinked. Zaïde wasn't alone anymore. There was another woman. A gorgeous one. She was wearing a sapphire blue courtesan dress.

“Istir?!”

It was indeed her other former friend. Safiye couldn't mistake her for someone else, with her soft hair and curvy body. But why was Istir looking so young?

What's happening? Why are they in the desert?

Safiye blinked.

Desert? She wasn't in a desert. She was in the corridors of the Seraglio. With marble everywhere. She was clad in her favorite courtesan dress, the one that was emerald green to match her eyes.

“Safiye, hurry up!” Istir exclaimed. “The head courtesan is waiting for us!”

A part of Safiye's mind was telling her that Istir was supposed to be the head courtesan. But it was impossible. The three of them were still recent additions to the Seraglio.

“I'm coming! I'm feeling... strange today. I just had the weirdest sensation... Like some kind of weird daydream...”

Zaïde and Istir exchanged a glance, then they smiled and each grabbed one of Safiye's hands.

Safiye followed her two friends.

“By the way, I have something wonderful to tell you.” Zaïde said. “I am seeing Samir. We're going to get married.”

Something suddenly tilted in Safiye's head.

“NO!” she shouted.

Istir and Zaïde let go of her hands and glared at her.

“I... I mean...” Safiye grabbed Zaïde by the shoulders. “Listen to me. It's very important. You are about to be noticed by the king.”

Zaïde frowned. “How do you know? Who told you that?”

“It doesn't matter! What matters is that you must NOT refuse his invitation.”

“But Samir...”

“If you humiliate the king, he will break you, Zaïde! And refusing his invitation is a grave insult! No matter what you feel, ACCEPT, or he'll chase you like a common thief and destroy your reputation!”

Her two friends were looking at her.

“Safiye... You're scaring me now...” Zaïde commented.

“Accept his demand.” Safiye added. “Entertain him. Then, once he's under your charms, tell him about your little love story. Pull on his heartstrings, and beg him to help you find true love. He won't be able to refuse it.”

Zaïde opened and closed several times her mouth, but then she nodded slowly.

…

…

...

Zaïde followed her advice.

A few weeks later, the word spread that the king was giving his blessing to the wedding of his favorite courtesan and one of his officers. His reputation skyrocketed.

And Zaïde married the man she loved...

…

…

…

The sun was high.

Safiye was lying face up on the harsh ground.

She was smiling.

She was happy.

The time of one delirious dream, Safiye lived an other life.

Istir became the new head courtesan, and gave a child to prince Yusuf, securing her future.

Zaïde married for love, and lived happily ever after with Samir.

Safiye found an undemanding husband among the king's officials, and founded a family.

In her dream, she watched herself grow up, live a plentiful life, and die peacefully of old age in her bed, surrounded by loved ones who would cherish her memory.

…

…

…

The sun was harsh.

The former courtesan blinked.

Her dream ended.

Safiye was alone.

She had never founded a family.

She had renounced or betrayed all her friends, as well as all the people who had looked up to her.

She had betrayed Istir.

She had betrayed Aysun, Derya, Maryam, and Layah.

She had betrayed Astrid.

She had betrayed her mother’s teachings.

She even had betrayed Zaïde’s memory.

Safiye had no loved ones who would cherish her memory.

Safiye had chosen to be alone. She had chosen to treat everyone else as disposable tools. She had chosen to care about one person and one person only.

Herself.

But she had forgotten it would also mean that, in the end, she'd be alone… In the end, she would only have her self.

Safiye was still smiling, as she was delirious. But she was also crying.

The sun was high. The sun was harsh. Her entire world became white.

It was over.

[tirepanted3]

And the adventure continues. Happy to delve back into this world, and a bit sad that the series is drawing to a close. But I will savor it while it lasts.

The first half of this latest installment continues to ratchet up the tension from the previous part. You can tell that our heroines are growing more desperate, and can't really blame them - Coulter is in danger, Tsuki is running around more unhinged than ever. So it only makes sense that they're on edge and willing to resort to rough measures.

The scene with Ichtaca and her group was a good return to the USB scenes of yore, though despite how rude Ichtaca was, I can't help but feel the girls were still a bit too unnecessarily harsh in their means of knocking her out. Understandable that Yisüi is angry, but at a time when the clock is ticking, it feels a little off-putting for the team to prolong the means of knocking the spoiled woman unconscious.

The scene with the guards was more in tune with the mood of the chapter, while still being quite a bit of fun - a quick takedown, using a variety of methods (the glow, fisticuffs, chloroform). And a great line from Azeneth ("It’s always impressive the first time") showing how efficiently she and her friends can operate.

My favorite scene in the chapter was the brief encounter with the two wardens. I liked the humanizing touch of learning that one of the wardens lost her husband to Tsuki - it was an unexpected moment that was not dwelt upon too long but reminded us that USB victims have interpersonal relationships and losses as well. And you can practically hear the twinge of guilt in Yuka's voice right before she knocks them out. It's also nice to see Nahid develop her own clothes-stealing bona fides, although it's too bad her bodyguards were never named.

Unfortunately, once the action climax kicks in, I began to feel less attached to the story. Not because it wasn't well-written (it was), but because so much of it revolves around Tsuki, who has never been a character I've connected with. She's at last gone completely nuts, but I can't say I find it particularly compelling to watch, especially since she was never grounded enough to sympathize with from the start.

Tsuki propels much of the action in the second half, but even her USB scenes (the only ones for a stretch of the story, for plot-heavy reasons) don't really connect with me. While the emotional climax is largely based around her, I wasn't too impacted by her finish - although I did end up feeling sad for Yuka, so I guess it worked in the end. (Also nice to see Yuka consummate her own love with Rashid - we don't get quite a lot of romance in this series, so that was refreshing.)

I did feel sorry for Safiye, even though she is clearly an awful person (her turn against Astrid was particularly hateful). I know she's got plenty of issues, but I did find her character to be fascinating to watch, and I can't help but feel that her fate is a little too harsh. But of course, I think we've established that I have a softer spot overall for villainous women than you do, and that's perfectly fine.

Anyway, I don't want to sound too negative, as this was certainly a well-written part that served its purpose and tied up a lot of dangling threads. There are just some elements of "Pakal" I like more than others, and this chapter didn't contain quite as much of the series' best elements as prior chapters did. But I look forward to seeing where the story goes as we build toward the conclusion.

[esercito sconfitto]

at some point , in the finale it remembered me of " The Thousand and One Nights"

“Accept his demand.” Safiye added. “Entertain him. Then, once he's under your charms, tell him about your little love story. Pull on his heartstrings, and beg him to help you find true love. He won't be able to refuse it.”

about Safiye, I assume she is stationed in a ( deserved ) and complicated hell

but the real end is heart-breaking , with the well written demise of Tsuki



speaking of her, Tsuki, many thanks for the stolen boots . I take that as a present for me...

[rufusluciusivan]

To tirepanted: Trust me, I can relate with having a hard time to fully appreciate a story because you don't connect with a specific character. I anticipated that the parts centered around Tsuki wouldn't be to your liking, but as you said this chapter was meant to tie up threads. Tsuki is an important part of this series, so she needed a proper send-off.

Personally, I find it interesting (fascinating?) to see how we ended up having polar opposite opinions on the two main 'antagonistic uniform stealers'. As for me, I find Tsuki to be a tragic character, a fundamentally good person corrupted into a monster by things she couldn't control, hence why she gets the 'sad death scene'. (Though in hindsight, I think I know what's missing to make this character appear more sympathetic - moments of clarity. Had I regularly added brief moments of her snapping out of her madness during a few seconds only to be powerless to do anything, perhaps the perception of this character would have been different. If I had to change a thing about her, it would be that.) On the other hand, Safiye is meant to be a nasty piece of work. She ended up more three-dimensional than planned, but the point remains that thousands of people lived through worst things than her (for a start, most of the heroines), and did not become selfish greedy hypocrites. I didn't find her fate too harsh - I found it deliciously karmic.

In general, as I've confessed several times, I've grown tired of watching morally 'dark grey' characters (and even full-on villainesses) get away with what they did and avoid the consequences of their actions in other stories, so these archetypes in my series couldn't expect to pull out of this story unscathed.

When it comes to Tsuki and Safiye, I think we've touched upon the saddest aspect of writing: Ever since the beginning of Chapter 3, I knew these two characters were going to die. In fact, the first drafts of their death scenes were one of the first things I wrote about them: Their deaths were fully part of their respective character arcs - Tsuki was supposed to spiral further and further into madness until Yuka would have no choice but to put her down. And Safiye was supposed to act like a greedy amoral person, the kind who betrays all the people who look up to her or who says to a woman she'll be gang-raped and laugh about it, in order to make her ultimate comeuppance satisfying. Not revealing anything has been quite hard, I'll tell you that!

As for Yuka... Well, I talk a lot about the villains, but she's the one who's the heart of the story. Therefore, I wanted readers to empathize with her mostly. Hence the scene with the wardens, for instance. I'm glad it worked with you. While Tsuki is a tragic character in her concept, her death is supposed to make you feel sad for Yuka first and foremost: She finally got back her friend... for five minutes before the latter dies. I'm also glad that you appreciated the parts centered around her and Rashid. These were the hardest parts to write - because I needed to develop them enough for their 'love story' to not feel forced, but at the same time I couldn't dwell too much on them because they have nothing to do with uniform stealings. Still, since Yuka's arc is centered around accepting her past losses and going forward with the help of new people, I thought her love story would be interesting.

I'm not fully satisfied with the frequency of the uniform stealings, but I like how they tie in with the story. The ones in the first half showcase the teamwork and efficiency of Yuka's team (plus how Nahid becomes part of it); and the ones in the second half showcase Tsuki's addiction and madness, hence why they are fast-paced, frenzied, completely gratuitous, and don't even bother with the aftermath. (Don't feel too bad for Ichtaca though. People like her have their slaves whipped on a whim, as a former slave Yisüi projected all her past mistreatments on her. Plus, they only prolonged the means of knocking her out by 30 seconds or something, not something that would mess up with their schedule. )

Nahid's bodyguards not being named is pure laziness from my part, I confess. On a more serious note, I think it's linked to the fact that I want to finish this story as quickly as possible, so I didn't want to introduce new 'full-fledged' characters. I don't have much motivation to write (or even to read) as of late, it reminds me of 2019... Most of this part was actually written in the end of December - had I had the same energy as 2020 for instance, I could have written the few remaining parts and posted the story in January. I'm happy you're invested in this story , but as for me I want this series to end.

To esercito sconfitto: Demises of main characters are always important parts of a story. I tried to do justice to both Safiye and Tsuki, as they were important parts of this series. I wanted to give them a proper send-off, even if it meant less emphasis on the uniform stealings for a while.

speaking of her, Tsuki, many thanks for the stolen boots . I take that as a present for me...

All I have to say is that it was NOT a coincidence. And I'll leave it at that...

[tirepanted3]

Personally, I find it interesting (fascinating?) to see how we ended up having polar opposite opinions on the two main 'antagonistic uniform stealers'. As for me, I find Tsuki to be a tragic character, a fundamentally good person corrupted into a monster by things she couldn't control, hence why she gets the 'sad death scene'. (Though in hindsight, I think I know what's missing to make this character appear more sympathetic - moments of clarity. Had I regularly added brief moments of her snapping out of her madness during a few seconds only to be powerless to do anything, perhaps the perception of this character would have been different. If I had to change a thing about her, it would be that.) On the other hand, Safiye is meant to be a nasty piece of work. She ended up more three-dimensional than planned, but the point remains that thousands of people lived through worst things than her (for a start, most of the heroines), and did not become selfish greedy hypocrites. I didn't find her fate too harsh - I found it deliciously karmic.

I guess the difference between Tsuki and Safiye (for me, anyway) is that it's very difficult to get inside Tsuki's head, and often quite unpleasant to try. Like Emery, she operates on a different wavelength than most other characters, and it's tough to connect with her when so often her actions are motivated by insane malice.

Safiye is certainly evil, but she's also notably humanized through the series, especially given that she spends so much time around Tsuki. I don't know if I'd call her a "morally grey" character, as she operates quite selfishly and to wicked ends - but it's interesting to see her portrayed in relatively sympathetic light, even as she operates against the main heroes. That sort of juxtaposition is always something that's appealed to me.

I love the heroes and good characters in your stories a lot, but for various reasons, I've always been particularly interested in the villains, especially when they're properly defined and understandably motivated. My two favorite sets of characters in the Utopia series are Reka and her team and Lizéa and her crew - they're not good people, but they have interesting and nuanced dynamics, on top of supplying a lot of fun dialogue. Safiye isn't quite as funny or defined by her henchwomen (when she has them), but she was a commanding presence who provided an interesting change of pace from the other characters in "Pakal," and I always looked forward to her scenes.