A/N: Loretta was one of the two female bosses I initially cut from the original outline, Alecto being the other one. I cut Alecto out completely half because no one really cared about her on the bonus chapter poll and half because I really didn't have any good ideas for her.
Loretta on the other hand, I got ideas for. I'm happy with what I came up with here~
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She still remembers how utterly he trounced her on his way through the boughs of the Haligtree during his first visit. Still remembers how she, Loretta, Knight of the Haligtree, had been beaten so swiftly that he hadn't even needed to deliver a killing blow. He'd knocked her from her horse and onto her ass like it was nothing and continued on while she wallowed in her shame and disgrace.
Lady Malenia would deal with him; she'd thought to herself. But in the end, Lady Malenia had NOT been able to deal with this Tarnished, no more than Loretta herself had. It did not necessarily assuage her wounded pride as a knight, however. To learn of how helpless her Lady was at the hands of that man. Not even knowing that he had gone on to become the new Elden Lord could wipe away the stain upon Loretta's honor. It wasn't about HIM; it was about her. She had lost... and more than that, she hadn't even been worthy enough to die a warrior's death.
All the same, perhaps it was for the best that she had lived. Her service to Lady Malenia and Lord Miquella need not come to an end just yet. With the latter returned to the Haligtree and the Scarlet Rot inexplicably vanquished and excised from both the former and the Haligtree itself, suddenly... suddenly there was hope again. The future hadn't looked so bright since the first time Loretta came upon the Haligtree, so very long ago.
Truly, it felt like an eternity ago. She had not always pledged her loyalty to the Haligtree and its Lord and Lady. Once upon a time, Loretta was a Royal Knight of Caria, wielding her intricately crafted silver war sickle with its glintstone engravings in service to the Carian Royal Family. And then had come the treachery.
How were the Carian Royal Knights supposed to see it coming? How were they supposed to defend from an attack that came squarely from within? An attack that was not the product of weapons or sorceries or even incantations either... but one of mind and heart and emotion, wholly and utterly.
Lord Radagon had betrayed Queen Rennala. He had returned to Leyndell at the call of the Eternal Sovereign, to become the new Elden Lord. And Queen Rennala... had fallen apart in the aftermath. Loretta and her fellows had tried to hold things together. They had tried to continue discharging their duties, as personal guards to the Carian Royalty.
But then Radahn had turned his back on his family to become a General in the Golden Order's armies, even going so far as to damage the bedrock of Caria's power by stopping the movement of the very stars themselves in the sky overhead. Praetor Rykard, meanwhile, had become more and more reclusive, and ultimately discharged those few Royal Knights who remained in his service, discarding them like so much refuse and waste, rather than the loyal, leal servants they were.
And Lunar Princess Ranni... well, she'd died. And the last hope of a strong Caria had ultimately died with her. The cracks had shown before then, to be fair, but it was only with Ranni's death, following so closely on the heels of Godwyn's, that it became obvious that there was no hope for a restoration. The Shattering meant something else to most of the Lands Between, but for Loretta and her fellows, twas the moment in which Caria ceased to exist, and their vows to the Carian Royal Family ceased to hold meaning.
In the aftermath of the Shattering, Loretta had sought purpose. She was a Knight with no Master. A warrior with no cause. Ultimately, she'd found the latter before finding the former. Twas a secret that not many knew... her true origins. For to be an Albinauric, even a First Generation Albinauric, was to be despised by many of the beings in the Lands Between.
Loretta... was an Albinauric. Perhaps the most successful Albinauric that had ever lived. She had not allowed her inherent handicaps to hold her back. Nor had the Carian Royal Family allowed the prejudices of others to keep them from making use of her. Hah, they'd employed trolls as Knights of Caria, after all, and allowed them to fight arm in arm with their human comrades.
Hm, Queen Rennala had known her true nature, but not even her children... nor Radagon himself, had been made aware. Given how things had gone, perhaps that was for the best.
Regardless, she had needed a goal, and found it in her own origins. The Albinaurics needed a home, a true home. The village was not safe, not really, and Loretta would not abide by the continued persecution of her people. What was the point of all of her power, all her might, if she could not find them a safe haven, so to speak?
And so that had become her new purpose. She had journeyed far afield, and in the end, her horse had brought her to the foot of the Haligtree. There, Loretta had become convinced that her people's salvation belonged with the Twins. Lord Miquella and his Blade, Lady Malenia, were the only hope that the Albinaurics had.
Unfortunately, even that hope had been... tarnished for a time. But now? Now it was not just a hope. Her dreams were rapidly becoming reality. Not only had Malenia returned with Lord Miquella, cured of the Scarlet Rot, but also... the birthing droplet had been returned to Phillia, and a new generation of Albinaurics was due to be born.
But that was just it. That was what brought Loretta to this moment, standing on her somewhat shaky legs outside of Lady Malenia's inner chamber, waiting. The female Knight was probably the only one of her people who could actually stand, albeit for limited periods of time. But this... this was too important not to be here, in this moment, ready for... for HIM.
As the Tarnished Lord steps out, having finished his... significantly prolonged business with Lady Malenia, Loretta is quick to catch his attention.
"Milord! Milord, a moment of your time, if you please!"
When the man who'd so utterly trounced her turns his eyes her way and offers a smile, Loretta's already weak legs damn near knock together, and not just because of First Generation Albinauric's signature disability. It takes all of her willpower and remaining tattered pride as a Knight not to bite her lower lip and squirm under that warm, almost affectionate gaze.
He steps over to her, stops in front of her... and waits. Silently. Finally, Loretta does squirm, opening her mouth to speak more than once, but finding it rather difficult to get the words out. In the end...
"Please, follow me, Milord."
She turns on her heels and begins leading him. If he didn't follow, she wasn't sure what she was going to do... but sure enough, on her first glance back, the new Elden Lord is indeed dogging her steps, letting her take him where she wants to go.
They reach their destination in just a few minutes. Loretta had been the one to move Phillia to the Apostate Derelict in the first place, when the Haligtree became less safe than the icy conditions of the Consecrated Snowfield and the temperamental Walking Mausoleum on the old church's doorstep. It wasn't a decision Loretta had made easily, mind you. But the Haligtree...
Well, that was in the past now. The Haligtree was safe once more. Even before the new Age had begun, the new Elden Ring reforged and this new Elden Lord sat upon the throne, Lady Malenia had returned with Lord Miquella and with purpose, beginning to excise the remaining Scarlet Rot from the boughs of her brother's tree.
But then the new Elden Ring had done the rest, and the Haligtree was slowly becoming what it once was. It was, once again, safe for Phillia and the Albinaurics, and Loretta had hastened to move Phillia back under the tree's boughs, especially when she'd found out that the other woman had somehow gotten her hands on the birthing droplet once more.
And so, Loretta takes the Tarnished Lord to Phillia's room, leading him inside before stopping and turning to face him, standing between him and Phillia, who was even now laid out on the bed, preparing for what was coming.
"I am given to understand I have you to thank for seeing to the return of our birthing droplet."
When he nods, she bows low, at the waist.
"You have my immense gratitude. The Albinaurics are in your debt. Which is why... I regret I must ask more of you."
When she lifts her head to gauge his reaction, Loretta sees how he's raising an eyebrow in her direction. He doesn't seem all that surprised, merely waiting patiently for her to get to the point. Flushing, the Knight of the Haligtree squirms.
"While Phillia could give birth to the next generation of Albinaurics as she is now, with the birthing droplet secured... they would be just as imperfect as the First and Second Generations were... maybe even more so. We require something new."
Here, Loretta looks to Phillia, who, serene as ever, merely nods her assent once more. She's still in agreement, thankfully. THIS is the best way forward for their people.
"... As such, we ask that you lay with her, milord. Give of your strength to us, the Albinaurics, the Lands Between's discarded children. Give of your might and majesty, so that we may take but a fragment with us into the future and-!"
... He's already stripping down. Loretta blushes when she realizes this, having been staring at the floor as she spoke, fists clenched at her sides. She'd not been certain he would be on board, regardless of the... hm, noises she'd heard coming from Lady Malenia's chambers. And yet, when she sees his clothing fall to his feet and realizes he's disrobing, Loretta's mouth clicks shut.
She lifts her head, only to go wide-eyed at the sight of his... i-impressive shaft. Immediately, her mouth opens again, words spilling forth that were admittedly NOT part of the plan.
"H-However! Before I can allow you to lay with Phillia... you w-will start with me. She is our greatest hope. I would not have you... b-break her with that thing between your legs. You will lay with me, and exhaust yourself upon my flesh. Whatever you must do to me, I shall accept, so long as you are gentle and tender with Phillia. I offer myself up to slake your rougher lusts, and more c-carnal desires."
Steeling herself, Loretta clenches her jaw and tilts her head up as she forces herself to look the Tarnished Lord in the eye.
"D-Do we have an accord?"
His answering smile is both reassuring and not at the exact same time.
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"O-Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh!"
As the new Elden Lord takes her upon the bed, Loretta, Knight of the Haligtree, finds herself squealing like... like some wanton woman, instead of the warrior she's supposed to be! It doesn't help that he's so f-forceful about it. She'd told him to slake his bestial lusts upon her, in order to spare Phillia of any of his rougher treatment, but that did not mean he had to go q-quite so fast!
She was still an Albinauric, with a weaker constitution then most! She still had her own difficulties to get over, her own frailty to be considered! She... oh by the grace of the Haligtree, she was tipping over the edge AGAIN!
Phillia was there for her, at least, but in some ways that made it worse. The quiet, serene Albinauric had not objected to Loretta's decision to change the plan. She had not raised question of why Loretta was suddenly going first... or indeed, why Loretta was being bedded at all. She had merely allowed it to happen, and not only that, but was holding one of Loretta's hands even now, allowing her to grip as tightly as she could as she was summarily pounded into the bed again and again and again.
Looking up into Phillia's eyes, the other Albinauric's face upside down, Loretta's lower lip wobbles, and she can't quite hold it in as she cries out in an embarrassing manner. Seeking to save some face, the Knight of the Haligtree makes excuses.
"F-For our people... I d-do this for our people!"
And yet... deep down, it is not their people Loretta thinks about, as she's being filled by the Tarnished Lord again and again. It is not the Albinauric cause that she's focused on, as his member stretches her out in a most satisfying way, over and over. Nay, it is that moment, when he unseated her from her horse on his first time through the Haligtree, when he put her flat on her ass and then continued on his way like she was nothing.
Shameful as that defeat had been, her body and mind's reaction to it was even more shameful to be sure. Twas utterly humiliating, how badly she'd come to wish he had done this to her right then and there, taking such l-liberties with her body right after so easily defeating her.
He would never, of course. And he had not. But now he was inside of her, and frankly, Loretta couldn't get enough of it. She was enjoying it too damn much, loving every thrust of his phallus deep into her clenching, drooling core. When he finally filled her with his essence, when he finally seeded her... it was almost a relief. But there was also a bit of disappointment. Was he done with her? C-Could she even keep going? No matter how hard she'd fought to reach the point she'd reached, she WAS still an Albinauric, and her people's weak constitution had snuck up on her more than once over the course of her life.
Indeed, as he pulls out of her, and moves towards Phillia, Loretta is gasping for breath. Still, she reaches out with her free hand, whimpering.
"W-Wait. Please... h-have you truly slaked your lusts upon me? Can you c-calm yourself, for sweet Phillia's s-sake?"
She hates the note of yearning in her voice... and the spike of disappointment, as he gives her a soft smile and a nod and then proceeds to put it to action. Indeed, he is excessively tender, as he slides into Phillia, filling her young but towering sister with his member. Loretta watches, biting her lower lip... but can find no cause to complain about his treatment of her fellow Albinauric. He was not gentle with her, but then, she'd asked that he not be.
With Phillia, he is kind and slow and methodical, leaving the bedridden, crippled Albinauric woman moaning in short order. Despite her legs being too weak for her to even stand, like most First Generation Albinaurics save for Loretta herself, Phillia is clearly enjoying the sensations provided by the new Elden Lord all the same.
It is a sight to behold, to be sure, and Loretta feels the jealousy and envy and... greed draining away from her, to be replaced by awe instead. This right here is the most powerful man in the entirety of the Lands Between, bar none. And he is treating them like... like women. He's treating them like people. Not like they're objects, or products of heresy, or abominations to be purged.
Nay, he does not care that they are beyond the grace of the Erdtree. He does not care that technically; they should be beyond even his power. Perhaps... perhaps there is a place for them in this new Age. Loretta had fretted, she had to admit. The Carian Royal Family was resurgent, as was the Eternal Sovereign and her Golden Order.
And quite frankly, Loretta had worried that her and her people had no place on either side. What with her betrayal of the Royal Family (though they betrayed one another and their knights first) and the Golden Order's dim view of Albinaurics in general, Loretta had wondered if there was a place for them in the new order.
Now she knows. The Tarnished Lord spills his essence in Phillia, just as he did her, albeit much more gently, over a longer period of time. He fills her with his seed, and Loretta watches as Phillia begins to glow, the birthing droplet taking in the new Elden Lord's contribution.
... The Third Generation of Albinaurics would be something stronger and mightier than any that had come before it. They would have a chance, in a world that had so often refused to give her people one.
Laying back, a satisfied smile on her face, Loretta lets out a contented sigh. In that moment, the Knight knows... she's done right by herself AND her people.
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A/N: The description on the Silver Mirrorshield specifically states "The shape is said to imitate that of a sacred drop of dew, which inspired the absurd rumor that Loretta herself was an Albinauric."
Which to me means that Loretta was 100% an Albinauric. Honestly, I feel like me giving her the ability to walk (for short periods of time) is probably more lore-breaking than anything, but hey, the Albinaurics deserve their own Captain America figure!
As always, feedback is greatly appreciated/encouraged! Let me know what you think!
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