Dessert Goddess

What's in a Name?

“My name… is Icarus.” Once he released the words, I felt some tension release in his body. He seemed to weaken. I bet he was tired. Having to live in fight or flight mode for years has to be exhausting.

“Easy, Icarus. My name is Brent. Its great to finally meet you.” I told him as I supported his weight. His head rolled forward to land on my shoulder as I scooped him out of the tub. I walked him into the gathering room, where Creast was waiting with multiple sets of clothes.

“I was not sure what would fit him.” Creast began before falling silent.

“He seems to have fallen asleep.” I said softly. Creast flicked an ear towards me. A small smile spread on his lips.

“It’s a good thing Panthers are quiet. Lay him down on the couch here.” He told me so softly I wasn’t sure if I heard him or if it was telepathy. I gently laid him down on the couch, placing a pillow under him to replace my shoulder. Moving back a bit, Creast slipped silently in and began measuring every part of this boys body. Head, Neck, shoulders, chest, arms, waist, hips, thighs, calves, ankles even. He never made a sound. Never moved the boy. Yet somehow was walking away with the perfect numbers. He wrote them down in a little book.

“What book is that?” I whispered as I moved closer to him. Even this far away his ears could pick up my voice, but I hated talking to myself. You cant count it as talking if I am two yards away from you. No matter how good your hearing is.

“Its Lino’s.” He whispered back. That was an answer. Lino was my Charlene’s tailor. He was also part of her harem. He usually only got involved in group events with Charlene. When it took more than one of us to please her. I didn’t need to say anything else. Creast was so whipped he never really had an original thought when it came to the Lady of the house. Because of this he never seemed to have any real jealousy to speak of. Not the case for me. Alligators are not known for wanting to share. It’s a shock I have managed to be a part of this harem for so long. I know its all for her. Maybe I was whipped too.

“Lino.” I grumbled. I had nothing against the man personally. I just didn’t see why she needed a harem so big. Most of us went unutilized. I was furious when I found out she had called for me this morning. I had gotten back with an armful of fresh ingredients for her meal. I had taken the best care in choosing each and every one of them, in my own bliss filled world when I arrived back at the castle. I took the ingredients to cook. Yukita had told me a rumor the Lady called on me while I was away. My spirits dropped immediately. My emotions got the better of me once I heard. This resulted in rushing to My Charlene. She had been in the shower when I found her. My body watched as Creast took a few more measurements. But my mind was showing me a flashback of that morning.

Who knows the next time she will be ready to take me on. Perhaps you could call me a liar if I were to say that I wasn’t rough with her when we were intimate. Enjoyment can be found in throwing her around. Manhandling her to serve my own purpose. After I serve hers day in and day out, its absolutely thrilling to take control of a woman as powerful as she. With so many of us at her disposal, she had one for every mood she could possibly be in. And then some. Every day I strove to be the best. I wanted her to take more notice in me and often volunteered for extra tasks just to please her.

The boy moved on the couch, rolling over and balling into the fetal position. Creast donned a smile as he started measuring his back. Apparently, that was what he was missing because it took no time before he was finished. He padded over to the table, transcribing the new numbers. Shifting my position, I looked over his shoulder. His handwriting was beautiful. Very curly and fluid. That was one thing I was not. Refined. It took effort to appear flawless. Especially when you were far from it. I can have a short temper. There were times when I was impulsive and overly aggressive. I had been working ever since Charlene picked me up on improving so I could be worthy of such a woman. My time with her amounted to almost fifteen years. I was only fifteen when she found me. At that time in my life I was in an orphanage. Most of us reptiles end up in one. Natural sacrifice of beasts that abandon their young when they are newborn or just eggs.

“That should be everything he needs.” Creast’s voice appeared right next to my ear. I jerked my head towards him on impulse. “I need to take this to him.” He said holding the book in both hands. “You staying to watch over the kid? Get him dressed when he wakes?”

“No.” I said shortly. I had something to do. “You stay. I will run this to Lino and then I have to Visit Herit.”

“Herit? No one has seen him in a few days that I know of. Didn’t he die?” Creast was serious.

“No he is not dead. He spends his time in the aviary which I would think was understandable given his beast.” Amusement snuck into my voice as I talked. How did this man believe he was dead. That was just a humorous thought. “Dead. How amusing. No, The Lady wants me to send her word of the boys name.” As I told him this, my mind was still on his dead statement. Herit was getting up there in years. And he was only a level one beast. He was in fact, the harem member the closest to dying if you really thought about it.

“She is really showing an interest in this boy.” His face was contorted in thought. “What makes this slaveboy different?” he questioned, more to himself than me.

“I don’t think there is anything abnormal about her behavior. She has always wanted to stop the slave trade. And this one was assaulted in the house.”

“But she had never had Herit fly her the name before either. At least not to my knowledge.” Creast had a point.

“Maybe because he is still a kid.” His age must have something to do with it. Since us males don’t always live the longest, we hit breeding age around 13. After that the world considered you an adult. Kids left home, men found women, life continued. But not for Charlene. She refused to touch anyone unless they met her determination of ‘adult’. She waited until we were all 18. This had been in practice for years so it was second nature for us.

“Perhaps. Unfortunately, the Mistress is the only one who would know.” He handed the book over to me. I watched as he turned away from me, approaching a basin of water. He washed up and dried his hands before perching on the edge of the couch. That was my cue to leave. Turning towards the door, I began my trek to Lino’s shop. Up a few flights and over into the left wing was Lino’s office. While he was there as a tailor for both Charlene and Ezra, he was actually part of Charlene’s harem. I knocked on the door and waited. Soon a short but distinguished man opened the door.

“Lino.”

“Brent. I was expecting Creast.” Even though Lino was shorter than most of us, he had an air about him that made you feel like he was always looking down on you. He just felt better than everyone else. The arrogance was abundant and he was not shy of pride.

“I am aware. I am here instead. Shall we move on?” I asked with a grumpy and impatient tone. This was not one of my favorite people. However as per Charlene’s rules, we were not allowed to fight amongst ourselves so I tried to keep my distaste to a limit. “This is your book. It has all the measurements Creast took of the slave rescue, Icarus.” I thrust the book out at him.

“I shall have to make some time to prepare him some proper attire then. But since I must.” He took the book from my hand and closed the door in my face. I grunted out a breath. My fists bunched up at my sides as the anger rippled through me. Such an abrasive attitude. He was so rude. I stomped my way back down the hall, slowly letting my anger vent as I mumbled to myself. By the time I got outside I had calmed a bit.

The walk to the aviary wasn’t exactly the easiest. It consisted of hills, rocks and even a few tree roots to climb over. The view was beautiful though. The trees provided a full canopy over top, blocking out a good portion of natural light, making the trail plunge into near darkness. This was the opening to a section where whistflies gathered. The glittery blue glow emitted by the winged worms was powerful enough to light the area in a blue haze. I fully believed that my Mistress chose to run the path through here on purpose. The scene was always so beautiful. The Whistflies food consisted of a specific flower and its greens. These flowers bloomed from the Titan bush. They were yellow and red with orange accents. They themselves possessed a glowing quality you can clearly see at night. The flower petals were thick and robust and curled outwards. Titan flowers were some of the biggest flowers in existence, ranging in size from palm sized to dinner plate. After a brief respite to admire the view I refocused my mind, starting forward once again. I couldn’t stall now. The top of the aviary was just coming into view over the trees. Not much farther.

I reached the aviary in no time at all. This building looked just as old as the bird I was looking for. The old wooden door had lost its varnish ages ago. The straw roof was looking old and black with mold. Random sticks of straw sticking up and out everywhere. I pushed open the splinter ridden door with a loud creak. Dust coated everything. Birds of all kinds flew about inside. The feathers and debris floated down to the ground on the slight breeze created by my entrance. The shadows danced across the walls. Overall very creepy vibe to the whole building.

“Herit!” I hollered through the large space, then listened intently. I closed my eyes for just a moment as I focused. The vibrations of sound tickled along my skull. I looked towards the edge of the room where Herit appeared from around the corner and I started my slow swagger towards him. He himself was hunched, much like an old man. He retained his youthful features, much like we all do, right up until it was close to his time. However, he was giving many signs of aging. He had a bit of a limp in his right leg. One eye was clouded over, while the other was a brilliant yellow. His soft hair was thinning a bit and sparkled silver in the dim light through the window.

“It is a bit early for me, young one.” He yawned at me, blinking his large eyes.

“I know, I apologize. I only woke you because Mistress asked for you by name, you see.” I felt obligated to treat him delicately and with the upmost respect.

“Miss Charlene?” He croaked. His voice was raw from non-use.

“She asked if you would deliver this to her at the Colosseum. It’s the name of the new slave boy she rescued.” I held out the paper detailing everything we had learned, including the much needed name.

“She rescued another one?” He asked. “I don’t know why that comes as a surprise. Miss Charlene has acted in this manner all my stead.” He hung his head a bit but not in shame. Almost in pride. He went to turn around before turning back to look at me. “I will see it gets delivered.” He nodded in that approving way elders do. I watched silently as he wobbled his way back around the corner. This was my que to leave.

As I was turning to make my exit, a small parrot landed on my shoulder. I turned to look at it in confusion before realizing this was one of the hatchlings from this year. A female one. She c****d her head to look up at my face so I smiled in return. She chirped to me and bobbed her head. I reached up and ran my finger down her chest a few times. She lifted her beak to give me more room and chirped happily. I couldn’t help but look at how happy she was to receive attention from me. Young birds are rarely this sociable. But she wasn’t just a bird. There was an intelligent beastwoman in there. My eyes softened in sadness.

“How wretched it would be to be all of me with no human form.” I mumbled out loud as I gazed at her. I wasn’t trying to make her feel bad. I regretted saying something the moment it left my lips. How rude was I now? “I am sorry I didn’t mean that.” I hastily covered my tracks. “I’m an asshole I’m sorry.” I conceded as I watched her drop her head. She took one more look at me before sadly opening her wings and flying slowly off. ‘Well damn…’ I thought as I made my way out the door.