Chapter 34

From the Video Blog of Ariel, the First Immortal Whore

I was right. We’re going on to Staggard’s Green, not back to Berg’s Keep. I didn’t get to see the fireworks. Aubrielle was all leaderly and stuff: she went to speak privately with Beckett as soon as we got up. He was professional enough that whatever he had to say didn’t carry loud enough for me to hear. They come back and she tells me we will be going onto the village. I just nod.

It’s only the three of us and the driver. The guard who was crawling along with his guts hanging out was dead by the time Beckett got a chance to look at him last night.

We’re moving along more slowly than yesterday. The extra horses are tied behind the carriage.

The princess and I hold each other. I am glad that she is able to let down the facade of her royalty and take (and give) comfort. I don’t think you can survive as a whore in this world without being able to do that.

The goddess is quiet in my head. Her gentle presence comforts me. I think Aubrielle can feel it too.

In a few short hours, we will need to be ready to embrace pleasure enough to guide an entire village in preparing for a Beltane rite. We can’t fake that; we will need to feel it at our core to convincingly guide others. Great Lady willing, we will find that somehow.

“You know, I could have saved her,” Aubrielle says. She clutches my hand tightly.

“Who?”

“The priestess. I have a special healing potion that will cure almost anything short of death. I’ve had it for years. But I promised Captain Beckett and my father I would only use it on myself or another member of the family. It’s a last resort when everything else has failed.

“Giving me that potion was a rite of passage: realizing that people think you are more important. And promising to save yourself rather than those people around you who die so you can live.

“If I did that ... if I saved her, then I would have had to face Beckett this morning and ask him to go forward knowing I had already used my emergency safety potion. I would have just been a little girl, unable to make the hard decisions, asking him to trust me and go forward. He’d say we don’t know what we will find, and asking me what I’d do if we are surprised ... And he’d be right. But it is hard!.”

She looks into my eyes. “Do you hate me, knowing I could have done that and didn’t?”

“Her name was Holly Quint.”

“What?”

“The priestess, her name was Holly Quint. If you are going to make a decision like that, you should at least know their name.”

I cannot condemn her. It was hard enough for me to accept Holly’s sacrifice. And I cannot accept that people are charged with saving me without also accepting that the princess has duties to her people to stay alive. But she’s right: it is hard. We hold each other as we cry.

I eventually reach sufficient detachment that I can pay attention to the the notifications that have piled up.

Notification

New Skill: Soul Magic. The power to open up your soul and welcome others into it; the power to defend and shield your soul; and the power to reach out to the souls of others.

At this level, you have minimal awareness of your soul and can struggle to keep your own identity against whatever is invited into your soul.

Several skills increased: Masturbation is Beginner 7, as is Vulnerability. Life Magic has reached Beginner 5 and Whorecraft Beginner 10.

During the fighting, Small Blades, Back Stab, and Clubs reached Beginner 6. Stealth reached Beginner 8, and Elemental Water Magic reached Beginner 7. My Smell of Sex skill reached Beginner 10 from using it for tracking opponents.

And I reached level 15. I guess I’m going to have a dream about Life Magic as it is my weakest non-sex skill.

Level 15 gives me another opportunity to put points into skills.

The first skill is easy: ... admonition:: Notification