The Ascension

Giselle cleaned her mistress's bedroom thoroughly, and with a small smile. She liked to help her mistress get clean, as she would make her feel warm inside with her thighs wrapped around her head.

Giselle cleaned the bathing tub, and collected enough water to fill it when the mistress returned. She stoked the fire, and had the bathing room heated so she could sweat off the filth her master left her coated in. The mistress hated going to his room to serve him, but she had little choice in the matter. If she wasn't prompt, he could be unusually cruel.

"I can not wait until mistress returns." Giselle said in a low tone, just in case there were ears at the doors, and walls. "She likes to be clean, and her rewards are quite good."

As she passed the window, Giselle looked out, and frowned heavily.

"Why are there so many dead soldiers outside the mansion?" Giselle asked. "They have never bothered me, and even uphold a sense of justice. They even respond to cries for help." He pursed her lips, and was not concerned with their appearance in front of the mansion.

After five minutes of watching, and over two hours since her mistress left her bedroom, Giselle became uneasy.

"The soldiers only attack those who attack them, or who have been a part of the illegal slave trade." She put a hand on her hip, and immediately cringed. She took her hand and laid it over her middle, as she had been trained to never have an aggressive stance. Putting her hands on her hips was a sign of arrogance, at least in her master's eyes. She could be whipped for that stance.

Her mistress never seemed to mind though.

"She's been gone for two hours, and is usually only gone for an hour at the most." Giselle groaned, filled herself with her meager courage, and walked to the door. She heard some shouts, and clashes of metal down the hall, and in the lower level.

"Mistress?" She called out, and walked more swiftly. She had to find her mistress, and call out for aid from the dead soldiers. They patrolled the city recently, and didn't put up with any kind of criminal behavior. She knew she could ask for help, and they would respond.

"We don't know anything!" Giselle frowned as she heard another servant's voice. She rushed forward and saw a young woman surrounded by dead soldiers.

"Then why are there death elements seeping from that door?" She pointed. Giselle followed her finger, and paled.

"Oh no. MISTRESS!" She yelled and ran towards the door. Two dead soldiers stepped in front of her. "Please, my mistress was visiting her husband, the master of the house, but hasn't returned! She is never longer than an hour, and it's been two!"

"Do not go through that door." The young woman said. She reached out, and pulled Giselle with a large amount of strength, and put her behind her. "The soldiers will open the door, and go first. Stay behind me."

The soldiers didn't need to use all their strength to smash the reinforced wooden door, even though it was nearly four inches of iron wood, and reinforced with iron bands. The door fell apart under the first blow, while the second cleared the debris.

"Bloody beast shit." The young woman said angrily. Giselle would soon see why she was angry. Her mistress had not only been murdered, but tortured to death. "Mother is going to be so upset about this." She pointed at the man.

"Rip his arms off and feed him to the wolves!" She looked at the woman behind her and sighed sadly. "On second thought, that is too quick a death for him. Take him out of that room first, and cut his hands and feet off. Then toss him into the forest to feed the wolves while he is alive."

Giselle watched as her master was removed from the cell, laughing with a nearly insane look in his eyes, and cursing those who interrupted his fun. The young woman glared at him, and made a gesture. The soldier on his right took a dagger and cut out his tongue.

"You should not see this, child." She said softly. "I believe the one you are looking for is no longer able to say any words of comfort." Giselle shook her head quickly, tears rolled down her cheeks. She firmed up her chin, and walked to the door. She fell to her knees.

"My poor mistress." She closed her eyes and cried. Her poor mistress had multiple cuts on her body, and was even missing an eye. "She was the only one who has been kind to me these last twenty years. Protected me from that monster. We were...intimate." The young woman beside her put a hand on her shoulder.

"I know." She knelt down. "This is not the way to remember her, nor should you see her like this." She looked at the soldiers.

"Release her, sew up her wounds, wrap her in the best material in this house, and take her to the back yard. Build a pyre, and send her to Imera, as our Master instructed." She sighed. "Just a little bit earlier, and we might have been able to make her like my sisters and I." She stood up.

"I am Kana, daughter of the Queen of Death, and servant of the goddess in the forest. My little sister, Giel, will be most interested in meeting you, child." She put her hand back on her shoulder.

"She will set your heart at ease, as we all do when we meet our mates."

* * *

'Nuldeir!'

'Sister? You sound agitated.' Nuldeir said to Aconia.

'She is not dead! Bring her to the manor, and let Nuri heal her, but do it quickly!' Aconia said. Nuldeir frowned slightly.

'Sister, is she one of ours?' Nuldeir asked quietly.

'I do not know for sure.' She heard a soft sigh. 'Without healing her, I can not read her potential. Her life's thread is so faint, there is not much time left to heal her.' Nuldeir didn't take long to think.

'I will send her with four enhanced guards so she will not have a rough journey. She will be there within an hour, or less if I can speed them up even more.' Nuldeir said, and sent out her orders.

'Sister, I know you are quite busy with things, including little Giel, but the army of the king of Mabu is not far from Stormwall.' Aconia said, but in a softer tone.

'I can stall them, push them back, or let my girl do what she was made to do. Sister, if they are poised to attack, and we only push them back, they may keep on trying.' Nuldeir said, and continued to move the soldiers as she wanted.

'I know. Let her loose, but let her keep in mind our sister's wishes. No massacres unless necessary.' Aconia said, and reached out with her thoughts.

'Sister.' Nuldeir said with a soft murmur. She felt Aconia's hand on the back of her neck, more of a sensation to remind her, and that hand firmed up her grip.

'It has been a while since I have made you sleep within me, Nuldier.' She caught a glimpse of the void, and the tree Aconia sat upon. 'I think you need to spend some time with your sisters. Nuldeir blushed a bit.

She thought so as well.

* * *

"Where are they taking my mistress?" Giselle asked as she watched four dead soldiers wrap her body carefully, and each carried a corner before running out of the city with her body suspended between them. Her face was covered with a thin veil, and Nuldeir had sent a stream of dark elements into her body to keep her heart beating.

"She's being taken to the temple, the place where our Master lives." Kana said. "I do not know why, but they will not treat her poorly. They have strict instructions to get her there quickly." She continued to guide the woman to the gate, and to the recently erected tent made from dark panther hides.

It would be considered a luxurious item if only a small strip of fur was used, but dark panther hide made up the entire structure. Not only was it puncture resistant, and resistant to most elements, it was surrounded by hundreds of dead soldiers.

No zombie or living thing could infiltrate into the midst of the soldiers without being discovered. This was the place Kana took her, which made her a bit frightened.

"Kana!" Giel called out as she appeared, but stopped her quick run towards her when she saw Giselle. Her mouth fell open, and her eyes were glued to her, roving up and down before settling on her eyes.

Kana smiled as Giselle was also pulled in by an instinct that she couldn't explain. When Giel stepped towards her, Giselle felt a strong haze enter her mind, similar to how she felt about the mistress when she took control, and took a step forward.

Once Giselle was within her reach, Giel jumped up and held onto her shoulders. Giselle embraced her, and felt a set of fangs sink into her neck.

"That's it, baby sis. Now blow gently." Black veins radiated outward from Giel's lips as her venom entered Giselle's bloodstream.

"There you go. You have finally found your mate." Kana said quietly, so as not to disturb this special moment for both women. Sol looked at her daughter as she bit Giselle's neck, and pouted unhappily. She cleared her throat.

"Baby, shouldn't you introduce me to your mate?"