Chapter 4:
A Busy Day
After a fitful night, Nameless was milking Milly in the living room. The return of the simple chore to their daily routine was a welcome relief for them both.
And since the day before had been so hectic he was taking his time, enjoying the intimacy of the morning ritual.
The sharp sizzle of milk hitting the bottom of the pail filled the room as he firmly massaged his hands over her breast while she mooed softly. He leaned over and kissed her naked back, she was on all fours over the pail as he worked, and despite being bone tired, he was seriously considering slipping behind her for a quickie once the pail was full.
But he shook aside his arousal and focused on the task at hand.
From the kitchen Ophelia called out to him as an idea came to her.
“Dearheart, how would you feel about us clearing some space in the grass for a little garden? Maybe beside the cottage towards the pond?”
He kneaded Milly’s flesh as he absorbed the Flutterby’s words.
“Yeah, if you want, I mean I know Paul won’t mind.”
Though they very much considered the cottage home, it was technically still Paul’s land.
“I meant for you, you remember we had that little garden at the orphanage?”
He snorted. It had been something of a group project for the kids, but most of them abandoned it after a week, leaving Nameless to tend to it himself.
He kissed Milly’s back again, and settled his cheek against her warm skin, enjoying the intimate contact and the chance to rest his eyes for a moment.
Another sizzle of milk shot into the bucket while he considered the Flutterby’s suggestion.
“I don’t exactly have a green thumb, love. If you’ll recall, all we got out of that garden was a bunch of stunted carrots and some rotten cauliflower.”
Ophelia drifted over to the other side of Milly and he shifted the bucket underneath her so that she could milk her opposite breast while he took up the wash cloth and wiped her nipple clean.
The Minotaur was completely blissed out as her sister’s delicate hands hefted her weighty breast and began to coax the milk out of it, but she was still listening to the conversation.
“A garden seems like a nice idea, and I love cauliflower, but it makes me gassy.” She said with a sigh as Ophelia’s efforts produced another jet of cream.
“Cauliflower makes everyone gassy.” Ophelia chuckled at the Minotaur before looking over to Nameless’s head, still resting against Milly’s back; “And dearheart, you were maybe eight at the time, and didn’t know what you were doing. And I was too busy herding children to give much help once the others lost interest, so those pitiful carrots made me quite proud of you.”
His cheek slid across Milly’s back and he kissed her again before murmuring into her skin.
“That’s true I guess, but isn’t it kind of late in the year to start a garden?”
Ophelia shrugged.
“Yes, I wasn’t thinking we would plant anything, just prepare the land, maybe a little fence? Then it would be ready for us in the spring.”
The more she talked, the more he liked the idea.
“Sounds good, I’ll add it to the list.” He slurred.
“What list?”
“List of things that I want to get done around here.”
Milly looked over her shoulder at him with a furrowed brow.
“I don’t remember there being a list.”
He yawned and nuzzled against her some more.
“I came up with it last night while you were sleeping.”
He appeared half asleep himself as he let out a contented sigh; her milky skin was so soft.
Her frown deepened, and Ophelia’s joined her.
“You mean you came up with it when you should have been sleeping with us, you were out quite late. You look exhausted dear.” The Flutterby observed.
He stifled another yawn.
“I’m okay, I was just really restless. Talked with Paul for a while. Went for a walk. Helena was around, sh’stole Paul’s pipe.” He slurred.
Nina came in from outside while Milly and Ophelia shared a worried look.
“Looks like I missed the milking party.”
Nameless gave Milly’s back one last kiss then stood with a stretch and a huge yawn.
“You can take my spot if you want, I need a shower.”
She gave him a quick look up and down and snorted.
“What you need is some sleep babe.”
He smirked at the new appellation.
“Babe? I suppose it’s better than puny weakling.”
“No, you’re that too. Babe is just quicker.” She threw at him while fetching a glass of water from the sink.
The Gigas was sweaty from her morning activities, which was an odd sight on her. Even in the heat of the Sansee Wastes she barely had any moisture on her brow, but a drastic change had come over her since Kar’s funeral.
Before the events in Garland she had been almost apathetic in her supreme confidence, safe in the knowledge that so long as she held her hammer she was the strongest around.
But now, with Evadne out there, the arena veteran had spent the morning memorizing the terrain around the cottage and then drilling with her hammer, conditioning herself for the kind of combat that rewrote maps.
Their field of wild grass now had a significant crater in one corner of it.
She dropped her glass on the counter and looked him over again.
“I need a wash too, so we’ll take a shower, and then you’ll take a nap.”
The way she said it made it clear it wasn’t a suggestion.
“No, I need to take Milly’s milk in to the market and-”
But she didn’t let him finish, instead she picked him up by his legs.
“We’ll take care of it. I need to meet the smith anyways. Now come on. I’ll even tug you off in the shower so you can sleep better.”
She carried him into the bedroom and shot a giggling Milly a wink while Ophelia mouthed a ‘thank you’ at her.
“Nina! Come on, really I’m fine!”
They moved quickly into the bathroom, and she didn’t relinquish her grip on his legs as she turned the knobs to start the shower, the audible sound of the pump working resonated through the wall.
“You will be once you’re face first in your pillow. Now strip.”
She set him back on his feet, and for one brief moment he considered making a break for it. But the ground outside was chilly, and he didn’t doubt for a second that Nina would chase him down and drag him back no matter how far he ran, so he groaned and pulled of his shirt while Nina likewise got naked.
“Okay, but you are totally swallowing a big, disgusting, slimy load of my cum!”
He tried to make it sound as unappealing as he could, but she just nodded.
“Yeah, I can jerk you off into my mouth if you want. Sounds hot actually.”
He pulled his pants off and let out another hard-done-by groan.
His own fault really: there was no flapping the unflappable.
The water had warmed enough and the pair slipped under the spray for a quick wash, once they were clean and the last of the soap was circling the drain he turned his naked front to her.
“You don’t actually need to- Ah! Nina! Baby!”
Indeed she wasted no time seizing his cock and working it between her fingers until it stiffened.
Once his erection had reached its peak she took it in her viselike grip and pumped it steadily. Her hair was slicked back from the water and her face was right in front of his cockhead with her mouth hanging open.
Without lubrication, the loose skin of his cock slid over his flesh in her palm and he groaned at the sensation, it was actually how he preferred doing it himself, though it had been a long while since he had done it himself.
Her tongue shot out and lathed over his head for a moment, before she withdrew it to speak, water dripping off of her face as her red eyes held his.
“Do it. Shoot that nasty cum in my little slut mouth, come on. I’ll choke it all down for you.”
Her dirty talk and frantic pace had him climbing into ecstasy within just a few minutes and he gripped her wet hair as he groaned.
“It’s coming soon, Nina, oh fuck! Stroke my cock!”
Her hand was a blur of motion. Despite being barely three feet tall, Gigas were one of the strongest breeds around, so a simple handjob took no effort for her. She could stroke him like this for days without tiring, although he certainly would.
“Cum in my mouth babe, I’m ready. I want to taste that nasty cum you threatened me with.”
Despite her dirty talk, this wasn’t a sensual exercise; this was her getting him off as quickly as possible so he could get some sleep.
It didn’t take long.
He gave a hoarse cry and gripped her head while bucking his cock into her hand.
As promised she pressed the tip of his cock against her lips when he began to spurt, shooting it directly past her teeth and over her tongue.
He always had so much cum for them though; his copious wads were legendary amongst the girls, and, though he didn’t know it, amongst the Amazons as well.
After all, Erica boasted about his prowess to anyone willing to listen.
So Nina swallowed what she could, but her mouth was overflowing within a few seconds and she opted to pull him off all over her face and breasts, his seed immediately sliding down her body under the spray of water.
He groaned and thrashed, and she kept stroking him even after his spurts diminished to dribbles, wanting to drain every last drop out of him before sending him to bed.
After another few hearty tugs for good measure she released him and he collapsed against the wall before slumping to the floor of the shower, warm water and bliss washing over him in equal measure.
“There you be. Now go to bed.”
But when she finished washing his seed from her face and chest, she turned to see him snoring in the steamy warmth of the shower.
She put her tiny hands on her hips.
“You are such a pain in my ass.”
But she smirked when she said it.
__________
In town rumours abounded about Nameless and his bond-mates. Kettering was remote enough that what few details that came out of Garland had yet to reach the locals.
Brandon brought his axe down with an annoyed curse on the stubborn chunk of wood on the chopping block.
The smith’s son was frustrated not just because of the wild theories, but also out of simple jealousy.
That little twerp Nameless not only managed to snag Ophelia, who Brandon had always had a crush on, but he then went on some kind of badass adventure, only to come back with even more women crawling all over him.
Valkyrie, Amazons, Hornets.
It was all anyone could talk about!
While for Brandon’s part, his father didn’t understand him at all, and now apparently neither did his girlfriend, or rather his ex-girlfriend.
He had dreams!
He didn’t want to stay in plain old Kettering. He wanted to be out in the big wide world, doing important things with important people. Of the two of them, he was the athletic one, the handsome one; he was the one with every advantage.
But now even Cordelia was obsessing over the little snot; he hadn’t missed how she defended him the other night, and he was pretty sure she had visited him since.
Instead of doing something important, his father had him chopping firewood again, a chore he loathed, though he at least appreciated the workout for his muscles.
He needed something to keep the ladies coming back for more.
“Hey, where is the blacksmith? I need some stuff from him.”
He turned at the female voice but did a double take when he realized that the girl was almost half his height.
And red, like, really red.
“Uh…”
“Rory, I’m looking for Rory.”
Brandon recovered quickly enough, realizing two things: the girl in front of him wasn’t human, and, despite her diminutive size and odd skin colour, she was hot.
So he adopted his best ‘c’mere girl’ swagger.
“I can help you, cutie.”
“Not unless you’re Rory, and call me cutie again and I’ll hurt you.”
Her words were threatening but her tone was flat so the teen just figured she was being coy.
Because he’s an idiot.
“Aw, don’t be like that! I just call ‘em like I see ‘em… cutie.”
The girl huffed.
Brandon was having a hard time remembering why he was flat on his back and staring up at the beams in his father’s ceiling.
“-mostly I made show-pieces, heartstone jewelry and housings and the like. Though it’s been years since I was able to.”
He recognized the tiny red girl’s voice, still flat on his back.
“We shouldn’t have any overlap then. I haven’t worked with any precious metals since my apprenticeship. Spend most of my time fixing wagon axles and shoeing Lambdas. In fact, I shoed your bond-sister not long ago.”
Brandon turned his head in time to see the girl nod; she was sitting on a massive hammer across from his father on his work bench.
“Yeah, thanks for that. She wouldn’t have made it far without them.”
Rory grunted, waving off her gratitude as he pulled a bottle from behind the counter.
“I have enough fire bricks to do you, though if you need an anvil you’ll have to-”
The red girl shook her head and patted her hammer.
“Got that covered. Just need the bricks and some finishing tools.”
He snorted and handed her the bottle.
“Fair enough. I have some files and such that I never use. Now that your Minotaur’s milk is at the market again I’m sure we can agree on a price.”
Brandon managed to sit up, his expression aghast as he took in the pair.
“You hit me!”
The giant took a good pull from the bottle and let out a satisfied little burp.
“Nope, actually he did. Not quite as hard as I would have, but still surprised me.”
“What the fuck dad?!”
“Mind your cussing boy, your mother raised you better than that. And you deserved a good smack, just be grateful it was from me instead of her. You don’t get up again after a Gigas hits you.”
Brandon got to his feet, glaring at the old smith, before storming out in a huff.
Rory took the bottle back from Nina and took a swig himself.
“Don’t know what I’m going to do with that boy.”
Nina sniffed.
“I can still hit him if you want?”
The smith sighed.
“I’ll trade you: you can have that muscle-headed lunk if I can have your little guy. Because Nameless works harder than anyone his size has a right to, whereas my boy has the work ethic of a lump of coal.”
The Gigas nodded sympathetically.
“Yeah, but my master has the libido of a god, and I don’t think he’d care for your whiskers.”
For the first time since he was fifteen, Rory Dixon blushed scarlet before laughing uproariously.
__________
Brandon was beyond annoyed now, and his head hurt!
What did that old bastard hit me with?!
He was in such a rush to get away from his father’s forge that he slammed right into a towering figure, bouncing off of her and falling to his ass like a little kid in the street.
“Oh no, are you alright?”
A bell-like voice chimed in concern as Brandon lay on his back for the second time in as many minutes.
“Hey dipshit watch where you’re going!” A second voice called out right afterwards.
Looking around he realized that he had slammed right into that Minotaur that his father had just been talking about, the Katje standing beside her.
The cow girl wore a concerned expression but the cat just looked annoyed.
Brandon’s jaw dropped: up close, the Katje was smoking hot.
He ran his eyes all over her tanned legs, his vantage point giving him a good few of her dark panties and he didn’t waste it. In fact, he was so distracted that he completely missed the knife that she slipped out from under her shirt or the deepening scowl on her face.
Abruptly the Minotaur hoisted him to his feet with such ease that her felt more than a little emasculated.
But that Katje…
He recovered what he could of his dignity as he looked back to the sexy cat girl, once again donning his most charming smile as his eyes roamed over her curves again.
Everybody knew that Katje were notoriously slutty.
He went for flirty with a hint of teasing.
“Hey cutie, no need to get your tail in a knot.”
What he got was a knee to the balls.
He slumped back to the ground with a wheeze as the girl hissed at him.
“Fuck-head! This pussy cat is taken, so keep your eyes to yourself!”
He rolled on to his back and stared at the sky, tears at the corners of his eyes.
“Do you think he’s alright?”
“I don’t think I kicked him hard enough to cure him of being a jackass, so no, he isn’t.” The Katje said.
“Yeah, he was sort of ogling you wasn’t he?” The Minotaur giggled.
Blearily Brandon recognized that the voices were receding as the annoyed pair walked away from his prone form.
It had turned into a really shitty morning.
__________
It had been a full day since Cordelia had brought her pie to the cottage but her encounter with Nameless and the girls bonded to him still made her cheeks turn pink when she thought back on it.
She was once again in the kitchen of the bakery, this time she was baking a pie for her father. He had been sulking since yesterday and she knew he wouldn’t stop until he got a pie out of her, so she decided to just get it over with.
As she put the pie in the oven though, her father called her from the front of the bakery.
“Er, Cordelia? You have a customer, several customers actually.”
Curious at the oddly strained tone of his voice she wiped the flour and bits of apple onto her apron and left the heat of the kitchen behind.
She nearly fled back into it a moment later as she saw the mixture of Hornets and Amazons arrayed in the front of the bakery.
“Wha-what is going on?”
She hated it when people stammered; it was probably what irritated her about Nameless in the first place.
“You are Cordelia? Who brought sweets to our Valkyrja-datta?”
The same Amazon from the previous day spoke in a soft and lilting voice, her piercing eyes locking the baker’s daughter in place.
Cordelia merely nodded, not trusting herself to speak again.
“I am Escrya, and these are my war-sisters. We would have words with you, if your father can spare you.”
He looked about ready to object, but she spoke again before he did.
“Fear not, son of Loskin. She will be under the protection of the Brael tribe for as long as she is with us.”
“And the protection of Queen Oldeera, who also demands an audience.”
The Hornet who spoke gave the Amazon a pointed look.
Her father closed his mouth and looked to Cordelia, though before she could offer any objections of her own she was swept out of the bakery by the mixed group of warriors, an Amazon holding her under each arm and carrying her with her feet inches off the ground.
“Hey! Put me down!”
Her voice broke as they moved quickly through town, the Hornets flying along around them while the Amazons took loping strides past gawking townsfolk.
They were just outside of Kettering on the road to Wayfelt before the startled Cordelia voiced her objections again.
“Where are you taking me?! And what the hell do you even want with me?!”
The young Amazon gave a gesture with one fist and they abruptly stopped, forming a ring around her that was entirely too intimidating even as they settled her back on her feet.
“To determine what your intentions are with our Valkyrja-datta, the man you know as Nameless.”
The strange word threw her but she still sputtered a response.
“I don’t have any intentions! I just made him a fucking pie!”
Escrya nodded.
“This much we know, but why did you make him a... pie?”
She said the word as if she had never heard of pie before.
Cordelia found herself at a loss for words. She didn’t know quite how to explain her actions from the day before without it sounding just sort of... stupid.
“I, he was sad! People eat pie when they’re sad okay?”
Escrya shared a questioning look with one of the other Amazons, who merely shrugged.
“Is it your intention to court him? To ply his affection with sweets?”
Cordelia turned indignant.
This was too much! First they kidnap her from the bakery and now they’re accusing her of… she didn’t know what they were accusing her of actually.
“No! I’m not trying to pie him into being my boyfriend!”
Escrya looked skeptical and a bit put out.
“And why not? Our Valkyrja-datta would make a fine husband!”
All of the Amazons and most of the Hornets were nodding in agreement with Escrya’s words.
Cordelia was truly befuddled now.
“First you accuse me of trying to win him over, now you’re mad at me for not trying to bake him into bed? What the hell lady?! And why do you keep calling him that?”
The Amazons shared another knowing look, then a warm chuckle as they at last relaxed.
“Forgive our rudeness, maker of sweets. He is our Valkyrja-datta, blessed and beloved by our people because he returned the Valkyrie to the world. In so doing he has earned our loyalty and devotion, indeed our hearts are his for the taking. His well-being is of great importance to us, and although Ophelia assured us that you had no evil intentions we dared not take any chances.”
The irritation that Cordelia felt at being abducted dissipated quickly as curiosity took its place.
Unfortunately the Hornets had been growing increasingly agitated at the delay.
Before she could ask one of the many questions that Escrya’s words had instilled in her she was once again hoisted into the air under the arms, though this time it was by two Hornets, and she kept going up...
“Wait! I’m afraid of HEEEIIGHTS!!”
She squealed and closed her eyes as they shot into the air.
As the poor girl went rapidly skywards, Escrya shaded her eyes and watched.
“That was very rude.” She commented to her sisters.
__________
They flew straight up and then to the side of the road. Despite her fear Cordelia was unable to keep from looking at the landscape below, the shape of Kettering made unfamiliar by the unusual vantage point.
They carried her off into the woods on Paul Fletcher’s property.
She was a flustered mess when the Hornets finally dropped down into the halls of a strange amber dome that was under construction in a clearing near the bridge to Nameless’s cottage.
Her knees were shaking so badly from the sudden flight and landing that the Hornets kept having to stop so she could compose herself.
Eventually she was led into the center of the maze-like building and found herself staring at a voluptuous woman wearing a circlet and a sheer yellow negligee.
Cordelia could clearly see the Hornet’s nipples through the thin fabric as the queen smiled at her.
“Hello, are you Cordlia?”
She huffed in indignation at the monster girl’s egregious mispronunciation of her name. The terrifying flight here had caused the fiery young woman’s temperature to reach a boiling point.
“What the hell am I doing here?!”
“You address a queen! Speak with respect!” One of the Hornets barked at her.
But the baker’s daughter wasn’t intimidated in the least, not after being forced to face her fear of heights for the last several minutes. And though she had been working to control her temper after all of the drama with Nameless, she couldn’t keep from telling the surrounding monsters exactly how she felt.
“Oh why don’t you just suck my dick? You bitches abducted me! You speak with respect!”
She threw a kick at the Hornet’s shin, but the warrior simply buzzed her wings and backed up a couple feet with a stern look.
Cordelia matched her glare as hot stressful tears spilled down her cheeks and she wiped them away quickly.
The queen raised a hand to forestall her hive’s natural response to perceived slights against her.
“It’s alright my sweets, I will speak with Cordlia alone.”
Cordelia rolled her eyes as the Hornets deferred to their queen.
“As you say, highness.”
Many of the agile warriors took up residence in strange hexagonal cubbies in the walls, while some of them took up a guard position at the entrance.
“You must forgive my sweets Cordlia, they are-”
“Cor-dee-lia!”
The queen blinked; she wasn’t used to being interrupted, or corrected for that matter.
“Um, pardon?”
“My name, you bimbo! It’s Cordelia. ‘Cordlia’ isn’t even a word!”
Oldeera was taken aback by the girl’s tone but she tilted her head in understanding.
“Very well, Cordelia, I had you brought here so that-”
Once again she was interrupted.
“And what gave you the right to bring me anywhere?! I told those stupid bitches I was afraid of heights, but they didn’t even listen! I ought to sick the lawkeeper on you!”
Despite her aggressive words, Cordelia knew it was a hollow threat: Magnus, the local lawman, was portly and jovial, and certainly no match for an entire hive of Hornets.
The Hornet queen coughed delicately in an attempt to regain her composure.
“That isn’t necessary, now if you would-”
But Cordelia wasn’t done.
“I don’t want to hear it lady! You have no right to give me orders! Or, or make demands or whatever! I want to go home!”
The queen blinked rapidly, bemused by the furious young woman’s behaviour. Not once in her life had anyone ever been brought to her hive only to address her with such impertinence. It was… strangely thrilling.
Cordelia crossed her arms over her breasts and stood with one foot tapping impatiently.
“Well?! Take me home!” She repeated.
Oldeera, warrior-queen in service to the Aegis, veteran of many conflicts, found that she couldn’t see a means of placating the red-faced young woman before her and so she nodded her assent.
“Very well. I’m sorry if I caused you any distress, that wasn’t my intention. My sweets, return Cordelia to her home. And… fly low.”
With that the girl was carried from the chamber, once more cursing at the Hornets around her as they rapidly left their hive.
A bemused Oldeera slowly shook her head.
“I just wanted her to make me a pie.”
__________
This was so much worse.
Cordelia fought down nausea and vertigo as the Hornets wove their way with terrifying speed through the woods, each tree was a barky promise of death, only narrowly avoided by the slightest of shifts in the deft flyers’ buzzing wings.
At last they flew clear of the woods, but before Cordelia could even breathe a sigh of relief they were instead weaving their way through the various residents of Kettering, she even recognized a few faces, though she barely had time to register their gawking looks and shouts of alarm before they flew past.
Foolishly, perhaps, she expected the Hornets to drop her outside the entrance to the bakery.
Not so.
Somehow they timed their arrival in such a way as to zip sideways through the door even as it was swinging closed after a customer had left.
There was a startled shriek and the distinct and familiar sound of breaking glass when the Hornets set her on her feet right in front of her sister Helen.
Before the poor girl had time to even say a word, the Hornets were gone.
After a few seconds of stunned silence, Helen spoke.
“Cordelia? What. The. Fuck?!”
Her eyes were wide as she took in the sight of her older sister; her hair was a nightmare of windswept tangles, and her cheeks a blotchy red mess from her earlier tears.
“Watch your language.” Cordelia said it almost absently as she ran her hands through her hair and worked hard to steady herself after the rapid flight.
Helen wasn’t the only one staring though.
Milly and Erica were both standing just to one side of Helen, looking only slightly confused, and certainly far less thunderstruck than Cordelia’s younger sister.
“I didn’t know that you were friends with Oldeera.” The Minotaur offered.
The windswept girl drew in a breath through her nose.
“We are not friends! She kidnapped me!”
Her frustration was boiling back to the surface, but the sight of the nodding Katje gave her pause.
“Yeah she does that, take it as a compliment though, I think it means she likes you. She kidnapped our master too, though Nina told her if she tried it again she’d pull her wings off.”
Helen swallowed as she looked between the three women; the youngest of Tom Loskins’ children, she was very much a small town girl.
The most exotic thing she had ever seen was the softer side of Janet Skinner’s Blomma garden one night on a dare. And though the encounter had led her to the discovery that she had a marked inclination for girls, she certainly wasn’t used to Hornet kidnappings and death threats from giants!
While her little sister came to grips with the bizarre situation, Cordelia had to come to grips with being face to face with Erica again, all while her hair and face were a mess from her little misadventure.
She smoothed the front of her dress with one hand while her other still struggled with her tangled locks.
“Um, look, Erica. I-”
But Erica interrupted her by stepping forwards; causing her to flinch until she realized that the Katje was helping her fix her hair with deft movements of her fingers.
“We don’t need to talk about it, ever again really. You reached out to our master while he was hurting, so the rest is just water under the bridge. Shit, were the Hornets flying you in loops or something?”
The Katje gave a shake of her head as she gave up on Cordelia’s hair.
“You need a bath to get this mess straightened out. Anyways, we were just stopping by to thank you again for the pie and return the plate.”
All eyes flickered to the broken plate that Helen had dropped moments earlier.
“Yeah, it was really good!” Milly said brightly.
Still in a daze from the events of the afternoon, Cordelia just nodded.
“Right, um, yeah, no problem. Pie. I’m going upstairs, Helen if any Hornets show up, tell them I died in a fire. And Amazons. Tell them I died in a fire with the Amazons.”
“O-okay?”