The Cursekeeper

Mama Bear

Song is, "Gangsta's Paradise" written by Coolio, remixed by 2WEI.

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"Does this mean I have to be reprogrammed?" Allan asked as he and Aynaet sat on the bed in her room, an uncomfortable look on his face as he studied her.

Aynaet sighed and lowered her head. "If you don't want to be reprogrammed, I won't make you go through with it," she answered. "But...I don't know how I can justify to Arthur to...keep you as is, you know?"

Suddenly Allan smirked. "How about as a spare?"

Aynaet arched a brow as she glanced at the sex doll. "A spare?"

Allan held a hand up. "Just hear me out. Arthur is human, right?"

"Yes."

"He's a human with three wives. You three are the same person, therefore, all three of you are sex goddesses. He's gonna get tired."

Aynaet snorted with laughter. "I reckon that's a good point, but...obviously this decision will have to wait until I can tell him who I am."

"I'm pretty sure he already knows, sweetheart. I don't think you give the man enough credit when it comes to figurin' things out. After all, I'm based off him so I think, in a way, I know him pretty well."

Aynaet looked into Allan's eyes with a thoughtful expression on her face. "I give him plenty of credit. I blessed him with the gift of sight in one of my prayers...even though at the time I..." she looked away and bowed her head, looking at her hands. "I never doubted him, not exactly. I always knew Arthur would find a way to rescue me or die trying...so after the first fifty some years of being down here, I figured he, along with everyone else, died trying." She huffed and wiped away a tear. "But nooo...Mallacht had to fast forward time down here, to ensure my turn to darkness." Suddenly the queen growled and tightened her hands into fists. "That clever mother fucker thought of everything."

Allan sighed, putting an arm around her and kissing her temple. "He didn't know about me, did he?"

"No."

"Then he obviously ain't thought of everythin'. That means we have a chance to beat him."

Aynaet blinked and gazed at Allan. "We?"

"Yes, "we". You think I'm just gonna stand by and watch everyone else fight this war? No no no," he chuckled, lifting her chin and pecking her nose. "I'm gonna fight with you."

Aynaet looked at Allan skeptically. "Are you sure?"

"It ain't like I'm a rookie, darlin'. Valentine trained me to fight."

"But have you killed anyone yet?"

"No."

"Then you're still green," she said. "You can have all the training in the world, Allan, but what good is it if you can't take the life that threatens yours?" Allan had a confused look on his face but Aynaet held up a finger. "The first kill is always the hardest. It decides for you if you will kill again or not. For some, they vow never to kill again."

"But not for you." Allan pulled Aynaet into his lap and cradled her. "Do you remember your first kill?"

Aynaet nodded, cuddling against him. "I do...I think ever since the door opened, I've...I've been getting small pieces of my childhood back. Memories that were locked or messed with before are becoming clear now and...heh, now I know why I couldn't do fishing right."

"Whatchu mean?"

"I hated fishing. I could never understand why I hated it so much, or why it was so hard for me to learn. But now I get it." Aynaet looked at him and patted his face with a frown. "My first kill was also when I met Dubh and Mallacht for the first time, so...who knows how long those two have truly been entangled in my life." With a huff, Aynaet flopped back on the bed, her arms raised lazily around her head as she glared at the ceiling. "When this is over, I just want a nice, long vacation where nothing goes wrong."