Author's Notes: Chapter edited and corrected by Scott Fellman.
April 8, 2008 - Serena Pov .
I opened my eyes lazily. My entire body felt heavy and restricted. All I could see was golden hair. It took me a few seconds to finally understand what was happening. Ravel was on top of me, sleeping peacefully, while Bella and Enid were on either side, tangling their limbs with mine.
I shuddered slightly as I felt a surge of pleasure come from my tail. I could barely see past the sea gold from Ravel's head on my chest, curled up, my tail tangled around her waist, with Ravel clutching the star-shaped tip.
For some reason, Ravel decided in her dreams that my tail would make an excellent object to kiss, lick, and suck. I really wanted to know what she was dreaming about. The waves of pleasure were starting to get too strong; if this continued, I definitely wouldn't be able to stop. So I forcefully pulled my tail from her fingers, causing myself to moan softly.
Ravel protested with a disappointed groan, rolling over on top of me and placing her face in the crook of my neck. I sighed in relief. Thinking back to the previous night, we were all drained after marking Suzuka with the seal, so we decided to go to sleep. Ravel insisted on sleeping with me.
Only sleep, so the four of us were dressed in light pajamas, which weren't doing anything now that Ravel's body was pressing herself against me. And that's not even counting Bella and Enid clinging to my sides. I sighed tiredly.
"Ravel?" I shifted slightly, trying to wake her. Ravel groaned slightly. I almost thought she was still asleep, but to my surprise, she lazily opened her eyes. Ravel clung tighter to me as she blinked slowly and looked up at me. I practically saw the moment her brain connected the dots of exactly where she was and froze in place.
Once again, Ravel surprised me by relaxing almost immediately. She had a pleasant blush on her face but made no effort to move. In fact, she stretched her head out and kissed my cheek slowly.
"G-good morning, Sera." Ravel said shyly while smiling nervously. Damn you, Ravel, did you have to be so adorable so early? I wanted to moan loudly, but I just sighed and smiled softly at her.
"Good morning, Ravel. Did you sleep well?" The 'on top of me' was implied, but Ravel understood. She blushed a little more but nodded.
"Yeah, I did, you're quite comfortable." Ravel tried to... purr seductively? I looked at her, almost confused, and she blushed even more. I smiled broadly at her.
"That's great, I'm glad you enjoyed it." I purred in her direction. "I'm certainly enjoying the feel of you on top of me." My eyes glittered slightly. Ravel shuddered slightly but didn't look away. "You look beautiful just waking up, very... seductive." I said huskily, licking my upper lip as I looked at her. Ravel's blush deepened.
"Y-you're beautiful too," Ravel said, embarrassed, blushing. Her eyes moved to my lips and stayed there for a few seconds. I smiled widely.
"Are you going to kiss or not?" Bella asked lazily from beside me as she released my arm from its grasp. Ravel squealed slightly.
"Bella, you ruined the moment! They were having a nice moment after sharing a bed at night for the first time!" Enid chided on the other end.
"You can still kiss. If you don't, I will." Bella shrugged. She shifted and raised an eyebrow at Ravel. Ravel squeaked slightly.
"Ignore Bella, you don't have to rush. Take your time," Enid said on the other side with a smile.
"You're not fooling anyone, Sinclair. You want your good morning kiss too." Bella said mockingly. Enid blushed slightly.
"W-well yes, but that's not the point! I can control myself," Enid said, embarrassed. Bella just laughed. I sighed tiredly.
"Ignore them, Ravel. You don't have to do anything." I said with an apologetic smile.
"I want to do it!" Ravel said almost immediately, surprising all three of us. Bella smiled widely while Enid giggled happily. Ravel blushed.
"Well… if that's what you want, who am I to deny my fiancée anything." I purred, lifting my hand and bringing it to her cheek, Ravel flinched at my touch, but didn't push it away. In fact, she leaned slightly into my hand. I moved my hand lightly down her cheek and brushed her hair away from her face until my hand was at the back of her neck.
I slowly tilted my head toward her, and Ravel bit her lip before placing her lips against mine. I sighed in pleasure against Ravel's lips and melted into the kiss. Ravel moaned in pleasure. We continued kissing slowly and peacefully for a few long seconds, maybe minutes, until Ravel slowly opened her lips slightly, inviting me to enter.
Just as slowly, I inserted my tongue into her mouth, and we began to kiss more deeply. Nothing frantic or desperate. It was a slow, leisurely, and affectionate kiss. Our kiss felt more intimate than anything else. Finally, Ravel pulled away slightly and sighed against my lips.
Ravel looked at me with bright, slightly unfocused eyes, her face deeply flushed. I smiled peacefully beneath her.
"Good morning, Ravel." I said simply, Ravel paused for a few seconds before smiling warmly.
"Good morning, Sera." Ravel said, slowly kissing my lips again then pulling away from me. She sat on my stomach, blinking at my tail tangling around her waist, but she didn't seem to mind.
"That was so cute!" Enid squealed, unable to contain herself.
"It was sexy," Bella said huskily. "But now it's my turn." Bella didn't wait, using her hand on my cheek to guide me to her mouth.
"Hey! That's not fair!" Enid complained, but I lightly ignored her. The kiss with Bella was also slow and full of intimacy and love. It was perfect. To my surprise, she released me much sooner than I expected. She licked her lips lightly.
"Good morning, baby," Bella purred seductively.
"Good morning, pet." I said playfully. Bella's eyes sparkled slightly.
"My turn!" Enid took advantage of the moment and started kissing me too.
Enid sighed almost dreamily against my lips as she kissed me with all the love she had. When she finally broke away, she smiled at me brightly and widely.
"Good morning, my love," Enid murmured lovingly.
"Good morning, my wolf." I smiled at her. Enid almost purred with pleasure, even though she was a wolf. I chuckled and looked at Ravel. She didn't seem bothered or even embarrassed by the sight; she was just slightly blushing and had a small smile present. What a surprise. She still hadn't moved from my stomach. I raised an eyebrow at her, which confused her. "Will I be able to get up sometime?" I asked lazily.
"S-sorry!" Ravel squealed as she climbed off of me. Though not that far, my tail could certainly lengthen, but I still held onto Ravel tightly. I laughed lightly as I slowly sat up, chastely kissing Ravel's lips again before finally releasing her.
"Shall we...have lunch? We have a long day ahead of us," I said, glancing at the clock in the room. The three of them agreed almost immediately. After calling Dobby to show her one of the bathrooms in a guest room so she could get ready, Bella, Enid, and I entered our bathroom together.
Unfortunately, nothing sexy happened at all. We just took a quick shower and got ready for the day. Ravel was already waiting for us, sitting on my bed in a light purple dress. I didn't remember her owning one like that.
"D- Dobby told me that Nar -Cissy, had prepared it for me." Ravel explained quickly when she saw my gaze on her dress. I hummed lightly and nodded.
"It looks good on you." I said with a smile. Ravel smiled. "Shall we?" I asked softly as I extended my hand in her direction. Ravel smiled and linked her arm with mine. Bella linked hers with my other free hand, and we started walking. Enid immediately followed us, not even bothered. In fact, she was happily bouncing around us, literally. She was doing quick little jumps as she circled around us like a happy puppy.
"Good morning, I thought you wouldn't be joining us," Narcissa smiled once we reached the dining room.
"Good morning, sister. Did Dobby prepare something?" Bella asked lightly.
"He did. Greetings to the four of you. I see you had a good 'awakening,'" Lucius said with a placid smile.
"We did, I hope you didn't work too late." I said simply, pulling up a seat and pulling another out for Ravel. Ravel mumbled a thanks as she sat down. I was about to take mine when I saw Enid looking at me, hopefully. I sighed and moved over to her seat, pulling out her chair for her to sit in. Enid laughed happily, kissed my cheek, and sat down with a smile.
I was about to finally sit down when Bella cleared her throat. I looked over at her, and she looked back at me, arms crossed, one eyebrow raised, and her foot tapping impatiently. I looked down at my seat and sighed again.
"You can only blame yourself for having a harem, my dear." Narcissa laughed at my misfortune. I could only smile awkwardly, but I walked over and helped her sit down. Bella kissed my lips lightly and took her place in her seat. Finally, I sat down.
"I'll try to do better," I said with a crooked smile. The others laughed at me. "Dobby, lunch please," I said simply. A few seconds later, Dobby appeared with our food.
"Thanks, Dobby!" Enid said happily. We all started eating immediately.
"Is there anything I need to take care of before we begin construction?" I asked in Lucius's direction. Lucius hummed.
"Not really. Lord Phenex delivered the papers in your name this morning. They're sealed by Lord Sirzechs, so officially, this territory is entirely yours. You can begin building the city without any setbacks," Lucius said with a smile.
"Are you really going to build the city by yourself?" Ravel asked, more curious than anything. I nodded.
"Of course I will. I specialize in creating and building things, so it'll be simple. Well, for something of that magnitude, it can be considered simple. It'll take a little time, but I've prepared everything beforehand to make it much easier. If you want, you can watch once I start." I said simply. Ravel opened her eyes and nodded quickly.
"I'd love to!" Ravel said immediately. I nodded.
"By the way, I must say, good work on the demonstration during the fight. I was able to make some deals with a few devils that will benefit the city," Lucius chirped. I sighed. Honestly, he greatly enjoyed that political party far more than I had, which was my commitment. "Yes, I did," Lucius chirped. I rolled my eyes.
"Did any of them insult Serena?" Ravel asked, frowning. "Can we trust them?" she added later. "I can have Father help us investigate them if necessary." We all glanced at each other briefly and laughed lightly. Ravel looked slightly offended and very confused.
"The offer is appreciated, Ravel, really, but it's not necessary." I said with a smile, trying to calm her down. Ravel looked at me and waited for an explanation. I cleared my throat. "As you know, last night I told you about The Company, and the ability to accumulate powers from other people from other worlds."
"Lucius, he has the template of someone named Lisa Wilbourn. She is, what I like to call, a pericognitive (Pericog). It is the ability to know things. She builds a framework of inference around the subject at hand, and her power is to fill in the gaps, working internally toward complete understanding."
"She can accurately infer and extrapolate an incredible amount of information from minuscule data points. She's extremely good at profiling and cold-reading any type of person. They need to have a perfect poker face for Lucius's power not to work. To the point where they don't have any microexpressions that Lucius can't notice."
"Normally, it would be difficult for him to extrapolate information about people. However, The Company can also aggregate the skills and experiences of your future self. Lucius gained decades of experience as a politician and dealing with various people. So he was already very good at reading people. His power is basically cheating at this point." I said mockingly.
"Well, thanks, I guess." Lucius smiled amusedly.
"Wait! You used that on my Father?! He cursed your name for hours when they finished drafting the betrothal contract." Ravel said in surprise. Lucius smiled wider.
"I must say, that contract was truly excellent work on my part," Lucius said, completely satisfied. Ravel looked at him almost with respect.
"So… you're in charge of everything political?" Ravel asked curiously. Lucius nodded.
"I'm in charge of keeping everything in order in the family. I like it, so if you have any legal problems or just need some paperwork, leave it to me. You're part of the family," Lucius said with a smile.
"I'll keep that in mind." Ravel smiled broadly.
"So, you were talking about those devils?" I asked Lucius. Lucius nodded.
"Nothing's signed yet, obviously. You have to be present. And I couldn't mention the city to them either. I dropped some pretty obvious hints that I'd need some 'services' in 'enormous amounts' for a 'city.' Some seemed to understand, so they agreed to meet once you're done founding the city."
"We can get everything we're missing from them. No matter how much Lord Sirzechs is willing to help us, there will be limits. So it's good to have second and third options," Lucius said simply. I sighed and nodded.
"I'll leave it to you. Give me a briefing after I've finished building everything." Lucius nodded.
"I expected as much. Everything has also been arranged with Lord Sirzechs so the devils can move in immediately. I also agreed to Lord Sirzechs hiring people to expedite everything. We'll be very short-staffed once the devils come in large numbers." Lucius said. I simply sighed.
"I didn't expect this whole thing to turn out so big." I groaned in exhaustion.
"It's entirely your fault," Bella said mercilessly. I pouted.
"I know! But I don't want to run a city!" I complained childishly.
"I... can help you!" Ravel intervened with determination. I looked at her curiously.
"Do you know anything about running cities?" I asked curiously. Ravel blushed a little.
"I… not really, but I can learn!" Ravel said forcefully. I hummed lightly.
"If you really want to do it, I won't stop you. And if you want to learn, Lucius and I are currently learning about running a city from a truly excellent professor. You're welcome to join our classes." I said. Ravel looked surprised.
"A teacher? I didn't know you hired someone," Ravel said, surprised. I hummed.
"I have had a contract with him for several years, and he can teach us anything that is not supernatural," I said honestly.
"Anything?" Ravel asked, a little confused, I nodded.
"He's like me, a contractor for The Company. He likes being a teacher and sells his services. He's outstanding." I said simply. Ravel nodded slowly.
"Then, if you don't mind, I'll join the classes." Ravel finally said, I smiled at her and nodded.
"You're more than welcome! Now, let's finish eating and get started!"