[Distrust, Support]
“I thought I could trust you babe, we had a deal one minute a day for thirty days, I suppose you were shacked up somewhere with little miss knockers here. You broke that deal now I’ll have to drag you back to literal hell. I may even have to get the whip out. How did you hide from me babe?”
“Nyx, I wasn’t hiding from you, and stop sexually harassing Frida, she’s my girlfriend and no we weren’t together last night. I was portaled to some deserted adobe city. It was beautiful but eerie. It had a video game and I think a ghost version of my grandfather was there. Nyxi figured it out before me.”
“Oh Jaq, you named the cat after me, I’m touched. How can I use the whip on you now, you old charmer. Now strip and let's get started. You ditch that robe honey, if you want to join in.”
“Nyx, leave her alone. I’m getting undressed.”
“Jaq, what’s going on, why are you getting undressed for her?”
“Frida, this is Nyx, she’s the demon who tortured me when I got sent to Literal Hell”
“Pleasure to meet you baby, you strip off that robe and I’ll knock Jaq’s torture for the night in half? Come on, you show me yours and I’ll show you mine.”
Frida dropped her robe to the floor.
“Oh you are one groovy chick, Frida, I love a girl with a huge rack, you and Jaq together almost make two average sized chests. But wow, love the little mole there in the underboob. Isn’t that sweet Jaq.”
“Nyx, I put up with it, but Frida didn’t get sent to hell so you can’t say stuff like that to her, understood.”
“Well Jaq, let me ask Frida, if I promise to be nice to Jaq and physically torture her as little and lightly as possible, do I have your permission to sexually harass you?”
“Tell her no Frida, I’m fine, really just tell her no.”
“Yes, you absolutely can sexually harass me if you keep your word and are nice to Jaq.”
“I agree, knockers, now I’ll make you an even better deal, you help me torture Jaq tonight and we’ll cut the time in half again. I promise that no physical pain will be involved, what do you say?”
“I agree.”
“You are a wonderful girlfriend, Frida. Because you are such a wonderful girlfriend you get to choose whether we tickle the soles of her feet with feathers one each or I caress your breasts in front of Jaq for sixty seconds.”
“Frida tickle me please, please Frida tickle me. I like it.”
“Sorry Nyx, only Jaq gets to play with these puppies.”
“Ahhh, I get it Frida, you like the idea of torturing Jaq, you dirty dirty girl, don’t worry I do too. Tomorrow night I’ll bring the fur lined cuffs. We’ll pin her to the bed so she can’t move, then I’ll let you tickle torture her to your hearts content. You know what, let's make her lie here and think about what the two of us are going to do to her. We can go get a drink, what about a Manhattan in Manhattan, a Singapore Sling in Singapore, a glass of wine at the top of the Eiffel Tower, a Guinness in Dublin, a G&T in London, a sex on the beach in Ibiza.”
“Sorry Nyx, no can do, we have dinner in half an hour.”
“Ahhh, Knockers invite me to supper and we’ll skip today's torture entirely.”
“Please join us for dinner Nyx, now please get out, while Jaq and I get dolled up. But you must behave yourself, you can’t say anything shocking. If you just can’t hold in your only release will be to whisper it into my ear, my ear alone, do we have a deal?”
“Frida I completely underestimated you, you’re not a dirty girl, you are downright filthy and I love you for it, tomorrow night we can skip Jaq’s torture if you torture me. But that’s a discussion for another day. I’ll be back in twenty.” Nyx snapped her fingers and Pop.
“Frida, you shouldn’t have, just let her torture me, it’s not that bad. I don’t want her sexually harassing you.”
“Jaq, my breasts started to develop when I was twelve, the older I got and the larger they got. The more I was sexually harassed, Nyx is really quite mild, compared to what men say to me. Besides, she quite likes you in case you didn’t realize it. She took every opportunity not to torture you, or to cut the time in half.”
“She doesn’t like me, she’s always making comments about the size of my breasts.”
“She’s just teasing you, silly. I really can’t believe that I’m defending her to you, but I don’t want you falling for her.”
“I could never fall for a demon.”
“Maybe but you did name an awful cute kitten after her. And, I used to say the same thing about girls, Jaq, before I met you. Speaking of girls, where did Nyxi get off to?”
“I think she’s just out exploring her new home. I haven’t seen her since just before Nyx arrived. She’s used to being out in the world. It looks like the bath will have to wait till after dinner, if we’re not going to be late. I’ll run down and inform Collins we have a last minute addition.”
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
***
Now I had two beings I had to keep away from Grandma, this was going to be a terrifying dinner. Collins had rearranged the seats again, it’s pretty nice having him on my side. Nyx showed backup in a green velvet cocktail dress with a plunging neckline. She’d put her hair up, a style that suited her and effectively hid her horns. Frida surpassed her in a red silk cocktail dress with and equally plunging neckline. Just outside the dining room door each of them linked an arm with me, Nyx on the left, Frida on my right.
I had no time to meditate today, this dinner is going to be bad enough, let’s just hope that ADHD doesn’t really kick in until supper is over. Nyx and Groucho were seated across from each other at the far end of the table. I was seated at the end of the table between Groucho and Nyx. Frida sat next to Nyx. Grandma was at the other end seated between Harry and Farthing. Aya sat between Harry and Groucho.
As soon as we entered the room, Nyx let go of my arm and made a beeline towards Grandma. I followed quickly behind her.
“Lady Holland, you have a lovely home and you have raised a most charming granddaughter. Thank you for having me for dinner. Jaq, told me that roses are your favorite, I hope you don’t mind accepting these.”
From behind her back she pulled out three dozen pure white roses. Tigran the footman came over, taking them from grandma. A few minutes later they were back as the centerpiece effectively blocking our end of the table from view. I smiled lamely at grandma and went back to my seat.
“You don’t have to thank me Jaq, now we can get up to whatever we want to and no one will be the wiser. And you fine sir must be Groucho, I think you are the finest looking chimpanzee I’ve ever met. My name is Nyxophilla, but please call me Nyx.”
“Wow Nyx, I love your dress, yours too blondie. I’m afraid I won’t be much of a dinner conversalist, I’ll be busy praying for a couple of wardrobe malfunctions.”
“Oh you little charmer, you could have swept in and said something about our impressive knockers, but your understated double entendre was much more elegant. The girls probably can’t wait to drop their knickers for you.”
“You really like that line, I guess Harry was right, double entendre trumps crude jokes.”
“Let’s not talk about evil American politicians, they are so boring, whisper to Jaq ten dirty things you can do better with your toes, than she can do with her fingers. Then she can whisper them to me, and I can whisper them to Frida. Finally you judge which of us blushed the reddest. I bet it’s Jaq. Frida, what do you say?”
“It’ll definitely be Jaq.”
“Frida I can’t believe that my own girlfriend is sexually harassing me.”
“Oh, Jaq, we’re not, we’re teasing you, you are always beautiful but never more so then when you are blushing. It’s why I started falling for you, you couldn’t drag your eyes away from my breasts. The longer you stared at them, the redder you got. Don’t you remember.”
“I bet with two large mental images of those she didn’t have enough blood in her brain to think. I’m having trouble thinking, just imagining it.”
“Thank you Groucho, nicely said.”
***
That’s the way the dinner went, first I’d get teased by Nyx, then by Groucho who’d come up with some awful things for me to have to repeat to Nyx. According to Groucho I was redder than a tomato. How is that even possible, what is redder than a tomato, nothing that’s what I say. He was good for most of the dinner but then said some wildly inappropriate things to Aya, who very much took them in stride.
I did realize something, when I’m on high alert that something horrible will be heard by grandma, or I’m getting teased horrifically my ADHD is gone, or so far away from my mind that it might just as well be gone. First thing tomorrow, I’ll meditate, it’s been far too long.
***
After supper Frida and I finally had some alone time, a couple of times. Before Nyxi burrowed herself, into our arms as we held each other.
“Jaq, you’re going back into the tower tomorrow aren’t you?”
“Yes, Frida, I think we’re getting close. I almost got to speak to my ghost granddad, when I finally do speak to him, it’ll be up to him, come home or stay in the tower.”
“Good so you’re giving your granddad agency then. Was it true that you told Groucho he couldn’t go with you after he was trapped.”
“Yeah, but then he gave this big speech about free will and I caved.”
“He said you cried.”
“Yeah I did, I think I was relieved, that I didn’t have to do it alone.”
“Good, because I’m coming with you Jaq.”
“No Frida, it’s too dangerous.”
“Jaq, we can have a big fight about this if you like, but before we begin that let me just say that a girlfriend deserves as much agency as grandfather as much free will as a chimp and as much relief knowing that what her partner is facing she’s facing it with her. So if you still want to have a really big fight go ahead and start it. Just remember Nyx put me in charge of the torture tonight and unless you really do want to see that filthy demon’s hands all over my lovely breasts, you’ll kiss me good and proper and say, please come with me Frida.”
“Please come with me Frida.”
“I will just to keep you from learning anymore dirty double entendre like that one.”
Nyxi yawned as if saying, enough talk, I’m tired. And I had to agree. I was exhausted, mentally from being on edge at dinner, hardly any sleep on the cold hard ground the night before. But now I had one more thing for my ADHD to obsess over, making sure that Frida doesn’t get hurt. On the other hand, I was also very flattered that she’d risk the tower for me, I’m really starting to fall for this girl.
Both of my girls were gone the next morning. Frida wasn’t in the dining room when I went in for breakfast, it’d probably take Nyxi months if not years to explore all of Tregaron, but if Frida comes with me, who’ll take care of Nyxi. I can always ask Skye but it’s unfair adding another job onto her already busy workday. Maybe Maz, wouldn’t mind, I’ll talk to him after I meditate.
