Arrival

November, 1102 A.D.

tI could only watch them through my black magic portal as they soared up into the sky, before she would leap off of his back, plummeting toward the ocean. They continued on, doing this many times. He even seemed to be smiling...

tThis girl was something, alright, if she could get my ever-cold ice wyvern, the lord of the ice wyverns, to laugh and play. It wasn"t logical.

tWhy had he taken her to the ocean in the first place? I didn"t understand.

tI watched in confusion as they continued to have fun together. How could this girl not be afraid of him? He was an ice wyvern! How could she approach and ride him with no fear? How could she hold on to him as if he were her very chain to life itself?

tThese questions burned in my mind, and I could feel my body tingling.

tPerhaps there was more to this child than I had first thought.

tI studied her through the portal. Her body had filled out some since birthing my heir.

tHer body was thicker, a little wider. Her b.r.e.a.s.t.s were fuller, as was her face. Her hair had grown back out to be just past her shoulders from where I had cut it to be at her ears. Her arms and legs and neck were also a bit thicker.

tShe looked very desirable in her Wraith clothing.

tIf I was honest with myself, her body had grown much more attractive to me with a little more meat on her bones, and some curves on her. And her pale skin looked supple and soft....

tI shook myself. At the rate that I was going, I wouldn"t even be able to get her to my chambers before I took her body. I had to calm myself. After all, if I was too rough on her, I could seriously injure her on accident. I had injured her more than I had desired to the last time she had been with me, and I had already been holding myself back considerably. I could hurt her seriously if I didn"t get myself under control.

tOr worse.

tAnd we didn"t want that, now did we? If that happened, I wouldn"t be able to play with my toy anymore.

tBut my patience was beginning to wear thin. I chanted an incantation to be able to communicate with my Wyvern.

t"Coal!" I called telepathically. "Stop dawdling and bring her to me! You have let her have her fun! Now it is time for me to have my fun. Understood?"

tI heard him in my mind as his growl grumbled low in his chest. "Lighten up, Prince. We are on our way to you. I felt that she deserved a reward for her compliance."

t"See to it that you get her here before nightfall."

t"Yes, Prince."

t.i.t would be several hours before their arrival. I needed to prepare.

tI got some new clothes prepared for her, and fresh bedding. I had several "meals" ready for her stay here. I hoped that she wouldn"t fight eating this time. I truly, honestly did not like forcing her, despite all that I had forced her to do and to go through, even now.

tThere was just...some spell that she had placed over me, that caused me to actually.... care for her. It was something that I could not understand. And I didn"t want to understand it.

tI didn"t want to feel it at all. I didn"t want to feel anything for the girl. I wanted to torture her, make her suffer.

tShe made me feel emotions other than hate and anger and pride. I simply could not understand it.

tDarkelves were the scourge of the elven races.

tThere were not supposed to feel.

tFeelings of this nature could get myself executed if my father were to find out about it. His laws over our race were absolute.

tEven our own people were terrified of his wrath.

tFinally, after much work and antic.i.p.ation, I could sense their approach to the city.

tI slipped out of the castle unseen, making my way with wind-breaking speed to the gates of the kingdom. I met Coal in the mountains that were on the outskirts of our borders.

tHe landed swiftly, lying on his belly to let down the rider. And then I saw her in person for the first time since I had released her.

tShe had, indeed, grown fuller. She looked older, and more feminine. More like a woman than a girl. Her eyes, however, had grown softer than before, somehow. That was something that I had not expected.

tThe last I had seen her, her eyes were like pools of ice that stabbed the very recesses of my soul, piercing me to a depth that none had before her. But her eyes now were like a cool, fresh river.

tEasy, soft, sweet, even. There was, however, an edge to them, on guard as always, but not the murderous glare that she used to wear.

tShe met my gaze full on. No hesitation....no anger, no sadness, no fear. Perhaps her time as a mother had done this? She didn"t even hold hatred in her eyes.

t"h.e.l.lo, Kysael." I hadn"t called her by her name since she had left here, and her name left flutters in my chest that I was uncomfortable acknowledging. It left a bitter taste on my tongue, but the bitterness was sweet also.

t"Mafrien." Her tone was soft, cautiously so. I was shocked by her genuine lack of anger. It was very confusing to me.

tDid she not already know what I had in store for her? How could she not hate me? How could she not be afraid, not want to thrash and fight?

tHow could she be so d.a.m.n calm?

t"You have changed so drastically that I nearly cannot comprehend that you are the same person."

t"I have simply accepted my fate. I cannot mate with my husband, because of the mating mark. The man that I had been about to marry once before has married and moved on with his life, and therefore he is no option to me. The only other option that I have is you, until the day that this mating mark you have placed onto my back is deactivated. There is nothing that I am able to do to change this fact."

tI sensed no lies in her speech. I also sensed no fight. Where was the warrior, the huntress whom I had craved so desperately all of this time? Where was her fighting spirit? That att.i.tude of defiant rage? This was not the Kysael that I had been so enraptured and intrigued by.

tAnd yet...I was still somehow enraptured and intrigued by this new Kysael in her place, oddly enough.

tThis Kysael had no fear. She was calm, rational, level-headed. She wasn"t trying to murder me with her eyes.

tShe wasn"t fighting and screaming. She was unafraid. She was even accepting.

tShe no longer held that spark of angry fear in those icy eyes of hers. That, even in itself, held me so captivated that it shocked me to my core. I had thought that I had known what I wanted; a fighter who would try to kill me, someone whom I couldn"t control.

tBut perhaps what I had really wanted all of this time was for someone to accept me, and their fate with me.... much like my mother had with my father.

tWhat was this girl doing to me?

t"You look utterly shocked, Prince," Coal commented telepathically.

t"You did not know this girl prior to this day, Coal. She was not the kind of girl to lay down and accept this. She fought me every step of the way, fighting me emotionally, mentally, and even physically. This girl killed twelve Darkelves on her own during the attack on her home. I am surprised."

t"This girl actually affects you," he said incredulously.

tI didn"t respond. If it was so blatantly obvious that even the wyvern could sense it, then I stood no chance against my father.

tKellerok could sniff out emotion. I was surprised that he had not sensed this from me and murdered me already. If I approached him with anything more than my l.u.s.t for destruction, he would sniff it out on the spot and call it out.... he would snuff out that emotion on the spot....snuff me out on the spot.

tHe did not tolerate feelings.

t"Coal, you are dismissed for now," I said.

tHe bowed his head and flew off into the mountains without another word.

tI turned my attention to Kysael. "So... will you willingly accept it if I decide to touch you?"

tInstead of responding, she uncrossed her arms to let them rest at her sides, and closed her eyes. She did not fight me when I grabbed her, bringing her to the rocky ground beneath our feet. She lay calmly as I pulled off her clothing, and took her body. It felt good to be... home again. And she did feel like home. She was so tight, so snug on me, and her body cushioned my own as I pounded my way into her. I could smell blood, making her all the wetter for me, but she only winced a bit as I used her body for my own pleasures.

tAnd as her body took everything that I dished out, I felt.... almost.....vaguely unsatisfied at her acceptance. The confusion was taking hold of my mind.

t"Are...are you alright?" She asked me suddenly.

tI continued my movements, but I decided to dignify her with a response. "What are you talking about?"

t"You"re crying..."

tI startled, my thrusts wavering a bit as I was brought back to the present, and I saw that my tears had falled onto her cheeks and she reached up to wipe them away from my eyes, although a bit awkwardly. "It"s none of your concern," I said harshly.

t"Well....if you want to talk, I am here."

t"Are you seriously suggesting that I talk to you?"

tShe nodded. "Yes," she said softly, reaching up to cup my cheek in her hand.

tI slapped her hand away. "I don"t want to talk to you about it, I want for you to shut your mouth and take what my body is giving you."

tShe sighed.

t"Why would you even offer for me to talk out my thoughts with you?"

t"Because I"m not a monster who doesn"t care about peoples" feelings."

t"I"m a Darkelf, girl, I"m not supposed to have feelings. And I don"t want to talk to the girl responsible for these feelings about those feelings!" I shouted as I began thrusting wildly into her body. She winced as I increased my pace and power, and I could feel her ripping. She forced herself to hold in her cries, and I was vaguely angry that I couldn"t hear her scream. She caused me to feel, and she needed to be punished, but she wasn"t allowing me the satisfaction.

tWhen I was finished with her, I pulled out of her body rather than releasing into her. I could see the surprise in her face. She had thought that I was going to impregnate her again, and I could only surmise that I shouldn"t be shocked that she"d have that notion. After all, I had forcibly aborted her freshly conceived baby with Dragon and replaced it by forcibly impregnating her with my own seed the last time that I had seen her. I supposed her accusatory stare was well placed.

I tossed her my cloak, and she wrapped it around her bruised body.

tI felt odd as I looked upon her body. My hand prints and finger imprints had bruised her. Blood was running down her legs. She looked at me with the same calm, infuriatingly calm acceptance in her eyes. I had even torn her insides, and yet she was still so d.a.m.n calm.

tI escorted her to my chambers, and she sat down on my bed, waiting for me to do anything that I wished to her.... which only confused and angered me more.

tIrritated, I decided to take her and put her in the dungeon instead. I needed to get away from her, clear my head.

tI needed to cause destruction.

tAfter I locked her in a cell, I left quickly, going back to the gate of the city and once again summoning Coal.

t"Are you already finished with her, Prince?" He asked, grumbling out a chuckle. "You didn"t last very long."

tI knew that. I knew that I hadn"t lasted long. That was caused by two things-one, because I was so captivated by her acceptance even though I was, in the same moment, dissatisfied with it, and that somehow got me off even faster. And two...I had been unable to mate with anyone since I had mated with her the first time. Every time that I"d had a woman brought to my chambers, I couldn"t go through with it and ended up sending the women away. I knew that I wasn"t up to my usual stamina. I had gone so long without it...I sighed.

t"Shut your mouth and simply worry about getting me to my destination without angering me too badly, Coal."

tHe didn"t respond, and soon were in the air and travelling.

t"Take me across the ocean. I don"t care what foreign land we come to; I just want to be away from this place as soon as possible."

*

tI awoke some amount of time later, and saw a crescent-shaped cl.u.s.ter of islands beside of a large continent.

tI had Coal land in the forest of this cl.u.s.ter of islands, near a temple with oddly built roofing that curved upward. What was this place?

tWe had landed near some small villages, and I prepped myself to go out and greet them.

tThe screams and cries, however, did nothing to soothe me. And I became frustrated as they called me some name in their strange, foreign tongue. The word "Yokai" must have some awful meaning.... but I didn"t understand.

tFinally, after a week of destroying villages and lives, I happened across a larger town with a large manor in the middle of the city.

tAnd I happened across a young maiden in a garden, in the forest just outside of this city"s walls.

tI approached her slowly, and as she noticed me, she began calling that one word and the other syllables and sounds she spoke blurred together until I began chanting a spell in my own mind and tongue to understand her.

tI placed my hand over her forehead and my other hand over her mouth, and she screamed as the burning of our tongues began, in accordance with the spell that I had chanted. She pulled away, sucking in air to soothe her tongue"s pain.

tOnce the burning stopped in my own mouth, I spoke. "Can you understand me now, woman?"

tA look of shock, then understanding fear, crossed her pretty face. She nodded. "Yes, demon, I understand you."

t"Good."

t"Are you the demon that everyone has been warning us about?" She asked, timid.

t"Why would anyone warn you? Is your life so important?"

tShe looked offended. "I am the princess of these territories! Of course, my life is important."

t"It"s not to me," I said. But I did study her more closely in the moon"s light.

tHer robes were more flowing than the other women I had seen in this country so far. They drug the ground behind her. They looked very expensive, made out of fine silk with bright, golden patterns embroidered all over it. She wore a strange, wide, thick band around her waist that covered from just below her b.r.e.a.s.t.s to just above her hips.

tHer hair nearly reached the ground, a flowing waterfall of shimmering black with a blue shine.

tHer eyes were a little less slanted than her fellow countrymen. They were a rich, bright hazel color with blue flecks around the pupil.

tShe walked and stood with an air of grace and confidence. Her skin was like porcelain.

tYes, indeed I could see that she was royalty among these average humans....and I l.u.s.ted after her.

tI decided to play a game with her.

t"Tell me, girl; why should I spare your village? What could you offer me, a "demon"?"

t"Being a princess, I am very wealthy and I-"

t"I am the Prince of the "demon" people, girl. I am richer than you could fathom." I chuckled. "I was thinking something a little more...personal."

tShe looked uncomfortable, and backed away from me slowly. "I....I don"t understand," she stuttered out.

t"Oh, I think that you do understand," I said darkly, grabbing her arm.

t"Please! Please, no! I am to be wed tomorrow!"

t"If you do not comply and give me what I want, your village will be destroyed and you will all be dead before tomorrow," I said.

tShe cringed, and tears ran down her pretty face. "But I-"

t"Would you rather save your pride, or your village? You cannot have both."

tShe finally tried to calm down. "What must I do?"

tI was confused. I always seemed to be confused. "What?"

t"I..." She looked away, her cheeks tinging pink. "I"ve never known a man"s touch before....I do not know what to do...."

tA virgin, hm? I smiled viciously. "Disrobe."

tI watched with hungry eyes as she untied the wide belt at her waist, and her many robes fall open and to the ground.

tI disrobed as well, and her terrified eyes widened when she saw how...thoroughly well I was endowed. Her body began to shake.

t"Lay on your back and spread your legs apart."

tShaking, she did as I instructed. And as I covered her body with my own, tears ran down her face as she hiccupped, her fear making her breathe faster.

tHer body was long and lean, her b.r.e.a.s.t.s small but perky.

tAnd when I descended upon her, she screamed into my mouth.

tI could feel her bleed around me, and she continued to cry out and scream into my mouth as I ripped her body and used it to my heart"s content.

tWhen I had finished having my way with her, she moved to curl in on herself and cry softly.

tI stood, dressing myself. "What is your name, girl?"

tShe sniffled, still crying. "I am Saya."

tThat was the word that meant "Sheath" in their language. I tried to think of a fitting name for myself, some name that she could have to remember me by.

t"Call me "Katana"," I said, giving her the word for "Sword."

t"Katana...."

tI nodded. "It is Lord Katana to you." And then I used a spell to revert back to my native tongue before I summoned Coal to come and get me.

tAs we flew away, she cried out. "Katansama!" She fell to her knees.

tI knew than in just a few months.... she would give birth to a child. My child. A half human, half Darkelf child.

tI had successfully destroyed her life.

tAnd yet...I found no joy or pleasure from the thought.

tI was angry with myself. "Take me back to Kysael, Coal," I said.

t"Yes, Prince."

tI scoffed. "I thought that all of my activities here would cause me to feel joy. Instead, I only feel annoyance at myself. What has that confounded hybrid girl done to me, Coal? I am losing myself. I am no longer the cold, ruthless, mischievously evil b.a.s.t.a.r.d that I used to be. I....d.a.m.n it all, I feel things! The Darkelf Prince should not feel things! Blast that girl!"

t"What do you intend to do with her?" He asked.

t"I was going to simply release her, but I am just so angry. I feel as if I should kill her, and yet.... something is compelling me to allow her to live."

t"She does have a certain.... almost bewitching charm about her. Perhaps that is why so many feared and hated her in her homeland. They simply couldn"t admit their own spirits tugging them, drawing them to be near her."

t"Do you feel drawn to her, Coal?" I asked.

tHe chuckled, and the sound rumbled deeply in his throat. He gave me no other response.

tJust who was this girl? Coal was the Lord of the Ice Wraiths. For her to have caught him like a bug in a spider"s web was nearly impossible for my mind to grasp.

tAnd d.a.m.n it all, I was so confused that now, I was calling my ice wyvern an ice Wraith!

tI cursed that girl in my mind. How could she muddle up my thoughts so horribly?

tSeveral more days of flying pa.s.sed before we finally reached the borders of Barrenwilds. The desert city was very large. Mud huts made up the majority of the dwellings and shops. Richer people lived in stone and wooden homes.

tI strode confidently into the dungeon, straight to the girl"s cell. I threw it open, and she infuriated me as she simply, calmly, walked out and stopped to watch me!

t"Coal is waiting for you outside to take you back...wherever, I don"t care where you go. Get out of here, now."

tShe startled, and finally showed some real emotion. "You....you"re not going to use me anymore? You"re just.... letting me go?"

tI met her eyes. "I do not want to see you right now. I am tired of thinking about you. I want you out of my city, as soon as possible. I will return for you once you can actually show me that you still have some fight in you. You"re no fun for me when you just accept everything that I do. It"s boring. To be completely honest, it makes me want to kill you. Next time, try to be the girl who had me so intrigued with her fighting spirit.... not this lump of calm acceptance."

tWith a shy glance back at me, she ran out.

t"My, my, young Prince," an ancient voice laughed. "How on this good earth did you come by such a wonderful girl?"

tI glared, unamused, into his cell. "Better than your mate, eh, old man?"

t"Watch your tongue! I am still far superior to you or your deranged father, Mafrien. You should show respect to your elders."

t"Shut up, Manwen."

tI saw the decrepit old Skyelf king. His long, silvery blonde hair was s.h.a.ggy, unkempt. He wore ragged clothes, barely covering his body.

tHis wing stubs, where his wings had been before they had been cut off to the base, twitched restlessly.

tI had met him as a young child, when my deranged father had me locked in the dungeon for three years to teach me to be independent. The Skyelf king had been kind to me, giving me advice and trying to teach me the ways of the world since my father wouldn"t.... but my father ended up teaching me the ways of the world that he wanted to create.

tAnd over the centuries, this great Skyelf had fallen. But he still held incredible wisdom and power. The air always shimmered around him; the aura of his power radiant.

tHis silver eyes locked with mine. "You really shouldn"t play with peoples" lives," he said.

t"Oh, trying to relive the days when I was a child and you tried to steer me onto the path of righteousness, are you? Don"t bother."

tHe scoffed. "You are still such a child."

tI rattled the bar door to his cell. "And you are still a pathetic coward who gave up a war just to protect a race of people who no longer would have existed either way, you foolish old bag of dust!" I shouted.

tHe looked amused. "Did your little tantrum help you to feel better?"

t"d.a.m.n it all!" I screamed, punching a hole through the stone wall as I walked into Kysael"s cell.

t"You have feelings for the girl!" He said, surprised.

tThat is when I knew that it truly was hopeless. Even the Skyelf king, locked away in a dungeon for centuries, could tell that I felt something for the girl. If it was truly that obvious, I would never be able to face my father again.

tI"d never have a chance to overthrow him. All of this may as well have been for nothing. It was over.

t"You want to overthrow Kellerok, don"t you?"

tI turned my attention back to Manwen. "You have my undivided attention."

t"Then that girl-" He pointed to the closed door at the end of the hall that held these cells. "That girl is the key to defeating Kellerok."

tI scoffed. "And how would you know that?" I sneered.

tHe chuckled, and as he began to explain.... shocked confusion nearly froze my heart in my chest.