Revenge of the Elven

Chapter 12

Varrell hurried to her chambers to change into something more appropriate for a guest she hardly knew. She had no problems with what she was wearing it was only dawn and her night clothes were comfortable but it was clear Taeril was blushing. Perhaps it was a little more flesh than he was used to seeing but she did not even really see her night wear as that revealing but she had to consider the fact this elf had been imprisoned for however long and that perhaps he had never been with a woman and that is why he shied away from her. He even blushed when she had to touch him to tend his wounds. She smiled finding it quite endearing but then she snapped out of it. He was still an elf and still dangerous with his powers unleashed. She pulled on a shirt and some simple trousers before returning to him in her lobby.

“Would you like some tea?” she asked him and he looked at her blankly with those golden eyes. “I’ll make some tea, please follow me,” she said as she led him to the kitchen and directed him to sit.

“I ask you to dress more appropriate, but you did not need to wear men’s clothing, whatever is most comfortable would have been fine,” he seemed to blurt out as he took a seat as instructed. She laughed.

“These are not men’s clothes, and this is what I am most comfortable in, or my armour,” she said as she placed a hot cup of tea in front of him and sat at the head of the table beside where he sat holding a cup of her own.

“Its... steaming,” he muttered.

“Tea is served hot you let it cool for a bit and then taste it, it is a comfort and most refreshing first thing in the morning and since you saw fit to wake me at such an hour...” she said with a slight grin.

“I apologise,” he muttered so seriously and bowing his head.

“It’s fine, what are you doing getting into trouble with those guards anyway?” she asked.

“I just panicked, I hate to admit it but that is what happened. They questioned me at the gate, and I froze, they asked why I was coming here and who I belonged to. I said you were my mistress and that I had gotten lost, they thought I was slow witted so I used that assumption to my advantage but after they let me through they asked a question I could not answer so I ran. I knew your home was not far from the gates. “

“What question did they ask you?”

“Your family name,”

“Well for future reference, my family name is Viakast,”

“I’ll bear that in mind,” he said and then his brow creased again. “They made me feel so powerless and so... small, I resisted using my powers with all my strength. I feared being imprisoned again but I knew the consequences would have been great and for you too.” He said.

“I am sorry you had such a hard time with them. I said I would bring some things to you this morning. You did not need to come all this way,”

“I thought I could help but... I suppose I had not realised how early it was and for that I apologise,” he said.

“You do not need to,” she smiled.

“I am indebted to you and to Yathalin but I have no idea how I could ever repay you, either of you,”

“Well, I enjoy s*x,” she said with a smirk on her lips as she watched his eyes widen.

“What? Y-you mean to...”

“No Taeril, I am playing with you it was a joke,” she replied laughing and watched relief wash over him and he laughed but it was an awkward laugh.

“I am relieved, “ he said and she looked offended.

“Am I that repulsive to you?” she asked feigning offence and his eyes widened again.

“No! Not at all! You are not repulsive in any way quite the opposite-" he stopped himself realising he had started to babble.

“Relax, Taeril,” she said smiling.

“I am sorry, I do not really know how to be around people, I have spent most of my life imprisoned so this concept of a joke I do not fully understand “

“Most of your life?” she asked, and he nodded.

“My parents were killed after the dark entity appeared and I was taken. I was only five years old,”

“So young!” Varrell gasped her expression now serious. “You have been imprisoned all that time? I say that but I do not know how old you actually are,”

“Neither do I, I didn’t count the days, I have no idea of my age,” he said.

“What did they do to you there?” she asked.

“They weakened us by starvation but they needed our powers. Some they ground down so much that they were broken and became compliant. Removing our collars was dangerous to the magic wielders but nobody ever fought back until me. I pretended they had finally broken me so I would get the chance to escape.”

“What about your powers? You said they were not natural, “

“You know about elven ability to join with spirits. They summon spirits and entities to us, our aptitude for... joining and the amount of power one gains from this joining is determined by how strong and how many entities appear during the summons. When they performed the ritual on me, I drew in a high level of entities. I suppose you could say I was a favourite in that sense to the magic wielders that is.” He began his story but stopped having met her beautiful eyes and losing his train of thought. She looked completely interested and absorbed by his words.

“Go on,” she urged him.

“I was... I watched as they tried to corrupt a pure spirit with the malicious ones, seeing this as strengthening the spirit; fools.” He muttered almost as though side-tracking, “but the pure spirit fought so hard that it was on the brink of death. This spirit was a very strong one and after the ritual was over and the magic wielders thought it was over, they took me back to my cage seeing it as a failure in that I had not joined with a spirit. Late that night after all were asleep the spirit came back. It really was on the brink of death but in order to pass on its powers the pure spirit joined with me on a... permanent level... it no longer exists but I have its power.”

“That’s both terrifying and amazing,“

“It was only after this that I had the strength to really fight, the spirit saved me,”

“What a beautiful story,”

“It’s not a story, it happened!” He snapped.

“I do not doubt it. It is a story, it is your story, Taeril. You are remarkable to have endured that and to still be here to tell about it,” she said sincerely and he looked embarrassed once again. There was a knock at her door, the loud knocker upon it brought down hard against it. She jumped up and called to see who it was. It was Arlan. She sighed in relief that they would not have to scramble around trying to find Taeril’s collar he had violently discarded upon his entrance. She opened the door to her friend allowing him in.

“Taeril's here we are having some tea, would you like some?” she asked but noticed his expression darken but she ignored it and led him into the kitchen. She felt the tension reach the sky when the two met eyes. Taeril the elf and Arlan the magic wielder.