Fixing Snow only took an instant – an overly excited Lilly waved her hand and said, "In Mama's name be better!", and then turned her attention to attacking poor Vicky with countless hugs, kisses, and joyous squealing.
Extracting Lilly from Vicky, however, was a much more arduous task! I have no idea what the hell an "ass near" is, but apparently it's something special for the priests. One minute, there I was with Vicky, checking on Snow, who was just starting to wake up. Then the next, Vicky was gone – dragged off out into the library by a screaming Lilly – while me and Snow were blinking and looking at each other stupidly.
"I… I'm not hurting?" Surprisingly, Snow's voice didn't seem weak, tired, or distressed at all, which I found amazing considering the shape she was in moments ago! I guess when an excited elder healer heals something, they heal the fuck out of it! Snow showed no signs of exhaustion, dehydration, or pain.
"In Mama's name be better," apparently made *everything* better! Hell – Snow even looked younger somehow! Where before, I would've put her age around being close to twenty, now I'd never think of her as being anything older than a mid-teen!
"Your fine now," I told her gently, hugging her softly. "I found you a cure," I told her shamelessly, being certain to grab credit while I could. Technically, according to what I'd told Lilly, Snow wasn't actually a slave right now. I needed to sink some sort of claw into her loyalties before she realized that and just walked away from us on her own.
"I'm not hurting. I'm not hurting. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you." Clutching hard onto me, Snow sobbed piteously while thanking me and reminding herself she wasn't hurting anymore.
"Shhhh… It's okay," I assured her gently, patting her back softly. "You're mine now," I whispered softly into Snow's ears. "I take care of what's mine. You're in good hands now, as long as you're mine."
"I'm yours," Snow repeated blindly, lost in the sheer relief of the moment. "All yours. Completely yours. Take care of me. I'm yours. All yours."
"Good girl. Good Snow." Rocking her softly, I kept whispering soft, hypnotically reminding her she was now mine forevermore.
Poor Vicky. I kind of felt sorry for her, with her being dragged off and pushed from one exuberant priest to another, but I wasn't going to try and rescue her right now. Right now, she was exactly where she needed to be – distracting the priests so I could forever imprint myself on Snow's heart and mind while she was in her most unstable state.
Technically, she might be free right now, but she doesn't know that. I plan on engraving myself so deeply on her fragile ego, that she'll never believe it. Her family, her friends, her kingdom – they *all* enslaved her and tormented her mercilessly. Only *I* cared enough to selflessly save her!
Now, if only I can get her to fall for that before the temple settles down and finds us still hiding back in the corner here under the table!
Astonishingly, Snow and I were completely forgotten about for over a whole hour! By the time Lilly came running back into the room all excitedly, with Maria, Tabitha, and Vicky all in tow behind her, Snow was curled up peacefully in my lap, snuggled like a little babe in its mother's embrace. Rocking her gently from side to side, her naked body was limp and completely relaxed as I whispered soft reminders that she was mine and I was always going to take care of her since she was my good girl. Nodding her head gently up and down, matching the rhythm of my rocking, Snow agreed with every sibilant suggestion; eyes glazed over in a completely hypnotized stupor.
"Here they are!" Bouncing nearly as exorbitantly as she was before she dragged Vicky off to show to the rest of the priests, Lilly was an absolute bundle of smiles and energy. "They're… They're…" Stopping dead in her tracks, Lilly's eyes widened as large as saucers and she stammered several times as she stared, utterly in shock, at me and Snow.
"They're… They're… BEAUTIFUL," Lilly finally managed to gasp out breathlessly, an euphoric expression of pure awe plastered completely across her face. "It's… It's… It's a baby Aes'nyr and their Aes'lyr… You… You… You can see the Aes'lyn growing between them!"
Honestly, I thought Lilly looked like she was about ready to pass out at any moment. "Breathe. Lilly, breathe," I reminded her gently, while still rocking Snow softly in my arms.
Nodding lightly, Lilly's eyes rolled back into the back of her head until only the whites were showing. With a soft sigh, she slumped over and fainted dead away right there on the floor.
Tapping her foot moodily, her expression one of fire and thunder, Maria glared down at Lilly's crumpled body, then glared menacingly over at Vicky, only to finally end up dangerously focused on me. "You," she said, harshly poking a finger towards me, "have some damn explaining to do!"
"Ummm… Sorry?" Slumping my shoulders apologetically, I had no idea what the heck I was supposed to say!
Contrary to Maria's desires, we all had to wait before getting any answers. One of the other priests, seeing Lilly collapsed on the floor through the doorway leading back into the main library, rushed in and immediately took command of the scene. We were all pushed back into a corner of the room, while several young looking women in white robes rushed in and clamored excitedly back and forth over Lilly's state of health.
"She's fine." The moment another young golden-haired woman walked in, wearing the same simple white robes, she authoritatively took control of everyone's attention. "Sister Lilly has just gotten too excited," the young woman – she looked almost young enough to be called a child instead of a woman – told the others calmly. "Mother put her to sleep," she explained lightly, "so she wouldn't lose control of her magic and grow a forest in the middle of the library here again." Giggling lightly, the young child, waved her hands gently dismissing all the other's concerns as something trivial.
"Yes, Big Momma."
"Thank you, Big Momma. I was worried when I couldn't sense anything wrong with Big Sis Lilly."
"Thank you, Big Momma."
All the little women in white robes bowed towards this 'Big Momma', who looked like the youngest child of them all to me, with respect and relief obvious in their eyes. Just who the hell was this tiny little girl?? Unexpectedly, I suddenly found myself starting to sweat under the weight of my own speculations. Exactly what did someone like *this* want with *us*? Were we in trouble? Instantly, my mind began to analyze every word, action, and step that we'd made since first walking upon the temple's land. Was there something I should be preemptively apologizing for?
Honestly, I wasn't familiar enough with the customs, laws, or religions of this world to know. I had no clue what was expected, what was normal, and what I might've did wrong! All I could do is sit and hug Snow and wait to see why this young-Big Boss was here!
"Take her back to her room and let her rest," Big Momma commanded gently. "Sit one of the Blacks to watch over her while she rests – Bloodmist would be a good choice, but be certain to tell him he can't try to put a babe in her belly until AFTER she awakes. Then have someone bring us some honey tea and sweet cakes, as I may be in here for a while and don't want to be disturbed otherwise."
"If someone truly thinks they need me," the young Big Momma giggled lightly, "take them to visit Brother Soul-Ripper. If they can convince him of their need, then you can interrupt us. Otherwise, they can pay his price for annoying him."
"Yes, Big Momma!"
"I'll go dig a nice hole near the roses," one young lady volunteered, laughing gaily. "We'll get lots of nice fertilizer if someone goes and annoys Brother Rippy! I want to make certain I get the guts and intestines first!"
"Hey! No fair! I want the heart then!" Another young, innocent looking white-robed girl complained in protest, as they all gently rolled the sleeping Lilly onto a gurney and dragged her out of the room.
Blinking stupidly, I couldn't believe what I was hearing. These girls – innocent little healers from the temple – were calmly talking about, and dividing up in advance, parts of some imaginary idiot who annoyed their Brother!
"Now," clapping her hands to get our attention, the little girl smiled brightly. "Let's talk," she commanded imperiously. "I'm Big Momma of this temple," she introduced herself sweetly.
"Mi… Mi… Michael," I stammered in reply, trying hard not to faint.