60 - Vick's Haunting Legacy (2.5k words)

YaYa's POVWe stopped at Nivi's place along our journey and discovered that she was on her way to the Tiger King's castle.We didn't linger long and left after briefly exchanging crucial information.Recent actions by the mermen likely tipped off the Ape King, driving him to seek powerful allies like Sei and Curtis, who could fight in the water.The ape couldn't hold back Curtis (since we were looking for a new place to live), but he could hold back Winston with his duties. All he needed to do was remove the former Tiger King and curry favor with Nivi.It was common knowledge that the relationship between the Tiger King and Winston was strained. Under normal circumstances, Rosa's suitors wouldn't dare harm her parents, but under the Ape King's hypnotic influence? They just might.All he needed to do was dazzle them with an illusion of Rosa and a promise of ruling a tiger kingdom, and just like that, they'd be under his spell.The Tiger Princess had lost her dad's protection and the support of the kings, which was to be expected. Since she couldn't get an emerald from Winston or win him over as her male, she wasn't much use to the Ape King anymore.I told Curtis that if someone ever accused him of kidnapping a blue-haired mermaid, he should just tell everyone that he did it under the order of the Ape King, the mermaid's mate.Sometimes, a lie could be more believable than the truth.· · ─────── · ⊱❈⊰· ─────── · ·Vick's POVI left the bustling canal site and the golden merman behind as my Precious descended majestically, riding an eagle. Both of us wore thick furs, hats to match.As she dismounted, I rushed forward, arms wide. But instead of her warm embrace, two jugs of wine flew my way.I quickly caught the jugs, "Are these for me?" I asked, stupefied."What do you mean 'Are these for me'? Do you want them or not?" She asked, her voice hoarse from the chill air."I want them, of course I want them," I said, a smile stretching across my face. I hugged my jugs tightly as if cradling something fragile, "Thank you for thinking of me, Precious.""You worked for it," she responded, not at all moved by my gratitude.I felt my chest fill with warmth despite the frigid temperatures. I hadn't had anything to drink in a long time, and now I had my hands full.· · ─────── · ⊱❈⊰· ─────── · ·The air was crisp, cold. Snow blanketed everything as I led my Precious and Muir into our temporary resting place ─ a small cave hidden by shrubs and vines. Inside was a thick nest made from various types of leaves and moss, forming a comfy, if somewhat prickly bed."Take a rest, buddy. You deserve it," I said, placing the jugs carefully on the ground. Grabbing a blanket, I draped it over Muir's eagle body.When you grow up in a place where no one is there for you, where nothing comes for free, the slightest bit of kindness will leave an imprint that can never be forgotten. That was the reality behind the beastmen of this world. Unlike the beastmen from my birthplace, they didn't take anything for granted.Muir nodded, taking a quiet rest in the nest. Within minutes, the sound of his snoring reverberated through the cave."How are your balls?" she asked, avoiding another one of my hugs, "Are they back to normal?""Do you want to inspect?" I asked, waggling my eyebrows."Maybe later," she said, taking off her niqab.I wanted to ask her a million questions, but they all vanished when I saw her flushed cheeks and nose. The cold painted a rosy hue on her already lovely face, and I was once again entranced. How had I survived without seeing her for so long?I bent over to grab a jug and took a sip of the wine, washing away the hurt from the rejected hugs. The wine was not bad, but it was nowhere near the taste of her lips. The taste of her lips, after all, was my guilty pleasure."I missed you," I said, looking up at her.She didn't have many reactions. I had hoped to see some sort of happiness at least. Instead, her frown deepened, "You look pale.""I can't sleep properly without you by my side," I said, pouting."Then close your eyes and rest," she said, "I'm here now."I chuckled. She was acting like a worried wife. How cute!"I can't sleep now, either," I said, "You're here now, and I can't help but think of what we can do together.""I can help with knocking you out," she said, sitting on the ground beside Muir."Knock me out with a kiss, then," I said, scooting next to her and resting my head on her lap.She didn't push me away, but neither did she kiss me."So," I said, after a long silence, "Did you have a good time? What did you do? Did you have fun? Tell me all about it.""Later. Sleep," she said."What about Rosa and Bart?""They can wait," she said."Aren't you interested in the canal update? We had a little incident a few days ago. It was─"She pushed her thumb into my mouth, effectively shutting me up, "Sleep."I bit down on her finger lightly, sucking it and playing my tongue around it. She didn't complain, nor did she react. She merely let me continue using her thumb like a pacifier.I closed my eyes, but I didn't sleep. Her warmth was so addicting. It was hard to leave the feeling. So I just rested, taking comfort in our closeness.I wonder if she refused to hug me in fear it'd get me all worked up for nothing, leaving me even more unfulfilled. How funny. As if I wasn't always on the edge when I was with her.She pulled her thumb from my mouth, and I looked up, my eyes wide and my heart hopeful as she licked it clean, tasting my saliva.I wanted to say something, anything, but she placed her thumb back inside my mouth, the gesture clear: be quiet.I obliged.I would rest my eyes then open them again, and she would still be there. And the cycle continued, until I had no idea how long I had been asleep.· · ─────── · ⊱❈⊰· ─────── · ·"You've mentioned the ratio of males and females in your birthplace isn't as skewed. How not skewed?" Yaya asked when I finally woke up. She had a curious look on her face, and it was obvious she was asking for personal reasons.I hope she was not expecting me to answer her question for free, since I also had a lot of questions for her.Her father tried to introduce her to me earlier, but I always refused his offer and avoided meeting his daughter.Maybe we could've known each other a lot sooner. Except for Yaya, nobody knew the true extent of his army. It was to make sure people like me didn't get any funny ideas and try to revolt against him."Your father mentioned that he would put you under someone else's watch," I said, "Whose? Do I know them? Who watched over you before me?"Yaya's face turned grim, a shadow looming over her eyes. After a long silence, she opened her mouth, "They do not manage father's army but his territories," she answered, her tone unreadable, "They are families with lots of influence and wealth, who've been serving father for generations. They must always send their firstborn son to serve under CEE, as part of their contracts. All our expenses are paid off by the heads of these families. Duke Lucius Lark Sinclair was the man in charge of watching me before you.""Were you close with him?" I asked, suddenly feeling jealous."Not really," she replied, "He spoiled me and treated me like a princess, buying me expensive gifts and taking me to luxurious events, parties, and vacations. My father suddenly got the idea that it would be easier to control me if I fell in love. At that time, the drugs weakened me so much that I had to be dragged around in a wheelchair."Yaya went on to describe how her father would ask the Duke to organize charitable events, where she would meet people from all walks of life, both fortunate and unfortunate. He didn't care if it was a man or a woman, as long as they could capture her heart. Even though her father made it seem like he was begging for redemption, it was just a ploy to get her to do his bidding. Only her sisters were naive enough to think that a man like her father was capable of change."When I began to be more and more immune to the effects of the drugs, father had no choice but to take me away. He didn't have the luxury to babysit me anymore, and I didn't want to be locked in his office with his experiments forever, so I did my research outside and sent him whatever data I could scrap every month. Of course, there were some mishaps. Father always preferred me to take charge of expanding his domains. So, more mishaps happened. And now you are stuck with me.""I'm not stuck with you," I corrected her, "I'm blessed with you."Like always, she was completely immune to my charms."You were asking about the gender ratio, right?" I switched the topic, remembering her question, "It's pretty much even, with a few more females than males. Since a male could only leave one spousal imprint, they were extremely picky with their choices. You would rarely find an arrogant female, for example. Most of them would be well-mannered, hard-working, and good-natured. Sounds like a utopia for both genders, right? Well, not quite."I continued, "The competition was intense. Many vied for the most sought-after female. It was like a never-ending battle for dominance, where the strong get stronger, and the weak get weaker. It was not uncommon for the alpha males to have several females at once. And not in a harem kind of way. They could be his spare food source, or slaves, or sex toys.""No wonder my father never mentioned your world to me," Yaya commented, her brow furrowed, "What about you? Were you a part of that war for dominance?""The ones who dared to approach me were either extremely desperate, or extremely courageous. In any case, they were extremely dead," I said, grinning, "My name was enough to make a powerful male look for a cover. As for females, my name wasn't exactly a turn on, but my looks and wealth made up for it. Nobody wanted to be my mate, but many fought to be my sugar baby. I didn't mind that. All the attention was welcome.""Were you always strong and powerful?" she asked."That's a story for another day... maybe," I said, sitting up and leaning over for a kiss.She placed a hand on my face, blocking my advance, "You lost weight.""I was a bit too busy working lately," I said, taking a bite of her palm.The unsuccessful mating attempt didn't kill me, but it did kick my hormones into overdrive. I managed to stop the rapid aging with an emerald, but there was no magic trick for the hormonal changes that screamed: You've reached sexual maturity. It's time to mate and die. I thought if others didn't notice, she wouldn't either. Boy, was I an idiot to even assume that. She caught on right away."Do you plan on losing more weight?" she asked, checking my pulse."If you keep rejecting my advances, yes," I answered humorously, trying to get her hand off my wrist. She was surprisingly strong. Or maybe I was getting weak."I'm not rejecting you." She let go of my wrist and squeezed my cheeks. Tilting my head so that I was facing her, "I'm just saving the fun for later. I've never fucked a corpse, but there's always a first for everything, right? I'm fucked up, remember? I'm not picky."Her touch was so light, so fleeting, I found myself checking to confirm she was actually touching me at all.She was used to people dying around her, but that didn't mean she liked it. Her eyes were dark, and her face expressionless. She was coping with the thought of me dying by making a joke out of her suffering, and I didn't know how to react to that."Now, you are making me feel jealous of my own corpse," I said, rubbing my cheeks.She gently brushed her lips against my hand, "Then don't become one."I chuckled, glancing down at the spot where her lips had just been, "How do I look? Still handsome?""Like a hot, sexy pile of bones," she said, deadpan.I couldn't stop laughing despite the slight sting her comment brought, "You're not good at flattery, are you?""You're not good at living, are you?""Hey, that's my line," I continued to laugh.She dragged me toward Muir, and pushed me under his wing, "How are you going to fight a whole tribe of mermen if you keep getting worse? Are you that eager to be fucked by them?"I shuddered playfully, "Are you trying to scare me into good health, or into an early grave?"She pulled Muir's wing over my body without a word. I reached for her, but she slapped my hand away, "Stay put, or else I'll give you something to fear.""Yes, ma'am," I said, obeying.She was angry at herself, angry at me, and angry at the world."Precious," I called. She didn't turn, and I could tell she was doing her best not to lash out at me, "Precious."She turned."If I ever become a corpse, don't let anyone defile my body. Only you can," I said.She scoffed, turning back, and walked away."I'm not joking!" I said.She left the cave and returned with food and water.I had to force myself to eat since my appetite was basically non-existent. My body protested, but I ignored it, shoveling food into my mouth. Precious brought and prepared the food, and that was enough motivation for me.I had to stay strong, or she would have to deal with her demons alone. She wasn't a social creature, so she would be a mess.I can't be a burden, and I can't be dead either.I felt pain in my stomach as my body tried to reject the food. I felt pathetic, so I kept my mouth shut and didn't utter a single complaint.She noticed, though, and took me outside, where I proceeded to throw up everything.