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[i]THE STORY SO FAR...

After a mysterious plant turned Stella and her friend into demons, Stella has been on a journey to deliver a specimen of the plant to the magical academy in Reynolph so that the authorities can research it and hopefully prevent more disasters like the one Stella had.

There have been many mishaps along the way, including a terrible demon attack last night that resembled what happened to Stella and her friend but left Stella injured.

Thankfully, her journey is almost at its end as the city of Reynolph is a cart ride away.[/i]

The creak of the door woke Stella up. She was scared it was highwaymen coming to rob the carriage and she reached to her belt on the floor to get her knife before she saw it was Jillas, the goblin who owned the vehicle. She could barely see the Jillas' face in the darkness.

She rubbed her eyes. "What time is it?"

"Just past six," said Jillas, putting a wooden hammer down on the floor of the cabin, "Figured I'd head out early since we've been delayed enough."

Stella leaned up and soreness took her body. Sleeping on one of the the cart's seats was not good for her back and her privates and waist were stiff and sore from the beating she took the night before. It felt like her organs were tied around each other. After a few breaths, the pain receded enough that it wasn't terribly distracting, and Stella assumed that was as good as it was going to get.

She looked out the window into the outside world and only the faintest morning light had graced the roads.

The threat of highwaymen echoed in her mind. Stella looked down to check on her pack. Opening it, she saw everything was there including the sealed box with the demon plant speciment-- the very thing she needed to bring to Reynolph. It was a small relief when she went back to the carriage last night to see her pack untouched after she left it to check the demon attack. She took the belt and wrapped it on her waist, her knife back at her side.

"The hobgoblin is not coming," said Jillas, "I think the incident last night shook him. He's going back home."

Verludu was the name of the hobgoblin but Stella guessed Jillas never picked it up. Stella couldn't blame Verludu for wanting to give up and go home. Stella was feeling the aftermath of the attack last night and not just physically but mentally too.

Jillas secured the wheels some more and then went out front to get the mare ready for the ride. With the horse settled into the shaft, the carriage was road-ready once again.

"The road ahead is pretty flat," said Jillas from outside. He got up on the driver's seat, and spoke to Stella through the front window. "So you can lay back down if you need a few more hours of shuteye."

Stella would take that offer. She laid back down and relaxed as best she could as the cart moved forward. Her body wobbled but nothing that was going to throw her off the seat. With the sound of wheels crunching the road beneath them, the sound of the carriage squeaking, and the sound of the horse's hooves clopping on the floor, Stella found sleep again.

By the time Stella had her fill of sleep and laying horizontal became uncomfortable, the sun was out and illuminating the countryside. Being that the carriage had dropped its other fare, Stella could have sat on the seat facing backwards to watch things through the window.

She got up to switch seats and a pain snapped in crotch. She grimaced and sat down quickly on the opposite seat.

Am I going to need medical attention? thought Stella. Jillas was right through the glass behind her but he she didn't think he would notice her doing anything lewd. Keeping her arms as still as possible, she slid a hand into her pants and felt what it was like down there. The lips of her ladyhood were chapped, it seemed. She took her hand out before the driver got suspicious.

What if I got an STD? was the second question Stella thought to herself. She took on demon spunk. Lots of it. It was an obscure subject but she knew enough about it that consorting with monsters and animals was a potential way to get life-threatening illnesses. Lyne was a human deep down: was that a factor on whether or not his jism could harm Stella? What if Lyne got her [i]pregnant[/i]? How long had it been since her last period? Could demon sperm survive inside her for longer periods of time than human's? What if the baby was going to be [i]half-demon[/i]?

Reynolph was a city of magic studies. There was a good chance she could have found answers to her questions. It might have been a bit embarrassing to be caught asking about those subjects, though.

Was it worth it? Stella wondered. So much had happened to her in the last week but... no. It hadn't even been a full week since she left Drecker! All of what had happened to her happened in less than seven days: it was a lot to take in. The pain that was swimming all over her body was proof that she was not the adventuring type.

Birds flew across the highway behind the carriage. Stella would stare out through the window and birds would zip across the view. She wasn't a birdologist, but even if she was, the birds were too fast for her to identify them. It was beautiful, though. After fearing she would die last night, the colors of the birds' feathers looked brighter than they ever had.

They passed by the stop that Jillas mentioned the day before-- one they were meant to have a quick rest at before they were sidetracked by the demon attack. It was a road stop with a few places to eat and a large lot to park ones carriage. Stella could have used a stretch and a walk around with how stiff her body was, both her private area and her back after sleeping on the carriage bench, but it was more important that she arrive at Reynolph as soon as possible. She could have survived without the relaxation, although she regretted that decision when she looked through the window and saw an eatery tending to its morning crowd.

She got out her science fiction novel again and let herself pass the hours by reading it. It wasn't blowing her mind but she thought it was a decent distraction. The idea of a group of people traveling 'outer space' in a 'rocket' was ludicrous, but the plot had gotten pretty exciting with the main character having to bring home evidence of conspiracy or his whole planet would fall under the rule of an evil space empire. Stella couldn't stop reading, and time passed her by.

The cart was approaching the depot- the one Jillas was meant to stop at to get a fresh horse. The depot was large and busy for one not near any major city and just a mile away from the coastline. Stella saw a lot of things around the main garage she saw in Camberley's garage: lots of workers marching around-- many of them being orcs.

"Ok..." said Jillas, his voice just loud enough over the crowd, "I'm going to get ourselves a new horse to take us the rest of the way. Being that we missed our stop last night, I'm going to be the one to drive you the rest of the way."

"That's fine," said Stella as she gathered her things. When she hoisted her bag on the seat beside her, fire ran down her back and she added twisting her torso as something that caused her pain at the moment.

"There's a food stall and other necessities around back." Jillas pointed at a split in the garages where the path lead back to a few other buildings. "Let's take a half hour break then get back on the road."

Stella agreed and once Jillas parked the carriage in the garage, Stella carefully descended from the carriage door, taking her backpack with her. She was in recovery and a hefty backpack was not helping but she didn't want to leave something so valuable in the cart.

The weight of the backpack was uncomfortable but didn't seem to affect the soreness and sharp pain around her waist. To make things gross, there was a sound ringing up her bones each time she took a step-- a sound like sandpaper. It felt like the organs at the bottom of her abdomen had swelled and expanded as far as they could inside her body.

She did her best to appear normal, even if she couldn't help the way her thighs threw off the aim of legs so she walked around looking like she hit the bottle that morning. She didn't notice too many looks her way and walked out to the amenities part of the facility.

There were food stalls and other accomodations and the place was as busy. Several people of varying types were walking around-- using the washrooms, getting food at the stalls, or sitting down at the cafe tables to enjoy a cup of coffee.

She had been on her feet for barely a minute and Stella's was already whing to sit back down but she had been either laying or sitting down since last night so she forced herself to stay on feet. The smell of a sausage stall caught her nose. She walked up and saw a middle-aged human man flipping sausages on the grill behind the counter. The delightful sound of the meat sizzling was tempting. She slid the man a couple coins and got herself a sausage on the bun with pickled peppers on top. Walking off the man saw how shaky her steps were and wondered if maybe she had gotten bit on the ass.

There was a trail off the market path and she didn't want to be around other people at the moment so she figured she would take a walk, checking the clock to see how much time she had left before Jillas was going to leave.

The trails were beautiful and mostly empty aside from a hiker or two. Even if she had passed through a lot of wilderness to gawk at on her journey, the way those trails swerved down a shallow hill caught Stella's eyes. It was so beautiful that it quenched the pain a little.

She ate her sausage hoping that the boning she got from the demon didn't damage her stomach or her intestines and after a few spaced-out bites of the food, she didn't notice any pain that wasn't already there so she assumed she was in the clear for enjoying lunch without any major problems. The backpack was still heavy so she put it down by the tree and idly circled it while nibbling on her sausage. If she needed to walk to recover from her injury, a heavy weight on her shoulders was likely not part of that process.

The air was refreshing. The smell of a gentle morning mixed with the peppers enamored Stella's nose. After a few more minutes of circling the tree her legs were less wobbly even if the soreness and discomfort in her waist did not go away. That was enough walking for now. She sat down by the tree and relaxed.

Taking a hand down her abdomen, there was a pressure inside her body-- what exact organ, she didn't know. Even when she was still-- moving as little as possible-- there was a muttering of pain inside her like a furnace always aflame.

Her thoughts went back to the worry that she enjoyed too much sex-- that she was too horny and that she was a slut. It wasn't just on the road that she slept with men a lot-- it was back home too! Was it wrong that she was willing to enjoy a partner every night?

In the end, when Lyne attack her and the others, distracting the demon with sex until he transformed back was a plan that allowed everyone to walk away in one piece, but did Stella only come up with that plan because she was so sex-crazed? If anyone else were in her position, would they have figured something out that didn't involve spreading their legs?

It hurt to think about Adrea: the wife of the man who turned into a demon. She was so disgusted by Stella at the end of the night. What were Adrea and Lyne doing at that very moment, Stella wondered. The afternoon after the demon transformation... Were they fighting? Would Adrea forgive Lyne for having fucked Stella? Even if he hadn't his mental faculties, his wife might not have cared. Her husband slept with another woman. Adrea was angry at Stella so why would she not be angry at Lyne too?

Out of all the strange things Stella had done many things on that journey, and 'become a homewrecker' was the one that felt like the biggest betrayal to her character.

Stella looked at her sausage-- she had about a quarter of it left but she was suddenly not very hungry. She tossed the remains away and watched her lunch roll under a bush, sausage breaking free from bun.

She got up-- no, she didn't. She tried getting up the normal way and her center hurt too much. That time the pain struck down her midback. Stella hadn't felt too much pain back there so she was thankful at her injury for the surprise. She had to fold her legs and put the weight on her knees and use the tree for support to get up.

If that was 'getting fucked so hard you have trouble walking', Stella would have to tell people it wasn't as sexy as it sounded.

Stella picked up her bag and went back to the depot's little shopping center. It was a long ride to Reynolph so when Stella saw that a rest room was free, she knew to take that chance. The restroom looked recently built compared to the other buildings and when she went inside one of the stalls, she saw it was a newer kind of toilet with modern plumbing to deal with the waste. It was a luxury compared to going in the woods, anyway.

Stella was worried that the demon injury would have caused problems in her bowels. There was a small pain as she purged herself but nothing unbearable. She did her business and got out, relieved to find out that she wasn't rendered incontinent from the extra large fucking she got the night prior.

She had some minutes to kill so she ordered a coffee at a little outdoor cafe. There was a table out right in front of the stall. The purveyor didn't seem interested in chatting with Stella and Stella wasn't interested in talking either. She drank her coffee quietly. The beverage didn't hurt going to her stomach. She left the cup on the counter when she was done and headed back to the garage to continue the journey to Reynolph.

Leaving the depot, the second half of the carriage ride from Camberley to Reynolph began. In ten hours or so, Stella would be in Reynolph and her journey would be complete. She peeked inside the backpack to confirm the demon plant container was still present-- it was-- picked up the novel, and closed the flap.

Stella did her best to get comfortable on the seat. Maybe sitting on it for hours on end over the last couple days was starting to get her butt cheeks irritated. Shifting around did nothing. Crossing her legs did nothing. She dropped the novel on the carriage seat.

She sat around feeling uncomfortable when she peeked through the window at Jillas. The goblin man didn't have a lot of items on him. She didn't even see a weapon or a canister of water.

There wasn't a lever to open the window so she spoke through it. She said, "Hey, why don't you have a weapon or something?"

Jillas cocked his brow, looking over his shoulder. He pulled a knife from beneath his seat and held it out for Stella to see. "What for?"

"What about highwaymen?" asked Stella.

Jillas tittered and put the knife back to the compartment he had it stashed. "Girl, where are you [i]from[/i]?"

"Uhhh..." Stella felt like an idiot. Apparently, she came off as some sort of backwater dullard. "I'm from Drecker."

"Drecker, Drecker..." Jillas said, his eyes turning upwards in thought.

"It's a small town south of Lake Pypoli," said Stella.

"Can't recall any Drecker," said Jillas, "Do you get a lot of highwaymen down in Drecker?"

"No," said Stella.

"Highwaymen aren't really a thing nowadays," said Jillas, turning back ahead, "Not around here, anyway. It's hard for road bandits to get away with thievery. The patrols will get them."

"Right," said Stella.

Jillas paused before letting out a jovial yelp. He said, "You don't travel a lot, do you?"

Stella smiled. "About as much as anyone else."

The goblin rubbed the bottom of his chin. "The highwaymen were barely a thing anymore when I was a kid. By the time I got into carriage driving they were no longer a concern."

"All the drivers I've known have carried weapons," said Stella.

Jillas sighed then cracked a nostalgic grin that Stella couldn't see from her angle. "Many drivers still carry weapons, but that's for wild beasts." He shifted in his seat and huffed. "I don't have to worry about that. There aren't any creatures around here that can't be scared off with a manly shout." His voice lowered, "Aside from that [i]demon[/i] last night."

Stella was silent. Any mention of the demon brought her back to last night. Her imagination flashed images of the attack before her: the way Lyne stared at her with those bloodthirsty eyes, the cuts she took when the demon attacked, the way Lyne prowled on the others once he was done dicking Stella...

Stella's blood chilled. She held her arms, rubbing them warmly.

"You know," said Jillas, "My job has been the same for all the time I've been doing it-- all these years-- but now there are these motor carriages that are hitting the road. Have you heard of this?"

A picture came to Stella's mind. It was a blueprint for a gasoline-based engine that could power a carriage instead of a horse. She saw it while at school at the academy.

"I heard of it," said Stella, "There was going to be a showing at the academy I studied herbalism at but I had to leave the night before so I never got to see it in action."

"That's a shame," said Jillas, "They're [i]fast[/i]!"

Stella and Jillas continued their idle conversation. At one point Stella brought out a stick of her preserved food rations. She opened up the paper and cut off a chunk for her to enjoy. It was a cluster of dried fruits pressed together and "glued" together with gelatin. It was quite tasty for food that was made to be long-lasting rather than taste fresh. She cut off a piece for Jillas too.

Not a few minutes later did they pass a huckleberry bush. Stella could have done well with some fresh huckleberries but the ride was to Reynolph and it was looking like they would arrive late at night anyway. She didn't want to waste time picking food.

At one point Stella tried to lay down again but that's when a pain tensed up around her crotch. She suffered through it for a few minutes but it didn't go away so Stella gave up trying to sleep. It seemed like she would have to suffer the rest of the ride awake.

They arrived in Reynolph just as the clock ticked to eleven. Stella had heard of the beautiful architecture of Reynolph but under the darkness of night, few buildings were visible. One of those that were was the academy-- her destination lit up by braziers scattered around its base. The fire lit up its tall majestic walls made of violet brick.

The evening streets of Reynolph were quiet. Even the garage that Jillas pulled up into was rather empty and inactive. Was the magic academy even open at that hour? Stella would have to find out. She wouldn't check into an inn until she had delivered the flower to the authorities!

She waved bye to the goblin driver. Jillas was crass but Stella was grateful for his service because he likely took a loss finishing the journey without the second fare.

Stella walked right towards the academy. For a few steps she felt fine but the discomfort in her waist and innards flared up again. It was manageable as was the fatigue that had settled on her in those late hours. She passed through a park where couple of shady men were hanging out. A tavern was one of the few places still open at that hour, its incandescent glow lighting the ghostly streets. Fragments of activity were scattered around the streets of Reynolph.

As she got close to the academy, Stella could see the main doors were wide open with the lights from inside shining through. She got a little closer and heard lots of chatter coming from the building and it was weird that place was active at that time of night. A large set of stairs lain in front of the academy and Stella worried that going up stairs would have made her groin pain unbearable but her discomfort didn't spike when she started walking up the steps. At the top of the stairs she got a good look into the lobby where people were walking around in a hurry. What was the commotion?

There were two guards by the door-- both of them orcs-- and they didn't bother Stella as she walked in. She was free to enter. The place was busy and Stella sensed there was an emergency.

The halls were lit by grand ceiling lights-- electric lamps as it looked. It didn't matter how effective magical lighting had been known throughout history, even magical places switched over to electric once the technology developed. The place looked like Stella's idea of an academy. The walls were a crisp mahogany and the carpet was a crisp red. There were grand paintings around the lobby. There was a commemoration plaque by the door. Right in front of the entrance there was a clerk's desk with a satyr man behind it wearing a navy uniform.

Near the front of the lobby was a tall imposing drow woman: Ilya. She had shoulder length red hair slicked back behind her pointy ears. She wore dark red leather armor that included a vestment, pauldrons, and wristguards over a cloth tunic. She had a sizable chest like she stuffed two melons into her tunic. The pants were a dark shade of brown and looked like they were made from denim. Ilya wore black boots.

Ilya was talking with the satyr. "If we can't fix the signal, then there's no way we can organize patrols."

"The engineering crew are working on it," said the satyr, "They told me they're almost done and will have it up and running first thing in the morning."

Ilya rubbed her face, "Do they have any idea how urgent this is? It's a repair job! Why is it taking so long?"

The satyr had no answer.

Ilya sighed. It was then she saw Stella standly awkward and quietly in front of the entrace. Ilya dropped her hand to her side. "What do [i]you[/i] want?"

"Uh, [i]uhhhh[/i]..." Ilya's stern tone intimidated Stella. "There's a demon plant growing across the land! I have a sample here so the academy can research it."

"We know about the [i]netherlilies[/i]," said Ilya, "Reports have been coming in from all over the region."

Stella's face sank. "You know about them?"

"Of course!" said Ilya, her voice spiking enough to echo down the hall, "They are [i]everywhere[/i]."

Stella took another look around the hall and saw that the people walking around the hallway that evening were carrying large scrolls or boxes of things. Most of them were uniformed so they were part of the academy's staff. They already knew about the demon plants and were all hands on deck on dealing with it.

Stella put her backpack down on the ground and pulled out a container-- the container with the demon plant. She held it in her shaky hands, "Please... I traveled all the way from Drecker to deliver this."

Ilya took a step forward, and looked down at Stella. "Did anyone [i]ask[/i] you to?"

"N, no," said Stella, "but I figured that the academy could use-"

"We have enough samples," said Ilya.

"Even from Drecker?" asked Stella.

Ilya sighed and rolled her eyes. She crossed her arms, head dipped down in thought. After a moment, she raised it back up. "Follow me."

Stella closed her bag, put it on her back, and picked up the container. She followed Ilya through a door down the stairwell. The smell of ethers and other chemicals hit Stella's nose. The air irritated her throat and she coughed. Ilya passed a cross look back at Stella like Stella insulted her with any involuntary body reaction.

Taking steps down the stairwell caused sharp pains to zap through her abdomen and legs. She squealed quietly and gripped her stomach.

"What's wrong?" said Ilya, letting her annoyance ring in her voice.

"I... injured myself," said Stella.

Ilya looked on the stairs and railing, "On what?"

"I don't mean [i]just now[/i]," said Stella, "Before. I injured myself yesterday." She leaned back up and took slow steps down the stairs, "You have no idea what I've been through to get this here."

"Stop complaining," said Ilya.

Down the stairwell, the door was open into the basement lab and Stella knew it was a lab because it was full of beakers, gurgling fluids, and people walking around in laboratory gear like white coats. Ilya picked up a paper facemask by the door and strapped it on. Stella followed suit, but the mask didn't help the irritating feeling she got from breathing the lab's air.

Ilya brought Stella over to a table and motioned Stella to put the container down on the surface. She glanced at an orc dressed in a white coat like the others. "Ragson. Come over here."

Ragson was short and slender for an orc which meant that he was still taller and bulkier than Stella.

"What is it?" asked Ragson through a large facemask.

"This girl here has a netherlily," said Ilya.

Ragson scowled hard enough for it to be seen through his mask, "So?"

Stella looked around the lab. There were several glass containers around with the demon flower-- [i]netherlilies[/i] inside. Some looked like there essence was boiled in water to produce a dark liquid. There was a chalkboard in the corner with a detailed breakdown of the flower's structure.

"Could you use another?" asked Ilya.

"It's all the way from Drecker," said Stella.

Those words meant nothing to Ragson. He opened up the lid and saw the top of the netherlily frozen inside a pool of hardened and cloudy sealing gelatin. He shook his head. "Sealing gelatin? This won't do."

Stella's heart sank farther down than before. "I had to seal it. For safety."

"We have fresh samples that haven't been [i]ruined[/i] with sealing gelatin," said Ragson. He put the lid back on the box. "This is worthless."

Stella welled up, "Wh... wha?"

Ragson held the box in his hands. "Would you mind if I disposed of this? It has no use here."

Stella couldn't say anything. She had traveled all the way from Drecker in vain. All the hardships she had suffered through... for a sample that was of no use to any research team.

Ragson repeated himself, louder this time, "[i]Would you mind if I disposed of this!?[/i]"

Stella sighed and nodded her head. Ragson picked it up and walked to a furnace at the end of the counter. Stella followed him like she was watching a pet get put down. Ragson tossed it into the fire and immediately went back to what he was doing before. Stella stared as the box went aflame, the sealing gelatin heating up and melting out of the box's frame.

"Come on," said Ilya, taking Stella's arm and directing Stella out, "This is a place for work. Not for loitering."

Stella's scowled at Ilya, tugging her arm away but keeping with Ilya's pace on the way out. "I can show myself out, [i]thanks[/i]."

Ilya didn't want to give anymore words to the human. Stella was on her way out and soon the little distraction that Ilya had clinging to her leg would be gone.

She saw Stella looking defeated and gestured some sympathy, "Was there no radio depot where you were from? Why didn't you call us on the wire to see if your netherlily was needed?" She thought for a moment, "I'm sure a sender would allow to communicate with us."

Radio technology was new and not widespread. Stella didn't even know where the closest radio depot to Drecker was. Finding a sender to magically communicate with the academy was a likely option and Stella felt like a fool for not thinking about it.

Stella looked up, "I don't know. I never thought of that."

They went up the stairs. Going up the stairs didn't spike the pain in Stella's abdomen as they did going down. Stella and Ilya walked back out into the lobby. It was as busy as the two had left it, Stella bumping into someone rushing into the stairwell as she and Ilya walked out of it.

Ilya showed Stella the door. "Next time, drop us a line before you travel from gods know where to give us something we do not need."

"I don't understand," said Stella, "What's going on? Why is there demon pl-- [i]netherlilies[/i] growing everywhere?"

"We don't know that yet," said Ilya, "but the academy is working on it." Ilya scowled. "I don't have time to explain it to you. Thank you for your... [i]efforts[/i], but I must see you off here." Ilya turned and walked down the hall.

With her heart sunk down into her stomach, Stella walked out the door into the quiet night. Her steps were heavy going down the stairs and her pain spiked again. She had to use the stone railing and take her steps slow down the staircase. She was tempted to sit down on her butt and shuffle down the rest of the staircase like a kid but pride wouldn't let her do that.

She was whirling so hard that she got lost in her own head. She found an inn, paid whatever was needed to rent a room and took a key to her door. As soon as she was in the inn's room, she had forgotten how she had gotten there. What was the inn's name? Who was the clerk at the desk? She couldn't remember and she didn't care.

The moonlight came in through the window and masked the room in pale blue. Stella felt a draft but there was no window open and barelt a wind blowing outside anyway. The world was quiet. She couldn't hear any voice or sound coming from another room. There wasn't even an ambiance from the world outside the inn.

Stella looked at her bed. She was exhausted but was so riled up she couldn't imagine falling asleep. She walked her eyes around the room, catching them on the room's furnishings like the endtable or the painting on the wall in the corner. There was a potted plant by the dresser looking like it was needing water.

Her legs were numb and she tripped over her own foot. She caught herself but then growled in frustration. Her waist hurt so much. She could barely stay on her feet any longer and practically fell onto her bed. She moaned and pulled off her backpack, dropping it to the floor with a clatter. Her sides were extrasensitive when she reached at her knife belt. She unbuckled it and let it drop off the edge of the bed to join her backpack.

All of that work, for nothing. Every scare, every humiliation-- she clutched her stomach and moaned at the pain-- and every injury. It was meaningless. It was the biggest trial she had faced in her entire life and there was no point to any of it.

Stella's eyes welled up. Images flashed into her head, like being attacked by Patros when he turned into a demon back home in Drecker. So many attacks, like the troll attack she suffered on the road to Steppington. And then most recently the incident the night before with Lyne and Adrea.

All to reach the Reynolph magic academy and have a drow bitch scowl at her for every pained step she took through the place. Stella clenched a fist and gritted her jaw, tears rolling down her face. How could anyone be so heartless to her?

Stella dove her face into a pillow and sobbed, thinking about how the folks back home at Drecker had probably gotten word on how to dispose or deal with the plant. Returning back home seemed like a nightmare, both the journey and the arrival. How could she face the people of Drecker after such a failure?

Her actions were enough to inspire an entire book of humiliating tales.

Stella couldn't help herself. She broke out crying. She tried to muffle her sobs with her arms and knees, but she cried anyway.

That's all she could do and nothing else seemed to have any point. She sobbed to herself before the fatigue took over and she fell asleep.

Reynolph remained quiet deeper into the night but the stars shone above. The wind drew still and the light of a particular star grew brighter, a brilliant display of celestial glow if anyone were to look above and see it that sleepy evening.

Its aura dove down towards the city and onto the inn that Stella slept. Stella's body had relaxed since her breakdown and she was spread out on the bed, although laying above the sheets with her boots still on. Her tears had dried although she had a face of agony like her pain and humiliation had followed her into her dreams.

Her room was overtaken by a ghostly light. Although Stella was undisturbed by it, a mystical force entered the room and scintillated its essence over the sleeping girl. Stella's body was consumed by a mystical shine. Underneath the veil of her pants and underwear, a marking appeared on Stella's right butt cheek, growing out from a simple marking into a complicated symbol. It was a pattern shaped like a dragon with several sharp lines emerging from the form. Anyone could have mistook it for a tattoo.

Her skin was changed but Stella did not wake. The light faded from Stella's body, the room and then the sky. The star that blessed Stella shrunk back to its normal glow.

Stella Darwin lain in bed, tears stained the blanket beneath her. The events of that late night had made her feel unimportant but with that tattoo on her body, she had become destined to be [i]very[/i] important.

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