Dark Assassin Ch. 03

~*~Chapter 3: Talia~*~

"She is resting," a familiar voice said.

Zinfer turned to see the queen enter the solar, graceful as always in a flowing dress of gray silk. An onyx tiara circled the top of her head and glimmered in the fire that Zinfer had lit in the stone hearth.

"Thank you, Craglia," Zinfer said reverently, bowing deep with his right hand at his dagger and the left on his chest.

The queen came further into the room and leaned against the back of a plush red chair, part of a very scant set of furniture that also included a squat stone table and simple wooden desk with a matching chair.

Zinfer had arrived at the palace just before dawn. Using a secret entrance only he and a few other Dark Assassins knew of he had rushed Elaine to his private quarters, laying her on the bed before immediately seeking out Craglia. The queen had been sleeping when he found her, but come to the assassin's aid with no questions asked, shutting herself away with the ailing girl while Zinfer had waited with anxious anticipation in the room beyond.

Elaine had been growing warmer and more fretful as they made their nightlong dash through the Eternal Forest. Zinfer had feared that he would not make it in time to save her from permanent damage, but when the had forest cleared and turned into the rolling, bountiful foothills of the Mountain Elves, Zinfer had cried out in relief and made the last mad run to the palace in a matter of minutes.

Now with things settled and Elaine out of harm's way, the queen would have questions. Zinfer waited patiently for her to ask them.

"Is she truly George's daughter?" Craglia began in even tones, giving none of her thoughts or feelings away. She was very good at this and was even able to mask her emotive thoughts from Zinfer's trained senses.

The Dark Elf nodded once, "Yes."

Craglia tossed her long silver hair and cocked her head, "What exactly were you thinking, Zinfer?"

This time, disapproval was obvious in the queen's tone and it stung Zinfer to feel it. "I was...," he stumbled, at a loss for words. What had he been thinking?

"The seed of an Elf is toxic to humans," Craglia explained, coming around the back of a chair to take a seat in it, "Did no one ever teach you this?"

Zinfer, who had never felt ashamed to discuss matters of sex before, blushed, "No," he admitted, "There may have been a friend from my time in the north..."

"Zinfer, my old friend," Craglia said with the smallest of smiles, "Sometimes I wonder about you."

"Will she be alright?" Zinfer asked, casting his red eyes downward in embarrassment.

Craglia nodded, "She will recover. I adopted a technique used by the Nymphs when they enter their...frenzy. It worked quite well I'm happy to say, but you must cease this affair with the girl. I'm surprised you ever let it get so far, seeing how George was like a brother to you."

"Believe me," Zinfer said, "I did not intend it to be as such, but there is something about her I could not...can not...resist."

"Well try to," the queen admonished, "If not for George's sake then for hers. It would not be safe to continue."

"I will," Zinfer bowed, but did not believe his own promise. He and Elaine were connected on a level that transcended the purely physical – the thought of ending whatever it was they had before it had ever really started sounded virtually impossible.

"What does she know of her mother?" Craglia asked, changing the topic slightly, "Is she aware of..."

"No," Zinfer shook his head, "I did not feel it was the right time until we got here."

"You will have to tell her now. If the promise you made to George is to be honored."

"I know," Zinfer agreed, "But I do not know how she will react."

"You will never know," Craglia said as she stood smoothly from the chair, "Unless you tell her. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'd like to get some sleep before the sun reaches zenith." The queen approached Zinfer and laid a gentle palm against his chest, staring up at him with purple eyes, "And I'm sorry to be the bearer of personal ill news, but Talia has returned from the north."

"Damn," Zinfer swore, suddenly very angry, "As if I did not have enough to worry about."

"Perhaps she brings good tidings," Craglia suggested as she backed away from Zinfer and made for the door of the solar, "And besides that, she may prove a useful distraction from your current...predicament. If I recall, you two used to be rather close."

"Thank you, my queen," Zinfer said stiffly and offered a final bow before Craglia slipped through the stone door and into the palace beyond.

Talia! Zinfer cursed silently, shaking his head and collapsing heavily into the chair the queen had just evacuated. On top of everything, the gods damned witch had come back to the foothills.

Talia was a Dark Elf, like Zinfer, and an ambassador for the Drow King. She also happened to be a constant thorn in Zinfer's side. They had been casual lovers once upon a time, but Talia was a cruel, manipulative female that Zinfer had come to despise as a person. Unfortunately that had not stopped him from foolishly sharing his bed with her whenever she visited the palace and Zinfer had a feeling that Talia would be expecting the same reception this time as well. Except he would not oblige – he had Elaine now, and that was enough for him.

Wanting to take his mind off Talia, Zinfer entered his bedchamber and approached the sheets-covered form of Elaine. She was sleeping peacefully and looked worlds better than when Zinfer had seen her last. The flush in her face had receded and her erratic breathing had evened out. A mostly-empty cup of some sweet smelling liquid had been left on the small table next to the bed and Zinfer suspected it contained whatever medicine Craglia had used on Elaine.

Sitting down on the edge of the bed, Zinfer stroked the sleeping girl's forehead and sighed deeply, brushing back her hair. Too close the Elf thought solemnly. It would be best to just walk away from Elaine before he hurt her again, but Zinfer knew he could not. Whatever they had would have to play out – precautions could be taken if it came to that.

Exhaustion washed over Zinfer and he yawned. Nearly three days without sufficient sleep will put strain even on Dark Elves. Standing, he stripped off his clothes and boots and climbed into bed. There was room enough in the large bed that he was able to take up an adequate amount of space without disturbing the peacefully sleeping Elaine.

Dark Zinfer whispered in Old Elfish. The fire burning in the bedchamber's hearth extinguished, plunging the small room into complete darkness. Shifting onto his side, Zinfer closed his eyes. He was asleep in seconds. And he dreamt.

Elaine appeared to be standing alone in a dark room. She was trying to tell him something, but so sound was coming from her mouth. In the distance, a small flame was burning, flickering madly. It approached them slowly, and as it came closer its movements became erratic. When it was ten feet away, now the size of a small campfire, Elaine's face suddenly distorted with pain and she stopped trying to speak. The flame crept closer and grew larger until it was a raging bonfire not one foot from where Elaine was standing.

"Elaine," Zinfer tried to call out, but he could not speak.

Suddenly the flames roared even higher and Elaine was engulfed in a blaze of orange and red.

"NO!" Zinfer cried out, but the flame receded as fast as it had flared and Elaine was gone. In her place was a tall, pale, white haired woman with long, pointed ears and glittering red eyes. She was naked, standing with one hand on a wide hip. The other she held out toward Zinfer, beckoning him with a crooked finger. Her black stained lips were curled into a cloying smile.

"Let her go," the new woman urged, "She's burned. Dust."

"No," Zinfer shook his head and fell to his knees, "Not yet." Suddenly the woman was angry and she raised her beckoning hand as if to strike him.

"Zinfer!" a familiar, soft voice called from the darkness, "Wake up!"

The Elf's eyes snapped open and he bolted upright with a start, reaching instinctively for his dagger at his side. Finding nothing but soft, thick fabric, Zinfer blinked in confusion, trying to remember where he was. Bright light was shining from somewhere to his left and there was a small, warm hand on his shoulder.

"Zinfer?" Elaine asked, and the Elf's eyes snapped to hers, finding instant comfort and grounding in them.

"I'm fine," he sighed, "Thank you for waking me. I was having a rather...unpleasant...dream."

Elaine was kneeling next to him on the bed. She waved her hand around the bedchamber and asked, "So where exactly are we? Last thing I remember we were in the forest..." she flushed, probably remembering some of the way she had been acting.

"We are in the palace of Craglia," Zinfer explained, "The queen of the Mountain Elves. You were ill, she helped you." He gave Elaine a hard stare, "What exactly is the last thing you remember?"

Elaine blushed even deeper, "I had just...you had..." she floundered for words, her naiveté showing plain.

"Speak plainly, Elaine. There is very little modesty left between us," Zinfer supplied bluntly.

"It was just after you had...erm...finished," Elaine finally managed, "Then I got all hot and I wanted to do...horrible things." She cast her eyes down toward her knees, ashamed.

"Not horrible," Zinfer assured, gently cupping her cheek, "Just wanton. It was my fault and for that I feel terrible."

"What exactly happened?" Elaine asked, frowning, "I don't know why I would act that way..."

It was Zinfer's turn to blush. As non-prudish as Elves were, discussing the various drug-like effects of their bodily fluids was still a bit embarrassing. "It was my semen," Zinfer explained, "It has an arousing effect and it is evidently too strong for humans."

Elaine was silent for a long moment and Zinfer could not read her emotions. And then she laughed, just a giggle, but it was enough to break the tension and warm the Elf's heart. "That is not your fault, Zinfer," she said, "And if that happens to be the case of your, uh, seed, we will find a way to get around it. That is," she looked at him demurely, "If you'd like."

Zinfer nodded and stared back smolderingly, "I would like nothing more, Elaine. Thank you for understanding. In fact," he threw back his sheets to reveal to Elaine how ready he was to put what had happened in the forest behind them, "If you'd like to start 'getting around it' now..."

Knock-knock-knock

Loud and insistent, someone at the bedchamber door was suddenly determined to stop whatever had been about to happen between the Elf and Elaine.

"Enter!" Zinfer called out and Elaine moved to the edge of the bed while he climbed out and grabbed his pants from the floor.

The bedchamber door opened just as he was pulling the black breeches over his semi-swollen cock and the tall, white haired Elf from Zinfer's nightmare entered the chamber. She was not naked in reality, but all she did wear were a black strip of silk that barely covered her breasts and a long skirt slit up on one side to show off the entirety of her shapely leg. She appeared to wear nothing underneath this skit - other than the single piece of jewelry Zinfer knew was always there – and the thin material made it possible to just make out the crease of her sex.

"Talia," Zinfer said coldly, narrowing his eyes to slits, "What do you want?"

"That's no way to greet an old lover," Talia smirked, her eyes matched Zinfer's in shade but danced with a malevolence that he did not possess. Elaine glanced between the two Dark Elves awkwardly as they stared each other down.

"That is a way to greet a treacherous witch," Zinfer corrected, moving around the bed to stand near Elaine protectively, "I heard of your plot to get me deported to the north and thrown in the Drow King's jail. Luckily for me, the queen's Dark Assassins are protected against such underhanded ploys."

"Please," Talia scoffed, "I would not have let you stay there for long. I just wanted you to come home." She took a seat at the end of the bed and crossed her arms under her breasts, pushing them up so that they were dangerously close to spilling out of their flimsy holdings.

"I am home," Zinfer corrected, "And you have let yourself in uninvited."

"Wrong again," Talia said and pointed at Elaine though her eyes never left Zinfer, "I am here for her. Craglia would like to speak with her."

"Her name is Elaine," Zinfer said coolly, "And you'll forgive me if I don't trust you. Why didn't the queen come herself?"

Talia shrugged, "She wanted to. But I insisted I fetch the girl instead. The queen is far too busy for such trivial errands."

"Who are you?" Elaine finally spoke up during the icy lag between Talia's remark and Zinfer's half formed retort.

The female Elf turned her eyes toward Elaine and smiled, "My name is Talia, as I'm sure you've heard. And I am Zinfer's lover."

Elaine blushed and Zinfer could feel a volatile mixture of anger and shame emote from the human. "You are not my lover!" he shouted and instinctively wrapped a protective hand around Elaine's arm, "Now get out of here before I remind you of whom you are insulting. I am one of the queen's Dark Assassins and I will not be provoked in my own bedchamber!"

Talia grinned and stood from the bed, "Perhaps later we can do more than just 'provoke' each other. Your human can join in if she's interested..."

"Out!" Zinfer growled and, finally getting the hint, Talia strode out of the room, sashaying her hips as she went.

Zinfer turned to Elaine when she had left, "I'm so sorry about her. She isn't...we're not..."

"What a witch," Elaine fumed, but wrapped her arms around Zinfer and pulled herself close, running her hands over the skin of his back intimately, "Don't worry. I know a whore when I see one. Did you see what she was wearing?"

Zinfer took Elaine's head in his hands and kissed her, long and deep, their tongues dancing briefly before he pulled away, his cock hard from the brief contact. "We have to see the queen," he told her, "But this will be finished later. That is a promise."

"For real this time?" Elaine asked while Zinfer pulled on his shirt and boots and she her boots.

"For real," Zinfer promised.

========================

The queen was in her throne room. Early afternoon sunlight was streaming through the high glass windows when Zinfer and Elaine were escorted inside by two guards dressed in onyx plated armor and carrying tall spears.

Craglia's palace was a wide, squat granite structure built on top of an equally stout hill. It had no defending walls or real fortifications, but the surrounding terrain was so easily defendable that no race had ever attempted to invade. The land had no formal name, and was simply known as the northern foothills by most. Rich fields of grain and other hearty crops grew over the hills and great herds of cattle and sheep roamed freely. The Mountain Elves were solitary by nature and took no part in any conflict outside their lands. But in order to keep peace within her boundaries, the queen kept an elite group of killers of all races known as the Dark Assassins whose primary purpose was to stop any move against the foothills before they even started.

"My queen," Zinfer bowed deeply and Elaine mimicked the gesture.

"I see that you are doing well," Craglia said from atop her throne of pick marble and quartz, smiling at Elaine. The queen was wearing a silver dress that sparkled in the light from the windows and it matched her hair, which flowed around her face in luxurious waves.

"Thank you," Elaine said, sounding and feeling unsure of herself, "My queen."

Craglia laughed gently, "You do not have to call me queen, my child. Craglia will do just fine. I am queen only to those who serve me."

Elaine blushed and gave a short bow.

"You look so much like your mother," Craglia sighed and Zinfer admitted it was true. They both shared the same, unruly auburn curls and the striking green eyes.

"But she has her father's ferocity," Zinfer noted, "A trait I find most agreeable."

"Yes, well," Craglia frowned ever so slightly, clearly perturbed that Zinfer did not appear to have heeded her advice to forget about Elaine, "I am glad to see you on your feet, Elaine. We have some matters of importance to discuss."

Craglia stood from the throne just as the double doors behind Zinfer and Elaine opened and Talia strolled through. Without an escort, Zinfer noted.

"Talia?" the queen looked puzzled as the Dark Elf crossed the throne room, her short white hair bouncing in time with her barely concealed breasts, "Are we meeting?"

"We all are," Talia smiled meaningfully at Zinfer and Elaine.

"Elaine and her affairs do not concern you," Zinfer growled, "Leave."

"Zinfer," Craglia said, coming close enough to lay a hand on his chest and retrain him from the very real possibility of attacking Talia, "Please."

"Affairs of the continent concern the Drow King," Talia said in response, "And affairs of the Drow King concern me very much."

"How am I an 'affair of the continent'?" Elaine piped up and all three of the Elves looked at her in silence.

Craglia spoke first, "You may come with us to the antechamber, Talia. But do not make instigative comments or I will have you removed."

Zinfer wanted to protest, but knew it would have been unwise. Although she was kind and fair most of the time, Craglia had little patience for those who questioned her rule.

Hence the Dark Assassins.

"Zinfer," Elaine said softly as he took her hand and led her across the room to the small wooden door behind the throne that opened up into an antechamber for small meetings, "I would like some answers, please."

"Soon," Zinfer assured her, "Now is the time."

The private joke got a smile from Elaine as they passed into the antechamber. Inside the room was a large table made from white marble. Six wooden chairs surrounded the table, and Craglia took the largest at the head while Zinfer and Elaine sat to her right with Talia taking the chair to the queen's left.

Zinfer stared at Talia and narrowed his eyes. He did not like that she was sitting in on this conversation and knowing that she would report on it to the Drow King made things even worse. The less that man knew about Elaine the better.

"Did Zinfer tell you about your mother?" Craglia asked Elaine, ignoring the silent battle waging between the two Dark Elves across the table.

Elaine glanced at Zinfer before answering, "He told me she was an assassin. And her name was Laura," she paused, taking a breath, "And how she died..."

"Is that all?" Craglia asked and Zinfer stopped staring at Talia in order to attend what was happening. He had told Elaine the truth about Laura in all aspects but one – how she had come to live with the Mountain Elves. As far as Elaine was concerned, Laura had come under mysterious circumstances. But the truth was much less mundane.

"Did he leave something out?" Elaine asked, exasperated but neither surprised nor angry. Things had been kept from her her entire life, what else was new?

"You could say that," Talia interjected, but she fell silent at the glares she received from the other three parties at the table.

"Your mother...," Craglia began, but Zinfer held up a polite hand to stop her.

"Let me, my queen," he said solemnly, "I owe her the truth."

Zinfer could feel fearful inquisition in Elaine as she turned in her chair to face him, cocking her head and furrowing her brow.

"Four decades ago, King Manson, the ruler of what remained of humanity's domain in the east, was successfully overthrown by a vicious coup. The new ruler was – is – a cruel man who wanted no trace of his predecessor's line to remain, so he rounded up any of the men, women, and children he could find who shared the old King's blood had them slaughtered. Those killed numbered in the hundreds, but this new King wanted no shred to remain of the royal bloodline."