Archive of Our Own

 Quite an experience to live in fear, isn’t it? That’s what it is to be a slave.

Roy Batty - Blade Runner

Chapter 01- Slave

"Do you understand your orders?" Captain Breza spoke, trying her best to conceal her worries. "The Princess is probably going to act against our better judgment, and as distasteful it is, might even attract some unwanted attention. Keep close to her and be sure to take care of anyone that might pose as a threat."

The brunette Amazon looked in the direction of her subordinate, expecting to see the female elf musing over what she just have said. However, her worried expression turned into an annoyed one when she noticed the Elf wasn't paying any attention to her instructions, far more interested in checking her fingernails. This kind of attitude was becoming more frequent in the lasts months and was making their interactions even more bothersome than it already was.

"Slave, how dare you ignore my orders!" Breza expected the Elf to halt her actions and turn her attention towards her, but the only visible change was a slight smirk, almost as if she was trying to get this exact reaction from the start.

"I should flay you for your insubordination!"

At this point, Breza would expect the elf to give an excuse and resume their roles of Captain and a slave, but the unexpected way the elf laughed was even more infuriating than a slap. "My, my, my. Isn’t adorable how I can make you lose your mind with such a simple thing? And really, going back to calling me a 'slave'? Aren’t both of us above such things?"

Breza was fulminating the smirking elf with her eyes, but choose wisely not to fuel her taunts; it would only extend this conversation endlessly. "Elenor, enough of this nonsense. You know I don't have time for games."

"Now, was that so hard to do, Breza, my dearest?" Elenor finally stared back at the Amazon, her smile still in place. "However, back to serious matters, isn’t Princess Loren going to notice anything?"

"She won’t if you do your part correctly."

"Oh? And how convenient would things appear to be if you arrive and told her 'Oh my dear princess which I so obviously have a crush on, your mother, Queen Karen has simply vanished!'" Elenor spoke in an exaggerated and dramatic voice tone. "But alas, do not fear! I have a not so suspicious slave here with me, at the ready to help you track her, just in case this would happen!'"

Breza raised her hand as if she was going to slap Elenor, but she stopped herself at the last moment, with her hand hovering on the air close to the elf's cheek. It horrifyed her how unhinged she got over Elenor's taunts. Attempting to mask her guilt, Breza scowled at Elenor, trying her best to not sound apologetic. The elf on the other hand, apparently had seen through her ruse, smirking in that infuriating way of hers. "Wow. Didn’t you like my tone, Brezy?"

"I refuse to answer to your taunts!" Breza grabbed the elf by the collar and raised her above the ground, anger in her eyes. "And stop calling me that!"

Elenor crossed her arms and laughed right at her. "Then, I refuse to listen to your yapping."

Breza glared. "Watch your words. You’re no longer a personal slave to the House of Thorns. You are a 'public'  slave; thus, your rights are minimal."

"Like you would do anything to harm me. Nevertheless, I got the message, geez! But I will get you for this, Breza, believe me." Elenor massaged her cheek, half expecting the slap mark to be there even when it wasn't. Funny how Breza simply couldn't do much against her besides the usual insults. She still couldn't hit her.

'Still holding on those memories from our past. As if you really cared.  You're such a hypocrite, Breza.'

Elenor looked to the ground, moving her feet in the air. "Can you please tell me why the Princess would allow my presence around her? I belong to my Queen’s harem. I doubt she would take me for more than a sex slave. Oh, and please put me down, it's getting weird."

Breza released the elf abruptly from her hold, watching as she fell to the ground. She seemed satisfied to see the usually annoying slave lose her eternal smirk, if only for a moment. The Captain closes her eyes in exasperation, the signs of a migraine starting to manifest. It was exhausting to discuss with Elenor, even if it was a necessity. Even if she hated what she had to keep doing to her oldest friend. Even if she hated herself for doing all of this to her, they had roles to fufil in their society, they couldn't just be friends. Even if she desperately wished to go back to those days where they knew nothing of their world.

But Breza had made her choice long ago, and she felt that she could never go back.

The amazon closed her eyes and paused for a brief moment. "Leave that to me. Answer only what she asks and behave normally. You’re on an undercover mission."

Elenor raised from the stone covered floor as if nothing had happened. Her eyes, red as blood almost glinting in the morning light. "I’m always undercover, my dear. Your Princess will be safe."

"She better be, Elenor, or I will take great pleasure in gutting you and feeding your carcass to the crows."

Elenor walked dangerously close to Breza, whispering in her ear, her lips brushing the amazon's earlobe, eliciting an unwanted shiver from the taller woman. "You’re making me blush. Relax. I will kill anyone to ensure her safety. Besides, as my bestie, you should know that I would do anything to make you smile."

With these words, the elf suddenly turned from the taller woman and walked away, preparing mentally for the time the 'Captain-General'- or whatever military position Breza fitted - would call her to do her duty. Out of pure curiosity, she looked back discreetly and smiled.

Breza's face was red with how deep she was blushing, looking both shy and utterly pissed at her own reaction.

Elenor merely smirked. 

'Still easily rilled up, I see. As I said before: Hypocrite.'

—

"An Elf girl?" Loren’s voice was disdainful when she regarded Elenor, and when she bowed, the Princess almost could not hide her scorn. "She doesn’t impress me, Breza, in fact, she looks useless. Identify yourself, slave."

"Her name is Elenor, your majesty. She was found many years ago, in the outskirts of our territory, when some scouts were patrolling. The Queen took her in exchange for her servitude to us, of course. I can vouch for her, and her unparalleled allegiance to the Amazons, not to mention, she’s quite skilled in healing magic."

Loren gave Breza an annoyed look. "Are you daft? I have asked her, not you. Elf, tell me, what are your uses for me?"

Elenor stared for a brief moment at Loren. She considered for a moment to answer with the same condescending tone but decided against it. She has much to lose if she acted on her wishes, and no matter what has happened, she still knew her place. "I served dutifully at the royal palace, your highness, specifically in the Queen’s service."

Loren frowned, confused. "My mother? And how have you served her?"

Elenor gave a small smile, feeling ashamed to even think about such nonsense with her Queen. It was just a front, after all. "I would do anything she asks me."

"Liar. I haven’t seen you at the palace. My mother already has a personal servant, and he isn’t you." Loren's blue eyes were as sharp as her so-called sword skills. Aggressive, unwavering, piercing her very soul with her intimidation.

'Good. Those are the traits of a worthy champion. It's something worth of my dedication. Perhaps Loren might become as strong as my beautiful Queen one day.' 

"Majesty, if I may interject…" Breza spoke with a quiet tone. Different, far too different when they were trading barbs between each other. Elenor pitied her so much for the way the Princess treated her, and yet, not only she accepted the way she was mistreated but had the gall to act so foolishly in love. "Elenor belongs to the Queen’s harem. She would be among the selected elves available to her Majesty if such day were ever to come. She also has proved her loyalty and obedience."

"She… What?" Loren glared the Elf’s body as if she was seeing her just at this moment.

Elenor could practically hear the amazon princess thoughts,

'She probably thinks around the lines of 'how can any self-respecting amazon would choose to lay with a weak creature like that' or even yet 'the Great Mothers were insane to make this elf a sex slave.' Perhaps I have miscalculated her worth, she isn't that smart, so it seems.'

She knew she wasn’t very muscular, or tall like an Amazon, even if she was on both accounts very tall and muscular compared with the others Elves in the Citadel. Those that undermined her skills as a seductress only saw what she could show them, since she received very specifics orders from Breza to not seduce any Amazon, risking to be put to death if done intentionally. This threat also caused her to avoid using her skills in the Citadel, reserving them only for her undercover missions among the Humans or Elves. It wasn't like she had the freedom to tell the Princess about any of this, and considering how much irritating Loren was starting to sound, Elenor would be relieved if the Princess found her to be grotesque.

'Still... It is quite amusing that the only Amazon that I activelly flirt is Breza herself, and she not only seems to enjoy it but also keep pretending that nothing is happening.'

After some time, Loren ceased her staring over Elenor's body and resumed her previous annoyed expression. "Your so-called 'skills' in the bedroom are useless to me, elf. Do not expect to share the same duties. Aside from this, what are your uses?"

"I know my way around the battlefield. Some years ago, when I still was a slave from the House of Thorns, I won several annual Proving competitions, representing my late mistress, Dahlia of Thorns, and winning many titles, one of most dignified were the titles of the slave's blood arena."

Loren’s expression changed again to one of slight respect when she heard of the House of Thorns. Dahlia’s reputation still holds impact, even after two years of her demise.

"She is speaking the truth, your highness. She killed many other slaves and surpassed them all in glorious battles in the arena, and not only she has demonstrated superior fighting ability and dare I say, even strategy; but she is extremely loyal to the Amazons. Tell her Elenor."

"I had the honor to accompany my late mistress to many places. In one occasion, we entered one of our taverns, and some foolish drunkards disrespected her. I’ve defended her honor by beating the crap out of them until they were toothless." Loren gave Elenor an almost imperceptible smile at her words, putting the Elf at ease, making her recollection of those beautiful memories far more entertaining for her. "They were easily defeated, much to my mistress approval. They would learn not to disrespect the House of Thorns ever again."

Breza seemed to notice the change in behavior when Elenor mentioned her late mistress and seemed pleased. The elf wouldn't want to admit, but she knew the Captain was playing her. Her memories of the House of Thorns always made her act more different, whether she intended to or not.

"She respected her mistress deeply, Majesty. She will respect you as well. "Breza reassured Loren while casting a warning look towards Elenor. "She even made sure to craft and give gifts to the Lady of Thorns occasionally, without her even demanding to do so."

At Breza’s words, Elenor gave a small pause; her face features quivering. She shook her head slightly and spoke again. "I showed my loyalty to her by giving her a spellbook, since I knew my mistress was quite fond of ancient arcane literature. Although she wasn't a magic user, she was very knowledgeable in this field, and in an act of benevolence, she offered me the opportunity to learn from her, and I got more powerful with her help."

After speaking those words, Elenor closed her eyes for a moment, remembering Dahlia’s proud and happy face with her accomplishments, especially with her increased power over music and healing magic. The way her red hair would shine under the torches lights and her beautiful blue eyes so full of joy.

She still missed her. So much.

Almost mechanically, Elenor kept talking, all of the previous light of her own eyes gone. "Unfortunately, my mistress wasn’t invincible. She was overcome with a grave illness. She called me to her side in her lasts moments and gave me one of her armors, some of her favored weapons and…"

Elenor blinked. Instinctively, her fingers grazed a finger in her left hand, feeling the touch of a ring. An exceptional ring.

" …And her words of wisdom. With those mementos of her, I still feel her presence, like she never left me."

'And she never will.'

Breza gave her an unreadable look. After some moments in silence, Loren seemed confused with the sudden change and looked at Breza, as if demanding some explanation. Immediately, the Captain coughed, to dismiss the slightly awkward feeling, almost embarrassed. "Her loyalty hasn’t ended here, your majesty, Elenor demonstrated that she’s a true servant of the Citadel. Tell her about that slave you subdued, elf."

Elenor gave a satisfied smile, for a moment, she was akin to a feline that just had eaten a canary. "Oh, yes… Such an interesting and satisfying event. Another slave approached me. She told me about the existence of some foreign lands and impressive cities. She tried to convince me to run away with her, even told me a plan to escape the Amazons…"

"And what have you done, elf?" Loren seemed genuinely interested in this piece of information, approaching the elf as if to hear a secret.

‘Of course, as she should be.’

"I reported this woman to the authorities. She was a traitor to the Citadel. For that reason, she deserved to feel the Great Mothers wrath in her skin for her rudeness. I did not see her again, by the way, so I assume the guards took care of her. Ah, it was such a good day..."

Loren backed away and regarded the elf. She seemed preoccupied, as if considering the last action one of worth, and were far different from her attitude when she learned the elf duties to her mother's Harem.

"Her loyalty is unquestionable, your highness. I would trust you with no one better to care for your safety." Breza spoke with pride, which surprised Elenor for a moment. From the way Breza always act around her, pride would be one of the last things that she would expect the Captain to say about her.

After all, Breza was the one who betrayed her trust when they were children. She was the one who chose to abandon her. Why would a liar like her even show anything of the sorts for someone they left to rot?

"It will be a shame to lose such a good slave, but you need one that could be more useful in dealing with annoyances, and there's no one better than one who was Dahlia of Thorns' personal slave."

"Very well." Loren crossed her arms and stared the Elf, finally deciding to acknowledged Elenor's worth. "Tell me, woman, will you give your life for my cause?"

Crossing her right arm over her chest, in an Amazon salutation gesture, the brunette Elf spoke firmly. "My life is yours, majesty. I will not let any harm come to you while I still breathe."

Seemed satisfied with her answer, Loren uncrossed her arms. "I suppose you will do. Your answers satisfied my expectations. We should leave soon."

"Mistress Loren…" Loren stopped her movements and gave Elenor a pointed look. "I want to recommend someone else to help us in this quest, to make walking in the Empire territory more… Accessible."

"Speak quickly, elf." Loren looked annoyed again. "My quest will not be delayed for a slave demand."

Elenor looked briefly to Breza and gave her a smirk of satisfaction.

'Payback is a bitch, my dear Brezy.'

"I recommend bringing the slave healer, Saren."

Breza immediately bristled. "What? You cannot be serious! He’s a male and a prized healer!"

"Exactly. You know how inferior are the males in general, but the Empire seems to benefit them way too much in their society. They are treated better than the females if you can believe this. Not to mention the fact that I’m an Elf and the Empire wouldn’t appreciate my presence all that much."

" But…"

"And, there is also a more important fact. I might die by the hands of the humans if they feel like it, and our numbers aren’t that impressive since it’s only my mistress and me. If this happens, who is going to tend to Queen’s Karen or Princess’s Loren wounds if they’re hurt and I'm no longer alive?"

"Enough." Loren bit her lower lip, in concentration. After some seconds, she stared at Breza and Elenor. "Bring the male, if only to make this cursed trip quicker, else my mother will perish without me doing a thing to rescue her. I will go grab my armor, and I will wait for both of you at the city gates. You and the male should do the same. Do not test my patience."

With this, Loren turned her back to both women and left. When she was no longer in sight, Breza broke her composure and grabbed Elenor by her hair. "How dare you to shame me in front of the Princess, your insolent slave!"

"Well, aren’t you a little worked up, Breza? Maybe you should lie down for a while, so you don’t get sore from scowling so much." Breza growled at the Elf, but the growl turned into something else when Elenor released a small moan of satisfaction.

Elenor was enjoying that whole power exchange... And Breza had to control herself since this whole situation was making her feel all kind of things around the Elf, things she wasn't allowed to feel.

The amazon's cheeks were flushed, and she uncounciously bit her lips.

Elenor smiled at her defiantly. "Ohh, you're so outraged, right little Brezy? Careful though, I might stop playing around and decide that I want to get something from you."

Those words brought back Breza's awareness and made her scowl at the shorter woman.

"Your disgusting piece of filth!"

"Disgusting?" Elenor got close to the Amazon. She stared at Breza and could feel her eyes wavering. "No… I don’t think you find me as such. In fact…"

She got even closer. Breza's cheeks deepened their reddish color with the proximity. "I think someone might enjoy my jokes and sarcastic humor. Maybe they even feel bad for saying some hurtful things, especially since we know each other since we were children, children who loved to be around each other, unlike know."

Silence. Breza looked away, hiding her shame. Guilty. As always.

'But not enough to ask for forgiveness.'

"…Do as the Princess command, Elenor." Breza released the elf, turned and walked away.

Elenor stared at her retreating back and broke her mask of control. She whispered to no one but knew her words were real, to both of them. "Yes, I will take care, my beloved friend."

It was both sad and bittersweet to both of them. Once awkward friends and now, Breza and Elenor were reduced to this: A painful cruel mockery of their past friendship. No matter how much Elenor missed those old days where she could play and joke with Breza, she always knew they weren't meant to be anything of the sort.

So, she accepted that the only kind of friendship they both could share was this and while she took it for what it was, it didn't mean that this didn't hurt her.

Well, now in more ways than before... Not that I dislike violence, actually, I love when most women punish me, but still...'

Saren would surely be surprised when she tells they are going on a trip. She could not wait for it.

That is after she recompose herself.

'I swear, when did Breza get so good at this? Maybe I should try to seduce her just to prove a point. I might die, but at least I would get the last laugh. Oh, who am I kidding, why waste time on a coward like her? The sex would probably be her crying for Loren, like the weak willed fool that she is. Sigh. At least I can get some from the women outside the Citadel. There's no guilt in that, at least.' 

—

"Wow, I never knew that the forests could be so… Green." Saren spoke in awe, looking around himself. He walked quickly, following Loren and Elenor, trying to keep them both in his sight. "The trees in the Citadel aren’t as lively as those!"

"Ha! You always were quite impressionable. Remember the time we tried to climb the old oak tree, and we fell in our asses?" Elenor laughed. "You were crying so much! I had to tell you a lot of stories to calm you down!"

Saren started to blush. He slapped the Elf playfully on the arm. "No sense! I’m not going ever to admit it, my darling!"

"Silence, both of you!" Loren looked at the two slaves behind her. "I did not bring you both for an excursion! We are to find my mother, and this has to be done quickly. Preferably without your incessant blabber!"

Saren and Elenor stopped talking immediately. They both stared at the back of Loren’s head for a long time, following her always in silence.

‘Spoiled Princess. She doesn’t know a thing about the outside world and wants to act like she’s so much better than everyone else. How can a total brat like her be the child of my wonderful and beautiful Queen?’

Elenor looked to the darkening sky. Soon, there would be stars, and maybe a moon, if she is lucky. She wished for some natural illumination; it would make it easy to set the traps around our camp. She needed to be very careful; after all, her house honor would have no less.

‘And there is Saren, of course. She needs her beauty sleep, and without light would make everything quite hard to do. If we don’t have any, I will have to brush her hair; at least, she still is very self-conscious of it.’

After some time wandering, they entered in a clearing. The perfect spot to set camp and traps. Unfortunately, the moon didn’t show her grace in this night, leaving almost complete darkness over the land.

‘Damn. I’m tired, and no way in inferno I would let Saren stay on guard. That so-called Princess would gut me if I even suggest it to her. We must rest if we are to keep the pace.’

"This is a good place to camp, your majesty," Elenor spoke as gently she could, trying to gauge Loren’s interest. "It’s quite an open space, without many rocks and soft grass. We should rest here for the moment."

Elenor words were ignored as the dark-haired Princess kept moving away. Saren looked at the Elf briefly before running after Loren.

"Majesty?" Saren spoke as gently as he could.

"We are moving out right now, slave, and do not try to address me without a good reason, or being spoken to," Loren said without even looking at Saren, her disgust with their presence palpable. "My mother might be in terrible danger; I cannot waste my time resting, for whatever the reason."

Elenor bristled and bit her lower lip in annoyance, and before she could even think, gave an appropriated response. "Oh? If you keep like this, you are just going to end up dead, Princess."

Loren stopped in her tracks, and Saren almost lost his balance, afraid of even touching the Princess, even by accident. He backed away, unconsciously hiding behind the Elf woman. After some moments, Loren slowly turned to look in their direction and growled at them. "What did you said to me?"

Elenor took a deep breath and plastered her more weak face.

‘Manipulation time... If anything works at all with this mule of a woman.’

"Oh, haven’t you heard me? I said that if we keep like this, without any rest, I’m going to end up dead, mistress. I’m just an Elf, after all, not a strong Amazon, like you."

"You little- What?" Loren stared at the brunette, unexpectedly confused. "You’re saying that you need rest? That is what you said?"

‘All right, let’s give her a 'deep answer' if only to get this ship going somewhere.’

"Oh yes, mistress. I’m still not used to all that change in scenery, and I don’t have the excellent physique that you Amazons have. Just a few hours would be good for me if only to not get in the way if we are ambushed or something like that."

Loren stared at Elenor, obviously still irritated, but she grunted an answer. "Fine. Just a few hours, slave. Nothing more, or I will kill you myself to spare future delays in my mother’s rescue. Do you understand?"

Elenor nodded and started to check the 'camp area.' Loren’s voice stopped her. "What are you doing? I’ve said that I would give you limited time to rest. Are you spitting in my goodwill, slave?"

"Oh, I was only trying to ensure the camp safety, my mistress." Elenor talked hesitantly. "I would not want you to be worried about ambushes and…"

"Worry about yourself, foolish Elf. Sleep now, or we shall be moving again. You can even choose." The Princess used a tone that broke no argument. She meant every word.

‘By the raging heavens! This woman is the most irritating person I’ve ever met! Even more than all those idiots on Horus or those dumbasses on Grimoire. This one gets the cake among all the jerks.’

Without a word, Elenor walked back and asked if she and Saren could sleep close to each other. When she received no answer, she assumed that either the Amazon let her or that she couldn’t care less. So the Elf removed the most uncomfortable armor pieces from him, and he did the same to her, to make things faster. When both of their chest pieces were removed, she lay down in the grass with him and spooned his body, to make him a bit calmer in the darkness. Discretely, she noticed Loren’s disgusted look towards them, before the so-called Princess decided that being sleep deprived was a bad idea after all, and resorted to sit and sleep across both of them.

'This is going to be a very long journey. I just know it. This woman will be the death of me. I’m sure of it.’

—

"All days work and no play, makes a person go insane…" Elenor whispered to no one in particular. Since last few hours, she and Saren had been rudely woken up by the Princess loud voice and being forced to endless hours of walking and walking.

Just walking to nowhere.

'Oh, I don’t need you to bother me, slave! I’m the Princess of the Amazons! To know my way around is in my blood!' How much of a fool can this woman be? Great Mothers, please let this all be a hallucination!’

After four hours of walking, climbing and running around the plains, without being anywhere close to Grimoire, Elenor had enough. "Princess, I…"

"I have seen no population since we left the Citadel. I was told Grimoire was in this route. Where is it? Is the city past that mountain, far away?"

The Elf woman looked and for a moment praised the Great Mothers for having sent some intelligence to the dark-haired woman in front of her, but such thoughts were crushed upon the realization that the Princess just mistook Grimoire stone walls and architecture for a mountain.

‘Mountain? Is this woman even real? How can any intelligent being mistake a wall with a mountain? Oh, scratch that, she is just some idiot who was lucky to be directly related to my beloved Queen Karen. Yes, that must be the reason I never saw those two together for long, she must be very ashamed of her daughter stupidity to let her walk in the streets without dozens of servants around her to make sure she doesn’t start attacking the walls. Perhaps even thinking some giants are trying to invade the Citadel… Argh! If she were my daughter, I would declare her insane and proceed to make another one who could distinguish reality from fantasy. Or maybe she is only shortsighted and is in serious need of corrective lenses, and I'm just too melodramatic for my own good.’

Elenor thoughts were wild with anger and controlled laughter. She was trying very hard not to gag, even if she could not help but feel amused.

'As amusing as this whole thing is, I cannot believe Breza threw our friendship away for the chance to kiss this princess ass. She really have low standarts.'

Seeing that the Princess wouldn't receive any answer and fearing for Elenor's life, Saren gently decided to speak. "Hum, Majesty, I suppose that’s the city we are looking for?"

Loren turned back abruptly and stared at Saren. "No, that can’t be a city. It’s too large."

"Ah, no, that’s sure is a city, I…" Saren looked away, frightened. So frightened he was that his voice had turned slightly feminine. "It’s a large, walled city, like the Citadel."

 "Amazons?" She unsheathed both of her swords immediately and stared back at the city gates. "I didn’t know there was another tribe so close to my home!"

Elenor jumped at Loren and grabbed both of her arms. "No, mistress, this is Grimoire, the capital of the Empire. The nation of men. Humans. Please, don’t wave your swords around or we could cause war, and while I’m sure the Amazons could beat them easily, right now is not the time. Understand?"

Loren looked at Elenor eyes then at her hands on her forearms. She took a deep breath and sheathed her swords again in her scabbards. Almost with a shy look, she asked her. "Others can build cities as big as the Citadel? Are you sure of what you speak?"

"Yes, mistress. As absurd as it may seem, others races and nations can accomplish many impressive feats just like the Amazons, including the construction of castles and walls. All you need are proper materials, and there it is. You didn’t know that?"

Loren winced and blushed, the implication of her lack of intelligence being a sting to her pride; or it would seem.

"Humph, all that I need to know is that the Amazons are superior to all other races and nations, and the Citadel’s walls are far better than any other castle walls."

Elenor felt her eye twitch at the Princess words. She was seriously going to murder someone if only to get her sanity back from that obnoxious woman. "Yes, your grace. Of course. Try not to sound so menacing to the guards at the entrance. They don’t know much about the Amazons, and it is better to keep them ignorant of those facts."

Loren gave her a pointed look. "How do you know that?"

"My mistress Dahlia always spoke of this place…" Elenor's voice trailed off, almost as if she were whispering.

Loren didn’t ask for anything more; she seemed very satisfied for the moment. She resumed her walk, in direction to the city of Grimoire.

"Are you ok, sister?" Saren whispered. "I know it still hurts, and I feel miserable every day since she died. She…"

Elenor put on finger on Saren’s lips, silencing his words. "I know, my little darling, I know. We suffered the fires of the Inferno in our souls since she died. Remember to keep the composure around the Princess; we don’t need her starting to insult our House since you know what those morons would do to you if they knew the truth. Do try to be a good girl for your older sister, ok? Keep pretending to be a boy, for our sake?"

Saren gave her sister a large smile. "Yes, big sis!"

With that, both of them started to run after Loren, trying to accompany her.

‘Please, Great Mothers, grant me patience to stand Loren’s unreasonable demands and find my Queen alive…’

—

Navigating around the Grimoire's forest wasn’t a problem. Elenor was used to it. Breza's missions were usually against the Empire, but the elves also have their fair share of Missions. The last task was on the first day of Hibernia; she even marked some trees with her knives, so she would have an easy way out if her plans somehow backfired. Regardless, the forest was a bit too quiet for her taste.

Way too quiet.

As if she read Elenor’s thoughts, Loren raised her arm abruptly in front of them and spoke cautiously. "Wait. Something isn’t right."     

Elenor unsheathed her rapier, motioning to Saren to do the same to his ax and shield. They moved in front of their mistress, in case anything happened, and proceed to walk ahead of them cautiously. They looked around for a moment, and when they were going to let their guards down, they saw it.

Someone was strung upside down, tied up by their feet to a tree. A sack was covering their body. Muffled sounds were coming from it and whoever was in it, was trying, in their desperation to break free.

They got close to the person and heard a male voice. "Please! Help me!"

The three of them rushed towards the person, but several screeching creatures sprung down from the trees all around them. The green from their skin was unmistakable. Goblins.

‘By Tassia's rotten tits! The Princess never fought in real combat! Those imbeciles in the Citadel aren’t looking to kill her in those combats! Those Goblins over there aren’t like that! They would kill and rip our flesh from our corpses if given a chance. Worst, Saren isn’t really into any kind of combat since Dahlia died and I have to babysit these two! Damn!’

"Watch yourselves!" Loren Screamed and drew her weapons immediately. "Don’t let them overwhelm you!"

"Same to yourself, Majesty!" Elenor shot back.

Loren scowled. "You don’t have to give any instruction, Elf."

Elenor waited for the first Goblin in front of her to make a move, when it became apparent that he was going to jump over her, she raised her weapon and met him in the air, clashing with his skin.

"RAAAARH!" The Goblin screamed from the top of his lungs, but Elenor kept hitting his body with some series of quick attacks.

‘Feint, Scratch, Backstab, kick, jump, and kill! Die already!’

With the last kick on his ribs, the Goblin fell, hitting the ground with a dying gasp. Elenor didn’t have time to rejoice, just as she would turn to the next Goblin, it surprised her by coming from behind and tried to choke her.

‘Nobody CAN or WILL choke ME!’

Elenor threw the monster over her head, and the Goblin hit the ground. Then, she jumped over his squirming body and immediately wrapped her arms around its neck, whispering in the Goblins decrepit ear. "Nobody chokes me! Understand this as you die!"

And the Elf broke its neck with a violent movement of her arms, the monster falling limp across the grass. Elenor gave to another Goblin close by a haunting grin and rose from the ground calmly, and walked towards it, singing out loud. “Save me, save me, save me, from the Spider, begs the fly…”

The Goblin looked around himself. Taking advantage of the distraction of the creature, Elenor charged towards him and slashed her blade across his neck, separating the head of the monster from his body. The head rolled on the soft grass, staining it with blood. Elenor’s started to giggle as she saw how bloodied the trees looked and stared with a morbid fascination at what she had done. With a hint of satisfaction, she turned to Loren’s and Saren’s very own combats.

Saren was counter-attacking any blow given, by using his massive strength to whack whole goblin's body parts off with his small ax, and hit them in the head with the shield. Those who fell to the ground were stomped to death. The corpses of three goblins were on the ground with its heads' completely open. The elf felt a wave of pride by Saren’s actions.

To her surprise, the Princess seems to be faring pretty well. No scratch on her skin, three enemies dead- Correction, four enemies dead- And the last one scared as inferno would deem.

Loren spat, she looked the monster in the eyes. She raised her sword to kill it, but before the blow could even land, the beast fell to the ground. A knife was tightly inserted in the base of its skull. The Amazon frowned and noticed Elenor waving from the corner of her right eye. She turned towards her and crossed her arms, seemed annoyed with the kill.

Elenor gave her an innocent smile. "What is it, my Princess? I just wanted to do my duty."

"Do you have to interfere and win my battles, Elf?" Loren growled.

"Oh, you don’t need to thank me, Majesty…" Noticing how annoyed Loren was looking, Elenor let her smile turn into a smirk. "Well, actually, you do, but that’s ok. I’m happy to be of service, mistress!"

"Your little fiend!" Loren released her swords and jumped towards her, pushing the elf's body against the grass.

Loren’s weight and strength kept the Elf’s body wholly pinned to the ground. Elenor didn’t have the power to overcome the Amazon, nor would she wish to struggle against her.

She could feel her Princess sweat, the smell of the enemies blood on her skin, and the savage look on her eyes. It was a beauty to behold, and she could feel her blood boil on her veins, and almost like a siren song, she felt enchanted. There's nothing she would want more than battle this woman on top of her, or fight again by her side. If only to feel as alive as she was feeling at this moment.

"Impressive, Mistress. You have such strength in your attacks, and you move so fast. You might just survive out there." The Elf whispered in awe.

"I do not care for your opinions, slave. Mock me again, and you will join those corpses on the grass! Do you understand this?"

After some moments of complete silence, the Elf lost her smile, and she shot a look full of contempt towards the Amazon. "Yes, my Princess. Forgive for my careless words."

Loren rose from their position on the ground and proceed to pick up her swords. She walked towards the tied up stranger and used one sword to cut the rope restraining them.

‘It seems my Princess have a charming way to make friends. How nice of her. At least she’s not completely useless in something, and she has quite the perfect physique for battle. If only she had any intelligence. But alas, such a thing cannot be. Damnation.’

The person tumbled down the tree, groaning and shouting in pain as it hit the ground. The form squirmed out from the bag covering their body and revealed to be a young, long-haired blond man. He stood up and brushed the dirt out of his body.

"Ouch, the ground hurts quite a bit!" The man said, tucking his hair behind his ears. They were slightly pointy and fell a little to the side.

‘Another Elf? No, those ears are too small and are only slightly pointy. Oh, Great Mothers. A Half-Elf. Poor bastard.’

"Who are you?" Loren’s tone was somehow hostile. "Answer me now!"

The man gave them an awkward smile that lost its color by looking at Loren’s threatening stance. "I…"

"Are you an Elf? Your have pointed ears!" Saren exclaimed excitedly.

Immediately the Half-Elf ignored Loren and turned towards Saren, grinning with such intensity that his eyes almost sparkled. "You can tell? Actually, I’m not entirely from a “pure breed” stock, if you know what I mean."

‘The way he is looking at Saren is so intense… Oh my, Is he…?’

"Mother Elf, father human, Ladies, and Gentleman, I am Draco Firestarter, and yes, I do start fires! HAHA!"

Saren’s look was one of pure shock. "You… Start fires?"

Elenor laughed. A strange pyromaniac in the middle of a forest with a possible crush on her 'brother'. The day is just getting better and better. "I haven’t seen a Half-Elf for quite some time. Interesting that you are one."

Draco’s expression faltered. "Is… Is that a problem?"

"No, why it should be?" Elenor said calmly. "It’s a relief; it shows that humans might have a soul, so they can fall in love with Elves. The Half-Elves are always so beautiful, and you didn’t disappoint."

Draco swiftly grabbed Elenor’s hands and shook them gratefully. "Oh, that’s wonderful! How shall I call this lovely flower?"

"Enough of this nonsense." Loren waved her weapons towards him as if he was as much of a threat as the Goblins they had just killed.

‘The princess seems to think anyone is a potential enemy. Not entirely wrong, but since this is Loren, I highly doubt it will be something clever. Perhaps since he is a man, albeit a frail-looking feminine one, she might have felt insulted by his words.’

"Hey… Don’t need to get upset; I’m just playing around…" Draco said, trying to keep his neck as farther away from Loren’s swords.

"You WILL identify yourself right now, or I will run you through with my swords."

Elenor and Saren shared confused looks. Saren muttered. "Is she daft?"

"No, just dumb as an Ox, seem likely." The elf muttered back, trying to keep quiet.

"Majesty, he just said that his name was…" Saren had begun to speak when Draco stopped him in the middle of the sentence.

"Wow, I’m surprised you haven’t heard of me! I am the all-powerful, the supreme and famous master and mage of fire!" He snapped his fingers and a small fireball projected over his hand. "Look how at this beauty! Voooosh! HAHA!"

‘So amazing! I liked this! Do I dare to ask him for an encore?’

Elenor looked at Saren and noticed his smile. Her “brother” loved the fire trick and to see such a reaction warmed her heart.

That is, until Loren kicked the mage across the chest and with her greaves pressed against his neck, kept him pinned on the ground.

Draco moaned in pain. "Argh! It was just a demonstration! I didn’t want to hurt anybody! I swear!"

"Majesty!" Elenor shouted. "He won’t harm us! Look at him!"

Loren looked at Draco and with a disgusted look and removed her feet from his neck. The mage cough and rose from the ground, drawing breath.

The Amazon sheathed her weapons and spoke disdainfully. "You’re right; he is far too incompetent to do us any harm."

"Hey, I’m not incompetent, that’s so unfair! I’m very good with magic, but fire is my favorite, my surname IS Firestarter, after all!"

"Oh, really? Then how is that such a powerful mage, like yourself, could be captured so easily by such weaklings as those Goblins?"

Draco stuttered for a moment and scratched his head sheepishly, giving a small smile. "It was a different group! Yes, a different group with giant Goblins. They were as tall as trees, I'm telling you!"

"You’re so funny, Fireman! " Elenor snickered and mocked the Half-Elf. She turned her attention to Saren, holding her chin. "That is so true, isn’t it, my darling?"

Saren sighed and shook his head. "If you say so… But it is a very convenient excuse."

"It is true! A powerful Goblin shaman commanded them! He was so strong, and he was big as…"

Saren smirked playfully. "Two trees?"

"Yes, how did you know?" Draco laughed.

Loren however, seemed quite pissed with the whole conversation, looking at Elenor, Saren and lastly Draco, before shouting. "Silence! You let your guard down, no matter how tall the goblin was."

From the potency of her shout, everyone became very quiet. Elenor scowled and prayed for some tree to fall over the Princess, but aside from the chipping of the birds, nothing was happening.

‘Damn that woman! She is so irritating! I just found someone interesting to question and maybe form an acquaintance, and she just has to get in my way. If I wasn’t bound by duty…’

Looking at Draco, Elenor notices how uncomfortable the poor man was, but he gulped and cleared his throat and tried to look more regal. "Well, my lady, I’m far more useful than you think. Give me some credit; I’m a very famous Mage after all. Perhaps you would be interested in my services? I wouldn’t charge much."

With a look of disdain and an expression to match, Loren’s answer was quick and blunt. "We aren’t interested in the slightest. Go away."

Draco was visibly disappointed and looked back at Saren, and turned to Loren again. "Are you sure? Not even if I throw my 'super beautiful lady discount,' just for you?"

"Spare me of this indignity," Loren growled and forcefully pushed pass him, making Draco almost lose his balance. "Elenor and Male, We are going. Now."

Elenor and Saren frowned.

"I hate to be called that," Saren muttered, biting his lips. "It makes me want to slap her, like, so much!"

"Get in line, Saren. She is wrecking my nerves. We better follow her; we have a duty."

Looking at Draco, Saren quickly apologized. "We are so sorry, but we must follow our mistress wishes, please forgive us?"

Draco lighted up slightly at Saren’s words. "Oh, that’s fine. It’s your loss, you know. See you around, and thank you for your kind words."

With that, Saren and Elenor made a run in the direction taken by the Amazon Princess. When they were by her side, Loren turned to Elenor and looked at her eyes. "Why did you take that long to reach me, slave?"

"Oh, I simply cannot even fathom!" The Elf said, crossing her arms, trying not to show her completely distaste for her mistress, and resorting to some sarcastic answers. "I was too busy sight-seeing all those trees and clouds in the sky that I just decided to skip all my way over here. Was everything that bad, your highness?"

"No, since you skip quite fast. Good that you reached me in time, regardless. We should go; we already wasted too much time with that troublesome fool back there." Loren said, putting both of her swords in their respective sheaths.

Elenor gaped at her answer.

‘Wait! Doesn't she understand sarcasm? She got to be joking!’

Noticing his “sister” baffled state, Saren spoke his mind. "That man… I doubt this will be the last time we see him. I’m sure."

Loren ignored him. Predictable.

"Your party may enter the town, but be warned that you are expected to obey our laws. Do nothing stupid, and there will be no problems. Do not look for trouble and we aren’t going to be breathing down in your necks. Keep your weapons away and good day." One of the west gate soldiers spoke with a loud voice.

"Fine by me, like we want to stay in this place for long." Loren walked past the guard, followed by Saren.

When Elenor was going past the guard, he blocked her way. "You are not allowed to enter! Filthy Elf."

Giving an exasperated sigh, Elenor looked at the guard with a bored expression. "Empire and his well-behaving ways. The joy of joys."

Noticing that one of her slaves was missing, Loren turned back and saw the exchange. "Let her through!"

"I cannot allow that. This woman is vermin, therefore, cannot enter this town like normal and decent people."

"I do not give a damn about your concept of normal or decent. I demand that you let her come with me, or you will pay!"

"Are you threatening me?" The soldier turned his full body towards Loren; even then, the soldier noticed that the woman in front of him was taller and more dangerous looking than himself with his plate mail armor. He stuttered and made a sign to some other soldiers to approach. "I…I will call reinforcements if you do!"

Elenor took hold of Loren’s hand. "Mistress, that’s all right. We cannot waste time with them, for now, let's go ahead."

Loren looked in anger towards the soldier, which was comically cowering behind his sword. She turned her attention back at Elenor and gave her a mix between an annoyed and a conflicted expression. "You dare to give me orders? I decide how I waste my time, and I can certainly spare some to beat some sense in those fools!"

"But does your mother have any time to spare? No, far from me to get in the way of our quest. I trust your instincts, so let’s keep her in our foremost thoughts." Elenor looked discreetly at the soldier and noticing a distraction, she whispered to Loren. "Majesty, I will find my way to you. Wait for me at the central font, close to the city hall; it looks like a Castle."

Loren’s expression turned immediately in confusion. "Huh? How do you…"

"Doesn’t matter. Go now!" Elenor noticed that she was still holding Loren’s hand and released it. Then, she ushered her Princess and Saren away from her, walking off from the city gate.

‘Played like a foolish child. This Princess is quite easy to manipulate... 'I trust you.' Pff! This is the biggest lie I’ve said today. What will be next? 'I never have been here before?'

When the Elf was considerably far from the gate; almost at the forest, she turned around and decided to enter the town in her usual way. She opened her backpack and took her makeup case, along with some commoner’ clothes and a veil. She removed her armor, changed her clothes, put some makeup, making sure to make some fake marks and scars. When she was satisfied, she put her veil and made sure to hide her ears with her headband. She grabbed from the backpack her hand mirror and inspected her work.

‘Now I am looking just like a common human, an incredibly fantastic and beautiful common human, if I may add! Regardless, the Empire is hypocrite, so as long I am past the gate and don’t look for trouble, most of them won’t care that I am an Elf, if they truly did, the whore houses wouldn’t be full of men and women looking for the “special Elf services” that is so popular around here. Figures. Anyway, I will change back on my favorite contact place, and I will keep my ears covered, just in case some trouble arises. Knowing that dumb-Princess-woman, that is bound to happen soon.’

Elenor walked fast toward the city gate south entrance and entered the town without any problems. She walked across Gerring Street and looked for a cozy blue house with number 20 over the door. After a few minutes looking for the right place, she found the contact house and gave the front door two knocks. Elenor waited for her contact to appear; it has been quite some time since her last visit. After some minutes and an “I heard you! Wait just a minute!” the door swung open, and a woman in her seventies greeted her with a charming smile.

"Oh, cupcake. It’s you. Business as usual?"

Smiling warmly, Elenor kissed the woman on the cheek. "Unfortunately no, Madam Dorothea. I’m accompanying a woman in a significant venture."

"Oh, a lady? Aren’t you a naughty girl! Reminds me of the last time we both had some fun! Too bad I’m not single anymore, but I’m sure that Jessica wouldn’t mind if you joined for a night. Are you up to some fun, my dear?"

Laughing, Elenor regarded her contact. She does have quite beautiful brown eyes, and she was very good in bed, but Elenor drew the line in getting in the way of real relationships and far from her to do something she hated. "I’m quite flattered you would even consider my company, but as you may already know, I’m not into threesomes, sorry."

"Oh, that’s a shame, but I can always have our memories from last solaria to warm my thoughts on chilly nights." Dorothea motioned to the Elf to get inside. "Get inside, my dear. I will make some tea and cookies while you change into your working outfit. Won’t you mind me asking about that friend of your's latter? I’m curious to hear what this mysterious woman did to capture your attention so easily. She must have made quite an impression on you."

"Oh, Dorothea… you have no idea." Elenor said, walking inside the house, closing the door.

‘She doesn’t need to know anything important. Not that she isn’t used seeing me targeting people here on Grimoire, but telling about my search to find my incredible Queen might not be so bad If she thinks she is just a common woman. Oh well, Loren and Saren can survive an hour without me to babysit them. For now, tea and cookies.’

Elenor’s stomach didn’t complain in the slightest.

—

Giving her best wishes to Dorothea and her girlfriend, Elenor hushed, to the city halls. She walked among the crowd of commoners, merchants, musicians, warriors, mages and common thieves. She looked around, making sure none of the pickpockets from the main square were stealing from her, but the second of distraction made her bump into someone.

"Ouch. I’m sorry, I wasn’t…" When Elenor looked at the person she just bumped, she opened a small, almost shy smile. "Its… You."

"Ellie… I never thought I would see you again." The tall, well-armored red-haired woman with hazel eyes answered her. She took one of her hands and kissed it in a very chivalrous gesture. Elenor blushed. "Now, what brings you to Grimoire? I’m not complaining about it; it’s quite refreshing to be able to see you again."

"Well, I could ask you the same thing. Last time, you were based on Lothark, not in this ugly town."

Giving a small smile, the woman nodded. "True, but I didn't have much choice on this matter. I was transferred to Grimoire at the beginning of the year since troubles around town are increasing. The claims that 'evil Elven individuals' are responsible for all the towns problems are ridiculous to say at least. I’m working quite hard to make sure this kind of nonsense is dismissed."

"Well, good luck with that. People here on Grimoire are way more racist than the population of Lothark, as you probably could see."

"Yes, did you believe some soldiers and other military personnel implied that I was incompetent for the sole reason I am a woman? Not to mention the whispers behind my back that I haven’t found a man to marry, so I must be frigid, or a freak." The woman spoke in annoyance. She looked at Elenor and caressed her face.

Elenor blushed again. After years, she still blushed like a fool when she did that. "Of course. Trust the Grimoire citizens to be ridiculous. People on Lothark are far more open-minded than those morons, and…"

Elenor stared at the woman. "Is so wonderful to see you again…"

They both hold hands for a moment, and Elenor walked with her in the direction of the city hall. "I’m here with an Amazon."

The woman clutched her hand more strongly. "Oh… Is it that woman? I should…"

"No! It’s- It’s not her." Elenor flinched. "It’s a royal business. The Queen is gone, and I’m searching for her."

The woman opened a cruel smile. "Oh? And what happened? Did the ground swallow her? Good riddance, I say."

"Stop that!" Elenor raised her voice. The woman looked back with sad eyes. Noticing her expression, she recomposed herself. "You know how I feel about that. Please, stop it."

The woman said nothing but resumed her walk with the Elf. Elenor looked down, almost in shame. "I’m really worried about her whereabouts. The Princess is very preoccupied; she and my brother are waiting for me close to the city halls. If you could help me, I really would be grateful."

"Of course. We are friends, and I always will love you far more than I hate those monsters from the west. Come with me."

They walk side by side in silence. Elenor felt the bitterness from the past almost suffocating her.

‘Lost opportunities by duty. Lost chances. Lily…’

And then they entered the city halls and were momentarily shocked.

‘I cannot leave them a second alone.’

—

Moments before

Saren was very nervous. He was completely and utterly baffled with the idea of walking around with the Princess. Since the trouble at the city gates with the guards, Loren was in a terrible mood. She growled and snapped at the smallest things. The people in the street were instinctively backing away from both of them like she was a beast.

‘Considering her behavior, that’s not far from the truth at all.’

Another thing to consider, the stares that many women were giving him was making him blush. Some even winked, smiled and called him pretty names but every time any of them refer to him as 'handsome,' or 'strong man,' he would be disappointed or completely uncomfortable.

‘Those ladies don’t know. It’s not their fault. Nobody would understand or believe in me if I said it anyway but is so sad to be called 'a man,' or 'he,' or 'him,' or any of those things… Inferno, even I refer to me like that for the sake of appearances. If they could only see and feel like I feel, but at least, some pretty girls found me cute, so this is nice…’

Saren sighed and wondered for a brief moment how would be to kiss those wonderful girls in front of him, but his thoughts were interrupted by the sudden stop of his mistress.

"Majesty?" He spoke unsurely, looking around himself. Saren noticed what could be called a small castle-like building, and from its design, it was more akin to a city hall. "I-I apologize for speaking out of turn, but are we in the…"

Brusquely, Loren turned towards him with anger. "And how should I know, stupid male? I have never been to this town!"

Saren almost trembled but remembered Dahlia’s words of encouragement. 'Never back down from anyone; be them an Amazon or a Dragon. Fight back and conquer your peers' respect.'

"Mistress Loren, I have asked you this question since is my duty not to let you be endangered, and the Amazons laws dictated this. I will not contradict such laws, would you do as such?" Loren made a perplexed face, clearly surprised by Saren’s answer, but bit her lips and crossed her arms. Saren gulped but tried to keep his composure. "My sister said to wait for her in what I believe to be this very place. She heard much and knew enough from our late mistress, Dahlia; she surely isn’t mistaken by this. We have two options. One, we wait for her here for some time; the second would be to explore the vicinity of the area, for example, this city hall."

Loren seemed to be pondering Saren’s words; she moved one of her hands to her chin and frowned. Then, after a moment, she looked straight into his eyes. "Very well, Male. Your reasoning isn’t all that terrible. As I said before, we are going to explore the 'city hall' or whatever excuse for a government this wretched town has."

‘Wait a minute! As she said? But it was my idea…’

Saren pouted and followed Loren to the building.

The architecture was much similar to what Saren saw by the outside. Stone walls, stone floor, a tyrant, and close to the ceiling was a perfect dome, with some colored stained glasses. In the walls were some unlit torches and candelabras, probably for nighttime; and, of course, various noble shields from various families in exposition.

But all that was quite irrelevant if compared with the number of crying peasants, some old, others young, and most of them were smelling like they haven’t taken a bath in years. Saren raised his hand instinctively to his nose, trying to reduce the terrible smell from entering his olfactory senses, but without much success. Loren pushed past most of the commoners in the line until she comes face to face to what seemed to be a vassal and lots of well-armed guards.

Without losing a beat, the Princess spoke in a barely controlled voice. "I am Loren of the Amazons! I have come to speak to your Queen."

"Queen? What Queen? The Empire has no Queen." The Vassal looked at Loren with some disdain.

Loren bit her lower lip as if the fact irritated her more. "Then let me speak to your King."

The Vassal let a small laugh escape from his throat and shot a look to the guards. Their expressions were amused as well. "Well miss, the Empire has no Queen or King. A council rules us."

"Then tell your Council that I seek an audience with her."

The guards and the Vassal burst into laughs. Some peasants nearby who overheard the exchange also was laughing. Loren looked visibly enraged, her hands shook, and her face was getting red by the second. Immediately, Saren tried to stop the possible very violent mass murdering disaster from happening.

"This is the Amazon Princess; sir isn’t a protocol for royalty?"

The Vassal looked at Saren as if noticing his presence just at that moment. He spoke in a polite and reserved way. "Look, the council is in session, sir. Why don’t you both come back later? When you find your girlfriend senses and stop wasting my time."

At the implication of their proximity, Loren immediately grabbed the man by the collar. The peasants ran away in fear of being caught in the confrontation. All the guards moved around them and unsheathed their swords and pointed them towards Loren and Saren.

"Let the Vassal go, or you both are dead!"

"I will not be insulted by this filth!" Loren growled; the look of pure murder was explicit in her eyes. The vassal panicked and struggled desperately to free himself from her hold, but she was stronger than he expected. "You will pay for this!"

"What is going on here?" A feminine and imperious voice echoed from the entrance of the city hall. Saren saw by the corner what could be Elenor, but he was so nervous that he could not ignore this new person appearance to be sure if the onlooker was his sister.

"Lieutenant-General Lillian! These two are trying to kill this royal vassal! We must arrest them immediately!" One of the soldiers spoke.

Saren looked back and saw a tall, red-haired woman entering the halls with a strong and intimidating posture. Her face was completely serious, a mask of a leader.

"Let me bring them to the barracks. I will question them myself and attest their danger."

Loren was livid. "I will not-"

"Yes, you will. Drop this man immediately, or I will run you through." Lillian revealed what seemed to be a small metal rod. Suddenly, the rod shined in a greenish color, and it became a full-sized claymore.

Loren was momentarily in awe but kept her composure. She dropped the vassal, who immediately scurried away in fear; and turned toward Lillian. "Finally a person who could be strong enough…"

Saren was terrified. The Princess seemed to listen to no one; what could he do?

As if his Great Mothers had listened to his prayers, another voice, - and this time, a familiar one - was heard in the halls. "Mistress! Saren! Just stop and come with her. That’s enough for today."

Everyone but Lillian looked at Elenor; she walked fast toward the guards and spoke in a charming voice. "Oh, sorry about her behavior. She’s not well since she lost her family, you see. She’s not good in the head. Can you believe she mistook the walls for mountains?"

The guards started to lower down their weapons and look at Elenor. They were amused by her antics and seemed to be buying her story. Saren always knew his sister had a silver tongue and was very good at making friends and in irritating them if she felt inclined. Elenor had such a way with people, even if she only interacted in her majority of time with the other slaves from the House of Thorns. The guards' attitude was the complete opposite from five minutes ago.

Now Loren, on the other hand, seemed almost immune to her reasoning and was fuming her with her eyes.

‘Oh my. Sister, you are in trouble.’

They decided to accompany the woman to the Barracks. Now, why Elenor was sharing the horse with this Lillian, Saren had no idea.

—

 "Now that the four of us are all here, care to tell me what was your great objective in causing that commotion at the city halls? You would be murdered if I weren’t there to stop the bloodshed." Lillian said to the three other occupants on her office. "And before any of you try to lie to me, Elenor already told me that you were looking for your precious Queen. So spill everything, and there will be no problems."

Loren shot a very angry look towards Elenor, who smiled at her. Then, she looked back at Lillian. "My mother disappeared a few days ago. We believe she might have been kidnapped and brought to this town."

"Well, isn’t this my lucky day! An Amazon that thinks the entire world revolves around her kind, of course; and that everything the Empire will ever do is to hide other people’s loved ones." Lillian spoke sarcastically. Noticing that Loren believed her words, she decided to elaborate a bit more. "Your precious Queen isn’t here. Most humans don’t even believe that the Amazons exist. You are like the fey stories the mothers tell the children or more like the monsters from the closet that will come to take them away if they aren’t obedient enough. The few people that believe those stories also believe that you are some half-giants, grotesque in appearance and walk like some overgrown ape. So no, we don’t know any whereabouts of any supposed 'Amazonian Queen.'"

"How dare you!" Loren rose from the chair and tried to punch the Lieutenant-General in the face, but Elenor, who grabbed her arm had stopped her. "Unhand me!"

"I will not. Do you take offense at anything? What kind of queen will you be? One that doesn’t think about the consequences of her actions? A queen that bashes over everything like some crazed person? What would your mother say? What would your Great Mothers say? Don’t be too precipitated in making your decisions."

Loren looked at Elenor’s eyes and could not shake that determination off. She took a deep breath and relaxed her arm. Elenor released her hold on the Princess and gave her a serious look. "Perhaps it would be better if I talked to the Lieutenant-General alone if you both don’t mind me saying. Wait outside her office; I will not take long."

The Amazon frowned and stared at Elenor. It was a strange look, one that not even she could pinpoint what it meant, but to the Elf in front of her, it was almost one of jealousy.

‘Of course, she is jealous. Lillian is not even an Amazon and is 'taking her new toy-slave away.' Bah, like I have the time or the will to play her pet-servant right now. I need to let her down easily since I have to stand her for some other time and I don’t want any resentment from this soon to be Queen.’

"Please, mistress? Could you do that?" Elenor asked in a docile tone. "Would you please let me help you?"

Loren kept staring at her for a few seconds before turning her attention to the door and speaking in a low tone. "Don’t take long."

Saren and Loren left the room. The moment the door was closed, Elenor let her annoyed expression manifest on her face. "Oh, holy Great Mothers. They finally left the room, and I thought it would take an army to take that spoiled Princess away."

"She was jealous; the way she looked at me was murderous to say at least," Lillian spoke in an even tone. "How can you stand her? You know that you don’t need to be her pet-slave or any kind of slave to those harpies."

"I have told you before, Lily." Elenor turned her attention back to her friend. "I have a duty, a duty that is stronger than me."

"You mean, you've been brainwashed to the point that you believe that what you’re doing is a duty, not a despicable act of pure cruelty!"

"Stop this nonsense, Lillian." Elenor’s voice took a more defensive tone. "You know very well that is not something I can decide or choose. Is beyond your comprehension."

"And how is this 'nonsense'? Can't you see that I'm trying to save you?" Lillian shouted, her face was torn in a look of pure anguish. "This is just like that time again! That woman only wanted to use you, and you still left with her! Can’t you see that I’m worried about you?"

Elenor grabbed both of Lillian's hands and brought them to her face. "I can see this, Lily. I’m not blind or stupid. I admit that a lot of the Amazons don’t deserve to even stand in my Queen’s halls, but not all of them deserve your harsh words. Even that foolish Princess is deserving of some respect, believe me, she fights like a Berserker warrior!"

"I don’t give a rat ass about her fighting techniques, Ellie! It’s her lack of morality that bothers me."

"Her 'Lack of morality'? Well, then I should be the person you hate the most. You know what kind of things I do for them."

"Enough! You know very well that is completely different! You are being forced to do those things!"

Elenor gave Lillian a haunting smile. She moved slowly towards her and sat on her lap, pressing her body very close to the Lieutenant-General. She stared at her eyes and spoke in a sweet tone. "And what would you say or do if you knew I was doing this by my own will, Lily? Am I a monster now? Do I deserve to burn in a pyre for such sins? Don’t you like me anymore?"

Lillian was completely silent. That scared Elenor, but she could not show this, or else she would never get the information that she wanted. So she kept her heart in check and tried not to let her voice waver. "I’m no longer deserving of your friendship? If I’m not, I’m sorry, but I will not change for you or anyone else."

"That isn’t true. You would change for her." Lillian gave her a sad smile. "And for the record, no, I don’t hate you or think of you undeserving of my friendship. You aren’t a real monster Elenor, no matter how you try to convince me that you deserve to die. Stop this, I can see through your masks."

"Well, you are free to believe whatever you want, but you have to admit that your civilization would be safer with me hanging from the gallows." Elenor closed her eyes and let the feeling of hopelessness wash over her. She failed in her first objective, but she could always get what she wanted in other ways. "Now, do you don’t know anything about the Queen? Please tell me you were riling up the Princess and not being completely sincere?"

"Yes, I was sincere, but only to a point. I didn’t want to help the Amazons in any way, you understand." Lillian said playfully. Then she slowly caressed Elenor's short locks of hair. "You have cut your hair considerably, last time it was longer and prettier than this. Short hair doesn't suit you, Ellie."

"Don’t change the subject, Lily." Elenor pressed her nose against Lillian’s own. "Please tell me what you know."

"I need to be convinced, Ellie." One of Lillian’s hands caressed Elenor’s neck. "I’m sure you can think of ways to change my mind."

"My, you are so boldly selfish." Elenor laughed. She brought one of Lillian’s hands to her back and the other to her chest. "Who’s lacking morality now, I wonder?"

"Well, you know what they say, my very beloved friend." Lillian groped Elenor for a moment before pressing both of their bodies over the surface of her desk, making all of her papers and decorations fall. She gave her a somehow shy smile that grew in confidence by watching the desire reflected in Elenor’s eyes. The Elf immediately began to look for the straps on her armor and Lillian’s hands moved to the straps binding her armor to her body. "It is hard not to be selfish when its something mutually shared. You and I want this, so I'm willing to sacrifice my peace of mind for a few moments of bliss with the prettiest woman in the land."

They both removed most of their armors and clothes. Elenor appreciated the beautiful and strong woman in front of her before whispering in a very excited tone. "I've been a bad girl, my Lilly, let me show you…"

Both of them forgot completely about the others waiting for them. To their credit, the room was soundproof, so no one outside could even hear anything. If it did, Saren would have a serious heart attack, and Loren would be her natural murderous self.

It was for the greater good that no one but the Gods had heard and knew what had happened inside that room.

—

Elenor opened the office’s door only to come face to face with Loren. The Amazon facial expression was beyond annoyed, and she stared behind the Elf. The office seemed to be in the same state they had left, but the windows were open, and the Lieutenant-General was washing her hands over the basin with a bottle of water, soap and a rag. They both exchanged angry looks before Elenor interrupted the staring match with a polite cough.

"Mistress, I believe we might learn the Queen's location from someone called 'Apolimesho.' According to Lillian’s words, if anyone could discover your mother whereabouts is him since he is an 'Archmage,' so he has quite the power and influence over the Empire."

Loren looked back at the Elf and seemed somehow relieved with the news. "That’s good, so we are going to speak with this man immediately."

"No majesty. We can’t right now. The Archmage lives in Horus, another city from the Empire. So, we need to get some equipment and supplies before going there. I recommend we do that right now, then go to a tavern to rest for the night and go to Horus by dawn."

"But my mother, she might…" Loren’s words were interrupted by Lillian’s voice.

"Listen to her. Believe it or not, is your best option." The woman looked at Elenor, giving her a small smile before adding. "Now that is settled, would you all please leave my office and don’t cause any more trouble around my city?"

"How dare you order me around!" Loren raised her fist and tried to punch Lillian's face, but felt Elenor's hand holding it back. The Amazon was impressed with the strength of the elf; however, the act also irritated her. "Unhand me!"

"Mistress, let’s go to the market and get some food for the trip tomorrow? Oh, thank you so much for agreeing!" Elenor forcefully dragged the Amazon away from the office, moving fast towards the exit of the barracks, until the three of them were completely out of Lillian's sight. "Really, mistress? One would not try to get in trouble with someone that just helped us."

The moment the three of them crossed the barracks entrance, Loren pushed Elenor against the nearest wall. She spoke in a cold tone, her eyes intimidating. "You knew each other! I demand to know how!"

"My late mistress, she…" Elenor started, but Loren slapped her across the face. "Ack! What was that for?"

"Spare me of your lies! I want the truth!" Loren growled, her presence towering over Elenor as if she was a mere and insignificant fly.

Scoffing at her mistress, the Elf growled in response. "Let me finish my words, oh omnipresent authority figure! As I was saying before being rudely interrupted, my late mistress and I met her on occasion, while we were both exploring the land."

Loren was baffled for what seemed the twentieth time in a row. "But you said you never left the Citadel!"

"And I never really did. I met Lillian in the Amazonian territory. She was very courteous, and we became acquaintances."

Loren’s eyes darted between the barracks and Elenor. To the Elf irritation, the Princess seemed to be doubting her words.

‘This can’t be helped, I suppose. Regardless, I can’t tell Loren the truth, or I will fail my mission, and this is so unbecoming and completely unacceptable. The first rule of a liar is this: If first, you don’t succeed, lie, lie, and lie again. Repeat a lie one thousand times, and it will become the truth.’

"Well, now that we are settled, can we get what we need or are we going to be standing around like idiots in the middle of the street?" Elenor said, annoyed. "The muggers would love this! I believe we are the perfect targets anyway, so what will be?"

"Fine. Let’s get our resources for tomorrow." Loren said finally, but she kept looking sideways to the Elf. "And you will stay under my sight at all time, Elf. Don’t you dare to stray again, for I will not be as lenient as I was until now."

Elenor sighted. Saren came by her side and whispered. "I would ask if you’re ok, but now it’s quite obvious the Princess totally hates you. While you were talking to the Lieutenant, the Princess was like, so angry, she kept looking at the door, and even tried to raise from the bench and barge in, can you believe it?"

"Saren, do you even breathe when you’re gossiping?" Elenor whispered back tiredly but mentally thanked her Great Mothers for stopping the Princess from disturbing her 'good time' with Lillian. "And is Lieutenant-General, is a double term for one patent from becoming a real General."

"Whatever you say, sis, I don’t care about that." Saren gave his sister a slight playful push on her shoulder. "The look in the Princess's eyes was like 'I will skin you alive and make a silly little dance with your flesh over your grave'! I was terrified! So please, don’t anger her anymore; I’m very worried for you."

"You are just as much of a spoiled girl as she is, Saren, you know that, right?" The elf smiled and held Saren’s left hand. "Don’t worry about my safety, I’m a big girl, and girls like me keep out of trouble, so girls like you don’t get into any, right?"

"You both stop this disgusting display!" Loren’s voice cut the air behind them. "I don’t want ever to see this kind of thing again!"

"Ok, mistress!" Elenor released Saren’s hand and looked at Loren with disdain. "I will not want your precious eyes to be sullied by a simple gesture of affection between two siblings!"

"What?" Loren held both of their arms in reflex. "You're siblings? But he is human, and you are an Elf! This is impossible."

"Ok, we aren’t biologically related, but the same mistress raised us. She raised Saren since he was born, and I had become her slave since I've come into the service of the Amazons when I was around five years of age. So, the Lady of the Thorns decided to raise us as siblings and then encouraged both of us to think of each other like that." Elenor said with finality. "What you are seeing between us is no different than what any family member would show each other, don’t you have your mother to give you affection, once in a while?"

"I-" Loren was quiet for a moment and refused to answer the question. "You both may be affectionate with each other as long you follow my orders, is that clear?"

"Uh, ok I guess," Saren said and noticed that the Princess wasn’t walking in front of them anymore, but was walking side by side with Elenor.

‘This woman is completely volatile, but at least she has a few moments of clarity, I suppose. But then again, I'm not really on my best behavior nowadays, so I cannot judge her.’

—

"So, this is one of those markets you told me about?" Loren spoke with disdain. "I see only paupers and vagabonds around us."

"It’s just a market, your highness, what did you expect to find here?" Elenor sighted. By looking at Loren’s expression, Elenor could notice that the Princess wasn’t used to deal with common people, especially since they ignored her presence so easily. The Elf decide to move fast to the closest stall before Loren could get disturbed with their lack of attention towards her. "Now, let’s buy some food for tomorrow, please?"

"Fine!" Loren exclaimed, but to her dismay, most of the citizens ignored her and the few people who looked at her, just scoffed at her actions. "I will greet one of those vendors and let things be done. Follow me."

‘Oh, like we already we been doing for the entire day?’  Elenor thought acidly. ‘She should say something more obvious like 'cows go moo' or anything like that next time. Ugh!’

Approaching one stall, Loren turned to the vendor, he seemed somehow old, his skin rough on the hands, probably from a life living in a farm; but had a very excited look in his eyes that showed that he was doing something he appreciated. Noticing Loren’s presence, he gave a huge smile that showed all of his teethes and made an extravagant gesture. "Welcome! I got the best fruits and vegetables you will find on this side of the town! You won't find anything better!"

"I…" Loren’s tirade barely began before the vendor showed her a barrage of fruits, vegetables, and other farm products.

"Look at those carrots! Finest color of the season, if I may say!" The vendor kept shouting happily. His excitement was somehow infectious, and Saren was smiling as well. "Young lad! Give it a bite! It’s on the house!"

"Uh… Of course!" Saren grabbed one of the carrots and bit the tip. The taste was typical for a vegetable, but he had to admit the color was very inviting to him. In the Citadel, Saren only ate the leftovers, so this one veggie was a good change from what he usually got. "It’s quite good, sir."

"See what I'm saying?" The vendor was even more excited than before. "Now, let's move to the big ones! Yes, the big ones!"

The vendor grabbed a couple of big and reddish fruits. Elenor had seen them before in Lothark, they were called 'Apples' and had a delicious taste that matched their interesting red complexion. She stared at it with hunger. It was her favorite fruit, after all. "Huge apples! The best flavor in the whole Issanis!"

Loren stared at the apple without any interest, the vendor, probably noticing her lack of reaction, turned towards her in his usual excitement. "One apple or two apples?"

The vendor shoved one big apple into Loren’s hands; her eyes went big from being treated like a common peasant. Her mouth opened in shock, but she was too offended to respond to the vendor’s question.

Regardless of this, the vendor didn’t stop talking. "Two apples! Two apples for the big woman!"

An old lady walked behind the man - probably the vendor’s wife- and she spoke in a more controlled tone, but also with some excitement. "Remember! Two apples are six gold! Best price with the best quality!"

"Haha! That’s wonderful! Have no worries, majesty!" Elenor said, laughing loudly, she looked at Loren and gave her a playful smile. "For what it's worth, I don’t think you are big at all. So I assure you, you are an average woman!"

Loren glared at her, as if she was even more insulted, Elenor just smiled at her with fake innocence.

With a scowl, the dark-haired amazon said."Breza will pay dearly for attaching you to me."

"Great! Can I watch?" The Elf spoke with excitement, while discreetly giving the vendors nine pieces of gold and receiving three apples in return. "May I suggest spanking as a punishment?"

"What?" Loren turned immediately at the Elf, with a strange expression. "You... You want to see me spanking her?"

"Yes... That would be so hot." The elf was biting her lower lip in anticipation. "So damn hot..."

Loren blushed and cough. "What... What do you mean by that?"

Even if her words said otherwise, her tone implied that she knew what Elenor had meant by 'hot.' 

"Oh, nothing important. Here, majesty, have one apple." Elenor gently gave one of the apples to the Princess, changing the subject abruptly. "Eat one of those; I can guarantee it’s quite tasty."

Loren looked at the strange fruit cautiously, before looking back at the Elf. "Is it good?"

Smiling at the Princess, the Elf bit one of her other apples and give the remaining one to Saren. Then, she turned to Loren again and pointed to the Amazon own apple. "Come on my Princess. Take a bite and see for yourself. It’s delicious! Would I lie to you?"

Loren sighed and bit the apple. She took some time to register the exotic taste of the fruit before biting again and again until there was nothing she could devour. She gave the Elf a smile of her own and whispered in her ear. "Thank you for this fruit. It’s good, indeed."

They walked around the city, looking for a good place to rest when Saren took hold of Elenor hand. "Sister! Look!"

Looking far from her left there was Grimoire’s famous Gladiator’s Arena. This name, however, was very deceiving, the so-called gladiators weren’t like the past before the Empire was created. Back when a king and a queen ruled the city. In the past, the gladiators fought for the right to preserve their own lives and for the entertainment of the public. Nowadays, they fought for money and fame, and the combats were never to the death.

‘Pathetic. The Amazons are stronger than those fools. They could beat all of them and lock them up in their arenas, and make them fight for their lives like the old times as it should be. There is no sense in using a sword if it’s not going to kill anyone. Some day, I hope they will become part of our territory, and then, they will become the expendable servants they were meant to be.’

"It’s just an arena, Saren. We have many like this on the Citadel, so what’s the reason for the excitement?" Elenor spoke with disinterest.

"Oh, well… Do you never wanted to see how the warriors of other nations fight?" Saren said, scratching his auburn hair. "I mean if only to learn some new techniques…"

"At last, you made yourself useful, male," Loren spoke with some excitement. "We are going to the arena. Surely the most powerful warriors of this nation can be far more trustworthy than this mage of yours, Elf. We are going there immediately."

‘…And here I thought for a moment that she actually could trust me a little. Too soon.’

They walked to the arena, and not much could be said about the architecture or the general aspect of the place. Warriors were walking by, the clinking of their armors and the sound of the training dummies being moved by some servants from place to place was almost deafening, lots of sweating men and not a woman in sight.

"Where are all the women?" Loren whispered. She looked around almost frantically. "There are only males? What kind of nonsense is this?"

"Well, your highness, it would seem to me that not all the nations of the world see the women as superior to the men. If you can believe in me, there are many cultures that the women are considered inferior to the men, imagine that!" Elenor said sarcastically. She gestured to the gladiators and to the few people who were sitting on the pews, watching their training sessions and a few small fights. "See all of them? What would you say if I told you that the reason that the female gladiators aren't present is not that it is forbidden. The sole reason they aren’t present here is that they are considered to be incompetent and useless. So no matter how much they try, they will never be given the same opportunities or praises. They will never be recognized."

The Elf looked deeply into her Princess's eyes, and she kept speaking in almost malicious voice, one that was all whispers and barely concealed anger. "Isn’t that unfair? Are they undeserving of respect?"

‘Common, Princess. See how unfairly you treat me, see that I am Amazon just like you! I need my citizenship so I can finally rest. I need to be recognized!’

Loren growled and touched the hilt of her swords, ready for any attack.

"Are you one of the recruits?" A grizzled older man, some retired warrior, walked to greet them. Looking at Loren’s body, he gave a lecherous grin and licked his lips. Loren made a disgusted face and grunted in anger. The man kept his perverted stare. He seemed at ease with Loren disgust, probably since there were gladiators around him to back him up if any trouble arises. "I wasn’t told about you. I will look forward to training you appropriately, hahaha."

"Stay back." Elenor jumped in Loren defense. "If you don't get out of our sight right now, I will tear you apart!"

The older man gawked at Elenor. All of the warriors nearby did the same and moved their hands to their swords. "An Elf! How did you get into the city?!"

'Ah, It seems my rendezvous with Lily made me careless. I should have covered my ears again before entering a volatile place like this arena.'

"With my legs, you morons." Elenor sarcastically scoffed. "Keep away from my mistress, and you won't be meeting my blade."

"Your filthy vermin! You won’t order us around!"

The retired warrior raised his sword and made a slashing motion towards the elf. Elenor had quickly grabbed her rapier in reflex and tried to disarm him, but the elf's sword never hit the intended target.

Loren had shielded her from the attack and now held the old man sword with her bare hand. The man was shocked by Loren's bravery and was just as surprised when the dark-haired woman started to choke his neck with her remaining hand.

With a tone that broke no discussion and was full of hate, Loren shouted."How dare you to attack us! The warriors from the Empire are all bastards and fools! I should kill you all for your insolence, but my time too important to waste with your kind!"

The Amazon forcefully moved the sword she was holding to his neck and cut the man’s throat easily. The man fell to the ground like a ragdoll, his blood gushing over the ground. The other gladiators were all shocked by her display of violence and were scared of her strength. The Princess gave them a look, as if challenging them to say or do anything, but no one dared to approach her.

Her hand that held the dead man's blade was bloodied, but not with her enemy blood. From her palm that held the sharp edge of the sword, a deep cut was made, her deep crimson blood staining her fingers and ground.

"Were done here." Loren grabbed Elenor’s hand with her stained one and dragged them away from the arena.

Saren was completely baffled by what happened, feeling guilty that his suggestion had brought such harm. On the other hand, Elenor was fascinated by Loren’s actions and decided that while the Princess weren’t the brightest or the most interesting Amazon, she were deserving of respect for her bravery.

While they were walking in the streets, Elenor noticed that they still were holding hands. Now, her hand was stained with her princess royal blood.

‘It’s becoming a habit... For some reason, I do not find it all that bad. Maybe is the violence...’

"Mistress Loren..." Elenor stopped the Princess. She raised their joined hands and showed her how bloodied their hands had become. "Let me be useful and heal this wound."

Closing her eyes, Elenor let her natural magic involve the wound in Loren’s hand. She could feel the cut becoming smaller by each second, and after a short moment, it was gone, not even a scar to remember. Only the stain of the blood remained.

"There was no reason to heal me." The Amazon said, looking at her healed hand. "It was just a simple cut, I had plenty of them, and I didn’t need to be magically healed to feel better."

"Can’t I thank my mistress for defending my honor from a bunch of idiots?" Elenor said with a smile. "Surely you can understand me?"

Loren gave her a frown. "I haven’t done this for you, Elf. I did this because you said they treated females badly, and after being disrespected by that foolish old male, I defended my honor. Don’t be so full of yourself, slave."

"…I understand, your highness." Elenor bowed and reverted to a neutral expression. She could hear her brother whisper something to her, but she paid no attention.

‘She is right. I need to know my place now that things aren't like before; when Dahlia was alive. Whatever trust or respect I momentarily had towards Loren is just an illusion. She doesn’t respect or trust me, then why I should respect her? As long as we both remember our duties, everything will be in order. Besides, I have to make her dance my song, not the other way around. This situation is getting more troublesome than I had expected. Maybe I am losing my touch. My desperation to get recognized is tearing my mind. Maybe I am the one who is getting insane.’

Elenor made sure to remember how much she hated the Amazon princess and that she is also hated by her, to never really trust Loren or she was bound to fail in her mission to keep her safe. She had to protect the Princess, even if it meant to die.

Maybe if she died in glory while she protected her mistress, the Amazons would be kind enough to give her fallen spirit the recognition she desperately needed.

'Would that be enough? Would I be able to see Dahlia again?'

Those thoughts would haunt her mind for a long time.

---

The elf noticed the sign of a tavern, the 'Slice of Heaven.' She smiled and proceeded to calculate her remaining money.

‘Until now, the Princess hasn’t noticed that I have my own money. Talk about a serious lack of attention; she must be really worried about the Queen…’

"Majesty, may I speak freely?" Elenor gave Loren a pointed look. "You know, I think you should refrain from making our presence more obvious, especially now that we are going to enter a tavern and people love to get into tavern fights. Please don’t invoke your royal title to the locals, or they might find an excuse to attack us, and this will only slow us down in your quest."

"And why have you taken that long to tell me that?" Loren spoke sarcastically.

"Wow, she actually can be sarcastic…" Elenor whispered to herself, but noticing how annoyed her Princess was, she gave an equally sarcastic answer. "Oh, I don’t know, majesty, maybe is the fact I’m just a lowly slave and my advice would be ignored? You can’t blame me for being my usual cautious self, can you?"

Sighing, Loren answered back. "No, I can’t. I forgive you."

Elenor blinked and shook her head in annoyance. Sometimes, her new mistress acted in unforeseen ways, therefore, the Elf concluded that she would need to take sometime evaluating the princess behavior in order to properly manipulate her actions.

Entering the tavern, Elenor looked at the locals. Some off duty guards were drinking cheap beers and playing with cards. A tired-looking barmaid walked around them, carrying some food plates. There were other younger barmaids throwing flirts to the soldiers and the other patrons, while others scoffed at their antics, but none of them seemed to pose a threat, at least not for the moment. Elenor had the impression that someone was hiding in here, but since the crowded space showed nothing in particular, she decided to let her instinct slide off her.

‘Of course, I’m an Elf. It could be a good thing or a bad thing in this kind of place; it depends on the person. I hope the Innkeeper has a fetish with my kind and don’t shut us out immediately. Otherwise, Loren might do something stupid.’

"Elenor?" – Loren whispered suddenly." You seemed to have more tact with those fools. Talk to them."

"Uh, I think it is better if Saren did that instead. He is human and a male after all." Saren glared at her, and she guilty whispered. "I’m sorry.”

"You make a sensible argument." Loren agreed with the Elf. "Male, go there and talk to the Innkeeper and fetch me something to eat."

Saren took a bow and quickly moved to the balcony where the Innkeeper was cleaning some glasses.

The warrior moved away and proceeded to talk to the innkeeper. Elenor hoped his skill in making friends were better than those he displayed at the Citadel. The males there always mistreated him in the public quarters, especially before she had to cut her poor sister's hair. The reason probably was because Saren was considered too girlish for them.

‘They probably think of him as a freak of nature, but what they know? They wouldn’t understand anything even if they knew the truth. Ignorant bastards.’

"Elenor?" Loren spoke again, but this time, her voice carried more tiredness and uncertainly that she displayed outside the tavern. Maybe with Saren around them, she felt uncomfortable, somehow. Saren would laugh if she learned of this. "It’s late, and I wanted to know your opinion, what should we do now?"

"Wait, wait, wait…" Elenor turned her whole body towards Loren, facing her directly. She could see her future Queen was very unsettled and this, for some unfathomed reason, bothered her. Loren’s expression showed almost a shy look that could be adorable in anyone face, but if she was to be the Queen of the Amazons someday, that showed only weakness in her part, and such things were unacceptable of royalty. "You’re asking my opinion?"

"Yes. Now tell me your opinion." Loren repeated her words, and this time, she was more demanding. The shy expression was gone, and this made Elenor more comfortable.

"My Princess, as I told you before, the Archmage Apolimesho is in Horus. We should rest here and rise by dawn. Then we shall look for him, and we will make him talk the easy way or the violent way, whichever he prefers. If he proves too difficult, we could always maim and beat the truth out of him. I guarantee I will not only make him talk, but I can even make him sing and dance."

Loren smiled at her. Such a thing was truly beautiful, and for a moment, Elenor wished she could sing about it, but she decided to keep such inappropriate thoughts to herself. Loren is not to be trusted.

"It’s safe for us to stay in a place like this?" Loren said while looking around. Elenor had to admit, with the soldiers and the entertainment typical of the taverns of Grimoire, not to mention that uncomfortable encounter in the arena, it is obvious the Princess wouldn’t be comfortable sleeping among the humans.

Elenor gave her a small smile of her own. "I will guard you with my life, majesty. Tonight and every single time you need me."

Loren stared into her eyes. That weird expression was in her face again. She looked away and smiled. "Very wise of you."

"Of course, your highness." Elenor winked.

‘Is she aware that we will probably share the same room tonight?'

They would talk about other things, if Saren hadn’t grabbed the innkeeper by the collar and raised him from the ground, growling at him. "WHAT DID YOU SAY ABOUT HER, YOUR SICK BASTARD?"

"Saren!" Elenor and Loren ran towards him and could see how furious Saren was. "Saren, my sweetie, put the human down, you’re causing a scene."

"Not until he apologizes to you!" Saren raised one hand, his fist clenched. "APOLOGIZE RIGHT NOW!"

The Innkeeper looked at Elenor sideways and scoffed. "I will never apologize to those treehuggers scum. She is nothing more than a whore; her only reason for existing is to get fucked and-"

Before he could say something more, Saren’s armored fist connected with the innkeeper's mouth, making the innkeeper lose a tooth on the impact. "NOBODY TALKS SHIT ABOUT HER! NOBODY!"

The idle guards seeing the disruption, quickly grabbed their weapons and prepared to attack them. Elenor and Loren unsheathed their weapons and prepared to battle the nine approaching soldiers that were circling them. Saren released the Innkeeper and grabbed his shield and his ax, preparing to battle the enemies as well, when suddenly, from the tavern crowd, Draco rose and joined their side.

"Whoosh! Hello everybody! This is quite a party! May I join them?" The fire mage laughed excitedly.

"Draco? Why are you here?" Saren spoke in awe, blocking an attack intended to his head with his shield. He bashed the enemy’s lance away with ease. "I thought you were gone for good!"

"You know what they say!" Draco moved his hands expertly, and a wall of pure fire appeared right from his fingertips. "Life’s is adventure or nothing!"

"You!" Loren turned to Draco with an angry look. "I spared you once, and I will not do such again! Do not get in my way!"

Draco still smiled at them and said. "Let’s not kill those fellows; the Empire would be very angry if their soldiers suddenly became barbecue pieces. Who’s agree with me?"

"I agree with you, Fireman!" Elenor said excitedly. She waved to Draco and winked. "And I had thought something strange was afoot; I’m glad it was only you, hottie!"

"Can you both shut up and let us be done with them?" Loren barked and ran through the wall of fire. The sounds of gasping guards and the clashing of swords could be heard.

"Wow! She shouldn’t be able to do that." Draco wondered. " Is she always like this?"

Elenor merely shrugged and followed her mistress through the wall of fire. She could hear Draco saying something like 'She was jealous, wasn’t she?', but she had far more pressing matters to attend to, like the angry man in front of her or the pack of gawking commoners watching the rapid turn of events.

‘I can use this in my favor! I’m not a Dirgesinger Bard for nothing!'

"Ladies and morons!" Elenor made a mock bow to the 'public' in the exact moment the guard tried to stab her with his broad sword, her expertly evasion winning her the awe of those who were witnessing this moment. She turned to the man as if were they dancing. "Here we are with my performance act for this day!"

Elenor grabbed the nearest chair with one hand, carefully picking up one of her hidden daggers - trying in not drop it with the other, and made a backflip with it, using the chair to elevate herself, making a perfect equilibrium in the air. While she was upside down in the air, she twisted the chair around with her hand and released it, throwing her body towards the soldier, who was confused by the sudden sequence of movements to react properly. Now, with one of her hands holding her dagger, she quickly picks her rapier and made two diagonal slashes in the enemy’s arms, kicking him across the face, making him fly towards the closest wall.

She landed on the ground like a cat and raised her body without a problem. The people in the tavern cheered, impressed with her feats. Elenor looked to her next target, a lancer; Draco’s fire badly injured him, but still posed a threat with that long pointed weapon. Keeping her arrogant grin in place, the Elf decided not to be deterred by her fear.

‘I can do this; I need a bit of faith in myself. Besides, I’m not fighting alone.’

"Now, my act is to make this bloody moron in front of me kiss his friends behind! Watch and learn kiddies, and please do this at home without any parent supervision!" Elenor ran towards the lancer and waited for the obvious attack.

The lancer tried to impale her with a strong movement, but Elenor had slid between his opened legs. She passed easily through him and rose fast before he could turn around. She grabbed him by the neck and proceeded to choke him with her arms. The man tried to shake her off him, but the Elf had quite an experience with this kind of attack. Soon he relinquishes his weapon and desperately tried to pry her hands off his neck. A nearby soldier, noticing his friend situation, moved towards them with his longsword.

Elenor gave the approaching soldier a daring smile but was mentally scared of what could happen if she miscalculated her actions. The elf gave a brief prayer to her Great Mothers and Dahlia, took a deep breath and turned her own body around, facing the soldier with the long sword.

The soldier was moving fast, too fast to notice the change she had just made. He kept advancing, intended in hit the elf that was hiding behind the now ex-lancer, but when he hit his target's back, he noticed that the target gave a masculine shout instead of a feminine one. When he focused on the scene in front of him, he understood that the woman had changed places with the man and that he stabbed him, not her.

Elenor pushed the now ex-lancer away with all her strength and grabbed the still extended arm of the bewildered swordsman. With the same aggressive pattern, she throws the guard over the same direction of his fallen companion, making his face hit his colleague’s buttocks at the moment he landed.

‘I admit they were difficult to handle! Damn, I need to get out more if I'm not as flexible as I once was. I must be careful in the next one.'

Before the Elf could keep her tirade, an angry soldier had just discarded his weapons and grabbed her by the waist, raising her from the ground. "Your arrogant thwart! You will pay for this!"

The man started to crunch her body by using his superior strength and armor, making hard to even breath. She looked for her weapons, but her last set of actions made her drop them on the ground. Elenor decided to make an evasive maneuver using her other concealed weapons.

"Hey, you little twerp…" Elenor whispered, grabbing from her belt’s pouch her most violent weapon with her right hand and mentally smiling to herself. "I thought I had told you before…"

Elenor used her left hand to hit the soldier in the eyes, making him release her by reflex. She couldn’t waste time to breathe properly, so she just positioned herself behind him and wrapped her thin metallic wires around his neck expertly. Her chosen weapon was a very dangerous one.

A Garrote. The weapon for a silent and cruel murderer. Her favorite weapon of choice, the one she is most skilled and also the weapon she enjoys the most.

"Nobody chokes me… Everyone gets choked by me. Hahahahaha…" Her laugh was low but haunting. The soldier tried to move away; however, the wires were not only choking him and make him lose his consciousness, but also cutting him around his neck. His blood was starting to rise from his wounds.

Elenor wanted to kill him, she felt the huge desire to make him feel the pain provided by her Garrote, but she reluctantly remembered that the situation wasn’t the best for it. Eventually, she would be able to choke another person to death using this method, and unfortunately, this one would have to live with just the memory and possible the scars on his neck.

When the swordsman finally lost his consciousness, Elenor released him and looked around.

The tavern was a complete mess. The fire was gone, but almost every chair and table were on the ground, and some were destroyed beyond repair. The patrons that were even now watching all the fights, still cheered when Elenor came as one of the victors of the battle. The elf noticed that all soldiers were down, some of them were seriously wounded, and Loren, Saren, and Draco were physically well. It was a good tavern brawl.

Staring at the crowd of onlookers, Elenor took a bow and received some claps. "And that’s all for today, folks! I’m happy to be of service!"

Loren cleaned her brow with the back of her hand, the blood of one of the defeated soldiers had spilled on her face. She removed what she could with a piece of rag discarded over one of the turned tables and walked firmly towards the now, scared Innkeeper. "Now, where were we?"

The Innkeeper, while trembling and probably wetting his trousers from fear, still kept his tirade. "Be….Begone! I will call for more help if I have to! You’re all inhuman!"

"Yes, I will show you how inhuman we can be, fool!" Loren raised her fist, but before she could punch the man’s face, a bag full of gold landed in front of them. They shot a glance to their side and noticed a small woman, almost resembling a little girl.

‘Is this a child? No. The proportions aren’t the same, and this is only the effect of this despicable lack of light. This woman is an adult dwarf, how interesting to meet one that skinny. She probably has a human ancestor somehow in her bloodline, being so different from the norm.’

"Oh, stop being such a party pooper and just give the silly people their room, Gunther." The dwarf spoke in a light tone. She winked to them with some mirth, apparently amused by their behavior.

‘…But apparently, Loren was not. She seemed more pissed now that someone interrupted her smashing time. Joyful.’

"Stick to your own business, little girl!"

Immediately, the amusement of the dwarf face was gone and was replaced with utter annoyance. "Little girl?!"

She jumped over the bar and kicked everything that was over it. Pans, plates, mugs, and anything that was in her way as she stomped over the party. "I’m a Dwarf! Not some child! Are you all blind?"

Loren looked to the dwarf as if she had grown a second head. Saren and Draco both shot her an apologetic look while Elenor only raised one eyebrow, with barely concealed disinterest.

"You take that back, or I will take my gold somewhere else!"

‘Now that she is closer, I can see more clearly. Let me make some notes: Knifes, a short bow, probably dwarven made, a light leather armor, pouches for keeping things, eager hands and five impressive scars on her face. Yep, probably some psycho or thief, and the fact that she could throw a bag of gold out of the blue for three, uh, now four, strangers make her suspicious enough. I better prepare myself for any coup of her part. Nah, I doubt it will come to that anyway. How unfortunate, I wanted to kill someone.’

" …Really?" Elenor voice carried the same disinterest than before. "That’s is all you are going to say?"

Suddenly, the dwarf smiled from ear to ear and laughed. "No, I’m just yanking your legs! Hahaha!"

"So you’re no longer, like, really angry with us for calling you a kid?"

"Nah. Being little is pretty good, you know? I fit in small spaces; I’m mistaken for a kid all the time and is easy to get around."

‘Well, that will ease my worries. The dwarf isn't bipolar, so not crazy. I need to break nobody’s neck around here. Sadface.’

"Get around? How?" Saren asked curiously. "I mean, if you look like a kid, things must be hard, like some crazies must bother you or you can’t do anything fun and…"

"Saren… Please don’t give her a reason. Just accept some facts of life so we might end this line of thought?" Elenor said with annoyance.

Saren opens his mouth to protest but decided against continuing the conversation. He looked at his feet and pouted. "Ok, sis."

The dwarf looked between them and puffed her chest. "Well! Now that’s settled, I will present myself! I’m Dora; I like nice things and meeting interesting people. Oh, and this grouch here is Gunther. Say 'hi,' Gunther!"

The Innkeeper grumbled an insult. "Whatever."

"Oh, since we are all friendly with each other, would you mind getting me something to drink? Mead, perhaps?" Elenor gave the man an innocent look. The Innkeeper groaned and entered the kitchen.

‘He will probably spit on the glass, but I’m not going to drink anyway. It just brings me joy to get those humans so rilled up. Hahaha!’

"Oh, all right. Now that the angry-looking fellow is gone…" Draco spoke excitedly. He raised his hand happily. "Pleasure to meet you, lovely lass! I’m Draco Firestarter, and…"

"What you expect to accomplish by giving us that bag of gold? What’s your angle?" Loren slapped Draco’s hand away abruptly. The way she stared at the dwarf menacingly showed how much cautious she was with the tiny woman. In other words, how much unsure she was in her company. "Answer me!"

Dora smiled again. "Because you are all different!"

Elenor raised both of her eyebrows.

‘Maybe she is crazy after all… Bah, as if I care, at least she seemed to be 'funny crazy,' not like 'I need to be medicated' crazy, like some people I know…’

"You mean because we are strangers? Are we weird looking?" Saren pried awkwardly. "Maybe because of the destruction we caused around here?"

"No, not really like that, but this surely helped!" Dora jumped from the bar counter and landed on the floor. "I mean, you’re quite the band, you know, starting from this one!"

Dora pointed towards Loren, who snorted. "You’re tall and angry looking. I bet you are an Amazon, am I right?"

"Yes." Loren crossed her arms, annoyed to be referred to as 'this one.' "This isn't any of your business, dwarf."

Ignoring the Amazon's answer, Dora looked towards Elenor. "And this pretty, slender one is an Elf. By the way, nice Garrote you have!"

Elenor gave her a happy if almost sadistic look. It pleased her immensely to have her art respected, not to mention, appreciated. "This is music to my ears, you know?"

"Oh, don’t get all full of sugar on me, honey. I’m not into that, sorry!"

"But I wasn’t…" Elenor stuttered, suddenly being confused by the way the conversation had turned.

‘This woman is strange, indeed. I’m not even into dwarves, especially this weird looking. I like my women with curves, muscles, big breasts, taller and if possible, older than me.'

Turning her attention towards Saren, she laughed happily. "And is so nice to know a human that considers an Elf to be his sister. So you’re both like, servants from the angry tall one over there?"

"Oh, uh, well…" Saren blushed, embarrassed. "You can say that…"

"Oh, so the three of you are from the fabled Amazon's land?" Draco said in awe. "Oh, boy! That explains the angriness and tallness and 'I really wanna punch your face' ness from that woman!"

Loren gave the half-elf a sharp look. "They aren't Amazons, fool. They are my slaves. Do not dare to compare them to me."

Elenor and Saren stared at their mistress. Saren clenched his first and looked away, while Elenor gave her a thin smile.

‘I’m more of an Amazon than you. I will show this, and someday, I will be recognized.’

"Really? I don’t think it is nice calling your servants 'slaves' all around the town, you know? Slavery is like, illegal everywhere except in places like Dingirra, so announcing this out loud could get you in serious trouble. Just a piece of advice, all right?" The dwarf cautiously explained.

"I…" Loren looked at Elenor’s and Saren’s face briefly and grumbled. "I will keep this in mind. Thank you."

"See, you know how to be nice!" Dora clapped her hands. "Now, onto other advice of mine, money always makes the world go round, so it can always get you some friends anywhere you go in this town!"

‘Well, not just money can let you go places. Sometimes, information and internal connections can be way more effective, or they are my favorites anyway. Ah, it’s not like I can share this with any of them, but it’s nice to think about it.’

"Thank you for your advice," Loren said in a more controlled voice. "I would like to request your assistance in a quest of mine. Perhaps you would be interested?"

‘Now that’s a change of attitude. Loren probably must respect dwarfs.’

Draco frowned and crossed his arms, annoyed. Saren clenched his fists again and took a deep breath.

"A trip, you say? I don’t know. I have a job here, one that I can’t just leave in a blink." Dora said, scratching her head.

"You will be greatly rewarded. I am Princess Loren of the Amazons."

"Ah, so you’re a princess?" Dora’s eyes lit up. Elenor recognized this kind of look; this is the look of a bounty hunter or mercenary, one that is already deciding what kind of reward they would get. "Then, this makes things a bit different! I’m quite an adventurer, you see, so I surely can accompany you for some time, with the proper reward, of course."

"You will be properly rewarded, dwarf." Loren smiled. "I will see to it myself. I will be glad for your company, Dora."

"Ah, as I already told your pretty friend," Dora laughed. "I’m not into women, sorry about breaking your heart. Let’s just be friends, ok?"

Loren blinked and stared at her perplexed. Saren and Elenor suppressed their laughs.

‘Now, this is amusing. Well, I had to admit that for a moment I expected Loren to declare her strange preference for this dwarf, in particular, thankfully, Dora seemed to love herself way too much to condemn- I mean, give her heart to this stubborn Ox.’

Draco, on the other hand, wasn’t amused. "Why did she get a formal invitation while I got a pointed sword to my throat?"

Loren woke out of her confused state and gave Draco a condescending glare.

This glare, however, didn't deter Draco. "I’m a powerful magician, uh, scratch that, mage! I have amazing skills! Look!"

Fireworks danced over Draco’s hand, their fire licked at his skin without causing any damage. Saren and Elenor were both fascinated by it, and both looked at him in admiration, which in turn, made the Half-Elf more prideful.

But they were the only ones who liked his skill, since the Innkeeper, the one called 'Gunther' screamed from the kitchen a loud 'knock off, scumbag' and thrown a wooden mug towards him, missing his head by a hair.

"Sorry!" Draco said in his direction. "Well, he doesn’t like anyone, so his opinions don’t count…"

Loren sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, apparently trying to calm down. "You are so persistent…"

The Amazon turned towards Elenor and brought her away from the others; this caused everyone else to trade confused looks among themselves and to Elenor to mentally curse her mistress with something akin to hate.

She was getting pissed with Loren’s constant mood swings, even if she had to admit that she also was starting to adopt such behavior. Her hand unconsciously moved to where her Garrote was kept, and for a moment, she wished she could strangle this 'princess' to death… A very slow, torturous, and gruesome death.

The thought of killing someone by choking them brought her a small smile, but she repressed her wishes immediately, her voice in her head screaming at her.

‘Know your place, Elenor. Loren is afraid for her mother's fate, and that is why she is behaving like that. Dahlia would be disappointed in you for being this easy to rile up.’

And she breathed in and out slowly. Her mind was clearer than before. She looked at her mistress and waited for her to pose a question.

"Tell me, what do you think we should do?"

"I believe that Draco is quite useful. Fire doesn’t seem to harm him in any way, and he was helpful so that he wouldn’t stand in our path. Dora is probably speaking the truth about being some adventurer, but I suspect her intentions a bit too much."

Loren frowned. "What you mean? Is she trustworthy?"

"Yes and no. It’s too soon to tell, but this woman has the posture of a thief and the way she spoke made me think of her like one. She would probably deny this; no one in this business would admit being one."

"Why?" Loren seemed curious. She tried to block Elenor’s vision from the others. If this were to her benefit or Elenor’s, the Elf could not tell.

"Well, your majesty… The best thief is not the most well know, it’s the most skilled, and if this thief could pass as someone harmless, more the better. So, no one would admit being one for the risk of making their jobs harder. Not to mention to be caught by some law enforcement that could appear out of nowhere."

"This is… Interesting." The Amazon looked at the Elf with respect.

‘Finally, this oaf seemed to recognize me a bit more. Joyful.’

"…Anyway, I doubt she would pose a threat. Until further notice, I will keep my eyes on her. One wrong move and I will break her neck."

Loren smiled again. "If she is a threat, this would be an adequate death."

"But returning to your first question, I think they could enter your quest, but only if they understand that they must acknowledge every command made by you, your highness. If Draco and Dora fail in doing so, both of them will be killed painfully."

Loren gave her a bigger smile, nodding in agreement. "You’re right. They both must know their places. We will only accept them in those conditions."

Giving the Princess a smile from her own, the Elf added. "Oh, and if you feel like it, at least Draco could make another good slave for the Amazons if he proved to be useless, so we win every time, right?"

Loren laughed at this briefly and returned to her 'dead serious' expression. "You have an interesting point, although he wouldn’t be much of a slave. Thank you; now let’s tell them what I decided."

They both walked back towards the rest of the so-called party. Loren stared at Dora and Draco impassively before speaking in an even tone. "You both may accompany us, but you must obey all of my commands until the quest is done or I will kill both of you for insubordination. Understand?"

"As long I get my reward, I don’t care, tall lady; but a bit of advice is game, so I will not rain on your parade. I will do as you say if you get my payment."

Draco looked at Saren, who now was too busy staring at a poster of a scantily clad woman on the wall with a lot of interest, completely ignoring the conversation. The Half-Elf breathed deeply and looked back to Loren. "I will do it, and I will obey every order. Yes sir, I mean, lady, Uh, Miss?"

Loren released a sight in exasperation. Their behavior amused Elenor.

‘This will make things way more fun…’

"Well, now that’s decided, let’s get some rooms!" Dora exclaimed. She walked to the kitchen and started to talk to the sulking Innkeeper. After a minute, she returned with three-room keys and gave one to Saren, other to Loren and kept the third one for herself. "Before you start asking, I don’t share rooms with nobody, and since the money was mine anyway, I get to be where and how I want. I got a room for the boys over there and to you both another one. Have fun!"

Dore sprinted over the stairs to the second floor of the Inn, laughing happily. Saren grumbled a barely audibly “Damn you; I’m not a boy…” while Draco blushed, going after him.

Loren, on the other hand, seemed indifferent to the turn of events. She turned to Elenor. "Let’s go to the room."

Elenor followed her with an amused smile. At least she might get some well-deserved eye candy.

—

Loren entered the room, and Elenor closed the door. It was just a common room for a simple Inn, unfortunately with only one, albeit a big bed. It was made to be used by a couple, not an Amazon and her slave. Elenor briefly wondered if Dora wanted to imply something by giving them a key to such a room. Besides this, the room had nothing unusual. Elenor thought about testing the walls and look to the window for any strategic place to shoot a dart or an arrow when she stopped in her tracks.

Loren was already half-naked over the bed and noticing Elenor’s eyes on her, she stopped removing her clothes and stared at her.

‘Well, she has a very beautiful body. Those breasts are pretty, those arms are muscular, those abs seemed enticing and those legs strong. She must be an 8. Not exactly perfect, but great to admire. Oh, now I am thinking shameless things. Not to mention that she has quite a confidence in her skills, and this is quite attractive if I'm fair. Even if the rest of her personality isn't as agreeable, but perhaps the same could be said about me.'

Elenor looked away. She didn’t want to make the Princess change her mind and decide to throw her out in the corridor, or worse, to demand her to do her 'royal duties' as a harem slave.

‘Nope, that would be unwise. I should not entertain such thoughts, even if it is something impossible.’

Trying not to be seen or act like a creep, Elenor decided to keep her mistress mind away from such conclusions. "You’re a very admirable person, your highness."

"…Thank you." Loren’s tone was neutral and the Elf could feel her mistress eyes on her.

"I’m sure you must have many admirers on the Citadel. You probably fend them off you with a stick."

Loren snorted. "Not as much of a stick, but with a sword. They aren’t worthy of my attention or time."

"I see." Elenor breathed in relief. The Princess seemed to forget her improper stares.

However, Loren reclined on the bed and stared at the Elf with a strange look. "As a slave, how do you see such things?"

Elenor looked at her in confusion. "I’m sorry?"

"I'm talking about how do you see the way of the Amazons? The thought of two women together pleases you, or you are set on your elven ways?"

"It doesn’t please me, at all." Elenor said, barely concealing a smirk. Noticing the annoyed expression forming on her mistress's face, she released her laugh. "Bah, I’m just kidding, your highness. I’m only interested in females."

Loren crossed her arms and kept staring at her as if she were daring her to say something else. After some moments, she uncrossed her arms and rested her body over the bed. She pointed to the floor beside the bed in an authoritative manner. "You will sleep here, on the floor where I can see you. Try anything, and I will kill you. Do you understand, slave?"

Elenor sighed.

'Maybe the reason I'm so annoyed with her is the fact that she makes me nervous. Perhaps I'm just projecting my insecurities over this girl. Oh, I'm sure a good night of sleep will make me forget some of those thoughts.'

What Elenor didn't know was that Loren felt as confused as she did at that moment.

In time, they would regret how they spend their firsts days around each other.