Captured by the Elves Ch. 12

I laughed. If I made my own elf settlement, we could build a lumber mill and see the fine wood all over. We would pretend to just be a lonely cabal of normal elves, and if we sold our wares at a fair price no one would bother us.

I followed the ruined wall around the perimeter. The walls were different than the ones back home. They were still a mix of earth and wood, but among these there was also stone. I used the lance to pick at one. It wasn't just stone. A broken shell covered most of the wall. Something that looked remarkably like plaster. I didn't expect to see such a thing so far from civilization. The wall was also thicker at the base than I expected and digging into the dirt I saw what looked like the remains of iron stakes that had supported it. These walls had once been proud and substantial. Walls like these belonged in a human city.

My curiosity was piqued, and I couldn't help but leave the walls for a moment to examine the remains of one of the larger buildings. Its walls had been plastered as well. And amidst its rubble I saw something that glinted in the sun. I carefully touched it, and then cleaned it with some of my spit. It had once been a glass window. That was a sign of wealth and sophistication that had no place out here. I followed this tract of buildings farther down the wall, and eventually I saw something that I did truly know. A portion of a building was so like the bathhouse that belonged to Braith. So much so that I was convinced that it was the same makers. I had to clear away some rubble, and then I found a way down.

I followed it.

It went deeper than I believed that it would. I had to let my eyes adjust to the lack of light. This was easier to do with my new elf eyes for which I was grateful. I found the ornate tile work like I suspected. There was even evidence of the old baths and the ovens to heat the water. It was on a wall in the back where I found something remarkable. It was a fresco done along with the tile. I had to dust it off carefully for some time, but I saw it. I expected simple cave paintings, but these were clear. It was not elves that it showed though. It was humans to the best of my interpretation. Humans at various activities: living, working, eating, and of course in various acts of love. Then mixed in there were other figures. Tall with pointed ears. Breasts and prominent cocks. One of them could've been the mighty Teagan in a different age. In the progression of the fresco, an elf had sex with a human man and then there were two elves. The process continued into a group of them were present in the painting.

The humans and the elves were then depicted together. The elves given a place of honor at a feast or some other celebration. The story depicted continued for some time, but both peoples were still represented. I had some immediate thoughts about it, but wasn't sure what to believe.

I decided to go check on Katania. I climbed up out of the ruined bathhouse, and was about to go back, when I got an idea. I did my very best to imagine the bathhouse as it once was. It was larger than Braith's, but the design was so similar. Once I had the entrance firmly in my mind. I struggled to reach back and think about the time that Braith had first taken me to the great tree. I went in that direction. I still couldn't see any great tree, but I decided to have a little faith and go for it.

There was a great deal of rubble for me to get passed, and then I made it out to where the forest was entering the settlement. After pushing through the brush, I could see blue in the distance. It wasn't the color of the sky. The blue was one that I had come to know since being with the elves. It was the little blue flowers that grew on the great tree back home.

I had found it.

Once this great tree had been much larger than the one that Braith had first introduced me to. The one that Delphi was buried under. At some point in the untold number of years that had gone by, the tree had collapsed onto the forest floor. Yet the flowers still bloomed and it even looked that there was new life sprouting from its trunk. If there had been a spring beside it had dried up, but there it was.

I knelt before the tree. Looking around as if I expected to be greeted by fellow elves. Yet there was nothing and nobody else about. Only myself, the tree, and the sounds of the forest all around me.

Please, I prayed. I did as you said. I came all the way. Katania is here. Please, help me to save her.

I waited. Expecting the miracle to present itself to me. I looked around for another stem bearing another golden fruit to eat. But there was nothing.

I collapsed on the ground and cried. Defeated. What was I to do then?

When I lifted my eyes, I saw her.

I pinched and then slapped myself to make sure that it wasn't a dream. I had not eaten any mysterious fruit. The food and water that I'd partaken of had been what I carried there. No, I thought, I was awake. Desperate as ever.

An elf girl stood before me. Her form would appear solid for a moment and then relapse into that of a semi-translucent phantom. Somehow in my mind I knew that this woman was from another age. Too long ago to make sense to most people. She wore furs instead of silk. Her complexion was a deep copper much like that of the beautiful Taytha back home. She wore flowers in her hair of dark ringlets, and had bright paint on her cute boyish face. The girl was alluring to me and yet also so distant.

She said, "Why have you come here? This sanctuary has long been abandoned."

"You speak my language?"

"I'm borrowing it from your mind," she said. "Why are you here?"

"I was told to come here. A friend of mine is injured. I have to save her."

"Do you?"

"Yes. She's important."

"To you or someone else? You would save her life and then hand her over to uncertainty?"

"Others are involved. It's war and I want to save lives."

She looked at me. "You believe this to be true. Perhaps it is for good then."

"Who are you? Please don't tell me that you're 'Kiari'."

She smiled. "You are Kiari. I know this. I am..."

The ghost was silent for a moment. Then she said, "I am a memory. Perhaps an echo. Left behind by those that were here. I may have been a complete person at some point. I hope that she is at peace. My purpose here is to speak to those that come." She eyed me. "You know that there is a cost. I know that she told you. Tell me that you understand this. There is always a price."

"I understand."

She nodded. "So be it. Bring her to the tree," she said.

I hurried to retrieve Katania's litter. Not wanting to dwell on the price that the phantom was alluding to. I knew that it had to be a real thing, but I was so desperate to try and ignore that fact. My existence had been strangely blessed up until then. I didn't want to think about things being negative.

After minutes of struggle, I finally dragged Katania in her litter to the base of the half-destroyed tree. I unbundled Katania so the ghost could have a look at her.

The copper-skinned phantom studied the injured for a time. Finally, she said: "This girl is dying. Some wounds are healed, but others are deep inside, and no craft of yours will aid her. There are some people that would make peace with this. Death is a part of life. One way or another. Nothing and no one will live forever. You know this, Kiari."

There were tears in my eyes. Despite the magic of my transformation and all the amazing things that I had seen or endured there was an inescapable fact that remained: we were all mortal despite everything.

I said, "Yes, I know. Eventually it always happens, but does it have to be so soon?"

The phantom girl smiled. She was crying too. "She was right about you," the ghost said.

"Who is she?"

"I can't tell you, but one day you will tell yourself."

"Understanding all of this isn't getting any easier."

She smiled. "No. If you agree...you will go to a place different than here. Convince the broken girl to be yours. You will convert her again. She will be reborn as your convert. She will live, but for this, you will give up a portion of your life. You will not live as long as the other elves even if you do not fall to injury or illness. That is the price. Do you accept the chance?"

"Chance?"

"Yes. The girl in her mind is dying now. There is a peace in that. You will need to convince her."

"If I don't?"

"You will both die. Her right away. Perhaps you will linger for a time. To regret this venture."

"Not every appealing, is it?"

"I am sorry, Kiari. You ask for much, and miracles and magic are expensive."

I nodded grimly. "They are."

"Do you accept? I will ask this once."

"Yes. I accept."

It was done.

"So be it," said the phantom girl.

The color drained from the world around me. Then things began to lose their shape. Ultimately, the world that I knew melted into liquid before me. All that was familiar in shape was lost in a sudden maelstrom. I lost track of my vision—my reality, and then of myself. There was darkness. Then there was fire. All that had been burned away and once the smoke and ash were gone there was nothing until a light emerged. Small at first, but light is something that grows and gives birth to more than it was originally.

A new world emerged. Bathed in light, and then the light lessened. I woke in a forest, but I was not scared of this place. I knew it and it knew me. It was warm and safe.

I found myself suddenly taking my first steps upon its warm grass. My feet were bare. My whole body was bare for the goddess and all to see. I knew that in the past out of memory and the future out of time that this was how we were supposed to live: no secrets and no shame. All was honest before the goddess.

I knew not where I was going, but I had no choice but to walk. This was a peaceful place and at its center was a great tree like the one that we had been at, but this one wasn't broken like the other. It was true and whole. Growing into a theoretical sky of infinity.

I walked towards the tree. As I did, I felt something warm and snug wrap itself up upon me. It was the Healer's outfit that Braith made for me. The one that had been ruined by my captivity by the humans. It was back—if only in this dream. I felt at it. With every touch of my fingers, I thought of Braith. She would be able to do this. I had to be like her.

I found Katania sleeping in front of the tree. She looked as she did before her horrible injuries. Her blonde hair was a little unnatural for a real blonde as I'd learned, and there in her features I could imagine Henry Collins hidden in those details. Teagan had made her beautiful, but apparently her interest had waned. Even Landa had said that Katania had never been impressive. Yet, I remembered how this young woman had tried so valiantly to protect me from Lloyd, even when it must have been apparent that she had no chance against him.

I knelt next to Katania, and tried to shake her awake. Her body was warm and I could see that she was breathing. Just like a sleeping person.

"Please, wake up."

She barely stirred. Her eyelids fluttered. The eyes behind them moving rapidly.

"Wake up, Katania. Wake up, Henry Collins."

Katania's eyes opened. She sat up and looked at me. She said, "Why did you call me that?"

"I wanted you to wake up."

She pouted. "I didn't want to. I was having a good dream. Why would you ruin it for me?"

"It was just a dream."

"No, it wasn't," she said. "I was back home in the dream. My old home, I mean. "

"Tamwellon Castle."

"How did you know?"

"Your father told me that he was keeper of it."

"Yes. Years ago: our ancestor sheltered the king, at that time, from a rebellion. This ancestor was only a knight. The original lord of the castle and his sons died in the siege. Our ancestor protected the king with his own body and nearly died for it. The king made him a lord and the keeper of the castle and the town of Tamwellon as a reward. Our family has been well reputed ever since."

I nodded. I had to admit that it did sound rather impressive. I tried to think on the great exploits of my own family. It boiled down to some rather astute business decisions.

"That is a great and powerful thing among the nobles," I said. "My family had often tried quite hard to win the favor of such people."

"Were you noble?"

"No. My family are merchant class. We exist by having trade and getting along with everyone else."

"Sounds...difficult."

I laughed. Then I thought about how oddly similar it was to my job in the bathhouse. "It can be. Listen, Katania, you're not well."

"I just need some more sleep," she said. "I'll be fine."

"You're dying."

"No, I'm not. Are we back home? The tree looks different."

"I dragged you far from home. This is a place that belonged to our kind many years ago. Or at least this is some vision of that place. Those people are gone now, but there is power here. I can help you, but I need you to come with me. To be with me."

"I'm so tired, Kiari. Please, leave me be. I want to go back to my dream."

"You don't have to die," I told her. "Please. I can save you."

She looked at me, and I knew that she knew everything. "Why?" she asked. "Do you think that if you give me back to my father that this conflict will end? You're smarter than that. Too many have died now. My father has a responsibility to his army and commanders. That's why he couldn't come for me earlier. Every death his army suffers hurts the allied campaign. It's bigger than just us now."

It was a question that I had been trying to avoid and Katania was correct: simply giving her back wouldn't solve things. Lord Collins had said that he would take back his changed son, but those were just words. How could he react when he saw the she-elf that his son had become? How would my father react?

"You save my life," I told her. "Let me return the favor. Please."

She was crying. She said, "I've been nothing but a failure. Why would you do this for me?"

"Just let me do it."

She nodded, and I helped her stand up. I pulled Katania into an embrace, and then I planted my lips on hers. It was odd. The phantom had told me that his would be in a place different from the world that I knew, but Katania felt so warm and familiar to me. I remembered making love to her that time out in the forest after I'd escaped the humans. However, this time it would be different. It wasn't just lust.             

I pulled away and began undressing her. Katania helped me remove her cloak, her vests, and then her white silken panties. Clearly this was part of the dream. In real life Katania wore only a short tunic and bandages. What I saw was how Katania perceived herself: healthy and whole.

Her cock was healthy and quite hard already. I moved down to take it into my mouth. This was how I used to service Katania when she got off guard duty and went to the bathhouse. That was before I'd been converted. It was odd to think back to that time. Despite all that had changed though, I remembered. I knew how she liked it. How to tease her, work her up, and the timing that she liked. I knew how to please so many of the women in the community, but in that moment, I gave Katania my everything.

Her cock twitched in my mouth. I could taste her leaking pre-cum. I was driving her wild. She tried to get me to stop, but I ignored her pleas. I knew that she needed the release. It wasn't long after that her aching cock erupted into my mouth—filling it up with her hot noble seed. Pleasing nobleman's son would've been something my parents would've understood—though maybe not in this way.

Katania relaxed on the soft earth. She gently patted my head in appreciation for my efforts.

"I forgot how good you were at doing that," she said. "Gods, I miss my routine. The work was boring, but after it was done, I got to be with you."

I pulled away from her softening cock. I wiped my mouth off and swallowed her hot cum. I missed my routine as well. Life was so much simpler working in the bathhouse. No war. Not having to painfully drag a wounded person through a bizarre ancient forest while my knee was killing me.

It was better.

The mystery elf that had fucked me in front of the tree had been right: I was something of a slut. I couldn't really deny it. I didn't have much time to dwell upon the nature of myself before Katania was all over me. She pressed her lips hard against mine until it hurt. Katania was nigh ravenous for me. She tore off my little Healer's outfit off, which I was happy to be wearing again if only in a dream. However, my nostalgia didn't matter to her raw desire.

When she had me undressed, she explored my body. She was fascinated by my new tattoos, which had crossed over into the dream with me.

"Don't leave me," she said. "Please, don't leave me. I don't want to be alone again."

While I had to mark the desperation in her voice, I knew that I would be unable to deny her. There was a sadness in her blue eyes that sucked me in. I wasn't even sure if I'd ever had a plan for this, but it didn't matter now.

My silken panties didn't stay on much longer, and Katania was going after my growing cock. She took me in her mouth with much gusto. While she wasn't as practiced at oral pleasure as I was, but her determination to pleasure me more than made up for that. When my cock each near critical mass I urged her away.

"I need to take you," I said. "Will you let me?"

She nodded enthusiastically. "Please, I want you to."

Katania maneuvered herself on the ground. Getting on her back and scooting up to give me better access to her. I approached her—steadying my hands on her thighs. I had a strange notion suddenly. I thought about it clearly. I reach back with one hand, and my fingers found the cold alabaster jar on the ground. I realized that in this dream we were being given what we wanted, and so it made sense that suddenly it would be there. This dream would be what I wanted it to be because it was my sacrifice that was paying for it.

I dug my fingers into the jar—fishing out a great quantity of the salve. There was no such thing as too much. I worked my fingers into Katania's ass—feeling the intense heat of her. How could it be a dream when it all felt so real?

I wormed my fingers in Katania's ass for some time as she writhed beneath me. Her cock was already hard again, and I pumped it off and on with my other hand. Her entire sexual being was being manipulated by me and it felt so strange to be so powerful.

Eventually, I realized that Katania was as ready as she'd ever be. I had so much experience at being on the receiving end that I could recognize when the time was right. I rubbed the remainder of the slick salve onto my rigid cock. I was painfully ready as well. I guided my hard sex into Katania's welcoming hole. She enveloped me gratefully. Being inside of her once again was a delight. Even if it was only a dream.

I had to steady myself for a moment. Her interior was so hot—so...such a feeling I had so little encountered in my life. It was a little piece of Heaven being inside my lovely girl then. We shared something between our eyes that was no way to describe. A feeling. An impulse. A longing to be inside of someone else. How else can I describe it?

I fucked Katania like were desperately enjoying our last hours on earth. The feeling coming from my cock was like an exaltation granted by the gods.

Even in a dream I could only last for so long. The time had arrived. This was what we had come here for. It couldn't be squandered.

Katania knew what was happening before I had the chance to tell her. She said, "Kiari, give me your seed. It's what I want. Make me yours."

It was impossible to argue against encouragement like that. My stiff cock twitched within her hot, wet confines. I sent forth a torrent of molten seed deep into her. The pleasure of it was matched only by the feeling that I was being drained on some fundamental level. Like a portion of my life was leaving me.