Enter the Frey

Chapter 5

Selena woke to the sound of panicked cries. Being an assassin, she was a light sleeper, and only slept for an hour or two a night. The screams alerted several others, all of whom were searching for the location of the distress in the darkness.

It didn’t take Selena long to locate the crying woman. She was being hauled away from the tents by a man roughly twice her size—taller than the elf and built like a monster.

“No! Don’t,” the girl was crying. A group had gathered, yet none of the men wanted to take on the giant.

“I’m gonna take this one,” he laughed as he addressed the crowd. “Unless anyone has anything to say about it.”

‘I have something to say,’ Selena thought and tried to say but neither her mouth nor her feet would move. ‘This damn binding spell!”

“Ziel?” Selena asked, waking the halfight from his slumber. “Can I have permission to help that girl?”

“No,” Ziel grunted and turned back into his sleeping bag.

The others had woken and were watching the scene with concern.

“Please?” Selena asked. She didn’t even want to imagine what that guy was planning, but if no one else was willing to do anything, she had to at least try. “Could you not help her? You can handle that guy easily.”

Selena had hoped flattery would work, but Ziel seemed uninterested.

“What if this is staged?” Aim suggested. “You said yourself that the challenge had side quests not printed on the clue scroll. Helping her could be a requirement.”

Ziel sat up, sighed, and stood slowly, shaking the dirt from his clothes.

“Ahem,” he interrupted the scene, placing a hand in the air to get their attention. “I have a problem with this… apparently.”

The huge man dropped his petite hostage to the floor, stomping over to Ziel with a grimace. As he got close another young man, presumably one of his teammates, grabbed him by the arm.

“Leave it, Morack,” the man warned. “That’s a halfight. You don’t wanna get killed before this thing kicks off.”

Morack lowered his head and shrugged, “You are welcome to her. Her own team already went through her.”

As Morack and his companion returned to their camp the woman ran over and threw herself into Ziel’s arms. He promptly peeled her off and placed her down beside Selena.

“You wanted her… You look after her.”

“Thank you for saving me,” the woman said. “My team left me behind. I thought I was dead.”

“What’s your name?” Selena asked her.

“Anrose,” she said, hugging herself. “Please let me stay with you. I’m so afraid.”

“I won’t let anyone hurt you,” Selena promised.

Anrose encircled her with tiny arms. She was petite but perfectly formed, with a slim waist and wide hips. Selena eyed her long golden hair with sadness and a hint of jealousy. Her hands went to her own ruined hair, feeling the bluntly cut locks with shame.

Selena decided it was best to stay awake, at least for a couple of hours. She scoured the surrounding area for high ground; a place to hide and observe. A tall tree at the centre of the camp would provide a decent vantage point, Selena decided. As she began to walk in the direction of said tree, her legs seized up and refused to budge.

“Really?” Selena muttered, dropping to the floor in a heap. “I can’t do anything.”

‘I live only to serve your needs.’

Her words echoed in the chamber of her memories. Defeated, she turned and slumped back to the others. They were all sleeping, apart from the body-swapped elf. He lay on his back, staring up at the sky. Anrose had snuggled into his side, resting he head on his chest as a lover might.

When he caught Selena’s eye he shrugged, as though confused by the girl’s affection. He gently rolled her onto the grass and sat up.

“I’ve never slept next to a girl before,” he explained. “It feels weird.”

After a short silence he laughed. “I’m in an alternate world, with quests and magic, and the thing that feels most strange is sleeping next to a girl.”

“What is your world like?” Selena asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

“Well,” Adam said, scratching his head. “It’s sort of like this one, except we don’t have magic, or elves or Ights. We have mortgages and tax returns.”

“Oh,” Selena said, confused. A world without magic? How could he be possible?

“You jumped up to help Anrose without a second thought,” Adam said. “That was brave of you.”

“Oh, well, it was stupid not brave. I don’t do well in a head on confrontation, especially against a warrior of that size. He probably would have snapped me in two.”

“Yet he was scared of Ziel,” Adam pondered.

“It is said that halfights have abilities no mortal can match, but… I have no idea. This is my first time meeting one.”

“Me too,” Adam said with a grin.

***

Adam found it hard to sleep in this world. In this body. His mind was working over-time and yet the body felt little fatigue compared to his human body. After the day he’s had, Adam should be sleeping like the others. Even Selena had managed to drift off, leaving him alone to his thoughts.

As he shifted on the roll-out sleeping bag Ziel had provided, trying to get comfortable, the new girl stirred and turned to face him.

Anrose smiled, running her tongue along her teeth as she looked him up and down.

“You know, I’ve never been with an elf before,” she said, propping herself up on her elbows to give him an eyeful of her chest. “And you’re the most beautiful one I’ve ever seen.”

‘I’ve never been with anyone before,’ Adam thought but couldn’t say. What could he say? No thank you, I want to be a virgin forever? Was it even practical, considering the size difference between them?

An elf and a human girl? What could go wrong?

Without warning she began to touch him, exploring an area of his body he’d yet to explore himself.

‘I don’t know what to do,’ Adam panicked. It became clear his inexperience wasn’t going to be a problem, since she appeared to have enough for the both of them. As she positioned herself on top of him, Ziel turned to them and pulled her off.

“I told you, we have a busy day tomorrow,” he huffed. “Get some darn sleep.”