Maidenless No Longer (Elden Ring)

Chapter 6: Melina

A/N: We do a little bit of sexin' in this fic.

-x-X-x-

"I shall remember thee, Tarnished. Smould'ring with thy meagre flame. Cower in Fear of the Night. The Hands of the Fell Omen shall brook thee no quarter."

Melina had thought she'd begun to understand her Tarnished over the last few days of following him unseen, as he journeyed throughout the Lands Between. But as the fragment of the Omen King's echoing voice slowly dissipates from the area, she finds something in his tone that resonates within her. Incredulity. Outrage. Disbelief. The Omen is just as taken aback by the Tarnished's antics as she is, for all that he did an impressive job of hiding his true reaction.

Of course, the Omen had not been watching him for days now. He had not been following her Tarnished's every move through the Lands Between as she had.

It had become abundantly clear, quite early on, that her Tarnished was very comfortable in his power. His fully realized potential made him a monster in combat, no matter what form he decided that combat was to take. From sorceries to incantations, along with a number of different weapons, her Tarnished had represented them all at one point or another while slaughtering every enemy that deigned to stand in his way.

He had also, Melina had not failed to notice, gone out of his way to befriend, comfort, and save every damsel that he came across as well. From the Sorceress Sellen hiding in her basement laboratory, to a blind girl sitting on a rock, waiting for what Melina had been sure would be her destined death. Of course, her Tarnished didn't seem to have much care for destiny, did he?

No, he would not have helped the red-haired girl, Millicent, as he had done, if he believed in destiny. Sure, it had been the older man, Gowry, who had seemingly set her Tarnished on the path to saving her... except Melina knew that wasn't the case. Her Tarnished had dipped into Caelid as if the Scarlet Rot didn't bother him even slightly, and had made a beeline for Gowry's shack, almost as if he'd known what the Elder Sage would ask of him.

He'd then moved with unerring accuracy to solve the puzzle that was Sellia, Town of Sorcery, so that he could in turn gain access to the Church of the Plague. Melina knew not how it was possible, but she did know one thing for certain... her Tarnished had known exactly where he was going. He'd gone into Caelid in order to save this girl Millicent from the Rot and left just as quickly to return to his path.

When he'd stopped at the shack upon Stormhill and comforted that blonde girl, Melina had become convinced she had his measure. The priorities of her Tarnished were easily read. He was the sort of man who thought he could save everyone. Or rather, at least every pretty woman. He was hellbent on doing so in fact.

Melina could work with that, she figured. She could make of him the weapon that she needed to get her to the foot of the Erdtree. And sure, he'd taken something of a detour, going the opposite direction of Stormveil Castle and following a path that had taken him through no less than four women that he'd then stopped to help or comfort in some fashion. But he'd eventually made his way here.

And here he had faced his first real challenge. When the fragment of the Omen King, Margit the Fell Omen, made himself known, Melina had stiffened in her hiding place. Twas not fair. Not in the slightest. Sure, it was not the Omen King at his full power. It was not Morgott, who's true essence was likely still back in Lyndell, watching over the Capital and the Erdtree itself as he'd been doing for so long.

But it was still quite a lot for a young Tarnished to be facing so early on in their journey. Was it not enough that the whole of Stormveil Castle would be against them? Was it not enough that Godrick the Grafted waited for them at the end of a hard, arduous journey through his soldiers? No, Margit had to step in to personally shit all over the Tarnished's day.