Bailed out

Julian knew better than to disobey a direct order from Maela Imerdan. Heroine of the Yalarin Crossing. Wavebreaker. The Living Ocean. Matriarch of House Imerdan. There were very few Aemari of importance who did not know her name.

To Julian, though, she was just “Mom.” That was enough to get him moving.

He sat in a wooden chair in front of Commander Revenar’s desk, hands clasped in front of him. He stared up at his mother, looking her in the eye. Potent fury brimmed within those azure orbs like an oceanic storm. Her voice remained reserved, however, when she began asking him questions.

“What were you thinking, Julian? Associating with a criminal movement that’s caused damage to the military city, the city your father and I are sworn to protect and which helps sustain the very empire our family has served for generations,” his mother whispered. She remained standing, and it was everything he could do to no stare at the massive breasts that protruded from her chest, hovering above him like ripe fruit for him to grab and suckle.

What do I tell her? That I’ve suddenly discovered my class? No, she won’t believe me. She’ll make me demonstrate one of my Skills here and I haven’t thought up a lie good enough to keep her from realizing what I really am. I can tell her a bit of the truth, though.

“It wasn’t my fault, mother. I didn’t do-”

“Eyewitness accounts put you smack dab in the middle of a classless protest in the industrial district,” Commander Revenar interrupted him. The redheaded elf’s violet eyes seared into him like the light from the sun. “Explosives were used and several buildings set ablaze. The Hydrist Company had to be called in to contain the flames. It’s a miracle that no lives were lost.”

Julian glared back at the elf.

“Gods, just because I was there doesn’t mean I blew up any buildings!” he said.

The elf sneered at him.

“True,” she began. “Lucky for you, Officer Revenar was adamant that he didn’t see you set any explosives. You should be grateful for his defense as well as your mother’s. I could easily have you charged for a myriad of crimes, including resisting arrest.”

“Resisting arrest?” Julian muttered, thinking back on the event. He sighed. Of course Clevis had lied to come up with a reason for why he came back to the Enforcer Precinct with wounds that necessitated time with the healers. Well, if that were the case then maybe he could get away with a lie of his own. “I… I barely remember what happened at the protest. There was…”

Jora Revenar shared a brief glance with his mother.

“Tell us what happened,” his mother said firmly, a considering look on her face.

“Something flashed. Maybe an explosion. The crowd went insane. People were running and panicking. I remember something striking me and the sense of tumbling to the ground. I’m pretty sure I hit my head,” he rubbed the back of his head. Pain throbbed in the back of his skull. He winced.

Probably where I landed after Clevis shot that arrow at me. It’s a miracle I’m not dead.

Julian stared up at his mother.

“The next thing I remember is waking up in my cell and being cold.”

He didn’t know how his mother felt about him. Intellectually, he knew she must have some maternal obligation to care for him as a son. And like Braknar had said, there were families that cast their classless members onto the street where they would surely be preyed upon by those who’d lived there their entire lives. He remembered her being far more tender and loving in the past. Then, gradually, as his sisters discovered their classes and he didn’t, that tenderness had faded. He wondered if he could use whatever affection she had for him to get out of a truly severe punishment.

Should I…?

Julian Imerdan (lv. 4 Psion)

HP: 82/109

ST: 99/99

WP: 383/421

Skills...

Attributes…

Effects…

383 WP? I used Suggestion twice on Izel, which should have costed 40 WP altogether. I must have regenerated two WP in however long it took for those guards to bring me here from my cell.

“There was a note from the healers about Julian suffering a few minor injuries, including one on the head. Nothing that couldn’t be healed in moments, mind you,” Jora said, glancing warily at Maela. “Regardless, amnesia is no defense for flagrantly violating the law. And that’s assuming you aren’t lying.”

Maela crossed her arms, pushing her big breasts upwards.

“Amnesia from head trauma. Jora, are you saying that your son had to give Julian a head injury to subdue him, a mere classless boy? I think you need to level with me. It’s no secret Julian and Clevis have never gotten along. What really happened between the two of them?” she said.

Julian stared at his mother, surprised.

She… she defended me?

A warm feeling suffused his chest.

Jora sighed. She paced to the other end of the room. The wall there was dominated by shelves books underneath a high window. The sky outside was black. It seemed none of the moons were out today.

She turned to face Julian’s mother.

“Clevis wouldn’t lie to me, Maela. Even if Julian is classless, he’s still your son. That means something to us,” she said.

Julian narrowed his eyes at her, ignoring the way her black leather outfit hugged her huge breasts.

Tch. Yeah right. You’re probably just covering for that bastard you call a son.

“If Officer R– if Clevis says that Julian resisted arrest and that **** was necessary to apprehend him, then that’s what happened.”

Lying bitch.

Maela nodded and uncrossed her arms. She glared down at Julian. He wished the ground would open up and swallow him.

“Julian. Were you lying to me earlier when you said you didn’t remember what happened at the protest? Perhaps you thought feigning amnesia would help you get away with resisting the lawful orders of a member of the Enforcer Corps?” she prodded. “I’m already going to punish you regardless of what you say. If I find out that you lied to me and then tried to deceive me further, then the consequences will be far more severe. Now is your chance to come clean with no further repercussions than what I already have planned.”

Julian’s heart thudded heavily in his chest. He hated how she didn’t believe him. That she seemed to value her friend’s story over that of her own son’s. He’d dealt with similar situations ever since he’d failed to discover his class, but until now they hadn’t had any potentially dire ramifications for his immediate future.

Still, he had to appreciate her willingness to even question Jora’s word. He doubted she was even aware of how much that had meant to him.

Gods know my father would never have batted an eye, much less challenged the validity of Jora’s story.

His eyes widened. Maybe his mother’s relative open-mindedness was something he could use.

“I swear I’m telling the truth, Mother. Why would I attack any of the Enforcers? We classless are helpless against them,” he said, and activated Suggestion.

<You don’t know who to believe right now. You just want to bring your son home.>

That feeling again. It’s similar to what I felt when I got those suggestions into Izel’s head, only instead of a hot knife cutting through butter, this is more like a dull blade trying and only barely succeeding.

Maela furrowed her brow. She stared at him for what felt like hours before nodding.

“Very true. Hm,” she stared into his eyes for what seemed like an eternity before glancing at her friend. “I think it’s time I take my son home. Jora, if you don’t mind?”

The gorgeous elven MILF nodded hesitantly. She looked like she wanted to say something, anything, to damn him.

“Not at all,” she bit out, a fake smile on her face. She moved to the door, bubble butt swaying and jiggling. Julian couldn’t help but imagine her on her hands and knees in front of him, his hand colliding with her fat ass, sending her flesh rippling.

His mother placed a gentle hand on his back. Her blue eyes peered at him, an indecipherable emotion flickering in her gaze.

“Come on, Julian,” she urged. “Let’s go home. Your sisters will have supper ready by the time we return. You must be famished.”

Julian’s stomach decided to growl in agreement. He put a hand over his chest, embarrassed.

His mother blinked and shook her head. He thought he caught a glimpse of her lips twitching upwards, but that might have just been his imagination.

They made it to within sight of the Imerdan estate a mere fifteen minutes after leaving the Enforcer precinct. The estate itself was in the city’s outskirts, far away from the unrest that had begun to plague the metropolis. The marble roads and buildings had given way to cobblestone pathways, dark green trees, and endless fields of grass which stretched into the horizon.

Maela held her staff in one hand. The azure crystal at the head glowed brightly, illuminating their path. She hadn’t spoken a word to him during most of the walk home. Julian wondered why she didn’t just teleport them home. Not that he was complaining of course. He’d watched, almost eagerly, as his mother’s tightly clothed breasts jiggled and swayed with her every step.

And I got inside her head. I… I successfully manipulated her.

He almost couldn’t believe that the Suggestion had taken, even if he got the sense that it had been a very near thing.

What would have happened if it failed? Would she have known I’d tried to do something or would she have felt nothing at all?

“So, um. Thanks for getting me out of there, Mom.”

She glared at him and huffed.

“You’d better be thankful. But don’t think you’re out of the woods yet, Julian.”

Julian shook his head, smiling despite himself.

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” he muttered, amused.

“Smart ass. So I heard from Commander Revenar that you were talking with a very beautiful Tenlani woman before the… protest devolved into mindless ****,” she shot him a sly glance. “Who might she be? Another tart looking to take advantage of our family name?”

Julian sighed.

“No. Izel’s not like that. If anything, she’s usually more annoyed by my presence than anything else,” he said.

“Izel,” his mother spoke the name experimentally, tasting the way it rolled off her tongue. “Foreigners have such interesting names.”

The armored guards in front of the large metal estate gate saluted them as they approached and stood aside. The gate rumbled and opened, revealing the house he’d lived in his entire life.

The two of them strolled past. The gate swung shut behind them. In front of them stood a stone mansion four stories tall. A cylindrical spire dominated the left side of the home’s face. The windows were lit with warm amber light.

Home sweet home.

Maela tapped his arm when they reached the front doors.

“Yes, Mom?” he asked.

“You go on in. I have a few errands to sort out around town before I turn in for the night. Your sisters have been made aware of what has transpired today and have instructions to make sure you don’t leave the property tonight. I’d advise against trying to take advantage of them,” she leaned forward slightly, exposing the tops of her huge pale tits. “We’ll talk again in the morning to discuss your punishment. Goodnight, Julian.”

Her blue eyes seemed to glow for a moment. She held out her hand. Her staff hovered off her back and flew into her palm. She closed her fist around it and slammed it into the ground, muttering a phrase Julian couldn’t decipher.

The hairs on the back of his neck stood up.

The space around his mother seemed to tear itself apart, forming a portal to some other place. With a final look, his mother disappeared into the rippling hole in spacetime.

Julian couldn’t help but stare wistfully where his mother used to be. She was so beautiful and powerful. Utterly unattainable by most mortal men.

And he’d successfully influenced her mind through Will alone. It hadn’t been a sure thing, true, and the measure of power he’d exerted over had been miniscule at best. For the moment, her level was far beyond his. But that wouldn’t be true forever. Someday he’d be strong enough to subjugate even the strongest of minds, completely bending others to his Will.

He felt a tingle of approval and an unshakable sense of someone smiling proudly at him, almost like a father would upon a child taking his first steps.

The front doors nearly slammed open. He turned his head and beheld two of the most important people in his life.

Velri Imerdan had inherited their father’s height, easily towering over him. She had long, stark black hair and piercing blue eyes that seemed to stare into his soul. Gone was the gleaming suit of blue armor she usually wore. In its place she wore a dark brown tunic that hugged her body like a second skin, teasing at the shape of her big, perky breasts and her muscular thighs. It seemed she’d turned in for the day.

Beside her stood his twin, Brynn. She also had long black hair, but hers was tied into a cute ponytail that went down her back. Her eyes were gray, just like his. She wore a white-and-beige robe that reminded him of their mother. She hadn’t inherited their mother’s sheer voluptuousness like Velri had, boasting medium-sized breasts, but she made up for it with a well-trained athletic body that belied her almost prodigious magical prowess. Arms folded over her chest, her stormy eyes gave him a look that fell somewhere between disappointed and amused. Julian couldn’t help but think she looked incredibly cute. The thought of Clevis dating her caused his fists to clench.

“Hey Julian,” his twin addressed him with a grimace on her lips. “I heard you had an interesting day.”

“Tch. That’s one way of putting it,” Velri glared at him. “I always knew you’d be a liability to our family, but associating with anti-Empire extremists? You’ve surprised me. Somehow I never expected you’d turn traitor.”

Julian quirked an eyebrow.

“Well, you know me. I aim to please.”

“Do you now? You know what would please me? If you left and never came back,” Velri glared at him, her fists clenched. "Why don't you go burden some other family with your uselssness?"

“Hey. Don’t you think you’re being a little harsh on him, Vel?” Brynn put a hand on her arm.

Julian stared at his twin, a hint of a smile on his face.

Velri’s gaze softened somewhat as she looked at Julian’s twin. It reminded him of how she used to look at him when he was younger.

“No. I’m actually going easy on him. If it weren’t for Mom, I’d have had him kicked out of the house and banished years ago.”

“You don’t mean that,” Brynn said uncertainly. “He’s our brother.”

“Is he?” Velri said. She gave him a dismissive look and crossed her arms. Her big breasts were pushed upwards, almost pouring out of her cleavage. Julian tried not to stare. “Brynn, he’s the first classless Imerdan in generations. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was some stray Mom rescued on one of her adventures. Or maybe the product of a curse by one of the Empire’s enemies. You cannot deny though that his presence has been a stain on House Imerdan’s honor. What I – don’t you remember what we all went through when it became clear that Julian wasn’t one of us?”

Brynn stared at Velri for a few moments, but didn’t respond. Julian ignored the hurt that welled in his chest.

“Julian!” an excited feminine voice drew his eyes to a younger girl racing towards him from further in the house. Her long blonde hair trailed behind her as brushed past her sisters. She collided with his chest with the **** of one of their mother’s spells, making him stumble slightly as she wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his chest.

“Hey Rila,” Julian greeted his youngest sister. The short eighteen year-old girl looked up at him, brilliant blue eyes slightly wet.

“You… you idiot!” she slapped his chest. “What were you thinking? Don’t you realize that I –that people worry about you? You shouldn’t play with their emotions like that.”

Julian’s smiled, and for the first time it actually reached his ears.

“I’m sorry, Rila. Like you said, I’m an idiot. Sometimes I can’t help myself.”

“Hm,” Rila nodded her head in full agreement. Julian chuckled and wrapped his arms around her. Rila let her herself be drawn into another hug. He felt her large, soft breasts smoosh against his chest, but for once he did what he could to ignore it.

“A-hem!” Of course Velri had to interrupt. Her arms were still crossed and she looked anything but pleased.

Brynn had a conflicted look on her face, like a part of her wanted to join in, but she held herself back for some reason.

Rila separated herself from him, blushing cherry-red under the stare of her older sisters. She took a deep breath and composed herself.

“Rila. What did we say about running in the house?” Velri said.

The younger girl sighed.

“That I shouldn’t do it,” she said. She reached out and grabbed Julian’s arm, clinging to him like a cushion.

Their older sister shook her head.

“Come on, Julian. Mother told us to make sure you ate. Gods know those amateur Enforcers probably didn’t feed you.”

Julian shot her a questioning look.

“Wow. You almost sounded like you cared about me for a moment. I must be dreaming.”

He pinched himself.

Rila giggled. Brynn smirked as she waited for Velri’s reaction.

Velri rolled her eyes.

“Idiot. If you make us wait to eat any longer I’ll consider defying Mother just this once and see you starve, consequences be damned. Now come on inside before you make me truly angry,” she growled before turning around and stomping down the hallway. Julian’s eyes fell to her round bubble butt. It swayed and jiggled as she walked.

Julian’s stomach grumbled. He blinked and addressed Brynn and Rila.

“Right. Okay. So what’s on the menu?” he stepped into the house and took off his shoes.

---

Izel Vidoz stared up at the cell ceiling, hands clasped behind her head. The cool air pricked against her skin as if to tell her she was unwelcome.

She smirked.

Older places that have seen a great deal of suffering and **** sometimes take on lives of their own.

Izel glanced at the cot formerly occupied by one Julian Imerdan. She felt warmth in her chest when she recalled how his intelligent gray eyes had stared at her scantily clad form. She knew she was a beautiful woman, and had easily seduced men far older and more powerful than the Imerdan boy in the past. None of them had made her feel a rush of excitement when she drew their attention. It was a shame he came with so many strings attached, or she’d have made a move on him already.

The air in front of her rippled like heatwaves in the desert. Within moments, the ripples took the shape of a voluptuous blonde woman in her late thirties. Her ocean-blue eyes stared down at her. She didn’t bother getting up.

“Oh. Hey, Maela. Nice of you to drop by,” she waggled her eyebrows. “I don’t suppose you’re here to bail me out like your son?”

The woman quirked an eyebrow, unimpressed.

“You know why I’m here, Vidoz.”

Izel sighed.

“Yeah. Look, it wasn’t my fault. I tried to get Julian away from the protests before the explosives went off. He just had really bad timing. Couldn’t be helped,” she said. “Say, why’d you break him out, anyway? I’d have protected him if anyone tried anything.”

“I believe you,” Maela glanced down at the cot formerly occupied by her classless son. She stared at the cot wistfully as if remembering times long past. “It’s better that you didn’t have to risk exposing yourself. It's a small miracle the Enforcers are yet unaware of how deeply involved you are in the movement.”

Izel nodded. “True. So… was there anything else you needed?”

Her associate crossed her arms, and Izel couldn’t help but appreciate what that did to the older woman’s huge breasts.

“Yes. I’d like to know what happened between Julian and an elven Enforcer named Clevis Revenar. Julian was injured and claims to have very little recollection of today’s events.”

Izel snorted.

Makes sense you’d lie about what happened, Julian. Who would have believed the truth?

“Well, he seemed to have a pretty good grasp on what happened when he was in here with me. Maybe seeing me jogged his memory. He really did enjoy the view in here, I daresay,” she leaned up slightly and pushed her breasts together. "It was so fun teasing him."

Maela didn’t take the bait.

“What happened between Julian and the Enforcers?”

Izel sighed. “Sheesh. No sense of humor, this one.”

At Maela’s glare, Izel continued.

“I don’t know any Enforcer named Clevis, but I did see an elf wearing that shiny big boy armor. He summoned an ethereal weapon and used it on Julian. Sent him sprawling across cobblestone. Julian didn’t even try to defend himself,” she said.

Maela’s eyes grew dark and murky, like the deepest ocean at night.

“You’re telling the truth,” Maela said.

“Of course I am. Now are you gonna get me out of here or what?”

The blonde merely glared at her before tapping her staff against the floor. The air rippled around her before swallowing her whole. Within moments, no trace of Maela Imerdan remained.

Alone once more, Izel grumbled.

“What a bitch. First she steals my entertainment, then she peppers me with questions and leaves me in this shithole,” she squirmed in her cot. It was far better than what she'd faced in Tenlan, but that didn't mean she had to enjoy it. “This is going to be a rough night.”