The Goddess of Death and Her Empress

"They haven't given up, have they?" Lydia asked. Valyria sneered.

"No, they haven't. And I can't leave yet. The compulsion is so strong, I'm barely able to leave long enough to make this report. I have to go back. The Empress is upset that I'm not in position." Valyria flashed into a black mist and disappeared. Lydia sighed. She looked at Nikki.

"What of the rest?" She asked.

"Nuri and Nadya were once able to come back to regenerate. Now they have to eat their sisters, and in that room. If they try to leave, they will be inflicted with heavy pain." Nikki rolled her eyes.

"How was she able to do this? And why does she do it?" Nikki asked quietly.

"The goddess only smiles, Nikki." Lydia said. "She expected it, but not so soon. Through instinctual use, she marks and compels us to obey. She never compels us to disobey the goddess though. Just be obedient to her. Even Sol is compelled now. Herself and Hannah are their favorite meals." Nikki snarled.

"Don't call them meals!" Nikki's eyes popped open wide, and she covered her mouth. "Oh, that was a compulsion." Lydia chuckled.

"Alright, they aren't meals. But they are favorites. And both of them seem to enjoy it immensely. It's like she's training both of her pillows." Lydia said. Nikki nodded.

"I think she is fond of them. We can never mention the people of the bar in the temple. It feels dark when we do. Like the Empress is everywhere in the temple. Or her influence is there." Nikki lowered her eyes.

"What's wrong?"

"I want to return. I haven't been tasted lately, and it bothers me." Nikki said, almost like a little girl who didn't know if her parents loved her. Lydia smiled.

"You've always had assignments outside of the temple. If that is all you want, don't say anything. If you want to be tasted, or want to be affectionate with the Empress, you must be within range." Lydia reminded her.

Lydia watched as Nikki felt a tug, a pain within her chest, and stood up from the chair.

"Time to go back. I have to check on the acolytes, and teach them about our goddess." When Nikki left, Rachel came out of the backroom.

"She has no idea, does she?" Rachel asked.

"Nope. How do you feel?" Lydia looked her over.

"Refreshed." She yawned. "Sol and Hannah's appetites are heightened while they serve, and they almost become savages when they return home. The goddess has to saturate me densely so they can be fed properly." She yawned again.

"You love it." Lydia said. Rachel smirked.

"I've watched over the Empress for years. This assignment is mine, and I don't mind. Whenever they get hungry, and need some energy from Haven, I feel the need to return to the temple." She sighed a bit. "Her hibernation will soon be over, but she'll still need to sleep at night. I wonder will she compel us like this then." Rachel returned to the back room to sleep and saturate her body with the energy of Haven, while Lydia looked at the window into the room she knew so well.

"The goddess would move Haven itself for you." She whispered. "It's like she knew you before she knew you."

* * *

"Mm, warm." Lena rubbed her face on the warmth she felt touch her face. She slowly opened her eyes, and saw the large white breast on her right, and the large, but slightly darker breast on her left.

"Empress, are you awake?" Sol asked and leaned over the bed. Lena looked up at her. "You've been in hibernation the entire Winter season." Lena looked to her left, and to her right. "They are..."

"Nuri. Nadya." She frowned slightly. "Why do I know those names?"

"Because they've been with you since you went to sleep, or not long after." Sol smiled. "When they crawled in to keep you warm, you marked them, and now they can't be away from you." She watched Lena look at Nuri, and saw a gentle smile spread on her lips.

"They kept me warm. My pillows." She smiled and rubbed her face on Nuri's soft flesh. Her smile slowly faded. "There is darkness inside them. Shadows." She watched her shadows appear, and frowned. "Valyria. Come back." Another shadow appeared.

"Sorry, Empress. You compelled me to investigate the bar. The two who kept you warm all winter were once kept as their food. Their cattle." Valyria watched as the Empress started to growl.

"Kyrie." She said softly. The goddess's presence filled the room.

"The ones who used force, and compulsion are under arrest in the dungeon." She said. Lena nodded.

"Get me washed up, ladies. I have some things I need to do." She sighed, and looked to her left and right. She grinned happily. "They served me, and kept me warm all Winter. When I'm finished, I must reward them properly." She licked her lips, her eyes immediately turned into blood red gems.

"But first, wash me and change my clothes." Lena blushed brightly as she looked at the two she called her pillows, and how they stood up to serve her.

She was going to enjoy giving their rewards.

* * *

"There is no remorse at all." Lena said as she watched the group appear in the main hall of the temple. Kyrie snorted.

"They thought it was alright for them to treat their sisters as cattle for hundreds of years. I didn't interfere because they didn't say no." Kyrie sighed a bit as Lena glared at her. "There are laws that they have to follow. Everyone knows that they are not allowed to force their sisters, or remove their free will. No one can die permanently, or be injured permanently. If either had said no once, it would have stopped. I had two shadows watch the entire time."

"So what happened this time? Why these two first?" She asked.

"When my deacons went to retrieve them, they attempted to intimidate them into silence." Kyrie said. "That one also said that they didn't disobey the laws of any goddess." The room felt an invisible pressure descend upon everyone.

"ANY?!" Lena said in a loud voice. She looked at her shadows. "Bring that one here!" Valyria and Valina grabbed Morana, who only sneered.

"A child wants to discipline me? Someone who has been in Haven for two thousand years?" Morana said. Kyrie was about to respond, but watched as the Empress smiled. Her teeth elongated and her mouth opened large enough to swallow an entire head.

"Discipline?" Lena asked and bit through her skull. She grasped Morana's shoulders, and viciously took bite after bite, her entire body was devoured so quickly, the Others were shocked into a stupor. Even as her bones were crunched and disappeared, no one was able to move. Lena swallowed her calves and feet, then pulled her core out of her mouth. She had no visible indication that she just ate an entire person.

"No, you won't be disciplined." She placed the core back into her mouth and started to crunch it into pieces. Syl fell onto the ground in shock.

"You'll be executed."