Dark Assassin Ch. 01

Unable to find the right words to respond with, Elaine cleared her throat and stood, stretching her tight muscles. The nap had been just enough to replenish her strength a little, but what she really wanted was a full night's rest.

'In Zinfer's arms,' an unbidden thought flashed through her mind before Elaine banished it. She had to remind herself that she barely knew the Elf, and thoughts like that were girlish and crude. Gods knew Elaine was no prude - she often stayed awake at night wishing the hand between her thighs were any man other than one of the townsfolk of Thieves' Valley. But she had also been raised proper by her father.

They began to walk again in silence as the sun rose above the peaks to the east, the direction that they were heading. Zinfer was moving slower than he had in the night, and Elaine saw him shield his eyes from the sun and wince as if in pain on more than one occasion.

"Are we out of goblin land?" Elaine asked quietly when the sun was about a third of the way across the horizon. It was already warm and they had both removed their cloaks and stowed them in their packs.

"Technically not until we reach our final destination," Zinfer answered, "The Goblins live above ground and the Dwarves below throughout this entire mountain range. But if it makes you feel any better, there are very few of either along the path we're taking."

"Not really...," Elaine mumbled.

"Do not worry, Elaine," Zinfer said, looking back at her with a hard expression, "I will not let anything harm you." He fingered the two short blades he wore at his sides as he spoke. One was slightly longer than the other, and the hilt more ornately carved in a language unknown to Elaine. Neither, however, looked particularly deadly. Zinfer had a bow tied to his pack as well, but it would be useless if they were ambushed along the narrow trail. They would be dead before Zinfer could pull out the bow, nock it, and loose a single arrow.

"Where exactly is our final destination?" Elaine asked, changing the subject, "You said you were a Dark Elf. I admit I don't know where that particular race hails from."

"Much farther away than we are going," Zinfer answered, falling back a little to walk next to Elaine. She noticed not for the first time how much taller the Elf was than her - at least six and half feet where she stood five and a half. "I was adopted as a small child by a family of Mountain Elves that live in the northern foothills of this range. That is where we are going."

"And you still haven't told me why exactly," Elaine pressed. She wanted information. The further they got from Thieves' Valley, the more she wondered if running away with Zinfer had been completely foolish rather than just a little foolish as she had believed last night.

"Your mother and father were guests in my adopted family's land for many years. Part of my promise to George was to return you to the place of your birth if something ever happened to him so long as...," the Elf trailed off and clamped his mouth shut as if he had been about to say something very bad.

"So long as what?" Elaine asked - she was tired of secrecy. She had learned more about her mother and father's time together in a single sentence than she had in nineteen years with her father. They had lived with Mountain Elves and born Elaine there. Her father must have left just after Elaine's birth because her earliest memories all took place in Thieves' Valley.

"Now is not the time to tell you that," Zinfer frowned, "I am sorry." And he sounded sincere in his apology.

"Fine," Elaine said - there would be plenty of time to find out more from the Elf, "Tell me about yourself if you won't talk about my parents."

Zinfer's frown deepened and his thin black brows furrowed over his red eyes, "What would you like to know?"

Elaine thought for a moment. What she had really wanted to know was how a Dark Elf had ended up adopted by Mountain Elves. From what she had heard, the various sub-races of Elves did not get along very well - and they all shared a deep loathing for Dark Elves, or Drows, as they were sometimes known. But she knew that asking about Zinfer's possibly troubled childhood would be rude so instead she said, "What do you do among these Mountain Elves?"

"You mean my profession?"

Elaine nodded, "Sure. You seem to be pretty adept at traveling and navigation...are you a ranger?" Her father had been a ranger, Elaine knew. Perhaps that is how he and the Elf had met.

Zinfer shook his head, "Not anything quite so mundane, I'm afraid. I actually work for my queen."

Elaine raised her brows, "Your queen? Did she know my father, too?"

"Very well," Zinfer nodded. They had reached a narrow cliff face. The Elf had taken the lead again and Elaine watched as his hair bobbed in front of her. "Your mother...," again he trailed off as if almost letting something loose from he wasn't supposed to, "You will make me tell you more than I ought to at this rate, Elaine."

"I don't see the need for secrets," Elaine said, growing more frustrated at Zinfer's mysterious attitude toward her own past.

"To answer your earlier question," Zinfer said, leaping down the five-foot ledge before them with cat-like grace, "I am one of the queen's assassins."

Elaine paused at the ledge and looked down, taken aback by both the long jump before her and Zinfer's revelation. An assassin? Why had her father been a friend to an assassin? And why had he made one promise to find Elaine after his death?

"You may jump, Elaine," Zinfer said from below, holding out his arms, "I will catch you so you do not fall."

Elaine looked at him dubiously for a second, but then nodded. She was not as adept at climbing and jumping as the Elf, and a fall on these hard rocks would very likely injure her. So she stepped to the ledge, bent her knees slightly, and leapt softly toward the waiting arms of Zinfer.

He caught her around the rib cage with surprising ease and lowered her gently to the ground. The warm strength of his hands through her clothing left her skin tingling when he removed them and she found herself suddenly hoping that there would be more leaps of faith in the coming journey.

'Why?' her mind whispered, but Elaine had no answer. All she could say was that the Elf gave off a dangerous, pleasant allure that attracted her to him more than she had been toward any of the men in Thieves' Landing. Not that she would act on this attraction...but it was certainly nice to be around a male who did not make her roll her eyes in disgust with every word that spilled from his mouth. Perhaps she would think of Zinfer during some future, lonely night - his mouth on hers, his hands between...

"Was my father an assassin, too?" Elaine asked, her voice higher than she intended.

Zinfer quirked an eyebrow, a gesture that Elaine was finding increasingly alluring, and shook his head, "No."

"So what did he do in the Mountain Elves' land?" Elaine said as they continued on their path. The trail was starting to decline steadily, and if they turned westward, the tips of the Twin Daggers could be seen piercing the sky in the near distance. Thieves' Valley was still hidden from view by what must have been miles of jagged rock.

"Your father was in exile from the King's remaining lands in the west for some unspoken crime," Zinfer said, "He had fled through the land of the Sylvan Elves on his way west, intending to end up in Thieves' Valley, but instead deciding to stay in the foothills when he had reached them and found the Mountain Elves more hospitable."

"Why did he leave?"

"You are full of questions...," Zinfer sighed, "It is a welcome quality in a woman, but I tire of telling you that 'now is not the time'."

"Fair enough," Elaine said, blushing a little knowing that Zinfer found at least part of her appealing, "Let's just walk then."

Zinfer nodded his approval of this new plan and so they entered a long period of comfortable silence.

As the sun climbed the cloudless, blue sky, it began to warm exponentially as it sometimes did during the early spring days in the mountains. By the time lunch rolled around, both Elaine and Zinfer were sweating profusely through their clothing. Elaine responded by rolling up her sleeves as far as they would go and adjusting her belt from time to time to give different parts of her hips room to breath. Zinfer, on the other hand discarded his shirt altogether, pulling it up over his head and stowing it in his pack with his cloak.

Elaine stared admiringly at the Elf's exposed body. His skin was strikingly white in the bright sunlight, but a dark smattering of hair covered his broad, defined stomach and strong chest. His arms were thin but well toned and Elaine felt her mouth go dry as she watched these muscles bunch and move beneath his skin as Zinfer shoved his shirt into his pack.

About two hours after lunch, they were faced with another ledge. This time when Elaine jumped, she gripped Zinfer's bare shoulders when he caught her, feeling their firmness - she was not disappointed. As the Elf put her down, their eyes met briefly and Elaine blushed at the deep look Zinfer gave her. She could have sworn he had read her mind at that moment. And if that were the case...

"We'll stop and make camp before sunset," Zinfer said as he placed Elaine back on her feet, his hands lingering at her waist for a few long, wonderful moments, "I think we could both use a good night's sleep."

Elaine swallowed a lump in her throat and nodded her agreement. "As long as we are in no danger of Goblin attacks," she said in a thin, girlish voice that she immediately hated.

"There is a cave not too far from here," Zinfer said as he once again picked up the lead, "I have stayed in it many times before and have never been disturbed. I believe it is unknown to all but me. It is quite snug though...we might have to sleep quite close together. I hope you do not mind." He ended his statement with a sidewise glance at Elaine that seemed to say 'I know you won't'.

The prospect of sleep interested Elaine immensely. The prospect of spending a night in close proximity with Zinfer was even more inviting. There was no denying her attraction to the Elf now. As the day had dragged on, more and more thoughts of the Elf had risen to the surface of her mind. Maybe it was the heat of the day playing tricks on her, but Zinfer pulled her mind toward him in curious ways. If only she could touch him one more time...maybe then her thirst would be quenched...

They reached the cave just as the heat of the day was starting to subside, with the sun positioned just above the Twin Daggers in the west. The space was indeed cozy - nothing more than a single long tunnel through an opening that was partially hidden by a group of large boulders. The ceiling was high, and light filtered in through a number of small cracks in the stone above. Inside, there was a blackened circle left by the many campfires Zinfer had lit there. There were also two smoothed rocks near the fire pit for them to sit on.

Setting his pack against one wall of the cave, Zinfer proceeded to pull out his shirt as well as a bundle of sticks tied neatly together. He pulled the shirt on, much to Elaine's disappointment, and untied the sticks before arranging them neatly in the fire pit.

"Would you like to light it?" he asked Elaine.

"With what?" she asked, furrowing her brow in confusion.

Zinfer looked confused, "Did George never teach you a spell for fire?"

Elaine shook her head from her spot on one of the smooth rocks, "He only started teaching me cantrips right before he got sick," she explained, "But I've always been eager to learn more, if you're willing to teach me."

Zinfer came and sat next to Elaine. The rocks were closely spaced and his arm touched hers lightly at the shoulder. "A spell strong enough to light a campfire is really no more difficult than a cantrip," Zinfer said, "Just hold your hand like this...," he took Elaine's right hand gently and positioned it over the sticks so that her thumb, index, and middle fingers were extended with her ring and pinky fingers bent at the first knuckle.

Elaine could feel heat coming from the spot where Zinfer's hand made contact with hers, him sharing energy no doubt, as he taught her the words for casting fire. All spells came from Elves and the words for casting them were Old Elfish. No one knew how to speak the language fluently anymore for all that had been passed down through the eons of Elfish generations had been the spells themselves.

Elaine repeated the words Zinfer had spoken into her ear and felt the energy leave her fingertips. There was a moment where nothing happened and then the sticks in the pit burst into flame. Smiling gleefully, Elaine looked over to Zinfer and found his face mere inches from hers. His red eyes flickered dangerously, sexily in the firelight. The smile dropped from Elaine's lips as her heartbeat doubled as she stared at the Elf's lips. So close...it would only take...

Zinfer leaned in and captured her mouth with his. Elaine was too surprised to respond at first, but then kissed him back, closing her eyes. He became more insistent, darting his tongue out in an attempt to gain access to her mouth. She complied and his tongue swept over hers while one of his hands tangled itself in her thick, auburn hair, holding her still as their kiss became deeper.

This was as far as Elaine had ever gone with a boy before and her previous experiences had been nothing compared to what was happening now. Where the boys of Thieves' Valley were clumsy and aggressive, Zinfer was skilled and patient, responding to her inexperience with grace as he guided her motions with his own. Liquid heat built in Elaine's lower belly as the Elf continued to kiss her, and when one of his hands found her upper thigh she swore she almost melted.

"Wait," Elaine gasped between kisses, trying to pull away but lacking the strength to give up the pleasure, "I...barely...know...you..."

Zinfer pulled his lips away for long enough to whisper in Elaine's ear, "So what?" he said simply, the heat of his breath on her neck and earlobe sending shivers down her spine, "Are you not enjoying yourself?"

He punctuated his statement with a gentle swipe of his long, nimble fingers across the covered juncture between her thighs. Elaine jumped at the contact. There was not much separating her between him save a thin pair of breeches that clung tightly to her skin. Wetness pooled at the fabric where Zinfer had touched her and Elaine moaned, allowing the Elf another opportunity to capture her mouth in a kiss.

She returned it eagerly, gripping his shoulders to hold herself steady. Zinfer's fingers returned to the spot between her legs, skimming the dampening cloth that stuck to her outer lips. Every time the fingers reached the spot just above Elaine's slit, more moisture leaked from her opening. She could smell her own arousal in the small cave now, and all she wished was for Zinfer to stop teasing her and...

The fingers left the spot between her legs for an agonizing moment and Elaine moaned in frustration. She had thrown herself into her pleasure and gods be damned if Zinfer stopped now. But seconds later he was back, except this time Zinfer had slipped the tips of his fingers down the front of her breeches and was now playing with her bare clitoris. Skin on skin - the first time a stranger had ever touched her there.

"Zinfer!" Elaine cried out and dug her nails into his shoulders through his shirt, "That's..."

"Shhh," the Elf whispered against her neck as one of his fingers traveled past her button and slipped between her slippery lips, "Just enjoy this."

Elaine stopped talking and let her head fall sideways onto her shoulder, exposing more of the sensitive skin of her neck to Zinfer's eager mouth. This was insane...but if he told her to enjoy herself, then by the gods Elaine would enjoy herself.

The finger between her thighs slid deeper inside her, aided by the copious arousal that had pooled there. Another finger joined the first and Zinfer began to thrust them shallowly in and out of her lips while his mouth licked and sucked along her neck.

"Don't stop," Elaine begged. She could feel a familiar tightening in her core as the fingers plunged deeper and deeper inside her. The tightness of her virgin channel clung to the slender digits eagerly and moisture continued to trickle out between them. She felt filled to the brim - and Zinfer's fingers were not at all thick.

"So wet," Zinfer groaned against her neck, "And what's this..." his fingers nudged gently against her maidenhood, "A virgin?"

"I hope...that's ok...," Elaine said between gasps. Zinfer had taken to rubbing against her upper walls and this new motion was driving her rapidly toward the edge of release.

"It's perfect," Zinfer whispered, "It just means we will have to go slow with you. Teach you all the pleasures you have a right to know."

The sensual words were like an aphrodisiac and more moisture spilled from her lips. Elaine was very close to release and Zinfer could obviously tell. He picked up the pace of his shallow thrusting and wet sucking sounds filled the cave as her channel clung tightly to him, as if as eager for more as Elaine was.

Removing his mouth from Elaine's neck, Zinfer kissed her lips again as her orgasm hit her. She cried out and the Elf sucked her tongue into his mouth, caressing it in time with the motion of his fingers below. Her walls fluttered violently around the intrusion and moisture spilled from her in a slow, blistering wave of liquid heat.

When it was over, Zinfer pulled his fingers from within her breeches and sucked off the cream Elaine had spilled over them.

"You'll want to let those dry tonight," Zinfer said, pointing at Elaine's soaked breeches as he stood from his stone, adjusting his obvious erection as he did so, "Should be nice for both of us since I always sleep in the nude."

Elaine, still recovering from what had been the most satisfying orgasm of her entire life, looked up confusedly, "So are we done?"

Zinfer nodded, never smiling, "A rare treasure like yourself needs to be broken in slowly. Do not worry; your pleasure for the night is not yet finished. But for now, we need to take a break and eat dinner. And take off those pants, they'll stick to your skin."

Elaine blinked and remained still for a moment, taking sudden stock of her new and unexpected situation. Just last night she had been refusing to change in front of Zinfer. Now she had let him touch her in ways she had never let a man do so before and was considering sleeping naked next to him. Or at least half naked. Did it matter? What did this make her? Certainly not a whore - hadn't Zinfer said that his culture viewed sex differently than hers? But this was going to fast...except the Elf had promised to go slow...but what did slow mean?...he promised her pleasure was not over for the night...

"Stop thinking so much and change into your skirt," Zinfer said from where he was rummaging around in his pack, "I'll make stew."

Elaine stood and did as he had suggested, glad that at least one of them was thinking coherently...

A few hours later they had finished their dinner and cleaned the dishes and were resting pleasantly by the fire together, growing sleepy. Zinfer had placed his arm around Elaine's waist and was trailing his fingers absently along her thigh through the thick fabric of her skirt. The soiled breeches had been washed with a small amount of water and were resting a safe distance from the fire, drying.

"Perhaps it is time for bed," Zinfer said at some point, standing up and moving to their packs. He pulled his shirt up over his head and Elaine sighed inwardly. He truly was a marvel to look at and when he pulled down his pants to stand completely nude before her, she almost fell of her rock. Long, toned legs ended in a powerful 'V' of muscles at his hips. But what was most impressive was the impressively sized penis that hung between his thighs. It was thick and long - and still flaccid. The hair that covered Zinfer's torso led to the lightest smattering of pubic hair above the Elf's shaft but his thick balls were completely bare. Elaine had never seen a man naked before and her first impressions were a mixture of intrigue, anxiety, and longing.