The Soul Engine Ch. 43 (Original Fantasy) (Patreon)

A/N: Mikael and Thayla have a quick chat, and then Mikael and Bula have a not-so-quick chat.

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True to the Knight-Superior’s word, they’re provided with not just their own quarters, but an entire corridor of rooms for their stay at the Citadel. The area even comes with its own private kitchen and courtyard, the latter of which is clearly made for training and sparring if the wooden posts clad in beat-up armor are any indication.

Timothal also promises to make sure that everyone else in the Citadel knows they are guests and not to be touched as swiftly as humanly possible. Mikael even believes him, but he’s still going to be keeping an eye out and staying on guard. He trusted Timothal Dawnguard. He did not trust the entirety of the Order of the Rose. Especially not after their interaction with Chevalier Ironshield.

Sure, the Truth Above All might have proven itself to be a powerful artifact capable of discerning good from evil, but people could change. And good and evil wasn’t nearly that black and white. Mikael himself didn’t necessarily feel like a good person. He didn’t consider himself evil either to be fair, but still… good? That was a hard sell.

Regardless, Avina had turned in for the night straight after dinner and Mikael didn’t blame her. It had been a long, trying day and of the four of them, Avina had the least stamina. That said, Mikael wasn’t nearly as ready to go to bed. That’s why he found himself out in the hallway where all their rooms were located, running right into one Thayla Dawnguard coming from the opposite direction.

“O-Oh! Sir Mikael, I had hoped to run into you…”

Smiling slightly, Mikael figures he knows what this is about.

“Thayla. I’m glad you chose to stay with us instead of taking up your old quarters. I know this place was your home for much of your life, so I imagine you have normal rooms somewhere else in the Citadel.”

Thayla flushes at being so casually called out. It was almost certainly true, and she makes no effort to deny it. Squirming, she averts her eyes and nods her head.

“Of course Sir Mikael. Until you dismiss me from your service, m-my place is at your side…”

Mikael hums, noting the tone of fearful anticipation. Then, he nods and gives Thayla a pat on the shoulder before moving to step past her. Petty? Maybe… but he’s not here to make things easier for the female knight. Especially not when he knows she’s working her way up to an apology.

“Sir Mikael, wait!”

Stopping, he turns back to look at her with a raised brow. Flushing even harder, Thayla squirms for a moment longer before finally speaking.

“I am sorry for not telling you about my father. I should never have withheld such critical information from you or the others. I understand completely if I’ve irrevocably broken your trust in me.”

By the time she’s done speaking, her shoulders have drooped and her head is bowed in eternal shame. She’s definitely taking this way harder than he is. Which is why it’s all too easy for Mikael to step up to her and place a hand on her shoulder, giving it a comforting squeeze.

“It’s fine, Thayla.”

Head shooting up so fast he fears she might give herself whiplash, Thayla’s icy blue eyes are wide and filled with wonder as she gapes at him.

“It… it is, Sir Mikael?”

Tilting his head to the side, Mikael sighs.

“I’m pretty sure I told you to call me Mikael. And I’m pretty sure you agreed too.”

Coloring, Thayla bobs her head.

“A-Apologies, Mikael. I had assumed I lost the privilege.”

“… Well you didn’t. I understand why you were afraid to tell us about your father. He seems like a good man… but also a very intense man. And I can only imagine how growing up in his shadow must have felt.”

Thayla bites her lower lip, Mikael’s words clearly hitting home for her.

“Yes… all my life, I have been compared to him. And people knew how it affected me too. I used to lie. I used to tell them that my father was the sun and cast no shadow. That I was fine. But the truth was… I never felt like I was enough to live up to everyone’s expectations for me. Getting away from the Citadel was as much about getting out from under those expectations as it was anything else. And… it felt good, not being known as Timothal Dawnguard’s daughter. Even with everything else going on… that felt good.”

Mikael smiles softly at Thayla’s heartfelt confession, giving her shoulder another squeeze.

“I get it, Thayla. That’s why I forgive you for not telling us ahead of time. Even if it was a mistake, it’s not one I’m going to hold over your head or anything like that. Though… there will have to be a punishment.”

Thayla jolts at the word ‘punishment’, her eyes lighting up in… excitement.

“O-Oh? Oh, of course, Mikael. I will… submit to whatever punishment you see fit. Shall we retire to your room or mine? Or… or will you do it right here out in the hall for the others to possibly see?”

She blushes incredibly hard at that last idea. However… Mikael shakes his head.

“No Thayla. That wouldn’t be a real punishment at all. Rather, it’s going to be the exact opposite. Your punishment for lying to me and the others… is that I’m not going to do anything to you tonight whatsoever. You’ll just have to live without me for the evening.”

Thayla’s eyes widen in horror and the expression of heartbreak on her face is so strong that you’d think he’d just dismissed her from his service or something, rather than just telling her she wouldn’t be getting any sort of sexual attention from him on this fine evening.

“… oh. O-Of course, Sir Hero… I… I understand completely. It’s… no less than I deserve.”

Slowly, downtrodden and literally dragging her feet, Thayla turns and begins heading for her room. Mikael watches her go somewhat incredulous. Seriously? For a moment, her despair is so palpable it almost makes him change his mind. But… no. He steels himself. It’s only for one night for fuck’s sake! Thayla can survive one night. Honestly.

Once she’s disappeared into her room, Mikael lets out a sigh and heads down the hall towards who he was ACTUALLY aiming to talk to on this fine evening. He passes right by Bula’s door, already able to tell that she’s not actually in there due to both his enhanced senses and his burgeoning, ever-growing soul sight.

Instead, he locates the half-orc warrior out in their newly assigned private courtyard. Bula’s battle axe swings through the air as she lets out gruff snarls and exhalations. All the while, she’s doing a deadly dance that almost looks like sword katas… if the sword katas were performed with a battle axe instead. Mikael is surprised by her restraint. He’s glad she chose not to-

Oh, never mind. Off to the side, those training dummies he saw earlier are already thrashed and trashed, shredded by Bula’s weapon and dumped against the courtyard’s fall wall in pieces. Seeing that, Mikael chuckles softly, shaking his head.

When he looks back to Bula, he blinks in surprise. She’s stopped swinging her axe… but not because she noticed him. Rather, she’s stopped in place and is staring off into the distance with a frown of consternation on her face.

After a moment of silence, Mikael clears his throat.

“Err… Bula?”

Turning to face him, the half-orc tilts her head to the side.

“Yes? What is it?”

Then, her eyes slide up and down him, clearly looking for a weapon. When she doesn’t find one, she grunts.

“You aren’t here to spar. So… fuck?”

That actually wasn’t why he was here, but once she comes to a conclusion, Bula doesn’t waste time tossing her battle axe to the side and leaping at him. Mikael catches her easily, spinning with her body and letting them fall to the ground together with HIM on top and her on bottom. She grunts as the breath leaves her lungs but continues like he hasn’t just turned the tables on her, her hands immediately going down to his crotch and working open his pants to pull out his cock. At the same time, her legs spread eagerly in anticipation.

Mikael doesn’t really need any incentive or motivation to fuck Bula. But even as he slides into her and the half-orc groans her appreciation, he doesn’t immediately start jackhammering like she prefers. Instead, he grabs her by her wrists and pulls her arms over her head, holding her down and pinning her to the ground as he goes still with just half of his cock inside of her.

When Bula frowns, Mikael smiles.

“Actually, I wanted to talk. But knowing you, doing both is better, isn’t it?”

Bula snorts derisively but doesn’t resist.

“Just fucking would be best. But… yes.”

Rolling his eyes in amusement at his half-orc companion’s simple tastes, Mikael slowly begins sliding in and out of Bula. Despite his claim to want to talk, he doesn’t actually speak for a moment. He’s trying to figure out how to word his most pressing question without sounding… accusatory. Finally, he decides to do things in a roundabout way.

“Bula… who was your father?”

Bula’s face immediately scrunches up at that, her nose wrinkling. For a moment, Mikael thinks he’s stepped in it after all… but finally, she grumbles and shrugs.

“A bastard. Why?”

Damn it, he should have expected that sort of response. Blunt, short, to the point… and ultimately didn’t help at all. He’d have to explain himself better. With that in mind and wanting to put Bula in the right… mood for answering his most burning question, Mikael picks up the pace, much to the half-orc’s vocal enjoyment. She moans and groans beneath him as he pistons in and out of her tightly flexing, well-muscled cunt.

“I’m asking… because I’ve been blind-sided by two out of the three women in my life now. First, Avina turns out to be a long-lost princess to the Throne of Ocreatha, and her ‘uncle’ winds up being the evilest bastard I’ve ever had the misfortune of meeting. Then, Thayla turns out to be daughter of the Order of the Rose’s Grandmaster. And her father turns out to be the most intense man I’ve ever met. Not as bad, but still kind of blindsided me.”

Sighing, Mikael makes sure to continue giving Bula what she wants as he finishes his explanation. A good, hard dicking.

“I guess what I want to make sure is… your father isn’t anyone special, is he? He’s not some Orc Warlord who’s going to wind up uniting all of the orcs in the Savage Lands and invade Zuveria from the other side at the precise wrong moment, right? Because that would really suck… but if he is, I just want to know so I can start preparing.”

By the time he’s done getting that all off his chest, Bula is giving him a strange look. After a moment, she snorts and shakes her head before winding her limbs around his body, pulling him in closer.

“Fuck me harder. Maybe you’ll talk less, Mikael.”

He rolls his eyes again but does as he’s told all the same. He knows she’s not just stonewalling him. She’ll answer him on her own time, that’s just how Bula is. And so, for a few minutes they continue fucking, until finally Bula speaks.

“Do not worry about my father, Mikael. He is dead.”

He almost stops at hearing that, but Bula’s tightening around his hips reminds him that she wouldn’t be happy if he did. Still…

“He and his tribe were known for ranging beyond the Savage Lands and raiding the settlements foolish enough to place themselves within his reach. Still, he will not be an issue… because I killed him myself many years ago.”

… Oh. Well then. Mikael makes sure to keep a good, rough pace for his half-orc lover, pounding her into the grass in a consummate mating press as her feet kick high in the air on either side of him, her arms wrapped around his neck. Looking down into her eyes, he knows Bula is telling the truth. But then, she wouldn’t lie to him to begin with, he doesn’t think. Not consciously anyways.

Still…

“That’s a relief. Though I’m sorry you had to do that, Bula.”

She blinks as he offers his condolences and then lets out a bark of laughter.

“Hah! I am not! He deserved death and I was pleased to dole it out to him. Even the consequences of my actions, being exiled from the tribe and forced to leave the Savage Lands, do not make me regret it! After all… I got to meet you.”

Mikael blinks, shocked by Bula’s tone. Of course, Bula immediately follows up on those last five words by reaching up and grabbing him roughly by the hair, dragging him down into a deep kiss. As their tongues wrestle for dominance, Mikael redoubles his speed, making Bula squeal into his mouth in excitement and glee. He had been holding back a fair bit after all in order to let them both hold a conversation. He doesn’t need to do so anymore.

Plowing Bula with a great deal of his considerable might, he enjoys the way the half-orc tightens around him again and again, moaning against his lips and tongue in clear enjoyment. Mikael is enjoying himself too, to be fair… but he has to admit, alongside the pleasure is also a sense of relief.

Its sobering to learn that Bula had to kill her own father. He can only imagine the circumstances that forced her hand. Or… maybe she wasn’t forced at all. Maybe she just waited until she was big enough and strong enough to end his life and then left. Mikael wasn’t going to speculate too much. And he certainly wasn’t going to judge Bula’s actions either.

From everything he’d heard about the orcs, they were a… difficult people. Bula was an example of a more reasonable subsect of their kind, being a half-orc and all. He could only imagine what full orcs were like. Bloodthirsty, impossible to reason with… and almost as strong as him. A pretty terrifying combination, considering he had no clue how many of them actually populated the Savage Lands.

Still, at least his worries had been assuaged. Bula was no princess and her father was dead by her hands, so the likelihood of him showing up to make further trouble was next to none.

As Mikael and Bula fucks the night away, making an utter mess of themselves and the grassy courtyard they’re fornicating within in the process, Mikael consoles himself with some simple knowledge. Avina might be a Princess in Exile and Thayla might have serious daddy issues and an inferiority complex a mile wide… but at least Mikael didn’t have to worry about Bula.

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A/N: Well, that's a relief isn't it? Turns out Bula's dad is no one special after all! And more than that, he's dead. 

At least Mikael no longer has to worry that he's banging an orc princess or something!

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