Fool's Errand: The Assassin and the Princess

[haremfaery]

Rhavana made a spark with shaking hands as she lit the torch and then thrust it at the hideous beasts trying to clamber over the sides of their little boat. She heard their flesh--if you could call it that-- sizzle and burn away when she touched them. The fire was damaging them. She thrust the torch into the chest of one and its howl echoed in the night. A troll on the other side tried to take advantage by pulling itself up on the side of boat, but Brandon crushed its hand.


She turned this way and that trying to protect herself and Brandon while doing what damage she could. She couldn't tell how many there were because they popped up on one side of the other. Whenever she was distracted by one, another would try on the other side.

Thrusting the torch seemed to work best, pushing them away while doing the most damage. She wasn't really aiming, just thrusting and swiping as best she could as the trolls appeared. She tried to go for their faces, that seemed to hurt the most, and if they couldn't see, they couldn't attack.

After what seemed like an eternity, the trolls stopped. Perhaps they had moved far enough out of their territory. Perhaps they ahd hurt them enough to make them stop. She didn't care which. She gripped the torch tightly afraid of a renewed attack.

She panted catching her breath and leaned back onto Brandon's chest. "Are they gone?" She was unharmed except for splashes of ichor from the trolls that Brandon had smashed. "Do you think the noise has alerted the Orcs? Should I put the torch out?" She held it away from her so it wouldn't ignite their boat by accident.

 

[The_gladiator]

The fight was fast and furious. Only his great training kept him from striking her. Although they had never fought together, some sense of one another kept them miraculously from bashing one another. She defended the front half of the boat and he the sides, even as he continued to stroke the oar into the water to hopefully scoot them out of range of the trolls.

He did more and more paddling as she fell into a rhythm of defending them, he trusted in that moment, her to keep him safe, for protecting him would protect herself. It was not long before they swept around a bend in the river and the attacks subsided.

As calm once more settled over them. He again lifted the paddle over her head, his arms going around her so she could lean back against his chest, and not against the paddle. Outside of the vicious cuts on his arms he too was unhurt, there were what he suspected were some puncture wounds on his legs from the greedy claws, but he would take care of it later, when they were safe. If Brandon was a praying type he would have prayed for safety soon. He knew the elven lass could not take much more strain tonight, and he himself was tiring, although he would never admit it to her. He could not hide from himself though and a rest was in order.

He finally spoke, “You may put out the torch, it will only draw unwanted attention once we come out of the crags,” he explained, and true to his word, the craggy cliffs were giving way to gentler wooded hills. He paused for a moment and then payed her a compliment, “You did well, you did not choke under the pressure.” He then lapsed back into silence.

 

[haremfaery]

Rhavana clutched har hands in front of her to keep them from shaking. Now that the fight was over, she was exhausted. She didn't know if she could stand another dangerous situation. "I had no choice. I want to live." Her body was tense even as she rested back against him. "Will we be somewhere safe soon?"

The fight had not left her unscathed, but Brandon had far worse. "We need to tend your wounds. And we must rest." With the fight over, she just wanted to curl into a ball and sleep.

 

[The_gladiator]

Brandon gave a movement that was probably some sort of shrug. She probably could feel with his arms around her, “Safe is a myth,” he said dryly. Then seeming to realize that was probably not what she wanted to hear he spoke, “We can make camp soon though, there is a cave ahead that I have used before for shelter.”

Soon the small boat was traveling through thick trees, many with large root systems that stretched into the river, gathering the moisture to sustain their great heights. The half elf soon directed them in among the roots for a particularly large specimen of a tree. There it revealed a small cave opening almost obscured by the root system. The only sounds were the soft lapping of the water against the boat and the tree roots, as well as the drone of night insects.

With a final push Brandon felt the scrape as the hull hit bottom. “You may get out now,” he said as he began to extract himself from her as he reached behind him for a coil of rope to secure the boat to the tree roots. “I would not recommend much more than a small fire, the temperature will continue to drop, we may need to use one another for warmth.” He said this like such things were normal. This was the fall and the evenings could get cool this close to the water. Brandon stood and stepped onto the shore before finally offering Rhavana a hand to help her to the shore. He noted the softness of her hand, but there were callouses as well, perhaps this princess wasn’t as pampered as he suspected, especially after the battle.

He began to gather the amount of wood he dared for a small fire figuring she would go into the cave to explore. She was right his wounds needed tended as well. However, she would need light to help tend his injuries, hence the fire. Since he knew that a fire this small would provide rather little warmth to push back the damp chill of the cave.

 

[haremfaery]

"You are a man of many surprises. You frequent this area enough to have a cave to hide in... You, one man alone, managed to save me from the slavers. Just who are you, Brandon? --No. I'm sorry. It is not for me to probe your secrets."

Brandon handed her out of the canoe. Rhavana thought he held her hand for longer than need be. "I am rather good at archery." She explained her callouses.

While Brandon collected wood for a fire, she explored the cave. It was small and scramped but it seemed clean enough. No animal had made it their lair. She found a suitable spot, close to the entrance, but far enough in to give some shelter.

When he returned she knelt to help him get the fire started. "Now I need to see to your wounds. Do you have something I can put on them? At the least, they should be cleaned."

 

[The_gladiator]

Brandon snorted at her words about him, a quick laugh that was quickly squashed, “Survival is built upon being resourceful.” Was all he would say in a rather cryptic manner. He merely shrugged when she asked who he was. He figured this was not the time to get into talk of assassins, or bounty hunters. “Someone who doesn’t like slavery,” he said finally before moving off to gather the wood.

When he returned he crouched down hands working deftly to arrange the small amount of wood. Deftly laying small river rocks in a circle around his small wood pile. He reached into his pack and handed her a small pot, silently gesturing to the water, in response to her question about needing to wash his wounds.

The flames lit and revealed more than just the glowing red of his nigh seeing vision. The gray of his eyes was suddenly visible as his eyes switched from the heat sight of elves to the regular day sight. The light revealed some of the scratches on his arms, and it was clear that his legs were damp with blood as well, it having soaked through his pants. He produced a salve from his pack as well. “Scragg nails collect lots of bacteria, I will need to be sure to put this on all the wounds after I clean them,” he explained. “Do you have scratches also?”

He had made no comment about her being a good archer earlier, that was like saying water was wet, an elf could shoot a bow, but he was surprised that she had noticed his attention to her touch. Had he given himself away that easily? A aren’t stroke of the thumb over her fingertips, perhaps? He put it out of his mind as he began to pull off his armored vest and shirt, to check his upper body for scratches. It revealed a toned form, with the scarring that suggested a hard life of battle. The worst over his heart. A scar that was plainly visible from a distance. It went all the way through, there was a matching scar on his back, though he currently had his back to her. If she happened to see it though it had been made a part of a very intricate tattoo.

He began to run his hands over his arms and front, seeking out scratches. “I do not need an infection, I’ll have you check the back once we’ve finished with the others. “he said finally, by way of more explanation.

 

[haremfaery]

"I am fine. The torch kept them from reaching me. I have their blood on me, not my own."

Ravana dipped a cloth into the water. "Here, let me." Her hands were gentle but efficient. She wiped his wounds clean then applied the salve. His muscles were hard and he had many old scars. She wanted to ask him about the worst of them and the tattoo that incorporated the scar into it's design. Did he mean to hide the scar or honor it?

Brandon was taciturn as it was, no sense in asking.

"There. Now I think I'll wash the ichor off." She shrugged off her leather tunic and stood in her breeches and fine linen shirt. She wiped her arms then wiped the splatters off the tunic.

She turned back around and sat by the fire. "Since you know this area so well, where do we go next?"

 

[The_gladiator]

He allowed her to tend him, silent the whole time. When he turned the tattoo was revealed. It was a heart, with two names in its center, written in high elven script, with vines and leaves surrounding it. Very few people who were not lovers ever saw the tattoo, but it was necessary to allow her to inspect for scratches. He had to admit to himself, her touch felt good, better than it should.

As he watched her wash, he finally removed his pants, there was no way around it, and set about cleaning the wounds in his thighs. There was no way that he was going to ask her to get that intimate with him. He had drawn a small towel from his pack to wind around his waist to preserve her modesty while he did this. He hissed in pain as the salve worked its way into the deeper puncture wounds of his legs. “We go somewhere that doesn’t involve you being sold into slavery.” He finally responded. “I assume I should get you back to your people, or to the human king, correct?” he asked finally figuring she wanted something more concrete than his first reply.

 

[haremfaery]

Rhavana's quickly turned away from Brandon when he removed his pants. By the Three-Faced Goddess, he had her blushing. It wasn't as if she had never seen a naked man before.

She fastidiously studied the toe of her boot. "Should I go to the human king so he knows we were attacked and not slighting him by not arriving on time? Or should I go home and let father sort things out? I suppose whichever is closer, or safer, to get to. What do you suggest?"

 

[The_gladiator]

He snorted a little when she quickly turned away. “Be lucky I am not making you use those soft hands to do this for me,” he mocked, just a bit.

He seemed to consider her question, “I am not a bodyguard, you’ll accompany me to where ever I decide we’re going. Which one is more likely to pay me for preventing you from being sold into slavery?” he asked. The words were harsh, but honest, Brandon wasn’t here to be nice. “You got mixed up in something pretty dark princess. You have no idea.”

After a few moments he pulled back on the pants, still soaking wet. “We would both do better if we let our clothes dry, are you too squeamish for that?” he asked after a pause.

 

[haremfaery]

"I would do it if you needed me to." She retorted. "I have seen naked men before. Or is it my soft hands--my soft life that you mock?" She could understand why. Brandon's life could not have been easy to lead him to the man he had become. Elves were not welcoming of half-breeds. She doubted humans were much better.

"I was only seeing the human king to work on trade arrangements. My father will welcome you and pay you handsomely." She cocked her head and looked at him. "Do you mean the slavers or something darker than the slavers?" She felt her heart pounding remembering Chron.

His words brought her out of her frightening thoughts. "I am not squeamish." She had offered herself up to Chron to save her maid. She had fought off trolls or whatever they were.

To prove it, she stood up and toed off her boots and then pushed her leather breeches down to her ankles and stepped out of them. All the while, she looked defiantly at Brandon. "What are you waiting for? Are you squeamish?"

 

[The_gladiator]

The half-elf did not dare tell her that he actually found her soft hands appealing. She would not be welcoming of such talk. So, he ignored her initial comments. “To your father it may be then,” he grunted.

“Chron is a symptom, not merely the disease. It is who pulls his strings that is dangerous. People that also want me, so they have double the reason to come after us, especially if he recognizes my final kill.”

He had almost been half musing to himself with those words. He watched her defiance. She had spunk, he had to admit it. Covered in blood in ichor, their clothes needed washed, and then dried thoroughly. He could not help but to admire both her fire and her body. “squeamish, no, I was saving your modesty from seeing the effects your nubile body has had upon me.” It was as much her spirit as her body that had caught his attention though. “Though honestly, the most private part of me you have already seen,” and with that cryptic response he too stripped.

He rose to brush past her to begin to clean his clothing in the stream, glad for the moment that he did not have to look upon her. He swore up and down that he hated all elves, but damn if she wasn’t attractive.

 

[haremfaery]

Rhavana could not believe Brandon's boldness to let her know he had a physical reaction to her body. Was he deliberately baiting her? He had rescued her from a terrible fate, why would he want her to hate him?

After he left to clean his clothing, she stripped down to her shirt and breeks. She thought about Brandon's "most private part," he must have meant the tattoo. She knew the script was High Elven but in the flicker of the firelight she hadn't been able to make out the words. They might have been names based on the design. His parents' names? His and lover's name? He didn't seem the type to make such a romantic gesture. Just another thing to puzzle her about him.

Her leathers had kept them clean enough. She gathered up her clothes, her shirt came to mid-thigh when she stood. More than enough to preserve my modesty, she thought. She went out of the cave and sat some feet away from Brandon to clean her own clothing. Her eyes kept going back to him, she didn't know what to say that wouldn't get some curt response from him. She huffed out a breath and angled herself so she wouldn't be tempted to look at him and scrubbed the ichor off her trousers.

 

[The_gladiator]

Brandon had been wearing leather as well especially on his top, however his pants had gotten some nasty puncture wounds from the claws of the scrags as well as them both being covered by blood, smoke and lots of dirt. He couldn’t help but to smirk at her. She hadn’t stripped completely naked after his words, but honestly, he was fine with that, the clothing would keep her warm. As it was, he was clearly cold, the goosebumps clear on his skin, yet he did not complain.

Laying his clothing out on the rocks he stood over her for a moment, as if not even noticing his nudity. “Reminds me of being a slave again, I had to earn clothes.” He offered after a moment of watching her work. He lay a hand on her shoulder briefly, “you fought bravely.” Was all he offered before he headed back to begin pulling out rations from his belt pouch. “When you are finished, I will share my food, it isn’t much, nothing fit for a princess, but you won’t starve.” Back was the bitter undertones again, that moment of vulnerability was gone.

 

[haremfaery]

Rhavana's clothes weren't the mess that Brandon's were. Using the torch, she had been able to keep the trolls out of reach of her.

She kept her eyes firmly on his face when he stood. Before she could comment on him being a slave, he was back inside the cave.

She finished cleaning her leathers and laid them out as Brandon had then rubbing her arms from the cold, she went back inside to get warm by the fire.

"Right now, I do not feel like much of a princess. I am grateful for anything you have." She moved her toes closer to the fire. "You said you had been a slave. Is that why you hate the slavers so much? Are they the some ones who had you before?" She could not imagine anyone being able to keep Brandon as a slave. Or to capture him in the first place.

 

[The_gladiator]

He gave her a stare as she asked questions he was not prepared to answer. “Not them. Those fools aren’t fit to lick the boots of the drow.” With that he snapped his mouth closed. The despurdens had ties to the drow, to his old masters, but he had turned his back on that, on his former life.

“Tell me, what brings a princess out into orc infested borderlands?” he asked trying to deflect from her inquiries about him.

 

[haremfaery]

Rhavana inclined her head, her royal training took over. "I am sorry for prying. That was inexcusable." She bit into the hardtack from his rations.

“Tell me, what brings a princess out into orc infested borderlands?” he asked trying to deflect from her inquiries about him.

"I was traveling with my cousin Catanion and our retinue to meet with King Daffyd to make a treaty. The Orcs have been harassing both humans and elves along the border. We were to meet the human king's contingent of guards at Aern. They were to escort us the rest of the way." She shrugged, "You know the rest." She stared into the fire remembering the attack.

 

[The_gladiator]

“Why would the king allow you to go on such a mission,” he asked as he tore off a strip of dried meat, before he offered it to her. He wondered would she accept; some elves were known to be vegetarians.

He chewed the piece of meat as he sat cross legged, completely comfortable with his nudity. When finished eating the bite he stretched out on his side, facing the fire, and silently held out an arm to her in invitation. “Your virtue is safe lady. I might be a killer, but I will never be a rapist.” He sounded firm, and almost bitter regarding that fact, as if the conviction was born out of long-ago pain, “However without body heat, you will experience the night as rather miserable.”

 

[haremfaery]

"I begged my father to let me go with Catanion. I wanted to see something of the world. I wanted to learn more about the humans since we share a border. I wanted adventure." She let out a breath. "Be careful what you wish for."

She accepted the dried meat. It would be disrespectful for her to refuse it. Besides, she was hungry. She kept her eyes on his face, or past his shoulder. She could not believe how he could not shiver.

"I think you would experience a more miserable night." But she laid down with her back to him facing the fire.

 

[The_gladiator]

He slid his arm around her middle, curling around her, his greater height allowing him to almost surround her. “Truth is truth princess, you are not wrong, but I have slept in worse conditions, can you say the same?”

He pressed his hand to her stomach, very respectful. He tried just keeping his arm around her, her back to his front, but he finally completed the spooning motion his legs curving up to lay against the bottoms of hers, feet tucking against hers. His left arm was above his head by way of a pillow; however, he bent his elbow so his fingertips could gently stroke her hair. It was a strangely tender gesture for such a “killer”

He lay in silence for a long few moments before he spoke, “In elven Lands I was known as Taurean. “Brandon was born in the human lands; the scum did not deserve Taurean’s Identity his name. “He had no idea what possessed him to tell her that. The last person he had told that was one of the ones out to kill him, why would he trust the princess with this information. Perhaps the man inside that was still Taurean recognized how tough this had all been on her, and that she needed some way to bond to he, who was her only companion at this time.

 

[haremfaery]

"No, I cannot say the same. I am used to soft matresses and clean linen, or a warm fire in the fireplace, a hot meal with spiced mead. This has been by far the worst day and night in my life. Worse than I could ever imagine." She paused. "Except for you." She also used her crooked arm for a pillow. She placed her other hand over his. As he curled around her, she was still tense but she began to relax the longer they lay together.

"Thank you for sharing your true name, Taurean. May I call you that when we are alone?" She squeezed his hand and nestled against him.

 

[The_gladiator]

Her words of except for him had wrung in his head, perhaps that is why he told her. She wouldn’t think so highly of him if she knew of how he had had to kill her maid, to relieve her of her pain, but he knew better than to tell her that information.

He did not correct her assumption that even taurean was his true name. It was certainly more accurate than Brandon. She could feel his shrug, “If it please you to do so, it has been a long time since anyone outside of a lover has.” He was not insinuating that she was like a lover, despite their embrace, but it was the truth.

As they lapsed into silence, he became more and more aware of her hand resting atop his. As the fire started to flicker and die down, he moved his hand. The movement was subtle, he spread his fingers and lifted them against her hand, causing their fingers to twine, a modified version of holding her hand with her hand still atop his, letting his thumb caress along the outside of her first finger, in a gentle caress.

 

[haremfaery]

Rhavana had fallen into a doze, a half-waking state. She felt as if she were floating above herself, floating above the world and its heartache. If only she had listened to her mother. If only her father had not given in. But then what? Tannith would still be alive, but the rest would be just as dead. But she would not have have been debased by Chron. She would not have had to see the dead bodies of her cousin and the guards, nor the poor broken and bloodied body of Tannith. She would have been safe and protected from the harsh realities of the world. That was something that Tarean was all too well aware of.

She felt Tarean's caress. He was an enigma to her. Harsh and pragmatic and then gentle and caring. She would not be alive without him. She brought his hand to her mouth and kissed his fingertips then settled their hands back where they had been.

 

[The_gladiator]

She lifted his hand to her lips and kissed his fingertips softly. Taurean shivered a bit at the gentle touch, and tightened his arm around her. There was much he wanted to say. Her touch made him long for so much more. But he didn’t.

His left hand gently stroked the texture of her hair. “Thank you for your help with my injuries,” he said softly, realizing that he had taken it for granted earlier. Something about this tender moment made him realize the times he had treated her harshly. She had done well though. Holding her made him remember the last woman he had held. Shyra Lath. He had not seen her with Chron, but there was little doubt she was pulling the enforcer’s strings. She had it out for Brandon and he knew she was relentless.

 

[haremfaery]

Rhavana had thought she was relaxed, but Tarean stroking his hair relaxed her even more. She melted into his embrace then rolled in his arms to look at his face not caring about his nakedness.

"It was the very least I could do after you rescued me. If anything happened to you ..." She couldn't complete her thought. It was obvious, if anything happened to Tarean, she would be dead. There was no way she could fend for herself in this forest. She just looked into his eyes at a loss for words.