Goblin Queen's Plan Ch. 02

"Can I just say that I'd like to wait to make any decisions that might affect our future together?"

"That's a very unchildlike thing to ask," I said, "and yes."

At that, she gave me a peck on the lips and everything was suddenly better.

"Well, now," I said, a little shocked at the rapid change in her demeanor.

"Quit," she ordered, blushing.

I laughed and said, "Let's start over, please. Would you like a gift?"

"Yes, please," she said, her green eyes sparkling.

"Queen Zora has ordered me to give you one. Are you ready?"

"Yes," she said, quickly growing serious.

"Lie with your heart over mine and lay very still. Okay?"

"Yes."

"Just like I told Imka," I said to her, "you'll need to let me know when you think it's done. I'll try to watch to see but I'd like you to tell me."

"Okay."

"I'm going to wrap my arms around you - to help keep you still. Okay?"

"Yes," she said, smiling.

"Here we go ..."

I connected my heart to hers - as I had with Imka. I "watched" her vital signs. I studied the blood - flowing back and forth between us - and got so focused that missed her excited cries.

A shadow fell across my face and I looked up to see Zora kneeling with her hand on Egla's shoulders. She looked concerned. I went back to watching the "colors" of our blood flowing back and forth. Several minutes later, all differences between the two had disappeared.

The shadow moved and I saw Zora standing to her feet. Egla was asleep. As soon as she started stirring, I began removing the arteries connecting our bodies together, closing up the openings I'd made.

"Can I sit up?" she asked.

"Yes, honey," I told her.

She sat right on top of my stomach. I tightened the muscles there to support her weight. She was ignoring me. She was staring at her hands.

Zora started to ask her what was happening when a swallow flew down and landed in her right palm. The bird stared into Egla's face, its head tilted to one side. Soon a half-dozen other small birds - of various kinds - landed on her arms, wrists, and hands. They chittered to one another and each took a turn looking at the girl's face.

All of the sudden, they flew into the air. Egla stood, picked up her dress, and put it on. She grabbed the front and held it out like a basin or a basket. Within a minute or two, each of the birds had returned, carrying a ripe berry. It dropped its cargo in her dress and landed on her shoulders or - when there was no more room - at her feet. She giggled with glee.

She turned to Zora and exclaimed, "I can talk to them!"

"That's fantastic!" Zora replied.

Reav ran over, grabbed a handful of berries from her skirt, and popped them into his mouth, moaning.

"Glutton!" she accused, laughing.

Imka brought over a bowl and Egla emptied the rest of the berries into it.

I was sitting on the ground. She ran over, pounced on me, and gave me a kiss that was a little more than a friendly 'thank you'.

"Congratulations, honey," I told her.

She stood and headed off to explore her new abilities.

When Zora looked at me, I glanced at Reav and quirked an eyebrow. She shrugged. Since I had waited for Egla to ask, I decided maybe I'd wait for the boy to ask as well. He was very small. I really wasn't sure if there was a minimum age at which I should try this.

I tried to think of how old I had been when I discovered that I could heal. I remembered back to when a pup had gotten run over by a cart. His leg had been broken. I had picked him up as he howled. I could feel his pain. I took his pain away and blacked out. When I woke up, a healer had her hands on me. The pup scampered off, completely healed. She took me by the hand and told me to lead her to my mother. She told mam that I had tried to heal the pup, had taken the pain from the mutt into my own body, and had been overwhelmed and passed out. She told my mom that she wanted me to come to the healing house to learn to use my skills properly. I probably wasn't much older than Reav was.

Lost in my thoughts, I didn't notice Reav standing next to me until he spoke.

"Da?"

"Yes, squirt?"

"Can I have magic too?"

I glanced back at Zora and she shrugged again.

"I'm willing to try if you are serious. I don't know if it'll work or not."

"It'll work. I know it," he said.

I was still sitting on the blanket, shirtless. I hugged his waist.

"Get your shirt off, then. You'll have to hold really still."

"I will," he promised, removing his shirt.

I cradled his butt in my arms, hugging him to myself. He laid his head on my shoulder. Zora came over and placed her hand on his bare back. I created the arteries to tie our hearts together. As the blood starting transfusing between us, his breathing turned into short, shallow gulps of air. His heartrate was accelerated. He held still though.

"Doing good, squirt," I told him. "Almost done, I think."

His whole body shivered and he went still. I glanced at Zora and she looked at his face. She nodded. Egla and Imka had come over to watch.

Seeing all of the choppiness (within our blood) disappear, I told them, "I think he'll be waking up any second. As soon as he starts stirring, I'll close off the connection."

Each of them nodded quietly, still watching.

"His eyes are fluttering," Zora warned me.

I started removing the temporary arteries and putting our bodies back to normal.

"Da?"

"Yeah, bud?"

"Can we play Hide & Seek?"

"Why?" I asked.

"Cuz I can hide even better now," he said, grinning broadly.

He sat up on my stomach, looked at the girls, and disappeared.

"Where'd he go?" Egla gasped.

"I can still feel him, sitting on my stomach," I told her. "He's just invisible."

The little troll's turd giggled - and then the weight disappeared.

"He's gone," I said, looking around.

Imka, Egla, and Zora each shrieked in alarm before I felt him jump onto my chest. I wrapped my arms around him. He cackled in laughter and reappeared.

"He!" Imka gasped.

"Poked!" Egla exclaimed.

"Me!" Zora finished.

I looked at Zora, smiled, and said, "Congratulations. We've created a monster."

Reav disappeared again and I grabbed him to tickle him but he teleported away.

"Zora," Imka said, "He's behind you."

"Hey!" Reav complained, "How did you see me?"

"I didn't," she told him. "I tracked you."

"That's cheating!" he exclaimed.

"Reav," I said, trying to get his attention.

He sat on my abs again, still invisible. "Yes, da?"

"You got some very cool magic - but I think you should think about what Imka is teaching you."

"What's that?"

"That you can trick people's eyes but it's harder to trick ears and noses and some people will still be able to find you. You'll still need to be careful - even though you have some cool new abilities that the rest of us wish we had."

"You do? You wish you could do this?"

"Oh, yes. I would love to be able to hide or teleport. But just because you can do special things doesn't mean that you still can't be caught or hurt."

"Okay. It's cool magic though, right?"

"Very cool. I think you're going to be one of Zora's favorite helpers."

"Am I, Queen Zora?" he asked.

She laughed and said, "Yes, squirt."

He reappeared - just before he teleported in front of her and wrapped her in a hug. She gasped in alarm but then returned his embrace.

"My queen?"

"Yes, my king?"

"When you and I shared gifts, we slept."

"You think it might be best to have an early dinner?"

I nodded.

We stewed the rabbit and ate it with some bread. Zora built us a bramble hideaway and soon Imka, Egla, and Reav where snoring. Leaving the kids snuggled together with Imka, Zora and I took a blanket for ourselves and we made love quietly before snuggling together to get some sleep as well.

Dera

As we traveled, each of the newest members of Zora's war-band practiced their skills.

Imka informed us that a wagon train was about an hour ahead of us and that several deer had crossed the road earlier that morning, heading west. Egla sent swallows scouting to our left and right - with another searching the road ahead. Reav stayed invisible until his mana depleted. I told him how to mediate to restore his pool of magic and he walked quietly beside me until his mana returned - and then he disappeared once more.

"The wagons are under attack!" Egla shouted

We jogged ahead as Egla's feathery scout relayed more information to her - which she passed to us.

Several minutes later, we arrived at the scene of the ambush. One wagon was on fire; a second one had a broken wheel. There were bodies lying scattered around the area. Imka reported that the rest of the wagons had taken off, leaving these two behind.

Glancing to the left, she told Zora that she knew which way the raiders had gone. She told her how many there were, and what animals they had taken. She said there were no prisoners but that she thought Zora, Imka, and the kids would have no trouble eliminating the bandits and recovering the stolen goods & animals.

Zora came to check on me. I had found a woman who was barely alive. "Go! I can save this one. I'll look for others as soon as she's out of danger. I'll be right here. I'm of little use in a fight anyway."

She motioned for Imka to lead the way and the two of them started telling the kids how they were going to handle the conflict. I focused on my patient.

She had hit her head hard and had been knocked out. That had probably saved her from being raped or kidnapped. I placed both of my hands on her scalp and started reducing the swelling in her brain, healing the bruises, mending the skull fractures, and smoothing the scars from her skin and internals.

Her lower body was bruised and scraped in a few areas and I dealt with those issues as well. I left her to rest as I went to check on the others. They were beyond my abilities.

I found a tattered blanket and beat the fire out on the lead wagon. I looked around the area for anything of value but everything that remained was broken, torn, or burned.

I returned to check on my patient. She was still unconscious. She was not fat, by any means, but there was a little more meat on her bones than the other females in our group. Her straight green hair was darker than Reav's but lighter than Imka's or Zora's. She wore a headband to keep it under control. It was a little longer than Egla's. Her eyes appeared to be larger than those of the others. Her lips were fuller but her mouth was narrower. Her ears were similar to Egla's - wider than Reav's but shorter. (His stood up more - like horns - which fit the little devil.) Her clothes were serviceable and seemed mostly without damage.

Since the goblin woman was still recovering, I left her - to see about working on the wagons. Under the seat of the wagon with the broken wheel, I found a toolbox. I began trying to figure out how to take the half-burned wagon apart - planning to move one of the wheels to replace the busted one - and save any salvageable pieces as spares. Hopefully, Imka would return with an animal that could pull the wagon.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the woman was awake. I went to check on her.

"What happened?" she asked me. She stared at my collar.

"You were attacked."

"Yes, but I hit my head as I was jumping off of the wagon to run. How am I alive?"

"You were unconscious when we found you. I assume the bandits thought you were dead. Imka said the attackers took your stuff. She, Zora, Egla, and Reav are going to chase them down. You were almost dead by the time I found you."

"You healed me?"

"Yes. I'm not much good in a fight. I told them to go on without me. I'm sure they'll be back shortly."

"You travel with warriors?"

"A queen, an archer, and two kids."

"And they're attacking the bandits?!"

"Yeah," I said, smirking.

"They'll be killed."

"The bandits? Undoubtedly. I almost feel bad for them."

"No! Your friends."

"They'll be fine," I assured her. "Are you thirsty?"

"What? Yes."

I uncapped my canteen and offered it to her. She took a drink.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"My name is Zack."

"You're Zora's slave?"

"Yes."

"Where are your chains? Why haven't you run off?"

"I'm in love with her. She is my queen. We have an understanding."

"What understanding?"

"I take care of her and she takes care of me," I said, grinning slyly.

Her eyes got big. She looked down at my groin. She looked back into my eyes.

I nodded.

A swallow flew up and alighted on my shoulder. The woman looked from the bird to my face. I offered her a hand to stand up.

"I think Egla needs me. Would you like to tag along?"

"Is that bird talking to you?" she asked.

"If he is, I can't understand him - but he's one of Egla's little friends."

Suddenly Reav appeared beside me, tugging at my shirt.

"Da!" he called out. Seeing the woman, he quickly changed his words and said, "Zack!"

"Yeah, bud?"

"One of the animals is hurt."

"Okay. We're coming. How far?"

"I jumped five times to get back here."

"Alright. Can you jump back again?"

"Yes."

"Good. Tell Zora we're coming."

"What's your name?" I asked the woman.

"Dera," she said, staring at Reav.

"Reav, Dera can't run yet," I told him, "but tell Zora we're on our way."

"Okay," Reav said, before teleporting away.

"What in the seven hells was that?"

"That's Reav. Can you walk? Do you need an arm?"

"I can walk."

I offered her a hand and she accepted my help. We began taking slow steps. The swallow took flight - hovering in front of us - showing us the way.

"Craziest thing I ever did see," Dera said. "Disappearing boys and talking birds!"

It took us several minutes but we finally arrived at the remnants of the bandit camp. Zora and Imka were dragging the last of the naked men into a pile, away from where Egla and Reav were keeping a cage full of chickens and three oxen company.

One of the animals was on the ground and appeared to be in pain. I left Dera's side to go see what I could do. Reav started introducing Dera to the others.

As I worked to heal the ox, Egla sent her little friends to gather starter, kindling, and small sticks. A fourth ox lay, dead, nearby. Zora and Imka slaughtered the animal and carved off some steaks. They gave these to Egla to cook on the grill that we had taken over from the thieves. Dera helped Egla with the meal. Reav was organizing the clothes, armor, weapons, and other items that we had taken from the bandits - as well as the things they had looted from the wagon train.

I gave the healed animal what was left in my canteen as I told Zora about the conditions of the wagons, back along the road. She left me to keep an eye on my patient as she and Imka took the two healthy oxen off to retrieve the wagons.

By the time the steaks were done cooking, the girls were back with the wagons. Zora had grown new spokes into the broken wheel to mend it. After discussing our options, we decided we'd get the half-burned wagon to the next town - where we'd sell it - along with one of the healthy oxen. We'd keep the mended wagon, the other good oxen - and the one I had healed - so I could keep an eye on her.

We unloaded the corpses that they had cleared from the road, removed everything they had on them, and added the bodies to the pile we had started with the dead bandits. Zora raised a huge briar patch over and around the pile - leaving them to decay.

Zora grew drying racks over the campfire as Reav, Egla, and I went looking for more firewood. Egla's tiny scouts were terrific for saving us time in our quest. Soon the rest of the salvageable parts of the butchered ox were hung from bramble branches, drying over the smoky fire.

Once Zora corralled the animals for the night, she raised a briar shelter for us. Egla and Reav cuddled in with Zora. When Imka snuggled in on my right, Dera decided she was taking my left.

The blanket barely covered the three of us and Imka giggled as we snuggled closer together. Zora called out for the three of us to behave and Dera snorted. Her eyes got huge when she reached over to grope my cock and found Imka's hand was already there. I reached over and pinched her firm round butt. She kissed my cheek and snuggled closer. Imka reached across my body to grab one of Dera's breasts and a small scuffle ensued - at least until Zora growled at them to knock it off.

~~~

The next morning, we loaded the half-burned wagon with everything we were planning to sell; the repaired wagon was loaded with everything we planned to keep. Zora removed the drying rack, the sleep-shelter and the corral and we hooked up the oxen and got underway. When we reached the next town, she bought enough blankets for everyone to have their own - with a couple spares. She also bought a large washtub, a teapot and tea leaves, and a variety of spices.

At the other end of the town, we pulled to the side of the road and Zora gave Dera the option of quitting our group or swearing fealty. When she asked to join, Zora informed her that she would only be allowed access to me as Zora saw fit - and would not be producing babies until instructed to do so. She readily agreed to the terms and swore the same oath that Imka had given. When she looked from Zora to me and back again, our queen laughed and told her that she could have a kiss. By the time she was done kissing me, my cock was rock-hard. Zora cleared her throat and Dera stepped back, looking longingly at the tent in my pants.

~~~

End of Chapter 2.

(There are 6 in total.)