Royal Archivist

Millie's eyes opened wide in astonishment as she finally understood what was off about his smell. Despite being human, despite being at least her age, despite being a victim of endless torture, he smelled innocent.

He had nothing of his own that he regretted. No blood on his hands.

She miaowed quietly in astonishment before she knew what she was doing, and then a deeper purr climbed into her throat. She reached inside her clothes and pulled out her new toy. Putting it on the ground and stepping backwards.

She didn't want to give it up, but she did want to show him affection, and she doubted he would appreciate her rubbing all over him.

Millie's stomach dropped.

She knew it was an instinctual thing, but she hadn't thought it came in quite so fast. She had thought, from when she first learned about it as a kitten, that she would have at least some say in it.

The remainder of the shadows encircling the man disappeared and he dropped to the ground. Two enormous scars stretched from his wrists, snaking up his arms and to his neck.

He was topless, wearing only some small and tattered shorts. Millie's golden eyes guiltily spotted his manhood hanging inside them, checking that he was intact because of all the things she now wanted to do to him.

"Kitten." Artema stood up again, adjusting her grip on her spear, "Your job was to talk to him, not bed him. You stink of lust."

"She knows." Millie hissed at the halfcat, her fur bristling in annoyance at the interference. He belonged to her now. She wanted him. She wanted to call him...

The librarian shook her head, trying to focus.

L picked up the wooden object carefully, turning it over. "Shaped for air. An understanding that air has substance. Where did you get this!? I want one!"

"M-millie bought it this morning..." She hesitated, biting her lip. She was still a neko. Giving up any possession didn't come naturally. She wanted to snatch it back, even though she wanted him, too.

The librarian's tail drooped, "He can have it."

"But you don't want me to."

She shook her head, "Millie can get another... She... She doesn't like giving things. But she is giving this one to you."

"Millie." Artema said warningly.

Gold eyes glared at the soldier, "She hasn't named him! She wants, but hasn't named him. She's not getting too close, bitchcat."

"You want to give me a name?" He appeared less than a finger's breath from her face with a burst of shadowy tendrils. "I... I would like a name. Like to feel human, again."

Artema was quick, her response instantaneous.

The spear was cutting through the air faster than Millie had anticipated when she carved open the hole beneath the human, praying silently he wouldn't shadowleap out of the way. At the same time she started turning her shoulder into the blow.

The blade sliced neatly through her shoulder, causing her to squeal, before the room was engulfed in darkness for a moment.

Millie hit the ground, bleeding and whimpering.

Artema stiffly retrieved her weapon, looking at a black stain spread across the ground. She crouched over it, poking at it with the spear, "Not what I expected. I have no idea if he exploded or is playing another trick."

The archivist increased the volume of her whimpers, curling into a ball and holding her arm. She was already starting to feel lightheaded, but the princess didn't seem to give a flying fuck.

The warrior stood over her impassively, "I suppose I'll just tell Mother he's dead so she doesn't flay you alive for taking what's hers."

Millie smiled as innocently as she could in utter agony. Artema hurled her to her feet. She didn't threaten the catgirl. Didn't tell her that if anything happened because of L she would come for her.

She didn't need to.

The two climbed back up the Well, through the horrible stench, as Millie held her bleeding arm. When they got to the roof, the halfcat princess dropped the stone from earlier and crushed it beneath her heel, yanking them back into the real world.

One of the guards saw Millie's injury and bound it, whilst looking at Artema nervously. Knowing she was the one to hurt the archivist, but not wanting to ask the captain why she had.

Artema walked Millie out without another word, and the archivist started stumbling her way home.

---

Millie opened her door nervously, whispering as she stepped inside, "Sh-she's home..."

"Mmm." She heard a quiet acknowledgement, and looked over to see the human curled up on one of her bookshelves with a pile of now-unsorted books beside him.

She closed the door slowly, and slunk into her basket, wrapping her blanket around herself. Her arm really fucking hurt. The bandage was a deep red. She didn't want to think about how long that was going to take to heal.

The human took his time to finish the book, before putting it down. He turned to face her and frowned, "Am I free, now? Or am I now your prisoner?"

"Millie... Didn't think it through." She said slower, pushing up her glasses, "Um... Empress been told you dead. But... Millie thinks it won't be easy for him to go outside... Probably okay if the Millie gets him some nice clothes? So long as he doesn't use his magic."

He smiled slowly, "Thankyou... That's... More freedom than I expected... Is this your home?"

"Mmm." She nodded, "She knows it's a mess. She's very bad at keeping things together. And she doesn't have a bed for him. Shit. Empress will know if Millie goes out and buys a human bed... She'll have to think about that. She will find him a bed, though. Bed and clothes and... Fuck. She needs to get him dinner and -"

"You talk a lot when you're scared." He interrupted her.

Her ears went flat and she smiled nervously, "She knows. Sorry. Millie is a very nervous cat. She finds it difficult to -"

"Why did you save me?"

She cringed until she was lost underneath her blanket and took a deep breath, "Um... Has he ever met... Many nekos?"

"That's what you are? You and the warrior?" He asked curiously.

She swallowed, "Mmm. The Millie is a neko and you are human... Um... Humans can choose to take or abandon lovers on a whim? Nekos can, too, but... We... We choose a master. We can leave them, but the attachment to a master is a very strong thing. Very emotional. Not think things through. Hurting neko master... Make neko into pissed off furball with magic and claws."

"A master? You... Choose... To defer, to become less, than someone else?" He asked in confusion.

She shook her head beneath the blanket, "She's not explaining it well, is she? Um... Neko loves master. So long as master loves neko, she will defer to him... But neko is neko. We take things we want. Not have broken will. Love master, love being owned by master, but not less than master. Equal. Get very jealous of master and anyone else. Can choose to leave master if he doesn't treat her well."

"Huh..." L said slowly, "And... That's why you saved me? You... Want to be my master?"

"M-mistress." She whispered, "He would be her Master. She... Millie doesn't know why... But... She wants him. She wants him to own her. She wants to come home and see him everyday. She wants him to say good things about her. Sh-she... She even wants him to p-pat her... Head."

The blanket pulled back, he was crouching in front of her. He reached up and gave her a gentle pat between her ears, smoothing her hair backwards. Millie's golden eyes lit up, and she let out an excited and trembling moan at the touch.

He smiled at her, "You felt different. Not like the others. I... I'm not sure. Even though you saved me... Got hurt for me... I'm not a nice person, Millie. The things that they made me do..."

"A contract!" She announced and scampered over to a shelf and pulled out a blank scroll. "We make contract. Decide what each of us want."

He stared at her and then burst out laughing, "Okay. That sounds fair."

"He has to... P-pat her head. Once a day, at least." She said, cheeks going pink.

He frowned, "Before I agree... Why is it hard for you to say that?"

"It's... Intimate." She said slowly, "Well, less intimate than taboo... Catgirls aren't supposed to like it. Shameful. Secret. He can't tell anyone. They'll look down on the Millie for it."

He smiled at her, "I don't mind. It can be our secret."

She scribbled out the first clause of their contract in rough nekan on the scroll, and looked at him, "Your turn. What want the Millie to do for him?"

"Books." He said in awe, "You have... So many books. How many can you get me?"

She blinked and then laughed, "The Millie is the Royal Archivist. She can bring a new book home for him, every day that she works. How does that sound?"

"Books like these?" He pointed.

"Mythology?" She shrugged, "The archive has about three or four hundred of them. Six or seven hundred scrolls. The Millie could keep him entertained for at least a year or two."

He stared at her in awe, "H-hundreds of books? All in the one place?"

"There's over a hundred thousand volumes in the archives." Millie said proudly, "The archives are the largest known repository of knowledge. Since founding of empire, all published works must send at least one copy to be preserved. There have been accidents, but the archives are mostly intact."

"I... I cannot imagine that many books in one place." He stared at her, "And you take care of them, on your own?"

"Have apprentice, but mostly. Millie loves her books." She said with another proud smile. She tapped the scroll, "So... The Millie should bring him things to read?"

"Y-yes." He said, still awestruck.

She frowned, chewing the end of her pencil and looked around at her scattered toys. She didn't want to share them with him. They were hers, and she was possessive. "The Millie... He isn't allowed to play with her things. Has to ask."

He laughed and smiled, "If I can ask for my own. The things you have here are fascinating. Like... What is that? And what is it's purpose?"

She followed his pointing finger. She smiled, "Purpose? Fun. As to what it does... The key turns. Turn until tight, then put down and step back."

L picked it up, winding it carefully and gently. He didn't overwind it either, causing her to feel a wave of relief. He put down the clockwork cat. The tail swayed side to side, as the eyes looked back and forth from the opposite direction. A hidden box inside it chimed out an approximation of a miaow.

He jumped back from it, disappearing into a shadow for a moment, before he suddenly appeared beside the toy with an eruption of black tendrils. Millie clapped a hand to her nose, gagging at the smell of his magic.

He looked up at her, "I like them. You... Gather these? For fun?"

"Mmm. She knows it's weird, but she likes them. So she collects them. Plays with them." Millie said sheepishly, "But... Not share. Buy him his own, when she can afford."

"Okay."

She wrote it into the contract. "His turn."

"I want a name."

Her lady parts erupted into fire and she stained her underwear. Millie's cheeks burned as the smell of herself wafted up freely, and she coughed, "Um... That's..."

"You wanted to name me, didn't you? I don't want to be Subject L. It... I don't want to remember what they did. Don't want to remember them fixing me." He choked up.

Millie scratched at her ear uncomfortably, "If... If she names you... It's... When a neko gets a name... It defines them. Naming neko is magic. Binds them to it. When born, Mother or Father names them, and the kitten feels it. Then, when take Master, he gives new name. Sometimes same as old name. But... It's promise. Promise to be good Master."

L nodded his head slowly, "So if you named me..."

"The Millie would feel things." She said quietly, "She would... Does he know what virginity is?"

"Yes. You mark its loss when you copulate for the first time. The loss is often ritualised in many cultures, and considered as an act of divine worship." He said clinically.

"Naming more important than neko virginity. More special, more intimate." Millie said firmly.

"Oh."

She looked away from him, and took a deep breath, "Sh-she... Wants to... Name him."

"You want to... Couple?"

Her golden eyes flashed and she pounced onto him. Knocking him onto his back and purring as she rubbed her face into his chest. "Want. Want it... She wants him inside her!"

"I was... Only asking." He said, a hint if fear in his voice.

She let out a pained whimper and pawed at his chest, "Want him. It hurts. She wants her Master. Burning up. P-please. Master. She needs him."

"The contract."

She burst into tears, "Doesn't want contract! Only him!"

Her tears got worse as he patted her on the head. As she felt all her resistance crumble into dust. He owned her soul, whether or not he wanted to. He could fuck her, any way he wanted to. She'd even let him bite and pull her ears. She didn't care, so long as he acknowledged her.

The archivist felt stupid and embarrassed, but she belonged to him without a single doubt. This was even worse than being in heat. She wanted him to give her kittens, and make her his little toy.

Regardless of if he abandoned her like the gadgets lying on her floor.

An agonised wail rose up from her throat as she continued to cry and bat at his bare chest. Sniffling as she tried to get as much of his scent all over her as she could. Rubbing her face into him, wanting to bite him.

"Sh-she needs him... A-a-and h-he does... Doesn't... W-want her..." She said, feeling like her heart had become a dying organ, giving out its last few thrashing moments.

He sat up, carrying her to her basket. She curled up on her side and bit her wrist as he tucked the blanket in around her. The human sat beside her, patting her head as she continued to wail, biting down as hard as she could, praying to the Green Goddess to make the pain stop.

Millie fell into a fitful and exhausted sleep, with the taste of copper in her mouth.

---

Her nose scrunched up as awareness came back to her. She blepped her awful tasting tongue, and sat up. Rubbing at the side of her head where her glasses had left a mark.

She took them off, and rubbed tiredly at her eyes.

"Feeling... Better?" L asked her hopefully.

Millie shook her head slowly, "Worse. Like death. Eugh. She needs tea, wash out mouth. Would he like a tea?"

She half-crawled over to her bench, ignoring how strange she must look, and pulled a striker and lit the kindling underneath her stove. Then she tiredly took the kettle and went out the back, tail dragging on the ground.

When she'd cracked the ice, filled it, and come back in, L wasn't where he had been. He was back inside her book shelf, reading another book. She glared at him briefly as she saw her clockwork rabbit sitting on top of his pile of books.

However, considering how she'd embarrassed herself yesterday, she wasn't about to bring it up.

She put the kettle onto the stove and filled a couple tea infusers. They went into some mugs that were... Dusty. She didn't spend a whole heap of time in her home.

The catgirl sat up on her bench as she waited for it to boil and looked at her poor arm. The bandage around her shoulder was hardened and the blood stain was crisp. The wrist on that arm looked like she'd kept gnawing it after she passed out.

She should stop by the temple for healing.

"The Millie is going to work, today." She said emotionlessly, "She'll bring him home a book. Please don't run away and make her life hard."

"Won't." He said without looking up from his book.

She glanced towards her cupboards, and kicked the door open. As expected, there were just crumbs inside. Even her blind eyes could see that. She thought for a moment, and then pulled out her purse and counted her coins.

"What kind of food does he like? Millie will get something before work. He can eat it whenever he wants. She also needs to pick up dinner."

He put his finger on a word in the book and looked up at her, "You seem... Worse."

"She doesn't want to talk about last night. Not what she said. Not what she did." Millie said pointedly, "Food. What does the human like? Spicy? Sweet? Bland? Noodles or salad or meat?"

His face quirked into a smile for a small and brief moment, "For the last ten years I have been fed mana-infused pellets made from crushed oats. They taste somewhat worse than human shit."

"Millie doesn't want to know how you know that."

He shrugged and went back to his book, "I was also only fed once a week. You don't need to feed me."

"But she wants to." She replied quietly, "She... She isn't going to bring up last night, again. Not ever. He can stay here as long as it feels safe. If he needs to leave... She'll try and help him."

He nodded quietly, "Mmm."

She kicked her feet idly, and then looked at the stack of books he'd read. Almost all of them were mythology focused. She didn't need her glasses to recognise her favourites. He was reading them in order of most worn.

Millie dropped down, her tail dragging across the floor as she went over to her shelves and pulled down three particular books. She placed them on his pile, making sure she didn't get too close to him.

Then she went back to wait on the kettle.

"I don't know how to read this."

She shrugged, "Middle one is basic geometry. It teaches how to read the symbols. If you can read that one, and then read top one, you might know enough to repair basic clockwork. One or two of Millie's toys broken. He might... Enjoy? Fixing them."

"Oh."

She sighed heavily, "Does he hate her, now?"

"No." He put down his book, "After you fell asleep... I tried to leave. I tried to run away, because you scared me. But... I saw people. So many people... And I... I got scared. I remembered how I'd been hurt. And I remembered that even when you jumped me, you didn't take what you wanted to. I know I'm safe with you."

She winced, "Millie is sorry about that... She... She thinks she was in heat, yesterday. It's... Embarrassing."

"I read about nekos, too." He replied, "Especially the naming. I... I'm sorry I raised that, without understanding it. You were underplaying how intimate a thing it is."

She shrugged.

He looked at her curiously, "You really want to give me a name?"

"Yes." She found herself saying, eyes going bright and wide before she could stop herself. She flinched and looked away from him, "You shouldn't... Say things like that. Millie is trying. She is trying."

"We'll talk more tonight. After work." He turned back to his book.

She rolled her eyes and stuck out her tongue at him.

---

"Milicent!" A guttural roar cut through the air of her quiet library.

The catgirl sat up from where she was lying on top of her bookcase, glaring through bleary golden eyes and pushed up her glasses. Her fur lifted and she hissed loudly.

The orc glared up at her, "Get. Down. Here."

"Fuck off!" Millie screamed and slammed her hand down, ripping open another portal beneath the minister. He vanished back into the Tangles... She should not have done that.

The catgirl winced, thinking about the incoming punishment of tossing a titled lord, who worked directly with the empress, into one of the most dangerous parts of the world.

She was feeling like she wasn't just fraying around the edges. She felt like she was crumbling in front of her own eyes.

"That was cute."

She moaned and rubbed her temples, "Lady Saia."

The tail of the succubus looped around her neck, and the woman leaned in from behind her. "You took something that doesn't belong to you."

She took a deep breath, "Has Empress asked for her to die?"

"No apology?" Saia said in surprise and the tail looped back, "Well. Isn't that fuckin' cute. Toofy doesn't know. I was watching. Artema seems to think that you can... Fix that thing. Teach him how to be human, again."