FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

'We have much to discuss and you are running out of time to make your decision.'

The implication in Mira's words is dire and Alysa wonders if it is possible she is not yet dead but perhaps close and this woman is giving her one last chance to prove where her loyalty lies. She manages to hold back a shudder at the thought, putting on a brave smile. "Of course mistress, I am sure that once everything is explained I will be better able to make my decision in a manner that will be of the most benefit to both of us" she says as she takes Mira's hand and gets to her feet, finally able to support herself without stumbling.

'Let us retire to my boudoir for now,' Mira decides. 'There we can discuss what the future holds for you. If anything.' She takes Alysa's hand firmly in her own and leads her not through the parlor or the kitchens but to the double doors along the wall of the dining room. She reaches into her cleavage to remove a glittering gold chain from which dangles a number of keys as well as what look to be various charms, including a small brass figurine, the skull of some small creature and the severed foot of possibly the same animal.

'Good luck charms,' Mira explains, raising an eyebrow as if daring Alysa to challenge her about keeping such trinkets. She fits one of the keys into the lock that is set the middle between the two doors. There is the familar clanking of gears as she slowly turns the key, activating the mechanism that bars the doors.

It is a small indoor garden-and entirely dead. There are the withered remains of what looks to be thorny rose bushes and small, stunted trees. A breeze swirls through this chamber as the ceiling high above is, in actuality, a series of broken skylights that now allow Alysa a view of the night sky. However, the twisted brown remains of vines obstructs the stars and a strong, unpleasant odor that does not belong to vegetation assails her nostrils.

As the solarium floor is laid out in tiers, it is only the bottom levels that are submerged beneath a pool of horrid, reeking water, the fumes of which are almost overwhelming when the wind shifts. Mira, however, takes a deep breath and smiles.

'My friends are shy but you shall become accustomed to them,' she says. 'They follow me, you see. I used to be frightened of them, once, but over time I've grown to love them as family.'

The faint flapping sounds and chittering from the darker portions of the ceiling grow louder and still more of that noxious effluvia drips down to the pool. Occasionally Alysa can spot one of the small winged forms battering the air with its wings as they flutter in and around the open panes of the skylight.

Alysa is familiar with the tiny bats that flit through the air above her head, although why Mira would refer to them as her friends baffles her as does the dead garden around them. "Such interesting company you keep mistress" she laughs as she lets Mira lead her "although such a lovely and mysterious woman would certainly keep such interesting and secretive company, but I seem to be babbling about trivia when we have things of great importance to discuss it seems". She's still not entirely convinced that she is still alive, despite the fact she can still hear her own racing heart, that could simply be an illusion no?

Along the outer periphery of the solarium, Mira walks, still escorting Alysa, who, in her weak state, is led along as if by a leash and collar, a firm hand prompting her to follow. The high stone walls indicate that this small courtyard lies in the center of the building and that the door on the far end of the solarium to which they are bound surely leads into the tower that rises above them.

Once more managing the collection of keys with a single hand, Mira opens the door and Alysa finds herself in the same room as the previous evening that had led down to the baths. This time, however, Mira ushers Alysa upward, along the narrow ascending stairwell that forces Alysa and her mistress to walk one in front of the other. Mira insists that Alysa go first.

The second level consists of a small landing, a pair of doors that likely open up into another small chamber like the one below and yet another stairwell built directly over the last one. Ignoring the doors, Mira beckons to Alysa to continue upward. The third level is much as the first except that this landing has an open window that looks over the rest of the manor. From here, Alysa can see the network of mechanisms that activate the large sheets of steel that comprise the shutters that cover the windows and shut out the daylight. Not a single glass pane is without one, doubtlessly a complicated project to construct and the only reason she had not noticed them when first arriving at Redclyffe is that she, in fact, had and simple not recognized them for what she now knows them to be.

On all sides, the red brick walls of the manor are ringed with tall trees which likely provide additional shade during the day.

The fourth level again is composed of doors to adjoining rooms, a landing and another stairwell upward. However, on the next floor, Alysa shall be greeted by a strange sight. Though it requires a moment for her to understand what she is seeing, the massive gearworks set atop the middle of the floor, connected to still more brightly polished brass gears that then are meshed with still further clockwork along the walls. This is the primary mechanism that controls all the shutters; they are all linked to this single machine.

Crowning the top of the central gear shafts is what looks to be a bundled spool of copper wire wound tightly together; a battery. Not only is there a fully automated system for the window shutters but it is operated by some kind of electricity.

The walls around the room are ringed with glass windows through which Alysa can see still more of the surroundings of Redclyffe. Beyond the trees is the perimeter fence of wrought iron and, to the south, the winding road by which the blonde bandit had been brought to this place. It curves around the slope of the mountain, leading back to the town that Alysa cannot view from this vantage.

'Dakrom designed it,' Mira explains, following Alysa's gaze. 'I understand the principles but it is a fabulously complex device but altogether necessary for our needs.' She motions to what must surely be the last flight of stairs.

"It is quite an impressive mechanism indeed mistress" Alysa says as she takes a tentative step forward, rather glad for Mira's arm holding her, although her legs no longer shudder and quake like some newborn animal they are still hesitant to bear her weight on their own and she finds it difficult to walk without Mira's help. This strange sensation adds to her suspicions that she is either dead or closer to death than she would care to admit, for why else would her body suddenly feel so frail and weak. Her blue eyes however sparkle with inquisitive light, a stark contrast to her weakened and still slightly trembling body. It seems that despite the silent war raging in her head and the poison singing through her veins it will take more to quell her curiosity.

The top of the tower is entirely open with only a peaked roof for shelter against the winds. To the right and the left, running along the gabled rooftop of the manor house are railed walkways and while one simply ends in a cupola that grants a wonderful view of the rocky outcropping that abuts the grounds, the other leads to a massive wide flat circle resting atop the roof. It would take more than ten paces for Alysa to cross the breadth of it and she knows it at once for what it is as she had heard one of the staff mention it.

It is to this area that Mira now gracefully strides, the scarlet folds of her gown swirling around her like a cloud of blood, the color almost black in the moonlight. Even the tallest of the nearby trees does not rise so high or has been trimmed to permit easier landings. From this place, Alysa can see into the valley below and the silvery thread of railway that vanishes into the distance. From one perspective, it could represent the beginning of a new journey though, from another, one could be standing at the end of the line.

'You are dying, Alysa,' Mira speaks, her voice carried by the wind and echoing across the rooftops of Redclyffe. 'You have partaken of my blood as well as that which was contributed by Dakrom but mine, though not as strong as his, you have drank in greater amount and so his control over you should not exceed mine. You are strong enough that it did not kill you but you are dying.

'But you were always dying, from the moment you were born. In a short span of years, your beauty shall fade, your body shall weaken and you shall eventually succumb to mortality. By hastening the process, I have done nothing unnatural.'

She now stands in the center of the landing pad, calling out to Alysa. 'Yet I offer you a new path! True freedom! Freedom from mortality! Freedom from weakness! Freedom from the passage of time! Just as it was offered to me, Alysa, I offer it to you! My mistress shall arrive in but a few brief days and she can give you this gift, just as it was given to me!'

"D-dying mistress?" she gasps, her worst fears confirmed by the beautiful woman's words. She fights the urge to gag as she realizes what it is she has been drinking the past day.

"Why have you done this to me Mira?" She asks, the accusation and betrayal in her voice plain as the moon itself. "I free you from your husband and in return you do...this?" So it is true then, she has been poisoned. She cannot help but wonder how much time she has, whether there might still be time to make her escape from this place and its murderous inhabitants. "I don't want your gift" she hisses violently as she attempts to find a way to hold herself upright and move away from the woman. "Why would I want anything from you after what you have done to me? Just tell me how close to death I am and then I shall be on my way, if I am going to die anyway I will not do it here with you".

At the distance between them, with only the stars for illumination, Alysa cannot read Mira's expression but she can hear the hurt and anger in her voice. 'You ungrateful wench!' she cries. 'Do you understand? I knew when I saw you that you were the one for whom I had been waiting! The others that came before you, those foolish and cowardly knaves! Those that fled did so and those that stayed proved unworthy! You are the one I want at my side, Alysa! I grow tired of playing the good wife to these wretched noblemen and seducing them out of their fortunes! I wish to be free, like you, to wander the roads of this realm and roam the wilds! You are such a woman as I have long admired but I never thought I would meet your like! Join me, Alysa! I can give you freedom! You'll never need bow to another ever again! It to us that others shall fall upon bended knee! We shall travel far and wide by the moon and the stars! True that we must shun the sun but the night is so beautiful that it shall suffice and provide us with all that we need!'

Her arms are outstretched and her black hair has come undone and whips about her pale face. 'Do you not see the sights we shall witness? Across the ages undying, forever strong, forever beautiful, you and I together!'

"I am nothing like you" she spits, her blue eyes burning with a fury that even Alysa herself has never seen. She is trembling once again but this time it is not from weakness or fear but rage and hatred of the woman standing in front of her.

"Only you would expect me to bow and scrape to you wouldn't you Mira Armonde, to have a woman like me at your bidding, well I refuse! Take your gift as you call it and....and offer it to someone else! The only thing you offer me is damnation and even I will not sink so low as to accept that!" She's screaming now, her voice filled with venom. "I will take my leave of you, but know this Mira Armonde, if I had my weapons right now I would rob you of your ill gotten life, followed by every such creature that inhabits this house"

'No,' Mira agrees. 'We are not the same. I was never a killer or a liar until I received this gift. Only then did I learn the ruthlessness of my own nature. But you! You are already what I have become! All that I offer is what you are already are but better! 'You are already damned, Alysa! Have you never shed innocent blood before my husband? You were so willing to end his life that you did not hesitate. It was then I knew that you were precisely the person for whom I had been waiting!'

She shakes her head. 'I wish for you to become my partner! I cannot travel alone! My mistress would never allow me to leave on my own and I have had far more than enough of Dakrom's company! Please, consider what I offer you!' With swift steps, Mira strides towards Alysa. 'What have I done that is so terrible? Have I deceived you? Tricked you? And to how many others have you done the very same? No, Alysa, we are more alike that you could ever dare admit to yourself! Behold your dark reflection for never again shall you see your face in a mirror!'

Despite her wrath, Alysa is still very weak and she may not be able to resist when Mira reaches out to stroke her cheek. 'That is why I chose you, Alysa. The moment I saw you, I could see you for who you are and I knew that what I offered would not seem like a curse but a dark blessing that you would embrace!' Then she adds somberly, 'If you decline, your only options are to either succumb to the alien blood in your veins and perish or be transformed like those who serve me. Their hunger, I assure you, shall seem far more terrible than my own! For a woman such as you; a thief, a temptress and a murderer, it will be only the smallest of changes!' She extends her arms towards Alysa. 'Please, Alysa. Do not abandon me. I wish to be free of this place as much as you and, together, we can leave and travel as you please! There is so much of this world I yet desire to see and you can guide me! Please, Alysa. Please.'

Her overtures are as much demands as they are requests and Alysa shall find it is difficult to refuse. How terrible could it truly be to roam the night with this dark beauty at her side? How much different would her existence become? Is what Mira tells Alysa about herself true? Alysa manages to turn her face away as Mira touches her. "Find another pawn for your game Mira, I am no one's pet and I will never live my life on a leash. I do not care if I die from what you have done to me, I will not spend another moment under this roof with you and should our paths ever cross again, I cannot promise you will walk away from that meeting". She knows she is weak, but she also knows she must leave before a fate worse than death befalls her." No Mira, I will not stay, I cannot stay. I am not like you, I will never be like you and I hate you with a fire that burns deeper than the depths of the darkest corner of Hades itself, you touch me again and I will be the last thing you touch".

Reaching out, Mira places a firm hand on Alysa's shoulder. 'It is too late, Alysa. You either accept my offer or you will perish here, one way or another. Either you will become like Lemia and her daughter and the others; always hungry, never satisfied and shunned by others or you shall simply die.' She enfolds Alysa in her strong arms and pulls the slightly taller woman back against her. 'Please, Alysa, consider my offer. I only wish to give you that which you so dearly desire; to continue your existence under your own terms and not be beholden to anyone. You cannot leave, Alysa. You are bound here now. There is no way you could run fast enough and nowhere you could go far enough that I would not find you. You have given yourself to me and I intend on keeping you.' She kisses along Alysa's neck. 'Hate me if you must, Alysa, but stay with me. Stay at my side and I shall give you anything you could ever want.'

Alysa growls and tries to push Mira away. " I will run as far and as fast as it takes Mira, I will travel across the Vast itself to be free of you if I must. I will take my pistol and put a bullet through your worthless heart if that is what it will take to be rid of you forever. I am bound to no one Mira, least of all you. And I told you never to touch me again". She turns and atttempts to take a step towards the stairs, praying to whatever god will still hear her that her body will hold out long enough to get her away from this place, even if she is to die this night she will do it a free woman. "I have outrun others mistress" she hisses, the words dripping with venom as they leave her mouth, "I will out run you if it takes the rest of my life".

As Alysa attempts to push her away, Mira laughs, standing there grabbing the woman by her wrists and pulling the blonde to her.'You did not protest my touch last night when I made you scream and shudder and moan for me,' she coos softly, not letting the weakened woman pull away from her resolute clutches. 'Suddenly you are so disgusted by me but you didn't hestitate to kill my husband and, when I show my gratitude, you refuse my gift.' She shakes her head and yanks Alysa back into her embrace when the other woman tries to turn back towards the tower. Her eyes glisten in the moonlight.

'However, the gift is already given, whether or not you choose to accept it. My mistress shall be here in but a few days and then she will give you the same choice. If you refuse her, she will either force you into servitude along with the other corpse eaters or she shall rip your head off your pretty little body.'

A firm grasp on one of Alysa's arms, Mira reaches up to softly, almost lovingly, stroke Alysa's face. 'I couldn't bear to see such beauty destroyed. Please allow me time to convince you.' Now her free hand grabs Alysa by the back of her head and forces her downwards as Mira leans in close for a soft kiss. 'You may hate me, Alysa, but you shall change your mind in time.'Once again, she kisses the blonde, this time more insistently and passionately, mashing her bosom against that of the blonde, the necklace of keys and charms she wears pressing firmly against Alysa's breastbone. There is nothing, unfortunately, that Alysa can do to resist. Her body is without the strength and even her mind still ponders the benefits of this relationship, even if Alysa shall recognize that those thoughts are not her own and are merely caused by the toxin this woman has afflicted upon her.

"Then I must leave before she..." Alysa trails off as Mira kisses her, she cannot fight the woman and she does not have her weapons. "M-mira please" she whispers "I can't".It seems that Alysa is doomed unless she can bide her time and find someone who will assist in her escape. She can't think of anyone, but she is sure that she needs to leave. To put as much distance between herself and this place as she possibly can and as quickly as she can.

"Mira, I will...I will stay with you" she lies, hoping to pacify the woman holding her into trusting her so that she might press her advantage.The dark haired woman with the alabaster skin smiles softly as she gaze into Alysa's eyes, her breasts still pressed firmly against those of the blonde bandit.

Standing just behind Mira, a horrific shadowy thing leers at Alysa, raising one skeletal clawed finger to its ragged lips and shaking its head.

'You know it cannot be any other way,' Mira murmurs against the lips of her lover. 'We are bound together in blood.'

The shadowy figure gestures with a clutching motion around its throat. Alysa nods to it, allowing Mira to believe she is reassuring her. "Shhh my Mira, my mistress, I will not abandon you. We will be together forever, I swear it Mira, I swear it". For some reason she is not afraid of the shadow, perhaps she's accepted that she is close to death anyway and the worst that it can do is speed up the process for her. She slowly presses her body against Mira, trying to get her to step back towards the shape behind her. "Shhh Mira, just let me take care of you tonight, I've acted horrendously, let me make it up to you".

'There, there,' Mira purrs softly, her fingertips tracing around Alysa's jawline and cheekbones. 'Let us retire to my chambers and I shall remind you why it is you shall find my company so very agreeable and pleasurable.' She steps away from Alysa and abruptly the shadowy figure vanishes.'You are still very weak so I shall be gentle with you, my beauty. I only had to ensure that my blood was in your veins so that no others than myself could claim you and turn you into nothing more than another thrall. I don't wish that for you, Alysa, anymore than I did for myself and now that I have you with me, I can finally find my own freedom.'

She slowly saunters past Alysa, taking the blonde by the hand and leading her back towards the tower. There is not any sign of the mysterious, monstrous shape Alysa had seen and she might be able to dismiss it simply as yet another side effect of her poisoning.