Ink Stained Reunion
Chapter 11: Warded
Aurora screamed as the fall from her first-story window lasted much longer than she’d anticipated. When she’d expected to hit the ground, the world around her had been swallowed up by blue. She instinctively tried to clutch the mysterious blue-haired woman tighter only to feel herself fall on a plush couch. The blue around her had turned back into something resembling a fancy hotel room.
“What the hell was that?!” Frazzled and panting, Aurora pulled away and rose to her feet. “We fell . . . through the ground . . . into . . . is this the Marriott?”
“Good guess. It’s actually the Extended Stay. I needed a cheaper place to stay.” The Warden smiled serenely, crossing her legs slowly, savoring the sound of her long leather boots squeaking against each other. “I’m truly sorry about the shock. If we didn’t leave then, we would not have gotten away. I had to protect you. I tried to protect your sister, but I didn’t do a very good job. I couldn’t let a Nesatealia corrupt both of the Light Bearer’s children.”
The Warden reached behind her head, unstrapping and removing her black leather mask. Even without the black surrounding them there was an unearthly intensity to her cobalt-blue eyes.
Aurora silently noted her blue eyebrows. She looked barely older than Aurora, but something in the way she didn’t seem relaxed as her voice, and something in the depths of her deep blue eyes held wisdom women not yet twenty did not possess. It made Aurora curious, but not curious enough to ask.
She pulled back the curtain from a window cautiously and sighed in relief. Outside was just where it should be. Seeing Midas hadn’t stopped making Aurora smile.
“My name is Zandra. As that blighted oil-spill mentioned, I am a Warden.” The woman played idly with the loose hair at the end of her braid. “Relax a moment. While we definitely shouldn’t relax entirely, you seem entirely too high-strung right now.”
Aurora sighed and held her hand up in front of her face. A silver light slid from her pointer finger, glittering with the simple beauty of a silver star. Aurora wanted to frown, but the sight reminded her too much of her mother. Even if the worst had already happened, knowing she could make a spark just like her mother made it feel like Sarah was with her.
The spark burst in a bright flash of light and Aurora laughed. She remembered the trick was a favorite of her mother’s back before she was even Silver Girl. Another spark followed the first, and then another, until several sparks hovered in the air over the palm of her hand.
“So, you had really good timing showing up like that. Were you waiting for that moment?” Aurora frowned past the bright mass of silver. “Because I could have used your help a lot sooner. Sylvia probably would have appreciated a little intervention, too. Sorry if I’m a little suspicious lately, but lately all I seem to do is meet up with people who put a knife in my back. They tend to seem really sweet at the time. They even seem to be saving me from horrible mind control. What’s your story? Why save me?”
“I’m a Warden. You are the daughter of the Light Bearer.” Zandra shrugged, throwing her hair back over her shoulder. “Your mother hasn’t told you much about the world her LaSilvas heritage comes from, has she?”
Aurora shook her head, closing her eyes as she burst the handful of sparks in a blinding flash. “Mom always said she wasn’t interested in a world where the Nesatealia ran around doing what they did, or thought of her as some kind of chosen one. Grandma Lida would drop a story now and then but nothing that made me want to visit.”
Zandra sighed and patted the couch beside her. Aurora glanced down at the cushion and turned away to peek out the window again. The Warden pulled her rod from her side, gazing into its sapphire.
“Times have changed. Your grandmother is from a very turbulent time in our history. And, your mother had a role in fixing it. The Nesatealia have been all but displaced. Your mother’s example has dramatically reformed the LaSilvas family.” Zandra aimed her rod at Aurora, her posture too relaxed for it to be anything more than a gesture. “She even eliminated Red, the Nesatealian trump card. My order, the Wardens, can finally protect the people. It’s truly a beautiful thing. Perhaps some time you’ll have a chance to visit.”
“Yeah. Maybe.” Aurora rested her hand against the window. It was a tempting notion to throw herself through the glass and hope her metal would protect her. “I still don’t trust you. Tried to protect Sylvia? She never had black in her eyes like that before. She never had black in her hair. Quillspawn didn’t seem slowed down. Thanks for the save. I’m leaving.”
The Warden narrowed her eyes and aimed the sapphire at the door. A blue aura formed around the knob that slowly spread over the whole of the door. Blue light filled the room as the glow became leather straps holding the door shut. Aurora frowned and held out her hand. The Warden raised the rod to match as she rose to her feet. Though she didn’t need them, her heels easily made Zandra tower over the younger heroine.
Brown eyes filled with silver flecks faintly glowed. Neither woman moved for a long time. Zandra replaced the rod at her side as Aurora dropped her arm.
Reluctantly, Aurora moved to the couch, sitting on the far end as she stared up at Zandra. She didn’t like feeling trapped any more than she liked abandoning Sylvia. It made her feel inches tall. Idly she snapped her fingers to create a spark. Just ad idly she snapped her fingers to make the spark burst into pure light.
Zandra shook her head with a smile and sat slightly closer to Aurora. Her eyes sizzled with an inner light that looked nearly electric. Something in them seemed familiar beyond their intensity, but Aurora couldn’t remember why. She wanted to believe it was the same hunch she’d had about Mourning Frost, but the odds felt like a second strike of lightning on the exact same place.
“You are not leaving yet. What would you do? Walk right up to her?” Zandra laughed, shaking her head slowly. “Your sister is powerful. Shadow magic was coming our way when we left. Yana’s ink is very powerful all on its own. We need a plan, and you need me.”
“Maybe, or maybe you grabbed me and kidnapped me to drag out Quillspawn’s stupid little game. Just get it over with if you are.” Aurora crossed her arms and sank back into the couch. “At least with Quillspawn I’d get to be with Sylvia again.”
Blue eyes narrowed dangerously. “I might be magical law enforcement, but that doesn’t mean I have magically inexhaustible patience. I came to help, to stop Quillspawn as you call her, and find your mother. Now you’re my responsibility, too. You’ve been through a lot no doubt, and I’m happy to help you relax in any way I can, but I will not tolerate you being a pouty brat.”
“Whatever you say, Zandra. If that’s even your name. You’re pretty demanding for a Warden, whatever that really means.” Aurora uncrossed her arms and closed her eyes as she melted back farther into the couch.
When Aurora opened her eyes to see why Zandra had been silent, the woman was standing over her. “Sorry. I think you need this. Trust me when I say I’m not betraying you, or hurting you in any way, but you’re practically screaming for this. Hopefully you’ll agree once I’m done, but I make no promises.”
As she opened her mouth to complain Zandra quickly held out her hand. Blue light glowed in Aurora’s mouth, transmuting into a ball with leather straps that locked around her head. Aurora’s eyes opened wide as she reached up to pull the gag free.
Zandra tisked, waving her hands over Aurora’s. Much like Sylvia’s they were pulled together before being wrapped in leather. Aurora stood and raised her hands over her head to bring the mass of leather down on the Warden. Instead, Zandra snapped her fingers, and the leather held her hands in place over her head as a leather strap reached up to the ceiling, forming a hook to hold the young woman in place.
“I may seem quite powerful, and you might wonder why we didn’t simply overwhelm Quillspawn. You might be muttering how I’m about to prove you right.” Zandra again pulled the rod from her side, using it to push up Aurora’s chin to gaze deep into the woman’s eyes. “That’s not how my magic works.”
Aurora struggled, hands fighting to break free only to feel the leather’s grip become more unrelenting. Zandra’s sapphire traced along Aurora’s neck, resting between her breasts for a long moment before aiming down at her feet. Blue light brought her ankles together before lifting them up into the air. Leather attached to the ceiling, leaving the heroine dangling in mid air.
Angry as Aurora wanted to be, there was a thrill in how helpless she felt. All she could do was thrash and twist in the air as she exhausted her body. Her nipples poked out against her top as she screamed into the gag. Her own muffled cries made the crotch of her shorts darken more.
Zandra’s smile seemed calm and contemplative. It confused Aurora, but it also aroused her. No one had ever taken control from her in such a swift, powerful way while also remaining calm. Zandra was obviously as in control of herself as she was of the way Aurora’s body hung from the ceiling. When the sapphire pressed between her eyes and a leather blindfold hid the world in a flash of blue it was even easier to relax.
Excitement tingled through Aurora as the anticipation for the next surprise rose. She didn’t even notice when she stopped struggling and hung motionless from the leather straps.
“Mmmm . . .” Aurora mewled around the gag as Zandra’s sapphire pressed to her nipple. She could feel as the sparks she’d trapped inside emerged, melting into her nipple and sending shudders of blue pleasure all through her breast. The sensation repeated at her other nipple, drawing Aurora to arch in her bonds to feel more.
“You see, all you need is discipline. You felt powerless and confused. Now that all you can do is shudder and writhe being powerless doesn’t feel too bad. You know what’s expected of you. You want more.” Zandra’s voice accompanied the removal of the sapphire. Aurora whimpered pitifully, faintly thrashing. “Now now, you were doing so very good. Don’t be a bad girl now. Moan when you’re given pleasure. Wiggle and writhe. Don’t beg.”
Zandra lifted her rod over her head before swinging it in a downward arc through the air. A blue streak of light followed it, crashing against Aurora’s body. Aurora’s body shook as she was overwhelmed by a sharp blue sensation piercing through her thoughts, silencing them as her body felt the lash of a whip made of pure heat.
Again, Zandra pressed the sapphire against Aurora’s nipples one at a time, blue tingling pleasure pulsing and caressing over the woman’s supple body before she pulled the rod away. Again Aurora whimpered, and again the blue burned into her mind and tingled hotly across her body. All of her body throbbed in arousal and sensitivity as she tried to gather her thoughts. When Zandra’s rod again tingled her nipples, Aurora moaned, and then was silent.
“Much, much better, isn’t it? To just be rewarded? I’m fond enough of punishment, justice . . . but I also like rewarding.” Zandra cooed into Aurora’s ear as she pulled her shirt up over her breasts and teased her fingers along the curves of her bra. “You have such a wonderful body, and lovely moans. Moan if you want more, Aurora.”
Aurora moaned as loud as she could around the gag. Zandra laughed in a quiet warm way that made her tremble.
“Perfect. This is going to feel very, very intense. When it’s done, you might be very, very confused and disoriented. I look forward to it.” Zandra’s lips pressed to Aurora’s forehead. The auburn-haired heroine panted desperately around the gag as she listened closely to the clicking of Zandra’s heels as she moved behind her.
Silence followed. Aurora slowed her breathing and tried to center herself. She tried to think of how they could defeat Quillspawn, of going to Lida’s world, of anything besides how desperately she wanted more.
Zandra’s sapphire pressed its way between Aurora’s legs, overwhelming blue wrapping all around her, enveloping her, embracing her, stimulating her, and all she could do for a very long time was scream.
“There, that wasn’t so bad, was it?” Aurora wasn’t sure how she’d ended up in Zandra’s lap, but she knew it was very warm. She felt smaller than normal in a way that made feel so perfect to nuzzle into Zandra’s chest and forget about worrying. “Didn’t think so. You had a very intense reaction. I think you’ve been needing a release for that energy.”
Her cheeks burned as she nuzzled into Zandra’s cleavage as though she could hide. “It was amazing. I don’t remember how I got down, or much after you touched me with that stick between my legs but . . . I think I did too.”
“Good. Now we can come up with a solution together.” Zandra’s lips curled into a satisfied grin as she slid her fingers through Aurora’s hair. Silver strands mingled in with the auburn, mostly at her roots. Zandra grinned at the sight with glowing blue eyes.
Blue had never seemed such a sexy color. Now it felt to Aurora as though Zandra had dyed eroticism itself a perfect dark shade of blue. Losing her thoughts, losing time, felt somehow freeing when she knew the woman doing it wasn’t under anyone’s control. It made her heart ache to think of Sylvia bound to Yana’s will, but she knew they could save her. That helped make the ache quieter.
Zandra’s fingers continued to stroke through Aurora’s hair. Her lips pressed to the top of Aurora’s head. “You seem like you could use a nap. No sense in being stubborn now. Close your eyes and rest. I’ll watch you and make sure you’re safe.”
“Thanks, Zandra. Sorry I was a brat . . . Thanks for . . . everything . . .” Aurora mewled as she let her eyes flutter shut. She was already yawning and finding it hard to realize if she was blinking or keeping her eyes closed for minutes at a time.
The Warden squeezed her tighter, tracing a fingertip slowly along the younger woman’s ear. “You’re welcome. Wardens protect women from witches. Sometimes that even means themselves. Don’t think about that for now. Just rest. I’ll be right here when you wake up.”