Chapter 12: Go Your Own Way

Kat awoke very early, and her excitement for the coming day prevented her from getting back to sleep. The previous day’s events had been almost too much. Olan and she had agreed to work together to help Tyra, to find out who had made her the way she was, and to collaborate more widely. Kat couldn’t have been more delighted – she had a chance to help Tyra as well as get some real-world experience as a healer. Carrying Rhys’s sex toy around in her pussy for the afternoon had been awesome. It wasn’t just the stimulation that it had provided, on top of the horniness she usually felt being around Rhys, nor even that he’d put them in there and told her not to cum. It was that delightful mix of being a newly independent woman, about to start on her own way in the world and being Rhys’s plaything at the same time. She supposed she should have felt conflicted, but it all felt just right to her.

As quietly as she could, she slipped out of bed, donned a dressing gown, opened the bedroom door and made her way downstairs to the study. She retrieved her healer’s book from its shelf and brought it back to the bedroom. She sat on the chair by the dressing table, lit a candle using her “flame from a finger” trick that she’d “inherited” from Rhys and started to read.

An hour or so later, Jade’s bladder called for attention. She slid out of bed and noticed Kat, still sitting in the chair by the dressing table, but now dozing. Her healer’s book had dropped to the floor, and she was drooling slightly. Jade smiled; Kat was really cute, especially when she was a little dishevelled. She picked Kat’s book up and put it on the dressing table, then picked Kat up behind her knees and her lower back and carried her back to the bed. She noticed it seemed easier to lift Kat than she expected and made a note to mention it to the others. They knew that at least one of them had a telekinesis talent, and now, because of the rings they all wore, all of them did to varying extents.

Jade lay Kat down on the bed and pulled a blanket over her. Kat rolled over onto her side, instinctively moving closer to Rhys as she did so. Jade smiled again, then collected the candle and took it through to the bathroom. As usual, she started the shower running and then used the toilet. She stepped in once the water was warm and began to wash herself. A figure stepped into the shower behind her: she stifled a scream as the figure put their arms around her. The figure kissed the nape of her neck – it was Rhys – of course it was! “My turn,” he whispered into her ear.

The shower head was mounted on a vertical rail, attached to the wall at each end, and the head could be adjusted up and down the rail to change its height. Rhys had a hand towel in his hands, which he slipped behind the rail. He moved around to Jade’s front, kissing her and then held her arms up and put one end of the towel in each hand. “Hold,” he told her. She grabbed hold, and Rhys moved behind her again, starting to wash her from the top as she and Kat had done yesterday for him. He washed her hair, trying to give her the best head massage that he could. He wasn’t as proficient as Jade – he hadn’t had the training that she had had – but he did his best, and she seemed to enjoy it.

He worked on her shoulders, manipulating the muscles beneath her skin, then down her back and to her ass cheeks. He gave each a couple of slaps, just because he could, then parted those lovely globes. He was a bit squeamish about putting his tongue in her asshole as she’d done to him, so he put his middle finger up there instead, turning it around, backwards and forwards, as he went. Jade sighed happily. Rhys washed her legs and feet, paying attention to each toe individually. He moved back to her front and stood to wash her face. He washed it carefully, allowing the falling water to rinse the soap away before kissing her eyes, her nose, her ears and her lips. He moved lower, soaping her breasts. They weren’t overly large; they were perfect for her frame, sitting proud and high on her chest. He washed them and palmed them, giving them gentle squeezes and being sure to pay attention to her nipples.

Jade was panting now. Rhys hadn’t restrained her; she was effectively restraining herself by holding the towel because he’d said so. That extra thought, that little kink, that she was holding the towel and hence her arms above her head because she wanted to. That it was in her power to stop, even without using their safe word, made her even more aroused.

Rhys reached up and unhooked the shower head from the rail, allowing him to direct the water more effectively at her lower body. He had arrived at her pussy. She kept her pubic hair neatly trimmed, and he washed that hair too, lathering it up, then rinsing it. The jets of water playing on her labia seemed to get a reaction, so he had her spread her legs and, holding the shower with one hand, he did for Jade the same as he’d done for Kat the previous week. He parted her labia with one hand and directed the water at her clitoris with the other. It didn’t take long. Jade bucked once, let go of the towel and fell, her knees buckling. Rhys caught her mid-fall, wrapping his arms around her waist. He adjusted his carry, holding her as she’d held Kat earlier, one arm behind her back and the other under her knees. He wondered how to open the door with both his arms full, then realised he only had to ask the ring now he had access to telekinesis. The door swung open, and he carried Jade out, laying her on the bed. He fetched some towels and, with Kat, who was now awake, they dried her as best they could.

Kat looked across at Rhys – he instinctively knew why. “Later, my love. Your turn will come later,” he told her. She nodded her head, not entirely happy but willing to play along with whatever he had in mind. “Be a good girl at work today and you’ll get a reward,” he told her with a grin. Kat grinned back.

Kat went into the bathroom for her morning ablutions, and Rhys followed once she’d finished. Jade had left a small case out the previous night, and Kat and Rhys both put a couple of changes of clothes in it, together with nightwear. They had left basic items like soap, toothbrushes and towels at the university apartment the last time they were there. Rhys put his formal university clothes in the case, intending to go to the apartment and change before heading to the School of Humanities to start his day. Kat wore a short-sleeved tunic and leggings – she’d read about the basics of infection control in her healer’s book.

Kat and Rhys were both in the orangery, enjoying a breakfast of crispy toast, fresh butter, and a mixed fruit preserve, with peppermint tea, when Jade joined them. She’d pulled on a nightgown and grinned at Kat and Rhys as she entered the room. “Sorry about that,” she said. “I don’t know what came over me.” The other two grinned at her pun.

They ate together for a while, but a tension hung in the air. Kat spoke first. “I’m nervous about today,” she said. “Yesterday I was so excited about going to work with Olan, but now that it’s about to happen, I’m starting to doubt myself. Whether I’ll be good enough even to help Olan in any meaningful way, whether I’ll be slowing her down or whether I’ll make mistakes when I’m helping her.”

“I don’t have much experience of going into a new workplace like you’re about to do,” said Jade, “but I know it’s normal to have doubts about yourself. Don’t forget, Olan was excited to have your help as much as, if not more than, you were excited to be working with her. We know you have the talent, we know you have the intelligence, and we know you have the determination. You’ve even got a book that only healers can read, and you can read it! Even the book thinks you’ll make a good healer!”

Kat gave a small smile before Rhys spoke. “Jade and I are only a thought away. If you need anything, we’re both there for you.” Jade nodded emphatically. “Don’t hesitate to lean on us for anything. And, so you don’t feel you’re taking and not giving back, we’ll not hesitate to lean on you.” Kat nodded, looking relieved and grateful for the pep talk.

“I’m also slightly worried about going to University today. I’m a foreigner in a strange land, and I don’t have a background or a network in Reiland society to fall back on. I only have you two, which is awesome, but neither of you has the background either.” Jade and Kat nodded, understanding. “And this thing with Tyra and Prince Velmir is giving me the jitters, too. Being a foreigner, I suppose, gives me the advantage that he’s not my prince, so I’m not expecting to be in awe of him or anything, but if it goes wrong, it could make any future I have in Reiland harder.”

“Just do your best,” said Jade. “That’s all anyone can do. I’m sure you’ll do the right things.”

There was a knock at the door – it was Clara, and she announced that the transport crew who had come to take Tyra to Olan’s clinic had arrived. Kat jumped up and ran into the hall, where Clara had let them in. She accompanied the crew upstairs, where they collected Tyra in her trunk and took her out to the horse-drawn cart that was waiting outside. Kat grabbed a coat and a bag, into which she and Jade had packed a couple of spare towels and a few extra blankets to try to make Tyra more comfortable in the clinic, and hurried after them. Just inside the front door, Kat kissed Jade and Rhys, who had come into the hall to say goodbye and good luck. The crew loaded the trunk onto the cart, and Kat climbed up and sat on the rear bench. The cart moved off at a steady pace, Kat waving back to Rhys and Jade as they moved down the street.

Back at the house, Jade looked at Rhys. “You’d better be going, yourself,” she told him. “You don’t want to be late on your first day.” Rhys smiled and hugged her. “I’ll grab the case from upstairs and head off,” he said. He went up to the bedroom and opened his wardrobe – a small leather bag, doctor’s style, sat at the bottom. He took hold of it, picked up the overnight case and headed back downstairs. Jade was still standing in the hallway. She looked quizzically at Rhys’s extra bag. He smiled, put a finger to his lips, and winked before heading into the study to grab his university satchel and slung it over his shoulder. Returning to the hallway, he stopped to kiss Jade goodbye, then headed out of the front door and walked to the end of the street. He hailed a hansom cab, climbed in and asked the driver to take him to the university.

Jade was at a momentary loss. It was the first time in a week, since she got together with Kat and Rhys, that they’d been apart in a meaningful way. Richard Spencer’s earlier letter had offered her a new role with the Minshull Foundation, and her trip today to see him was the first step. Her previous roles had seen her working in the other countries of the Anaroc Alliance – she hadn’t been able to work in Reiland as she still had her slave tattoo, and she risked being picked up by the authorities as an escaped slave. The last thing the Foundation needed was for one of their agents to get the attention of the Reiland government at any level. In one sense, it was lucky they had entered Reiland as they had, i.e. magically, otherwise there’d have been a moment of risk for both Kat and her when they got off the ship. However, Kat had removed Jade’s tattoo, and she now had a new identity as a citizen of Seibjerg, allowing her to move freely around Reiland.

She smiled inwardly to herself. As much as Kat, Rhys, and she were firmly a family unit, all three were starting independent lives today. It was the way it should be – despite loving both Rhys and Kat intensely, and knowing they loved her the same way, all three of them had their own destinies to achieve, even if Rhys didn’t know what his was just yet.

Kat bumped along the streets of Chatamor on her way to Olan’s clinic, riding on the transport crew’s cart. They were going slowly because of Tyra, but it was still a rough ride once they left the major roads, as the cart had no suspension. Kat was already fed up with being bumped around. Eventually, they arrived at the address that Olan had provided. Kat was surprised to see that it was a slightly shabby shopfront in a residential area of small, tightly packed houses. The houses were of wildly different styles, conditions, and ages, and the area appeared to have grown organically over many years rather than being planned.

The door opened, and a young woman emerged, approaching the cart. Kat moved to the edge of the bench and jumped down onto the street. She approached the young woman with her hand out. “I’m Katarina Wildwood,” she said, “and I’ve brought a patient to see Olan Skogfjell.” The young woman curtseyed at Kat, not taking up the offer of her outstretched hand, so Kat retracted the hand and bowed instead. “Legar Skogfjell will see you shortly. Please come inside. She’s asked that your, ah, patient should go into a private room.”

Kat signalled to the transport crew, who followed the young woman into the building, carrying Tyra’s trunk with them. The young woman led them through what appeared to be a waiting room, where a few people sat in chairs arranged in lines. They entered a room at the back of the building, which had been set up as a meeting room, featuring three utilitarian chairs and a small, round table. The crew left Tyra’s trunk on the floor. Kat paid them, and they left. The young woman curtseyed again and also left the room without a word, leaving Kat alone with Tyra in her trunk.

Kat bent down and opened the trunk. Tyra was lying on her side, surrounded by blankets to cushion the bumps of the cart ride as well as to keep her warm, as it was a cool, dry day outside. Tyra looked up at Kat in acknowledgement as Kat reached in to touch her arm. Immediately, Kat could see Tyra’s health - in her mind’s eye, she saw a summary with the most urgent items at the top of a list, with things growing less urgent or concerning the lower down the list she “looked”. Tyra was a little cold, hungry and thirsty, and she was starting to develop a need for more sperm, but nothing of immediate concern. There were a few entries on Kat’s imaginary list that were blank, all concerning Tyra’s emotional state. She “concentrated” on those blanks, and the list seemed to fade away, to be replaced by another list. She mentally scanned the new list: “Emotion: fear: blocked in the” and then a word Kat didn’t recognise. “Emotion: anger: blocked in the” and then the same word. “Emotion: connection to memory: blocked in” and a different word. The list went on and on. There were some different entries: Addiction: overridden in the...” – there were a few of those, all with different words after them.

There was a knock at the door. Kat opened it; Olan stood in the doorway, and Kat beckoned her in. The two exchanged greetings and briefly hugged before Kat gave an update on what had happened to Tyra since the previous day, which was basically “nothing.” She then told Olan what she’d found when she’d “read” Tyra a little earlier. Olan expressed surprise at how simple Kat had made it sound and how much detail she’d been able to read. Kat realised that Olan’s comment implied that Olan didn’t “read” someone’s health as concisely as she did, and all from a touch on her arm.