Princess Hannah of the Jade Harem CH 40

Hannah trembled as she stood to the side, looking at herself frozen in time. The image had long blond hair and vivid blue eyes but wore the default metallic horns that came from the crown. She wore a leather armor-like outfit with bare shoulders, back, and stomach. She had a tail identical to the one she currently had but with some golden rings at the base and end. Two things of note stood out, one being that her horns had an almost golden appearance. They glittered with a saintly look, creating a halo effect. The other feature was her right hand, encased in a black metallic gauntlet with a strange circle-like symbol on the top.

Frank stood behind her with Breanne, Umtha, and Quinny at his side, while Blackbast stood further back with Gisley. This was the vision Hannah had seen when she exited the mirror tunnel, and now that she was back, it made her skin crawl.

Slowly, she stepped to the image of herself to see tears frozen on her cheeks. She looked to the side, over a ledge to a small crater where the broken ghoul body of Frank lay. His skin was charred and broken as if exposed to intense heat while one arm lay under him at an unnatural angle. Wisps of smoke stood in frozen streams, indicating that whatever had done this to him had just happened.

“So, I am dead,” Frank said as he came to stand behind her.

“What caused this?” Breanne asked as the others approached to study the crater.

“A goblin bomb?” Quinny offered, but Hannah didn't think so. The crater was shallow and hadn't thrown out much material. Frank was burned far more severely than the ground as if he had been the source of the heat itself.

“This is hard to look at,” Umtha said, hiding her face in Breanne's shoulder. “You think this is a memory?”

“It has to be,” Hannah said as she turned to look up to see the woman with feathered wings. “And she’s the key to it.”

They all turned to follow her gaze, looking up to see an angel of fury. Her hair was golden like sunlight, but most of her face was hidden behind a winged helm. She had full golden lips and a wicked smile that said she was enjoying the moment. She was frozen in time, held aloft on broad feathered wings of white with golden streaks. She wore highly decorated white armor with glowing blue crystals decorating it. There was a glow of light about her as if she radiated like the sun. Trailing behind her was a short white cape with a golden halo-like emblem over a sword. She carried a long-handled spear-like weapon whose tip was like two angles wings pressed together to create a hollow inside. A blue gem floated in this gap, sparkling with magic.

“Who is that?” Quinny asked as they looked up at the woman.

“I have no idea,” Hannah said. “But she knows who I am.” She looked to the others, but they all shook their heads, unaware of who the strange assailant was. It was only Frank who studied the image and admitted she felt familiar somehow.

“But I can’t place where I have seen her before,” he said.

“How about that emblem?” Quinny asked as she pointed to the cape. “Is that familiar to anyone?”

Again, nobody had an answer, but it was a good detail to note. Hannah could have the harem girls do some research to see who the emblem belonged to.

“So, let’s get this over with,” Hannah said as they stepped back. She turned to Gisley and nodded that the dream needed to play out. The group watched in awe as the dream version of Hannah stumbled to the ledge, tears falling from her eyes to gaze on the fallen Frank. Seconds later, the angelic woman dived from the sky, her spear leading the way as she mocked the grief-stricken Hannah.

“He always fails you in the end,” the woman said. “And he has done so again.”

Her spear blazed with holy fire as it pierced Hannah through the chest. Hannah was engulfed in fire as the spear came out her back, and the dream suddenly vanished, leaving them standing in an empty field.

“What happened?” Blackbast asked as she looked around.

“That's all Hannah remembers,” Gisley replied. “She doesn't know what happens next, so it can't play out.”

“Take us back to the scene right before she gets stabbed,” Blackbast said. Gisley nodded, and the dream reformed, playing out until the spear was inches from Hannah's chest. Blackbast approached the scene, her tail twitching irritably as she studied the woman closely.

“What are you looking at?” Hannah asked, not sure what Blackbast was doing.

“Her eyes,” Blackbast said in a low growl. “They are as blue as yours.”

“So?” Hannah asked as she moved to get a better look. She was taken aback by the sight and then looked at her own image to see just how similar they were.

“It's the same person,” Frank said in shock as he studied the woman.

“That’s just crazy,” Breanne insisted as she moved around to look for herself. “Well, they do have strikingly similar eyes.”

“They are identical,” Blackbast said. “And so is the hair, height, body shape, skin complexion, everything.”

“Can we take off the helmet?” Frank asked as he looked at Gisley.

“You can try, but if Hannah has never seen her face before or doesn't remember it, the dream will just fill in what you expect to see,” Gisley explained.

“So, since we all now expect to see Hannah’s face, it will be Hannah,” Blackbast said in annoyance.

“If this woman looks like me?” Hannah began as she turned to Umtha. She saw the pain in the woman’s face as Umtha looked down. The goblin woman had known Hathlisora, even been her lover before everything fell apart. During the terrible final days, Hathlisora took Umtha aside and promised she would return but begged her not to tell her new incarnation about the past. She said it would cause her to go insane and ruin a carefully crafted plan.

“You know who this is, don't you?” Hannah asked as she pointed to the winged woman. All eyes turned as Umtha nodded, tears falling from her face. Hannah desperately wanted the answers, but it tormented Umtha to be pressed to break her promise. She loved Hannah and truly felt that if she told her too much, it would ruin everything.

“I'm sorry,” Umtha cried, covering her face with her hands.

Hannah was at her side in seconds, pulling the woman into a hug and rocking gently.

“Shh,” Hannah urged. “I am sorry I keep doing this to you. Please, baby, don’t let it bother you. I won’t ask you to tell me.”

“I’m so sorry!” Umtha wailed. “It hurts!”

“Umtha, I am the one who should be sorry,” Hannah implored. “I keep putting you in these situations. You don’t need to tell me who that is. I already know.”

“You do?” Frank asked as the others gawked in surprise.

“It’s my twin from Abbadon,” Hannah said as she cradled Umtha tightly. “That’s Issicara.”

“But she’s supposed to be the Queen of Abbadon, one of the hells,” Quinny reminded.

“An angel is the Queen of a hell,” Breanne said dourly. “Whose to say it can't happen?”

“I don't know how it happened, but we can't assume this form is her natural state,” Hannah argued. “Look at how I look now. My appearance is based on this crown. Maybe she's wearing something that gives her an extra class with the angel wings. Let's not forget, she's the one who gave me this crown. Maybe she made one for herself.”

“The necromancer's made that one,” Umtha reminded. “They took it into Abbadon with them, and she brought it back.”

“Then how do we know it's the same crown or that she didn't do something to it?” Frank asked.

“This is all very disturbing,” Blackbast said. “Why would this memory come back now?”

“If I knew, we wouldn’t be standing here,” Hannah replied while stroking Umtha’s back. “I feel so bad for Umtha.”

“I wonder if we can contact Alluzora again,” Frank said. “She might be able to tell us why Issicara kills us here.”

“We still have no idea if we can trust that woman,” Blackbast countered. “Let's not forget that when Chandice tested the crown, it proved to be a domination device. We don't know what role that woman plays outside of what she claims. Not to mention that if she's bonded to the crown, then it is most likely Issicara who bound her. They are probably working together.”

“Hmm, all good points,” Hannah agreed as she looked at her copy. “And look, I am wearing the crown in this scene. She must have witnessed this happen.”

“Is she aware of what goes on around you?” Breanne asked. “We assume she can listen, but we don't know the full limits of her ability.”

“For all we know, it gives her full access to Hannah's senses,” Frank said. “Or maybe even allow her to watch in the third person through an attached device.”

Hannah could only agree, as in the end, they really didn't know. For that matter, her fascination with the slave collar could be the woman in the crown, influencing her decisions and making her believe she wanted this. It was impossible to know what level of control the woman had. The only information they had about it came from the woman herself, which meant it had to be suspected.

She took a minute more to make of little details like she was wearing the crystal ring but not the green emerald bracelet. She wore boots when Hannah tended to go barefoot and wore more jewelry overall. What Hannah was most interested in was what was around her neck, which proved to be a simple necklace.

“No slave collar,” Hannah said as she considered a thought.

“You were expecting your past self to be a slave?” Blackbast asked.

“Just curious how closely my current life mirrors my past,” Hannah replied as she tried to puzzle it out. “We both settled on almost the same appearance and chose the same husband. What else am I repeating?” They debated the idea that Hannah was somehow traveling down the same path as if her life was a broken record. Eventually, Gisley reminded them that she had to go. She and her family had a plan for a dream of their own, and they were waiting for her.

Hannah nodded as they had learned all they could from the short memory and bid Gisley to put them in another dream so she could leave. She gave the fairy a parting kiss and went about their own dreams for the night.

Her eyes came open to greet the morning, and she discovered she was on her back, arms thrown wide as she lay on Breanne's stomach. Umtha slept across her legs with her head nestled at Hannah’s belly button. Quinny and Breanne were curled into Frank, and Jaina was still here, sleeping in a small pile of harem girls. She smiled to remember that before going to bed, their night had been adventurous.

“Why is this life so strange?” Hannah asked no one in particular as she smiled. She couldn’t believe she was married to a wonderful man and regularly shared his bed with five or more women. Wasn’t this life supposed to be wrong or immoral? Shouldn’t she be jealous or angry? She imagined a reality TV show where five women tried to live this life but spent most of their time fighting. They would secretly form little groups while always maneuvering to backstab one another.

She supposed they would be fighting over Frank and who was his actual wife. She tried to imagine why that would happen but found it difficult. This world was nothing like the real world in that Frank’s resources didn’t matter. Nor were they going to age or their beauty fade, meaning they would feel no pressure to act while they were at the peak of their attractiveness. In fact, Hannah felt almost no attachment to her appearance as it was fluid, easily changed with but a thought. She supposed this wasn’t true for most players, but most of her family had two appearances, and the succubi could be anyone they could imagine.

In the end, there was just no reason to be upset about it. This life didn’t require a man and woman to form a close, committed relationship to raise children with limited resources. The only reason to bond together was purely out of love for one another, and Hannah had no reason to doubt Frank's feelings for her. She was completely content and found the presence of the others only enhanced their relationship. Still, she felt an odd sense of loss when she considered children. She had to pause and consider the feeling that nagged inside. Did she feel a twinge of discontent that she would never be a mother?

Her eyes glanced at the man she deeply loved, and the feeling grew. Hannah quickly pushed it away and focused on what they had just learned, afraid to face what her musings brought up.

“It’s morning already?” Quinny asked as she lifted her head.

“I am afraid so,” Hannah replied, grateful for the distraction. She sat up, careful not to disturb Umtha, and was greeted by Breanne's soft hands exploring her back.

“Come back to bed, my love,” Breanne encouraged. “I was enjoying having you there.”

“Just a few more minutes,” Hannah said as she lay back down, allowing Breanne to wrap her up. Breanne kissed at her neck and then asked how she was feeling after the dream. Hannah wasn't feeling much of anything and explained she was fine. Breanne asked if she was sure, and Hannah shrugged before saying that all she really cared about was in this bed.

“So the harem thing is helping?” Breanne asked.

“How can it not?” Hannah said as she smiled. “What woman could wake up wrapped in loving arms and be miserable?”

“You did your best to be miserable for a long time,” Breanne pointed out.

“I was a different person,” Hannah replied. “I didn't want to be here, and as the mysteries around me mounted, it only made my desire to escape grow. But then I realized how much I love Frank, and we met Jaina. She made me see we could all be a family, and then it was all I could think about.”

“You all heard that,” Jaina said as she lifted her head. “I have been a positive influence.”

“You are positively a wicked girl,” Hannah replied, glaring at Jaina. “I have been meaning to ask you something. You gave me a funny smile when you went to the tent that first night. Was that by any chance a seductive smile?”

“Would I do something like that to you?” Jaina asked as she tried to act innocent.

“I knew it,” Hannah said. “No wonder I couldn’t think straight. I practically ambushed Frank the second we were alone.”

“Wait, are you saying your first encounter with Frank was triggered by Jaina?” Breanne asked.

“She used a seduction on me and got my blood going,” Hannah pouted. “But why didn’t it make me want you?”

“I'm sure it did, but you two went away where you couldn't reach me, so you turned to the nearest person you had strong feelings for,” Jaina explained.

“Which was poor Frank,” Hannah said.

“Oh, I did it for your own good,” Jaina insisted. “I knew you two loved each other and needed a little help.”

“In her defense, I asked her to do it,” Blackbast said as she climbed over Frank in her human form. “You two had been flirting long enough without coming together. I asked her to give you a little encouragement.”

Hannah felt like she should be mad but couldn't manage the anger. She was delighted to be where she was, in a bed full of women tangled together around Frank. Besides, Blackbast was right; she and Frank did need the help, and she was glad they made love that night.

Frank stirred, and one of his hands went over her stomach, testing her supple skin as she sighed. Feeling his touch was all she lived for, and it reminded her of how lucky she was. Here was the perfect man to guide her through a crazy world while allowing her the freedom to experience all that was on offer.

“I vote we all stay in bed,” Quinny offered as she smiled and settled in.

“I vote you little devils get out and get to your tasks,” Blackbast countered. “We need to check in on the research teams to see if they came up with anything about those names.”

“Somebody should check in on Legeis to see if he’s learned more about those parts,” Frank suggested.

“I will do that,” Hannah replied as she turned over to stare into Breanne’s eyes. “After I have spent more time admiring my beautiful succubi slave girl.”

“Wow, somebody has become a tease,” Jaina laughed as Frank ran a hand down Hannah’s back.

“I love these tattoos,” Frank said. “They make you look so sexy.”

“I like being told I am sexy,” Hannah said with a toothy smile. “I might have to reward you for that later.”

“You are embracing this lifestyle too well,” Breanne said with a smirk.

“Who wouldn’t enjoy it?” Hannah laughed as she lay her head on Breanne’s chest. “I am surrounded by people who love me, and I get to share my love with them all.”

“Speaking of which,” Blackbast said. “We need to talk about my temple's role in the future.”

“We do,” Frank agreed as he sat up.

Hannah knew what they were referring to as the conversation had come up before. Ever since the night when the harem went to Blackbast's temple to test the experience gained, they had been considering new options. Blackbast would no longer need to serve travelers in order to feed her temple's needs. So long as somebody in Blackbast's collar was present to partake in the sex, it could be fulfilled with harem girls. Of course, that meant Hannah or Annasara had to be there, but they were considering other options.

“Well, if you are interested in knowing, Roric asked me if I would be against him selling me to Blackbast,” Jaina said.

“What?” Blackbast said in surprise. “He said nothing to me.”

“He didn’t want to until I had made up my mind,” Jaina answered. “I don’t mind serving a little, but my place is on his chain, dancing before his throne.”

“Hmm, do we have any chain?” Frank asked.

“Oh, don’t you start getting ideas,” Hannah protested.

“You could always dance for Roric instead,” Jaina suggested.

“I see a chain in my future,” Hannah sighed while the others giggled.

“Can we please focus,” Blackbast insisted as she moved to sit beside Jaina. “I would, of course, be honored to have your services. However, I would never consider you mine. You would always answer to Roric first as Hannah does to Frank. Now, why don’t you wait until after the meeting to make your decision.”

“There’s a meeting?” Hannah asked. “Why don’t I ever know these things?”

“You had to know this conversation wasn’t over,” Breanne said. “It changes everything. None of us have to look beyond the harem now.”

“We do if we want tattoos,” Quinny said.

“We can get the tattoos from the people in the harem,” Breanne said. “All it requires is to play in the Lovewood. It has no requirement on who it is. It could be any of the girls from the harem.”

“Hmm,” Hannah replied as she smiled at Frank. “So, when is this meeting?”

“We planned to hold it in a few days,” he said.

Hannah felt that was delaying something too important. She suggested they hold today,  later this evening, as a dozen smaller decisions couldn't be made until it was done. Blackbast and Frank agreed but suggested that they should press on with their tasks in the meantime.

Hannah went to the harem and a side room where tables were covered in maps. A dozen girls stood over the charts, doing their best to find locations. Hannah asked if they had any luck, and all they could do was shake their heads. None of them had found anything that resembled the map on the silver disk, but they had found a few things of interest.

“This book is an atlas of a man named Gillen,” one of the girls said as she folded the book open. She showed how one page had a small map of a particular region while the side page had notes about it. She showed Hannah how the man had gone to great lengths to avoid marking certain areas. On a dozen maps, he had intentionally left a small region blank and included a note that specifically said nothing of interest was here. “At first, we didn't think much of it, but he drew a circle over every location to draw attention to it.”

“Why would he bother to say nothing of interest was in these locations?” Hannah asked. “He could have just drawn the map and said nothing.”

“Which is why we thought it was important,” the girl explained. “But that's not what truly drew our interest.” She took Hannah to a big table where a large square of paper was placed. “On a hunch, we took the time to chart his map locations. For some odd reason, he walked around the spawn ring in a large circle. So we plotted all the maps with these unknown locations on one of our own.”

“And?” Hannah asked as the woman took up some string. She watched as the woman put pins into the locations and used the string to create lines. Soon, it was very apparent what was so important as the lines created a pentagram.

“Why?” Hannah asked as she pondered it.

“We have no idea,” the woman replied.

“We need to send teams out to investigate some of these sites,” Hannah said. “I want to know what was so disturbing this man chose not to chart it. I might even see if Frank will go with me to visit one.” She bid them farewell and headed back into the harem with troubled thoughts. She then went to the woman in charge of the teams sent out to ask questions. In particular, they were after names and using discreet contacts to avoid drawing attention. She found the master of spies in her silken lair, a place Hannah was fascinated with. The walls were covered with strong silken strands that glistened in the light, culminating in a woven ball the size of a bed near the center.

“Aracnia?” Hannah called as she didn’t see the woman present.

“Well, well,” came a seductive voice. “Look what has been caught in my web.”

Hannah watched as a woman with jet-black skin climbed from the nest above. She had the upper torso of a woman but the lower end of a black widow spider. She was another of the many races with dual forms and could appear as an elf woman when desired. She dropped to the ground and strode Hannah's way, her body glowing as it changed shape. In seconds, she was a dark and seductive elf woman with flowing purple hair that fell to her waist. She had purple lips to match her hair and stunning red eyes that currently appeared as two. In her spider form, she had eight insect-like eyes that looked in all directions.

She came right up to Hannah and took her into an embrace, sharing a hot kiss before pulling back to pant. “I have missed you,” she said. “It’s been too long since you were bound in my webs.”

“Aren’t you a playful thing,” Hannah giggled. “You know my familiar will love you.”

“Oh, the little spider,” she said with a smile. “I haven’t seen him yet.”

“He spends most of his time sleeping,” Hannah replied as she nestled her head into the woman’s shoulder. “And when he’s awake, he’s usually eating my crows. I tried to train him to eat cookies, but he absolutely refused.”

“Well, he is a spider,” Aracnia replied. “And we spiders feed on blood.” She highlighted her point by gently biting at Hannah’s neck as if about to make a meal of her.

“Why did I hesitate so long to join the harem?” Hannah giggled as the woman playfully nibbled.

“It’s a big decision,” the woman said. “And you had a family already. It’s easier for those of us who are alone and looking for a place to call our home.”

Hannah supposed that was true, and it made sense that she would need more time to think it over. She looked into the woman's eyes and smiled before commenting that they had a lovely color.

“I happen to like red eyes,” the woman replied. “Just like yours.”

“You and Frank both,” Hannah said as the woman brushed a stray hair from her face.

“Did you come here to play?” Aracnia asked as she licked her lips. “We could both use a good feeding.”

“Why are all the women of this harem such teases?” Hannah laughed. “And I am sorry, but I just wanted to check up on the scouts. Have they learned anything?”

“Well, you only gave us the information a few days ago,” Aracnia said. “However, some of it was known to women in the harem. Hevinthor is a god of justice who is exclusively served by paladins. He has no priests or clergy of any kind and the highest ranking member is known as the High justicar. The current high justice is a name from your list. A man named Ithaniel.”

“That makes sense,” Hannah sighed. “Just one more person that hates me.”

“Well, this may all tie back to Kevin,” Aracnia replied as he produced a slip of paper. She reviewed the information on it to refresh her memory before continuing. “It turns out the knights of the holy empire are the elite legion of paladins that serve Kevin. From what we learned, it's only about two hundred strong, but they bolster it with combat priests and other classes for dire threats. This Nathaniel is Kevin's right hand and the man responsible for leading his armies. When he's sent to deal with a threat, its usually permanently.”

“Great,” Hannah groaned. “How long before he’s knocking at the city gates?”

“I couldn’t hazard a guess,” Aracnia said. “Rajeen has forbidden us to scout in the north too close to Kevin’s kingdoms. We aren’t going to see anything of what’s going on unless we do.”

“Anything else?” Hannah asked as she paced in annoyance.

“The ice fangs are a mountain range to the east about two weeks journey by fast horse,” Aracnia explained. “I have people in a nearby town asking around if there is anything unusual in the mountains.”

“I wonder if this has anything to do with being trapped in the ice?” Hannah asked.

“I think it's too early to presume that,” Aracnia suggested. “So far, the only thing we can attach to that terminology is a spell called ice prison. It encases a target in a spike of ice freezing them solid until broken out.”

“What class has that spell?” Hannah asked.

“Well, that's the funny thing,” Aracnia said. “Nobody seems to know. There are pure ice mages, but after a dozen interviews, not one claimed to know the spell. However, one of them did know of it and said it was a product of the necromancer research and thus outside the traditional spell lines. Unless a person could find a written copy of the spell, they couldn't learn it.”

“And it gets more interesting,” Hannah said, then pondered a thought. She asked how long the ice would last, and Aracnia shrugged. She had no way of knowing but was certain it couldn't be long.

“Not more than five minutes, I would guess,” Aracnia suggested. “That's how most holding spells work. One to five minutes at most.”

Hannah took that in and asked if any news had surfaced about the so-called system she was supposedly working on. Unexpectedly, Aracnia had no information on what that term meant. She asked about the other paladin's name, and once again, the spider woman didn't know. She pointed out that it could take weeks to find a good source and that Hannah should return in a couple of days.

With a hug and kiss, they parted, with Aracnia urging Hannah to return for a more personal meeting. Hannah smiled as she entered the main harem room to see it was unusually busy. Rajeen was in what looked like an argument with Blackbast, and Roric was standing to the side with Frank. She made her way to the boys as Zillix fluttered over, confused over what was happening.

“Did I miss something?” Hannah asked as she joined their side.

“They started arguing over why Blackbast left if she could have restricted her temple to harem girls,” Frank said. “Then they moved on to how she hates that some of you are serving in it now. Rajeen never liked the idea of sharing the girls outside the harem.”

“And, if they had come to this arrangement sooner, they would not have had to part in their early days,” Roric added.

“Ah,” Hannah said as she nodded and watched the fight. “So, should we intervene?”

“Between those two?” Frank said as if the idea was ridiculous.

“I would sooner jump into a pit full of nillacs,” Roric added. “At least they would make it quick.”

“Good point,” Hannah agreed as she stood a safe distance back. “I can see this meeting is going to be fun.”