On The Way To Agrabah

Merida jerked back from me suddenly, clasping her neck with one hand. "Ow! Why did ye ha to bite so hard all o' a sudden? That bloody hurt!"

I tried to look apologetic as I swallowed a bit of her blood. "Sorry, got caught up in the moment there." Making out with the fiery redhead I was 'betrothed' to had been a fun diversion, but the moment had felt right to make a move and if it worked she'd forgive me in short order. Probably.

She held up a hand that was red with a bit of her blood accusingly, though the mark itself was no longer bleeding. "If I ha known ye're teeth were so sharp I might ha been a wee bit more careful about wanting to make out with ye." She winked playfully at me after she said that, so she probably wasn't really that upset. Good. Hopefully.

"Rapunzel can heal that if it's bothering you." A grossly minuscule use of her power, but it's not like it ran out.

"Na, tis no more than I've gi'en meself many a time." She cuddled back into my side humming happily, really getting into the betrothed bit now she was having an adventure it would seem. "She can really heal people tho?"

I slipped an arm back around my newest companion. "Oh, aye." Dammit, now she was making me do it. Stupid accent. "Yes, she is a very strong healer."

"An she be hav'en the time o' her life runn'en about as a lowly deck hand?"

Rapunzel really did seem to be enjoying herself. "She's spent her whole life locked up in a tower by the witch who kidnapped her as a baby. She's having an adventure too, since I freed her."

Merida looked at me wide-eyed. "Ha ye helped ery one here then? Like ye rescued me?"

"You were well on your way to winning your own hand, but I did give you an excuse to leave and find your own fate. And yes, in a way, I have helped all those who follow me." Whether they wanted that help, or at the cost they paid was another thing...

While the princess definitely seemed to want to snuggle more, the bite seemed to have killed off her ardor. While not a huge deal, I'd have to remember that enough **** to draw blood would definitely stand out to most people, and a simple hickey wouldn't count. I guess this Binding was meant to be more combat-oriented, or at least used on people who considered biting kinky. Still great if used creatively enough though, or getting your target alone in the wilderness surrounded by no one but your thralls...

Really, it was quite strange that this Perk was under the Dragon Heritage and not the vampire one, come to think of it. Well, Lilitu Heritage anyways, since technically vampires could fall under the simpler Undead Heritage as well, but that one converted corpses into followers. Come to think of it, the Blood Kiss perk could be really useful, as the numbing saliva would keep targets from feeling the bite and heal afterwards. That would mean picking up a third Heritage though, which was a crazy thought. I wasn't getting the thousand credits I'd need for that any time soon. Turning into a dragon had unlocked this one for free though... Crazy idea, but I would have to keep on the lookout for a vampire to capture for my retinue so I could change to that race and see. I'd been thinking about making Snow a vampire anyways, so why not?

With Merida snuggled up against me in the hammock, and not really paying much attention, I pulled out my company device. She wouldn't be able to notice it, but I didn't want her to wonder why I was staring at my hand. I was glad to see that the redhead had indeed been marked by Treasure Hoard and was ticking down with only a few minutes to go. So much better than waiting upwards of a week for captures, even if it was far easier to slip some jewelry on someone than take a bite. And it would seem it didn't take that much blood to count.

A few moments later and my device chirped at me with a notification, and Merida jerked up as if I had bitten her again. "Wha? Ye own me? An now I love ye... I wa already grow'en fond, but it's just bloomed something fierce. Wha happened?"

"You've been added to my retinue, like the rest of the girls. Think of it less as ownership and more like you work for me though." Well, that was another Princess down, and five more credits in my pocket.

The redhead looked to be thinking things over, probably deciding if she should be mad at me or not, but eventually just shrugged and lay back down against me. "Well I were going to be yours anyways I ken. I still get to ha my adventure."

I slipped the device back in my pocket and closed my eyes, squeezing the soft bundle of womanhood against me. That was the first hurdle of this trip downriver dealt with, and easily too. Now if things could just stay that way,

.

The rest of the trip, while not smooth sailing, did turn out to be at least fairly easy. Merida was a wild and enthusiastic lover and accepted her place in my crew without complaint. With Ruby and Cass keeping night watch, the bed had plenty of room for the rest of us. The cats even supplied us with meals fresh from the castle. It got so boredom was our greatest foe. Not that it bothered me at all, I had a ship full of beauties to fuck silly when I wasn't lazing in a hammock or enjoying the riverside.

We were actually attacked on three separate occasions. Once by a group of bandits that ran away after Hilde crushed their leader with her staff, a night raid by a group of animated skeletons of all things, that Ruby and Cass didn't even bother waking us up for as they took care of them, and lastly an enormous crocodile that was bigger than the ship blocking the river ahead of us. That fight was certainly the most exciting, though blasted by cold and arrows on top of Cass's draining its life ****, the beast really didn't last that long. Hilde was quite pleased and insisted on taking the time to butcher the massive creature after she lifted it out of our path. Apparently, megafauna like this contained rare ingredients she could use for her potion craft. She 'recruited' Ruby and Merida to help her carve it up, and Cassandra joined in. Afterwards, the ship's hold ended up with quite the cargo of hide, bone, and even a few barrels of blood after the cats fetched some empties. I also got a note from the girls thanking me for making the house larger, so that was nice.

.

In all, the journey only took three days, thanks to Elsa's skill at the helm and the mermaid's horn, before the city of Agrabah came into sight. Everyone was on deck, even Ruby, who had finally gained her 'sea' legs. "Well, there it is." The city occupied a rather large island that split the river, which I had not expected. More like dominated, really. There was no space left to grow, but no buildings on the other banks of the river, oddly enough. The Sultan's palace was easy enough to make out, towering over the rest. "Do we know where we want to dock?"

"Yes, my lord, I've already informed Elsa where we want to tie up. And I've told Cassandra where to locate the lamp. Her and Ruby should be able to secure your prize while we distract the Vizier and greet the Sultan." Hilde had everything in hand then, good.

"Excellent. Elsa, you'll stay to guard the ship with Kat and Anna. If there is a serious attack I want the two of you to bring in the heavy hitter while Elsa holds them off with an ice wall. If we have to drop Maleficent on Agrabah then we'll deal with the fallout afterwards." The Cheshires gave me a salute, Anna's in earnest and Kat's mocking, that I let go with a roll of my eyes. "Merida go with Cass and Ruby, they could always use another pair of eyes. Rapunzel, you stay here with Elsa as well. Hilde and I will handle Jafar." I twirled a pair of bracelets on one finger.

I was here for a major prize, but that didn't mean I wouldn't pick up a couple of spares if I could while I was at it.