Princess Hannah of the Jade Harem CH 38

Frank opened his eyes to a beautiful sight of five women snuggled in his arms. Hannah, Blackbast, Breanne, Quinny, and Umtha were all sound asleep, tangled together in a tight pack. He was in the center of their little pile, the axle of their wheel. He struggled not to cry as he thought of the life he had planned to live and how lonely it was. He came to New Eden to escape his problems and the terrible rejection that was his relationship with women. He made the ghoul intentionally to drive them away, hoping that if they could never get close, they would never hurt him.

Now, he was married to five of the most beautiful women he had ever known. Outside the doors of his bedroom was a harem chamber where over fifty more exotic and beautiful women waited to share their love. He went from a life of nothing to one so overflowing with plenty that he was sure it was a dream.

He looked up as Quinny shifted, curling tightly to Hannah as her tail slid up a leg. She looked so at peace and full of love that he wanted to cradle her to his chest. Despite the horns and tails, they all looked like angels, sleeping away a beautiful dream.

He wished that was all it was, but deep down, he knew that wasn't true. He and Hannah carried a terrible curse, a lost past where wars raged, kingdoms burned, and people died for good. The aftermath of that conflict left an entire class banned, the world scarred, and a massive divide between hero and monster players. Frank still hadn't truly given that much thought, preferring to believe that this past was forgotten for a reason. However, Hannah was terrified her past would come back to haunt them. It haunted her thoughts and filled her dreams with nightmares, making her afraid that their happiness was going to be ruined at any moment.

They immersed themselves in the harem and its delights to escape the dark thoughts, drowning themselves in passion. It was working, and Hannah smiled again, laughing, playing, and waking up from blissful dreams. He loved seeing the change in her demeanor as she bounced joyfully in her steps to play in the harem or his bed. She had also become hyper-affectionate, seeking his arms often and drowning him with loving kisses.

The other girls were just as affectionate, but none glowed with love as Hannah did. She was consumed by it, as if she and Frank we reliving some moment from their past. He began to wonder if that was the case. It bothered him that Hannah had once been married to King Kevin, but it hadn't lasted long. From what they could piece together, she and Kevin had a massive falling out, and it all had to do with another man. As crazy as it seemed, he was that other man and Hannah had fallen head over heels for him. What their love looked like, he couldn't say, but if Hannah's current love was an echo of that past, then their love had been extremely heated.

A hand ran up his chest, and he looked to see Blackbast was awake. She was in her human form, and her skin was soft and warm as it brushed against his. She reached up and traced his lips with a finger as she smiled softly.

“I love you,” she whispered before kissing his side and laying her head on him.

“I love you too,” Frank replied as softly as he could. He never dreamed he would be saying those words, but now he said them a dozen times a day. He had so much to be grateful for, and as if to highlight it, the doors opened, and two beautiful harem girls walked in. The lovely women came right to the bed and climbed in, joining the snuggle pile as if nothing were out of place. If he wanted, he could pull one of them to his chest and make love to her while his wives smiled beside him. He had already made love to half the harem, and new girls would be added in the future. It was a life filled with sexual abundance, but he didn't really need it. He had all he would ever need tenfold in the women he called his wives, and for that, he was truly grateful.

“I can feel your tension,” Blackbast whispered as she crawled up his chest and lay directly on him to look down into his eyes. “My class can sense emotional pain.”

“I was just trying to accept how lucky I am,” Frank replied.

“You are such a wonderful man,” Blackbast nodded. “Strong, supportive, a good leader, and a grateful heart. How did such a man come to be?”

“I was just trying to make her happy, then the rest of you as I met you one by one,” Frank replied.

“Oh, you were doing more than that,” Blackbast said before leaning in for a short kiss. Frank tasted the softness of her lips and the brief dance of her tongue before she folded her hands under her chin to start him in the eyes. “You were dating us all right from the beginning. You were even dating me, though I didn't realize it at first.”

“I was just being nice,” Frank insisted.

“Keep saying that,” Blackbast smiled. “What you did was show us how wonderful you were, then how strong you could be, acting as a rock for each of us. It’s no wonder we all fell for you. Our big brave ghoul who fights for our love and honor.”

“He’s wonderful, isn’t he?” Hannah agreed as she lifted her head. “The best man a girl could ever want.”

“Are you all awake?” Frank asked as Quinny smiled, and Umtha's tail began to swish.

“We like to lay in and enjoy our snuggles,” Hannah said as she stretched and rolled to her back so she could pull Quinny to her chest. She kissed the woman’s head before smiling as she cuddled the sleepy girl tightly. “This is what I love most about our life. Having my little angels to hold tight.”

“So you’re all happy?” Frank asked as he used his now free hand to stroke one of the harem girls.

“Are you kidding?” Hannah laughed. “How can we not be happy? What girl doesn’t want a prince for a husband who whisks her away to his lavish palace to join his harem for a life of love and sex?”

“It is a wonderful life,” Blackbast agreed as Umtha curled to her back. “Good morning, sweetheart.”

“Good morning,” Umtha replied as she pressed in tight. “Why are we asking if we are happy?”

Frank wasn't sure how to explain it. He eventually said that he often reflected on their relationship to feel the gratitude and happiness it brought him. That made the woman curl to him even more tightly as they praised him for being so wonderful. Breanne sat up just enough to tangle one of the harem girls in her arms and press her into the hug. They all converged on him, smothering him in their soft, gentle love.

“I don’t deserve this,” Frank sighed.

“Please, you deserve more than this,” Hannah replied. “I am the one who doesn’t deserve to be happy.”

“How can you say that?” Breanne asked. “You played a vital role in making this life happen, and I have never seen you be anything but kind.”

“But what about my past?” Hannah asked. “Think about the vision I had and what the skulls said. We have every reason to believe I was a terrible person in my previous lives..”

“None of that proves you are a terrible person,” Blackbast corrected. “And even if it was, would it really matter? Look at who you are now. Would a terrible person be so worried about her past?”

“I guess not,” Hannah agreed as she ran her nails along Quinny’s back, getting a low groan.

“I don’t mean to butt in,” came a harem girl. “But from an outsider's perspective, I think Hannah just explained her entire problem.”

“I did? How?” Hannah asked.

“Well, you feel guilty about being happy. You’re worried that you don’t deserve it because of something you did in a past you can’t even remember,” the girl explained. “You are torturing yourself to uncover your past as a sort of penance for what you think you might have done. You feel you can’t be happy until you have been properly punished for it.”

The bed went silent as they all considered the revealing words. Frank realized she was right and her words struck to the core of Hannah's issues. She was terrified to embrace her life because she might not have the right to be happy. Blackbast reached over Frank to rub Hannah as she agreed with the woman and urged Hannah to take it to heart.

“I never looked at it like that,” Hannah admitted. “She’s right. She’s absolutely right. I punish myself because I worry I was so horrible I don’t deserve to be happy.”

Frank met her gaze as she smiled and kissed Quinny's head again. He could see the statement had touched a nerve, and Hannah was healing. His thoughts were broken with a kiss as Umtha leaned over Blackbast to brush his cheek with her lips. She said he had made this all possible, providing them with a stable home full of love where they could heal. Blackbast agreed and suggested Frank had worked hard to provide them with a life worth living.

“I wasn’t trying to do all that,” Frank insisted. “I was just trying to make a place where you could all be happy.”

“Silly boy,” Breanne laughed. “That is exactly what she said.”

“This is what makes him so wonderful,” Blackbast added. “He doesn’t even realize he’s doing it. It’s simply who he is. It is part of his nature to be so strong.”

Frank closed his eyes, trying hard not to cry as several hands caressed his chest and arms. He was surrounded by women who adored him, and they were telling him just how much they loved him.

“So what are we going to do today?” Quinny asked from her warm embrace in Hannah's arms.

“Well,” Hannah began. “We need to get those names to the girls doing the research and get them looking into it.”

“We should give them a copy of the small map,” Breanne added. “See if they can locate that region in other maps. Lots of people have made maps of the world, especially after the changes. One of them might reveal where the small map fits in.”

“Good idea,” Hannah agreed, then turned to Umtha. “Would you check in on Legeis and see if he’s learned anything about those machine components he brought back?”

“I will,” Umtha replied. “I want to check on the spider mount progress anyway.”

“He's been working on that for a long time,” Breanne commented.

“He keeps getting pulled off it to work on other projects,” Umtha replied. “Chandice is always after him to work on that magic detection machine.”

“Well, I hope I am not slowing him down,” Hannah said. “But check on that and then come back so we can have lunch. Then, I would like to ask Gisley to take us into the vision I had when we came through the mirror. I want all of you to see it.”

“The one where I was dead?” Frank asked as he felt a sense of trepidation.

Hannah nodded but reached out to stroke his cheek. “If that upsets you, we can skip this one.”

He wanted to say yes to skipping it, but this was important. Anything that might shed some light on their past was worth investigating, but Blackbast was waving a finger before he could answer.

“I am fine with you doing a little work, but please take some time to play,” Blackbast requested. “You have been very strong, but what we learned has to be causing you some distress.”

“Oh, did you learn something?” a harem girl asked.

“Just confirmation that I was a bad person in my previous life,” Hannah grumbled.

“Speaking of that,” the girl said as she leaned over. “The whole harem has been talking. Some of us have been here a long time and saw some of the conflict with the necromancers. A few of them even said they saw Hathlisora before.”

“Really?” Hannah said excitedly as she sat up, carrying Quinny with her. “What did they say?”

“Why don't we go get them, and they can tell you themselves,” the girl offered as she rolled to the side of the bed.

Blackbast suggested they get dressed and have this conversation in the harem chambers. Frank agreed and urged the girls out of bed, giving Umtha a playful hug as she giggled at him. Ten minutes later, they were dressed and sitting in the harem chambers as a half dozen girls were brought before them. Rajeen was present to ask what was happening, and Frank explained that some of the harem girls knew about Hathlisora and Hannah had questions.

Rajeen bid the girls to come forward as Hannah asked them to describe Hathlisora's appearance. Frank wasn't surprised to find out that Hathlisora had long blond hair and sharp metallic horns that created a near circle from the back of her head. She also had red devilish wings and a long tail. One fascinating note was when one girl claimed Hathlisora’s right arm sometimes appeared like black rock with molten cracks. She was known to wear sexy clothes but often wore a bluish metallic corset that left her shoulders and stomach exposed. Rumor had it the outfit was magical, and that it was something Hathlisora had made special for herself. She tended to wear frilly outfits otherwise, but only one girl had ever seen her in one.

Hannah asked more questions about the black arm, but none of the girls knew anything beyond rumors. Not one of them had actually met Hathlisora or knew anyone who had. One girl described how her sighting of Hathlisora had her with a woman who was nearly her twin. Both had blond hair and curling horns, but the second woman didn't have wings. Frank recalled how Umtha called the woman from Abbadon Hannah's twin. He took a moment to watch Umtha as the girls shared their glimpses of the woman of legend.

Umtha was twisting in anguish; her tail curled in a spiral as she looked at the floor in frustration. It was clear she was upset and trying not to be noticed lest she be asked a question. Frank got up and went to her side, taking her by the arm and dragging her back to his chair. He faced her to him, even as the conversations about Hathlisora's twin raged on.

“You know exactly who that is, don’t you?” he asked so the others wouldn’t hear.

“Yes,” Umtha replied with a nod, without looking up.

“This is upsetting you, isn’t it?” Frank asked in a whisper.

“I could have told her all this,” Umtha said. “But I don’t know what’s safe to tell her or not.”

“She has to find it out on her own,” Frank said as he pulled her to his lap. “You are very brave to keep all this bottled up when I am sure you are dying to tell her.”

“I want to tell her so badly,” Umtha said as her eyes went wet.

“Shh,” Frank urged as he hugged her firmly. “We all understand.” He rubbed her back as tears fell to his shoulders. Hannah went on, asking where they had seen Hathlisora and at what stage of the conflict. It was no surprise that all of them had seen her prior to the outbreak of fighting. It seemed like once she and Kevin had their falling out, Hathlisora had become a ghost. She vanished from sight, working in secret while Kevin tore the land apart, looking for her. One of them had been present for a necromancer attack on her town and narrowly escaped as the city burned. She told a fascinating story about metal-clad undead wielding heavy weapons and spreading rot in their steps.

Frank could tell Hannah was shocked to hear the necromancers had such a large army, as the girl swore there were thousands of undead. Breanne confirmed this was true, as she had seen the armies several times.

Another of the girls was a form of wizard and had once visited a public magic facility in the necromancer empire. She described a place much like a library and workshop rolled into one where dozens of magical experiments were going on. There were fascinating stories of magical experiments to alter the state of magic. She even highlighted one that accidentally turned all the air in a small room into a thick jelly.

Of course, she only knew a few fragments of what was happening and had been outside the empire when the call to destroy the necromancers came. She said she knew people whose lands had been burned in the war and that Kevin claimed the necromancers had done it.

The most intriguing story was the two women who had seen Kevin's dragon. She was a giant red beast with a long, slender neck and a crown of horns on the back of her head. She wore a collar with a giant blue stone at the center that glowed with a magical light. Everybody knew of the dragon, but nobody knew her name or had spoken to her. They did know that Kevin had an odd interest in dragons and had the dragon knights as close to his heart as his paladins.

Hannah asked if they knew anything about Kevin's claims that the dragon was a player, but all they could confirm was the rumor. They hadn't met the dragon themselves, and anything they knew was so removed from the source as to be unreliable.

“She sounds pretty,” Quinny said. “I like that she wears a necklace.”

“People say Kevin gave it to her, but then people also say it was a slave collar,” a harem girl said.

“A slave collar?” Hannah repeated. “Can NPCs be collared?”

“Yes,” Rajeen replied as she sat on her throne, listening to the stories. “But as they are NPCs, it isn't necessary. They will obey their creator's commands without such a thing.”

“So that proves nothing,” Hannah sighed and returned to her questioning.

Frank stroked Umtha’s back as she hid her face in his shoulder. Blackbast noticed the distress and joined him to soothe the upset woman.

“You are being strong for her,” Blackbast assured her. “You made a promise and should be proud of how well you have kept it.”

Frank hoped that was helping, but Umtha didn't let go of her place in his lap. She held him tight as Hannah asked if any of them knew of Hathlisora's early exploits. Frank hoped this wouldn't last much longer, as he hated seeing Umtha upset. He knew she deeply loved Hannah and wanted to tell her everything but had promised not to. Thankfully, the women of the harem only knew minor details and a lot of rumors about supposed events. None of them had firsthand experience or could say for sure what happened between Hathlisora and Kevin.

Frank sat back to ponder that idea, as they had this conversation before. In that earlier discussion, Hannah had suggested that Hathlisora found a way out, but Kevin had prevented her from leaving. Was it done out of love, spite, or pure greed? None of them could say, but it did seem plausible that what tore them apart was her desire to go. He couldn’t imagine how angry Hannah would have become if they had found a way out and he had refused to let her leave.

That thought didn’t sit well in his heart, and he struggled to imagine watching her go. He loved her so much he would tell her to leave while dying inside with every word. He closed his eyes, hugging the wounded woman in his arms for comfort as they shared the pain of the moment. He was grateful when soft hands came around Umtha's back, and Hannah leaned into the woman, resting her head on Umthas.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart,” Hannah whispered. “That must have been hard on you. I should have told you to go speak to Legeis while I asked these questions. I know you could probably tell me a lot more than they did, and it must be killing you to keep it in.”

Umtha nodded slowly as Hannah kissed at the top of her head.

“Thank you for loving me so much,” Hannah said as her bright eyes turned Frank’s way. “And thank you for being a part of our family.”

“So, what do you want to do now?” Frank asked as Hannah held Umtha in his lap.

“You know what, Blackbast is right. We need to do something fun,” Hannah said as she stood back. “And I have a reputation to uphold.”

“A reputation for what?” Blackbast asked as Hannah pried Umtha from Frank’s arms. She pulled the sad goblin to her chest, cradling her with love as she stroked her little angel.

“Singing,” Hannah said. “This is the singing city, after all, and I think it's time my wife joined me.”

“Joined you doing what?” Umtha asked as she looked into Hannah’s eyes.

“My love, I want you to sing to the city with me,” Hannah explained.

Frank saw Umtha's ears go up as she was shocked by the revelation that Hannah wanted her to sing. He spoke up, agreeing it would be lovely for them to start singing to the people. Quinny readily agreed, and Breanne relented after some pressing. Hannah took them to the side and ran them through a song, practicing them until they had a good harmony.

Frank walked behind the girls with Blackbast on one arm and Rejeen on the other. The two feline women were excited by what was happening and beaming with pride over the harem. Other girls trailed in their wake, anxious to hear the coming song.

Hannah stood on the balcony, looking over the city as the morning sun began to warm the streets. Breanne and Quinny stood to her left, while Umtha stood on her right, holding a hand as she looked down nervously.

“Are my little dark angels ready?” Hannah asked.

“I don’t know if I have it right,” Quinny said.

“We practiced it twenty times,” Breanne said. “I am sure we can manage it.”

“But it’s not really words,” Quinny insisted.

“It’s the same thing Gisley does,” Breanne said. “A soothing harmony bolstered by our voices.”

“Sheesh, were you a singing instructor or something?” Quinny asked with a glare at Breanne.

“No, I just happen to know your voice is beautiful, and you can manage this,” Breanne replied. “Now, let's begin.”

Hannah nodded and took a deep breath, beginning her part of the song. Her voice was a series of notes, carried with a beautiful, magical tone. The other girls joined in, lending their combined voices to the melody as they blended into something wonderful.

Despite having heard them practice, Frank was taken aback when the girls lifted their voices in song, singing at full ability to the city below. Hannah unleashed her flower singer powers, filling the air with magical pollen boosted by essence to extend the effect.

It was a haunting song of great beauty, given more power by the choir of voices lending their power. The girls had been afraid their song would be unpleasant, but to Frank, it was magnificent. Their perfect bodies were gifted with perfect voices, easily reaching high notes and carrying them. The girls sang a chanting harmony while Hannah rose over them, adding soothing words as they welcomed the city to a new dawn. It was a massive blessing and a praising of the people to encourage them to live a life of love and peace. It went on for several minutes before Hannah ended the song and stepped back, only to be tackled by Umtha with a hug.

“Hey, sweety,” Hannah said as she returned the hug, cradling Umtha’s head before kissing it. “I love you too.”

“That was amazing,” Quinny said. “Can we do that again?”

“Tonight,” Hannah replied. “If you want, you can help me sing the lullaby and put the city to sleep.”

Frank felt his heart race as she looked at him and smiled, a flare of love in her eyes. She whispered the words thank you as if acknowledging him for bringing her to this wonderful life. He felt the same way about her and went to join the hug, wrapping them in his arms as they stood at the railing. Then, Hannah looked into his eyes and leaned in to put her forehead against his. He could feel her love radiating to him as she expressed her simple and beautiful love.

She was a treasure to behold and he would do anything to see her happy. Still, he recognized that he wasn't prepared to be a husband, nor did he have the emotional experience to guide her. He had never even dated before and was worried he was making mistakes, especially with their very poly relationship. Would he be the one to wake up and regret his choices?

He put that thought away as Quinny joined the hug, followed by Breanne and then finally Blackbast. He wrapped his arms around them, basking in the glow of their love as he tried to understand how he had earned such a reward. With eyes closed, he savored that embrace, his family of beautiful women devoted to him with everything.

“How sweet,” Rajeen said with a smile. “It moves my heart to see such a love.”

Hannah leaned back and nodded as she looked into her husband’s eyes with adoration.

“It’s easy to love such a good man,” she said while beaming with happiness.

Frank had no idea what she saw in him, but he was grateful nonetheless. This life was full of magic, love, and happiness where his girls played with wild abandon. Never once did he dream he would have a wife or a family, yet here it was, and it was wonderful. He closed his arms around them and let out a sigh.

“I don’t know how all this happened, but I am glad it did,” he said.

“All this happened because of Hannah’s past,” Quinny said, causing an odd shift in point of view.

“What does my past have to do with it?” Hannah asked in surprise.

“Think about it,” Quinny pressed. “Whatever happened in your past put you where you and Frank could meet and set you on the road to the rest of us. It became the driving force that brought us closer and closer until finally, we formed a family.”

“She's right,” Breanne gasped. “All this love and happiness is the result of whatever happened in that past. All this time, we have been thinking of it as something to dread when, in actuality, we should be grateful. It brought us all here together.”

“So my past is a good thing?” Hannah asked as she looked at the others one by one.

“What an interesting series of events,” Blackbast said. “First, we realize that Hannah is afraid to be happy because she feels guilty about a past she can't remember. Then, we realize that this very past is the catalyst that created this family and the love it shares. Truly, we have all been fools.”

“We have,” Frank agreed as he smiled at Hannah. “But now that we realize it.”

“We can stop being so afraid,” Hannah finished as she smiled even wider, her long tail waving happily as she hugged him tight.

“Oh, Frank, I love you,” she said as tears filled her eyes.

“I love you too,” he replied. “Now, let's go flying.”

“You want to fly?” Hannah asked as she bounced back. “I love to fly.”

Frank knew she did, and all he wanted to do right now was soar above it all with his girls at his side. He took one of Hannah's collars and put it on before accepting a kiss that turned him into an incubus. Blackbast commented that she would get him to serve in the temple if he insisted on wearing a collar, causing the others to laugh.

With a cry of joy, Frank spread his wings, taking to the sky as the girls gave chase. They spent the rest of the day playing like fools above a city that admired the beauty of their love. Many would point to the skies and call Frank the luckiest man alive, but he knew the truth. Luck had nothing to do with the love he felt for the woman at his side. Somehow, he knew they belonged together, and this was only the beginning of their adventures.