Facing fears

Tyra was breathing like she had just ran a marathon, and her body glistened with enough sweat to suggest the same. It was so much that her skin seemed to shine like copper. Lila also had some sweat rolling down her forehead, but less from exertion and more from the nervous thrill of watching Tyra's lewd ordeal in its entirety.

"Can you... can you do one more?" said Tyra.

"Please Tyra," said Lila, "I think I'm at my limit here."

"I see," said Tyra, "That last one was pretty good. I lasted much longer than the one before. I think another round might improve my resistance far more."

"If magic still works off of mana in this world like it does in ours, I think I've run out," said Lila, "I feel drained, and I've lot count of how many spells I've cast."

"Just one more," said Tyra, "Maybe you don't need a spell. Maybe..."

Tyra stopped in her mental tracks, realizing what she was about to suggest. The thought came to her too easily for how ridiculous it was. If she hadn't closed her own mouth with intentionality, she might've actually asked Lila to eat her out right then and there. Out loud. She cursed herself for even coming that close to saying such a thing. The island and the game must've been diluting her mind, making her thoughts more lurid by he day. The hours of sexual training didn't help either. She slowly heaved herself from the bed.

"No, don't worry about it," said Tyra, "That was probably enough. I'm not trying to stop myself from having an orgasm tonight. I just want to make sure I have my senses about me when I'm in the act. That's enough Lila."

"Okay," said Lila, "Thank you."

"No, thank you," said Tyra, "I really appreciate you Lila, even if it seems like I don't. You know... that day when you and I were on my ship and about to head home, you know, before all this shit happened, I never told you that I wasn't planning on taking you straight home. I thought we'd have to time to sail around a bit, find a bit of buried treasure, adventure. I thought it'd be fun to do with you. Of course, it all seems a bit silly now."

Perhaps it was just the state she was in or the fact that they were alone, but Tyra desperately needed to drop the mask for Lila. She couldn't deny that she cared for her. They had been through so many stressful endeavors and she really needed to get that off her chest. Lila didn't smile, but she looked like she understood the sentiment and that she needed it just as much.

"Lila, Malgor will exploit every weakness of ours," said Tyra, "That's why you can't be seen around me. I don't want him to hurt you."

"But I'll have to go up there eventually," said Lila, "Nothing can stop that. And I'm not strong like you. I'm too afraid."

Lila hugged herself, clutching her shoulders with fear. Tyra looked on helplessly. Now she was starting to understand how Angelica felt, feeling responsible for others even though she didn't have the right. Tyra's guard was already down, so she needed to help Lila in whatever way she could.

"How about a bit of resistance training of your own?" said Tyra, "You can start by going back to your room with Daelana."

"No!" said Lila, "I can't go back! I...!"

"Your weakness is fear, Lila!" said Tyra, "Malgor will take that and use it in every way he can! If you want to overcome that, you can begin with overcoming your fear of Daelana."

"But... but..." said Lila.

"Besides, she saved you from the slime," said Tyra, "She's the only reason you didn't get eaten. If there was any good time to go back to her, it would be now."

Lila could find no retort. She knew that despite her own doubts she needed to become stronger, more like Tyra. If she didn't take that first step, she'd languish in fear until her fated night arrived. She couldn't bear the thought. She glumly nodded to Tyra, showing she understood. Tyra sighed in relief, hoping that she didn't send the poor girl directly into the dark knight's maw.

"Goodbye Lila," said Tyra, "And thank you again."

"Goodbye," said Lila.

Tyra watched Lila apprehensively waddle out the door. She hoped to the heavens that Lila would be fine, but Tyra's worries were soon overtaken by concerns for her own well being. She had prepared herself for the night as much as she could. She looked down and touched her own breast. She winced at the sensitivity, but it wasn't nearly as bad as in the shower. Better than nothing, she thought to herself. There was nothing to do now but wait.

Meanwhile, Lila dragged her feet across the sands of the beach until she reached her residence. The doors looked as imposing as the gates to the dark palace from where she was standing. Though every instinct in her body told her to flee to anywhere else, she didn't want to let Tyra or herself down. She took a deep breath, put on a brave face, and entered.

She opened the door and let light flow into the otherwise dark room. Even in the shadows, it was hard to miss Daelana as she slept on her bed, her face buried in the pillows. She hadn't noticed Lila yet, and Lila considered that there was still time to abort this whole plan. But she was more determined now than ever to overcome the obstacles set for her. She entered the room as she did on the first day, like it was her own. She began to go through her normal tasks of changing clothes. She pulled off her dress, discarded her soaked underwear, and grabbed a new set from the wardrobe. It was then when she heard the rustling of the bed behind her. Lila felt her heart jump, the cold air on her naked back becoming more apparent as she realized it was completely exposed to Daelana. She quickly turned to face her while holding her dress in front of her as cover. She saw Daelana stir to consciousness and face her, a sad look in her eyes. The look lessened the fear in Lila as she sensed no rage from her.

"Your butt is still red from that day," said Daelana.

Lila said nothing. Though she shifted uncomfortably from the reminder, she had every intention of hearing what Daelana had to say. After letting the silence stew for a moment, Daelana opened her mouth.

"Lila," said Daelana, "I know you've been afraid of me. I know you've feared what I might do. You fear this because it was so out of character, so unusual for me to do. I confess that I have no reason, no excuse, though I do not know if one would've appeased you anyways. I cannot explain my action, only the guilt I feel from them. The sorrow that I might've lost a friend. I was never one for friendships, but I never wanted to see that fearful look in your eyes when you looked at me. Lila, I am so sorry for what I did."

Lila's mind was whirring with confused emotion. She saw the genuine sorrow radiating from Daelana as she spoke. She seemed to mean what she said. At the same time what she did was so insane and hurt her so much that she didn't know if even the most genuine words could bring her comfort. Daelana didn't just hurt her that day, she humiliated her and she did it with full awareness and desire to **** her. Lila could not look at her in the same way again. But at the same time, she was tired. She didn't want to spend the rest of her time here jumping from room to room all while fearing her own bed at night. If there was even the smallest chance Daelana wished to redeem herself, Lila wanted to believe it.

"It's okay Daelana," said Lila, "This place is doing bad things to all of us. I'm sure you didn't mean it."

Daelana's face softened from the forgiveness, but she still seemed uneasy. She felt like she hadn't done enough, and Lila could see it in her expression. Daelana met her eyes again.

"I know it's hard to forgive me after what I did," said Daelana, "So, I've prepared something for you. I hope this will help you be at peace with everything that has happened."

Lila looked confused, wondering what Daelana meant. She watched with trepidation as Daelana got out of her bed and stood tall. Daelana then turned around until her back was facing Lila and, in a solid move, bent herself over the side of the bed and flipped her skirt up and over her back, revealing that she was not wearing panties. Lila looked shocked as Daelana stuck her nude butt up in the air.

"Punish me," said Daelana, "Get back at me and punish me for what I did!"

Lila could not believe what she was seeing. Daelana was wiggling her naked ass in the air, trying to entice Lila towards it. Lila was so flabbergasted that she did not move or speak, instead simply standing in stunned silence.

"There are tools in the closet," said Daelana, "Use whatever you want. Don't worry too much about getting even. You should spank me much harder than I did you. I deserve it."

"Wh... wh... wha..." said Lila.

"You can use your hand if you'd like," said Daelana, "I just don't think it'll hurt as much."

"B... b... bu... but... I..." said Lila.

"Oh, I'm sorry," said Daelana, "This isn't nearly enough for what I did, is it? I should take all my clothes off, shouldn't I? Should I go outside then? Humiliate me like I did to you? I'll do it if you want!"

"No!" yelled Lila finally, "I can't do that!"

"Yes you can!" said Daelana, "I need to pay for what I did! My words weren't enough, were they?"

"Stop it!" yelled Lila, "This isn't you!"

Lila turned away and pulled her dress over her head as quickly as she could before crawling into her bed. Daelana turned around, understanding that her pleas were going to be left denied. Lila curled up in her sheets, preparing herself to stay in the same room as the dark knight. Daelana sat at the edge of her own bed, staring at Lila who continued to try and ignore her.

"Is there something else you want from me?" asked Daelana.

"I want you to go back to the way you were," said Lila.

Daelana looked at her somberly before lying back in her bed and staring up at the ceiling.

"I'm not sure if you remember correctly," said Daelana, "I didn't treat you well when we first came here. Hells, I don't think I treated you that well on our adventures either. I've always been a monster, haven't I?"

Lila took her face out of her sheets and looked at Daelana.

"This is different!" said Lila, "It's all wrong now! Everything is going wrong!"

"Can't deny that," said Daelana, "You know, after our adventure ended, I was gonna go with Athalia to the land of shadows. I don't know what I was planning. I think I was just going to find an excuse to fight monsters and orcs until it eventually killed me. Peace was never good enough for me. I'm an animal following baser instincts."

Daelana turned her head to meet Lila's eyes, a small tear falling down her own cheek.

"I don't know if I can change," said Daelana, "Even when I thought Malgor was dead, I didn't change. I've always been wrathful. I've always expressed myself through my anger. It is the one thing that has kept my heart pumping my whole life. Sometimes I'm angry at him. Sometimes at you. Sometimes the others. But mostly at myself. That may never change. So tell me, Lila: do you still wish to live under the same roof as me? If you don't, I'll understand."

Lila was silent for a long moment. She looked into Daelana's eyes and saw her genuineness. She naturally appreciated that, but the fact that she was truthful about her true nature being one of wrath gave Lila pause. Daelana was laying it out bare before her, and Lila had to make a decision. If she stayed, she would not know what awaited her in the future. But if she left, she'd never learn to face her fears as Tyra wanted. In the end, it was Tyra that she thought of, the lady who at this very moment prepared relentlessly for the night she would throw herself into the belly of the beast. If she could manage that, surely Lila could stomach doing this. She needed the courage now before the real tests of her will began.

"I'll stay," said Lila, "Just... don't do that again."

"Okay," said Daelana.

Daelana looked around the room awkwardly. She rubbed her thighs together, trying to conceal the way her loins burned at the anticipation of punishment she had felt mere moments ago. For now she simply wanted Lila to be comfortable. She was glad that she decided to stay. Most of the other girls wouldn't have agreed to that. She supposed she was lucky to have Lila as a roommate. Somewhat content with having a friend back, Daelana stared off into the walls of the room blankly.