The Ascension

"They brought us over in wheeled barrels." The big woman said quietly. She looked at the cart Aila brought over, and felt embarrassed. Aila thought for a moment.

"Who am I?" She asked her as she helped her to sit down on a stone bench she just made appear. The woman frowned slightly.

"I don't understand, master." She said. Aila nodded.

"You just said what I am. I am your master, correct?" Aila said and watched her nod. "I am pulling this cart through town like a horse." The woman blushed and lowered her eyes. "I don't want you to feel bad because your legs are weak. They treated you horribly. I am not doing that." She put her hand on the bench, and made it rise.

"Stay still." Aila said. "Hm, I can't talk to you like this. What is your name?"

"Bed warmer one." Aila rolled her eyes.

"Damn. Did you have a name before you were sold to the Inaris clan?" She asked. The woman looked at her carefully.

"N-Nuri." She said after a bit of time. Aila didn't prompt her to answer right away, but let her say it. Aila frowned when the woman grimaced.

"What just happened? Why did you look like you're in pain?" She asked.

"The collar, master. It punishes us when we disobey orders." She grimaced again. Aila growled and touched the collar.

"Hm, dark elements and metal. I don't like this at all." Her eyes glowed and sucked away the dark elements, then the metal. Her hands went around Nuri's neck, but gently as she touched the skin. "No residuals left to coerce you to obey another master." Nuri looked up at her in shock.

"Master?" She asked.

"That collar is not necessary. I will not have other people control my girls, nor former owners afflict you with pain for disobeying their voice when they sold you!" Aila moved to the other large woman, and dissolved her collar. The woman immediately started to cry.

"Master, my name is Nadya." Nadya let tears roll down her cheeks.

"Well, Nadya. Nuri. You two will be quite important to me from now on." She sighed softly. "Your purpose is to bring comfort to the ones of our house who were abused and broken." Aila said softly.

"You mean Ellie and Elena?" Nuri asked.

"If that is the name of the two young women, then yes. They will need your hugs, as they are still young women. They may not be able to deal with the shadows on their hearts." Aila moved her cart close to Nuri. "Come on. Slide back onto the cart, and I'll help Nadya to climb up too. Then we'll stop at Rirn's stall. I have a few things I need to pick up."

Once Nadya was seated, Nuri watched Aila as she pulled the cart effortlessly.

"Young lady, I see you have a few new people." Rirn said. "Their eyes don't look as hopeless as the last time I saw them."

"As it should be. There is no reason to steal the hope from a person to get them to obey you. Kindness works much better." Aila said. "I need fabric. Several rolls of cotton, and regular fabric that can be turned into clothes, quilts, along with the tools to sew, cut, and mend clothing."

"I have all that, but I'll need a bit more time to gather more than two rolls of each. How many rolls do you think?" He asked, while Nadya and Nuri were cautious, but optimistic.

"Enough for seven women of different sizes to have three to four sets of clothes, along with winter clothing, jackets, and under garments. If you have leather tools, I'll buy those too." Aila said. "Oh, get me more cheese, grain, root crops, and some fresh eggs. I'll be in once a week to pick up the eggs. If you can get a large barrel of fresh milk at the same time, I'll pick that up early in the morning. I can chill it at home, and the girls will be able to drink fresh milk for a few days, and turn the rest into butter for their bread." Rirn chuckled.

"I knew you were a softie, in spite of your eagerness to mete out punishment to them." Rirn said.

"They deserved it." Aila said firmly. "Come on, Rirn. Get that butt in gear. I need to get back so my girls aren't filled with fear. They aren't used to living at the manor yet."

"I'll bring out what I have, and you can fill your cart. We'll settle up accounts, to make sure things are square with us, day after tomorrow. I'll have the eggs, and hopefully the grains, root crops, and milk in the morning after tomorrow, so you can get it then." Rirn said.

"Thank you. These girls haven't had anything good, and I aim to fix that."

* * *

"Nadya, move to the edge, and I'll help you down. Nuri, after Nadya gets down, I'll help her into the house, and come right back. It's only ten feet away, so I won't leave you alone. Okay?" Aila said, so Nuri nodded. She could see that Nuri was frightened, but she didn't have time to soothe her fears. She needed to get them inside before any beasts decided they looked tasty in their weakened state.

Nadya was a big woman, nearly as tall as Nuri at six foot two inches tall, with shapely hips, huge breasts, but also her excessive weight was distributed all over her body. She managed to look more proportionally built then Nuri, as Nuri's weight was more in her belly, butt, thighs, and breasts. She was six foot four inches tall, and the tallest woman Aila had ever seen.

While Aila gently helped Nadya down, she noticed something odd about the women. Their feet and hands were quite small compared to their figures. They were actually quite dainty in how they moved, and feminine.

"Here, the bench will allow you to rest while I fetch Nuri." She helped Nadya to sit down, and heard her breathe heavily. "When you're feeling better, you'll be able to walk around, and get used to feeling free." Nadya smiled a little after Aila walked outside, and waited patiently.

"Here we go." On the other wall beside the door, Aila helped Nuri to sit down on another bench. The house hadn't been properly decorated, nor fully repaired, but these thick wooden benches came in handy. She had built them a few days ago when she returned from the wasteland.

She wanted to have a place to take off her boots, but realized that the house itself wasn't fully closed up. Leaving her boots there wasn't yet practical.

"Are you ready to go to where the others are, Nadya?" Aila asked. Nadya looked up, but she was still breathing heavily. "No, you're not. Stay seated for a little longer. The stress of the trip must have taken it out of you." Aila went outside and gathered up the four sacks of root crops, and carried them inside.

"I really should build a small cart for moving stuff from the door to the storage room. If you girls are going to be doing simple chores, there's no reason to work your guts out by carrying it in your arms." The more they listened, the more both women realized that their new master was not a cruel person. She was a good master, and one they should be happy to serve.

"What do you think, Nadya?" Nuri asked her after Aila walked deeper into the house.

"If she didn't order us to take care of the girls, I would want to spend the night keeping her warm." Nadya said with a blush. Nuri nodded.

"I agree. I hope we will get the chance to keep her warm. She doesn't smell bad like the others did. And she hasn't whipped us, or hurt us for fun." Nuri bit her bottom lip. "I like her a lot." Nadya nodded and hugged herself around the middle.

"So do I, Nuri." She sniffed. "We can use our names now." Nuri smiled and wiped her eyes. She felt the same overwhelming happiness that made her want to cry like a baby.