6.28 – A Disoriented Fox IV


    Slowlying out of her post-orgasmic daze, Delta rubbed her forehead. Her thoughts clearing, she guiltily looked down at her naked lower half, her clone watching impassively from between her legs.


    Delta blushed in embarrassment. It took a lot to make that happen.


    She coughed.


    Okay. Time to get serious.


    She rolled off the bed and dispelled the shadow with a flick of her mind. It faded away into curling ck wisps.


    That had just been … a brief mental reset before tackling therger crisis.


    She <em>did </em>feel more clear-headed.


    So there. Just being a practical girl.


    She scooped her discarded armor from the ground and re-equipped it. Soon enough, she was geared up and ready once again. Her flushed skin cooled, breathing settling into an even rhythm. Purple eyes flicked to the towering double doors leading out of the ptial bedroom.


    Delta had been operating under the assumption that she was, to some extent, trapped inside this opulent bedroom. She supposed that might not be true. She hadn''t even tried to leave through the front door yet. Seeing how Lucinda had scooped them up in a magical artifact and dropped them into separate rooms, Delta didn''t think escape would be as easy as strolling out whenever she pleased—that instead, she''d been left here to be picked upter. A prisoner. But it was worth a shot. If nothing else but to see what security was like.


    Approaching the giant, ornate double doors, Delta appraised the thick bs of wood. Primarily because she was wondering how good they were at keeping out noise. Considering their heft, and the construction of the room in general, she assumed pretty good. Which was relevant because while Delta hadn''t made <em>that </em>much noise during her … indiscreet activities … she hadn''t been dead silent, either.


    Gripping the handle, she tugged.


    The door didn''t budge. She pulled a little harder to make sure. The door groaned under the force, and Delta was reminded that she had once again gone up a level in advancement. Though she was a dexterity-based ss, she <em>was</em> still a physical fighter: each progression came with a decent boost in strength. She rattled the door, marveling at how it whined and creaked under the firm tugs she gave the handle.


    Then, abruptly, some mechanism clicked, and the door unlocked—swinging open on Delta''s next pull. It was unexpected enough she nearly smacked herself in the face.


    There, on the other side of the doorway, stood a guard.


    It was a man in his early thirties with a serious, blunt face. He was dressed in full silver te armor,cking a helmet. A long halberd rested at his side, gripped in a gauntleted hand. His brown eyes met Delta''s, and Delta was briefly flustered, realizing there''d been someone standing outside her door while she''d been thoroughly tongue-fucking herself.


    Except she didn''t catch any hint of embarrassment in his expression, so the doors had indeed been thick enough to hide her moans. She had gotten away with it. Probably.


    Still, his presence confirmed that she was a prisoner—even if a temporary, unthreatened one ced into a gilded cell.


    "Honored guest," the guard said. "You''ll be sent for shortly, but until then, you must remain in your room."


    "Sent for?" Delta asked. "By who?"


    The guard shifted ufortably. "I''ve been instructed not to engage with you. Please, return to your chambers."


    "What? You''re not allowed to <em>talk </em>to me? Why?" She peeked up and down the revealed hallway. "Where''s Rosalie and Zoey?"


    "I''ve been instructed not to engage with you," he repeated—so apparently he was taking that instruction seriously. "Your summons should be within the hour."


    "<em>Summons? </em>Nobody <em>summons </em>me," Delta said, finding herself inordinately annoyed by that phrasing.


    The guard stared nkly at her.


    Delta made a n.


    Sure, scouring her bedroom and finding a way out from there—the windows being the obvious vector, though she assumed they were guarded in their own right—could yield fruit, but seeing how the door to her room was open and she had a clear path to make a break for it, why not utilize the easiest method?


    Because she was fourth advancement now. It wasn''t like some guard could stop her from doing what she wanted. Not that she''d fight him—she wasn''t trying to create that much trouble with the master of the estate, by <em>attacking </em>someone. Especially seeing how this was the d''Celestin pce. But harmlessly giving him the slip? That was a level of disrespect she was willing to risk.


    Delta flicked her eyes over the man''s shoulder. An expression of pure horror crossed her face. "What the hell is <em>that</em>?" she stammered, taking a frantic step back and unsheathing her daggers as if to defend herself.


    The guard stiffened, then spun around, lowering his halberd as he braced himself for whatever had startled Delta.


    There was, of course, nothing there.


    Delta made a break for it.


    She slipped past the guard and ran. The hallway blurred as she sprinted as fast as she could, legs and arms pumping. It was the first test of her new strength and speed, the boosts that hade with her advancement. It was even more impressive than she''d expected. Maybe because Zoey, Rosalie, or Maddy had also moved up in advancement, and they shared a portion of their stats amongst each other?


    Either way, she found herselfughing as her hair fluttered in a self-created wind as she blurred down the hallway. She was <em>fast </em>now. It was crazy to think this was only fourth advancement. What would the higher ones be like? And they weren''t all that far away, seeing how quickly Zoey''s ss was allowing them to progress.


    Not even making it all the way down the ornate passageway, though, something heavy mmed into Delta from behind. Hitting the floor, Delta wiggled and thrashed against whatever had secured her in a bear-hug tackle, but she failed to free herself.


    When her thrashing stilled, she was lying on her back, pinned down by an <em>extremely </em>ufortable-looking guardsman. He seemed to be making great efforts to be gentle with her—pinning her as politely as he could.


    "Honored guest," the flustered man insisted, seeming like he would rather be doing anything else but manhandling his unruly prisoner. "I <em>must</em> insist that you return to your room."


    "What the hell?" Delta said, so shocked by the turn of events she couldn''t even be outraged. "Why is someone like you <em>watching guard </em>over me?" He''d caught up with her when she had a lead—and she was fourth advancement. A dexterity ss. What did that make him? Fifth? Higher?


    Who in the world used fifth advancement wayfarers as temporary guards?


    Well.


    The d''Celestins.


    But still.


    "And <em>this </em>is how you treat ''honored guests''?" Delta demanded, flicking her eyes down their bodies, where the man was firmly all but lying atop her. Not that there was a polite way to tackle an escaped prisoner.


    "Not normally," the guardsman said. "But most don''t try to run." After a second, he added, "Ma''am."


    Delta red at him, but a part of her thought: <em>Fair enough.</em>


    The guard helped her up, though kept a firm grip around her wrist. She tried to shake him off, but it didn''t work. He was strong. And fast, too. Surely he wasn''t <em>sixth </em>advancement?


    Damn. Maybe just sprinting down the hallway hadn''t been the best of ns. Because now going out through the window or some other way would be even less sessful; they''d be waiting for her. Expecting another escape.


    "Let me go," Delta growled, shaking her arm again. "You can obviously catch up."


    He did so.


    Delta rubbed her wrist.


    She briefly considered running again.


    This time, with some evasive maneuvering, rather than relying on pure speed. It could work. He looked more like a strength ss than a dexterity one; she would just have to be smarter about things.


    "Please don''t," the man said warily, Delta''s thoughts apparently easy to read.


    Delta eyed him, then huffed and allowed herself to be escorted back into her room. She pestered him with more questions but received only the same sentence as before: "I''ve been instructed not to engage with you, honored guest." She couldn''t even get his name, much less where Rosalie and Zoey were, and why she was in the d''Celestin pce.


    And thus, the giant ornate double doors closed in her face, locking her back in her room.


    Delta''s tail swished once in obvious agitation.


    Hmph.


    There was no harm in <em>trying </em>the windows, she supposed.