Uneventful- the fun happens afterwards.

Well, no one said it’d be easy. While Rosalind now knew that her sudden changes in personality, the weird sense of self she had felt during her stay in Knottori was the result of being possessed, it was hard to reconcile that with just how natural it felt, in certain cases. Her increased libido, for example, wasn’t quite as high as it was when she was actively being possessed, but her newfound attraction to women, including herself, remained, and she still found herself far more aroused in general than she used to. That being said, the target of her desires had shifted back towards Earnest, in a big way. At the moment he was in the capital, representing the 7th Squad at an exhibition while she remained in Lindow with Alesia, recovering.

Such an absence certainly makes the heart grow fonder, as she had certainly felt her love for Earnest grow before she was possessed in Knottori, but it seemed like this absence was especially strong, as she felt the want, the need for him grow by the day. She thankfully managed to settle back into her sword practice routine, and began to shake off the anxieties she had around magic caused by Barnabas, but when she wasn’t re-training her body to regain the martial prowess she had before her possession, her thoughts were filled with fantasies of Earnest. Earnest, her savior… she should repay him… maybe sneak into his room at night and give him some pleasant dreams… or have him crossdress for her… the thought of him wearing nothing but an apron and greeting her as she returned from patrol was a rather consistent fantasy as well. The constant theme between all of these daydreams involved Rosalind asserting her control over Earnest, one way or another. While she logically knew this was most likely a result of the possession- her fantasies before involving Earnest usually consisted of tender, gentle love-making after a romantic date- the thought of dominating him gave her such a thrill that she didn’t make any active attempt to fight such thoughts. After all, as long as she kept them as thoughts, then it’s not like she was hurting anyone, right?

She couldn’t wait for him to return, a thought shared by the other member of her lodging, Alesia. The two of them began to build a strange rapport while Earnest was gone, surprisingly enough. While there certainly was tension between the two, considering that it was obvious that Alesia wanted to be far more than friends with him, their shared interest in him also created a mutual interest, as Alesia’s eagerness to hear stories of Rosalind and Earnest’s childhood led into more general discussions, with the girls talking about the rescue, to their dreams, ambitions, etc. It was an odd sense of unity, despite the fact that Alesia very obviously had a secret, judging from how secretive she became at night, asking Rosalind to not enter her room no matter what. Normally, such a strong, nervous resistance would set off alarm bells in Rosalind’s brain- and it did- but Rosalind also felt a sense of gratitude towards Alesia for saving her that overwhelmed her curiosity. Either way, Rosalind also picked up some very basic brewing skills, as she made a conscious effort to repay Alesia’s support by helping out around the store. Acting as an assistant, Rosalind found herself learning more about the theories and fundamentals behind potions than she ever expected, but yet she didn’t mind. Such a skill could be very useful down the line, she reckoned, and so she used her own natural intellect to study the craft in-between furious masturbation fantasies and intense, disciplined training.

Alesia suspected, however, that Rosalind’s newfound interest in potions stemmed from a desire to somehow replace the one trait from her time being corrupted that was incredibly difficult to get rid of- her penchant for getting absolutely, completely drunk and making a fool of herself. While she didn’t visit the bar anytime during her first few days in Lindow, owing to her weakened state due to the potion, she eventually found herself at the tavern one night- and then found herself drinking one beer…then another… then another. Something about the numbness it provided comforted her more than she’d care to admit, which paired dangerously well with Thomlin’s own love for such simple, debauched pleasures, and she quickly changed her reputation around bar-goers from “refined, disciplined young lady knight” to “boorish, incredibly horny, embarrassing drunk.” In fact, it seemed her drinking habits now were somehow even worse than they were in Knottori while possessed by Thomlin- at least, judging from the stories Alesia heard from others and witnessed herself. Rosalind, for better or for worse, didn’t end up remembering a lot of her escapades, as most of them involved memory loss from the ****.

Alesia, on the other hand, was not much of a drinker, and so she had the pleasure of cleaning up after the messes her roommate began to cause the second week of Earnest’s absence. The first couple of days were relatively manageable. A couple of nights holding Rosalind’s hair out of her face as she vomited in an alleyway, getting her water so the inevitable hangover was more tolerable in the morning- the kinds of things a good friend would do. She even helped her into clean clothes after Rosalind inevitably soiled them, staining them with the physical manifestations of a hedonistic rampage. What was more concerning is when Rosalind’s drunken escapades ended up outside of the tavern or Alesia’s home. One particularly embarrassing and concerning incident came when Rosalind visited the sex shop on the edge of town, of which Alesia was a frequent customer. The owner, a good friend of Alesia’s, had informed Alesia that Rosalind spent a good hour or so banging on the doors of her establishment, demanding to be let in so she could “prepare to **** that slutty knight’s body” and “have that whore screaming her name,” alongside many other lewd ramblings that were somehow too depraved for even the owner of a sex shop to repeat to Alesia. It was nights like those that Alesia wasn’t sure if she should be more concerned for Rosalind or Earnest. And what made it even worse is that such things were far too embarrassing to tell Rosalind, who didn’t remember any of these mortifying incidents herself. Alesia certainly didn’t have the courage to broach the topic with her, and Rosalind never asked, and so an otherwise sterling recovery process was marred by a rather heavy relapse into Thomlin’s vice that he imprinted on Rosalind.

To both women’s relief, however, Earnest was returning tomorrow. They had received word that he had a good showing at his exhibition, representing the 7th squad with honor before asking to be reassigned to Lindow, along with getting permission for Rosalind to be assigned to Lindow for her recovery from a “mysterious illness.” Alesia was giddy for multiple reasons, some more predictable than others. Rosalind was similarly excited, although perhaps a little more subtle about it, with one of her newfound obsessions returning to her. Earnest, too, shared in this excitement- although part of that was from a foolish hope that his… more carnal urges that he found himself indulging in the capital during the night would subside with a change of scenery and the presence of Alesia and Rosalind.

For better or for worse, however, the only desires that would be met in the short-term were those of Morgan, who watched over the three of them with the stolen powers of Coltia, simultaneously reveling in the sheer perversion that she was setting up while also training three eager, young- if somewhat gullible- new apprentices.