[Chaos Echo]

Hm... I realized there's not many chapters of this left. Sad day.

Chapter 25

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“Those two really are friendly, once you get to know them.” “Oui, Madame.” “’s too bad Penelope didn’t speak a word of English. Communicating through you was hella awkward.” “Mm…” Carline and Tuicia were walking back to Cecily’s car, which they’d borrowed again for their second trip to fix J?rmafi. She’d found a way to fix her skin properly in her research, and true to her word, she returned J?rmafi’s bust to normal as well. However, the woman insisted she not put them completely back to normal. Afterwards, since her friend had been there, and it was late, she insisted that the two stay the night.


Carline had noticed, though, that Tuicia was being rather evasive lately. Not in physical presence, but she wasn’t very conversational. That was odd, since normally she delighted in the presence of Carline. “So where did you park it, again?” “Over ‘ere, somewhere, Ah sink…” “Why didn’t you just park in her driveway?” “Ah don’t know…” They reached the vehicle, and Tuicia put the keys in the driver’s door, but stopped before unlocking it. “M-madame…” “What?” “Um… since we are alone for ze moment…” She hesitated, as though unsure of whether she wanted to continue or not. “Z-zere is somesing Ah want to ask you…” “Oh? What is it?” “Madame… do you-”


“Je le savais!” Came a voice, startling both of them. “Je savais que j’avais entendu la voix de ma petite Cici!” Tuicia froze up at the words. “Merde…” She whispered to herself. A woman came out, curiously, from inside a bush. The strange watcher was tall and also somewhat gangly. She had on a simple outfit highlighting her slender body; yoga pants with a midriff baring shirt, both in a light, pale green. Her hair was also green, but in a different shade, a fern green. It was pulled tight, into a braided ponytail that was unnervingly reminiscent of a scorpion’s tail. She looked as though she was probably mid-thirties, and had seen a few better days, looking slightly unkempt. Something about her seemed off, but Carline could not place it.


The purple-eyed woman approached the two, brushing off the various things from her odd hiding spot, and Tuicia stood frozen in her spot. “Alors? Comment ma Cici se porte-t-elle?” she asked. “?a va. C-?a va.” Tuicia answered flatly. “Bien, c'est bien.” Carline looked between the two. “Who is that? What are you talking about?” “Oh! My apologies!” The woman said, promptly switching language. “I didn’t know you were an English speaker! Cici, ‘ow about you introduce moi?” “M-Madame…” Tuicia said in a small voice, gesturing shakily toward the woman. “Zis… zis is Madame Gartave…” “Oui. Pleased to meet you, Madame…?” “Carline.” She said, extending her arm to meet the other in her offered handshake. As she did, she felt a small jolt and a bit of a glow. “Ah. You are a powerful sorceress, no? So that is where you ‘ave been all this time then, is it, Cici? With ‘er?”


Tuicia came around the car to the same side as the two sorceresses, suddenly subdued and submissive. Gelly looked her up and down. “Mon Dieu… Cici, you ‘ave gotten even more beautiful since you left moi…” Tuicia blushed a bit and became rather interested in the curb. “M-merci, Madame…” “You ‘ave filled out so slightly, but so nicely…” She walked over to her and looked down her shirt. She then lightly stroked one of her breasts, to which Tuicia shivered, but otherwise did not react. Carline opened her mouth, but Gelly just went on. “Your breasts… they ‘ave gotten a bit bigger… so very soft and full, and yet so firm…” “Madame…”


Carline had no idea whether she was being referred to, or Gelly was. But she stood, watching the scene, unsure of whether to intervene or not. Tuicia, while plainly somewhat embarrassed, was not acting as though this was unusual of Gelly. Carline did note, though, that she felt an odd twinge of jealousy. Gelly let go of Tuicia’s chest, and gently grabbed and brought up her chin to look her in the face. “And you ‘ave matured in the face in the years you ‘ave gone… you look very lovely, Cici.” “Merci, Madame, but Ah-” Gelly wasn’t really listening, and walked around behind her. “Ooh… this is wonderful. Your butt ‘as gotten so big… you have such a womanly lower ‘alf…” Just then, to Carline’s surprise, she yanked up Tuicia’s skirt to expose a panty shot. “Oh… she is so plump and ripe… you ‘ave developed so nicely, Cici…”


At that, Tuicia jerked forward away from her. Gelly seemed surprised. “Cici… what is ze matter? ‘ave I done something wrong?” “Madame Gartave,” she started hesitantly, as though it was taking a great deal of effort for her to say it, but cut straight to it. “Ah am no longer affiliated wizh you. Ah ‘ave… Ah ‘ave grown up, and Ah ‘ave left. Ah… Ah am sorry, Madame, but… ze bird ‘as left ze nest.” Gelly looked disheartened, but also got to the point. “Please, Cici. They… they took everything from me. They took the brothel… they took my fortune… even now they ‘unt me… you are the only one ‘oo still-” “N-no, Madame! Ah will not be used for your sick desires! Not… not aneemore! Madame Gartave, what you need to do is turn yourself in for ze sings you ‘ave done! You ‘ave… you ‘ave run illicite operations for years, you ‘ave forced a teenage girl into your vile business, and now when you ‘ave finally been stopped, you spitefully cursed ze one ‘oo did it! Ze least you can do is… is go and give yourself to ze Knights, and per’aps keep ze tiny amount of respect Ah still ‘ave for you!”


Gelly blankly stared at her for a moment, and then backed away, putting both Tuicia and Carline in her field of vision. “So this is ‘ow you thank me…” She said, in a suddenly weary voice. “I gave you a ‘ome, and I took care of you, and I loved you, and this is what I get…” “Per’aps from your perspective it was love, Madame Gartave, but-” “Again! Again with the ‘Madame Gartave’! Why am I no longer just ‘Madame’?” “Because…” Tuicia said, walking over to where Carline stood. She put her arms around one of Carline’s, holding it close. “Madame Carline… she is now ma Madame. And she always will be.”


Given the moment, Carline suppressed her flattery over the comment. Gelly did not look so amused. “Carline. Carline Marzelaei. Oui, I thought your name sounded familiar. I know of you. Carline Marzelaei, that foul, evil sorceress ‘oo lives in ‘er mansion off of civilization. But no. I ‘ave been ‘earing zat you ‘ave turned yourself around. You ‘ave gone soft. No, rather, scratch that. You ‘ave pretty much always been soft. When I ‘eard about you, I was actually a bit frightened. You burst onto the scene with an explosive start; more than two ‘undred deaths, as I recall. And then after that… nothing. You petered out and did not a single thing. For eight straight years. Sure, you terrorized a town every now and then, but what did you do? You stole back with you books. Books.”


“So what? Maybe I was sick of being known as something I’m not.” “Then why did you kill them?” “It was… it was an accident!” “One ‘ell of an accident.” Carline did not respond, but both pairs of purple eyes glared into each other. “But enough of that.” Gelly looked back to Tuicia, her expression immediately softening. “Cici… please, think about this. You do not know what you are saying. You are the only thing I have left now… I need you…”


Tuicia bit her lip, trying to not budge an inch. “Madame, please, Ah am telling you… turn yourself in… Ah will put in words for you, in ‘opes zat your punishment is not so very ‘arsh… Zen maybe after zat, ‘owever long zey keep you… Maybe… maybe zen we can…” “Don’t you know what they’ll do to me? Cici, they’ll keep my magic from me. I’m already so old… I wouldn’t be able to survive like that for long…” Tuicia looked down, unsure of what to say. “Cici… we could… we could just go. Somewhere else. You and I. Start up the business again. This time ‘ave you in an executive position, as my equal…” “No! Madame Gartave, enough wizh ze brozhel! It was an evil sing!” “Then we’ll do another thing! I don’t care! Just come back with me…” “Ah… Ah cannot, Madame… you are abusive, psychologically and emotionally…” “I can change, Cici…” “No! You cannot! You clearly will not, since you are still ze same now as you were zen! You are playing wizh mes emotions, guilting moi into zis, just as you would ‘ave when Ah was zere!” Gelly was taken aback at her words. “Cici…” “Just get wizh us, into ze car. Ah will take you to Dame J?rmafi, and Ah will be sure zat zey do not sentence you past what is reasonable. Please, Madame, at least show me zat you ‘ave some form of repentance for what you ‘ave done!”


Gelly was quiet for a bit following that. “So…” She said, her voice rough again. “This is how it’s gonna be then. Your loyalty lies with this sorceress now.” “Oui.” “I won’t ‘ave it.” “Pardonnez?” “I won’t. ‘AVE IT!” Gelly roared, her hands suddenly glowing a violent red. She fiercely threw her arm sideways, and Cecily’s car was thrown into the street carelessly. Tuicia shrieked, and Carline immediately jumped to attention, priming herself for whatever Gelly did next. “I will not allow this! If I cannot ‘ave Cici, then I won’t let you ‘ave ‘er either!” She said, pointing an accusing finger at Carline.


She threw another spell, which Carline recognized as the same variety, and blocked it appropriately. “So you know ‘ow to defend… very nice…” Gelly switched to a bright yellow, which Carline recognized and also promptly blocked. This went on for a bit, Carline noting with worry that the spells Gelly was using were getting more and more deadly. “You cannot keep that up forever, Carline. Sooner or later, I will get you, just like I got that J?rmafi. But this time I do not feel so forgiving…”


Carline took the opportunity of her talking to throw out a spell of her own, which Gelly hastily stopped. “About time you went on the offensive! Let’s see what you can do!” Now the two traded blows, each skillfully blocked by the other. Tuicia stood by helplessly, having not brought any form of weapon but her own body, and she had the feeling that trying to attack Gelly head on at the moment was useless. She looked around at the houses not far from them. “Doesn’t anyone hear this? Someone, help us!”


Gelly threw a spell Carline didn’t recognize, and it knocked her to the ground hard. “Madame!” Tuicia cried, and was immediately at her side. “You keep away from ‘er, Cici! I cannot bear to ‘ave ‘er take you from me! Not for even longer!” “Madame, you ‘ave lost your mind!” She tugged on Carline’s arm to get her back up. “Madame! Get up! ‘urry!” Carline was somewhat stunned from the blow, but got back to her feet while Gelly sportingly waited. “Already you are slipping? ‘ow sad. I expected more of you.” “Yeah? Then how about this?”


Her hands glowed pink, but it was not the normal color; it seemed livelier. Gelly took it straight on, unsure of how to block it. “What was that? Is that really what I think…?” “It’s a little something I’ve been experimenting with. I call it the buxom spell.” “Buxom spell? The name evokes something I am familiar with… but ‘ow do you expect it to save you?” She tried slinging another spell, one that she had set to bust her opponent’s skin, but she felt blocked up. “That is not right…” She tried again, and again, but to no avail; in fact, she could instead feel a bit of pressure building in her chest. “So it is what I thought. I know this spell.”


Gelly put to work the counterspell for it, but to her surprise, nothing happened. She felt her bust jump forward a bit as well. “Qu'est-ce que ceci? Comment ce fait-il que je ne peux...?” She tried the counterspell again, but her breasts just swelled a bit bigger. “’ow are you doing this?” She futilely did it, again and again, and each time her breasts bounded forward, tightening her shirt. By the third or fourth, she also felt a light tingling within her chest. She stopped her magic, and grasped her swollen breasts, which had gone from softballs to larger grapefruits, while Carline watched smugly. “What the ‘ell did you do? Answer moi!” “Oh, it’s something my apprentice and I have been fine-tuning for the last week or so. Y’see, I took some anti-magic technology from the Knights, and integrated it with one of my personal favorite spells.” “You… anti-magic…” Gelly was slowly coming to the realization. “Yep. Every time you cast a spell, your boobs get bigger.”


“No! I will not be stopped by something like this! There is no way it can keep up with all of my…” She cast another, pouring more energy into it, and she felt her breasts continuously fill up. She felt them get large and heavy, beginning to pull her shirt above their bottoms. In response she just put in more, ignoring Carline’s disbelieving stare. “I can sense it not keeping up with moi… I will pass its effects shortly…” She put in more and more, her claim looking validated by the fact that her breasts were no longer increasing in rate with her effort.


But then, as she passed what she felt was the threshold, Gelly felt the tingling in her chest reach a peak. Her breasts spasmed, and she felt a faint dampness at her nipples. At that, she cut off her magic and looked down, and saw, with shock, that she seemed to be… “Lactating? What is…?” “Y-yes,” Carline said, surprised by it. “I predicted that it might not keep up sometimes, so I found a secondary way to divert the magic…”


Gelly put her hands down firmly over her hard, leaking nipples, and she could feel that her breasts were still growing from her recent magic. “D-damn you!” She looked around, seeking an escape route, and as she did so, her breasts slipped out beneath her shirt. “Oh! N-non! Stop it!” She dropped to her knees, struggling with the somewhat pleasurable feeling of her milk flowing down her palms. “My… my seins… they are…” Gelly trailed off, sitting in silence as her volleyball breasts swelled, but slowed.


Carline then turned to Tuicia. “She’s done. That spell’s gonna last some time, so she’s of no danger. I’m gonna go fetch J?rmafi; wait here and watch her.” She disappeared, leaving the other two alone. They sat awhile, while Tuicia nervously held one arm. “Madame… Ah am sorry to see you like zis… but you must…” Gelly looked up at her former adoptee.


[author’s note: this entire conversation is in French, so it’s more convenient to just present it in English]


“Cici… Tuicia… please… you can still help me.” “N-no. You’ve brought this on yourself, Madame Gartave. You were going to kill my Madame. I can’t forgive you for that.” “Cici… please… you were all… all that I…” “Madame, if you would at least accept this gracefully…” “You have a car, right over there… we could… you could help me escape…” “No, Madame.” “I can… Cici, your parents. I know where they are. I-” “What?” Tuicia was in disbelief. There was no way she could have known, not all this time, not without telling her! And to reveal it only now? “You’re bluffing.” “No, honest! Monsieur Aimeric, Madame Jeanette? I know them. I could… I could take you to them! And your younger sister, Rosaire! I know her too! She has become a successful young woman! I could reunite you with them, all of them!” Tuicia hesitated. Gelly was correct on all of their names. But could she really…?


Tuicia looked up and saw Carline in the distance, with J?rmafi and Penelope behind her. Judging by how she was acting, she didn’t seem to remember where she’d left them. Now would be a perfect opportunity to just up and leave. But that would mean leaving Carline behind. But it couldn’t be for too long… all she would need to do is take Gelly to… to somewhere else. And after all, she was the woman who raised her, flawed as her methods were, in lieu of her actual mother. And to get a chance at last to see her family, after two whole decades, to find out why they’d…


She held the car keys in her hand, staring at them in deep thought. “Well?” Gelly asked impatiently, having switched back to English. She was trying to find a comfortable way to hold her breasts, which had stopped now, the size of watermelons. Whenever they moved, it seemed they were stimulated to excrete a tiny bit of milk. Tuicia let out a deep sigh. “Ah am sorry, ma Madame…”


She stuck her arm straight up, waving it back and forth, and called out. “Madame! We are over ‘ere!” Carline heard and saw her, and began to hurry over. Gelly looked down. “You little shit.” Carline, J?rmafi, and Penelope reached them, the last one looking incredibly surprised. “Qu'est-ce que vous lui avez fait?” J?rmafi ignored translating her question, all business. “I thought you were still with moi, that you had any sense of loyalty at all!” Gelly told Tuicia. “You worthless bitch! I gave you your chance, and I took you in when you were in need, and you’ve spat in my face!” J?rmafi grabbed her by the arm and began to walk her away, while Penelope continued to stare incredulously at her chest. Gelly did not struggle, but continued shouting over her shoulder. “I will get back, Cici, and I will not forgive you for your actions! I will punish you most dearly! Your famille was right in abandoning you!”


Tuicia watched them go in silence. Carline walked up behind her and put a hand on her shoulder. “Tuicia…” “Let’s just go, Madame.” They went to the car, and, finding that it didn’t have any particularly noticeable damage, got in and left. Tuicia did not speak a word the whole way.