Love as a Form of Binding Ch. 20

"No trick," the voice said again, still whispering, "she has little horns and you see her wings sometimes when she lifts them. Zele hears your thinking, Girl.

She does not hear all of it, but it is quiet here and some of Girl's thoughts come to Zele.

If Girl wants, Zele can talk for a while, but Girl must be quiet and say truth to Zele."

"Wh-who are you," the frightened human asked in the same sort of whisper, "I can't see anyone there. Where are you?"

There was a little chuckle in the air quite close, by the sound, "Zele is next to Girl. She sits on the bench with you, but she hides. Zele can be four ways to look at, or no way to see if she wishes it. Girl gives false name, so Zele hides.

It is probably better like this;" the voice said a little sadly, "Girl should be truthful. Zele has many friends and always likes more, but she thinks that if Girl hides her name, then Zele should go. Girl can find her answers alone, Zele thinks."

The girl saw no one next to her on the bench, but she knew it when the owner of the voice got up to leave.

"Wait!" she hissed softly, "Can you tell me where I am and how to get out? I don't even know what happened to me."

"Why?" the voice said, "Zele wants Girl's name. She might want to help, but not a girl with three names."

The human could give a name easily, but she wondered for a moment. Finally, she just said "Ylva. My name is Ylva."

"Yes, Zele knows this name as the right one. Zele will help Ylva. Ylva should ask now."

"Who is Zele?"

There was a soft snicker almost in Ylva's ear then, "Zele is me."

The small pair on the floor were growing a little more vocal and urgent and it caught Ylva's attention.

"Who are they and, ... well, what are they, those two?" she asked.

"They are lovers." Zele said, "She is an imp and her name is Illa. Illa is the pet of Zele's sister Maezou.

The boy there is a kobold. His name is Thiery and he belongs to Zele. They love each other very much. Maezou and Zele love them too. Imps and kobolds are little demons."

Ylva turned her head and looked at the air where the voice came from and was going to ask, but Zele felt the thought and answered, "No Ylva.

Illa and Thiery are demons and my sister is a demon. But Zele is not. She is something else – nobody knows what, not even Zele. Demons, most kinds, can feel other demons near them. But no one knows when Zele is near if she hides."

"Can I see you, Zele? Would you allow that? I gave my name."

"Zele must think," she said, "Ylva may be frightened to see Zele. Ylva was brought by Ulfr. He knows Zele, but he does not know that Zele is here. Zele does not want Ulfr to know.

To Illa, he told your name and that you did not want to use it. He said that you were afraid of him.

Why, Ylva? Ulfr would not hurt you. He was sent to save you from dying. It would happen, so he was sent. He saved you from hunters – four hunters, he said. From what he told, they were bad hunters. They worked for Gorek, a bad lord.

Zele knows. She has met Gorek."

Ylva struggled with Zele's way of speaking, but in the middle of her confusion, she said, "Ulfr, he's another demon? What is a slayer?" She thought a bit more for a moment, "Aren't all of the lords of demons bad?"

"What is bad, Ylva?" Zele asked, "Zele is bound to a lord and she loves him. Maezou is bound to him and she loves him. Zele and Maezou share a male lord. He is Toby and I cannot say that he is good if he must shine light from his bottom to be what Ylva thinks is good. But Lord Tobias is not a bad demonlord.

Ulfr is a slayer, a kind of demon. They are large and strong ones and there are many. They serve Kerry – also a lord, but a high one. Kerry is an Appolyon – one who can end worlds, but Zele cannot say that he is bad – not like Ylva thinks."

There was a very quiet cry from Illa and then there was silence from that direction.

"Zele has decided," she announced in a way which told Ylva that she was smiling, "She had to choose which way and she thinks that Ylva was frightened enough today, so Zele shows her this way."

Ylva was looking at the small pair then, "What did you sa-"

She stopped there, her mouth falling open to see the smiling dog-girl standing near her. Her eyes took in the anthropomorphic shape and the way that the creature shuffled a small step as though she were finishing a little dance with her han-, well, her paws extended slightly. The only thing missing was the comic 'Ta-da'.

And Zele was smiling.

Ylva's interpretation was that Zele was looking friendly and just a little hopeful.

After the day that she'd had, Ylva was finally looking at something which made as little sense to her as the rest, but she could plainly see and sense that she didn't need to feel fear. She even wanted to laugh a little, so she held out her hand and Zele took it, giving the shake that she knew the humans used in greeting.

She saw a motion and looked directly in front of herself, and there stood the small pair with their hands out as well, still naked, though now Ylva could see the wings clearly.

"Hullo there," Illa smiled, "Are ye feelin' a bit better now? We've brung ye a bit of food."

"The general said that ye might be feelin' a wee bit peckish, once you woke up," the handsome blonde male offered a little shyly," Ye can have some now, but well, I don't know how much ye might eat in one sitting, so it might be best to have only a little to save some for Ulfr when he gets back. He's away making sure that we're all safe here."

His youthful face turned serious, "I should have gone with him."

"But ye didn't, ye hard and fine-looking thing, you," Illa sighed happily, "Ye listened te your imp girl and ye was fucking with me, Thiery."

Ylva knew that she was staring, though she tried to force herself not to do that. But the pair of them, ... They were so sweet, the way that they looked. "I'm sorry if I'm staring," Ylva said, "It's just that I've never met anyone like you three. I'm Ylva."

"Well we know that, .. "Illa grinned as though it was last week's news, "That's all right, Ylva. And I see that ye've met Miss Zele here, so ye're in good hands."

"Thank you," Ylva said, looking at them all with a smile that she didn't think that she could hide now. There was a lot of Scots in her own speech, though it wasn't anything like the thick accent that she heard in the charming couple, "But I don't know what's going on here. I'm um, ... I saw what you were doing, but I didn't want to disturb you at all."

"She's got great manners, Thiery, and she's considerate too. I like her already, " Illa commented, "You could take a lesson from her, my love."

"Me?" he asked, startled, "What have I done now?"

"Nothin'" Illa grinned, "other than make me happy again – and I wasna sad, so thank you, Thiery."

He smiled and nodded, and then Illa nudged him, "That's what I meant. She's got manners. Ye're supposed te tell me that I'm welcome. I am welcome, aren't I?"

"Well of course ye are, Illa. I'm pleased as well."

"Don't you have any clothes?" Ylva asked, "You're um, ... "she shrugged and held out her hand to indicate their lack of apparel, "and I don't see any that you took off."

"Why would we be needin' any?" Thiery blinked, "They'd just get in the way, wouldn't they?"

"Thiery would only lose them anyway, "Illa smiled, "We do that all the time, Thiery and me."

"You lose your clothes?" Ylva blinked.

"No," Zele smiled, "Illa and Thiery like to fuck often, already twice since we came here to wait for Ylva. They are so in love. But they should be a little quieter now while Zele tells Ylva about things."

Ylva sat enthralled for the next several minutes as Zele spoke of the need to remove her from the barren island. "So Zele hopes that Ylva can see that she could not stay there for a little while, and if she can and she is not too afraid, she should thank Ulfr when he comes back."

Ylva nodded, though it was a little half-hearted. She didn't know if she could, quite honestly, "I'll try, but he's very frightening to me."

"Well ye should try anyway," Illa said, "They're deadly folk, but we've gotten te know them the last while. Most of them are quiet as a tomb and can't talk in much beyond their own language, but they're good te have near ye if there's one around. They'll not hurt ye, Ylva, and Ulfr the least of any of them, I think. And ye can talk with him; if ye can manage te draw him out a wee bit. He's young, but he's a good one te know, and why is that, Thiery? Why do ye suppose that is?"

Thiery shrugged, "Because he's a good sort and he'd protect ye, I guess?"

Illa groaned and rolled her eyes, "Still the fuckwit, I see. No," she sighed patiently as she drew back her hand out of his field of view, "Because he's got manners."

"Ow!" the kobold said quietly as he rubbed the back of his head where she'd slapped him.

Zele chuckled, shaking her head at the pair. Looking at Ylva, she smiled," And also because he is good to look at – if Ylva can get him out of his silence and his helmet."

She stepped over and her voice went even softer, "Zele can feel thoughts from others sometimes. She can feel what Ylva wants and does not say. It is not what was planned when Ulfr was sent, but Zele thinks there is no harm if Ylva finds that she wants to play. Ylva should think of it. He is a very fine slayer male."

She sighed then, already feeling the things in Ylva that she'd have denied very vehemently on a stack of bibles.

Ylva was startled and she found herself blushing furiously and shaking her head, "He might have helped me with those others, Zele, but, ...

He's scary to look at for me and anyway, I don't go around with thoughts like what you're talking about."

She found Zele with her head right next to hers then and Zele was barely mouthing her words. "Yes, Ylva does have these thoughts. Humans hold themselves to be better, but they are the same as demons. Humans like to fuck like demons do. They only hide it better and they hold themselves back from it. Demons hardly ask each other. I feel the thinking in you. But it is Ylva's choice."

Ylva felt the barest touch of Zele's lips against her cheek for a moment and drew her head away the next instant.

"Why did you do that?" the human asked.

Zele shrugged, "Zele is not a human. She is not a demon either, but when she meets someone that she likes, she tries to show that she is always very friendly."

"That's true," Thiery said, "Miss Zele's just like that, always tryin' te make new friends."

"Ye can trust Miss Zele," Illa nodded, "Just the way that she is here before ye would tell ye that if ye knew her better. Them that she don't like don't live long. Something that I've liked about her since I met her is how she's always wanting new friends. She's just like that, it's just her way.

And she's right in what she says. I can feel what's in ye too from this far away, ... and I'm begging yer pardon for not wanting to stick my nose in yer thoughts, not that I can very much," she said as she stepped forward to take Ylva's hand in both of hers, "but it's there for me te see all the same. Ye did like him, no matter what ye tell us – at least te look at and maybe admire.

I'll tell ye something about the slayers for nothing, Miss Ylva," Illa said, nodding her head very earnestly as she looked up into the human's eyes.

"I can't do much with them or for them, other than suck them a little and play with their toys as I can, but there are a lot of goblin women back where Thiery and me come from and those large ones, beasts though they might seem, they keep those girls very happy – and some of them are slayer girls too. If they're told to and they have the chance of it, those ones can likely kill anything in the dark realms, but if you get the chance to know one in a quiet place, well, what I'm sayin' is that it's a chance not te be missed."

She reached up cautiously and Ylva felt Illa's claws on her cheek, though she meant no harm, "And I'm sorry if I've caused ye to feel even worse now. Maybe try to forget that I said anything te ye."

"Here," Thiery smiled shyly, "have an apple."

Zele's expression changed suddenly. "Ulfr comes. Zele must hide again. Do not say that Zele is here."

With that, Ylva was alone with the small pair of lovers.

A moment or two later, she could hear the sounds of a large pair of hooves as he walked. He was not being loud; he'd ascertained that they were alone for the moment at least, and he wanted to give the kobold and his lover a little warning.

Ylva waited as the sounds came nearer, full of apprehension and maybe a little tingling of the fear that she'd felt earlier. She looked down at her dress. At least she was dressed this time. A part of her wanted to jump up and run, but to where? She didn't know where she was.

Her eyes looked off in the direction of the sounds as Ulfr came nearer.

"You are awake," he said with a nod when she saw him, "Good. Have these ones helped you? Have they given you food?"

She watched as he walked past her to bow a little to the others. He looked back after a moment, "Did you not hear me?"

She was staring at the blades on his back next to the bow. She was also looking at his legs and thighs again. Her gaze snapped up to his face as he looked at her with what she thought might be a little concern for her, though it was difficult to read anything though that helmet.

"I've met Thiery and Illa and they did offer something to me, but I didn't know if you'd had a chance to eat and I didn't want to seem greedy. It smells really good.

Why did you bow? They were here before, weren't they?"

He nodded as he turned to step nearer, "They are ones that we respect. Before we came, they were among a small group which fought and routed many goblins out of a hall where we stay now. These small friends of ours hold our respect for the way that they must have fought. I have heard of it and I feel that I must give them their due."

Ylva was astounded. She looked over at them and saw the way that Illa leaned on Thiery's shoulder and smiled softly while he stood with his eyes closed. She was already stroking him for the next round, she guessed, trying to imagine having a male like that for herself. She guessed that it must really be something to have a love like that – because Ylva was a woman. For all the strangeness of it and the way that they felt no shame in it, she could almost feel the way that Illa loved Thiery.

She just had trouble seeing them as fighters.

"You are angry with me," Ulfr said, "I am sorry, but there was no more time. Four hunters at once in one place is unusual. Most lords send only one. I had to take you then."

Ylva nodded, remembering that she felt a little angry at him for how all of this had happened, "And how was that? How did you take me to bring me here against my will? I was to be picked up by others in the morning. They will still come for me there, but I'm not there, am I?"

He ignored the question for a moment as he pulled his helmet off and she stared at him, finally able to see him clearly. She was instantly a little annoyed with herself. As foreign to her as his features were, she liked his face. It ought to have caused her to quake in fear, seeing in it that she was suddenly looking at the irrefutable evidence that all of this was stark and real.

He had the eyes of a goat, she thought – and yet she could read intelligence in them. His nose was molded into the top of a short snout, but his face appealed to her. It was just insane, she thought as she saw his teeth. They looked to have been borrowed from a werewolf or something, but those lips, ...

Dammit, she thought, why?

If she was going to have figments of her imagination running around loose, why couldn't she be allowed to make them up herself? A mouth like something which looked perpetually ravenous. .. How could she like that? Why would she want to?

But it was worse than that and Ylva knew it from only that one first look.

She did like that. Somewhere in her, someplace, likely down very deep, ...

Oh God, she wanted that.

He seemed not to notice her while she must have been gaping.

"The ones who might come for you," he said without emotion, not looking at her as he removed more of his armor, "If they come, they will perish. There was only a little time to save one. I found that one.

I saved you. By now, the whole of that flat place is covered with lumps, each one a slayer such as me, all of them sitting or kneeling, waiting for the fight."

He had a thought then and he added, "And there are many who are larger than me."

She wanted to argue, just as she'd wanted to ignore what her professor's verdict had been, that she had to be recovered and not be allowed to continue alone. Ylva was even working up her strong case to try to ask him to bring her back, but, ...

She saw his downturned horns and she was surprised. She'd thought that the horns were part of the helmet. He had ram's horns, thick and sweeping around in a perfect curl. She thought of the rams that she'd seen back home. It made her think of their actions during the spring, when the ewes went into season.

Ram's horns, she thought; remembering several gods of long-lost religions from long-dead civilizations. She knew why they appeared on those gods in the minds of the faithful back then. They were symbols.

Symbols of the epitome of lust.

Oh, fuck.

"Julia, Yulya, or Ylva," he said quietly in his deep voice as he shook his long black hair free so that it cascaded over his large shoulders. He unfastened the straps which held his weapons to him and he set them down near her.

"To which one must I make my answers? I know the name given to you at your spawning or not long after. I know the second name that you use around the place where you grew, and I know the name that you use for the ones around you where you go to learn far away from your home. Which name now?"

"What difference does it mak-"

"It makes a difference to me," he said flatly, "I am Ulfr. It is my name and all know me by it. I do not like it especially, but it marks who I am – and in an honest way because I do not hide it. The name that you hide comes from humans long ago - as my own does."

He removed his greaves and bracers and set them down next to his helmet. "We carry the same name."

With a start, Ylva saw that he was correct. Ylva and Ulfr were just two gender-specific forms for the old Norse name for wolves. Ylva meant she-wolf.

"How does a demon carry a name like that? Or is it a name that demons use?"

He shook his head as he loosened the fittings of his breastplate, "No demon uses it save me. The ones who spawned me –"

"Your parents?" she asked slightly sarcastically. "I wasn't spawned. I was –"

This time, he interrupted her. "Your mother was bred and you were sired by the male who copulated with her," he said, "She gave you life when she spawned you.

You may call it what you will. I am sorry if I do not know all of the pretty human words.

My ... parents ... took the name from the warlike humans who were here after they came here. When I was ... born, that is what I was given."

His breastplate came off then and he set it aside. While she watched, trying to keep her mind focused on her argument, she had to try not to groan at what she saw. His large chest was all planes and angles, and what wasn't like that were bulges. He moved as he bent a little to keep the breastplate from falling over and she saw the heavy ridges there over his stomach like so much more armor in a way.

The hero of the Greeks – that actor in the movie, he was more like the little boy sent to wake the great Achilles in the film compared to this one. Ulfr wasn't even aware that she was watching him, or maybe he didn't care, but he was even putting Boagrius to shame and she'd read that the actor for that role stood at just an inch under seven feet tall.