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“I’m afraid so partner, she was very adamant that you go see her alone”
Phainon’s words made Caelus’ heart sink ever so slightly. Somehow, even though it felt like he’d only just arrived in Okhema? He was already going to be interrogated by the Goldweaver for a second time.
“Did she give any indication as to why she wishes to speak with Caelus in particular?” Dan Heng immediately questioned
“No, but she seemed very… upset,” Phainon almost seemed to shiver just at the thought of Aglaea being angry, “If you want my advice? Please just be completely honest with her. If you push her patience too much then I don’t think there’s anything any of us can do to help you…”
“Right…” he sighed, letting his shoulders slump as he slouched forward
“I wish you luck friend, but I really must be going now,” Phainon waved them off, although the worry and slight bits of doubt never once left his expression even as he walked away
Of course, just as he suspected? As soon as the taller man was gone? Dan Heng quickly closed the door and spun back around to look him dead in the eyes with that familiar stern look.
“What did you do?” his friend demanded, arms crossed and gaze narrowed
“I didn’t do anything! Promise!” he raised his hands up in a show of surrender, “At least… I don’t think I did anything…”
The spearman stared at him in silence for several long moments, seeming to analyze his expression and mannerisms, before finally? “Alright… Well, in that case? Then I believe Phainon is right… The best course of action is to just answer any question she asks as honestly as you can. As annoying as it might be? We’re already on thin-ice after that last incident, so please don’t push it”
“Yeah yeah…” he sighed, fully surrendering to his fate…
Aeons, please tell me she didn’t find out about my trashcan hunt…
—
The first time Caelus had ascended up to the Hero’s baths he’d been filled with a sense of awe; the slow moving elevator, the beautiful view over the rest of the baths, the calming sounds of running water echoing through the air… it had all been so peaceful and nice. This time though? The slow moving ascension felt more akin to a dreadful walk towards the gallows… Although he supposed he could at least take some solace in the fact that this interrogation seemingly wasn’t going to be taking place in the pool of genesis… As small of a solace as that was…
Just as he’d suspected? The moment the elevator slid into place his hands were instantly bound by the unyielding golden threads of the Goldweaver. He didn’t even bother feigning surprise this time, simply raising his gaze up to look at his interrogator…
“Look, I don’t know what this is about, but I promise that I-”
“Silence.” her firm, serious tone made him instinctively stop, clacking his jaw together in an instant, “I have shown you lenience on more than one occasion ‘Caelus’, and yet now I find myself wondering if that had all been a mistake”
Aglaea took a few slow steps towards him, each footstep echoed by the slightest clack of her heels. He could certainly see now why Phainon had seemed anxious…
“I have given you ample opportunity to be honest with me, to prove that you are not hiding secrets from us,” the threads holding his wrists together tightened, digging slightly into his skin as she took step after step towards him, “But despite my generosity? You’ve been lying to us from the very beginning…”
He couldn’t help but gulp nervously, swallowing down as much of his nerves as he could while sweat began to drip down his face from anxiety, “Wh-what did I lie about?”
“‘ What did I lie about ’ he says,” the Goldweaver laughed, a stern, condescending sort of laugh that nearly made him flinch, “What haven’t you lied about? That’d be a far shorter list”
Never being one to let fear control him? He let just a bit of venom into his tone, “Oh yeah? Well if that’s the case then why didn’t you have Castorice kill us?!” he hissed, itching to try and reach for his bat, no matter how fruitless he knew the attempt would be
“Because unlike you? Dan Heng did not lie to us…” that served to confuse him even more, confusion that she seemed to immediately pick up on with her threads, “And that leads me to only one possible conclusion… Whatever secret you’re hiding from us? You must also be hiding from him. And the only reason that you still draw breath is because the nature of your secrets has yet to be determined. And for your sake? I certainly hope you have a good reason for all of this secrecy”
“I… fine… ask your questions already,” he huffed, tugging uselessly on the threads
Aglaea stared back at him with her cold, blind eyes. She was a difficult woman to read, not that he’d had much luck reading any other woman he’d met aside from March though… But once she seemed to be satisfied with whatever she was doing? She spun on her heel to start walking back towards the baths, yanking hard on her threads to force him to follow her along.
“We’ll start simple then,” the Goldweaver stated while she was still walking, not even facing him, “What is your name?”
“What?” he nearly stumbled over his feet, “You already know my name? It’s Cael-”
“Lie”
Before she had even finished saying the word? Another golden thread wrapped itself around his neck, squeezing down just hard enough to make his pulse feel obvious against it.
“Wh-what?! That’s not a lie!!” he sputtered out, trying his best to keep his breathing steady in spite of the potential garrote around his throat
“But it is,” she snapped back, spinning around to face him once more with a half-formed scowl on her face, “It’s the most consistent lie you’ve told ever since you arrived here”
He struggled to figure out how in the world his own name could possibly be a lie, and yet no matter what logic he tried to apply? It didn’t make any sense, but he knew he had to tell her something …
“Could it be… because I have amnesia? I mean, I only remember the last little while, so maybe I’m unsure of my name deep down or something?” he theorized as swiftly as he could once he felt the thread around his neck constricting just a bit more
“I don’t believe that’s the case.” Aglaea sternly shot his theory down, “Your emotions when you introduce yourself are not feelings of doubt, but rather feelings of sorrow , and what I want to know is why you give a false name if it makes you feel so regretful”
“I-I… what? I don’t feel sad when I say my name!”
“ Lie. ” Once again? The garrote around his throat tightened, this time enough to choke him just a bit before it thankfully loosened just as quickly to let him breathe, “I’d recommend that you start taking this more seriously ‘ Caelus ’”
“I-I am taking this seriously! I don’t know what you’re talking about at all!!” he suddenly shouted, the slightest bit of tears watering his eyes from the strangling, trying uselessly once again to pry his hands free from their binds
To his surprise though? The thread around his neck didn’t constrict that time… And when he raised his gaze back up he saw a look of pure confusion plastered across the Goldweaver’s usually calm and measured visage.
“You’re… telling the truth…” she muttered, brow creasing slightly, “So you’re lying and you feel bad about it but you don’t know that you’re lying at all?”
“I… I guess so…” he let out a sigh of relief
“How fascinating… And here I thought this would be a simple and brief conversation,” Aglaea sighed, finally loosening and removing the thread from his throat, “But if you’re unaware of your own lie? Then…”
“Then it’s not dangerous?” he tried, shooting the woman a nervous grin only to receive an unamused half-glare from the woman
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, for all we know you could be unwittingly leading us right into danger,” another tug on the threads forced him to walk forward
The Goldweaver sank down to sit at the edge of the bath and he took his chance to sit directly across from her, as far away from her as he could while still sitting with his feet dipping into the water.
“But at least if you’re doing this unintentionally? I can afford to be a bit less… impatient,” she leaned back, placing her hands on the floor behind her and folding one leg over the over
As much as Caelus knew the timing was a bit inappropriate? He couldn’t help but slightly admire the woman’s figure… Her long, curvy legs, her generous bust, her gorgeous hair and beautiful dress… It all made it very difficult for him to maintain his composure with the strange, unidentified and almost venomous feelings it sent deep into his chest…
“Let’s make this as simple as possible, simply tell me everything that you know about yourself and perhaps that shall give us a starting point to get to the bottom of this,” the Goldweaver’s serious, stern tone pried him from his gazing, quickly reminding him that he was still on thin-ice…
“Uh… well… I do go by Caelus, even if I guess it makes me sad somehow. I really like trashcans. I’ve been to three planets and a space station before now. I’m seemingly a young guy. I like to hit things with my bat-”
“Stop.” his ramble was cut off in an instant, “Repeat that for me?”
“I… like to hit things?”
“No, just before that”
“I’m seemingly a young guy?” he muttered, shooting the woman an ever-increasingly confused look
Whatever gears were turning in the Goldweaver’s head? He wasn’t entirely sure, but after a moment she spoke back up once again, “You’re young?”
“We think so… early twenties was Mr. Yang’s guess,” he explained with a shrug, but Aglaea’s expression was unchanging
“And you’re a man?”
“Uh… yeah? I thought that part was obvious,” he chuckled a bit awkwardly, feeling more and more awkward as the expression on the Demi-Goddess’ face intensified ever so slightly
Aglaea remained silent for even longer than before, leaving only the ordinarily peaceful sound of running water to fill the air while Caelus fidgeted in his spot, tugging and coiling the threads binding him to try and assuage the nerves that were festering deep inside of his gut.
“I believe I might have an idea… Can you try something for me?” if he wasn’t mistaken, the smallest hints of a smile flashed across Aglaea’s lips, but it vanished before he could fully tell if he’d just imagined it or not
“Uh… sure?”
“Could you perhaps try telling me that you’re a young woman? ”
For reasons he couldn’t quite identify? That statement made his face burn , practically making him feel as though he’d been lit on fire, like he was fighting Firefly in her SAM armor again…
“Wh-why do you want me to say that?!” he panickingly questioned in a voice that was just a bit too rapid, a bit too high-pitched
“It’s just a simple statement,” the woman answered with a light, airy giggle that sent another pang of that same strange feeling into his chest
“Uhh… I… guess I can say that I’m…” he had to swallow down his nerves once more, a fact that made him feel beyond confused considering all of the other nonsense he’s spouted off without even flinching
“Come on, you can do it,” the Goldweaver teased him, giggling a bit more at his obvious embarrassment
In the end? He had to squeeze his eyes shut tight to force the words out of his mouth, “I-I’m a young woman!”
He hadn’t even realized how tightly wound up his body had become, it felt almost like he was bracing for an impact, and yet, right as he noticed that? He heard Aglaea giving another one of her light, beautiful laughs.
“ Very good, you’re such a good girl aren’t you?” the woman teased, her words making his entire brain cease all higher functions
His brain was so overloaded in fact that he didn’t even notice that several more golden threads were beginning to slither their way around his body. All in an instant? His ankles were forced together by several lines of the unyielding thread, followed shortly after by his knees. His arms were pulled apart, forced behind his back and re-tied together even more tightly and completely than before, tied at both the wrists and the elbows, all while the familiar threads that had once been around his throat returned in kind, looping several times around his neck to form what was more or less a choker… or a collar…
His mind finally rebooted at the sound of the Goldweaver standing up from her seat by the bath, his confusion only amplifying when he tried to stand up as well just to find that he could no longer move his limbs from their bindings.
“Wh-what’s going on?” he tried to demand, eyes widened and pulse quickened, attempting to get up only to fall over onto his side, wiggling and squirming uselessly against the floor
“Calm down silly girl, there’s no reason for you to panic,” Aglaea’s smile was warmer than ever, gentler than he’d ever seen her look before, while she used her threads to pull him back up
Whatever relief he felt though was incredibly short lived as right as she sat down at his side? She used her threads to lift him up ever so slightly, shifting his uselessly bound body to sit right on her lap …
“Wh… wha…” he dumbly muttered out, his amber-hued eyes wider than ever as he gawked at the woman in a state of absolute bewilderment
“I realize now that I was far too harsh on you,” Aglaea’s voice was low, gentle, practically whispering right in his ear while her hand gently carded through his short silver hair, “You’ll have to forgive me, the Flamechase has made me rather… paranoid… and in my paranoia it would seem that I treated you unfairly. But don’t you worry, I believe that I know just how to make it up to you”
“U-uh, th-there’s no need! I-it’s fine! It was j-just a misunderstanding after all,” he gave an awkward, tense laugh, one that she responded to with a slightly deeper, huskier giggle
“Misunderstanding or not? It was still very unbecoming of me to treat our dear guest with such harsh words, and as the Demi-Goddess of Romance? That is simply unacceptable behavior,” her hand continued to pet his hair while her other reached up towards his chin, gently turning his head to face her more directly, “But don’t worry, my precious girl, as I’m going to make sure that by the time you leave this bath? You’ll hardly even remember such harsh treatment”
He could feel his heart slamming hard in his throat, his body shivering slightly at the mere implications of her statement, and in the face of this gorgeous woman? He couldn’t will himself to say a single word…
“I trust that you understand my meaning, correct?” she leaned forward and whispered directly into his ear, sending tingles down his spine while he rapidly nodded his head, “Of course you do, such a smart girl ”
His heart rate spiked even higher at that, “Wh-why do y-you keep-”
“Because you are a precious girl,” she cut him off, giggling in that same husky tone that made him tremble with guilty desire, “What else would you be? You're not a boy. You're certainly not a man. No, you're a precious, feminine girl … Truly, my senses must be failing me after all these years if I've missed that fact until now, after all, it's rather obvious now that I'm paying closer attention~”
The whiplash of this whole ordeal left Caelus unbalanced, going from the stern, potentially lethal interrogation to this had made his mind confused and conflicted while he struggled and squirmed against the threads that were binding him.
“I-I’m not… th-that’s not how that works! I’m not a girl!” he tried to argue back, even knowing how useless that was
“You’re not, are you?” Aglaea’s expression said it all, looking at him as though he was a child telling an obvious lie to escape responsibility, “Then why do you stare at me with such powerful envy , hm?”
He could have sworn he combusted on the spot, hastily yelping out his response even faster and more panicked than before, “I-I wasn’t! Th-that wasn’t! I-”
“You’re going to say that it’s not envy? That you don’t stare longingly at me? Please, one doesn’t need the golden threads to recognize that as a lie,” the Goldweaver laughed, her grip on his hair tightening a bit to pull his head back when he tried to shirk away from looking at her, “When I first caught you staring? I’ll admit that I had assumed it to be nothing more than admiration, perhaps even lust. It was a rather natural conclusion, doubly so when I caught wind of you staring at dear Castorice in much the same way. Now though? Now I truly regret not reading into it further, not fully analyzing your emotions whilst you were staring. If I had? We could have settled this matter as soon as you’d arrived in Okhema”
“I-it’s not envy!” he squirmed atop the woman’s lap, feeling more of that remorseful arousal building between his legs with each tug and pull of the unyielding threads holding him in place, “Y-you’ve got it all wrong! P-promise! I-I can’t be a girl!!”
“Is that so?” her grip on his hair tightened even more, her other hand reaching for a drink that had been put beside her at some point while he wasn’t looking, “If that’s the case? Then look at me and clearly state that you don’t want to be a girl”
His struggling came to a stop, as useless as it was, to instead gawk at the Goldweaver. His heart was still pounding hard in his throat, his face flushed a bright crimson, his body trembling ever so slightly. But he felt some immediate relief, seeing as all it would take was just one little statement… One little factually accurate statement and this whole mess could be cleared up… So, with relief washing over him? He cleared his throat and spoke, “I… I don’t want to be a girl”
Aglaea giggled once again, yanking his head close while her voice dropped down to a low, almost sensual whisper right into his ear, “ Lie ”
All in an instant? That same panic surged inside of him while the woman raised the chalice up towards his face.
“ Drink. ” even while speaking as quietly as she was? Aglaea’s voice was as powerful as ever, her command all but absolute, borderline impossible to resist, and before he could even second guess himself? He drank the liquid as she pressed the edge of the chalice against his lips, “ There we go, such a good girl ”
His face flushed even deeper at the pathetic little whimper that escaped his throat when she called him that, not that he could focus much on that though, his attention instead being fixated on the strange and overpowering heat that was welling up inside of his body with each sip of the strange wine-like liquid he drank.
By the time he’d drank it all and Aglaea pulled the chalice away from his lips? His body felt like it was on fire , a constantly burning heat was simmering just beneath his skin, a fire of want and need that made him shiver and tremble and lightly sway his hips atop the Goldweaver’s lap while he struggled to contain more and more pitifully pathetic whimpers.
“Just as I suspected,” Aglaea cooed while stroking his hair, hair that almost seemed just a few inches longer than before while her other hand reached towards his chest, but as soon as she made contact? He yelped at the sudden overwhelming sensitivity of his flesh, “Sshhh, it’s alright, you’re being such a good girl for me~”
His nerves felt as though they’d been turned up to eleven, sending bolts of sensation rocketing through his body that were strong enough to make him curl his fingers and toes just from the lightest of touches on his chest. He could feel his nipples hardening with arousal, his eyes squeezing shut tight as he tried harder and harder to reign in all of these strange, borderline euphoric sensations that were wracking through him. Unfortunately, the Goldweaver wasn’t making that easy for him, as right as he was starting to gain some level of control over himself? A shaky but undeniably pleasured moan escaped past his lips when she pinched his nipple, his brain not even having the capacity at the moment to realize how strange his voice sounded.
“That’s it, just let it all out,” the woman’s tone was so soft, so caring, as though she was talking to something truly precious to her, “You’re doing phenomenally, such a pretty, pretty girl~”
The praise was going to drive him insane, making his hips buck against nothing, desperate for some kind of friction, some kind of release . He felt harder than he ever had in his entire life, just from praise and some light bondage, not to mention the constant teasing of his nipples… He couldn’t contain his noises any longer, he’d bitten his lower lip red in his struggles only for him to nearly scream in pleasure as the woman’s hand finally found purchase in the flesh of his chest, as though his pecs had suddenly grown into something sizable enough for her to take hold of and grope.
“That’s it, there’s my good girl,” Aglaea sang his praises, pulling him closer to rest his head against her shoulder while her skilled fingers continued to tweak his nipples and pull at the flesh of his chest, “You’re turning out beautifully, my dear. I think you’ll be the talk of the whole holy city at this rate. There won’t be a soul in Okhema that hasn’t heard of the beautiful visitor that came to our aid in our hour of need”
It was all so much, he was so close , so painfully close, but Aglaea just kept her hand at his chest, massaging the aching flesh between little pinches of his nipples. It was all so much and yet? It wasn’t nearly enough. A slight cry escaped from him, his head cocking back as he finally managed to vocalize how he was feeling, “ Pl-please… pl-please let me! L-let me! ”
“Hmm? Let you do what?” the woman giggled, clearly enjoying his desperation, and his traitorous mind of course felt even more aroused in response to that
“ L-let me cum! Pl-please! Please Lady A-Aglaea! Please!! ” he was practically weeping, squirming and bucking against her with all of his might, but the threads held strong, digging more into his skin the more he struggled against them
“Ah, well…” she hummed in contemplation, removing her hand from his chest, making him fully cry out while she considered her answer in a painfully slow and deliberate manner, “I suppose I could be willing to reward you, you have been such a good girl for me after all”
“ Y-yes! Yes! Please! I-I’ve been good! I’ve been good! I’ll be good! ” he babbled, his tongue feeling thick and useless in his mouth, his words slurring just a bit from the drunken lust he’d been trapped in, utterly unaware of the continuing changes that were slowly taking place
“But, if I am going to do that for you? Then I want something in return,” she didn’t even have to finish her statement before he was rapidly nodding his head, willing to give her anything to let him finish, “Firstly? This. ” her hand grabbed at his chest once again, making him yelp and groan, “Is your breast . It is not the chest of a man as you are not a man, are we clear?”
“ Y-yes! Yesyesyes! ”
“Say it for me, darling, what is in my hand right now?” she gave his chest another squeeze, kneading the tender flesh in her soft, strong fingers
“ M-my breast! T-that’s a breast! Not a man’s chest! Not a man! ” he whimpered out in a rush, not even thinking twice about what he was babbling
“Very good,” she kissed the top of his head, holding him close with an arm around his shoulders while her other hand reached down to rub along his thighs atop his pants, “You have such gorgeous legs you know… It’s a shame to not show them off more… Would you mind if I fixed that for you?”
“ Pleasepleaseplease! D-do it! Do anything you want! Pl-please! ”
“Thought so,” she said with another giggle and with a simple wave of her hand? The golden threads shredded his pants, exposing his oddly shapely legs and wider, thicker thighs, “Simply gorgeous”
His head nodded all on it’s own, muttering and whimpering agreements beyond his own control, too lost in his haze to even notice just how drenched his boxers were.
“Now, before I give you your reward and touch your clit ,” the word stuck out to him, the clear emphasis she placed on it only serving to make him feel even more warm and overheated, “I want you to say one last thing for me, please say ‘ I am a very good girl ’, can you do that for me?”
Somewhere, deep beneath the fog of horny mist, he felt doubt creeping in… That same feeling of guilt he always got whenever he admired a beautiful woman, that same shame and remorse he felt whenever he woke up from a particularly vivid dream, a dream where his body was quite different than how it was in reality. But before he could get too lost in his thoughts? Aglaea grabbed his chin once again, guiding his head to face her once more.
“Open your eyes for me pretty girl,” and he did, without even thinking, opening his eyes for the first time since that heat inside of him had billowed out of control just to see the calm, serene, loving smile on the Goldweaver’s beautiful visage, “Whatever doubt it is that you’re feeling? Whatever shame you have buried deep in your subconscious? Do not give those emotions credence, do not cede ground to them”
He didn’t know where these feelings were coming from, he didn’t know why his eyes were watering once again, a few stray tears cresting down his still over-sensitive cheeks. So much had been buried, so much had been forgotten, so much had been ignored in the months since he awoke with no memories, so many feelings and fears and desires that he had been too afraid to pursue, and yet now? Now they had all been ripped right out of him and laid bare by the talented fingers of the Goldweaver… Exposing it all for the both of them to see…
“B-but… but wh-what if-”
“There is no ‘ what if ’, girl, there is only what is . But if you need some assistance to give you the certainty you need to face what is? Then I shall gladly provide it for you,” she grabbed hold of his face with both of her hands, holding him in place to force him to look right at her just as her expression became stern and serious, holding that familiarly commanding appearance once again
“Wh-what are you-” he muttered but was swiftly cut off
“By my authority as leader of the Chrysos Heirs and the power given to me by the Coreflame of Mnestia - I, the Demi-Goddess of Romance, declare that the Trailblazer formally known as Caelus shall, from this moment onwards, be irreversibly, irrevocably and inarguably seen, accepted and considered as a woman in all states of life from this moment until her very last.”
With the dazed heat still filling his mind? He couldn’t even offer a single sound in response, simply gawking at her in absolute confusion while she regained that beautiful smile once again.
“Well then, it’s official, by my divine authority you are now a girl, forever ,” she released one hand from his head, reaching down to rub his bare thigh once again while her thumb lightly swiped a stray tear off of his cheek, “Now then, I’d be more than glad to reward you for this accomplishment with the release you so desperately need. But first? If you could please provide me with the statement I need to hear?”
At that moment? It felt like something inside of him snapped , the entire tower of conflicting, fearful emotions melting away in the brilliant golden light of the Goldweaver’s beauty. Her lips moved instinctively, without a thought in her head aside from the ceaseless need she felt to finally get her release as she screamed out, “ I’M A VERY GOOD GIRL!!! ”
“ Yes. You. Are. ” Aglaea laughed, her voice filled with pride and joy as her hand finally, finally , slipped beneath her boxers
As soon as the Goldweaver’s hand traced the head of her length? Her back arched, her mouth letting out a downright pornographic moan while her eyes fluttered shut. All it took was one touch, one touch had shattered the barrier holding back her release, and just as her orgasm hit it’s climax and ruined her boxers permanently? Everything went black…
—
Caelus didn’t know how long she was out for, her head felt fuzzy and her muscles all ached as she groaned and tried to sit up, but she felt a soft hand press gently on her shoulder right after, holding her back from trying to sit fully up.
“Sshhh, take it easy, alright?” the familiar voice of Aglaea whispered, pushing her gently back into the water
It all came rushing back to her in that instant, embarrassment flushing across her face and reaching all the way down to her bare, exposed chest, embarrassment that only multiplied when her eyes drifted open just to be met with the bare chest of the Goldweaver.
“E-eep,” she whimpered, squeezing her eyes shut tight once again as shame boiled inside of her
Of course, the woman just giggled at her in response, “Come now dear, there’s no need to feel ashamed, we’re both women here”
Aglaea poured some water over her head, washing out some floral-scented shampoo that she must have put in her hair while she was out cold. Against her better judgement? She opened her eyes once more, finding herself still in the older woman’s lap, feeling her impossibly soft thighs beneath her as the woman gently went about bathing her.
“Wh-what… what happened?” she weakly asked, averting her gaze from the other woman to look blankly into the waters of the bath
“Many things happened,” Aglaea laughed, “But if you want the condensed version? I discovered that you’re a girl and had you drink a special little concoction. You needn’t worry, the alchemy behind it is quite well studied, so it’s completely safe and the effects of it are always consistent… A person who is truly content with their body will experience no changes at all, while a person who struggles with features they dislike will find their form changing to become more in-line with their true self”
That explanation made her embarrassment grow impossibly stronger, doubly so when she finally turned her gaze towards her own body… For starters, her skin was far softer looking than before, her legs longer and curvier, with subtly thicker thighs and slightly wider hips. The most noteworthy thing though was her bust… Two modest sized breasts sat peacefully on her chest, just below the surface of the bath water, complete with slightly larger and undeniably more sensitive nipples… But even despite all of the changes? Despite how much the sight of her body made her want to weep tears of joy? One thing she caught in her eyes did make her frown ever so slightly…
“Um… if it was supposed to make my body the way I… uh… want it to be? Then why do I… um… w-why do I still have…” she closed in on herself a bit, partially out of embarrassment, partially out of shame and partially out of shyness
The older woman gave her a concerned look, gently petting her now much longer hair as she did, “Oh, you poor thing… Unfortunately? While a miraculous bit of alchemy? It’s not perfect… It’s sadly unable to alter reproductive organs”
“O-oh…” she muttered, closing in on herself just a bit more
Aglaea’s hand rubbed small soothing circles on her back, her other hand cupping the side of her face to draw her gaze over to her once again, “Don’t you let that change a thing though, alright? Regardless of anything else, even if you’d never drank that concoction in the first place, you’d still be just as much of a girl as you have always been, and don’t you dare let anyone tell you otherwise, alright?”
As much as she wanted to argue back? She was too drained, too tired from her transformation and too achy from the pleasure of it all to muster the will to fight, so instead? She just nodded her head silently before reclining a bit, letting her head rest against the Goldweaver’s shoulder. Aglaea, for her part, accepted her silence, even if it seemed rather obvious that she could tell she was still bothered by her doubt.
A peaceful silence passed between them after that, filled only by the sounds of running water and the occasional bit of guidance Aglaea had to give to get her to move so she could wash her properly. It was incredibly soothing, to feel the warm waters and girly floral soaps cleaning off her sweaty body, to feel the firm but soft fingers of the Goldweaver against her skin or itching her scalp, to hear the occasional whispered praises in her ear, spoken in a tone so gentle that it nearly brought her to sleep once again.
After a while though? She felt a curiosity bubbling up inside of her mind, a curiosity that she needed the answer to, even if it meant ruining the peaceful silence of the moment.
“Aglaea?” she spoke in her own hushed tone, still feeling a bit surprised about how different her voice sounded now. The woman hummed while rubbing her leg with soap, motioning for her to continue, “Why did you do this?... A-any of this… I mean, I get why you interrogated me, but once you realized I wasn’t a threat? Why did you… w-why did you do all of this? ”
Aglaea paused for a moment, looking off at nothing in particular, seeming to consider her answer with a level of caution before she finally answered, “...Because I know another girl like you… a stubborn thing, really. She expressed such interest in femininity and yet any time that I offered it to her? She refused. She claimed that she was simply faking it, that she was unworthy of the gowns I’d create, that she couldn’t be a girl… That back and forth went on for years , until eventually? I grew tired of her refusals and brought her here, to this very bath, and did to her the same things that I did to you”
She listened with rapt focus, her mind almost instinctively trying to work out who she could be speaking of while she voiced her next question, “And she… enjoyed it?”
“Oh very much so,” the Goldweaver giggled, her voice filled with a fond sort of nostalgia, “Of course, I’ve never succeeded in getting her to be completely honest with me, but at the very least, ever since that day? She’s never again tried to claim that she’s a man, so that’s good enough for me”
“I see…” she let out a low, soft breath, letting herself relax once more against the older woman’s shoulder.
That same peaceful silence returned, Aglaea slowly and gently washing her entire aching body for her. It was so relaxing that she almost wished she could stay there forever. Of course, she knew their little intimate bath had to end eventually, and sure enough? Just a few moments later?
“Well, I’m sad to say it, but I believe it’s about time that we finish up,” Aglaea stated, rinsing the remaining soap from her hands now that she was done washing her, “I’m afraid that I have far too many other matters to attend to”
“O-oh, r-right!” her face flushed a bit with the guilt she felt for taking up so much of the Goldweaver’s time, but she just giggled at that and, to her even bigger surprise? Scooped her right up into a princess carry and lifted her out of the bath, “Eep!”
“My, you’re as light as a feather,” the woman giggled, smiling so warmly at her that she felt like she never wanted her to set her down, “Now, before I let go back to Dan Heng? I do have one last surprise for you”
“Surprise?” her brow furrowed slightly, completely ignorant of what it could even possibly be at this point
“Look behind you my girl”
She did as she was told, craning her neck back to see one of Aglaea’s garmentmakers weaving away at a beautiful, elegant silver gown. The sight of it made her breath catch in her throat. It was absolutely gorgeous, and if the size and shape of the gown was any indication? It seemed perfectly sized for her …
“W-when did you…” she muttered out while the woman set her down on her feet, handing her a soft, plush towel to dry herself off with while she too began to dry off with her own towel
“I had my garmentmaker start sewing that gown from the moment your lips first touched the chalice,” Aglaea laughed at the absolute bewilderment she felt in response to that, “After all, a young lady such as yourself deserves only the very best gowns we can provide”
“I-I don’t know what to say,” she whispered, still dripping from the water as she approached the gown, gently rubbing the soft silk-like fabric of it between her fingers
“You can consider it my apology if you’d like. After all, I did destroy your pants and undergarments, so it’s only right that I provide you with suitable replacements”
Her eyes moved to the side, her blush reigniting in full force when she saw the matching lacy set of panties and a bra that sat beside the garmentmaker, along with a matching pair of shoes that had a manageably small high heel to them.
“I shall also be retailoring your previous attire, or what remains of it at least, to better suit your new body. After all, we can’t very well be sending you to fight the Titans in an elegant gown like that, I’d hate to see it get ruined in combat, but that retailoring may take awhile, so for now? You’ll have to wear the gown,” she could hear the smirk on the woman’s face without even looking at her, “Although I’m sure a good girl like you doesn’t mind at all, hm?”
A shiver of equal parts excitement and embarrassment raced down her spine. Regardless of whatever embarrassment she felt though? A wide, genuine smile still grew across her lips beyond her control…
—
Dan Heng had been pacing around the room ever since Caelus left. As confident as he was that his friend could handle himself? He couldn’t help but worry that the resident raccoon of the Nameless had done something to earn the scrutiny of a second interrogation… Earned or not though? He couldn’t just stand back and allow his friend to be executed. He reached for his spear, intent on marching right to the Hero’s baths to aid Caelus in any way that he had to, but just as his hand grabbed the handle? He heard the door to the room open up behind him.
“Oh, you’re back, good, I was starting to get-” he paused when he turned around to see a rather familiar looking girl standing in the doorway…
She had the same gray hair as Caelus, with the same amber-yellow eyes, but his eyes were admittedly more drawn to the elegant gown this girl was wearing. It was silver in color and almost reminded him of the dress that Aglaea herself wore, exposing the smooth pale skin of her right leg entirely. The girl looked back at him, her face red and her smile nervous.
“Uhh… s-so the interrogation is over…” she gave a stilted, awkward laugh
He stared at her for several more moments, analyzing her expression and vibe, and once he was certain? He set his spear back down and nodded, “Good. I’m glad that we got that straightened out”
Caelus blinked back at him, brow creased out of confusion, “Uh… are you not gonna ask?”
“There’s no need,” he calmly countered, folding his arms and giving her an unamused look, “March has been going on and on for months now waiting for this exact thing to happen”
“ W-WHAT?! ” she of course yelled back, rushing into the room to grab him by the shoulders and shake him, “You mean you guys knew I was a girl but you never told me?!”
He simply let his companion shake him, not minding in the slightest as he calmly, flatly answered, “March said that it was important to ‘ not pre-emptively crack the egg ’, a statement that Himeko agreed with, so I left it to them”
“Huh? Wh-what does that even mean?!” the girl pouted at him but he had no real answer for her, offering little more than a nonchalant shrug, “Seriously?!”
“Yes. This isn’t exactly something that I’m knowledgeable about, so it wasn’t my place to question their expertise,” he finally shook her off, taking a step back so she couldn’t shake him again, “If you want to know more? Then I’m afraid you’ll just have to ask March and Himeko when we return to the Express… That aside though? We should stay focused on our mission, alright?”
“Fiiiiine,” she groaned like a petulant child. He was glad that she was at least in high spirits though, considering that she was still acting like herself, “We gotta wait for Aglaea to fix my old clothes before we can do more though, so… uh… what do we do while we wait?”
To that he just offered another small shrug, “I suppose we could try to take more pictures for March?”
“Sounds good!” she instantly perked back up at that, losing her faux-pout in an instant, “I gotta show everyone my dress anyway!”
He nodded, taking a step past her towards the door, “Just try not to cause too big of a scene, alright Cae-” he paused, looking back at her over his shoulder and cocking a brow, “Actually, would you rather I call you something else now?”
She looked surprised by that question at first, but after a moment? That same familiar smile came right back across her face, “Just call me Stelle!”