NOVEL WEB Chapter 31: In Which The Truth Is Revealed, And Princess Asperia Has A Small Request
“So, I don’t want to inquire too deeply, but…” Valentine looked down at the hickeys on Sasha’s throat, and looked to me and then Sasha with a sly smile, her voice still very soft. “...before or after?” ...sex? How coarse… oh, no, she meant before or after we switched bodies. That was almost worse.
“Um,” I responded eloquently. It wasn’t like Valentine didn’t know I was extremely submissive, but being called out in front of everyone was sort of making my mind spin.
Sasha nuzzled against my thigh. “Mistress was extremely good to Sasha,” she said proudly.
I was overheating a little, and getting a little wet, and if Sasha and/or Valentine pinned me down right now, I’d probably let them do whatever they wanted to me. “I’m… I’m really not used to talking about this sort of stuff in public.”
Valentine hugged me close. “It’s okay, nothing to be embarrassed about.” Her voice was affectionate, and she gave my cheek a big lick and I tried not to think how the entire harem would soon know how much of a bottom I was.
It was then that Princess Asperia walked in, wearing her tiara as usual, but this time along with a flowing, shimmering, almost-translucent gown which looked more like something someone would wear in a movie or commercial than actual clothing-- too delicate to be used in the bedroom, unless it was tougher than it looked... or if it getting torn up was the point... the patterns of iridescence did remind me of butterfly wings a bit, though the silver overtones more echoed her tiara.
She smiled at me as she walked over, and walked over to pet Sasha’s head gently, as she leaned in and whispered into my ear. “I take it you decided to cooperate.”
“Yes and more than that, we figured out a way.”
She blinked, then smiled slowly. “Good… that’s very good, follow me.” She petted and groped a few of her harem on her way out, or stopped to whisper something in their ears, drawing quite a few blushes and looks of arousal and smiles of appreciation… it seemed like she really did remember everyone, what they did, and their preferences in bed. Did she have some sort of eidetic memory too?
I, on the other hand, was questioning my memories of how cruel Sasha had been, just a little… surely I must be casting her in a harsher light than she deserved, part of me said? I just got too angry after she tried to defend us in a bad way by taking over my body? But part of me had also been reflexively bowing down to my Mistress as well, so it was hard to actually tell… and I wondered how much of my personality was of her building and training versus the original me. Although, maybe I liked some things about the current me better…? But that didn’t prove much… and so I went, in loops, while we followed Princess Asperia's lead.
Soon enough, we came to Princess’s room again, and she looked at the lamia woman I had seen outside her quarters before, who was lounging around there once again. “Zince, Valentine, join me and my guests in my quarters.” Zince flushed a little, perhaps thinking that some of the Princess’s favorite form of bonding was in order, and waited for everyone else to enter before slithering inside and closing the door behind her. Her tail took up quite a lot of room, but because of the grandiose size of Princess Asperia’s bedroom, she fit in quite easily without seeming to dominate the space.
Princess Asperia, on the other hand, walked over and sat down in her bed, lounging against the pillows placed against the headboard like it was one of her thrones, as if dominating space was second nature to ehr. “So. Tell me your plan.”
Sasha inclined her head, dropping her act. “My plan is simple, Princess Asperia. Slave collars prioritize most recent orders, right?“
Princess stared at her for a long moment, then smiled and beckoned. “Yes… and come closer, Sasha.” She obediently did so, and Princess Asperia gently pulled her into her lap, running her hand around her collar.
“All right. And it seems you’ve made no modifications.”
“Of course not-- I don’t know of many who even claim to have such an ability.” Sasha started to stand up, only to have Princess’s arms wrap around her midsection and gently hold her there, at which she stopped struggling immediately.
The Princess smiled. “Can’t be too careful. Ah, and they both know-- I swapped out their collars myself.”
Sasha relaxed in the Princess’s lap, looking all too comfortable.
Another twinge of jealousy. Sigh. Why was I like this? Everyone else seemed to adapt to it easily enough… after most of them had been trained their entire lives that their desires didn’t matter, and that their Mistress was their soul source of Law and Standards, their Goddess, in a way. Plus, those who didn’t adapt probably got sold… Sasha furrowed her brow just the slightest amount as Princess idly groped her breast.
“Okay. So, continuing on with my plan-- Mistress Eve,” she looked at me so everyone knew the name of my body, “will order me that no spells are allowed, and then that I am allowed to use magic to look and see if you have been affected by mind magic, and nothing else. And then you lower your protections, and I look.”
“...Mmm. I must admit, I didn’t expect you to willingly take on the role of a slave again, or perhaps I would’ve thought of this.”
“It’s temporary,” Sasha responded firmly, “so you should treat me as if I’m your fiance.”
Princess laughed and kissed her neck. “Oh, I very much am, darling.”
Sasha nodded evenly. “Is there anything else we need to clarify before we start the process?”
Princess gave a broad sweep of one hand at the entirity of the room with a smile as her other hand wandered down along Sasha’s thigh. “Well, everyone should feel free to make themselves comfortable-- we don’t know how long this will take.” ...there wasn’t really any furniture besides her very large bed, which Valentine hopped up on easily, curling up in a corner with her arms crossed on the bed and her chin on her arms as she watched Sasha and Princess alertly.
The other furniture was… a pile of treasure. Maybe there was a golden chair or something if you dug around? I didn’t want to look.
Zince slithered into a corner, coiling up and leaning against the wall, and I walked over to her, lowering my voice a little. “Okay if I sit with you? Well, um, on you, I guess. Feel like my, well, dangerous body might raise people’s nerves more than necessary.”
Zince stared at me for a long moment, then smiled widely, showing her fangs. “I know the feeling.” She patted her coils, and I sat down on her, and she adjusted her coils immediately to support my body, apparently people had used her as furniture before. It was surprisingly comfortable, even if her fangs had me just a little tense… I was still a more deadly killing machine than anyone else here, I reminded myself, even if that reminder didn’t make me happy.
I took a deep breath. “Okay. Sasha, you are not allowed to cast any magic.” I waited for a moment, so there was no confusion to my words by magic or listeners, and Princess took off her tiara, laying it on the bed beside her.
“Sasha, you are allowed to cast magic only to find magic on Princess, investigate magic on Princess enough to know if it’s Mind Magic or not, and to analyze any Mind Magic there may be on Princess.”
Sasha closed her eyes, and Princess held her a bit more supportively as she moved her fingers a little… and it seemed like her eyes were moving around under her eyelids, too, as if she could see something or had entered rapid eye movement part of sleep or something.
The seconds slowly ticked by.
In less then a minute, she opened her eyes again. “Got it. You can dismiss my ability to cast magic, Mistress.”
“Sasha, you are not allowed to cast any magic.”
Princess smiled slowly. “Well, you were certainly quick.”
“Naturally-- it’s a spell I’ve studied somewhat myself. Mind Swap.” She paused, and everyone was staring at her. “...or rather, something very close to it. Unlike the two-way nature of Mind Swap, it’s one way. There’s no mind in that body naturally, you’re just inhabiting it.”
Princess picked up the tiara with slightly trembling fingers, and slowly set it back in place on her head. “I see. That explains a lot, actually. Thank you.”
“I did notice something else, but I think you wouldn’t want anyone else in the room when I told it to you.” She laughed.
“Oh, do go on, Sasha-- I trust everyone else in this room at least as much as you.” Kind of a cruel way to put it, but I suppose not exactly unfair.
Sasha nodded, appearing unphased, although she looked over to meet my eyes. I smiled at her reassuringly, and she looked back around to the room. “There is additionally transmutation magic on you. Or rather, you are… your body is transmutation magic.”
“...Ah. I can’t look at magic directly, myself… it’s been waning in this body.”
“If I had to hazard a guess, it’s been created by a mixture of human blood and something else… I would be careful not to let anyone cast Blood Hunt on or near you.” Princess Asperia nodded slowly.
Sasha stared at her. “...you knew this.”
“Knew? Perhaps not. But I have suspected this for a while. In truth, I was afraid to look, when I still could.”
I studied her face. “...is that why you’re so empathetic towards slaves?”
“Members of royalty have been thrown into slavery before, when Blood Hunt triggered on them,” Princess said with a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes, hugging Sasha a bit closer, seeming more scared than when Sasha had a knife at her neck. She looked over at Zince and Valentine, and inhaled and exhaled slowly, seeming a bit reassured by their expressions. I couldn’t see Zince’s, but Valentine was still looking at her worshipfully. She hadn’t cast her Goddess off the pedestal she had set her on.
Reassured, Princess Asperia continued, “Suffice to say, the reason I have survived this long with a sister who can see the future is simple: I am immortal. Whenever I die, an ancient artifact I found simply creates another body for me, almost identical to the last one, and implants my mind in it… but each time, I feel some strange instincts hasten in me a little… my magic fades… I need less sleep… if I keep on dying, I may cease to be human altogether.” A little shrug of her shoulders, as if it mattered little to her, even as she glanced over to the pile of treasure she kept in one corner of the room… before returning her gaze to me.“Which is why I really need to step up my assassination attempts on my little sister.”
Princess Asperia's eyes sought out mine, and I froze as she stared directly me, a dominant smile forming on her face as she stroked Sasha’s head, and I almost felt like she was stroking mine. “And now that you’re aware of it, and how many times my little sister has had me killed as she’s tried to seize the throne, I was hoping you could help me out a little.”
“Specifically, I was hoping our little Hero From Another World could help out. You could do that for me, to save yourself, your pet, me, my harem, and eventually, all slaves, right? It’s not like you’ve never killed before… I’ve read the reports." Princess leaned towards me a little, her arms squeezing Sasha a bit tighter against her chest.
"So won’t you prove your loyalty to me, Eve? Be a good girl, and work with my Valentine and Zince, and kill just one single person for me, for your beloved fiancée, for your Princess…”