A Dream of Empire Ch. 003

The pair soon fell asleep in that bioluminescent hall, dozing off atop one another as the sky turned lazily above them.

-=-=-

Alanna and Talos awoke that morning in a fright, as both were suspended in mid-air by inch-thick vines that had sprouted from the floor overnight. Talos hadn't recalled being raised from the floor, but certainly recalled falling asleep without his clothes, a state of being which remained true through the capture. Talos wondered how he could have been bound without waking, but assumed his slumber to be induced by one of the traps of the fortress.

"Alanna," he said, twisting in his untwistable binds. He was incapable of moving any of his extremities, including his head.

"Yeah... yeah. Talos I'm here," the sorceress replied nervously from behind him. "I'm stuck, just as you are."

"Have any spells that can help us here?" he asked calmly, then asked her again after a minute of silence.

"I'm thinking!" Alanna exclaimed worriedly. She tried casting a simple transmutation spell, hoping to transform the vine into something more malleable. Nothing happened. "The binds, I think they're... cutting off my connection to the world strings."

"Huh?"

"I can't cast anything!" Alanna explained with a groan. Talos tried reading her, then, and found he was incapable of performing the action.

Soon, the large door at the far end of the hall opened, and a willowy, nearly-naked elf stepped through the doorway. She was surrounded by a swarm of green glowing torchbugs, commanded to hold in place around her by magic. The elf appeared no older than thirty, but Talos knew elves were deceptive in this regard. Her blonde hair flowed weightlessly behind herself towards her thighs, and the light of her swarm amplified the natural green of her eyes.

She raised a hand and snapped once, extinguishing every glow emanating from the chamber's foliage in an instant. All the light that remained was from the accidental skylight to the right of Alanna and Talos, and the swarm of torchbugs that lazily flew around the elf.

The elf wore very little clothing, perhaps to match the outfits of the bound humans. She only had on a transparent green cloak, secured around her shoulders with a silver chain, and also just enough green fabric to hide what mattered on her womanhood, which was again held in place by a thin chain of silver that wrapped weightlessly over her hips. She spoke proudly and contemptuously when she neared.

"You gaze upon Princess Faranya of Tor Remilla, descendant of King Tilarion the Defender, the true overlord of all elvendom. Your lives are now mine, and they are forfeit. Humans have no right to tread here, nor any right to tread at all."

The name sounded familiar to Talos. Tilarion had been the king who had been overthrown so many centuries ago, when the Empire assaulted and destroyed the ancient capital of elvendom.

Talos knew through his lifetime of experience that speaking to an elf, especially one with limited human contact, was a tricky venture. One had to speak calmly, clearly, and without idiom to get their point across. Being bound and unable to move would normally force one to speak rashly, unless they could find a glimmer of optimism in their situation.

So, Talos convinced himself in an instant the elf would not kill him or his lover. She had every chance to do so as they slept, and had instead decided to wake them with a show of force and ability. Faranya was only looking to come out of the situation on top, and would obviously free them once she had made her point. All sorceresses were a little full of themselves, after all.

"My sincerest apologies," Talos said calmly. "I understand your viewpoint of my kind, you having lived through such a tumultous time as the fall of Tor Remilla. I apologize for the actions of my forefathers, but I swear I do not hold their same views."

"I said I was a descendant," the elf declared angrily, as if slighted that the human might have assumed she were three-hundred years old. "I did not live through the fall."

"Sorry, Faranya..." Talos backpedaled, now trying a different tactic. "Your magics. They're truly impressive," Talos told the beautiful elf. "I apologize with all I have of intruding here, as I had not known it was protected by one so powerful."

"Spare me all of your compliments, Talos," Faranya snarled, using his name as another show of force. He had not offered it. "I will end you for trespassing upon these sacred stones, and for all the sins you have undoubtedly committed here and beyond."

"Why haven't you done so, then? You have had every chance in the night," Talos replied with a smirk. The elf squinted at him, and placed a dainty hand on her naked hip.

"So eager for your demise! If you must know, I overheard your conversation yesterday, of feeling remorse over the fall of my kind. You only live now because I want to know how you came to that conclusion."

"That's easy enough to answer," Talos replied immediately. "It's contact. Humans are only frightened of that which they are not familiar with. The sorceress and I have had contact with elves in the past, and we're both intelligent enough to admit our faults, so we overcame those natural fears."

"And when your soldiers murdered my kin? Did they not sense their error?" Faranya retorted. "What say you, trespasser?!"

"I'd say that peaceful contact would be required, not that at the tip of a blade or arrow. I would also add that this conclusion goes both ways."

Faranya paced about the room, as if pondering on Talos' theory. Flowers of red and gold sprouted from the stoneworks as she moved, growing and blooming as if an entire quarter-year had gone by in an instant.

"My lady, I implore you," Alanna said softly, "I have a son, a little boy back home. I need to see him, and he needs me that much more."

Faranya showed her first sign of weakness when she frowned at the statement. Any sorceress with a sliver of heart remaining would have felt the same, for children are extremely rare for those gifted with the ability.

"I have no reason to doubt you, sorceress. I will allow you to leave, if only to care for your child of the spark."

"But Faranya, I need Talos too," Alanna explained softly, feeling one of her leafy restraints pulsing softly against her leg. "I could not sail home on my own."

No sooner had she finished speaking had a vine began to coil around her leg sensually, slipping through the gap between her thighs. It continued to wrap around her as Faranya and Talos spoke, it's tip rising worriedly towards her womanhood.

"You will make due. The man shall remain here alone, to perish in my bonds."

Alanna glanced towards Talos nervously, the man only smirking defiantly as he stared forward towards the elf. Not that he had much of a choice where he had stared, really.

"If what you say is true, Faranya," Talos said, "and we're only alive since you overheard us... are you not just maintaining the thoughtless cycle of revenge that has consumed both our kinds? You know it's not I that wishes to continue it, after all."

Faranya squinted at the man bound, dreamily stroking the tree trunk she leaned against while she thought up an appropriate counterpoint. The vine assaulting Alanna's womanhood was now playing with her clit, its tip rubbing against her button with a bizzare vibration.

"You must be misleading me, Talos, for I know you're a slayer of my kind," Faranya replied softly, matching the man's smirk with one just colder.

"Oh?" he asked, somewhat amused. Faranya nodded with a squint.

"As you hold Dawnbringer, a sacred relic of Tor Valliya, and no human would ever hold such a treasure without the shedding of blood. Rivers of innocent blood, I am to assume."

Talos wanted to shake his head, but was unable to do so. He heard a soft moan escape Alanna's lips before he replied. "You're wrong on that point, Faranya. The blade was gifted to me by a princess of that fair city, completely of her own will. She retrieved it justly in the great mausoleum of her ancestors. I assisted with her efforts."

The vine coiled around Alanna's thigh was now probing her warm entrance, the inch-thick vine slipping eagerly between her folds a moment later.

"Why do you still deceive me?" the elf retorted. "You obviously plundered the mausoleum, just as you expected to do the same here."

"And when did I, or my companion, ever act in such a way where you would assume that?" Talos asked calmly.

Faranya only shook her head, then stepped away from the tree she leaned against. She gracefully swayed towards the bound humans, pausing four steps before them.

"Enough," the elf demanded softly, still staring at Talos. "Sorceress, much against my better judgement, I will free you. Return to your own lands, and dare not set foot here again."

"Mmf. Far... Faranya, your... bonds," Alanna moaned lustfully. "Do they... hmm... have a mind their own, perchance?"

Faranya glanced towards the enchantress's crotch, a light gasp escaping her lips when she realized what her spell was, indeed, doing on its own. A small vine had wrapped itself around the sorceress's thigh and had now extended itself several inches into her gash, pulsating as it did.

"Sorry!" Faranya exclaimed piercingly, hastily commanding the vines holding Alanna to retreat back into the stone with the raise of a hand. Alanna fell to the tilework on all fours, panting softly when she'd landed.

They entered me! Alanna projected to her lover, now freed from her bondage.

Faranya cleared her throat. "Sorry," she repeated, far softer than her original apology had been. Talos noticed the elf's cheeks flush immensely, and figured he just found his way out of here.

"I sure hope your bonds wouldn't do the same to me as they did her, Faranya," he smirked, although now consciously aware of the threat.

"No, no! Of course they won't!"

"Feels like they might," he replied with a nervous grin.

"They won't!" Faranya denied louder.

"Your poor backdoor, Talos," Alanna chuckled, rising to her knees and placing her hands on her lap. She had sensed Talos' plan of attack.

"They won't do anything of the sort!"

"Um, then why was one fucking me?" Alanna asked unabashedly, in hopes of securing Talos' freedom.

Faranya gulped, spinning away from the humans as her cheeks flushed through another several shades of red. She had only made three haste steps away from the pair before she raised a hand, immediately releasing Talos from his leafy prison.

He fell to the tiles with a thud and a groan, landing on his hands. He hastily rose to find his clothing to prevent an unrealized attack which troubled him deeply.

"My... thanks, Faranya," he said as calmly as possible as he shoved his feet through his smallclothes.

"Just leave me be, Talos," Faranya replied wobbily, still facing away. Her enveloping swarm of torchbugs began to wane, the spell clearly not as focused as it was but a moment ago. "Leave me be, and leave this place."

Alanna rose to her feet. "But Faranya, you must be ever so lonely here," the enchantress said sweetly.

"I am not," the elf retorted swiftly, walking several more paces away from the enchantress. Alanna couldn't stifle her giggle in time.

"I know why you wanted to keep him here," Alanna continued with a flirtatious smile, now capable of reading the princess. "Any girl capable would do the same."

Faranya spun towards the accusation, her torchbugs flying this way and that throughout the chamber. "How dare you accuse me of such trifles!"

Alanna giggled again, now completely ensured she was in control of the situation. "Faranya, it's okay. I sympathize. If I could keep him locked up, all to myself..."

"Stop this nonsense!" the elf cried with trembling voice.

"Alanna, let it lie," Talos agreed through stifled laughter, now lacing his pants. Alanna held her hands skyward as if innocent of all wrongdoing, before finally glancing around the chamber to locate her own clothes. Talos turned towards the elf, who was now swaying nervously as she clutched her wrist, turned away from him.

"Faranya, we will leave immediately, and not tell a soul of your existence," Talos said softly. "Thank you again, for your kindness and your understanding."

The elf's shield of insects disappated as the man spoke. Faranya sighed deeply, leaning against the tree trunk growing defiantly through the north wall of the room. Ripples of blue light shone through the bark when she did, flowing towards the floor and the roof in thin bands, which illuminated the room.

Alanna and Talos gathered the remainder of their belongings within that subterranean chamber in silence, but they weren't in any rush. As had been evident since the beginning, they weren't in any true danger by remaining in Faranya's presence for a couple more minutes.

Just as Alanna and Talos were walking towards the unintentional entryway they had created the following evening, Faranya spoke once more.

"The princess, Talos," Faranya said softly, still turned from him. "Did she return to Tor Valliya?"

Talos shook his head, but Faranya did not see this. "No. She lives nearby," he replied. "She's my... friend." The elf spun around at the admission, furrowing her brow.

"Your... friend?" the elf asked, her words high-pitched and riddled with confusion. Talos wondered what could possibly be so perplexing by the statement. He had almost said 'mate' instead of friend, and was glad he hadn't.

"Yeah?" he said. Faranya casted an unreadable stare into his eyes for a moment.

"Could you summon her here?" she asked softly.

"I could," the human conceded. "May I ask why?"

Faranya glanced towards the floor and waited a moment before replying. She exhaled sharply. "I... require her assistance. The assistance of another royal. There's a chamber further in, and its barrier does not recognize me. It..."

"Yeah," Talos interjected warmly, feeling pity for the elf. "I can bring her here. I'll return with her when I can."

You're sure about that? Alanna asked him telepathically.

Not angering her now, he replied silently.

Faranya brought her gaze from the floor, smiling at Talos. "Thank you. I... I'm sorry again, Talos."

"Mmm," Talos mumbled, not necessarily accepting the apology.

Alanna smiled, taking a step towards the elf once there had been a lull in conversation. She somehow embarrassed herself before her lips even parted, but the enchantress knew Faranya could use a distraction from her self-pity.

"So, Faranya... what else can you do with those bonds?" Alanna asked curiously, meeting the elf's gasp and wide eyes with a sweet smile.