The Assassin and the Sorceress Ch. 05

"I've heard of worse ways to die..." Morgana said with a tired laugh.

They stayed kneeling there on the floor for another few minutes. They embraced each other, pressing the sides of their faces together, feeing each other's heartbeat and breath.

"I love you, Mistress."

"I love you, too, Adrielle."

They hugged each other tighter.

One they had rested enough to stand, they got up to their feet. Morgana started, and guided Adrielle up with her. It was harder than the last time with how exhausted they both were, but they held each other tight and were able to move their bodies up at the same time. They were both still quite hot and sweaty.

"Here... one moment..." Morgana said, concentrating. Suddenly, Adrielle felt a refreshing spray of cool water that seemed to come from nowhere at all, which ran down her hot, sweaty skin and cooled it off. That was followed by what felt like a warm summer breeze which evaporated the moisture right off her skin. Adrielle felt cool, clean, and refreshed.

"Wow! What was that?" She looked around, but could see no trace of the mysterious rain, not a drop left on the floor.

"Just cleaning us up for bed. Shall we lay down together?"

"Please! I think I need to rest for a bit, anyway."

Morgana began to walk to the bed. She turned slightly and walked diagonally towards the edge of the bed. Adrielle was pulled along by the nipples. She stumbled a little, but managed to catch up. Morgana sat down on the bed, pulling Adrielle down with her. As Adrielle struggled to lean downward and keep her balance, her forehead collided with Morgana's.

"Ow! Sorry, sorry!"

Morgana laughed. "Don't worry about it." Adrielle laughed, too.

It took some coordination, but the adhered women managed to lay themselves down on the bed. Morgana leaned back while Adrielle straddled her as soon as she could get her knees up on the bed. Once that was done, Adrielle rolled over to the other side of her. Now the two of them lay there on their sides facing each other, firmly linked by their enchanted breasts.

"I didn't know that was possible, having an orgasm from nipple stimulation alone!" Adrielle said. The awe and wonder in her voice couldn't have been hidden had she wanted it.

"I'm glad you liked it! I had to add a few more nerves to you nipples, but I can usually make it happen. Some women take more work, but you managed it fairly quickly. And... let me know if you want to get unstuck, or if you want your real breasts back."

Adrielle thought for a minute. "Eventually, but I don't mind being stuck to you for now. You can..." She blushed. "You can keep us together like this. For a little bit."

Morgana smiled. "You like having our nipples stuck together?"

"It's... interesting." She was blushing even more now. "Was this the secret kink of yours I asked you to show me?"

"Of course it was! Stuck is my favorite spell of them all! I love using stuck on nipples the most, though perhaps you've guessed that. Watching a woman struggling to pull her nipples off a wall, or two women trying to pull their nipples apart... Oh! It gets me so excited!"

"Do you like to use it on yourself, too?"

"Absolutely! With another woman, or even by myself. I love getting my nipples stuck to things! It feels so wonderful!"

"What else do you like to use, um... stuck on?"

"Vulvas and penises are always fun! Or the tongue or lips. Hands getting stuck to a body part, either your own or that of a partner's."

"I think nipple to nipple is a good one."

"I'm glad. Let me know when you want to be let go."

"Mmm... Sure. I will. Not yet."

Adrielle and Morgana cuddled and romanced for a while longer, all while stuck chest to chest. Adrielle told Morgana about her past life. She tried to get a few details of Morgana's own past, though she was always vague, and not very forthcoming at all. She wasn't learning anything useful, but it didn't matter. What she learned was at least interesting, and she felt she was getting to know the ancient sorceress a little better all the same.

Several hours passed. They eventually made love again, this time on the bed, and fell asleep chest to chest, embracing each other warmly. It was different from their usual sleeping position, Adrielle as the big spoon, with her hand cupping Morgana's generous slit. She thought about moving her hand downward to its usual place, but decided it was more important to have her arm around her lover. Once in the middle of the night, Adrielle sleepily tried to roll over only to be reminded that she was stuck to her lover by her nipples. This unexpected tug awoke Morgana, and resulted in another lovemaking session, before they both fell back asleep. It was the best night she had had with Morgana yet!

Adrielle hadn't lied when she had said that she loved Morgana. Admittedly, though, she was a difficult woman to love. It was never far from her mind that she was a prisoner here. Having her nipples stuck to Morgana's certainly reminded her of the first time that spell had been used on her. Though she had been somewhat merciful given the circumstances, Morgana had still humiliated her and molested her against her will. Was she wrong to love a woman who had done these things to her? Was love so strong that she could forgive her for that mistreatment, despite her never having even apologized for it? She felt like such a fool for forgetting this past mistreatment. But she was so happy! Wasn't that the important part?

...

Despite Adrielle's love for Morgana, she never allowed herself to forget her mission, and perhaps that was the difference between healthy love and unhealthy love; she knew she could break away from it if she had to. And to finish her mission, she knew she would have to work behind Morgana's back. Though the thought pained her, she was prepared to do it if it came down to that. She had already realized that Morgana might be one of the people she would end up helping with her work here, but sometimes those that need help the most don't want it or don't know they need it. So Adrielle needed to find Susan again and get her to talk. But how could she? Susan was about as tight-lipped as they came.

Therefore, it was almost two weeks after that first, unproductive encounter, that Adrielle spoke in private with Susan again. She happened across her in the library, dusting the same shelves that Adrielle had cleaned over a month ago. Adrielle hadn't been looking for her, had only been meaning to get a book to practice reading. Speaking with her was a much higher priority.

Susan, however, wasn't of the same mind. As soon as she saw Adrielle enter the library, she quietly turned and began making her way out.

"Susan, you don't have to leave," Adrielle encouraged her.

Susan stopped, and turned toward her, though she never looked right at her. Her eyes remained pointed slightly downward.

"I... I'll just kick up dust while you're in here if I keep cleaning."

"Then you can take a break from cleaning! That doesn't mean you have to leave."

"What would I do in the mean time? I have other things I can work on. I'll come back later."

"I wouldn't mind a little company."

"Oh."

The look on Susan's face changed from uncomfortable to absolutely morose. She clearly didn't want to stay. Yet, obediently, she waited and said nothing further, as if Adrielle had commanded her instead of simply inviting her. Was she this used to awaiting the pleasure of everyone else in the castle? Suddenly, Adrielle felt guilty. Adrielle needed to talk to Susan, maybe even desperately, yet she felt bad commanding the girl around.

"You don't have to join me either. I'm just saying you shouldn't feel like you have to leave just because I walked into the room."

Susan didn't respond. She looked confused.

"And you don't have to wait on me like that. You can have a seat if you want. Get comfortable."

Obediently, Susan walked over to the red velvet couch next to the window. The window Adrielle had once tried to escape through.

Meanwhile, Adrielle began to browse the shelves for one of the books Hasan had recommended for her, something that would be at her level. She had learned all the letters in the alphabet and was good at remembering the different sounds each one could make, though there were still quite a few words she had trouble sounding out. Even harder, the books in this library were written over hundreds of years, and language, Hassan had told her, changed over time. In fact, it was an ongoing effort to make sure they kept their own language up to date should they ever need to rejoin the outside world. But for Adrielle, she needed to find something that had been written recently, no more than a few decades old.

As Adrielle began her search, Susan sat there in utter silence. It was an awkward silence. This wouldn't do at all. She would have to ask her something.

"Do you ever read?"

"Not much."

"But you know how to?"

"A little."

"Only a little? You must have been here for hundreds of years. Surely you've had time to get as good as Hassan at reading, and maybe even writing."

"I... maybe. But it never really interested me."

"Suit yourself. But there are hundreds of years of human knowledge in this library. Surely you must be curious what they all say. And you, especially, you seem to have nothing but free time. I'll teach you if you want. Or at least what I know. We can help each other learn!"

"That's kind of you, but..."

Adrielle waited a few seconds for Susan to finish the sentence, but she never did.

"I'd love to get to know you better. You're so quiet! Are you sure you don't want to be my study partner? Hassan is a great teacher! He's so patient. And I could listen to that handsome voice of his all day long! Come on! What do you say?"

"No thank you, if that's all right."

"Susan, you can talk to me, you know. I know you don't like to talk to the other people here. Is it because of our mistress? I know she's mean to you. She did a few things to me, too, at first, but we get along better now."

Susan was silent.

"You can talk to me. I don't have to tell Mistress."

"Thank you for the offer. Really. But... you're one of Mistress' new favorites, aren't you?"

"Well, maybe our relationship is kind of complicated. What do you ask?"

"Well, she doesn't spoil you like Gwendolyn with that ridiculous jewelry. Everyone else hates Gwendolyn for that. Even I can tell that. But you have a few gifts from her to show off, too. She has ways of learning things from people like you. I know you mean well, Adrielle, and I really do appreciate you trying to help me, but it has been like this for a very long time, and I don't think you understand how much worse you could make things for me."

"I see. If you prefer to stay away from the rest of us, then I suppose that is your wish. Um... out of curiosity, what 'gifts' were you talking about?"

"Your... well, your... you know..." Susan finished that sentence by gesturing downward toward Adrielle's chest. She was blushing a little.

"What, my nipples?" Adrielle was confused. Morgana had returned her breasts to normal after that night. Hadn't she? She was quite sure they were back to how they had always been.

"Yeah, those. Gifts from her, am I right?"

"No, this is how my nipples have always looked. I guess they're a little bigger than most women's."

"A little bigger? They're huge! Really? She didn't magic them that way for you?"

"No, no." Now Adrielle was blushing a little. She thought about telling her about how they had been temporarily magicked even bigger than that, but decided it might not help her case. "I know a lot of people walk around here with designer bodies sculpted by our resident sorceress, and she's offered to do the same for me. Actually, I thought about asking her to make my nipples more normal sized, but I guess I just prefer to look like me."

"Smaller? Why on Earth would you do that?"

Adrielle giggled. "Well, I used to think they were weird. It wasn't until walking around here completely naked that I realized people actually like them."

"They're pretty cute," Susan admitted, shyly.

"You like them?" Adrielle asked, not faking one bit of how flattered she felt. She stuck her chest out to give Susan a better look.

"Well, yeah."

"You can touch if you want."

"Oh! Uh..." Susan tittered, even more shy than before. She shifted her eyes away, but shifted them right back to her a moment later. She held her hand up, but hesitated.

"Only if you want to. I mean, I don't mind."

"Well... okay."

Slowly, Susan lifted up one hand and brought it toward Adrielle's breasts. The whole time she kept looking up at Adrielle's face, as if to make sure she actually was okay with this. After how much abuse she alluded she endures here, it was like she wasn't used to the idea of doing something for her own pleasure.

Finally, her fingers gently wrapped around one of Adrielle's nipples. She stroked it. Her face lit up just noticeably. She brought in her other hand and grabbed the other nipple. The gentle squeeze tightened a little.

"Wow! You can really grab onto these!"

"Yeah, they're pretty fun to have," Adrielle admitted. "I'd like to say I never play with them for fun, but that'd be a lie."

"And these are your real ones..."

"Yes, they are my real ones!" she insisted with a giggle. It struck her as somewhat humorous how Susan still couldn't believe she had grown those naturally.

After a few seconds, Susan let go of Adrielle's nipples and took her hands away, as if she was afraid of overstaying her welcome. But she looked up into Adrielle's eyes and flashed her a quick but content smile to show that she had enjoyed that.

"I like your nipples, too," Adrielle said after a brief silence.

"What, mine? Oh, but they're tiny. I mean, my breasts are kind of big, and yes, they are my real ones. But my nipples are like peas. And Mistress doesn't usually offer me requests like she does to everyone else."

"I think they're cute! I like your areolas, how they're all big and puffy. They look soft! May I?" She held her hand up towards Susan's chest, but waited for her approval.

Suddenly, Susan's relaxed and comfortable demeanor vanished. She tightened up. "Oh... well... okay. I guess you can." Susan's body language seemed to contradict her words.

"But do you want me to? I mean, are you comfortable with me touching you?"

"Well... you did let me touch you..."

"Susan! That's not what I'm asking you! You don't owe me anything. It doesn't count as a favor when I let you touch me like that because I enjoyed it, too. I wouldn't have let you, otherwise. But you don't look comfortable with the idea of me touching you, so we won't do that. Don't worry about it. Both people have to be comfortable with it, or they don't do it. That's how it works."

"That's not how it works here."

"Well, that's wrong of them. But how about this: it will work that way when you are with me. I promise you that. Does that sound good? Cause that's what friends that care about each other do. And maybe we can convince other people to treat you like that, too."

"I told you. That's not how it works here. It just isn't."

"Will you at least let me try to help you?"

Susan barely gave a grunt in response. It was no use. Susan had closed up again. That brief connection Adrielle thought she had made had ended. Had she done something wrong? It certainly appeared that way, but something in the back of her mind told her she had not. Perhaps it was the most anyone had gotten through to her in a long time: the most anyone could have on a second try. The fact that she had gotten Susan to smile at all was no small thing.

She tried a few more lines of conversation, but it just wasn't working. Finally, Adrielle decided to grab her book, bid Susan a polite farewell, and leave. There was no more progress that could be made today.

...

Susan was a difficult woman to get through to, and she knew she wasn't the first to try.

At first Adrielle thought she had made a mistake by bringing up painful topics, but once she compared her attempts to Cateline's, she wasn't so sure. Cateline seemed to have attempted nothing but pleasant conversation. Cateline was very kind, but she hated to be harsh. Cateline was too reluctant to make Susan uncomfortable. Though Cateline had been perfectly friendly to her, there was something shallow about it. Perhaps it was Adrielle's willingness to bring up the painful topics that had made Susan trust her.

Well, emotional wounds weren't all that different from physical wounds. Sometimes it hurt to clean a wound so it could heal properly; sometimes pulling an arrow out can hurt worse than when getting shot with it in the first place, but it needed to happen eventually if the wound was to ever heal. Adrielle would just have to be more persistent than Cateline, and she couldn't allow herself to dance around the serious matters.

Susan seemed to be very submissive by nature. She might have to be a little more demanding if she hoped to keep the girl around long enough to have another conversation. Her experience as an assassin had taught her to take advantage of every tool she possibly could. So why did she feel do dirty doing it?

And so Adrielle tried, and the progress was slow. Not every conversation bore fruit, in fact most of them didn't. It was another month before she finally got Susan to truly open up to her. This time she found her hiding away in an old, empty room with a forgotten purpose. She sat slumped in a faded armchair, one of the few features of the room. She was staring pensively out a narrow window into the forbidden world outside the castle walls, the world that Susan and Adrielle could look at but never touch.

"Have you ever thought about climbing out?" Adrielle asked as she approached.

Just as always, Susan rose to her feet as soon as she was aware of Adrielle's presence. She looked as if she had been caught doing something bad, what Adrielle couldn't even guess, and was expecting punishment.

"You can't. She'll know if you do. She'll punish you."

"How does she know?"

"She just does. I don't know how."

"You don't have to stand up for me, you know."

Cautiously, Susan took her seat again. Adrielle approached. "Do you mind if I have a seat, too?" she asked, patting the cushioned armrest. Susan immediately got back up and gestured for Adrielle to take her place.

"No, I said you could stay, silly! You had it first."

"I don't mind. You can have it."

"Susan, sit! Really, I'm fine with the armrest," Adrielle repeated, making sure it sounded like a demand this time. Susan did as commanded, though she sat perfectly upright, looking uncomfortable. Adrielle took the armrest and sat to her.

"Are you afraid of me?"

"No. Why would I be?"

"I don't know. You practically run every time I see you. You can talk to me, you know."

"Um, thank you."

"So now that we've established that, why don't you tell me a little about yourself?"

"Like what?" Susan was in her usual submissive state. She would follow commands, but would likely not offer anything beyond what she was told. That was fine, at least to start with. Adrielle could pose specific questions for her to answer as long as she didn't pry too deep just yet.

"Well, how long have you been here?"

"Here?"

"Yes. How long have you lived in the castle."

"Well, we returned here... I don't know. It was a little before Cateline joined."

"Returned? Where were you before?"

"We lived in a cave Morgana dug out of a mountain."

"What mountain? Where?"

"I don't know if it had a name. It was far away, over the sea."

"So how long have you been living with Morgana?"

"A long time. A very long time."

"I heard you were one of the first."

"Thefirst. It was just herself and me for a while. Years."