Morrigan’s eyes snapped open to reveal the face of her beloved girlfriend poking out from within a blanket cocoon, a serene calm upon her face as the sound of her steady breathing reached Morrigan’s ears.

  She drank in Nora’s visage, the beautiful and squirrelly woman that snatched up her heart four years prior with no intentions of giving it back, laying next to her in a peaceful state. Morrigan knew she should feel happy to have the vibrant ice mage sleeping so blissfully next to her and yet, her heart only hurt.

  Her heart twisted at the facts she knew about pirates, the violent, lawless nature in which they lived that made for a very dangerous lifestyle. The images of the Eskarii enslaved, as she and Nora had both been, plagued her mind; normally something that would infuriate her only made her even more sad as she stared at the blue-eyed angel next to her. The pirates had taken over Iriath II for seven months which caused so much damage and yet, looking at how tranquil Nora lay, she couldn’t help but imagine the horrors she had experienced having been born into piracy; she could not help but wonder how much pain Nora held underneath her quirky fa?ade.

  She sat up with a sigh and rubbed her face to push the sleepiness away as Skoll lifted his head onto the bed with a melancholy look, eyeing her with sad eyes as she looked at him.

  “Hey sweetie,” she whispered as she ran her fingers through the fur between his ears, sniffing and wiping her nose with her free wrist. Skoll’s eyes shifted to her other hand before letting out a heavy sigh before sticking his tongue out and licking her forearm tenderly.

  “Everything okay, precious?” Nora’s voice caused Morrigan to jump as she twisted around to see the pair of icy blue eyes looking up at her from beneath the blanket.

  “I-didn’t mean to wake you…” she said as her breath hitched, running her hand through Skoll’s fur gently as she met her lover’s eyes.

  Nora gave her a soft smile before laying on her back and stretching out with a long moan, “I’ve been awake, you were making noises in your sleep,” she said through her stretching.

  Morrigan let out a disappointed huff through her nose before looking back down to Skoll who had closed his eyes, his head nestled against her crossed legs for warmth. “I think that's the exact definition of waking you up,” she mumbled to herself as she felt Nora settle, feeling her gaze upon her back.

  The bed shifted gently as she heard her partner sit up, a soft delighted breath reaching her ears before Nora commented, “Don’t get me wrong, I listen to the cute little noises you make in your sleep-oh and the sleep talking, you say the sweetest things sometimes,” Morrigan could hear the adoration in her voice as well as feel the gentle heat of her cheeks as a mild embarrassment set in before Nora continued, “But, it sounded like you were having bad dreams. So, I was waiting for you to wake up.”

  Morrigan turned her head just enough to see Nora out of the corner of her eyes, unable to hide the sadness that gripped her, “Why?” she asked as if it was absurd for her to stay awake for her sake.

  She watched as Nora shifted out of sight only to feel the warmth of her body against her back as Nora’s arms wrapped around her, her chin coming to rest on her shoulder and allowing Nora to nuzzle into the tender spot behind her ear. Morrigan could feel her stress and anxieties begin to melt away as she leaned back into her girlfriend, the comfort that never seemed to fail enveloping her.

  “Its been busy lately, and I wanted to check in, you know?” Morrigan could hear the worry in Nora’s voice as she sighed, “I know things have been crazy but when you came back yesterday… there was something different.”

  Morrigan sighed heavily, uncertain what it was Nora referred to specifically, but had a good guess of what it was that she meant. “The uh, the capital was taken over by pirates,” she stated as she leaned further into Nora, pulling in all the warmth she could, “Somehow, they had managed to… enslave an entire city of Eskarii who had moved in. The humans that occupied the world died from a plague a year ago or so, and they expanded there since the war has been slowly ramping up...”

  Morrigan struggled to find the words she needed to express her thoughts as she paused, “I saw children… beaten, dirty… I should have done more. We have the medical staff-I should have…” her voice caught in her throat as she tried to banish the worst, fighting her own self disappointment. “Some of the Eskarii looked worse than we did, back when…”

  Nora pulled Morrigan tighter and nodded into the side of her head to indicate she understood. Morrigan could feel the crimson tears well in her eyes as she submitted to Nora’s embrace, “I was just so angry. I hunted as many as I could down but…but it wasn’t enough.”

  “I don’t blame you, love, but at least you set them free though, right?” Nora asked softly.

  Inhaling sharply, Morrigan suppressed the short spike of anger within as she considered Nora’s words. There was a lot of things Morrigan didn’t do as an Inquisitor, what she wanted to do before returning to the ship, but that left the daunting question of the effects of what she did do.

  “Did I? I mean, how long before the pirates return? We didn’t find their ship and even if they don’t; what if the Marmuro’k or the Federation find them? Did hunting down the slavers really do anything to help?” Morrigan asked, her voice pained with uncertainty as she now understood the depths of evil and malice that spread throughout the galaxy. In a confusing response, she felt Nora shrug.

  “There’s always something out there looking to do bad, hun. Even if something does happen again, you still gave them a moments reprieve and gave them a fighting chance. Everything you do, does some good in the world, or galaxy or whatever. All I'm saying is, just imagine if you didn’t come along and something other than you did?” Nora countered with the sporadic lucidity Morrigan had grown accustomed to.

  Morrigan processed Nora’s point, unsure whether she could be satisfied with that reality, as true as it was. However, she had no argument against it and knew little of what more she could do except go down to the planet and guard it for the rest of their lives, which would take her away from the rest of the galaxy.

  Can’t be playing bodyguard, kid. We have a war to fight, Apollyon interjected quietly in her mind.

  “Yeah, I know…” Morrigan sighed in dejection, begrudgingly accepting half of her worries as the rest of her problems surfaced in her mind.

  “Nora…” her voice reaching only a whisper as the forefront question that plagued her since she woke up struggled to form. “I saw the looks in their eyes… it was only a couple months for them but you grew up… how- how did you grow up with people like that? How did you survive?”

  Nora’s arms slackened for a moment at the question, as if caught off guard, even shifting away slightly before pulling Morrigan back into her. Morrigan noticed something odd, as if able to feel an internal fight within Nora as her grip tightened even more.

  The moment she felt Nora shiver, Morrigan realized her blunder; years together and Nora had never allowed herself to have a moment of vulnerability, always the one to antagonize, was now fought to use her love and devotion to push down the need to flee. Morrigan’s own memories surfaced as she replayed the question in her mind, how she felt in Castile V after being raped by Tyrus, how Nora's concern for her pushed Nora from idle curiosity to a depth of love she had never known and how Nora dodged any question of her past regarding any sort of detail, whether it was voluntary or not. She recalled how sometimes Nora’s expression would falter, a haunting looking reflecting only for a moment before the chipper blonde came back in full swing; a type of defense mechanism Dr. Yuma had once explained to Morrigan years ago when she was in therapy.

  Morrigan was lucky at one point in her life, having the chance to go through therapy to work through her experiences however, she knew Nora never had a chance to face her issues of her past. The truth was transparent for Morrigan now; Nora didn’t survive, she always bottled her issues up and put on a protective shell of abrasive vulgarity to keep the parts of herself that shattered, together.

  She caressed Nora’s arm softly, letting her know that she was there as support, “Will you tell me?”

  She felt Nora shiver again, worried that she would try to run away as she had done many times before, and prepared to grab on tightly if she tried to find some excuse to avoid the topic. To her surprise, Nora didn’t try to avoid it, instead sinking against her back as if losing all energy to keep running.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  “Are you sure you want to hear it?” Nora’s question was haunted yet beneath her hollow tone, Morrigan can hear a pleading hope.

  Morrigan wrapped her fingers around her wrist and gently rubbed her thumb across the back of Nora’s hand, “Yes, I’m sure.”

  Nora didn't say anything for a long moment causing Morrigan to start to worry until Nora moved away and grabbed a pillow, Morrigan turning to see her propping it up against the curved headboard.

  Nora patted the pillow and gave Morrigan a pointed look, silently telling her of what she demanded. A thin smile formed on Morrigan’s lips, finding it endearing that even when so serious, Nora still held a touch of childishness that was truly all hers. Without argument, Morrigan scooted back, letting Skoll’s chin plop to the bed.

  “Sorry buddy,” Morrigan murmured as she leaned back against the pillow and stretched out, looking down at the now glaring Skoll who huffed indignantly. Nora paid no attention to either of them as she cuddled up against Morrigan, clinging to her body with her face laid against Morrigan’s chest for as much comfort as possible.

  “This wasn’t an invite you-ugh!” to Nora’s displeasure, Skoll hopped onto the bed, his long legs and hefty weight sinking into the bed as he slowly stepped over both of their legs before plopping down onto the bed, his jaw landing directly on Nora’s hip so he could lay his head across both of them. “Geez! Your head weighs a ton!” Nora complained as she shifted her hip to alleviate the pain. Morrigan let out a soft chuckle of amusement as she watched the two passive-aggressively wrestle for dominance.

  “Quit being a dick!” Nora groaned as she tried shoving Skoll’s head. Skoll’s response to that was to turn and drag his giant tongue across Nora’s face, leaving her sputtering until he gently shifted forward, allowing his neck to rest on her hip and lessen the heavy load on her.

  Nora sighed indignantly while Morrigan giggled to herself as she watched the two of them settle down. Morrigan ran her fingers through Nora’s hair in a calming motion to help her relax, making Nora sigh as she pressed her cheek deeper into Morrigan’s chest.

  “So… I was born on the Solastara, my father’s ship. It was what we called a Class Two Fist, but by our standards, it was a heavily armored Frigate and the center point of the Cradle of Eden…” Nora sniffed and gripped Morrigan tighter before she continued.

  “The- Uh, the Cradle is a collective of ships we have, interlocking together and using their shields to generate atmosphere. The idea was my dad’s, and um, it allowed the pirate clans to have a mobile base, sort of like the Void Star except ships came and went when their hauls were sold, making the Cradle ever changing… my father’s name was Victor Flannigan… and my mother…” Morrigan noted the hostility in her tone at the mention of her mother.

  “Her name is Mariam… she’s the reason my dad is dead.”

  Morrigan furrowed her brows in confused anticipation, keeping her questions to herself as she gently moved her hand down Nora’s back and rubbing tenderly across her shoulder blade.

  “My dad was the pirate king at the time, the one who made the rules and stipulations behind raiding- they're actually pretty civilized,” Nora comment before thinking back on Morrigan's most recent encounter as well as her own life, “Sometimes anyways. I was… four, I think, at the time he was killed. We have an unbreakable rule between the clans and that's: you keep what you kill. It sounds dumber than it is, but basically, if you take over a ship or raid something, which usually ends in a lot of death, then you are the rightful owner of contents of your target… we did this through distinct tags belonging to each clan ship.”

  Morrigan's blood began to boil at the concept, briefly pondering all of the violence and theft that had been going on for decades if not centuries before she took a steady breath and continued listening as Nora gripped the shirt she wore.

  “My mother was behind it. She set up my father's assassination for another pirate so they could become king… all because my father’s support began to dwindle… most did not agree with his rules because he restricted raiding…” Nora sniffled loudly, pressing herself closer to Morrigan. “She was promised to keep her status, becoming the new wife. Bolton, killed my father and was hailed as king, a savage bastard that… he was a violent and cruel man who gave everyone their freedom to do as they pleased, everyone but…Me and…”

  Morrigan could feel Nora shake in her arms, the same shaking that spoke of tears falling as Nora buried her face for a moment. Morrigan rested her cheek on top of Nora’s head, running her hand down the back of her hair repeatedly, “It’s okay sweetie, I’m here,” Morrigan whispered tenderly.

  A sob escaped Nora as she tightened even more around Morrigan, silently crying until she sniffed roughly and looked up, “He put us in cages, beat us and paraded us around like animals… and that-that bitch just let him…” she bit out aggressively.

  Morrigan’s mouth opened in shock as her brain processed what Nora said as Nora pulled even harder against her, as if trying to meld into her body, “Stephy… she just turned nine a-and… he just… she was…” Nora choked on the words as Morrigan held Nora closer, feeling her racing heartbeat over her own violently pulsing heart.

  “I understand, love. You can skip over that,” she whispered, pushing her own series of flashbacks down in order to be there for her.

  Nora nodded and wiped her eyes across the fabric of Morrigan’s shirt, “We were… we didn’t get much freedom, kept as slaves and forced to scrub rust off salvage… treated so poorly that we barely got to eat…” Nora sniffed and relaxed slightly though still gripping Morrigan tightly, “By the time I turned six, my powers came into play but I kept it secret. I practiced every chance I got, trying to figure out a way to use my frost magic to escape… after two years, I learned to make shivs of ice, learned to make them as hard as steel and waited for a chance to strike…” Nora shivered at the memory, causing Morrigan to kiss the top of her head as her fingers gently brushed through her hair, “I thought… the sick bastard made me watch… there, I could kill him… but women can’t be king. Stephy suffered so much but put on a brave face… she uh, she made sure I ate what little food we got… she never cried…”

  Morrigan put pieces together in her mind, drawing a map that contained fragments of Nora’s personality, “She loved you.”

  “And I loved her!” Nora choked out before sniffing hard, her fingers wrapping tightly around Morrigan’s bicep as she forced herself to continue, “for… I just turned eight. I watched her, just… take the abuse-submit to him and I… I knew my turn was coming,” Nora stated as she trembled.

  “I cut through the cage, years of work… and used my magic to shatter her lock. It was so loud… we ran, and they searched for us. Eventually… we found a junction in a maintenance corridor. Stephanie wanted to go back… she said things would be worse-but… but, if we went back that it wouldn’t be so bad…”

  Morrigan let out a steady breath, remembering Nora’ outburst on the Void Star, the night their love nearly crumbled yet managed to blossom, “That’s when you cut her throat,” Morrigan stated factually, refusing to let any note of condemnation nor any other accusation mix in her tone.

  Nora struggled to breath as she nodded, trembling violently as she clung to the only person in the universe she told her story to. “We argued… I refused to go back, willing to die for my freedom and kill… I tried… and I ran. I snuck onto a leaving ship and hid for… I cried for so long…”

  That’s it, girl, feel the fire. We have a new target for your delectable fury! Apollyon cackled darkly as Morrigan's anger began to rise even higher.

  Morrigan nodded and held Nora tightly, refusing to let up and let her vulnerable lover believe she harbored any negative feelings. Her heart was torn apart listening to what Nora went through, the pain drowning out the roiling fire of rage that burned beneath the surface. “I swear to you, I will kill every last one of those bastards and make sure you nor any other girl has to go through that again,” her voice leaden with a dark promise of violence and passion.

  Nora shook her head, “It didn’t stop it, Mori… it happened… I was found but… a warring clan found me during a raid of the ship and took me in- they raised me, baby… they’re not all bad,” Nora’s voice held a tone of understanding beneath the sounds of pleading.

  Morrigan sighed and nodded, understanding that Nora loved the pirate life, knowing that Nora would still be a pirate if she wasn't on the Archangel with her. As much as she hated letting it go, Nora was a pirate inside and out which meant that pirates were her people and she refused to hurt her love, even if it wasn't against her better judgement.

  “Okay…” she spoke into the top of Nora’s head before kissing the same spot, feeling the fury behind her eyes as she stared at the bedroom door. Deep down she knew she couldn't hold prejudice over an entire “race” of people, even if they were pirates; every race had outliers among the masses just like the Federation, so, not everyone needed to die but the pirates were just as bad as the Federation…

  You're not really going to hold back, are you? Apollyon inquired in disappointment.

  “I have to, they’re her people. As much as I hate the idea…she right, not all pirates or Federation are bad, just like not all Eskarii, Marmuro’k, CoU or from the Inquisition are good. I can’t just condemn them all…” she responded, her inner voice shaking with hatred as her body shivered.

  Boooringg! And to point out, you definitely can do that. You’re obviously not trying hard enough hahaha!

  Morrigan scoffed, accidentally forgetting that she wasn’t alone as Nora gripped her shirt, “Baby please… I love you but…” Nora pleaded, the tone of oncoming tears beginning to surface inscribed her words.

  Morrigan closed her eyes and took a deep breath, feeling her anger subside slightly as she nodded against Nora’s head, “I promise, I won’t but, if I ever see your mother-“

  “Just… please, no more…” Nora cut her off, trembling in her arms as tears began to wet her shirt again.

  The fury died instantly, realizing that her anger was only hurting Nora. Her body relaxed as she began rubbing Nora’s back, looking down at the young girl Nora had once been and sighed in regret, “I’m sorry sweetie…”

  Skoll, having been eyeing them both the entire time, let out a sharp whine as he raised his head before forcing his nose underneath Nora’s tightly wrapped arm and made room just enough for his tongue to slap against Nora’s chin.

  Nora loosened her grip in surprise as she tried to block his tongue, laughing through her sadness as Skoll refused to let up, forcing his face closer as Morrigan ignored the massive paw that now dug into her right thigh. “You’re a good boy, Skoll,” Morrigan snickered as she pet him, looking down to see Nora’s face covered in spit, seeing the small smile on her face despite the pain she felt.

  Nora grabbed his nose and kissed it sharply before roughly rubbing his cheeks, “Yeah, he is a good boy…”