“ARTICLE 14. MINOR ACTIONS. A girl can take a minor action against any girl from a different nation, even if that girl isn’t a legal target. A girl who isn’t a Child can only take a minor action against a Child with that Child’s consent. Minor actions include covering a girl with a small amount of a substance or with any amount of water, a perfunctory kiss, binding the body outside sexual areas and similarly severe effects.
ARTICLE 15. LEGAL TARGETS. Designated combattants and monsters are always legal targets, even in safe zones. A girl who’s not a designated combattant is a legal target if she recently attacked or entered combat on her own. Monsters are never legal targets in sanctuary zones. Children are not legal targets except to other Children, not even if they enter combat on their own.” — excerpt from the Treaty on Friendly War
Present day.
“So,” said Jouette, “the dirties attacked the Temple of the Ancients. I mean, that’s unthinkable. Did they really?”
“Yes,” I replied, “and it was as unthinkable then as it is now.”
“And this council was the beginning of the Treaty.”
“Yes.”
“I guess the world really was different back then.”
I smiled. They were learning.
Alrae closed her eyes and exhaled. Her chest rose and fell quickly. She bit her lip. I could see she was fighting off a wave of arousal from the skirtslime on her breasts and crotch. Of course, she couldn’t. With a start, her eyes opened up wide and her body was seized in orgasmic spasms.
“Please, Astra,” she pleaded, “this is humiliating. Get it off.”
“No.”
“But, but, but I can’t focus on the story!” She gasped as the ooze pressed on her nipples again. “Again already?!”
“I suppose we could take a break.”
Jouette continued, “and then you’ll tell us how you escaped from the spider’s web?”
“That’s not all that interesting. A kissborn rescue team came in, destroyed the spider and freed us — though I’ll mention that it did take them forty days to do so. We were trapped in there for forty days.”
I paused for a moment to let that fact sink in.
“So stop complaining about what you’re enduring from me here.”
The girls were silent, not even Luna spoke up.
“Now, I’m going to be merciful and I’ll even give you a reward for enduring,” I said, “but there is one more challenge first. I’ll leave you here for half an hour alone while I take a break. Then I’ll unsummon the skirtslime and I’ll continue by telling you about how we freed the Princesses, okay?”
All the girls nodded.
“Luna, wait for me in the kitchen.” I said. My daughter nodded, grateful that she wouldn’t need to stay in here without me, and scuttered off. I ended the spell that bound her hands.
“Before I leave, I’ll change the conditions here to make you feel more like in a spider’s lair,” I said, smiling. I could see the fear on their faces. But I knew they could handle it. I closed my eyes and started incanting the spell formulas.
Spidersilk web. White elastic ropes appeared, wrapped around each of the three girls and pushed them on the wall so they couldn’t move an inch except for their heads. Darkness. A magical absence of light descended on the room so that they couldn’t see anything. Horror image. A phantasm of a giant ugly spider appeared in the room, visible only to the girls’ eyes. All other sight being blocked by the darkness, the girls couldn’t see anything but the spider. Painful climax. Enchantment that would make orgasms actually physically hurt. Now we’d see if they’d make more efforts suppressing their urges.
“Astra!”
“That’s too much!”
I denied their protests. “You’re strong. You’ll endure.” I cast one more spell to fix up my dress and then groped my way out of the room and into the kitchen.
Luna was already sitting at the table, drinking a cup of tea. She had a cup ready for me as well. The table was by the window. I hesitated a little but then came in. I’ll need to get over my fear eventually. As I was walking towards the table, I noticed various food splatters on the floor.
I realized what they meant only too late. Jouette and her party had set up another trap for me here. It triggered all at once. Gunge fell from the ceiling on top of my head. Pies came in on me from all directions and a stream of chocolate fired at my butt. The pies plastered me all over my body and I felt my dress give way. The stream was the strongest, tore a hole in the dress and then the chocolate spread over my butt cheeks. I shouted a curse in alarm.
Luna was laughing. She must have triggered the trap as well but thanks to her Barrier, she came away clean. I think I heard a chuckle from the living room as well.
“Well, mom,” said Luna, laughing, “they did say they’d give you only a couple of chapters.”
“Yeah, haha,” I replied, and slowly approaching the table in such a way that Luna wouldn’t see my now naked butt. I hazarded a look out the window and oh, yeah, that was a mistake.
The Skyship was hovering kilometers above ground and only a single pane of glass stood between us and the empty vastness. I shuddered and pushed those thoughts out of my mind. I was inside. I was safe.
“Thanks for the tea, Luna.”
“No problem, mom,” she said. “I’m liking your story.”
I muttered a thank-you.
“What happens next?”
“You don’t want to wait until we return to the others?”
“I suppose,” said Luna. We drank in silence for a while. Then Luna popped in again, “so I guess children had it more tough back then?”
“You had far less protection, yes. Though you’re hardly a child now. Your Barrier will drop in less than a year.”
“Still a child, then.”
“You’ll always be my child.”
“I’m your… second daughter, right?”
“Yes.”
“Is your first daughter still your child, then?” she smirked.
“I love her still, if that’s what you’re asking. But Astlee is a thousand years old now. We don’t see each other all that much.”
“What’s she doing?”
“Spell research in the Temple of the Ancients. Exploring new avenues. She was always pretty bright.”
“Hm-hmh.”
Another moment of silence. Almost time to go back to the girls.
“What I was actually wondering,” said Luna, “is, well, why do I even have this Barrier?”
“You seem to like it.”
“Well, I mean, I guess. It’s nice to be able to not get messy but…”
“But?” I prompted her.
“But, you said it yourself, it’s as if I’m a coward. I’m listening to you and your friends doing all kinds of heroic stuff and you’re famous for what you did and I bet in your youth children were more capable than us. We’re being sheltered so much so we don’t get to show our strength —”
“Luna —”
“— and it isn’t like I didn’t attempt any of these ‘major actions’. Like, I tried stuff out with my friends, you know, a couple of years ago, and yeah, it was a little humiliating but, you know, bearable, —”
“Luna —”
“— so I’m thinking maybe you overcompensated a little when drafting the Treaty.”
“Luna,” I said firmly, “I know you are courageous. I know I tease you about it a little — a lot, okay — and I’m sorry. You are the bravest girl I know and I’m positive that you could handle yourself even in fierce combat.”
“But then —?”
“There is a difference — a big difference — between you and your child friends having a messy session or kissing each other and uncontrolled hard combat. Girls can hurt you, Luna. I’ve seen strong warriors reduced to tears from mere verbal taunts and that’s before we get to actual pain and torture. Children are simply weaker, physically and emotionally, so the Barrier needs to be there.”
“It… can be painful?”
I answered, “Less now than before. The worst stuff is now forbidden. But let’s go back. After you left, I cast a spell that caused sexual climaxes to be painful for our three hosts —”
“What?”
“— and you can look for yourself what it could be like to be without the Barrier.”
I dispelled all magic in the room. The spider winked out, the darkness dissipated and the girls fell from the wall on the floor. They were all naked, since their bonds and the skirtslime disappeared as well.
The skin in their crotch ran deep red and they were all sobbing.
“I think you understand enough,” I said, “all of you.” Luna stood at the door staring at the girls. Comprehension dawned on her.
“All of you deserve your reward.”
I cast a spell. All traces of mess evaporated from Jouette, Daina and Alrae. In their place, a beautiful silk dress started to form around their bodies. It was a free-flowing dress with an intricate design. An innocent pure white color. Down, it ended with a short skirt, and up, it had short sleeves. It was semi-transparent.
Definitely sexy, but also cute, and most importantly imbued with a soothing power. As the dress wrapped around the girls’ skin, it healed them and supported them and they quickly stopped crying.
The magic tugged at Luna as well and she lowered her Barrier. With the Barrier down, I looked away and caused her clothes to evaporate into nothing. I formed a magic dress around her body as well, that she not feel left out, though I made this one a little less revealing, just in case Luna wanted to keep more of her modesty.
Jouette smiled and I breathed a sigh of relief. They weren’t angry.