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“So, I was wondering,” Yngya folded her hands in front of her and bowed, “would you be willing to help me bring back the sheep?”
Lamb stared at her at a loss for words. They'd brought back Yngya only recently, and she hadn't made any strange requests so far. “What do you mean exactly?”
She stood up straight and spoke with zero hesitation. “I would like you to join me in the mating tent. I wish to have lambs of my own.” Okay, they hadn't misheard then. She continued, “Fear not, Shepherd. If you do not wish to, I shall not bring it up again.”
They were about to say no, say that they had a husband, but they stopped. Even though they were married to Narinder, he’d never once gone to the mating tent with them. Hells, he always went to Ratau's place during the rite of lust.
On their wedding night, they tried to sleep with him, but he got angry and stormed off. He was gone for three days before they finally dragged him back home. They had to promise to never touch him just to get him to live with them.
Lamb loved Nari, they really did, but having a celibate husband was exhausting and frustrating, to be perfectly honest. And besides, it wasn't like this would be cheating. It would just be rebuilding an extinct species. (And if they were lucky, it might make him jealous enough to finally sleep with them.) And so, they smiled at Yngya and said, “Sure!”
She nodded politely. “Thank you, Shepherd.” She spoke in a tone that would better fit a business meeting. She calmly walked towards the mating tent, and Lamb followed her.
–
Lamb emerged feeling very satisfied. They didn't know why Nari refused this. They turned as Yngya came out a minute later, looking exhausted. She dragged herself back to her hut.
Lamb stretched and sighed in a satisfied way, then turned to go back to their temple, and almost tripped over Nari. He was standing right next to the mating tent, his arms crossed and with a frown on his face.
Uh oh. Did he see them? “Nari! Hey, how are you?” They smiled innocently and tried to play it cool. “Did you want me for something?”
He narrowed his eyes at them. “I saw you, Lamb.”
“Saw what?”
He scoffed. “Do not play dumb. I saw you enter the mating tent with Yngya.”
“Oh, that?” They waved their hand dismissively. “She just wanted help to have lambs.”
“I see.” He seemed calm. “Well if you intend to sire her children, it would be cruel not to marry her.” He removed his wedding ring and held it out to them. “You should do the proper thing and divorce me and marry her.”
Their mouth hung open in shock. “Wh-what?”
“You heard me.” He grabbed their hand and pushed the ring into it. “Give this to her instead of me. It would just be downright cruel to string her along.”
No, this wasn't what they planned! They just wanted to make him jealous! They grabbed onto him desperately. “No! Nari, I don't want a divorce! I’ve only ever loved you!”
He pulled away from them. “No, I insist. Yngya is a dear friend of mine.” He brushed off his robe where they’d grabbed him. “I would just hate it if she was miserable. She deserves happiness with her family.”
Lamb’s vision was starting to blur. They were breathing way too fast. “No, please! Let's just talk about this!” They tried to grab him again and he dodged them this time. “Let's just go home!”
Narinder sighed heavily. “I suppose I needed to go back to the temple anyway.” He started walking that direction and they let out a huge sigh of relief.
Okay, they could still salvage this.
–
When they got back to the temple, Narinder immediately started packing up his things. “Nari, what are you doing?” He wasn't actually planning on moving out, was he?
He gave Lamb a confused look. “Why would I continue to live with my ex?” They flinched at his words. He turned back to his packing. “Besides, you will need room for your new wife.”
Ex. New wife. They hugged themself for comfort. “Nari, I don't want a divorce.”
He looked at them with disgust. “You intend to take multiple spouses? I will not be a part of your harem, you wretch.”
Lamb shook their head. “No, I’m not marrying Yngya! I only want you!”
Somehow his face went from disgust to pure revulsion. “You slept with her and you refuse to marry her?! What is she, your concubine?!”
They were starting to feel sick. They never thought he could look at them like that. At this rate, he would divorce them for sure. They had to risk telling him the truth. It might make him madder, but this was their only chance to not lose him.
Lamb took a few deep breaths. “When Yngya first approached me, I was going to say no. But then I thought about our wedding night.” They stared at the floor, not willing to meet his eyes yet. “That night, and every night after, you’ve never once let me touch you. We’ve never once been to the mating tent.
“I thought that if I said yes, everyone would be happy. Yngya would get her lambs, I would get to work out some frustration, and you could stay celibate.” They swallowed hard. “And also, if I’m being completely honest, I was hoping you would be jealous of her and finally sleep with me yourself.”
They finally looked up at him, and instantly regretted all of their life choices. The look on Narinder's face was now one of pure hatred. “N-Nari…” they reached a hand toward him and he slapped it away.
He growled, “Keep your disgusting hands off of me!” His eyes were thin slits, his ears were pinned back, and his fur was standing on end. “You seriously did this just because I refuse to be your fucktoy?!”
Lamb sputtered, “That's not what I said! I never once thought of you that way!”
“Lie not to me, damned Lamb!” He snarled at them. “First you betrayed me by stealing the Crown and murdering Aym and Baal. Then, if that was not bad enough, you dragged me to that temple and forced me to sit through that gods forsaken wedding.”
“Wait, hold on, that's not-”
“AND THEN,” he continued talking over them, “you tried to drag me into your bed and take me as your FUCKING TROPHY!” His hands were clenched so hard that blood was dripping from his palms. “I tried to run from you, but you dragged me back here!”
Lamb’s thoughts were all over the place. Was that really how he remembered their wedding? Okay, sure, they married him right after usurping him, but they thought he'd be happy with such an important role in the cult. They swallowed the bile rising up their throat. “S-So, when you made me promise to never touch you…”
“I may be forced to be your pet, but I refuse to be your slut!”
They covered their mouth with their hands. They really thought they were going to puke. This entire time, he thought he was just a toy to them? No, that couldn't possibly be true. “D-do you think I don't love you?”
He scoffed. “If you truly loved me, you would have freed me. Instead you moved me from one prison to another.”
They couldn't breathe. “Did you…ever love me?”
His face turned sad. “I did, until you killed my kits.”
No. Nonono. This couldn't be. But, it did explain a lot. He never smiled at them like he used to. He never laughed at their jokes anymore. He never stroked their wool anymore. He spent as little time in their vicinity as possible. They'd tried telling themself he was just busy with the cult, but…
“If…if that's really how you feel…” With shaking hands, they dropped the wedding rings into the Crown. “You can go.”
Narinder let out a huge sigh of relief, then finished packing his stuff and left. After the door shut behind him, Lamb collapsed on the floor.
–
The next morning, Narinder was standing by the teleportation stone with a missionary pack. He was finally allowed to go free! He wanted to leave immediately, but he'd promised to say goodbye to everyone, and unlike SOME PEOPLE, he actually kept his promises.
“We’ll miss you.” Asteroth looked about ready to cry. “Promise you’ll write, okay?”
“Will you ever come back to visit?” Fitrety nervously shuffled.
Hateno laid a hand on Narinder's shoulder. “We’ll keep a spot open for you, if you ever want to return.”
Narinder gave them all polite thanks. They were all nice people, but there was no way he'd ever come back to this place. There were just too many painful memories. He looked around at the faces of people he’d never see again, and he happened to see Yngya standing toward the back.
He smiled warmly at her. This seemed to give her enough courage to walk forward. “I wish to apologize, Narinder.” She gave him a polite curtsy, while her face wore a look of guilt. “I never meant to chase you away.”
“Oh no, not at all.” He quickly reassured her. “You have been nothing but kind to me. I am quite grateful to you, actually.” More grateful than he could put into words, truly. It was thanks to her that he could finally escape. He bowed to her. “Thank you for everything until now.”
“What will you do now?” Yngya asked with concern.
“My sons are out there traveling. I hope to join them.” He hoisted the pack onto his back and gave everyone one last wave. He turned to the teleportation stone, intending to leave, when he happened to see Lamb watching him from across the cult. He broke eye contact with them and stepped onto the circle. He was gone in a flash of light.
–
Lamb watched Narinder leave, hoping beyond hope he’d come back. Even if it took him a thousand years, they would wait for him to return.
They thought back to one of their best memories. It was from back in the gateway, when they were still Nari’s vessel. They'd had a particularly painful death, and so Nari held them in his hand, gently stroking their fur with his thumb.
“Fear not, my vessel.” He purred to them. “As long as you keep trying and never give up, I will always revive you.”
They decided to voice a worry they had. “My lord, what about after this mission is over?” They couldn't help but worry.
He chuckled. “I will revive you, of course.”
“Really?!” They perked up. “You’ll keep me around?!”
“Why would I not? As long as you keep your word, I shall never leave your side.” His words had made their heart soar, and they had decided then that they would marry him.
But they fucked up. They broke their word to him. They wanted to keep both the Crown and Nari, so they betrayed him and married him anyway. They thought he'd grow to love them, but they hadn't realized he already did, until they betrayed him.
They had no one to blame but themself. The only thing they could do now was wait for him. He’d waited for a savior for over a thousand years. They could wait for him as long as it took.
They were immortal. They had nothing but time.