Remember... Ch. 01

Mark looked at her. She looked back with pleading eyes. He sighed and gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "Alright, Amanda."

Once inside, Mark watched as she quickly striped off her clothes, leaving only a light shift and her panties before climbing into the bedroll. He took off his green coat and tossed an extra set of blankets on the ground to lie on.

The girl seemed restless, tossing and turning under her blanket. Sometimes, he swore he could hear her whimpering.

Poor girl. She must be terrified from her ordeal, he thought as he quickly drifted off to sleep. He didn't stay asleep for long, however.

"Sir..."a soft hand caressed his arm, and gently shook him. "Sir, please wake up."

Mark grumbled, and opened his eyes. It was dark in the tent, but he could tell Amanda was looking down at him.

"I... I need your help, Sir."

Mark pushed himself up on his elbows. "Yes, Amanda?"

"I need... I need you to..."she mumbled something that he couldn't quite make out.

"What?" Mark blinked a few times, trying to shake the grogginess. "Amanda, you should be sleeping."

"Would you..."She paused, then took a deep breath "Would-you-please-make-me-a-woman...?"

Mark shook his head, not quite sure if he heard right. "What did you say?"

"I need you to... copulate... with me," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Are you sure you're ok?" Mark asked in disbelief. The spell can't still be working, can it?

"I'm so... aroused. I've been trying to play with myself," she said the last part so quietly, "but I just can't... climax."

Mark found himself getting hard for the second time tonight. He was sitting now, facing her. She knelt on the bed roll, looking away. Her hands seem to be unconsciously caressing her thighs, pressing them together rhythmically.

"The Magus said that you should be alright, that your body should be able to purge the spell's effects."

She shook her head, "I'm only twenty four. My body can't clear spells that fast yet. I... I think they put seven charms on me. I'm burning up inside... So please, help me." One of her hands moved between her legs and began rubbing.

An ageless elf that was as young as he was. It was unbelievable. Mark just sat there, not knowing what to do.

Amanda took off her shift and pressed up against him, displaying her desires through the heat of her body. "Please Sir, I need you." She was bolder now and kissed his lips lightly, waking him from his reverie.

He held her head and kissed back. She whimpered as a wave of pleasure passed through her body. Her tongue touched his upper lips as he suckled on her lower. She was barely thinking now, reacting as her body told her to.

Mark undressed as fast as he could, trying to hold the kiss but he had to break off to pull his shirt over his head. When he looked at her again, she was staring between his legs, her eyes wide and attentive. She smiled and licked her lips.

She lay down on the bedroll, her hands next to her head, legs slightly spread and her eyes staring into his. "Be gentle," she whispered, biting her lower lip. Her eyes sparkled with lust and just a hint of worry.

With a nod, Mark lowered himself onto her. He closed his hands around her wrists, pinning them against the bedroll next to her head. She closed her eyes and moaned. He pressed the tip of his cock into her slick sheath, stopping at her maidenhood. He kissed her again and as their tongues caressed each other he pushed himself into her fully. She was incredibly tight. Amanda whimpered slightly, a hint of pain flashed across her face but as soon as it had arrived, it was gone, replaced by an expression of bliss. She opened her lust filled eyes and wrapped her long, toned legs around his waist. "More..."She gasped as she broke the kiss.

He began thrusting into her, slowly and evenly.

Almost immediately, she began moaning loudly. Her legs held him deep inside her, her pussy tightening rhythmically around his cock, her body tensing under him. "Oh!" She voiced her pleasures loudly. Perhaps too loudly for a camp site.

Mark had to quickly cover her mouth with his hand to muffle her. She didn't seem to care but continued to moan and spasm for another minute before she calmed and he took his hand off her mouth.

Amanda looked to the side, embarrassed. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be so loud. I --"

Mark chuckled. "It's alright. There's no man I know who wouldn't want others to know of his prowess in bed." Although he did hope the soldiers sleeping in the tents near him were very, very deep sleepers.

After waiting another minute for her to catch her breath, he held her wrists again and found that her free hand had not moved at all from the position he left her in.

He thrust into her, slowly at first then increasing the tempo. Her gasping, parted lips drew in Mark's. He darted his tongue into her mouth, teasing at hers while he caressed her lips with his. She moaned into his mouth, began to thrust back at him clumsily at first but slowly matching his pace. She stared back into his eyes and saw his desire for her.

He gasped in pleasure. She kissed him again.

They lost all sense of time as they thrust against each other, kissing every bit of exposed flesh that they could reach. Mark couldn't last very long in her tight virgin pussy and Amanda could sense it as he began to tense up. She was peaking too, knowing that at any moment the next thrust could push her over the edge.

"Going to cum..."Mark grunted. She didn't say anything but thrust back at him harder and faster when suddenly he felt her pussy tighten around his cock and her mouth opened in a silent scream. He kissed her, hard and rough, his tongue seeking out hers, forcing her to accept him. Almost immediately his body tensed as he unloaded deep within her.

Finally he collapsed on top of her, utterly spent. She slowly and stiffly unwrapped her legs from around his waist. They both gasped for breath, exhausted by their coupling.

"That was amazing," Amanda gasped. "I wish I could have done this earlier."

"Me too," Mark said, pulling himself out and rolling over to lie next to her. "I hope you feel better now."

"I feel great." She stretched her lithe body almost cat like then rolled on to her side and cuddled next to him. "But I'm tired."

"Good. You should have been sleeping a while ago."

She didn't reply but she closed her eyes and nodded. Mark pulled a blanket over them and wrapped an arm around her. Soon, they both fell asleep.

When Mark woke up the sun had already risen. He got up as fast as he could without disturbing the sleeping elf next to him. He got out of the tent as soon as he was presentable.

Outside, some of the men had already started packing their equipment for the next day's trek.

"Morning, Captain," Magus Keith greeted him. It seemed he was expecting him.

"Sorry, Magus, I was --"

"It's quite alright, considering what you did last night. I was actually afraid you wouldn't be awake for another hour or two," he paused. "I should apologize for missing the fact that she was only twenty four and not quite able to handle the rest of that spell last night."

"Wait... how do you know now?"

"I heard her say it. I... ah..."he appeared uncomfortable. "The detection spell I cast... I know everything that happens within the area of the spell."

Mark blinked, taken aback a little.

"I'm very sorry," Keith apologized quickly. "I really didn't mean to spy on your personal life, Captain, and I silenced the area around your tent as soon as I realized what was going on."

Mark coughed, suddenly feeling it a little hard to breathe. "Does anyone else know what happened?" he asked.

"I don't think so. I put up the Silence spell before anything happened so no one could hear it."

Mark sighed in relief. It wouldn't do to have the troops spread rumors of him doing anything with an elf once they had gotten to Mise. He has to be an example for the rest of his men.

"I do hope she's ok with it when she wakes, though," Mark frowned again. "Even though she was very... persuasive, she was still under the effects of that spell."

"She should be fine. It's not uncommon for elven girls her age to have had several partners by now. However, it would be best if you were to talk to her when she wakes."

"Yes, I'll do that. Why is she out here, anyway? There are a lot of questions I need to ask her when she wakes up." Mark nodded. "Alright, but now let me get a few men and I'll show you where she was attacked."

Apparently during the brief time between when the soldiers woke up and his belated rise from bed, everyone in the company of one hundred and twenty men heard that their Captain had brought back an elf girl the previous night. Mark tried to stifle the rumors before they started.

"Alright men, let me get this in your heads before I start hearing anything to the contrary. Yes, I did return with an elven lady who was attacked nearby last night. Yes, she is resting in my tent right now. No, there was no fucking in any way." A couple of the soldiers laughed. "And finally, her name is Amanda. You all will call her Lady or Miss Amanda and treat her with the utmost respect. After I come back, if I hear a complaint from her about any of you, I'm gonna make sure you'll be pissing out of a straw for the rest of your life. Do you understand me?"

There was only a resounding "Yes, Sir."

"Now I need twelve of you to come with me. There are four bodies that need to be buried over in the elves' camp, so bring a shovel."

The walk to the Elven camp site felt longer than his trek the previous night, but when they finally got there Mark explained what he had seen before he intervened. As Magus Keith examined the scene, Mark ordered his men to begin digging in the middle of the clearing. He then proceeded to seek out some necessities for Amanda. He found a water pouch and some rations. It turns out Amanda had a bag full of clothes and some very nice jewelry as well. Intricate elven earrings, bracelets, and rings, all in a small, velvet lined, finely crafted wooden box engraved with a dragon and a phoenix. It was of very fine elven craftsmanship: each scale of the dragon was a small piece of silver embedded in the wood, and each feather of the phoenix was a small piece of gold. A tiny sapphire and emerald made up their eyes. He threw everything in the bag.

"This is interesting," Magus Keith walked up to him, his examinations finished. "I have found a few answers but even more questions. The men in the red robes are rogue mages, three of them quite powerful and infamous too. I'm surprised that you were able to take down six of them."

Mark shrugged. "They were distracted. They were rather focused on Amanda at the time."

"Well, that brings me to another point. Her four guardians are wearing the armor of Elven Legionnaires." He pointed to the bodies that some of the men were burying in the shallow graves they had dug. "They're not cheap to hire and are usually hired to lead merchant convoys along with cheaper guards, not to guard a single person. This seems to indicate that Miss Amanda's family is of some status in their own right. Daughter of a wealthy trader, perhaps?

"This combination of events does seem very odd, though. Why would anyone send their daughter through the wilds of the Carrou Forest? There are roads that would make their travels twice as fast and it would be unlikely that any bandits they might face would be of any match for her guardians." Keith paced back and forth but always keeping an eye on Mark.

"Back to the rogue mages, McCreedy was an infamous Pyromancer. I doubt I would last a minute against him alone. He has a knife through his chest. Krellik's summons are well known and feared. I think he's one of the first you got with an arrow through the neck. Shald was known for his ability to almost instantly cast a spell without speech or movement. He's got an arrow through the leg and a slashed throat. I think all three are your handiwork?"

Mark nodded.

Keith leaned in closer and spoke quietly so none of the soldiers can hear. "You're much too good to be just a regular soldier, Captain Raven."

Mark looked at him, slightly surprised and slightly amused.

"You killed three of the most wanted Rogues and three others while four Elven Legionnaires died, killing only four or five. This is not something a mere soldier could have done alone. Who are you, really?"

"I guess that someone was going to figure it out sooner or later," Mark chuckled quietly. "You have agreed to come on this mission and serve me so to you, I am still Captain Raven. Who I am outside of this Company is of little concern in our scope."

Keith thought for a moment. "Should I worry about my safety now that I know?"

"No, Magus. The Crown treasures the partnership with the Society. An accident of any sort is something that neither the Crown nor I would want. However, I would like to ask that you... gloss over... this section of our journey in your report when we return."

Keith looked at him suspiciously but nodded. "The... The Rogues appears to know where and when to strike, although they didn't know that we were going to be in the area as well. This suggests that this has been planned for a long time, by someone with the resources to hire eleven Rogues to do this... kidnapping, I would suspect. I highly doubt the drow was behind this though, but I'm not sure who would. It might be something personal against her family. This is something that you should perhaps ask her yourself."

Mark thought for a moment, and nodded. "Thank you, Magus."

When they had returned almost everyone had finished packing. Fires were put out and water pouches refilled, most soldiers sat in groups waiting for their next orders. Mark dismissed the dozen who had come with him and then proceeded to his tent. Amanda was sitting outside with a small group of men, chatting. She was still barefoot, her toes playing in the grass. Her laughter was like chimes, light and almost musical.

"Alright people, leave Miss Amanda alone now! I hope you've all been nice to her. If she complains to me about any one of you..."he warned but not at all serious. He knew they were good men. After the crowd had departed he handed her the bag of clothes.

"Thanks," she said, jumping to her feet to accept the bag while at the same time trying to avoid eye contact. "Give me a second to change." She quickly went back into the tent and a few moments later reemerged wearing a dark green dress with a thin leather belt and a pair of brown leather boots that went half way up her calf. The dress was simple: sleeveless and form fitting, showing off the elegant curves of her body. It had a high collar and was also fairly short, with the hem barely reaching half way down her thighs.

"You look great," Mark smiled.

"Thanks," she blushed, the events of the previous night still fresh on her mind. Unconsciously, she held herself as if trying to cover her imaginary nakedness.

"Amanda, where are you heading to? If you're going to Mise, you can come along with us."

She shook her head. "I'm going to the embassy in Astrin, your Capital."

"Oh," Mark thought for a while. "I don't think it'll be a good idea for you to travel alone but I can escort you to Crielere, an outpost town that's only a day's journey from here. There I can get you some more proper escort for the rest of the way to Astrin. Would that be ok?"

Amanda looked up to him and smiled a little. "I would appreciate that but don't you have to lead your men through the forest?"

"It's alright. Everyone here has been through this forest before, one way or another. They know what to do. My lieutenants are all capable men, so it shouldn't be a problem for them to take charge for a few days. In addition, the Magus will also be helping. Just give me a second to arrange this and then we can go, alright?"

She nodded.

Mark walked over to his waiting lieutenants. "Gentlemen, Miss Amanda is trying to reach Astrin but since her guardians died in the fight last night I'll be taking her to Crielere so she can then be escorted to the capital. It's going to take me a day to get to Crielere and maybe two or three more days to catch up, so I'll be leaving the command in your capable hands. Lieutenant Jackson, I believe you've had the most experience with this region?"

"Yes, Sir. I used to hunt here every summer with my father, Sir."

"Alright. Take charge in my absence. Consult Magus Keith if there is anything you can't deal with that comes up. With any luck, you guys should be in Mise by the time I return. If there are no questions, you're dismissed."

The three men saluted and began to organize the troops in preparation to leave.

Finally, Mark approached Magus Keith who was busying himself with something in his bag. "You don't need to tell me. I've heard everything," Keith said. "I'll be happy to provide Lieutenant Jackson with what help I can, should he require it."

Mark blinked. "Oh, right, the spell. Thank you, Magus."

"I hope your trip to and back from Crielere is uneventful. Some of the creatures that are native to the deep forest are quite dangerous. I suppose you already know that."

"I hope your journey through the forest is uneventful as well." Mark bowed slightly and began walking back to where Amanda was waiting.

"Miss Amanda is lucky to have a guardian such as you with her. I doubt King Andrew would have any better..."he paused. "Hmm. You're not --"

"You flatter me, Magus." Mark turned back to look at him.

Keith shrugged but decided not to press the matter. "Alright then, see you in a few days, Captain," he said and walked towards the gathered troops already starting to move out. Behind him followed a large stack of notebooks, jars, flasks, staves, and things that Mark couldn't even began to fathom their use, all floating on an almost invisible disk.

Soon, everyone was gone. Mark was packing up everything to prepare for the trip back. Amanda sat on a nearby rock and watched him. Her eyes followed his every move, this man that had made her a woman. Had he taken advantage of her? Maybe, she thought. But she couldn't really fault him: she had woken him up and offered herself to him. He was even reluctant at first, although that didn't last long under her persuasion. Even if he had not relented, she probably would've ran into the tent of another soldier. She shuddered at that thought.

She looked at him more carefully now. He had short brown hair and piercing blue eyes, focusing on his task at hand. His body was hidden by a leather jacket dyed green, and thick silk shirt and pants. He looked back at her and caught her staring. She quickly turned away.

"Why are you going to Astrin, Amanda?" Mark asked as he worked.

"My father wants me to go. He says I have to spend a year with the Humans to study with them. It's apparently some sort of tradition in my family."

"Do you have any siblings who have done the same?"

"Three older brothers. They stayed in Astrin for a year when they were about my age, too. They said I was going to love it."

"Astrin is a great place for learning. We have schools for practically every profession there, as well as the Society of Magic."

"I plan on doing a bit of everything, but I really want to learn to use a sword," she said. "The sword fighting styles we use in the forest are so different from yours."

Mark finished and slung everything over his shoulders like a backpack. "Well, there are instructors for that as well. If I wasn't busy, I'm sure I can continue teaching you all about the sword," he said with a wink. "Shall we go?"

"Alright but can we stop at my camp again, please? I need to thank my guardians one last time," she said solemnly.

Mark nodded and led the way. When they reached the fateful clearing Amanda was visibly shaken by the bodies scattered around the camp site. Mark held her hand as she walked to the four fresh graves in the center of the encampment and knelt before each one, saying an Elven prayer. Finally, she got up and walked to the collapsed tent where she had been held against her will and tortured the previous night. Mark held her arm to comfort her as she started to sob quietly. She knelt down, took a deep breath and crawled into the tent, searching for something. A moment later she came back out with an almost impossibly thin sword. The metal scabbard was perhaps only as wide as his thumb, engraved with a serpent like dragon curling around and around from the chape to the locket. The hilt of the sword was intricately crafted, with a worn leather grip and the head of a dragon for the pommel. She clipped the scabbard to her belt.