The Ogre Strength Fairy and the Eldest 'Son'-Chapter 365 - You Shared Yours, I’ll Share Mine

Her letter to Yatrel had grown longer than intended, flowing from detailed and respectful gratitude into something approaching confession.

/ ...I find myself questioning whether I possess even a fraction of the maternal wisdom you demonstrated so naturally. In moments of reflection, I recognize how much the remembered experiences of my past life have shaped me. Into someone who fundamentally lacks the sort of gentleness that motherhood seems to require... /

The quill hovered above the page, ink threatening to blot over the very word ’motherhood’ as memories she’d kept carefully contained began to surface. Elua murmured to the empty room, save the half-asleep fox, her voice carrying the flat tone reserved for her most honest moments.

"Would it be like with Onya? That doesn’t feel like... enough. In ways that matter."

The letter momentarily forgotten, she rose from the desk and moved to the bedroll. Her fingers traced the rip she’d made earlier. The damaged fabric was a physical manifestation of the control she’d lost... a silly temper she could never afford to lose against a future child.

"Was I this unstable before? I certainly destroyed a lot of things back then."

The fox had risen from its spot by the door and approached with cautious steps, settling just within arm’s reach. With a sigh, she gave it more pets

"I told her about defensive techniques. Made it sound like tactical wisdom. But that wasn’t the whole truth."

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Their final night together before the war separated them to different forts had been precious. Curled together in Qatrand’s bed, with an arm a warm weight across her shoulders... their conversation had drifted from Yecine traditions into darker depths.

"Your experiences were so... structured."

The memory surfaced somewhat unbidden, carrying with it the phantom sensation of rough stone against her back and the metallic taste of fear. Elua turned in her husband-wife’s embrace, pressing closer to the solid warmth of the muscular frame beside her. Feeling the steady rhythm of her heartbeat through the thinner fabric of her sleep shirt.

"In a way, that structure protected you. Shaped you more appropriately than suddenness could have."

Sensing the turn, Qatrand’s fingers began tracing lazy patterns along her spine, a gentle encouragement to continue without pressure. Or to say nothing if she did not wish.

"We were poor and rural, so talking about catching a small animal to eat is only so interesting. However, my first time drawing the blood... of a human... I was closer to your age now. Just another defenseless woman walking alone. The kind of target that doesn’t last long in troubled times."

She felt Qatrand’s arm tighten protectively around her shoulders, spirit wrapping around her and the fragment shared with fierce tenderness. The gesture had been automatic, instinctive - her fortress responding to perceived threat even across the barriers of time and memory.

And it almost made her El just not talk further. The brunette restsed her face against the jugular notch of Qat’s throat, breathing in the familiar scent that always calmed her racing thoughts in some directions while exciting them in so many others.

"The first one who tried to target that sort of vulnerability seriously... well, I’d already started cultivating by then. Though I didn’t fully understand what that meant, as I had no teachers." ƒreewebηoveℓ.com

A hollow laugh escaped the heiress, the sound muffled against the warm skin she’d found accepting her so far.

"When he reached for me after what he said, what he threatened - I just tried to knock his hand away. Broke his mortal wrist instead. The snap was so loud. The look on his face as I ran... wasn’t half as shocked as my own."

Qatrand remained silent, her free hand moving to cup the back of Elua’s head. Calloused fingers worked through brown strands with deep patience, offering comfort without judgment. The sort of comfort that the girl didn’t really need... for this point in the story.

"After that, I started learning everything I could about cultivation with more and more interest - still with no dependable teachers. Eventually I became an Enchanter in essence, and I began carrying acidic compounds to control. For when running wasn’t an option."

The hand in her hair stilled for a moment before resuming its gentle ministrations.

"The second time I couldn’t run immediately, was therefore quite different..."

Elua’s voice somehow grew even flatter, and she’d felt Qatrand’s body tense beneath her. Even without elaboration, the change in her tone had conveyed the gravity of what followed.

"That one was stronger. Faster. An actual cultivator that got his hands on me before I could even try to use my weak illusions. When he pinned me down and raised a blade..."

Strong arms pulled her tighter, like it could create a cocoon of safety around her smaller frame. The heiress appreciated it so much, but it still wasn’t where she needed the comfort.

"I didn’t think. Just grabbed the vial and... he screamed. I’ll never forget the sound of it, even if I heard it so many times in so many different ways throughout my life."

The details of what the Acid did had remained unspoken, but her spirit pressed desperately against Qatrand’s. Seeking assurance from her Anchor that these revelations wouldn’t change how her beloved saw her.

"That’s why you developed your illusions more than the rest? To avoid such direct confrontation?"

The low voiced question was soft, with lips brushing against her mint-drop’s temple.

"Usually safer for them if I avoided fighting, because... well, but more importantly it was safer for me. I had not begun learning martial arts in any proper way. Though, sometimes even illusive manipulation isn’t enough."

"Is that why you pushed me toward defensive techniques? So I wouldn’t have to-"

"Because your swordsmanship was frankly terrible when I saw it."

The interruption had been blunt enough to make the Yecine stiffen, but Elua er Goltbred, the ancient cultivator who had seen both genius and tryhards... felt the need to be honest. Brutally so, unlike the gentler convincing she’d done to ’play’ together when they were at the Youth Guild.

"All loutish force and no adaptability. What would have happened when you met something stronger than you? Or faster? Could you have still just swung down once and solved everything?"

Pushing up from her chest, mint eyes focused sharply on her spouse’s face even through their emotional dullness.

"You needed to learn how to deflect that first strike that you could not have as you were. To read an opponent’s movements. And I needed to teach those things to you before it became harder."

"El..."

"The elders admonishing you weren’t wrong about multiple opponents being dangerous - or that taking too much time being defensive can sometimes be problematic, depending on the situation."

One hand moved to trace the strong line of her husband-wife’s jaw. Temporarily seeking shelter in the memories of helping her beloved improve her martial breadth. Instead of where she was leading the conversation before.

"But, no matter what they say, charging in without proper defensive foundations is just asking to die needlessly. Your family performs well for the region, but they would never make it past Breacher with their outlooks. Never would I allow that to limit you."

Qatrand’s response was to hold her face and kiss her wife before hugging her back to her chest. Letting their spirits intertwine in wordless reassurance. They remained like that for many minutes, breathing synchronized in near meditation - but clearly not ready to fall asleep until Elua felt ready to continue.

"I started talking to tell you about the time that drove me to actually kill someone..."

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