Banished Pt. 13

"Nathan! I need you to remember, it's important, please..."

"Baba, don't go. I don't want you to go!"

"Please, baby. Remember. You are more than just a tool!"

***

"Ahh!"

I woke up with a jolt, and Cameron turned back to look at me, her brow wrinkled with concern.

She was sitting on the window frame, bathed in that pale silvery light, and I had a slight feeling of déjà vu as I caught the outline of her naked form; but this time there was one difference, and while it was only slightly noticeable still, the difference it made to me was astronomical.

"That must have been one hell of a nightmare," she said, as she moved to my side and cradled my head into her bosom.

"I'm guessing Lucia left," I said, nodding to her fully nude form, and she smiled timidly, then nodded.

I nuzzled her chest affectionately, and she giggled in response, but as I let out a sigh, and relaxed into her embrace, she furrowed her brow and studied me.

"What was the dream about?" she asked, as she moved to the bed, and gave me a little tug, urging me to follow.

I crept over to the edge of the bed, then rested my head against my arm, as I looked up at her.

"It was... strange. I dreamt my grandmother's final moments of life, but... there was something different about it."

"Different? How?"

"Like... she said something that I didn't remember happening. Maybe it was just a dream, but... it felt so real. Like a memory, rather than a dream."

Cameron ran her fingers through my hair, and massaged my scalp soothingly.

"What did she say, though?" she asked, and I bit my lip, as I thought about the words.

"That I was more than just a tool," I said. "Actually, now that I think about it, that sounds a lot more like something my mother would have said."

"Your mother?"

I nodded.

"She was a paranoid schizophrenic," I explained, and she studied me. "She really broke down at the end. Was constantly afraid that someone was after her, and that they wanted to take me away from her."

"You would have been little when that happened, right?"

I nodded.

"Did your family ever treat you like a tool?"

I thought about it for a bit, then shook my head.

"My siblings treated me like a nuisance, but my dad always treated me like he did the rest of the kids. He made sure I pursued my education, found a decent job. Even followed up on my life, right until the end. I mean, before I left earth, I was about to take on a job on his behalf. Wait..."

I shook my head, as something else came back to me; my final conversation with Julie.

"What is it?" Cameron asked, as she studied me worriedly.

"My adopted sister... before I was supposed to leave, she begged me not to go. It's strange, now that I think about it. Like she was desperate to stop me, but she wouldn't tell me why. At that time, I thought it was just her being manipulative as usual, but... now it seems strange."

"And you think that has something to do with your grandmother?"

I shook my head.

"My grandmother died when I was eight. It seems unlikely that that's connected; besides, I don't remember my grandmother having any last words, and I was there when she died. My dad had just left the room, and- ah!"

A sharp pain suddenly shot up my head, and Cameron cupped my face with her hands.

"Nate, are you okay?"

She was caressing my face reassuringly, and I nodded in response.

This feels nice, I thought. Why couldn't Julie do things like this?

Actually, fuck that idea.

Why didn't I have a Cameron back then?

"You are everything I ever wanted back on earth," I said, and Cameron's eyes went wide, and she began to blush.

"What are you saying all of a sudden?" she asked, but as I lay back on the bed, she climbed on top of me, and studied me with a curious look.

"When you say things like that, you one hundred percent mean it, huh? Like, that wasn't just meaningless sentiment. You just felt it, and said it as you did..."

I nodded, and she blushed again, before leaning down to kiss me.

"I think I'm starting to fall in love with your 'psychopathic qualities'," she said.

"Really, now?"

"Mhm. Hearing something like that from someone who was just trying to be romantic, or sweet... it's just not the same as hearing it from someone who meant it from their very core."

"My core, huh?" I teased, and she chuckled a little.

"I'm serious, though. Something that real, unfiltered. I don't think I could be satisfied with any kind of love that isn't like that ever again..."

Her fingers trailed along my chest, and I studied her with interest.

"You would probably feel differently if the compliments stopped coming, though... wouldn't you?"

She shook her head.

"If the compliments kept coming and I didn't deserve them; would that be love, even? I'd rather earn them, than hear things that meant nothing... can I take this off, by the way?"

She tapped my armor, and I nodded as she got up and helped me strip the thing off, and I quickly removed my shirt and arm guards as well.

"Much better," she said contentedly, as she snuggled up against my naked chest.

I let out a soft purring sound, as I felt the soft fatty mounds of her breasts mash against my skin, and she kissed me again before settling down, and trailing her fingers along my arms and shoulders.

"You know, usually I really hate muscly guys, but I have to admit; this is nice," she said.

"Hn~. And how do I know you aren't just after me for my body?" I teased, and she grinned wickedly at me.

"If the body was all I was after, then I'd probably leave you for Jordan," she said. "I mean this is nice, but have you seen him shirtless, recently? The man is looking like an Adonis..."

"Trust me, I have noticed," I said, and she shot me a teasing smile. "Speaking of Jordan, though... things have been looking a little tense lately, between him and Nolan."

She nodded.

"Yeah, I'm more or less avoiding Nolan completely now, but... I've actually started talking to Jordan a bit more. At first, I thought he'd be a little pissed at me, but I don't think he holds me responsible for... whatever it is that Nolan's going through."

"What is Nolan going through?" I asked, and she shrugged.

"Maybe he had more feelings for me than he realized. Maybe he thought he'd have more time on earth with me to say that?"

"Maybe he needs to chill out before someone kicks his ass," I finished, and Cameron giggled.

"Oh my. Is my feelings-less lover jealous?"

"It's been annoying me recently," I admitted, and she poked my cheeks playfully in response.

"You know, I did watch you get blown by two different girls yesterday," she teased.

"Did that make you feel jealous?"

She shook her head.

"None of them are carrying your baby," she said.

"What if someone is?" I asked, and she eyed me.

"Goddess, or Kobalt?"

"Kobalt," I answered, and she waved a hand dismissively.

"Can't be helped, then. You do have your duties as God-king."

"What if it is one of the girls?"

"Oh, it will be. Sooner or later," she said, and I eyed her.

"Would that make you jealous?" I asked.

"I'd still be your first. Although, I guess it depends... if you go all softie and start giving her special treatment that's supposed to be reserved for your first wife only, then I'd probably be pissed."

"Well, there is a solution for that," I said, and Cameron eyed me.

"Yeah? What's that?"

"Give me more babies," I suggested, and she scoffed, before climbing back into my arms.

We kissed for a bit, and she let out a sigh.

"Let's just see how we do with the first one, huh? What if we're terrible parents?"

"For once, I actually don't think that'll be a problem. Unlike on earth; at least where we're from; most of the kids born here are gonna have an entire community raising them."

"That's good. With the way you treat Lucia, I'd worry you'd wander off into the woods with them, then be like, 'woops, think I lost it. Make another, will ya'?"

I snickered at the joke, then ruffled Cameron's hair playfully.

There was some movement outside, and as I cast a tentative look towards the window, Cameron frowned.

"Your people are calling, huh?"

I sighed.

"We're probably gonna be busy getting things set up here. Plus, I'm sure Palancar will be around to talk."

I stretched, and Cameron reluctantly released me as I got up.

She helped me get dressed, then gave me a kiss on the lips.

"God, I feel like I'm sending my husband off to work, or something. Fuck, I hate that kind of stuff."

"But it feels kinda nice, huh?"

"It does," she conceded, cringing a little, but as I headed for the door, she pulled me back in for one more kiss.

"Break a leg... and two arms, if you have to," she said, and I smirked.

I smiled as she saw me off, but as I walked down the corridor and came to my room, I felt that curious feeling again.

Casey?

Why was she in there again?

I focused on the image of her, and she was sitting on the bed, but as I paid attention to the image, I noted that she seemed to be shaking her leg, a little nervously.

What's going on with you, Casey?

She stood up and began to make for the door, and I quickly, but silently, darted down the corridor and around the bend just as the door opened.

I checked on the image of her in my mind, and she only looked down the corridor for a second, before heading towards Cameron's room.

I kept my eye on her, when suddenly, I spotted Bianca rounding the corner from the other end of the corridor.

Her eyes lit up, and I was sure she was about to yell my name, but I quickly signaled to her to stop.

She tilted her head at me, then nodded, and as I beckoned, she moved quickly to my side.

"What's going on?" she mouthed.

"Recon," I answered, and she nodded, a look of intense determination on her face.

"Fuck yeah, let's get this scumbag!"

"What? What scumbag?"

"Whoever this 'recon' is," she said, and I facepalmed, perhaps a little louder than I'd intended.

"Come on, we're spying," I clarified, and I focused on Casey's image just as Cameron let her into the room.

"Do you know whose rooms these are?" I asked, gesturing to the ones on either side of Cameron's, and Bianca shook her head.

"Mine is over there, though," she said, indicating a room one door down.

"Let's go."

As soon as we were inside, I moved to the window, and smiled as I found the outer platform running alongside the rooms that I was looking for.

I climbed on, and Bianca followed, watching my back as I crept to the window outside of Cameron's room.

From up here, I was visible from outside, but this side of the tree faced away from the cluster's center and it was still dark out, so hopefully, I would escape being seen.

"You're not here to ask about my baby, are you? What do you really want?"

As I crept closer to the room, I wondered if Bianca heard the part about the baby, but she didn't seem to show any kind of reaction.

"I need you to talk to Nate about Leanna."

"What about Leanna?" Cameron asked.

"She's dangerous," Casey said.

"Then tell Nate. He'll deal with it."

"I did, but he won't. Which is the problem."

Cameron let out a little laugh, and I focused my attention, trying my best not to miss a word.

"If he won't do anything, then he probably doesn't think she's dangerous," Cameron said.

"But she is. I mean, she went for a weapon yesterday..."

"As in, tried to steal one?"

"No."

"Then give me some context."

Casey relayed the scene with Francesca, and the training.

"So, she tried to pick up a weapon that fell on the floor? That doesn't sound the way you're making it sound..."

"Nate didn't want her to even touch it. He even called me over to intervene."

"So what? It just means he doesn't want her to have a weapon right now. I mean, he felt the same way about Bianca for a few days, but she can handle a weapon now with no problem. And I don't know if you realized but if it wasn't for her, Nate and a lot of us might have died in that last fight."

Casey seemed annoyed.

"Nate isn't thinking straight, here," she said.

"Huh? And what makes you think that?"

Casey went silent for a bit.

"Look, I don't know okay? Maybe he likes playing dangerous games, or maybe he just wants..."

"What? To sleep with her?"

Cameron laughed out loud this time.

"Are you fucking kidding me? Nate could do that right now if that's all he cared about. If he's doing this, then I believe that he's doing it for a reason. Maybe you should stop thinking with your little head, and just try to think clearly about it."

"My what? Ugh, seriously. I thought you would understand," Casey said.

"Why? Did you think we would just get along just because we're both sleeping with him? Form a nice little fraternity as 'Nate's Lovers'?"

"No, I just thought you cared about him enough to take this seriously!"

"I do care about him. Enough to trust his judgement, unlike someone else," Cameron said.

This was getting heated, but Bianca seemed to be almost cackling.

"So good," she mouthed at me, and I shook my head at her in response.

"Look, this is probably difficult to deal with," Cameron said, a little softer now. "You care about him a lot, and it's tough seeing him with other girls. Now don't get me wrong, he's probably enjoying it; who wouldn't? And I dunno what you know about his life on earth, but I think he kind of deserves this a little bit. But he's not just doing it because he wants to. Nate is managing these relationships really carefully, and in a way that's helping everyone cope with their own crap."

"So, you don't think he can make mistakes? Or do you not remember that Emily happened?" Casey asked.

"Is Emily Nate's fault alone?"

"He put a weapon in her hand."

"A mistake, sure, but one he made while panicking over you being stabbed."

"That's not the only thing he was doing that night," Casey said, and I gulped, as I suddenly became aware of who was at my side.

Bianca was listening intently, though, and while I instinctively felt the need to get her away from what was coming next, I quickly figured out how I could use it to my advantage.

"What are you talking about?"

"When Emily killed Candace, he was off somewhere bedding the princess' sister," Casey said, and Cameron scoffed.

"You're twisting things again. There were diplomatic reasons behind that decision."

Interesting.

I never told Cameron about that, but I guess she's learning to play the game.

Bianca was shooting me a dirty look, and I quickly stressed that she needed to keep quiet.

"Don't you think it's funny that all of Nate's diplomatic decisions involve sleeping with women?" Casey asked.

"I dunno. Why don't you ask yourself why every problem you have with Nate's decisions revolve around who he might sleep with?"

"This was a mistake. Thanks for nothing," Casey said, and as I heard the door slam, I ushered Bianca along, back to her room.

"You fucked the princess' sister?" Bianca asked, incredulously. "Is there anyone but me that you won't fuck? Sheesh-"

I put a finger to Bianca's lips, silencing her, and as she saw the intense expression on my face, she went quiet.

"I can't trust Casey anymore," I said.

Bianca eyed me.

"Does that mean I get to be your advisor?"

I shook my head in response.

"You are smart, and you... I trust."

"Then why not?"

"Because, there's something more important that you can be to me."

"Like what?"

"My ace," I replied, and she studied me.

"Does that mean you'll have sex with me?"

"No," I replied, and she put her hands on her hips and pouted in response.

"Wha-? But, why?" she whined, and I smiled at her, and ruffled her hair affectionately as the response was quite cute, but that didn't seem to please her.

"You said you wanted to be important to me, right?"

"Well, yeah, but-"

I placed a finger against her lips, cutting her off once more, then kissed her just as I let my fingers trail away.

"Right now, you can be the single most important person on this planet to me."

She studied me; her breath caught in her throat a little.

"Nathan... you're not just saying that, are you?"

I shook my head.

"How do I know that I can trust you?" she asked, a little uncertainly.

"Ask me anything; I'll answer truthfully."

She studied me for a bit.

"Do you want to have sex with me?"

"Yes."

She grumbled, then shot me a wary look, that again, looked quite cute.

"Who was the most important person to you; before?"

"Casey," I said.

"And before that?"

"Francesca, I guess?"

Bianca scowled.

"But you don't want a new advisor?"

I shook my head.

"Or a fighter?"

I shook my head again.

"Then, what do you want?"

"An observer," I said, and I snickered a little as her jaw dropped.

It was, after all, the initial role I'd suggested for her.

"Seriously? That again?"

"I need one now. More than anything else. Besides, you've already been observing things, haven't you...?"

She blushed a little, then nodded, and I ruffled her hair playfully again.

"So, you want me to observe Casey?"

"Casey, and everyone else."

"And if I do this for you; I'll be the most important person to you?"

"Yes."

"Like, for realsies?"

"Yes," I said, chuckling a little. "This is what you wanted, right? More than the sex?"

She made a whining sound, and was biting her finger, a restless look on her face.

"Nate... what if I still want it?"

"Want what?"

"The sex," she said, her voice muffled partially by the finger in her mouth.

"Then you know my terms," I said, and she frowned.

"But, why? If I'm important, then-"

"Then all the more reason to do this right."

"Don't you wanna at least see what Molly taught me?" she whined, and I chuckled.

"Do I ever, but... not now. Sex actually drains my core, and expending energy this early in the day might put me in danger."

Bianca eyed me with a cheeky look, but as I moved in and kissed her, she smiled.

"You owe me some naked cuddling," she said, taking my hands and swaying girlishly as she leaned back, suspending her weight in my grasp.

I released her with a wicked grin, and she panicked for a moment before falling back onto her bed.

"Not funny," she complained, but I cut her protest short by moving in for another kiss.

"My 'trusty advisor' might come calling soon, so I doubt we have the time to enjoy that cuddle time to its fullest right now, but... maybe I can make it up to you."

I climbed onto the bed, straddling her, and she scooted back as I leaned in and kissed her again.

"How?" she asked, her breathing showing a little sign of irregularity, as she stared into my eyes.

"Let me put you to bed," I said, and she cooed pleasurably as I kissed her neck this time.

I let my finger trail the outline of her scarring, frowning as I did.

"Why aren't these fading?" I asked, as I kissed the spot again.

"I kind of like it," she said. "I hated getting those 'delicate flower' looks anyway."

I traced the bruising with my fingers.

"Beautiful scars tell better stories than beautiful faces anyway," I said, before kissing her on the lips this time.

Bianca squirmed a little, her arms tentatively moving to my chest, and around my neck, and I noted with amusement that she seemed to give in to the kiss much more readily now.

She still wasn't a confident kisser, but feeling her melt under me filled me with a sense of satisfaction.

"You know, those limits I placed on where we can kiss... they don't apply to your body," I said, trailing a finger down her neck to the space between her breasts.

She shifted a little in my arms.

I kissed her again on the neck, and she made a soft, cooing sound, but to my surprise, she pushed me away.

"Nate... I don't want to," she said softly, and I studied her.