Captured by the Elves Ch. 09

I was carried through the water. A passenger in all of its aquatic torment. I knew that I was still destined to die, yet...my head broke the surface and I took a ragged, water-logged breath. It was brief and violent, but a moment later I took another. And another. I was a doll being tossed hither and to throughout the turbulent terror of the water.

Then something from without grabbed me with a strong force. It pulled at me with more power than I thought possible. I was forcibly yanked away from my watery doom. The unrelenting forced hurled me onto the shore where I was forced to deal with the harshness of needing to breathe and the air suddenly trying to get back into my ears. I blinked my eyes several times uncertain of anything that I had seen. Then my eyes finally settled on her: my savior. Teagan, I thought, seeing the bright blonde hair. Why would she be the one saving me? That made no sense. Unless she meant to look down upon me again in some way. Was all of this just part of some ploy to do so?

My savior rolled my on my side and forced the water from my lungs. As I came to my senses, I began to see that she was a little too blonde to be Teagan. No, this elf girl was slighter, a more average form compared to the goddess that was Tegan. Shorter. Smaller.

I knew her then.

"Katania? Is that you?"

"Shut up," said Katania. She stood and yanked me up painfully to my feet so soon that I nearly toppled over. "We have to move," she said, and dragged me away with her.

I tried to stop her from dragging me away. Ericka had to be somewhere. I tried to go back to the river to look, but Katania pulled me away. I didn't have the strength to resist her. There was no visible sign of Ericka, and I desperately tried to convince myself that she had made it out.

Finally, we found a moment to stop--to let out heartbeats settle a bit. Was any of what happened planned or purely madness?

I latched on to Katania. "What's going on? You haven't been attacking?"

She looked stricken. "We have," she said. "You don't understand. By getting caught you've doomed us all. Landa is obsessed with getting you back and Braith is stirring dissent that she isn't doing enough. Teagan says that you've made us weak and I believe her."

"I didn't want to get caught. They hurt me. I couldn't escape."

"Some say that," she agreed. "Others think that you wanted to go back to the humans. This raid was supposed to prove it either way. But I doubt that it could. And now I'm stuck with you."

I brushed at my water-soaked hair. "Stuck with me?"

"Be honest, Kiari," she said. "It might be that our time here is up now. We could go north or south. We can follow the other elves back to their lands to be safer. But our home here is done. You caused this."

"No. I didn't. There's a human lord here that is looking for his son. That's what this is about. Not me."

"I don't know anything about that," she said. "You and Raina were the last ones to arrive. It must've been you."

I considered arguing. I wanted to, but part of me knew that it would be pointless. Katania believed what she believed and what she believed somehow aligned itself with the doubts that some of the others still had about Raina and myself.

"We need to find Ericka and then get back."

"Who's Ericka?"

"The girl that was with me." I looked around again. Desperately seeking some sign.

Katania thought for a moment. "Was someone else captured? One of the northern girls?"

"It's complicated. We just need to find her."

After several minutes I still hadn't found Ericka. The roar of the river dominated all.

"We need to leave," said Katania. "The humans will be one us soon."

I looked at the pale blonde girl and thought I caught sight of some malady on her.

"Are you well?"

Katania huffed. "I'm fine," she said. "I should be concerned about you, I guess. Braith and Landa are riling everyone up about 'poor Kiari'. Like you're fragile or something. Some of us are happy to defend our home, but to come out here on some sort of suicide mission for you...I'm...I'm sorry." She looked down. "I thought that if I could accomplish this then Teagan would want me again. I've always disappointed her."

"Did Teagan convert you?"

She nodded, and said: "Being converted by Teagan is an honor. I've never been worthy of it, but I wanted to be. I needed to be."

"Well, I think that Raina left her, so you have your chance."

Katania looked at me, and then dismissed me with a gesture. "You don't get it. Teagan isn't the sort to settle. Raina was better than me, and now she'll want someone better than her. And it's still you causing these problems. Raina is obsessed with you. Everyone is."

I'd never thought about it that way. My entrance into this community had a strange and all-encompassing impact on these women. It probably hadn't been for the better.

"I'm sorry," I told her. "When I spoke to the human lord, I was reminded of the fact that the old 'me' was supposed to have died out there in the forest. I like being 'Kiari', but maybe she shouldn't exist."

Katania regarded me with sudden dismay, which stood out because Katania had a natural look of disapproval that never left her face. "I didn't mean to..." She said, "You're not a bad person. These are just hard times."

We traveled far down the river. I kept looking out for Ericka, but to no avail. The sun was already going down, and I could feel a chill rising in the air. I remembered thinking that the people in this region didn't know what cold was, and in part that was true. I doubted that this area ever saw snow or blizzards, but outside the safety of the settlement I was definitely able to feel the cold. Katania felt it too. She was of average build, but the clothes that she wore were soaked through. Still, she had more than I did.

"We won't make it back tonight," she said. "We'll have to camp until first light. Let's get away from the open."

She led me away from the water deep into the trees, and settled on a spot some fifty yards from the river. A tangled mess of inter-woven branches that she and I spent time making it even more camouflaged by standing up shrubs and leafy branches to obscure a little nook at the base. We cleared a small spot, and Katania lay her white dirty white cloak on the ground as a blanket.

"This is a good spot," she said. "We'll be hidden, but close enough to watch the river. The humans are likely to follow it down in their pursuit. We'll let them pass us. Are you cold?"

I nodded.

"We can't have a fire," she said. "That's what they'll be looking for."

Katania approached me and took my hand. "We'll keep each other warm." She smiled.

I agreed. She had I had been intimate before in the bathhouse, so it didn't have to be any more awkward that we made it. The two of us huddled together down on the cloak. Our branch shelter kept out the greater part of the wind and the leaves had a peppery smell that I found appealing for some reason.

The warmth of Katania's body was a welcome retreat from the chill. I thought about how odd it was to see her out of the settlement. The woman that I had known had been a creature of routines. She took her shifts guarding the walls at night, came into the bathhouse to soak in water and have me please her. Then she took a meal and retreated to sleep. I knew this because I'd been part of the routine for days at a time.

Katania held me tighter. She said, "You know...I have missed you. It's been a while since we were together, hasn't it?"

"There's a lot going on right now. It's hard to keep up with routines."

"Don't I know it! By the way, Kiari, I didn't forget about what you did to me."

"What do you mean?"

"You escaped. Dug under the walls like some kind of animal. Yanitza kept her word and didn't tell anyone, but do you know what I'll eventually owe her for that?"

I can only imagine, I thought. Then said, "She made me pay for it as well, I assure you."

"Oh, I know. She bragged about it later. Everyone is obsessed with you. We'll see if any of the new girls stand out."

"I converted someone," I said. I didn't know why I suddenly confessed, but I did it anyway.

Katania stared at me. "Seriously? Wow. I haven't done it. Teagan always wants her converts to be doing so. I must have disappointed her in that way too. If only I had converted you."

Her hand had already slid between my legs.

In truth: back in the bathhouse, Katania had mostly wanted me to use my hands and mouth on her. She'd teased the idea of me penetrating her, but had not been as allowing as Yanitza. I truly had no idea where my relationship with her was leading.

She said, "You know what would help me sleep better?"

"I have an idea."

Her mouth was against my ear then. Hot breath flowing down my neck.

Katania said, "Now that you're converting people like a big girl, do you want to fuck me?"

I almost laughed. With everything else going on I'd actually taken my mind off of sex for a moment. However, Katania had worked my cock to hardness so much that it was becoming obscene. Part of me wanted to remain reserved, but she was very intent, and it had been a while since I'd been with her. I looked into her blue eyes. She still had something of that constant disapproving look on her, but it had softened with some of her want. I found myself wanting to make her smile more.             

Well, there was nothing else to do. I knew that I shouldn't have, but it was difficult to resist, and desperate times didn't lend themselves to prudence.

My lips found Katania's, and I knew immediately that she was receptive. I went to work undoing her vests and the straps of her outfit. In moments I had access to her plump breasts. They were not as big as my own, but well-formed. Her nipples were tiny and the lightest of pinks. Hard when I took them in my mouth.

After continuing for a few moments, the two of us were completely naked and writhing together atop Katania's cloak. Our breasts mashed into each other, as I rubbed our erect cocks together--precum from each of us mixing and joining us. Feeling her rigidness against my own was something so exciting that it was hard to contain myself from cumming right there.

It was Katania who forced me to stop. She separated our cocks, and then flopped down on her back--pulling up her legs toward her shoulders and offering herself to me with the kind of willingness that is impossible to resist. I ran my thumb along the firm curved buns of her ass, and gently tested it into the hole. She was as hot and tight as I could imagine.

"I want you," said Katania. "I want you inside of me."

Our combined pre-cum did something to lubricate my cock, but I also spit into my hand and wormed my finger into Katania's hot tunnel--feeling her work to relax at my intrusion. After a time, I believed that she was sufficiently open. I spit again and coated my slick, hard cock. Then with care, I guided it into the cup of Katania's asshole, and sank myself gently into her depths. Katania wrapped her legs around my back--taking me into her like a trap. I was more than happy to fall prey to her. To be a part of her hot body.

I kept pumping into her dutifully. While I did so, my hand found Katania's cock and caressed it. Pumping it in time to my thrusts. All my memories of manipulating her body came back to me. I was old friends with her cock. Previously, my mouth had sucked up and down its length. I'd swallowed Katania's hot cum on more than one occasion. Her cock responded to me as well as I worked it. The hot spunk within her balls would be erupting into my hand soon.

We were totally alone within our little hiding spot in the forest. No one knew we were there, and no one bothered us. If things were different then I suppose that I could've stayed there fucking her tight ass forever. It wouldn't have been the worst of fates that I could imagine.

And yet...

I felt guilty. I couldn't fathom why I should feel such a thing. How many different people had I been intimate with in recent memory? I kept fucking Katania despite my growing doubts. Eventually, I sped up just to try and get it over with. Finally, my balls tingled--my ass clenched, and a torrent of cum passed from me into Katania's welcoming ass. Her own orgasm arrived and covered my pumping hand in her hot seed. We just stayed there for a while--clinging to each other. Our breathing heavy. Spent and aching cocks slowly settling down from their exertion.

Finally, I pulled away from her and we lied down there in silence. As good as it was, it didn't take long for us both to feel the awkwardness of the situation. We spent the rest of the night in silence.

The next morning was cold, especially when we separated. We both waited with a kind of nervous optimism. Wondering how good our hiding place was, and if we were to be found would it be by friendly parties. Katania wanted to start off right away, but I wanted to wait. I desperately wanted to find Ericka, even after Katania had reminded me several times that it was so unlikely and that I had to move on. There was no way that I could just abandon her. It was while we waited that Katania thought to bring up the night before.

"Did you not enjoy it?" she asked.

"Do we need to talk about this?"

"Perhaps not, but if we're going to wait around there isn't much else to do."

Finally, I relented. "Too much," I said. "I shouldn't have done it."

"Now you sound like Teagan."

"I find that hard to believe. I'm nothing like her."

"Sometimes unlike things can be similar. Even Saint Albus said that."

"Perhaps, but..."

Where had a I heard about Saint Albus? I mean: I'd heard of the historical figure, but recently...

Collins...

I turned over to look at Katania. No, I thought. This brightly blonde creature couldn't be related to that lord. However, the eyes. Maybe a brighter blue than the lords, but close. The hair though. Katania's hair was an unearthly blonde. More intense than Teagan's.

"What're you looking at?" she asked me.

"Nothing."

I saw it. Tucked into the thick of her hair were dark roots. They looked brown to me. I remembered from my parents' business that there were ways to color the hair. It was possible. I leaned forward to kiss her for some reason. And it struck me. She literally bumped me in the face with her nose. We both shared a laugh, but then I took a moment to look at that nose. A chill took me. And it wasn't the cold of the morning. Katania's nose may have changed slightly during her conversion, but I recognized the aquiline features that the women in many of the western kingdoms called "the eagle like nose of the nobility". This whole time I'd been wondering how I would ever find this lost person and she literally bumped faces with me.

I said, "When were you converted, Katania?"

"It was a long time ago. I don't remember anything about my old life."

I took her hands in mine. "Please," I said. "This is about everyone. Not just us."

"I don't remember." Then she realized what I was insinuating. "It's not me," she said.

"You mentioned Saint Albus. So did Lord Collins. I imagine that he quoted the saint often in his house. And your hair, your eyes, your nose."

This angered her. "I say this once more: it's not me. I would remember such a thing. Leave it alone."

I agreed to drop it for the moment. I didn't seem to be accomplishing anything by probing even as likely as I believe it. Katania suddenly reacted to seeing something, and I turned to see it as well. Ericka cautiously approached us.

I hobbled over to her, and she embraced me with a big hug.

"I thought that you drowned," she said. "I went up and down the river looking for you."

"I'm sorry. I tried looking for you, but Katania's been insistent that we have to move."

Ericka made a quick appraisal of Katania and smiled at me. "I didn't know that you liked blondes. You're not trying to make me jealous, are you?"

"No. It's not that..."

Katania approached and offered Ericka a curt nod. "You must be the new girl. Do you understand what's happening right now?"

Ericka said, "Yes, I do. Kiari and I were actually doing quite well before you girls went crazy with the arrows."

"You were locked in a cage."

"And you shot loosed arrows at us. Kiari could've been killed."

"There was a plan and there still is. You're not in a position to make decisions."

"Please stop," I said. "Let's just focus on getting home."

They agreed after some silence.

I told Ericka to scout ahead for us, and that Katania would help me catch up to her. Ericka did as I said, while Katania eyed me. I still wanted to talk to the blonde elf about my suspicions. Looking back on it, I'm pretty sure that she knew what I was going to do, but Katania relented, and she and I were left alone while Ericka disappeared again. She went farther ahead than we wished.

Katania said, "I don't like this. We don't know what state her mind is. She just changed."

"It's been days, and she's been very able around me."

"Are you a good judge though? You work in a bathhouse, Kiari."

"I know people. I always have."

"I have full confidence in you."

The look on her face. No matter what she looked displeased. As she looked away, I was reminded of her nose. I thought about Collins. It wasn't just the nose. The eyes. Certain angles on her cheeks. Her whole bearing. That which we thought was so different is more similar than we want to believe.

"I'm sorry that I wasn't being fair to you," I told her. "If the change was hard on you, then how could you possibly believe anything about an old life."

"Not this again. I told you. It's not me. You're concocting this fantasy as a way for you to believe that you can save us, but it's beyond that now. You need to accept that."

She was right. I was just a little fool. Braith knew it. If it had been Katania, and she didn't remember who she was, then who was I to change that? Had I not considered the benefit of forgetting it all? Gods, I did. She was lucky if it was true.

"You're right," I admitted. "I want things to be well again, but they likely won't. I'm sorry for that. I know what it's like to find a new home and a new life. It's not fair to take that from you. Maybe you're not even the one. Maybe Collins is just a sad man that can't let go and I'm just a desperate fool that believes she can resolve this horrible conflict when really all I'm good at is pleasing people with my body. I'm sorry."

It took me a while to notice at first, but Katania was crying. Then she said, "Why? Why would you do this to me?"

I was confused for a moment--being distracted by the torment of my own conscience, then I knew.

I said, "You lied to me. You remember all of it, don't you?"

She nodded painfully, then sank to the ground and hugged herself.

I continued, "I thought that I envied you or maybe not. We all came from somewhere else and we all were someone else, but some of us forget that. And then some don't."

"I wanted to forget," she said. "I've prayed for it. I just want to be 'Katania', but I can't even have that anymore."

"You didn't mention to Teagan who you were?"

"Of course, I did. The thought of converting a great lord's son only encouraged her. Then I changed and that was that. She grew bored and impatient with me."

"What do you mean?"

"I wasn't as strong or as fierce as she wanted. The change was hard on me. You know what it's like. I tried to be like her. I still do. I even dye my hair to try and look like her, but nothing is ever good enough. I have nothing. I'm not good at things. I'm just 'clumsy Katania'. I even let you escape that time. Teagan forgets none of this. She got bored with me. She moved on and began looking for others."

And found Brendan, I thought. But even that didn't work out.

Katania said, "You're not going to tell people, are you?"