A/N: Thayla returns to the fold in the only way possible. Lewdly.

-x-X-x-

“P-Please, Sir Mikael! Please!”

Mikael holds back a groan as the tip of his dick is nestled between Thayla’s lower lips, her legs spread wide and her thighs flexing along with her slit as she grips down on his cockhead with all her might. Still, he doesn’t let her bound form drop down onto his dick. With her arms tied behind her back and her legs spread apart and bent at the knees before being bound around the thighs and shin specifically, she’s not going anywhere without his say so.

Holding her aloft, Mikael chuckles instead of groaning, tilting his head to the side as he rests her on just the tip of his member.

“I don’t know… have you really earned it, Thayla?”

“Nnngh!”

The female knight doesn’t want to admit it. She doesn’t want to say she’s earned it. Instead…

“I-I’ve been naughty… I’m sure I’ve been naughty! I need to be p-punished, Sir Mikael! I need you to hurt me… please, I beg of you…”

Mikael scoffs at that. Seriously? This again?

“We’ve talked about that before, Thayla. Fucking you is not a proper punishment, is it? Rather… if you want me to punish you, then what I should do is stop teasing you altogether and force you to go to sleep. Is that what you want?”

“N-No!”

Mikael grins from behind Thayla’s head, out of the white-haired knight’s field of view. Meanwhile, both Avina and Bula are watching with amused smirks as he so easily plays the beleaguered, sweaty woman like a fiddle.

“Then say it. Say you’ve been a good girl. Say you’ve earned this. Say you’ve done everything I asked of you and that you want your just reward for obeying my orders to the letter.”

“I… I…”

Thayla stutters and stammers for a moment… before finally the dam breaks.

“I-I’ve been a good girl! I’ve earned this!”

Mikael drops her an inch down onto his member at that, making her squeak as she’s cut off for a moment. But then he stops again, holding her up with ease, just a bit of his cock now inside of her. Once a panting Thayla realizes he’s not going any further, she continues on.

“I’ve done everything you asked of me, Sir Mikael! I-I want my j-just reward for obeying your orders t-to the letter!”

Mikael hums, letting her sink down a little further to the halfway point. The moan that comes from Thayla’s lips can only be described as wanton and the bound knight throws her head back onto his shoulder as she shudders happily. But once again Mikael stops, making her start to whine in confusion and disappointment.

“Hm. And what were my orders? What exactly did you do such a good job with, Thayla?”

Forcing her to confront her own capabilities and accept that she was in fact a competent Knight of the Rose was apparently more painful for Thayla than anything physical he could have done to her, because she whines some more before finally answering.

“You told me… t-to stay and protect my f-father. And… I did… I even… s-saved his life at one point.”

Oh? Mikael hadn’t known that. Still, he’s not going to force Thayla to spend the entire time he’s fucking her talking about her father. At hearing her admit just how skilled she truly is, albeit in a roundabout way… Mikael finally impales Thayla the rest of the way upon his cock and then immediately starts bouncing her up and down, making her mewl, moan, and squeal in equal measure as he fucks her from below.

Thrusting up into her, bouncing her on his dick, Mikael just grins as she really lets her voice out. His cock throbs inside of her, admittedly. He’d missed her more than he cared to admit. This… he’d needed this. Not that he was going to tell Thayla that. This was her reward after all and he was intent on keeping it that way.

Still, wouldn’t do for her voice to carry too far. Pushing Thayla forward into her bedroll, Mikael uses it to muffle the female knight’s squeals, even as he leans over her and begins pounding her from above. Now that he’s on top, he can fuck her all the harder… something that Thayla enjoys greatly as his hips clap against her firm, toned ass cheeks, her moans muffled but still reaching his ears.

Leaning forward even further, Mikael slides a hand through Thayla’s hair, pulling some of it out of the way of her ear so he can speak directly to her.

“You did good, Thayla. You did so good and I’m not about to let you forget that. Nor am I going to let you downplay your triumphs. The Knight-Superior is alive because of you, which means the Order of the Rose is alive because of YOU.”

He punctuates that last ‘you’ with a thrust that causes Thayla’s toes to curl and her muffled squealing to reach a fever pitch as she cums for him on the spot. But even then, Mikael doesn’t stop. No, he’s just getting started. Just one orgasm for the time they’ve been apart isn’t enough to repay Thayla for leaving her behind. But that’s alright, they’ve got all the time in the world now that they’re back together again.

-x-X-x-

“Mmm…”

Chuckling softly, Mikael runs a hand through Thayla’s white locks. The spent female knight simply nestles further into his lap where her head is currently resting, sleeping soundly for what’s probably the first time since he and the others left. Frankly, he’s come to regret leaving Thayla behind at this point. She should have been with him, Avina, and Bula in the Sylian Woods… but the past is in the past and there’s no going back now.

Still, when she’d come to him all but begging for ‘discipline’, what had followed had been as much for Mikael as it was her. Though he had to admit, he’d been more than a little surprised when she’d revealed how she was handling matters herself while they were away. Underneath her armor and underclothes, Thayla had bound herself with rope.

Nothing that would keep her from swinging a sword or charging into battle of course, but she’d effectively fashioned herself a harness that wrapped over her shoulders, around each of her breasts, through the valley of her thighs, and even around her neck. Every trace of it was hidden at all times of course, but that didn’t make it any more provocative once she’d revealed it to them.

Fortunately, the four of them had had no choice but to make their camp separate from the Order of the Rose. The Children of Syl refused not to cuddle pile Bula at every opportunity imaginable, and while they could at least be kept from literally cuddling up against her again, they still all but demanded to be as near to her as they possibly could.

As a result, Mikael, Thayla, Bula, and Avina are all resting around a small campfire right now, surrounded by great big beasties. Some of which are as tall as houses, meaning that any… debauchery that they partook in was completely out of sight of their allies and Thayla’s peers within the Order of the Rose. Specifically, it was out of sight of Thayla’s father.

The man had to know that Mikael was fucking his daughter by this point, but there was no reason for Timothal to know exactly what form their intimacy took and if Mikael could help it, he wouldn’t ever let the man find out. That was just common decency.

Regardless, with Thayla’s reintroduction into their group finished, the white-haired woman had passed out on his lap now, covered in sweat from the exertion of what he’d just put her through. Not quite how Mikael would have chosen to welcome her back into the fold, but it was what Thayla wanted, in the end. Still… only he, Bula, and Avina are still up now.

Resting on their bedrolls, the other two women don’t seem all that interested in engaging him for some fun of their own at the moment, though they had watched him handle Thayla with no small amount of amusement. That’s fine because… Mikael has something to say. To get off his chest. Something that’s been weighing on him for some time now.

“A while back… we all subjected ourselves to a test to judge whether we were good or evil. We took a journey through the Truth Above All.”

The only sounds are the shifting of Syl’s Children and the crackling of the campfire, but both Avina and Bula are looking at him now.

“At first it was a mess. As much of a mess as everything else has been for me since coming to this world. My mind is like Swiss Cheese thanks to what Zadicus did to me. My memories of Earth are… fragmented at best.”

He thinks of his half-erased room and home for a moment, of his parents. His father without a face. A shiver runs down Mikael’s spine, but he continues on a moment later. This is too important not to get out, at least by his estimation.

“Eventually though, I realized what truly mattered to me. My life on Earth is in the past. I’m never going back. But that doesn’t mean I can never go home again, not really. Because home… home is right here. With all of you. You three are my home. Avina, my Soul Mechanic. Bula, my sparring partner. Thayla, my ever loyal knight. Everything in this world I love… is right here.”

Maybe it’s a bit sappy, but it’s how he feels all the same. Looking at Avina and Bula as he continues to run his hands through the sleeping Thayla’s hair, Mikael offers a crooked smile.

“I’ll do anything for the three of you. And I wanted to make sure you knew that no matter what happens next.”

His words hang in the air for a moment, a promise conveyed with every fiber of his being. Truthfully, Mikael hadn’t brought this up with any intention of starting some sort of confessional. All he’d wanted to do was reaffirm how much he cared for them. So he’s just as caught off guard as Avina is when Bula suddenly clears her throat and speaks up in a gruff tone.

“I saw my old tribe in that damn mirror. My father.”

Bula commands Mikael’s full attention at that. The half-orc warrior wouldn’t be sharing if this wasn’t important, he figures.

“Told you before. Bastard threw a party when I came of age. Said it was finally time to raid the Sylian Woods again, with me leading the charge. Didn’t take too kindly to that, so I killed him in the night and left.”

Bula shrugs, staring into the fire for a moment in silence.

“Case I didn’t make it clear… didn’t do it cleanly. Waited till everyone else in the tribe had partied all night long and passed out. Waited till he passed out. Slit his throat. Left.”

She’d said as much in fewer words back then, but Mikael had to admit, he hadn’t truly understood what she’d been saying. It made sense though. From what he knew, half-orcs and full orcs were supposed to have similar physical strength. But if Bula wasn’t confident in her abilities to fight her father on equal footing… she’d made the right call.

Mikael almost opens his mouth to say as much before realizing that the half-orc isn’t done yet. She’s just collecting her thoughts.

“… Never realized how much that bothered me until the damn mirror. Made me fight my father in front of our entire tribe. Killed him, of course. Bastard didn’t stand a chance against me as I am now.”

Bula snorts, giving a crooked smile as she looks down at her hands for a moment before looking up at Mikael.

“Earned the devotion and adoration of the tribe. Had them all kneeling at my feet, naming me the new chieftain, begging me to lead them. Rather than fleeing like some cowardly thief, I was in charge. I was the new boss lady.”

Huh. Did Bula regret having to flee from her people that badly? Had she truly longed to return to the Savage Lands? To be recognized as a proper orc, despite her half-blood status? Mikael isn’t sure what to say. Luckily, he doesn’t have to. Bula pauses for a moment and then shakes her head with another snort.

“Utter bullshit.”

Huh?

“Felt good to kill my old man all honorable like for maybe half a second. Felt good to have the old tribe all bowing and scraping at my feet instead of insulting and treating me like shit for just as long. Then… it just felt hollow.”

A savage grin replaces the crooked smile as she looks at Mikael, her eyes glittering in the campfire.

“Damn mirror did its job. Showed me how much I cared about what those assholes thought of me. And then it showed me how little it really mattered. Fuck, what good would being Chieftain of an Orc Tribe have done me? Would never have met any of you.”

Shaking her head, Bula punctuates her point by smacking her fist into her palm.

“Killing that old bastard in his bed or in the ring… it doesn’t matter how I did it. Because in the end, sometimes… some bastards just need killing.”

Well shit. Grinning himself, Mikael raises a fist in solidarity, seeing how his other hand is still occupied with Thayla’s hair.

“Damn straight, Bula. Damn straight.”

The half-orc looks quite pleased with that response. Then her eyes drift over to Avina’s bedroll and she snorts in derisive amusement. This causes Mikael to look over as well, for a second worrying that Avina might feel pure pressured into sharing her own experiences in the Truth Above All.

… But no. His Soul Mechanic has turned over in her bedroll and gone to sleep in the time that Bula has been speaking. Mikael winces a little bit, because he’s pretty sure that has more to do with her not wanting to talk about it, over wanting to slight Bula in anyway. Luckily, one look at Bula shows that she’s not at all upset. The half-orc gives him one last grin and then settles back down as well, staring up at the stars until her eyes drift shut and her breathing evens out as slumber takes her too.

In the end, Mikael is the only one left awake, one hand continuing to stroke through Thayla’s white locks while the other takes up a stick with which to stoke the fire, making sure his girls stay as warm as possible all night long.

Tomorrow they’ll march. And in a week or two, they’ll be at Alether. From there, who knows what happens. But for tonight… and maybe only tonight, Mikael will just be happy that they’re all together again.

-x-X-x-

A/N: Good news and bad news everyone! 

Good news, I've officially reworked the end of The Soul Engine and managed to extend the chapter count for this story to 69 chapters. Funny number achieved. Bad news, that does make this the second to last week of The Soul Engine. Only 8 chapters to go after today.

Be sure to let me know what you think!