Chapter 34: Healing the Heart
Celeste wanted so badly to be Adele’s dog. But Adele said she preferred cats. Celeste cried.
Celeste knew why she cried, even though she was neither a dog nor a cat. Because she was a rat. A dirty, sewer-dwelling rat.
But now, Celeste was finally Adele’s dog. Her heart overflowed with joy, tears streaming down her face.
………………
…Her dog?
Adele froze, her mind reeling.
Celeste, misinterpreting Adele’s silence, assumed that the kind-hearted Adele was simply struggling to accept the situation. She was so pure, so innocent…
But this was Celeste’s choice, her penance, her way to atone for her sins. She hoped Adele would forgive her for her impulsiveness, her… selfishness.
But Adele wasn’t angry. She was… confused.
Because this… this wasn’t exactly what she had planned.
Well, it was close. Just… a little too fast?
Yes, way too fast.
It wasn’t that she hadn’t considered this possibility. In fact, from the very beginning, she had been grooming Celeste, subtly manipulating her guilt and vulnerability, nudging her towards becoming her… loyal companion.
So, Celeste’s assessment of Adele as “pure and innocent”… well, it wasn’t exactly accurate.
She liked golden retrievers. Samoyeds were cute too, those fluffy white bundles of joy. But Celeste, with her golden hair and athletic build… she was definitely a golden retriever.
There was a saying: “A golden retriever is a demon before one year old, an angel after.” It meant that golden retrievers matured slowly, their puppyhood a long and often destructive period. But once they reached adulthood, they became loyal, loving companions.
It was an apt description of Celeste.
She had almost become a demon. But now… she had matured, hadn’t she? She was docile, obedient, like a big, goofy puppy.
Adele had assumed it would take time, patience, and a lot of subtle manipulation to achieve this… transformation. To convince Celeste to willingly wear the leash, to accept the collar, to become her… well, let’s just say “devoted follower.”
But now… it had happened so easily, so unexpectedly, that she was… unprepared.
Celeste, mistaking Adele’s shock for reluctance, for a refusal to treat her like an animal, felt a surge of determination. She had to prove herself worthy, to earn Adele’s… acceptance.
“You… You can give me any order,” she said, her voice trembling with a mixture of excitement and fear. “You can… punish me. Adele… no… Master… please… try it.”
“Celeste, don’t call me that,” Adele said, her cheeks flushing. “Besides, I… I don’t know what to do.”
Wow, she’s not even trying to hide it anymore.
“Then… may I continue calling you… Adele?” Celeste asked, her voice barely a whisper.
She had witnessed other vampires with familiars, their bonds sealed with spiritual contracts. The familiars were often collared, forced to crawl, to grovel… To address their masters by their first names… it was unheard of. Unless… they were especially favored.
Celeste knew how a familiar should behave, how they should serve their masters. But she also knew… that Adele was different. She was a rare gem, a treasure that deserved to be cherished.
Even if Celeste’s presence might tarnish her, might stain her purity… she was willing to accept her.
“Of course, Celeste,” Adele said, her voice soft yet firm. “You can always call me Adele.”
It was a simple statement, a small concession, but it filled Celeste with a warmth, a gratitude, that she had never experienced before.
She was starting to understand what it meant to be a familiar, to be bound to another soul, to have your very being intertwined with theirs.
The magic crest, amplifying even the smallest gestures of kindness, the slightest touch, transformed them into acts of immense significance, showering her with a sense of… belonging?
It was like… Stockholm Syndrome. No matter how cruelly a master treated their familiar, the slightest act of kindness, the smallest crumb of affection, could trigger a wave of… love? Devotion? Obsession?
It was the power of the magic crest.
But Celeste preferred to believe that her feelings were genuine, that they weren’t simply a result of magical manipulation. Her heart belonged to Adele. It always had.
She opened her mouth, and as she spoke Adele’s name, she felt a thrill course through her, a surge of… joy?
“Adele… Master.”
She couldn’t help but add the honorific, the ingrained subservience of a familiar overriding her desire to please Adele.
She saw the confusion, the curiosity, in Adele’s beautiful pink eyes, and she felt a need to explain, to educate.
“It’s a spiritual contract, Adele,” she said, her voice regaining its strength. “An evolution of the First Embrace, a way for vampires to… control their familiars.”
“Familiars…”
Adele knew the word. It was a polite term for… slaves.
But ever since the truce between humans and vampires, the practice of using the First Embrace or magic crests to create familiars had become… taboo. At least, in public. Who knew what those vampire nobles, those powerful figures who had infiltrated human society, were doing behind closed doors? They had wealth, influence, and a network of loyal followers.
But it was an unspoken rule that such practices were to remain hidden. If exposed, both master and familiar would face severe consequences.
And within the academy… well, it was strictly forbidden.
Besides, this type of familiar was different from the “familiars” summoned by those vampires with the ability to form pacts with otherworldly entities. Those creatures, those powerful beings from other dimensions, were more accurately referred to as “servants.” But vampires, being arrogant creatures, preferred the term “familiar,” extending it to encompass those with the ability to summon them.
“So… I can really… give you any order?” Adele asked, her voice hesitant.
“Yes, Adele…” Celeste said, her body trembling with a mixture of excitement and anticipation.
“Then… lie down on the bed,” Adele said, her voice gaining confidence. “And no matter what I do… don’t make a sound.”
“!?”
Celeste’s mind went blank, her body reacting instinctively, her breath catching in her throat, her chest heaving.
Adele, her gaze fixed on Celeste, a mischievous glint in her eyes, stepped off the bed, slipping on her shoes.
“Stay here,” she said. “I’ll be right back.”
Celeste, confused but trusting, obeyed, her heart pounding with a mixture of anticipation and… fear?
Adele returned a few minutes later, carrying a small bag filled with… things. Celeste couldn’t see what they were, but the anticipation, the excitement, the fear… it was almost unbearable.
She closed her eyes, surrendering to Adele’s will, her body relaxing, preparing for… whatever was to come.
Pain or pleasure… it didn’t matter.
But Adele… she was kind, gentle. Surely, she wouldn’t…
“Hiss…!”
A sharp, stinging sensation, like a thousand tiny ants biting into her flesh, shot through her body, making her arch her back, her toes curling.
“Hold still, Celeste,” Adele said, her voice firm yet soothing.
She hadn’t realized that her words, her every command, were now imbued with a magical compulsion, an irresistible force that Celeste, thanks to the magic crest, couldn’t disobey.
Celeste, biting back a moan, opened her eyes, her gaze searching Adele’s face, her heart aching with a mixture of confusion and… hurt?
But then, she saw Adele, her slender figure hovering over her, her expression focused, her touch gentle as she applied a soothing balm to the wounds on Celeste’s legs.
The hurt vanished, replaced by a warmth that spread through her body, a wave of gratitude so intense that it brought tears to her eyes.
Adele… was healing her. Not just her physical wounds, but her heart as well.
