A Life More Ordinary Ch. 04

"Alright, so, until I got here, Agent X or whatever was only able to collect a tiny amount of energy at a time, so it would need to store it up for a while to achieve its goals or do anything else, right?"

Melvyn nodded. "But if you jump start the system, there's more energy available to siphon off safely, which means it has extra to play with."

"Or to accelerate its timeline." Maru added. The color drained from Kay's face.

"And I've got a big harvest due in Wednesday."

Kay and Melvyn started discussing options, like holding off on harvesting or going celibate, but nothing seemed workable. Maru, on the other hand, studied the map. It seemed so familiar to her. When she finally recognized it, the solution seemed incredibly simple.

"Hey, can't you just restrict the flow of energy out of the farm?"

Kay and Melvyn turned to her.

"This looks like a circuit diagram," Maru explained, "could you put in something like magical resistors or capacitors here at the farm and prevent the extra energy from leaving so quickly?"

Melvyn slapped his forehead. "Of COURSE, we can! Why didn't I think of that!" He immediately looked crestfallen. "Oh, wait, we'd need to tie the excess energy into a structure of some variety, otherwise it would build and build until it blew out the circuit."

"What would that look like?" Kay asked.

"Meteor impact, essentially." They both frowned at that.

"How about the cabin?"

Melvyn shook his head. "Unless you're comfortable living inside a magical battery, I wouldn't recommend it."

"The greenhouse?" Maru offered.

"It needs to be an intact structure. We try to use the greenhouse in the shape its in, there'd be energy zip zapping all over the place."

Kay had an idea. "How big does it need to be?"

"Bigger would be able to contain more energy, other than that, a small hut, a well maybe, heck, even a few more wooden chests like you have outside already."

"What time is it?"

Melvyn withdrew an ornate pocket-watch from a robe pocket. "I have 4:15."

"Maru, how late does Robin keep the shop open on Sundays?"

"Until 5, why?"

Kay grabbed her pack and counted her current savings. She was incredibly glad Willy bought the fish she'd caught earlier, that was enough to put her over.

"Melvyn, can you write up a brief technical overview of what's happening here? I think we need Astria for this."

"Sure," Melvyn replied, summoning a stack of parchment and a writing quill. "Don't get me wrong, I'd really appreciate the help. But, are you okay with your sisters finding out where you are?"

"You have sisters?!" Maru goggled. She tried to not imagine multiple versions of Kay taking her and Haley to the Bone Zone and failed miserably.

"I don't think we can afford the privacy anymore. Maru, do you mind staying here and keeping an eye on Haley and Abby? I'll be back soon."

Maru nodded, half-hearing in the midst of a very dirty thought, and Kay dashed out the door.

*****

Robin considered closing up a few minutes early, she was getting pretty hungry and wanted to get to dinner (Demetrius had already been cooking for a while, but she thought she might get a sneak preview). She put down her latest architectural drawings and started to stand when the front door slammed open and Kay rushed over to the counter. "Please tell me you're still open!" the farmer said, her face a deeper shade of violet than normal.

"Hi, Kay, yeah," Robin said, startled. "What can I do for you?"

The farmer dropped a large pouch of coins on the counter.

"I need a silo, and I need it by Wednesday."

*****

Abby and Haley were still snoring away by the time Kay got back. Maru thought they looked adorable together, they had started spooning in their sleep with Abby as big spoon, hers and Haley's arms entwined around Haley's bust. Kay thought about clearing her throat in an attempt at waking them but decided against it, that would be mean.

She and Melvyn laid out plans for the farm. Robin said the silo would actually be ready by Tuesday, and she would come out to start work in the morning. Melvyn would come by later to lay in the enchantments necessary, preferably while Robin was on a break of some sort. He would also start putting in the other spells necessary that night. As he did that, Kay sat down to write one of the most difficult letters of her life.

*****

Dearest Astria,

I wish to begin by begging the forgiveness of you, Thalia, Rosaria, and Vendria. I know that my betrayal and abandonment of you merits no mercy or quarter, and that I may never convince you of the necessity of my flight. Please believe that I had no other alternatives, and that I miss you all terribly every day.

You may remember the name Daniel Gardner from some of my past interrogation reports. He was a Republic sergeant we captured in a sortie off the Angmearan coast and with whom I started a friendly correspondence after his escape. It was through the generosity of he and his wife, Kimberly, that I had a place to escape to, and it is from that farm outside of Pelican Town in Ferngill that I write to you today.

This valley is vibrant with life and people, beyond anything I have experienced in Gotoro. The world is brighter, the air is cleaner. But there is something deeply wrong here, something interfering with the natural flow of life-force that threatens to drive the town and its people to misery and ruin. I have been here but a week, but already I feel a part of this community, and I have grown especially close to a number of people. These bonds are not the same as the bonds we sisters share, but they are important to me, and I wish to protect them to the best of my abilities.

I would now like to introduce Melvyn Rasmodius, Sorcerer of the First Realm of Ephisius (amongst other titles). He is the local wizard of this community, and he is far removed from the character of same with which we are sadly familiar. He has kindly provided a more technical overview of the problem, which I include here, and we humbly ask for your assistance and advice in this matter. I understand if you are disinclined to provide same.

I love you all dearly, now and always. Please keep me in your thoughts, as I keep you in mine.

Love, Kaylia

*****

"I said BRIEF!" Kay stared at the stack of pages Melvyn placed on the table.

"Trust me, that is brief." Melvyn protested. He proffered a large manila envelope, which Kay addressed. Melvyn then carefully slid his dissertation into the envelope and held it open as Kay inserted her letter on top. He sealed it and set it down on the table.

"How long would it take to get there normally?" he asked. Kay furrowed her brow.

"About a week, usually." That was too slow, and they both knew it. She looked at Melvyn, searching his purple eyes, and he nodded.

"She's going to find out about me already, no sense putting it off." He rolled up his sleeves, held his hands over the envelope, muttered an incantation, and the envelope vanished with a *snap*. Kay felt relief that they'd asked for help, but also anxiety about what the response would be.

"That's done." Melvyn said with a nod. "Now, what about Maru?"

"What about Maru?!" Kay and Maru asked in unison. Melvyn held his hands up in defense.

"Hey, I have to ask! I mean, you wanted to keep a low profile; that's pretty difficult when there are witnesses to you going all Man and Machine, Power Xtreme."

Kay shook her head in disbelief. "The Centurions? Really?"

"Anyway!" Melvyn turned to Maru. "I would put you under the Sleep of Ages and cast a memory charm, it'll make the afternoon seem like an intense dream. Then, Kay is just a normal, non-transforming farmer again. You'd probably have to stay away from each other for a while, or else the charm might break and you'd remember everything, but I can help with that part too."

"Now wait a second," Kay said, "that's a lot to dump on someone. I wouldn't want a wizard messing around in my head if it were me."

"Kay."

Maru sat down and laid her hand over Kay's. Kay saw a look of deep affection in Maru's eyes, the girl's glasses doing nothing to detract from the beauty of her violet pools.

"I'm gonna go look to those wards," Melvyn said, making a quick yet graceful exit.

"I want to help. If that means putting some feelings on the back burner for a while as a wizard rewrites my memories, I can do that. I want to do that." She smiled, blushing a little. "I mean, I'd really like to get to know you better, and so would Haley, and I really want to know what it would be like to kiss you, cards on the table, so I'm willing to wait until you're ready. I just need you to remind me afterwards that I'm telling my parents about me and Haley tonight."

Kay teared up for the whatevereth time that day. How was it so easy to catch deep feelings for every cursed member of this community? She closed her eyes, reaching a decision with surprising ease.

"No. When Haley and Abby wake up, you get everything. I mean, I'd prefer it if you kept it to yourselves, but I won't stop you if you need to tell others." Kay chewed on her lip in thought. "I should probably tell Leah, too."

"Why Leah?" Maru asked, this theoretical relationship was getting crazy complicated.

"She was here for the phantasm, that's how I knew Abby and Haley wouldn't remember and why I thought you wouldn't either."

They sat there for a moment, holding hands quietly.

"Seriously, though," Maru said, "you have sisters?"

"Five of them." Kay smiled. "I miss them, one of them especially."

"I can't wait to hear about them." Maru sighed. "So, um, while I have you alone, could I get some advice about my parents?"

*****

The green tea was just ready as the girls started to awaken. They had shifted further and their legs were now as entwined as their arms.

"Gosh, how cute are they?" Maru asked Kay quietly. Kay was a little concerned about what might happen in Abby's pants.

"...mmm, hey." Abby was the first to say something, she assumed to Kay. She pulled the girl in closer.

"Hi," Haley said, enjoying the arms and legs wrapped around her. Her butt was making contact with something firm, and she also assumed she was in bed with Kay. She wiggled her butt against it and got a soft moan in response.

"Hey, you two," Kay said, "there's some tea when you're ready."

"Thanks, Kay," they said in unison. Kay turned to Maru and counted down on her fingers. 3... 2... 1...

"Thanks, Kay?!" they said again. They disentangled and Haley turned around.

"Uhh..." Abby was struck dumb by Haley's brilliant blue eyes for a brief moment. "S-sorry, I thought you were Kay."

"Obviously," Haley said, taking in Abby's rounded face. "You normally wear a strap-on under your pants?"

Abby looked positively mortified. "I, uh... was I..."

Haley smirked. "A little." She rolled out of the bed gracefully and accepted a cup from Kay before sitting next to Maru. Kay brought another cup over to Abby as she sat up. The purple-haired girl accepted it and a soft kiss on the cheek.

"How are you feeling?" Kay asked.

"Ugh," Abby replied, "like I've been buried in cement." She sipped at the tea. "I had a real trippy dream, though."

"Me, too." Haley said. "We were walking up to the cabin, we saw you," she indicated Abby, "and then we started fighting?"

Abby nodded. "Yeah, that happened to me, too. You said something bitchy, and then I said something bitchy, and I felt like I needed to slap your stupid face, I was so angry at you."

Haley nodded. "Did Maru try to break us up and we sniped at her?"

"She did! Uh, sorry Maru." Maru smiled and waved it off.

"But then Kay was there, right? Told us to stop in her 'yes, mistress' voice?" Haley continued. Kay raised an eyebrow at that.

"Yeah! And then she punched me!" Abby said it like it was the proudest moment of her life.

"She punched me too!" Haley suddenly covered her mouth. "I think it's because I said something I shouldn't have."

Maru looked concerned. "What do you mean?"

"...I think I called Kay a dickgirl." Maru and Abby gasped. Kay thought it interesting how Haley interpreted the revenant's influence as being her own internal voice.

"You can't use that word!" Maru and Abby said in unison.

"That's super disrespectful!" Maru added.

"I know! It just popped in there!" Haley turned to Kay in contrition. "I'm sorry I called you that."

"Apology accepted." Kay smiled warmly, which had an effect on all three girls.

Abby started to get suspicious. "Is it just me, or is it really weird that Haley and I had the same dream."

Kay sighed. "It would be, if it had been a dream."

*****

Kaylia told them everything.

She started at the beginning with her creation by Imperial wizards along with her five Bladesisters, each designed to fulfill a specific role within the Empire while also perfectly subservient to the Emperor and the wizards, and how Astria prevented the gross parts of that conditioning. She gave a brief demonstration of her talents, showed off the armor and talked about the Galactic weapon she had bound, the Galaxy Spear, Lance of the Cosmos. She described her centuries of service, the Peerless Tactician leading the armies of Gotoro to victory upon victory. She talked about her sisters, especially Zoria, the Faceless Mask, the youngest, Kaylia's deepest love and most passionate lover. She described the brutality of the Empire, especially its rulers, her subversion of their harshest orders, and her growing unease.

They had all crowded onto the bed as she described her relationship with Daniel Gardner, then a young man in his early twenties, and the friendship that grew out of their 'interrogations'. She brought out the letters then, 45 years of correspondence that the girls paged through as she reminisced. They couldn't believe the utterly filthy things the Gardners wrote about, the picture it painted of a loving but incredibly horny couple was completely at odds with the sweet grandparents they all remembered. They all teared up over the loss of the Gardners' daughter, Kay and Z's last night together before the Faceless Mask left on a mission from which she would not return, and especially Daniel's last letter before he passed on. Kay cried with them, and they shared a massive hug. Finally, Kay described her escape, and her realization that her sisters knew she was leaving. The rest, they knew, mostly. She filled in the details of their fight, how they had been influenced by malicious spirits who fed on anger.

Abby drew Kay into a kiss first, deep and slow. When it broke, Haley and Maru looked at each other, then Maru leaned over and kissed Kay as well, soft and tentative. Haley pulled Kay to her to finish the job, her kiss hot and passionate. Kay sat there when they finished, a little shell-shocked, more so when Haley added "Preview of coming attractions" afterwards.

"Thank you for trusting us," Maru said.

Kay looked at all of them in turn. "You deserve to know. If we're going to be... I mean, if you want to..." She was incredibly flustered, almost like her first time with Zoria.

"Hey," Abby said, taking her hand, "no secrets, right? If we're going to be together, there's no secrets." Kay nodded. Abby smiled, then turned to Maru and Haley. If there were going to be anyone she told first, it would be Maru.

"I'm not wearing a strap-on," she declared, "I'm intersex, like Kay is but a little different."

Maru nodded as though it made perfect sense, Abby's revelation explaining the 'jerking off' comments from earlier. "Thank you for telling us! I kind of wondered why you preferred men's pants."

Haley had a slightly different reaction. "Holy shit, you have a dick? What are you packing?! It felt huge against my ass!"

Abby blushed. "I mean, it's not that-"

"Eight-and-a-half," Kay interrupted, "maybe about, what, six-and-a-half around?"

"Damn!" Haley responded. "How's it compare?" she asked Kay.

"She's got me by an inch and one-and-a-half, respectively," Kay admitted, "but I bet I have more experience. AND mine is purple, which is always fun." She waggled her eyebrows lasciviously, sending the girls into fits of laughter.

"We should go," Maru said as they recovered. She got up and gave Kay a big hug, their chests squashing together pleasantly. "Thank you so much, for everything." Haley got up and did likewise.

"Good luck, let me know how it goes and if you need me to say something." Kay responded. The girls nodded and left for Maru's house. Kay turned to Abby as they left.

"That was brave," Kay commented, "sorry I gave them your measurements without thinking though, I should have let you tell them."

"That's fine, they wouldn't have believed me without corroboration, anyway."

"We never got around to why you stopped by."

Abby nodded, leaning in to kiss Kay again when she remembered. "Oh! Shit! Right! Mom gave me a blowjob!"

"Ni-" Kay stopped herself, she realized that this wasn't a brag. Abby's face showed deep concern. "Okay," Kay eventually responded. "Tell me everything that happened."

*****

The Wright family always made it a point to eat dinner together. Breakfast and lunch were usually informal affairs given everyone's different schedules, but dinner was 6PM sharp, always. Robin and Demetrius switched cooking duties regularly, and this particular Sunday dinner was a Demetrius affair: spicy jambalaya, the recipe handed down through generations of Wright men and women.

"Smells good, D," Robin said as she set the table. Sebastian was already seated, leaning back against the wall and writing in a graph notebook. Maru had checked in earlier and would be along presently. Robin thought Maru seemed a little nervous and wondered what was on her daughter's mind.

"Hey, slugger," Demetrius said to Sebastian, "take the filé for the table?"

"Sure thing, Pops," Seb replied, taking the thin glass jar from Demetrius and walking it back to the table. Theirs was a casual relationship; Sebastian was a toddler when Robin remarried, and Demetrius tried to be as good a father to Seb as he was to Maru, but they never really connected as father and son. It was clear that Maru was his favorite, and Seb was okay with that, she was his actual daughter after all. Sebastian still felt on the outside occasionally and his relationship with Maru clearly suffered for it.

Maru entered the kitchen and sat down next to Sebastian. It was rapidly approaching zero hour, and not even a quick 69 with Haley helped defuse her anxiety. Haley promised she'd be there for her, no matter what, and that her place was always open if she needed a safehouse for a bit. Maru hoped it wouldn't be necessary.

"Alright, dinner is served!" Demetrius announced, ladling the stew into bowls and passing them out. As the steam rose and the smell hit her nose, Maru started to feel a little better and also extremely hungry. She tore a hunk off the baguette Robin placed on the table and waited until everyone was served and seated before tucking in.

"Someone's hungry!" Robin laughed. The meal started pleasantly, everyone commenting on the jambalaya; Sebastian and Robin started chugging water after taking it on a little too quickly, the spice levels overwhelming their tolerances, while Maru thought it could go hotter and said as much. Demetrius wagged his head, considering the suggestion. Eventually, things settled down and the usual table discussion commenced.

"Miss Gardner's already putting in a silo!" Robin said. "Came over here right before I closed up, dropped the money on the counter, and said she needed it by Wednesday."

"I thought I heard her come in earlier!" Demetrius said. "She way why by Wednesday?"

"No," Robin shook her head, "I haven't built any coops or barns for her yet, so I can't figure what she'd need a silo for unless it's to start storing feed."