Wrong Side of the Bed - Ch. 02

Chapter 2: Rude Awakenings

This is a work of FICTION, made by and for adults 18+. The following chapter includes mentions of unintentional suicide and mandated slavery, depictions of severe trauma, objectification, humiliation, teasing, flashing, reluctance, and sensitive terminology (breasts). Reader discretion is advised.

As shadow consumed her and the air stilled, Elva stood shivering. Too frightened to move, her hands trembled while her knees buckled. Finally, she dropped to the soft ground and slowly squinted. Her gaze darted about, expecting to see the candles on the altar or scattered about the cottage; but there was only darkness—save for a bloody light leaking to her left.

"Wha— what happened?" Elva fretted, 'Do I even want to know?'

A wicked snarl preceded raging gales that carried faint purple and pink puffs past her ears. An unseen force enveloped Elva; her lip quivered and she clutched her chest. Though too afraid to glance at what had passed her shoulders, Elva's eyes widened.

'Is— Is this how I die?'

The presence withdrew as a radiant brightness flooded the room; Elva recoiled, her hands flying to shield her lids. "What's this?" a deep, womanly voice sung. "A lost kitten seems to have stumbled into my home. And to my bedside, no less."

'Ki— kitten?' Elva slowly peeped. 'Bed— side?' Before her was a large bed—she surmised—laid with shimmering, scarlet sheets. Confused, Elva looked down and discovered a lush, intricately detailed rug. To the side, the vermilion glow came from beneath golden curtains that covered a large portion of the wall, deepening the reddened wood of the walls and floor.

A lethargic yawn drew Elva to the young woman lying upon the bed. She could scarcely determine where the red tones of the surrounds ended and where the lady began. Her crimson hair lay haphazardly in gentle waves down to her knees. Under the dense draping, her skin—sparsely covered by a pink robe—shone like red clay. After grimacing while rubbing a lid, the woman's bewitching features relaxed to reveal the shimmering rubies of her irises. Elva shyly glanced away from the intent glare and was soon distracted by the locks that fell around her chest.

'That's...' Her cheeks flushed. 'Those are...'

"Kitten!" Elva flinched with her scowl. "Good, the kitten can hear me." Though she seemed somewhat less annoyed, Elva was too afraid to peek again. "Now, what is this kitten doing in my home so early in the morning?"

"Uhm..." 'The morning? Your home?' Confounded, she glanced around, 'This isn't Móra's cottage, but— I— I don't—' Uncertain how to answer, Elva had to inquire, "Kitten?"

She huffed. "Good," her voice calmed, "the kitten can speak. Now, could you tell me what happened before you came here?"

"Came here? Uh, well, I..." Elva's fidgeting worsened, "I'm not sure. I was trying to summon an incubus in my cottage when— all of a sudden... I ended up here. I just," her throat choked as tears welled, "I just... wanted to feel safe." The woman didn't respond; Elva started to sweat. 'I... Oh, Brigit.' Her lips trembled and she shivered. 'How did this go so wrong?' Elva shut the world out. 'She's going to kill me.'

After a world-weary sigh, she lulled, "Relax, kitten. I'm not going to kill you." She shifted on the sheets. "I couldn't even if I wanted to."

'Somehow— that's not comforting.'

Carefully peering up, the woman's expression had softened as she lazily laid. "So," she tilted her head, "what brought about this kitten's need to summon an incubus?" Her tone was tranquil but something in her stare seemed somber.

"W-well, I— I need help. The hunters," she choked. Clenching her dress, Elva tried not to remember the blaze of the torches, "They're so close to my home and I-I know they'll find me now."

"Why would they hunt you, kitten?"

"W-well, I'm a witch. Ever since I was born, I've lived in hiding because— witches are being," her head fell, "hunted."

"So it's been since long before you were born, little kitten," she grieved; caught off guard, Elva perked back up. "Did you have a coven?" Her head cocked again. "A mentor surely, kitten."

'Mentor.' Elva's gaze lowered. "Móra." She lamented, "My grandmother. The hunters found her— us ten summers past. There... There was never anyone else." 'I,', her chest hurt, 'I'm alone.'

The woman dolefully sighed, "I'm going to be blunt with you, kitten, and this will come as quite a shock." She propped her chin up to expose the cleavage in her robe. "You don't need to worry about the hunters or being alone. You're already dead."

Her heart stopped. 'Dea...' Elva felt cold. 'What?' She held herself. 'I... I must have misheard her.' "I," she quivered, "I don't understand. How..?" 'That doesn't make sense.' "How can I be dead?"

"The ritual you performed called for virgin blood," she rested her cheek under her left palm. "You used your own, yes?"

'My own?' Elva nodded, 'But, what does that have to do with my death?' The woman's cold composure broke; she giggled and fell into the bed. "W-wait, what's so funny?" Elva's fluster worsened with the snickers. 'What's funny about me being dead?!'

"Virgin," the lady's laughs subsided while she raised from the cushions, "virgin materials are sacrificial offerings that need to be clean and unused in previous rituals. If you used your own blood, then you sacrificed yourself to perform the summoning."

Elva blankly stared. 'S... Sacrificed myself? How— After all... How can it be— that simple?'

"But, I suppose," she mused, "since you appeared at my bedside, you were the one who summoned herself to me. Which is not only very unorthodox for a human but very rude, and quite illegal."

'Il,' her gawk worsened, 'illegal?? RUDE?! I... I just,' Elva cradled her head. 'I just wanted to feel safe. How could I end up dead?'

"Kitten!" the stranger snapped a second time.

"Y-YES?!" her arms dropped and their eyes locked. 'Am I really dead??' The woman's glare was piercing. 'Because I still feel like she can kill me!'

"Regarding your circumstances, you're uncontracted and you've intruded into my home, both of which are serious crimes for a human, even in the Lower Key of Hell."

'Di—' Elva blinked, 'did she just say— Hell?'

"Since I'm so generous," she studied her nails, "I'll give you a choice. I can send you to the Auction House where all the other humans go. Another demon will take your contract and you will be their slave for as long as your sentence lasts. Or," no longer distracted, her stare turned mischievous, "you can sign a contract with me and be my sex slave."

'S-sex slave?' Elva sat agape and overwhelmed. 'Okay... Maybe I should have heeded Móra's warning better, but... am I really dead? This all feels so...' Upon glancing up, Elva found the woman was calmly looking down at her. 'And I thought I was summoning an incubus. I didn't expect to summon a— succubus.'

"Is there an issue," she scowled, "with me being a succubus?"

The color drained from Elva's cheeks as the glare pierced her soul. 'Was I talking aloud??' She bashfully looked down. 'No, I— I was just thinking. That— That wasn't the first, either... I-is she— Has she...' Elva glanced up. 'She's reading my thoughts, isn't she?'

The woman inquisitively raised a brow.

Her head fell in disbelief. 'If I'm not really dead— just kill me now.' "N," jolting up, Elva stammered, "NO! No, th-there's no issue. I-I-I just didn't expect to summon someone so g-gorgeous."

"Gorgeous," she gleefully echoed while turning to her side, "am I, little kitten? Trying to curry favor before we've," her glimmer turned enchanting, "sealed the deal," her robe came loose to reveal her voluminous right breast, "my kitten?"

Mouth agape, Elva stared ahead dumbfounded. The captivating form filled her with an inexplicable warmth. Quickly facing her with a snicker, the woman hung so far off the bed their noses brushed. 'She is close,' Elva leaned away. "Oh," noting the intoxicating aroma on her breath, her lids flitted, "that's—"

"You know," she held a devilish grin, "you're quite cute, kitten. I wouldn't mind having a pretty little thing like you around as my pet." She tittered while Elva squirmed. "So, what do you say?" She licked her lips with a heavy-lidded peer.

'I was wrong,' Elva froze. 'She's not going to kill me. She's going to eat me.'

"Only when it pleases me, kitten."

Agape, Elva dropped her head. 'That's—' "I," she hesitantly peered up, "I suppose— I'll sign a contract with you."

The woman's seductive expression broke into an amused smirk. Her head eventually fell as she heartily giggled.

"Wait," Elva's fluster worsened, "what's so funny now?" 'First my death, now my freedom...'

"Relax, kitten," her laughter abated though her cheeks were aglow, matching the warm glint in her pupils. "I'm not going to lock you up in a dark cell for the rest of your unlife," she playfully kicked her legs, "that wouldn't be very fun for you or me. I treat my slaves fairly, I'll have you know. Your contract has a safeword you can speak to halt what I'm doing if it makes you uncomfortable, as well as an escape clause if you find my methods unbearable. And I'm only making you sign a one-day contract."

Elva sighed and some tension slipped from her shoulders. 'Okay, one day. That all doesn't sound— so bad, I guess.' She nervously returned the woman's gaze. "So, what happens now?"

Her grin turned devious; a snap of her fingers summoned a bright array of purple and pink lights. Elva recoiled at the low, mystical whir that followed, wincing as the shines coalesced and then faded. After blinking, she found that the woman held a scroll of fine, bright paper and dowels of light metal detailing intricate knots. "You'll have this read by seven, Sharp. We'll discuss if there's anything you need to have addressed or altered," she handed it over, "then we'll seal your contract with a collaring."

'Seven— what? A— collaring?' Elva cautiously reached out, but the woman grabbed her arm in a flash. With a firm tug, she pulled Elva in until their noses touched. 'O-OKAY,' she panicked upon brushing against the woman's soft skin, 'she is VERY close now.'

"Call me Mistress, kitten." She drew Elva into her lips.

Elva flailed, 'WAIT, I-I'M not— rea-dy—' Her heart throbbed while her chest burned like never before. A fog covered her mind, only worsened by the sweet aroma. As she leaned in, a lightness overcame her while Elva moaned and eagerly shared the embrace. When their tongues met, Mistress loosened her grasp and withdrew. Elva carefully opened her eyes, feeling betrayed as the taste faded and her arm was released.

"And don't wake me up at three in the morning again." She loudly snapped.

Still lost in her irises, Elva's daze broke when a sinking feeling took over. She looked down to find a hazy darkness—shrouded in pink and purple—engulfing her. Without a yip in surprise, Elva disappeared into the void.