Amadea awoke to a strong scent prickling her nose. She couldn't quite place it, but it definitely didn't belong to the dingy room she fell asleep in the previous night. Roses? She'd always liked the smell of roses. The scent was definitely more than just roses, though she couldn't recognise what else encompassed it. It was very sweet and rich. Amadea quite liked the scent, it made her feel quite energised.
Her eyes fluttered open in confusion, to confirm she indeed was not in the small bedroom she'd been occupying for the last few weeks. In fact, the room she did wake up in didn't look like it belonged on this side of Taescaar. It was huge, as was all the furniture in it, like it was made to accommodate people twice her size. It appeared to be some sort of lounge, furnished with multiple sofas in extremely expensive looking crushed velvet with a deep wooden frame, as well as having lots of pillows of varying sizes and warm colours, a few of which she'd found herself on top of. She felt the heat of the cosy fireplace near her, keeping her warm. Her eyes fell on the many windows lining the furthest wall. Not much was visible from her position on the floor, besides the night sky devoid of stars. Where was she?
As the tiefling continued looking around, she spotted a single person, seated on one of the couches. A woman, tall enough to match the furniture, with pale skin, a tail much like her own, and two sets of horns: a pair of short ones right above her brow, and a pair of extremely long, serrated ones sprouting straight up from above her ears. Jewellery was featured at the end of each horn, matching the lines of earrings in her long, pointed ears. Her bright red, curled bangs framed her face, the rest of her hair was kept in a ponytail. She… was not wearing much at all. What constituted as a top existed out of two straps of a dark fuchsia fabric, hanging from a choker and barely covering her huge breasts, and her panty left little to the imagination, accentuated by a strange, loincloth resembling accessory that didn't actually add any extra coverage.
The tiefling averted her eyes. It barely looked comfortable, not to mention the scorn the woman would've faced had anyone else seen her. Her gaze fell down, not wanting to look upon the lady any longer, only to realise that she was only wearing the modest underwear she'd fallen asleep in. With a gasp, she quickly threw one of her pillows over top of herself. Was she dreaming? She had to be dreaming. That was the only logical answer.
Her sudden movement attracted the attention of the fiendish woman, who was previously preoccupied by a cigarette, one held in one of those long pipe holders. It was strange that she hadn't smelled the cigarette first.
"Oh? You're awake. I'm so glad," she spoke, eyes locked with the short girl's. Fuschia with black sclera eyes compared to the undefined magenta pools that made up Amadea's. She wasn't just fiendish, she was a fiend. Her lips formed a gentle smile, and there was no judgement in her expression or tone. When she saw the girl hidden behind the pillow, she frowned. "There is no need to hide from me. It's alright." Her tone was assuring, comforting.
"I'm sorry, but I'm dressed in only my underwear…" the tiefling replied, fear in her voice. She refused to look at the woman, she made her feel so strange. Light headed with a tingle in her abdomen she'd never felt before. She was too concerned about her whereabouts to even consider parsing what the feeling meant. This was some kind of trick, an illusion from Innana's followers, trying to tempt her only to whisk her soul away to be tortured forever for giving in to her vice. It would be very much like the followers of the Archon of Love to do that.
The woman's response was a single giggle. "And isn't that too much already?"
Somehow, those words alone made her simple top and shorts itch on her skin. She could almost hear the click of a locket, like a new cloak just secured onto her body. Her hands tensed at the memory, balling into fists. Anything else. Think about anything else! "Where am I? Who are you?"
Footsteps. Large footsteps. They approached her, and the girl couldn't bring herself to look. A soft thud, right next to her. "My dear, they truly didn't tell you about me?" The woman's voice was extremely close to her now. It sounded hurt.
Amadea almost tried to sneak a glance to try and jog her memory but stopped herself. She couldn't recognise the fiendish woman the first time around, a second, still uncomfortable look, wouldn't make a difference. She shook her head. "I'm sorry, I don't know you, ma'am."
"I am Korrigan, sweet. We are kin. They confused you, didn't they? Lied to you, hurt you… My poor child… I wish I had known sooner…"
While she'd never had the opportunity to see any depictions of Korrigan, the tiefling knew who Korrigan was all too well. Nemesis of Lechery, Korrigan was one of the seven most evil creatures known to mankind, being the personification of one of the deadly sins. Calling the nemesis and tiefling kin was an understatement. Korrigan was the source of Amadea's curse, as an Eros tiefling she was tied to the vice of indulgence.
The girl's eyes went wide, and she simultaneously scampered a few steps back as well as locked eyes with the creature. Two main emotions boiled inside of her. The first, reflexive one was fear. As a nemesis, Korrigan's measure of power was unimaginable to Amadea. She was entirely at the creature's whims, and could easily lose her life if she drew the fiend's ire. The second emotion was contempt. Korrigan was indirectly the source of all her suffering. Had she not been born a tiefling, she wouldn't have led the despicable life she had up to that point.
Korrigan's expression in response to her was one of sympathy, which disarmed the small woman. She was seated on her knees, and a clawed hand was stretched out as if to stop the tiefling from a meager attempt at fleeing her reach, but she'd decided against it.
"B-But, I haven't done anything wrong!" the girl stammered fearfully.
The taller woman shook her head with a sigh. "The only thing you've done wrong is neglect your body and torture yourself, but that is not your fault, my sweet."
Amadea hesitated, scanning the nemesis a few feet away from her. What did this unimaginably powerful creature want..? Why did it pity her..? "Why am I here, then?" she asked, her voice still wavering, though more with confusion than fear.
Korrigan offered another gentle smile. "You've been abandoned by the world. They've neglected to tell you so much about yourself… I won't stand for it any longer. I wish to guide you," she explained.
She looked so welcoming… Her smile wasn't forced, like she'd seen on so many people trying to be polite. Her offer didn't sound empty, like the people she'd thanked for doing even the smallest things for her. "I'm-I'm doing just fine! Please!"
A lie. One so bad even the most ignorant would raise an eyebrow. Amadea had hoped that once she was released from the orphanage, a new world would have opened up. That she could just adjust a few things, and live a happy, but still safe, life. In reality, she had little to no life skills, and if Gysophila had been good for one thing, it was to show how the outside world hated her for her heritage just as much.
She had travelled to one of the small villages connected to her home town, where the innkeepers, in reality they were farmers with enough space to let the few travellers that came to the village pass the night, were kind enough to give her room and board so long as she cleaned the building after sundown. Pay was non-existent, but with her few silvers spent on trying to afford food and lodging before that point, not having to worry about those things was a reasonable improvement. It just meant she'd have to make her personal things last. On good days she thought that maybe she could have a decently fulfilling life like this. On bad days she fell asleep from the exhaustion of work and then the tears, asking the gods for forgiveness for being the fell creature she is. The bad days significantly outweighed the good.
"Can I ask one thing of you?" Korrigan inquired, that smile still on her face. She took the silence as an invitation to continue. "For one moment, can you not think about the things everyone keeps telling you, and tell me what you truly want?"
The tiefling felt like she should say "To wake up", or "to get out of here". Maybe even a "I want to be forgiven" or a "I want to be human" would have been acceptable. But she hesitated. What she truly wanted…
"I want to be wanted. I want to be free."
That smile. There was no judgement. It made her feel so safe. Safer than Innana's symbol ever had. A hand waved her over. "Oh, Amadea… I want you. I can't set you free, but I can tell you a secret. Come here..."
… Did Korrigan really want her? What for..? Could this large woman truly be the evil she'd been told so much about? What would Korrigan even gain from offering to help Amadea? She was just an unimportant tiefling, one of so many out there. There wasn't much to gain, so why? Why was she being so kind..?
Hesitantly, the girl got up onto her feet and shuffled over to the tall woman who was still kneeling. A clawed hand gently pushed the large pillow she was still clinging to away, placing it on the floor next to them.
"Mercy, you're such a pretty thing, too. You're even more beautiful than I thought. I can't believe they tried to ruin that," Korrigan said gently, looking over Amadea now that the latter was no longer hiding.
The tiefling looked away, confused and ashamed. She was a fell spawn brandishing large signs of her heritage. That couldn't be beautiful.
The nemesis picked up on her feelings with ease. She reached out, placing a single finger under Amadea's chin and lifting it, making her look the large woman in the eyes. She spoke up again.
"A little plump, and filled out in all the right places," she started, her large hand caressing Amadea's side. The touch was electrifying, all at once making the girl want to flee, while also craving more.
"A slender tail that can accentuate anything nicely, that's not to mention what you could do with it if you can control it well." The hand slid over Amadea's thigh, where she had wrapped her tail around herself. The tail loosened at the touch, wishing to cling to the large, gentle hand, instead. She didn't let it.
"Long, majestic horns that frame the face. I've always loved this shape of horns," she continued, running two fingers along one of the girls' horns. Every bit of contact broke down the walls just a little more.
"Wings. So many love wings. I don't need to say any more." Just the lightest touch of a finger made the girl's wings flutter like they never had before.
"A little short, but most find that endearing, and the pleasant pink of your skin attracts all the eyes, you should allow them to appreciate the rest of you." Finally, the hand rested on the small of Amadea's back. Was she really that pretty?
"All this beauty," Korrigan said with a sense of conclusion in her voice, "And they told you to hide it. Be ashamed of it. Truly they must be blind. And all while it's in your blood to show it. Despicable."
The fiend's words shook Amadea. Her legs gave out underneath her, and she would've hit the floor if it weren't for Korrigan's hand catching her gently. Rather letting the girl fall, the hand ushered her closer still, and Amadea found herself sitting in Korrigan's lap.
The girl's body was on fire. The close skin to skin contact made her nerve endings flare up and it was the most incredible feeling. That was not to mention the giant bosom right under her nose, and the large hand resting in her lap, thumb gingerly caressing her legs. The skin contact wasn't the only new sensation, something else bubbled under the surface, making her feel hot and flustered, wanting something she didn't even know. The strangest part was that she wanted more. More of something she didn’t understand.
Korrigan once again gently lifted Amadea's chin, allowing the flustered young woman to view that gentle smile once more. "As for the little secret… Amadea, my sweet, no one is ever truly free. Everyone has expectations to live up to, whether you're a simple farmer, or a royal king. The trick is that you have to choose which expectations you want to live up to so that they don't burden you."
Amadea was silent for a few moments as she struggled to digest the fiend's words thanks to the bubbling feelings in her body. “And… You’ll show me?” she asked quietly, hesitantly.
“Everything you wish to be shown,” the nemesis assured with a sweet voice. “I can teach you how to be your best and happiest self. I can even give you a little bit of my power so you can protect yourself, and I will forever keep your soul safe from those wishing to hurt you for embracing who you are.”
It sounded too good to be true. She didn't respond.
“I can start with something simple, right here and now,” Korrigan offered.
Reluctantly, Amadea nodded. She could always still refuse if she didn't like it, right? “Okay...”
A large hand made its way to the short woman’s chest, where a single claw punctured the fabric of her top delicately, making sure to not touch the skin underneath, only to rip the fabric open, destroying the piece of clothing.
Amadea gasped, and reflexively went to cover her now revealed chest, but Korrigan placed her hand over both of hers, keeping them in her lap.
“They can’t hurt you here. You are safe. Just take a deep breath, and let your soul breathe. You've let others make you torture yourself for long enough.”
The tiefling averted her gaze, her face even more flushed than it was before, but she listened. What else could she do at this point? She started taking slow, deep breaths.
She’d always known that the clothes on her body were a detriment to her. She’d always hated them, and she hated the world too when they deemed it necessary to physically lock it to her body because she would claw them off as a child. It never became more bearable. Instead she was just always tired. A fatigue that penetrated her very bones, whether she spent all day in bed or actually tried to be productive. Even when she was released from the orphanage, she’d always made sure to wear enough clothing when around others. When she was sure she was alone, though, she would grant herself a little bit of freedom, allowing her body to revitalise in her exceptionally modest underwear, allowing her skin to breathe, but also ensure that if anything happened to her that would require to go out in public without a chance to grab anything else, she would not have to fear any any scrutiny just from the sight of her.
Under the supportive eye of the nemesis, she used one breath to reject her fear. With another she expelled her shame. She’d never felt this liberated before. She didn’t understand why such a small piece of clothing made a world of a difference, but it did. Her hands no longer felt the need to cover her chest, she was much more comfortable like this.
When she looked back at Korrigan, it was with a shy smile.
The shy smile was met with a proud one.
It was too good to be true. But… Amadea had nothing, outside of this. What would she do, if she refused? Go back to her miserable lot in life? She couldn’t just let this slip past. She couldn't refuse her only chance at happiness.
“Please,” she begged, “free me.”