Finding Jessie

Yes, I realize that this could go in several categories. I considered Non-Human, Anal, SciFi/Fantasy, Exhibitionism/Voyeur, and First Time but chose Romance because ultimately both parts of this story are about the hero's relationship with his soul mates. Please enjoy.

As a cultural note: To shorten the name of a female elf is indicative of great intimacy. To shorten the name of a male elf is indicative of either the speaker being in a position of greater power or is meant as an insult, usually both.

Lauflorian (The hero) is pronounced "Lah-flo-wren"

Jeselaflia (A heroine) is pronounced "Jeh-cell-ah-Flee-yuh"

Lemminkainen (The antagonist) is pronounced "Lee-min-Kay-nin"

Finding Jessie

Story written by R.C.PeterGabriel. All rights reserved.

There I was, bored enough with life that I was actually considering allowing myself to sleep. Now, I realize that you might not think sleeping is a big deal, but for me it is. You see I'm not from this world. As a matter of fact, I'm not human either. Oh, I have little trouble passing myself off as one of you. At least as long as I keep my ears covered, and I'm careful not to allow my eyes to shift while walking from an area with one level of illumination to another. You see I was born of Arda, or Silvan as it's known to you.

You humans would call me an elf, we call ourselves Eldar. However, the truth is that I'm not really eldar anymore either. Countless millennia of adventure have honed my skills, my knowledge, and even altered my DNA. What I'm about to tell you is a closely guarded secret. If I hadn't accepted you as my next apprentice you would never hear of this. You see because of these events, I became as superior to you humans, as you are to those little white mice you all seem so fond of experimenting on.

Now don't get me wrong, I like humans well enough. I'm not like my parents. I'm quite sure you would consider them xenophobic. Admittedly they were very aloof, to say the least. Separatists, that jealously guarded knowledge gained over a dozen of your lifetimes, while having chosen to live in fear of the chaos that surrounds your impatient and short-lived species. The thought that you would discover portal magic is still one of Silvan's greatest concerns. Personally, I believe it would serve to relieve my boredom. Most eldar could use a little excitement.

Alas, most human worlds are no closer to re-discovering real magic of any kind, than I am to dying from old age. You see, unlike the rest of my race, I am very nearly immortal. I don't age. Now I know that you might think that having eternal youth would be fantastic. I can assure you, for someone such as yourself, it wouldn't be all it's imagined to be. I have watched loved ones grow old, die and be reborn countless times. Well, at least my elven loved ones anyway. You humans die once, then move past the veil. Before you ask, yes, I could describe what lies beyond, but why ruin the mystery? So, this whole immortality thing is... well, let's just say it has good points and bad. Okay, I will admit that for me, it has gotten better.

Anyway, as I was saying, sleep is a big deal to elves. We don't just rest or dream while we sleep, because our consciousness literally travels to another realm. It's almost like living two separate lives, but not quite. While asleep, an elf is always aware that we are in the 'dream world' because we can communicate with others who are also asleep and even those who are between lives. The young grow in wisdom rapidly this way. The problem is that physics and magic are unreliable there. Even I, with all of my considerable powers, could, in theory, die there.

Let's just say that perhaps someone had made an enemy and that the enemy or enemies were still between lives, the outcome of an altercation would not be as predictable as it is in the physical realms. Let's also assume that I've made more than a few enemies who would most definitely like to see me pass from my current incarnation. That being said, even the thought of allowing myself to sleep is a very big deal. Even if the reason for traveling to the 'dream realm' might yield the knowledge I most desperately wanted.

What I wanted to know was the location of my other half. The being that makes my existence worth existing. My Hîr Fêa. You would call her my 'soul mate'. However, that expression, vastly overused by you humans, falls far short of the mark as a description of what Jeselaflia means to me. Her spirit is quite literally the other half of my spirit!

When the gods chose to bring life to Arda and forged the elves, they did so making each of us as two beings. One male and one female, two beings with one spirit. Without Jeselaflia I wouldn't just simply die, but I could never again be reborn because there wouldn't be a whole spirit to reincarnate! Death would mean that I would literally no longer exist. This doesn't however preclude an elf from being born into a time while our other half remains between incarnations, as long as both halves exist somewhere. That being said there are no human words to describe the purity and completeness of the love an elf has for his Hîr Fêa or 'soul mate'. The closest divine word is 'Agapé' but, even Agapé only describes one's love for others.

As for my other half, it had been nearly nine hundred years since Jeselaflia left me the last time. Nine hundred years since I felt the joy of seeing her. Nine hundred years without speaking to her, touching her... making love to her. I needed to know why she hadn't been reborn. I missed her beyond words. My spirit ached to be near her again.

However, just so you know, missing my 'soul mate' didn't mean that I went without sex, nor the occasional long-term relationship. Finding a willing young maiden to briefly distract me from my grief, was simple. Seducing women, especially human women, is so easy I never resort to magic. I especially enjoy seducing women away from their husbands. The more obvious it is that the couple is in love, the greater the thrill when she gives in to her desires. I suppose this particular hobby, is what brought my thoughts of sleep to an end. As it turns out, it was also the reason it had been almost nine hundred years since I had last set eyes on my beloved Jeselaflia...

I was standing in my office looking out its glass wall. Somewhere fifteen feet below me on the packed dance floor was the lucky woman that would soon feel the benefit of my ministrations. Or so I thought. As I absentmindedly surveyed the crowd of undulating bodies, in their various Halloween regalia, I sensed not one but two portals opening into this world. One in the alley a half block up and across the street from my club. The other surprisingly enough was in my outer office.

I wasn't particularly concerned as I knew who had opened both portals. If you know what to 'feel' for, you can pick up a caster's individual magical essence. In this case, I was more than familiar with this particular essence. Although opening two portals simultaneously was a bright, neon sign emblazoned with all capitals, "Look at me, I've learned something since I left my apprenticeship to you!" The fact that my former apprentice had ported into my outer office was a desperate attempt to camouflage the second portal. Subterfuge had never been one of Lemminkainen's strongest attributes.

With mild annoyance, I felt the two bouncers posted in my outer office, being flung through the portal just prior to its closing. I hardly needed them for physical protection, but they were handy for keeping the overly imbibed from doing something inconvenient.

A few moments later, there came a quick pair of raps at my door just prior to its opening. While continuing to survey the crowd below me I acknowledged the entry. "Kain, was it really necessary to send the humans to an entirely different world?" Turning around to view my former apprentice, I continued. "They're going to need therapy."

"Lauflorian, don't give me that ... what is it your humans say... 'bullshit'? You know as well as I do that you'll retrieve them and change their memories to whatever entertains you at the time." I waited, wondering how far along this path of disrespect he would travel. It took him several minutes of uncertainty before he took a knee, then continued. "I apologize for my rude entry and crass language. I came here because I need to hire you."

Now, I was intrigued. "You apprenticed with me for one hundred and six years, Lemminkainen. Who do you want dead that you can't kill yourself?"

He slowly raised his head and met my eyes. "Me."

That was a mistake. Kain never could hide things from me. I would have felt his duplicity without meeting his eyes, but having done so, I knew without a doubt that he was trying to play me. Normally, I would have simply extracted his thoughts, but as I said before, I was bored. I decided to play along and do things the hard way. (When I say 'the hard way' what I really mean is 'the fun way').

"You're over seventeen hundred Lemminkainen. Even with magic having extended your life you will pass soon enough. Why bother paying me?"

"You tricked me into casting the life extension spell. I now know that instead of simply passing, my life force will slowly bleed away. It will take a century at least to die and once the process begins I will be enfeebled. It will be intolerable!"

"It was punishment for breaking my scrying bowl," I replied with a shrug.

"Lauflorian, have you ever considered that your punishing me for every slight, might have been why I was so nervous that I dropped the bowl?"

"I taught you to endure!" I said with more than a hint of disgust. "I taught you physical arts, stealth, and how to cast while under duress! I taught you to kill effortlessly! I taught you to manipulate and control governments! I gave you control of your own planet, even though you never deserved it! And finally, it would seem, the lesson on researching your spells completely before you cast them has apparently been learned!" I sighed, before continuing.

"Why should I remove the value from that lesson, when you could carry its value into your next life? At the very least you could pass it along to the sleeping. If I take your contract, you would never remember it well enough to pass it on, and you certainly wouldn't remember it in your next life! A slow death would be of greater benefit!

I turned back to the crowd. This seemed to upset my guest. I felt a definite increase in tension pouring from him. Even his scent spoke of fear. Something was about to happen that he didn't want me to see.

"Lauflorian, please! You have to kill me!" My former apprentice shouted at me out of obvious desperation. Something he had never done before.

Then it happened, something I never could have guessed. How was this even possible? As I watched, Jeselaflia, emerged from the hall leading from the coat room! I was totally overawed! My spirit simultaneously soared and knew fear for the first time ... ever.

There she was, less than two hundred feet from me, and yet I couldn't sense her as being any different from anyone else! Other than the fact that she was an elf, that is. She was boldly hiding her species within the sea of Halloween costumes as she moved to the bar. Working the room as if she owned it. She nearly floated her Five foot, one inch across the floor on beautifully toned legs. Every eye was drawn to her slender build, luscious curves, flawless skin, long neck, and kissable lips. Her slanted luminescent green eyes drew attention to her delicately pointed ears. Ears that were on full display, as her light brown, bejeweled, and loosely curled trusses flowed behind them. Most of her hair spilled down to the small of her back, while a few strategically aligned tendrils strayed forward of her naked shoulders, drawing the eye to her perfect breasts.

The gown was of Silvan design, its forest-colored gossamer layers moving,

accentuating, teasing, while hinting at an imminent malfunction. The thigh-length dress screamed sexuality. However, it paled in comparison to the woman wearing it. Everyone was hoping to catch a glimpse of the pure femininity hidden beneath. She was mesmerizing anyone lucky enough to see her pass by. The sexiest part was that she was completely oblivious to the attention she was drawing. Truth be told, she's as shy and humble as anyone I've ever met. Regardless of her awareness, many a boyfriend had to be smacked by their dates in order to regain lost attention. Jealousy and lust permeated the room within minutes. What terrified me, however, was that something was blocking my bond with her!

I knew Lemminkainen was somehow responsible. I also knew that if I reacted emotionally, something devastatingly bad would happen. So, I tore my eyes from the single most important thing in my life and slowly turned to face my opponent. He knew that I had seen her and even though a three-thousand-pound solid marble desk stood between us, he took a reflexive step back before regaining control. He knew the ornately carved desk would be of no consequence.

"That wasn't the response of someone wanting to die, Kain. You brought her here. You know why I can't feel my bond with her. You have just one chance to tell me what's going on."

After swallowing audibly, he nodded an assent before beginning his tale. "Lauflorian, please. I didn't expect her to gain entry so quickly. The lines outside are around the corner. It should have been at least an hour's wait to get in. You should have killed me by then, and the spell would have been broken. You never would have known it had ever been on her. You would have felt her, and ran to her and been happy again. You can still break the spell. Just kill me. That way I don't have to endure the torturous death you had planned for me and you get Jessie back."

My anger flared instantly! I was greatly tempted to turn him inside out. Instead, I strode forward through the spot my desk had stood as it fled to the side of the room with a flick of my wrist. "You will NEVER speak of her in such familiar terms again. If you do I promise to grant you immortality and you will spend it as my torture test subject!"

I closed my eyes, reminding myself that for some reason he wanted me to kill him. I calmed myself and then continued. "You're telling me that you put a spell on Jeselaflia? MY Jeselaflia, as a contingency so that I would give you a quick death instead of the one you brought upon yourself for being reckless?"

"Yes." He stated with surprising fortitude. "If you killed me, then no harm would have come to either of you. If not, I'd have the leverage I needed to convince you. Unfortunately, she was admitted before expected."

I laughed humorlessly. "Again, you disappoint. If you had studied this world ... at all, you would have realized that dance clubs like mine, all fast track the comeliest women in first."

Kain's shoulders slumped with a sigh, his eye dropping to the floor as a child being chastised by a parent. He was putting on a good show. His body showed regret, but his energy sparked with hope. His duplicity, was obvious.

While shaking his head in disbelief, he said "You continue to teach, even though you despise me. Why do you bother? Why not just accept the contract and be rid of me?"

"I don't despise you Lemminkainen. I find you reckless, undisciplined ... disappointing. Why do you think I let you run Velkshtrum? Its people are unruly, and it has no unique resources. You can't break it as you did with my bowl!"

He was right about one thing though, I needed to be done with him. Jeselaflia is far too important to be playing games. "You've used your one chance," I declaired. In the next instant, I invaded his mind.

(Yeah, yeah, I know, it was rude.) He had several protection spells in place, but they were all spells I had taught him. (I always include subtle nuances into the spells I teach, that allow me to overcome their use.) I shattered them before he realized I was attempting entry. That's not to say he didn't notice. The sensation of having that type of spell broken against your will is akin to being dropped whole into one of those things you use to make french fries. The scream was ... well ... lengthy. It continued for several minutes after I had left his mind.

Afterward, I was grateful for those few minutes, because I had been simply standing there in total stunned helplessness. Lemminkainen could have killed me with a spoon! I had my answer, but what he had done was not only forbidden, it was unthinkable! I had WAY underestimated my former apprentice's ability to ... (I'm using an English expression here because there isn't an adequate Elven expletive.) ... Fuck Up! He had fucked up on an eternal scale! Because I knew the truth, he was lost, done, finished!

I honestly didn't care that he had failed to completely research the spells he'd used on Jeselaflia, thereby consigning himself to non-existence. What I cared about was that he just may have taken Jeselaflia and myself along with him! Not to mention his 'soul mate' Megyenna!

The situation as gleaned from "Lemminkainen the un-wise" was that he had used my notes to gain entry into the restricted, (as in "absolutely no one is allowed ...Ever") archive on Silvan, where the ancient Majicks were kept. (The few that had not been destroyed for the safety of life itself.) Some are spells so immensely complicated or dangerous to cast that no one would think of trying. Others are surprisingly simple but forbidden because they are beyond depraved in their function. The spell stolen by Lemminkainen was one of the latter.

The "Binding" spell was used by our creators in combination with several "Creation" spells to bind the halves of our spirits together forming a whole. Doesn't sound too bad, does it? I myself had a copy, (The reason Kain knew of the spell and the reason he was able to get into the archive) because I had wondered if it were possible to have more than one "Soul mate". I did say "wondered", I had no intention of belittling my love for Jeselaflia. Anyway, the spell, like I said is simple by itself. The problem lies with the function of ancient Majicks themselves.

The biggest difference between magic and Majick is that with Majick, every aspect must be voluntary! Binding to halves of a spirit is easy because both halves want to be whole. However, casting that spell on someone who already has a whole spirit, won't want to break their original bond to form a new one. The spell will only create the illusion of a bond.

Then the complications set in. If both people pass while believing they are bonded then the voluntary aspect of the spell is retroactively filled as if the new bond was there all along but leaving the original partners without a "soul mate". The original bond is broken because half of the original Majick bond is no longer voluntary. (And no, you can't just get angry and divorce your "soul mate", because no Eldar could possibly conceive of being separated.)

So, by casting the Binding on Jeselaflia, Lemminkainen had severed his own mating to Megyenna. (Problem for another day). Kain wasn't aware that he had possibly sentenced the four of us to extinction. He believed he was stealing my "soul mate", depriving me of mine, while gaining a second for himself, knowing full well I would eventually become extinct.

This whole thing was an attempt at revenge, for my having seduced Megyenna. And yes, I was punishing him again. And yes, I knew he had been scrying on us when I 'owned her'. Sadistically, I had her yelling about how much better a lover I was, and begging me to keep her forever if only I would promise to never stop fucking her. (I did say I liked to do that kind of thing, didn't I? You might also want to remember the theoretical possibilities of making enemies ... )

Anyway, to further complicate things Kain cast a "Proof Against Detection" and a "Fidelity" spell on Jeselaflia as well. The proof against detection to hide her from me. He'd had her hidden away since before she was reborn, even slowing the rebirth process until he thought he was ready. The Fidelity spell, I actually have to give Lemminkainen begrudging respect for. It only works on those you're already in a meaningful relationship with, and the illusion of the Binding along with the fact that he raised her this incarnation, would more than qualify. What it does is greatly intensify your desire to remain faithful, and if you do stray it causes an immediate and permanent, intense hatred for whoever caused you to be unfaithful. If I had killed Kain, causing the proof against detection spell to break, I would have gone straight to Jeselaflia. She would have felt our bond, and when we made love the first time, she would have hated me until she died, thus breaking the old Binding and completing the new Binding spell with Kain. He would still have lost Megyenna but had Jeselaflia instead.