Blood & Carrots Ep. 14

I frowned and looked into her eyes. "Do you think I'm evil?"

Gloria shook her head right away. "No, I don't... I won't lie... meeting you tonight, it's rattled some things loose in me. I don't know what to think, but I know for certain you're a good rabbit, Alice."

"I don't know if I'm a good rabbit, Gloria. However, I don't want to be one of the bad guys either, ya know? I just want my family to live happily." I climbed from the bed and paced a few times in thought.

"What troubles you?" Gloria looked at me curiously.

I decided I would go for broke and just get my answers now. "Do you feel any divine power in me right now?"

Gloria shook her head. "None... you're a void of any radiance whatsoever."

I nodded and thrust my hand forth, summoning my flames. The golden-haired woman jumped back several paces in shock. I held my hand aloft, blue wisps pouring off my fingertips. "How about now?"

Her eyes widened and her mouth gaped. "T-that's impossible... you're giving off more radiance than some of the elite celestials!"

I snorted and pulled heavily from my reserves, bringing my flames to a glowing white, as I had done during my training with my master. "What about now, celestial?" I spoke the words in a haughty voice, the energy pushing against my will.

Gloria had to shield her eyes from me and winced. "C-can you stop? It hurts..."

I frowned and doused the flames at her pained voice. "A-are you okay?"

"Yeah..." She shuddered and rubbed at her eyes as if she had been staring into the sun. "We see divine energy on a different spectrum, that was... scary..."

I shook my head and stepped toward her to take her hands, but she flinched back slightly and I frowned. "Gloria..."

She shook her head and frowned. "What are you Alice? Do you even know what you are?"

I shivered and turned away, looking down. "I guess I don't... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to shake you..."

I felt her arms around me and drawing me against her chest from behind. "I'm sorry... I was just in shock... I still think you're a good person though... don't be sad..." Her words came out gentle, like a saint speaking to a lost soul.

I blinked and leaned into her, letting her hold me. "I really don't know what I am anymore... I don't even know if I'm what I was, to begin with..."

"That's normal..." She spoke the words pointedly into my ears.

I showed my teeth and growled. "What the fuck do you mean, it's normal? How is that normal?"

She kept me held close and I felt her shrug. "Life... the world... it changes us. That's the nature of things. Existence is constantly adapting and changing. Do not let it weigh on you... so long as you keep your principles, so long as you strive to be a good being, it will be alright..."

I felt myself ease in her grip, felt her will wash over me. It wasn't like Elias's energy. His was an aura of strength and comfort, hers was of a gentle and motherly nature. I sighed and relaxed, letting the concerns fade from me for the time being.

We stayed like that for a time, I'm not sure how long. It was the dream world after all, it could have been seconds or hours. A thought crept into my head and I lifted my ears to speak out to her. "Gloria?"

"What is it, Alice?" She hummed my name in a way that made a shiver cascade down my spine. It took me a moment to recover from the sensation.

"Ah... what about you? Will laying with me cause you problems?" I looked back to her curiously.

The celestial gave a shrug. "If it were revealed? They would surely brand me a heretic. I would no doubt be summarily executed." The dog spoke the words with a surprisingly casual tone.

I pulled from her arms and gave her a shocked stare. "W-why? Why did you lay with me then?"

Gloria gave me a gentle smile. "You showed your honor plainly to me, you showed I could trust you. You offered yourself to me in such a pure and simple way and..."

"And?" I tilted my head curiously.

The golden-haired retriever gave me a bright grin. "I like you."

My eyes widened and I felt tears form in them at her honest words. I felt something change inside me and pushed my forehead to hers with a grin on my face. "I like you too..."

I clicked my tongue while pulling onto the road that led back to the mansion. "The way of things changed after that... I realized I had bigger consequences to consider in my actions. I also came to the realization I had another person to protect, only this one from a force of divine wrath I couldn't even comprehend."

I gave a bitter laugh and shook my head. "I had so many irons in the fire and still do to this day... even after all that's happened..."

You gave me a concerned look at my display of emotion and frustration. I offered you a gentle smile in response. "Do not look upon me as an infallible mistress of pleasure and knowledge, my pet."

I cast my eyes to you and shook my head. "Just as I mentioned with the drink early in my story. There is always a cost to pay. Even you will have prices to pay when the time comes. Never forget that my sweet."

I'm not going to lie, I kick my tail writing these! A single episode can take me twelve to fifteen hours or longer to make after conception, writing, editing, and proofreading! If you enjoy this, support me, please? Vote, Fave, Comment, offer feedback, or anything else. Thank you, and as always, I'm nothing without your support!