Blessed Curse of Lust

“I know I went a little too far; I’m sorry! It was just hard to resist, you know?” Lily was trying her best to apologize to Yelena for what she did at the restaurant.

Yelena sighed. It was really hard to stay mad at Lily. Still, this was way too close.

“Look, I would be lying if I said I didn’t like it, but it is not that simple. I also have to consider my family's reputation. If we were caught and some rumors started to spread, that could hurt more than just me.” Yelena explained.

Lily lowered her head, looking very remorseful about her actions. She clearly didn’t consider it from that point of view.

“I get it. I’ll do my best not to do that again. It’s just hard for me, you know. I’ve always struggled with this kind of problem. High libido and low impulse control don’t exactly match well. Of course, the type of shop my family runs doesn’t help either.” Lily explained her side of the story.

Yelena could sympathize with her. Thanks to her powers, she was aware of how hard it was not to give in to her lust. Even if it is a somewhat different kind of situation. What really caught the white-haired girl’s attention was the last part, though.

“What kind of shop?” Yelena asked.

They didn’t really talk much about their past yet, or how they lived, so Yelena didn’t even know that Lily’s family owned a shop of any kind. Now that she thought of it, she knew awfully little about Lily in general.

“Ah, that… well, I don’t normally talk about it. They own a magic tool shop.” She answered.

Yelena raised her eyebrows a little higher. That sounded fairly normal; she couldn’t figure out how it related to her sexual desires. Lily noticed the confusion on Yelena’s face. She took a deep breath and prepared herself.

“They sell magic tools… the adult kinds. Sex toys, okay?” Lily clearly didn’t like talking about this topic, which was odd given how open she was about a lot of other things. At least, it did explain a few things. Yelena could imagine that when Lily got old enough, she would be roped into the family business to help out. Maybe not at the front desk, but in some other ways.

She likely had plenty of opportunity to find out about all sorts of new, interesting, and certainly not common interests when it came to sex and sexuality. It wouldn’t be far-fetched to think that this heavily shaped how Lily viewed these things.

“Yes, I think I get it. What I’m wondering is why you seem a bit embarrassed about it. Not the other things you have done, but talking about this store seems to be hard. Why?” Yelena asked her, she was genuinely curious why it gave her such a hard time to talk about it.

“Yeah, I don’t like talking about it. It is scary. People often judge us for it. It was not easy to grow up in a small town as the daughter of the local sex shop owners.” Yelena could see now how it could be a problem.

“It is not a big place. There are enough people that you don’t know everybody, as in some villages, but small enough for news or rumors to spread like wildfire. Once people figured it out, I had to endure a lot of teasing, sometimes even bullying, because of that.” It seemed like Lily had some difficult times of her own, too.

Yelena could sympathize with her. She knew full well that people talked, spread rumors, often with malicious intent. Yelena, who was accustomed to life in the upper society, had to deal with a lot of this. Even if those rumors were untrue, it was hard to wash off that stain.

“Do you hate what they are doing? I mean running that store?” Yelena asked.

Lily shook her head.

“No, not at all. I mean, there was a time when I did, but I made peace with it. It is fairly important, even if people tend to look down on it. People have needs or want some extra fun, and they need a place where they can get the right tools. Gods know, it turned out to be me who needed it the most.” She laughed at the end.

The two continued walking down the street. A thought hit Yelena’s head, especially after she heard that last part.

“Did you ever take anything from there? I mean the toys and stuff?” Yelena was curious.

“Oh, are you interested in my collection? I can show you some stuff some other day. To put it simply, yes. Although not exactly the most legitimate way.” She awkwardly scratched her face.

“Did you steal it?” It was hard for Yelena to believe that Lily would be stealing, but then again, if her libido problem was as bad as she said it was, it might not be unthinkable.

Lily tried to think of how best to explain the situation. It was not as simple.

“It is a little bit more nuanced. Have you ever been in a shop like that?” Lily asked, but she already had a good idea about the answer.

Yelena shook her head. Obviously, she never even dared to get close to such a place, let alone walk inside.

“Well, usually when we get products, we get one to put on display. People can try them out. Not like TRY, try them, but like, check how it works or what it feels like to hold it in their hands. That kind of stuff. So when we stopped selling a certain product, I would secretly swipe the display one. It would have been thrown out anyway, so I don’t consider it stealing.” Lily explained.

It made sense: if they were going to throw it out, then her taking it isn’t really a bad thing.

“Did you ever get caught?” Yelena asked with a cheeky smile.

“No, not directly. I assume they knew, but they never said anything. So, over time, I had a chance to build a decent collection. Although it would be nice to actually pick the things I wanted.” Lily shrugged.

Yelena thought about it for a second, then she had a bright idea.

“Well, next time we visit, maybe we can check out that store and get some new things for us. Wait… no, scrap that. That would be a horrible idea. I’m so dumb! Probably it would be better if we just visited a random shop here, wouldn’t it?” Halfway through, Yelena realized how awkward her original idea was.

Lily burst out in loud laughter. They had to stop because Lily couldn’t even walk; that is how hard she was laughing. At some point, she was holding her stomach as it started to hurt. It took her a while before she recovered from it.

“Yeah, going there, buying the toys we are planning to use on each other. In the shop my parents own and operate. I have low inhibitions; I’ll be the first to admit that, but that is too much, even for me.” Lily pointed it out, and Yelena had already realized it too.

Yelena was awkwardly scratching the back of her head. It was such a stupid thing to say. She felt a bit embarrassed about it. Still, seeing Lily laugh that hard was cute, so if for nothing else, it was worth it for that.

“Either way, I’m not against the idea of looking up some store here. I’m sure there are a few in a city this big. Get some nice toys to spice up our time together.” Lily looked more than eager about that part for sure.

****

After they returned to the school, they split up and went to their own rooms. Both took a shower and got ready for the party. As usual, Yelena got a little distracted during the preparation. She couldn’t help it. It was one flaw she could never overcome.

Thanks to that, they arrived a little later to the event than planned, but it was fine. The door to the group’s room was closed, so Yelena knocked.

Just as before, it was Justin who opened the door. He smiled, seemingly happy to see Yelena.

“Ah, great! I was worried you might not come. I see you also brought a plus one! Mind introducing the beautiful lady?” He asked.

Yelena was sure that Lily could introduce herself, but it was customary, so she went ahead with it.

“This is Lily Renla, my girlfriend.” Lily blushed slightly when she heard how Yelena introduced herself.

There was no doubt in Justin’s mind what that meant. Not that he minded, or anyone else for that matter. In this realm, being gay wasn’t shunned, although in certain circumstances it could cause some issues. Especially amongst nobility, but they had ways to solve that issue. Thanks to Lucia, though, Yelena won’t have to worry about that either.

“Well, it is nice to meet you, Lily! I’m Justin Lunek. I’m also currently the leader of the Azure Dragons.” He introduced himself.

Yelena folded her arms up, shooting a mean look at Justin.

“So she gets a full introduction, but not me, huh?” She asked, pretending to be offended.

Justin knew what she was talking about. His earlier smile faded a little.

“I’m sorry about that! I really am! I sometimes jump straight into things and forget some important steps along the way. I realized I forgot to properly introduce myself to you after you left.” He sounded very remorseful.

Yelena chuckled and let her arms down. She figured something like that was going on. Justin seemed a little excited about the tryout, so it probably slipped his mind.

“It is fine, don’t worry.” Yelena waved it away.

The boy let out a sigh of relief. He looked at the two, then turned his head back towards the room before he started speaking again.

“You know, Danny will be really sad.” Justin put on a very obvious fake sad voice. “He was hoping he could invite you to a date.” His fake sad voice was seriously faltering by the end of it, and then he laughed.

Yelena snorted after hearing that. She wasn’t sure how much of it was a joke and how much of it was actually true, but she was sure it wouldn’t happen either way.

“I’m afraid I’ll have to break his heart then. I have no interest in him. It is not personal; I just don’t care about men, plus I already have a beautiful girlfriend.” Yelena put her arm around Lily’s waist and pulled her closer.

Justin was glad that Yelena was picking up on the joke and played along, even if what she said was true.

“Don’t worry about him. He will be over it in three seconds when he sees another woman.” Justin waved it off.

“That bad, huh?” Yelena could tell from that that Danny was more than likely a womanizer.

Justin shrugged.

“Oh, it is worse! I have stories, so many stories.” He laughed.

“If you are telling them my dating stories, Justin, I’ll string you up on the tallest tower, I swear. Also, why didn’t you invite them in already? Why the fuck are you standing in the doorway, you imbecile!” That was Danny’s voice coming from somewhere deeper in the room.

The three laughed, but there was one thing Danny was right about. Justin quickly stepped aside and let them in.

The two girls walked inside, and Justin closed the door behind them. The party was well on its way. Quite a few people gathered here, most of whom Yelena didn’t yet know but assumed were members as well. In the background, a magical device played some soothing classical music. It wasn’t loud enough to be distracting, but it gave the party a nice ambiance.

“Okay, so drinks are there; feel free to pick anything you like. When you're done, join me over there.” Justin first pointed at the table holding a bunch of bottles, all top-shelf alcohol, of course, and then he pointed at the couch just in the middle of the room.

The two girls approached the table. There were several different types of glasses already prepared. Other than that, there was a wide variety of drinks to choose from.

Yelena already made up her mind, and grabbed a wine glass, then poured herself a glass of the red wine at the end ot the table.

Lily had a much harder time making a decision. She had drunk before, but with all these bottles, she couldn’t even recognize a single one. Yelena noticed it quickly and came to her aid.

“What type of drinks do you like? I can help you out.” Yelena offered.

Lily pondered for a moment. She did have a few drinks since she turned 18, but not a lot. Still, she managed to figure out something.

“Well, I like something that is sweeter and preferably doesn’t burn my throat like hell. I get sick from those.” She explained her preference.

Yelena already figured out the best one for Lily. She grabbed a whiskey glass and lifted a bottle with intricate carvings. The bottle was containing some kind of clear liquid, and Lily was clearly clueless about what it might be.

Yelena poured a tiny amount into the glass, then handed it over to Lily. The girl took it and lifted it to her nose to take a sniff. It smelled sweet and fruity. Then, she put the glass against her lips and drank what little Yelena poured into it.

Just like the smell, the taste was the same. It barely even felt like she was drinking alcohol, and it sure didn’t burn her throat either. Yelena watched her, waiting for Lily’s opinion.

“It is really good! What is it?” She asked.

Yelena was glad Lily liked what she picked out. The white-haired girl reached for the glass, then poured it halfway up. Finally, she put a couple of ice cubes into it from the bowl that was sitting on a magical tool that kept the ice frozen.

“It's called Comar. It comes from the southern region. Don’t ask me how it is made of what it is made of; I have no idea, but I had it a few times, and I thought you might like it.” She answered the question and handed the glass back to Lily.

The girl took it and drank a few more sips. Just like the first time, it was really delicious.

“Yeah, it is great, thanks! It hardly even feels like alcohol.” She pointed it out.

Yelena chuckled a little.

“Exactly! That is why you should be careful. Despite not feeling like alcohol, it can hit hard. So better to just slowly sip on it.” She suggested.

Lily nodded; it was easy to see how it can be a bit dangerous when it doesn’t even feel like she is drinking alcohol.

“Come, let’s join the others.” Yelena nodded towards where Justin was sitting and started walking