Existentially Bound: Part 16
Separately Reunited
Note: This story may contain sexual situations, strong language, images, etc...
Intended for mature audiences only. Reader discretion is advised.
"It's… so beautiful!" The woman's blue eyes took in the awe-inspiring site.
Valandra's red eyes, however, stayed transfixed on Emily. "Aye. Very beautiful, indeed," she smirked.
Emily glanced back to Valandra, recognized the double-entendre and promptly flushed a light shade of blue, a bit of precipitous snow landing on her shoulders. "I… Uh… meant the garden. This is Vabbi, right?"
"Aye. This is as close to what I imagine the Garden of Seborhin to look like on the inside."
"You never visited it?"
Valandra shook her head. "No. My village was on the outskirts of Vabbi, in what became known as the Desolation. This place, however, was for the wealthy. From what she explained to me, Demitra was fostered here after her parents-"
"You mean after Joko burned them alive? Yeah, she told me. Horrible thing, even for an undead lich."
Valandra ran her hand along the railing as Emily leaned upon it. "An interesting thing that: Demitra had told me of her past, and what happened so very long ago. She explained to me she saw Joko there… yet, after I became his… concubine, I inquired once about it. Much to my surprise, the monster claimed it was not his doing."
"Oh he lies though, right? (Or lied, since he's dead-dead now.)" Ember said, recounting the efforts she participated in to help rid the world of him. While she hadn't actually witnessed it, she heard the dragon Aurene had consumed the undead creature and had often imagined gruesome event.
"Aye. He lied much. Not about conquests though; he loved to boast," Valandra said, glancing up to the unnerving scene Emily had begun to manifest. Seeing the lich eaten, however, brought a slight smile of satisfaction to her face.
"So, you ever think about going back there? To Vabbi? To this garden? Maybe to your home?" Emily said, playfully walking her fingers against the railing which began to ice over.
Valandra paused a minute, considering. "I once did. I once dreamed of escaped from my slaver. But, that was long ago… before the events that transpired within that awful palace of bones. You… you never saw that part of me; I did what I could to block it from-"
Emily frowned at the thought. "I'm aware. And it's understandable. Just as I hid my past from you."
The former woman of ice nodded. "This may be the only reason we hadn't fully merged." She leaned on the railing mimicking Emily's own movements; where her fingers landed on the surface, small embers were left. "It's a strange thing, yes? Not knowing what the other is thinking."
"Is it bad… that I miss it?"
"Is it bad that I do too?"
Emily giggled, tried her best Valandra impersonation, "Ember, you fool. We are opposites!"
Valandra raised an eyebrow. "Oh I sound like that do I?" she said with an obvious imitation of Emily's normal frown.
"You're like a big version of me; you look good with the black and red hair. I like it."
Now it was Valandra who flushed. "You know… It can be whatever with wish it to be here, but, when I arrived, I was like this." She comically pulled at her own bangs, inadvertently crossing her eyes as she did so.
Emily giggled. "Stop that. I think you look lovely. But, I'm not really sure I get it. If we can be anything we imagine here, how is it we look like we do?"
Valandra tapped her chin a moment. "I can only surmise that since this is who we believe ourselves to be without thinking, this is who we are. There are still things I do not understand here, and the other lesser Djinn are less than forthcoming to newborn Djinn, to say nothing of the elders." Valandra snapped a finger, a small flame dancing on its tip. "What of this, too, I wonder. Was the elemental transference we experienced when you broke the machine-"
"I did not brea-" Emily started, then at Valandra's grin saw she'd fallen prey to the tease.
"My point is, I am uncertain as to why you are still fully with my powers, and I with yours."
Emily exhaled, a bit exhausted with trying to figure circumstances out. "You know," she smirked as a thought occurred to her, "it's a shame we didn't have the fire when we were one. I'd show you just how good I was!"
Valandra chuckled. "So good that you could manifest a fire griffon?" The small flame atop her finger morphed into the shape of a mini fire griffon, which hovered slightly above her hand.
"That was one of our better adventures," Emily said with a fond smile upon her face.
"You hated me."
"I… didn't… hate you… (much)."
Valandra giggled. "Regardless, I taught you to utilize the flames. Who knows? Maybe I can control your powers better than you could; maybe you can do the same with mine. There's something different now. I feel as though this was always meant to be… Like I am finally-"
"Whole?" Emily said, taking the woman's hands into her own, almost giggling as the steam formed from their touch.
She smiled flirtatiously. "You think it does that no matter what touches?"
The same flirtatious smile was beamed back as Valandra lifted the smaller woman to her lips, in a wonderfully passionate exchange. Steam again hissed in the air around them. When suddenly, Valandra's hair turned to flames. She pulled back, began to frantically pat her head as Emily burst into laughter.
"Ah! So you got that too, huh? How's it feel to not be in control?"
Head extinguished, Valandra looked at her love with an impishly mischievous grin. "Why don't you show me?"
Ice quickly frosted Emily's own hair at the invitation. "C-can we even… do it here?"
"That… and much… much more," Valandra said, turning to walk slowly down the corridor, purposefully swaying her hips.
Emily promptly followed behind. "Wait… What more?"
A shudder came to Emily. "Yeah. It was… not a good time."
"You could have changed it with a bit more practice. As you can here. Each Djinn has the power of absolute creation here and can create their own personal paradise. It can be... difficult not to remain content within, once you believe the creation is reality. There are those here that choose this. To believe in and live in a perpetual eutopia which they create for themselves. Or join others in a collective belief."
Emily nodded. "Yeah, I can see why. I considered it, in my vessel... for a moment… to finally be happy. With you, me, Demitra…"
Valandra broke her gaze from her partner, looking at a horizon that didn't exist. "Aye. If she's still… her."
"Wait… What do you mean? You think she might not be?"
"All I am certain of, is that this place has a way of changing one the longer one stays here. And, Demitra has been here for a long, long time."
A frown came to Emily's face as her expression grew dour. "I hope she's okay."
"Aye. As do I; though I do wonder: What of us, if she is found to be alive and well? You are bound to each other, yes? Married, as they say. Or is it 'were' married?" Valandra sighed, at the annoyance of having to speak aloud her emotions. "This was so much easier when I was inside you…"
Emily nodded knowingly. "I understand, but to be honest, I really don't know. I lost her on our wedding night. I did that, you know? And then when Paige and I chose to bind you to me… she just… I keep losing her, you know?" The smaller woman sighed. "You're right. This was so much easier when we were one."
Valandra brought her hand to the woman's shoulder, messaging it gently, steaming witch each squeeze. "We are still; you can speak to me implicitly and without reservation. I was there during the… difficult times, and there during the lustful times, and there during the small amounts of joy we both found through the turbulence."
"You're the smart one. What should I do?" Emily implored.
"That is… a question I can only advise on. You shall have to make your own decision. I will say this: you spoke of us all staying here, in bliss? I have seen your memories of Demitra and the love you feel for her, as well as the harem you and she found comfort in. But, I do not know how much of that would extend to allow my admission. I am, by all accounts, someone from Demitra's past who may not be as welcomed as one would hope." Valandra paused, leaned against a pillar. A scene behind her flickered into view for an instant of a younger Demitra and Valandra kissing for the first time in her village, so many years ago. She shook her head causing the memory to fade. "But, that was very long ago."
"And then there's Paige to consider. Demi is my wife, but with Paige… things are… complicated."
Valandra nodded. "Aye. Most relationships definitely can be. I know how you feel for Paige, and how those feelings got confused with the loneliness you felt from having lost Demitra and from our merger." She exhaled a heated breath. "All I can say are my own individual feelings. For the first time in quite some time, I know what I want."
"You… want to leave me?" Emily inadvertently blurted, her feelings already pushed to their max.
A chuckle came from the former ice queen. "Ember, you fool. What I want is you in my life."
Emily's hair again frosted over. "You… You mean that?"
"Aye. You know I do. You have felt me within, and I also know you want such a thing too. What you and I have is… beyond; beyond waiting, beyond lust, beyond love. We were, and truly are still one. You are part of me, just as I am part of you. No matter what. And, I am here in as much or as little capacity as is comfortable in your life. But, if you think for one second I will not be a part of that life, you are-"
Emily hopped onto the taller woman, wrapping her legs around her waist, and pressed their lips together. Valandra's wide eyes relaxed after a moment as she gave in, parted her lips and allowed the woman inside. The sensation was… beyond. The ice of Emily's tongue exploring the heat of Valandra's sent a steamy eruption into both women's bodies. They both pulled back staring at each other, faces filled with surprise.
"What… What was that?"
"It reminded me of… that first time-"
"On the mountain? Yeah. Exactly. I've never felt so much of-"
"A blissful connection? Aye."
Both simultaneously fell into each other, enjoying the newfound physicality of being distinct. Their elementally harmonious opposing magic couldn't be denied, and combined with their romantic connection, Valandra and Emily merged into one, as lovers.
------------------------
Paige was not an impatient woman. In fact, most would say she was the opposite. If years of training as a noble taught her anything, it was that most solutions could be found with patience and understanding. But things felt... different here, in the Realm of the Djinn: time, itself, seemed different. From the moment they arrived, the mocha puff-haired woman had felt anxiety, and while there was much of that to be expected, (given their mission to find Demitra) Paige had the odd sensation of accelerating even though she was standing still. It was unnerving and the woman continually had to concentrate just to keep herself from losing focus just keep herself clothed. The entire ordeal was an exhaustive exercise, and even exploration of Valandra's imaginary village did little to quell her nerves.
Then there was Emily and Valandra who scurried off at their first opportunity, and though she had little doubt what the newly disembodied women were doing, she forced her thoughts away from it. The Djinn Realm had a way of showing those inner-most illicit thoughts. Yet, she couldn't help but wonder what it could mean. Emily was married to Demitra, and both had invited Paige into their bedchambers as a member of what Demitra affectionately called a harem. But, after the binding of Valandra to Ember, things quickly changed. Demitra was no longer there, and without the preverbal glue that held them together, Paige and Emily just seemed to drift apart.
This divide worried her most. While she had been worried sick about Demitra, trying to understand all she could about the Djinn and what had happened, Emily had left to 'find herself,' as she said. Paige understood this, given the ordeal the woman had gone through, but she found herself questioning the woman's resolve. Demitra was Ember's wife… Not Emily's. And, certainly not Valandra's, who had all but confessed to looking at Demitra with distain. Paige couldn't help but wonder what that did to Ember's own psyche.
Whether through the woman's own inner turbulent thoughts about the couple, or through another means, a bitter chill came from the otherwise warm desert climate as a scene of the wintery landscape of Hoelbrak came into focus. Within the distortion was a scene of lustful abandon, as a naked Valandra and Emily materialized, locked and convulsing as they came off the throes of passionate lovemaking.
Emily's moan was quickly muted as her eyes spied a shocked Paige in the desert landscape.
Valandra turned around to inspect the disturbance, then immediately grinned when she saw Paige's eyes inadvertently look down to find her sister standing with a man's… appendage attached. "Seems your concentration was lost, my love," Valandra said, snickering.
Paige's face was as pink as a moas. "Wha-? H-How?" Her eyes were locked on the dangling member.
Emily immediately tried to imagine clothing upon her but was still downing in the orgasmic euphoria from moments ago. "Um… This… This is an illusion! We… We aren't real!"
Valandra looked at her own extra piece, then back to Paige. "This is very much real. As are both of us. Do you like what you see my sister?" she asked with an impish smirk.
No longer able to think, Paige simply looked away, rubbed the bridge of her nose. "That is… not natural. This place… Well, that explains where you two have been and what you've been doing and…" The woman's head pounded at the indiscriminate scene of fornication, and the disgust she felt for Emily's carnal unscrupulousness was palpable.
"Paige I… I'm sorry. I was recreating Hoelbrak like… Like where I went to discover myself after the binding. And… Well, come on! It's the first time we've been able to… interact. I didn't mean for you to see…" Emily tried to steady her nerves, manifest clothing, which promptly formed, only long enough to trip the woman. She landed face first, her exposed rear in the air.
Valandra ran her hand over her manhood which promptly shimmered out of existence, replaced by her original sex. Manifesting clothing upon her person, she winked at Paige, turned to help her lover up.
A sigh came from the puff-haired mocha woman. "Well, perhaps I'll go imagine myself an illusion of some lemonade."
"It won't work," Emily said as she finally clothed herself. "You have to believe it's real. If you know it's an illusion… it doesn't work."
Paige concentrated on her hand to discover a glass in it, filling with lemonade. She raised a skeptical eyebrow, then took a sip. "It tastes a bit off, but… it is lemonade." She glanced back relieved to see the scene of debauchery corrected. "I'm quite sure it's not as satisfying as… whatever it was you two were doing," she cleared her throat to drive her point across.
"No, perhaps not," Valandra said offhandedly with a glance and wink to Emily. "But, it is very promising, indeed. You both possess a level of control not usually seen in Newfound Djinn. Tell me, Lady Paige Dejarin, have you attempted other conjurations?"
"Well I've attempted other people and animals but they never seem to come out quite right. And when they look okay, they don't move and quickly dissipate. It is frustrating. I know what I want but I can't seem to be able to do it, and in this place I feel more-" She stopped herself short.
After a beat Emily approached, saw the difficulty her friend had trying to express herself, and placed an icy hand on her shoulder. "What is it Paige," she asked sincerely.
"I just feel so... so frustrated and frightened. I feel that no matter how far I go, the goal of finding Demitra keeps getting further and further away. And she's been gone, and you've been gone... and I..." Paige motioned to the sky. "If I thought I was lonely up there, it's far worse in here when I don't even understand the rules!"
Valandra approached the upset woman cautiously. "Then drop your walls, sister. Be willing to learn."
Emily nodded, tried to sound as supportive as she could. "The key is to really believe. Right now I believe a little friend would help. And that belief should create…"
The drake suddenly shimmered, falling back to the sands which made it.
"Belief is the key as my other half has said. When that will of belief dies, so does the construct. The stronger Djinn you are, the more you believe, the less likely you will think it to be an illusion. It shall become as real as you want it to be."
"Just as you wanted your anatomy change to be real?" Paige asked. While she told herself it was a question to reveal a piece of the puzzle, the woman was obviously still flustered at the sight and had much difficulties overlooking it. After a moment, she relented the statement with a deep sigh. "Sorry. I suppose I was just… shocked. And, I haven't been very fair to you two. Honestly, if my loved one was here, I'd likely do the same."
Emily's heart dropped, her stomach instantly in knots. Her hair iced over as storm clouds formed overhead, directly reflecting the woman's mood. "IF your loved one was here? What am I? I'm right here! So what? You're only focused on Demitra?"
Paige gestured to Valandra. "You… You have someone. You were just… with her… I don't want to get in the way of that. I… Em-"
A frosty breath came from the newly crowned ice queen, as she tried her best to calm her nerves. A look to Valandra helped in the endeavor. She stared at Paige with unblinking, shimmering blue eyes. "Were you ever in love with both of us… Or was I just convenient so you could be with Demitra?"
The mocha woman deadpanned. "I… Uh… I was. I wouldn't have entered the harem if I wasn't; I would never play with your feelings like that. But… we started drifting. You went off to discover yourself, and the thoughts of my own sister inside you… it… I let it get in the way of our intimacy. But now… you're happy! What I just saw you two doing… you were truly happier than I've seen you in a long while."
Emily cleared her throat, a bit flushed. "What you saw… Her and I have something that cannot be described. We were merged; we've known each other in a way that can't ever be replicated, and finding her here where we could actually express our feelings to each other-"
"And what about your feelings for Demitra?" Paige retorted, sounding more harsh than she would have, had her heart not been exposed.
Valandra rubbed her forehead. "Truthfully, we are not certain what Demitra will think. But, between Emily and I, there is a bond. Something unfathomable, something pure, and something extremely intimate. Our lives are forever together. What that looks like in the future, well that is up to you and Demitra…"
"How do you think she's going to feel being cheated on?" Paige's face grew red.
"What happened between us was inevitable. As I said, we are forever linked. We were of one person before. Engaging in fornication with ourselves would be considered cheating?"
"Doesn't matter. You don't get it Paige; you didn't have someone else inside you for a year. But what you did have is me, and what I see is that you were content letting me go while you pined over Demitra. You said, 'was,' meaning what? That you are no longer in love with me? Or were you ever?" Snow collected on the woman's shoulders.
Paige stared at Emily as tears ran down her cheeks. "I should have told you directly how I felt. I should have… told you how upset and jealous I was. And, I resented you for going off on your own while I was trying to learn about Demitra. It… It felt like you gave up hope. With the house falling apart, father's depression over losing Six and the estate, and all those letters I wrote to the victims in the mansion… I just felt so alone. Nalla, Demitra, you… I couldn't turn to anyone."
"I was still here Paige. Valandra tried to kill me on multiple occasions, yet… she never hurt me like you have. You never really loved me." Emily clenched her fists as lightning arched through the clouds over head. Tears found their way down her cheeks, freezing as they did.
"I did! I did! But everyone I loved was disappearing. I lost Six, Nalla, you, and Demitra. It's like the Dejarin curse of losing the ones we love. Six was captured, Nalla left due to her sister, and you… you drifted. I los everyone, and the only sanity I clung to was the hope of finding Demitra. Yet, every avenue I explored to help save Demitra just seemed to lead nowhere. Until now. Here we are in a realm which could reunite us, and it hurts that you're off… fornicating."
"For the first time, ever, I feel like a whole person. That is because of Valandra. Something within us has changed, and there's no possibility for you to understand our feelings toward each other. But, Demitra is my wife, and she is gone. You think I don't want to find her? You think I stopped loving her… loving you? Well, I'm sorry, but you're supposed to be the smart one… and you're wrong! You…" Emily choked on her words.
Valandra stood by to allow their grievances to be aired while watching the various images dance to life behind them: memories from past experiences, from the lover's dance, and from when they were children. After both sets of images faded, and neither woman spoke, Valandra finally cleared her throat, looking both women over. "I used to think such things were frivolous; that matters of the heart were unimportant. Demitra pulled me from my village when I was convinced to give my life to Joko to spare everyone. I used to hate her for it… I understand now what she did was to protect me out of love. But I threw away that love that day, and to be quite honest, I never felt it again… Until Ember. Through her eyes, I saw love, and I know love now. Though we fought; oh, how we fought!"
A vision of Ember and an icy Valandra fighting in a cave came to life behind her person. The storm brewing above Emily's head began to dissipate as the nostalgia replaced it.
"During the time of our merger, Lady Paige Dejarin, I saw you only a brief amount, but what I witnessed was you locking the door from the inside refusing to let Ember in. I did not pull her away, she felt ostracized - and given her past, which you no doubt know - both her and I felt inclined to leave. It also allowed, as you said, for us to understand our newfound bond." Valandra's red eyes shot looks to both women to emphasize her next statement. "Ultimately, it is what Emily wishes to do from here, and how you, Paige, perceive her now that will either mend or separate you both. And as of now, you have an eternity to decide."
Paige blinked, about to say something, when her inquisitive mind engaged. "What… what do you mean an eternity?"
Valandra sighed. "I do not fully understand it, but I believe us to be stuck here. The door from my vessel to here shattered upon my entry. Did yours not? Try as I might, I cannot summon the doorway back to my vessel."
"The whole experience was weird," Emily said, purposefully not thinking about anything witnessed in the nightmare. "But, from what I can remember before we came here, I think I saw mine explode too."
Paige lost her footing, fell on her bottom as the news sank in. "What… what if we can't find a way back? What will father do? He's already so… And what about the business and the people that rely on it? What will happen if I'm gone. And what will-"
Valandra's palm came across Paige's cheek (lightly, but hard enough to rouse her). "Lose hope, and you shall truly be lost here and remain forever. Your emotional state is paramount here, and giving into such hopelessness will create a perpetual nightmare similar to that of your vessel."
"Oh no, I'm not dealing with that crap again! We just gotta focus, okay? There will be time to figure out all the 'relationshipy' stuff later. We have to just concentrate on finding Demitra, right?" Emily asked, like a student would ask a teacher.
Valandra smirked at the woman's subtle cuteness. "Aye. In a manner of speaking. We must first travel from here to the Nexus," her eyes looked beyond the buildings, beyond the bone wall and into the infiniteness that was this conjured world.
Paige shook her head, forcing the moment of weakness past. "The what?"
"The Nexus," Valandra repeated. "Do you recall my explanation of this land? What it resides on? This entire world is a grain of sand, in the vastness of a beach that is the Djinn Realm. Ashadim is, by all accounts, boundless. Each Djinn can conjure their paradise… or hell, upon whichever grain they choose. The more powerful and willful the Djinn, the more solidly concrete the place is. Such is the power of faith and belief. If you two had more experience, you could overwrite this place with the strength of your will versus my own."
"The power of wishes…" Paige said with an awed expression.
"Aye. Such is the makeup of Ashadim. And such will provide us travel to the Nexus; we must wish for its entranceway."
Emily rubbed the back of her neck, dusting off her own snow-covered shoulders. "How do we wish for something we've never seen?"
"I thought you said grains of sand," Emily tried to follow, scratched her head.
Valandra giggled, even though she hadn't wanted to. Two additional arms materialized from her torso as she knelt between the women; both lower hands tugging at both Paige and Emily to join her upon the ground. The two women did so as Valandra's top arms pointed to the empty space in front of the group. Her fingers were locked in a grasp, as if clawing at an unseen fabric.
Without being prompted, Emily reached around Valandra's waste and held her free hand out toward the same direction. Paige glanced over, followed Emily's lead.
"Now concentrate," Valandra said closing her eyes. Before them, the world began to ripple, manifesting a crystalline structure from the sands that swirled around the distortion. Her additional arms were brought forward, parallel to the others as all four hands twisted, rotating to touch their backs. The woman struggled, grunting and groaning as she began to pull apart the crystals, revealing a dark void within.
"Lend her your power and concentrate," Emily instructed, closing her eyes. The women did so, empowering the process with a foreign magic they'd only just begun to understand.
"It's working! Now… Quickly… Think of… Home."
Images swirled within the vortex created, shifting from the House Dejarin manor, to a drake's nest, with a few scenes interspersed between. They grew faster and faster until finally, the crystal aperture shattered into a billion pieces, forming a vortex of sparkling powders… sand.
Valandra opened her eyes. "Now!" she exclaimed bolting to the portal with both women snatched at her sides.
A yelp from Emily and a squeal from Paige could be heard as the women leaped into the portal. The world around shimmered and vanished, like a mirage in the desert, replaced by nothingness, as the portal of crystal sands shut.
[To Be Continued...]
