A few minutes later, a beet-red Lea disappeared into the bathroom and Miranda hurriedly shifted from where she was still lounging across the stone floor into a kneeling bow. She opened her mouth to say something, but I raised a hand to stop her.

“One moment,” I mouthed silently and Miranda obediently bowed her head. After a few seconds, I heard the sound of pouring water start up as Lea turned on the shower. Focusing, I summoned a thin wall of force between us and the bathroom. The sound of the shower instantly cut off.

“Now you can go,” I told her, “How is Lea doing? I assume there was a reason for that show there at the end?” A tendril of force reached out and grabbed one of the cups of tea I’d brought with me, kept warm and unspilled by the enchantments on the fine porcelain. They were very nice cups. It was a shame they were also enchanted to teleport back to the cafeteria after twenty-four hours, otherwise I would have kept a couple in my room for personal use.

Miranda sat up straight, idly brushing a strand of her long hair back behind her ear. Unlike Lea, who really did need the shower she was taking, Miranda looked as spotless as ever. Her hair flowed as though it was freshly brushed, the juices staining her face had vanished sometime in the last few minutes, and she looked completely composed and comfortable despite kneeling naked on cold, hard stone.

“Well, the first thing you need to know, Orion, is that Lea has an enormous crush on you. She’s not as in your face about it as Brenda, but the girl has it bad for you. I’ve had to replace her bedding every night and she sleeps with one of your shirts balled up against her face.”

I choked on my first sip of tea and nearly dropped the cup in surprise. “What?” I spluttered.

Miranda soldiered onward. “It's honestly somewhat sad. She’s absolutely terrified of men, I can taste her fear and revulsion, but it’s completely outweighed by her feelings towards you. You’re her dashing hero and brave protector. Her ‘Nico the Shipwright’, returned from a perilous voyage to sweep her off her feet.”

Miranda paused for a moment, biting her lip before continuing. “I can see where she is coming from. She didn’t say it specifically, but you know I have a sense for these things and she’s told me a bit about what happened to her. You were her best friend and her first love before she even knew what that really meant.”

“Then, you were the only one she didn’t know for certain was gone. I don’t think she ever gave up hope that somehow you would come and rescue her. And then, well. You did. Not quite when she expected it and only after years of pain and sorrow, but suddenly you came back and saved her like she always hoped you would. And then, barely a few weeks later, you did it again. I’d be more surprised if she wasn’t smitten.”

Miranda stopped, fidgeting slightly under my unblinking stare. She cleared her throat awkwardly, “So um, that’s the first part. I thought you should just… know that as soon as possible. Just to, you know, clear up misunderstandings. I thought you might already know but after Brenda and…” she trailed off, shrinking in on herself as a flare of anger washed through my mind at the mention of that bitch.

“I…” I paused and glanced towards where I knew Lea was washing up just a few short meters away. “You’re right,” I told Miranda, “I probably should have seen that one coming. But I didn’t.” I sighed heavily and tried to clear my mind. This was too important to be distracted during “So, um. What does this have to do with…”

Miranda perked back up, “I’m getting there. Trust me, master. The context is important here.”

I did my best to smile naturally. “Go on then.”

“Well, as I’ve mentioned in my other reports, Lea is not doing very well right now. Physically she is perfectly healthy, I’ve double checked her healing several times like you ordered, but mentally she’s very fragile. She has terrible nightmares almost every night, some mornings she can barely muster the energy to get out of bed, and when I come back from class I often find her curled up sobbing into a pillow. She puts up a strong front around you and when she knows I’m here, but my monitoring spells tell me she does nothing but mope and cry when there is no one around.”

That was… considerably worse than I’d thought it was. “Is she suicidal?” I asked worriedly. Though it wasn’t something I’d ever spent much time contemplating, some of my books had mentioned that delicate stage between a captive that was fully broken and pliable and one that was just desperate enough that death looked like a better option than fighting on. Lea may not be my captive, but I felt the situation was sufficiently similar to be concerned.

“I don’t think so?” Miranda told me hesitantly. “I’m really not sure how to tell, but I think she is sufficiently invested in the value of her life to others to not be? I do have a ward set up to prevent her from hurting herself, but it hasn’t triggered yet.”

I didn’t like the questioning tone in her voice, but that was about as good an assurance as I was going to get. There was no point in getting angry over something I couldn’t change. “Good thinking. Continue.”

“Yes, Orion. Thank you.” She took a moment to collect herself, then dove back into her story. “So I’ve spent a lot of time talking with her over the past few days, and I think I’ve mostly narrowed in on the big problem. Basically, she’s really into you but she’s also scared of men and rejection. She falls asleep every night moaning your name, then wakes up an hour later screaming and sobbing about Seatamer and those men who attacked her.”

“The last few years going to that Xethian mage school really haven’t helped things either. She tries to deny it, but she thinks she’s used, worthless goods, permanently tainted by what happened to her. Then there is the entire thing with her old girlfriend and all the abuse that earned her…” Miranda trailed off momentarily, shaking her head sadly. “I forgot how hostile some cultures are to same-sex couples. Nasty stuff.”

I shrugged. Once again, it wasn’t something I’d ever given much thought.

“So overall, I concluded the biggest contributor to her poor mental state is that she thinks she’s ugly, broken, and not worthy of love and affection. Not yours, not mine, not anyone’s. Well, I know exactly how to fix that issue! It might have been better if you’d been the one to do it, but I have a more delicate touch and I think getting a man, even you, involved at first would have only made things harder.”

“It honestly didn’t take much. A few subtle suggestions and she was all over me after barely an hour and a half.” Miranda shrugged, making her breasts bounce in a way that was hard not to look at. “That was earlier this morning. I think you got a good look of how it all went from there.”

“That I did…” I mumbled just barely loud enough for Miranda to hear. She laughed and I let the gentle currents of magic in her voice wash over me in a soothing wave. “So, how do you think it went?” I asked curiously, refocusing on the actual issue at hand.”

Miranda shrugged again, and this time the smile on her face told me she absolutely was doing it on purpose. “I think it went well? She was very, very into it and there’s no way she can feel ugly after all that.” Her lips curled into a wide smile and she batted her eyelashes up at me, “You’re welcome to join us next time, I don’t mind and I’m sure Lea won’t either. I certainly don’t plan for this to be a one-off thing. I think she needs at least a daily treatment for now.”

The lingering traces of lust left over after my evening drink flared up for a moment before I pounded them back down into the darkness. “Perhaps another time, if you think it will make Lea feel better. I have other things to focus on now.”

Miranda’s expression turned serious. “Yes, master. I will keep you apprised.”

“Good. Get up and put something on, I can feel Lea finishing up. Excellent work Miranda.” Reaching into an inner pocket I withdrew a small, metal vial and passed it over to her. “Mistletoe this time. I’m curious if you can tell the difference between the two.”

Miranda almost snatched the vial out of my hands, unscrewing it with shaky fingers and then drinking it down in a single wide-eyed gulp.

I watched curiously as her eyes momentarily rolled back in her head and she let out a soft moan, her entire body shuddering slightly before falling still. She took several slow, heavy breaths as though she’d just run a great distance, her eyes unfocused and arms braced against her knees.

“Yeah… she’s… different,” Miranda reported between gasps. “Darker, heavier maybe. She… she loves… the pain. Can taste it… in the juices… clearer like this…”

That was very curious indeed. I really needed to properly study the interaction between Miranda’s succubus heritage and my elves at some point, but I’d simply never had the time. For now though it made for a very easy and desirable reward for my most valuable pet. That field of study could wait for break, or perhaps next term.

I felt Lea step out of the shower and snapped my fingers in front of Miranda’s face. “Dress. Now.” Her eyes snapped back into focus and she scrambled unsteadily to her feet and rushed over to where a crumpled up blue cocktail dress lay discarded on the floor.

I tilted my head, looking curiously at the small puddle that she had left behind. My elves had already shown that bodily fluids other than blood and milk could be surprisingly valuable. Perhaps the sexual fluids of succubi, or the closest thing I had to one, might have some interesting properties as well?

Another project to consider for later, I decided immediately. Still, like my father had always said, waste not want not. The discarded vial I’d given Miranda floated up into the air and I scooped a small sample up for later study before stowing it away. The rest was quickly cleaned up using the ragged edge of what used to be a pillowcase. Miranda and Lea had certainly not been gentle with their bedding.

Lea stepped shyly out of the bathroom just as Miranda finished slipping into her slightly-rumpled dress. Evidently she’d forgotten to bring any clothing with her into the other room because she was wrapped only in a thick towel that struggled to contain her generous cleavage and definitely didn’t cover much of anything else. With one arm holding up the towel she was clearly struggling to preserve her modesty, not that everyone in the room hadn’t already seen what she was desperately covering with her hand.

Still, I knew that some people were less comfortable with their nakedness than my current pets were so I politely looked away. “Here,” I said, summoning a blouse stitched with yellow flowers and a matching skirt from the chest of clothing Miranda had procured for my friend and floating them over to the blushing girl. “I promise I won’t peek.”

“Thanks Orion,” she whispered, voice still higher pitched than it usually was but less obviously filled with embarrassment than it had been earlier.

Miranda brushed past her, eliciting another squeak as she took the opportunity to grope the not-insignificant portion of Lea’s ass not covered by her towel. I couldn’t quite hear what Miranda whispered in her ear as she walked past, but I could feel the flair of what I assumed to be lust as Lea’s mana rippled in response.

I sent a warning tug down the bond between Miranda and I and she quickly disappeared into the bathroom to wash up as well. Her body might be mostly self-cleaning, but there was a noticeable difference between magical cleanliness and feeling properly clean that I knew very well.

After that things proceeded much more smoothly. Lea proved to be just as ravenous as I’d expected, quickly devouring the contents of her plate and most of the food that Miranda 'subtly’ kept moving from her own portion. We engaged in some light, casual conversation, though Lea couldn’t stop blushing and peaking over at Miranda whenever she thought the other girl wasn’t paying attention.

Eventually, it grew late enough that I needed to get going. It took several minutes to pry Lea’s arms from around my chest but we managed eventually and Miranda walked me to the door.

I was about to step outside when I felt a sound barrier snap into place around the two of us. “Yes?” I asked curiously. “I really do need to be going.”

“Sorry, sir, but it really is important. Um, I’m not really sure how to say it but…”

“Yes?”

Miranda took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. “I don’t know what exactly she is, but your girl is definitely not fully human. It's faint, very faint. I wasn’t sure about it at first but I’m pretty confident now. It's slightly familiar, but I can’t really place it. I’m sure though, normal women aren’t that… sweet.”

Huh. That was… “Interesting. Keep me informed, pet. Good work today.”

“Thank you, sir. Good luck with your ritual.”

I nodded and left without a backward glance. That was another thing that bore investigation, but it could wait for now. It would certainly help explain why Lea and her mother looked so very different from most other Xethian woman despite both hailing from the islands. Whatever it was, I would deal with it later. For now, I needed to practice, then sleep. I had a big day ahead of me.