Remember... Ch. 05

"Who are you?" Amanda asked the woman in fear. "What did you do to Linae?"

"Ah the young and inquisitive. You'll find out soon, my dear. As to this traitor here? You do know what she did, right? She is the one that delivered you to us. But don't worry, the goddess has a special place for traitorous whores like her."

Amanda stared in shock as memories of her final moments of consciousness came back to her slowly. "Linae, why did you do it? How could you?"

"Dear, I'm going to have to ask you to stop talking to my pet here. I already told you she's preoccupied," the woman sighed. "If you rile her up and she starts choking on that cock in her mouth, I'm going to get upset. You wouldn't want that."

"Oh goddess!" Ellisa's sudden scream brought their attention to the center of the room. She convulsed on the table as if in pain.

"Eh. Boss, maybe nine is a bit much?" A man looked at Ponytail with concern.

"Fuck that. She's not going to die from nine. We need to break her in ten days, and this is a good way to do it," he said as he positioned himself between her legs. Seeing how much she was shaking and struggling, it was actually a little difficult to align himself with her cunt. Finally, with a thrust, he penetrated her. "Now let's screw this whore until she forgets her own name!"

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Falalie woke up to the sound of a hushed argument. It was dark outside. She was in her room, and Ella, Vin and Celistra sat by the small desk near the door, next to a glow-lamp.

"I'm telling you, it's not him! Ella and I, we were watching him when Ellisa called for us," whispered Vin.

"Well what would you suggest then? He's our only lead. We've been watching her at all other times," Celistra sighed.

The three remained silent until a light knock at the door revealed Tenais and Kera, the two chefs, bringing in trays of food.

"We should get more people from the White Keep to help look for them," Kera suggested after a moment. She stood with her back against the door, twiddling a knife in her hand.

"I just can't believe that these people managed to take both Ellisa and Linae. How could this have happened?" Ella shook her head in disbelief. "The two of them should have been able to take on any criminals that they were likely to face."

"No," Falalie mumbled as she sat up on the bed. "They were not simple criminals. There were human wizards... maguses... whatever. This was a planned attack."

"Fal! Thank the goddess you're alright!" Ella exclaimed as all of them rushed to her side.

Falalie stretched and touched her left shoulder. Where there should have been a hole caused by the spear of ice was now flawless flesh and skin. "You didn't have to heal me, Celes. Potions would've been just fine. But... thank you," she said with a warm smile.

Celistra embraced her. "Don't be silly. Of course I had to. It was nothing."

"Fal, you said that this was planned?" Kera asked.

"Yes. There were men and wizards waiting for us when we got there."

"But how did they know where you'd be? We had just found Mark. There was no way they could've known that was the way we were going to go."

Falalie bit her lip as an unpleasant thought crossed her mind. "I don't think they knew either."

"Then how did they ambush you?"

She sighed. "Linae led us there."

For a moment, the room was silent as the implications sunk in.

"What? You can't mean..." Vin scowled. "No! Linae would never do that!"

"Fal, you can't make up accusations like that!" Tenais frowned as well. "Linae would not betray us like this. Why would she do that?"

Celistra remained silent, only slowly shaking her head.

"I'm sorry. That's the only explanation," Falalie said. "She was the one leading the way. Ellisa and the lady were arguing, and I was bringing up our rear. I didn't even realize that something was off until right before the attack."

The room was silent once again.

Finally, Vin spoke. "I... I'm not sure if I can believe that. But even if it were true, what do we do now?"

"I think we need to find this man, Mark Raven. He might know something about this attack," Celistra said.

"I told you already; I don't think he knows anything," Ella shook her head.

"He's just a freaking merchant," Vin added. "You should've seen him when we took Amanda away. He looked so dejected. It's not him."

Falalie frowned. She's had her doubts about Mark before, but did not share it with the rest of her comrades, since the thought was never fully developed, and might have led to unnecessary trouble for the man in case he was innocent... but if there ever was a time to voice that doubt, this was it.

"I agree with Celes," she stated. "We need to find Mark Raven."

"Fal? Why? I thought you trusted that guy?" Vin asked. She trusted him too. In fact, she and Falalie were the only two who favored any potential relationship between their lady and the human.

"I do. Kind of," Falalie nodded. "I trust that he would not harm our lady. But that doesn't mean I trust everything about him."

"What do you mean?"

"I've had my doubts for a while now, ever since the first time we met him. There's just too many things about him that don't add up. It's not a certainty, but I highly doubt that he's just a merchant. Regardless, we should find him."

The other three looked at each other, and nodded. It seemed as good a first step as any.

"How do you propose that we find him, then?" Vin asked.

"We'll ask Captain Banks, and the new magic instructor, Mari."

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Wednesday night was so soon after the incident that Mark was still in shock during his shift guarding Andrew.

Thursday was a whole other story.

From the moment he woke up, his whole day felt like a blur. Mark briefly considered going to see her off, but quickly discarded that idea. It would be easier for both of them this way.

He hardly paid any attention during Andrew's meetings. If it wasn't for a lifetime of training, he probably wouldn't have paid any attention to guarding Andrew either. He vaguely remembered a meeting with a diplomat from Mamet. A meeting with some drows. A late dinner with some elves. And another meeting thing.

Mark's mind was elsewhere.

Pull yourself together, man. You're not like this. It's not the first time a girl broke up with you. He thought to himself, rationally. Find someone else. You'll forget about her soon enough.

But something nagged at him. There was a part of him that just felt hollow knowing that he'd never see Amanda again. It was a feeling he'd never felt before, and it made him uneasy.

Even Andrew had noticed his detachment by the end of his shift on Thursday night.

"Hey Mark, you ok?"

He blinked. "Um. Yeah. The girl I've been seeing, Amanda, is going back to Mise. Was kinda sudden, that's all. It's fine."

"Oh," Andrew frowned. "Damn. That sucks. Sorry, man."

He shrugged. "Thanks."

"Well, get Chris to hook you up with someone again. A random fling should help you get over her like it did with Lena."

"Hah, maybe," Mark chuckled for Andrew's benefit. "Whatever. I'm not that interested right now anyway."

In fact, finding a random fling was probably the farthest thing from his mind right now. By the time he fell onto his bed, all he wanted to do was sleep and not wake up until his next shift. Or better yet, just sleep through the whole next day.

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"Captain!"

Lena looked up.

"Captain Banks," said the soldier, "there's some people looking for you."

"Who?"

"These two elf chicks. They look kinda upset."

She raised an eyebrow, and followed the soldier to the front of the barracks. To her surprise, it was the two elves she had met Thursday morning, who informed her that Amanda was not feeling well, and would not be able to attend lessons until further notice.

"Good morning, Ella, Vin," she greeted the elves.

"Good morning, Captain," Ella said.

"Is Amanda still feeling unwell today? Or has she recovered enough for us to continue her lessons?"

"No, our lady is still unwell. However, we do have a favor to ask of you."

"Oh? What do you need?"

"Do you know of a man named Mark Raven?"

"Yes. Why?" Lena frowned. What has he done this time?

The elves looked at each other with an expression of relief. "Can you pass along a message to him? Tell him that Amanda needs to speak to him."

Lena narrowed her eyes. "Does he have something to do with Amanda not feeling well?" She had all too good of an idea what he did to upset her student.

"We are not sure right now. That is why we would like to speak to him and ask him some questions."

"I see. I'll pass along the message," she said, her voice icy.

The elves exchanged a brief confused glance at each other before they thanked her and left.

Lena waited until they were out of sight before she stormed out of the barracks, towards Mark's house. What the hell did you do to Amanda?

She knew Mark usually woke up early and might not even be there anymore, but to her surprise, someone else was already there.

"Mark! Get up! I know you're in there!" A girl with bright pink hair yelled as she slammed on the door.

Lena looked at her curiously. She looked really familiar. She'd seen her a few times at the palace, though with different hair colors.

"Come on, you lazy ass! This is about your girl, Amanda!" She banged on the door again.

Lena walked over to her. "Miss Izer?" She frowned. What the hell is the King Andrew's fiancee doing here?

The pink haired girl turned around, surprised. "Captain Banks! What are you doing here?"

"I'm looking for Mark. It appears you are as well," she stated.

She smiled nervously. "Um. Yes. Why are you looking for Mark?"

"I was asked to relay a message-"

Just then, the door opened. A rather sleepy looking and half naked Mark stood in the doorway. "What do you want, Mari?" He grumbled angrily as he blinked away the sleepiness. "Amanda isn't-" he stopped suddenly. "Er. Lena. What are you doing here?"

"What have you been doing with my student?" She asked as she pushed the door open the rest of the way, and stepped inside. Mari followed right behind her.

Mark didn't reply. He closed the door, and stumbled into his living room, where he collapsed onto to the couch.

Mari nudged him. "Hey Mark, what happened to Amanda? She didn't show up at the Society last night."

"I fucked up," he mumbled into the seat cushion.

"What the hell did you do to her? Did you hurt her?" Lena asked as she pushed him roughly, turning him to face them.

Mark furrowed his brows even as his eyes remained closed. "No! Not... not in that way. I wouldn't do that!"

"Yeah, right," Lena narrowed her eyes.

"Hey! I told you I was sorry, alright?" Mark eyes opened as he sat up and scowled. "I'm really sorry. I didn't know what had happened to you. It was my fault for not telling you what I was going to do, but I never intended to hurt you."

"I'll believe that when pigs fly."

Mark threw up his hands. "I don't even know what I have to do-"

"Hey! Guys!" Mari yelled. "Stop fighting for a minute and let's talk about Amanda, ok?"

Mark took a breath to calm himself while Lena just looked at him with contempt.

"Alright," Mark nodded. He turned his head to look at Mari. "What about Amanda? She didn't show up to your lesson yesterday? Yeah, because she's not even here in Astrin anymore. Her guardians found out that I was fucking her. Oh, right, her father doesn't let her have any relationships with men, so her guardians are always watching for that, and they already suspected that something was up with me before. So after they found out, they decided to just pack up and go back to Mise. Did I miss anything? Oh yeah, they also probably want to kill me."

The two women stared at him. "What?" They said at the same time.

He sighed. "I was careless. Her guardians found out we were having relations when she wasn't supposed to be, and now they probably want me dead."

"Are you worried about your safety?" Mari asked, concerned. "Cus an elf told me that she wanted to speak to you."

"What? No, of course I'm not worried," he waved his hand dismissively.

"Maybe you should," Lena said, calmer now. "Two elves showed up at the barracks today and told me to tell you that Amanda needs to speak to you."

Mark laughed. "What the hell? Is Ellisa that bad at lying? I was there when they said that they were taking her back to Mise. And now she wants to speak to me?"

"It wasn't Ellisa that told me. It was two elves that I've only just met yesterday, Vin and Ella."

"Ah, of course not," he sighed. "She's probably with Linae guarding Amanda on their way back home."

"Well, I'm pretty sure you'll be dead if those two really did want to kill you."

Mark rolled his eyes, but did not respond.

"There was only one elf that met me last night," said Mari. "She said her name was Falalie."

"Yeah? What did she say?"

"She said pretty much the same thing. Amanda needs to speak to you."

He sighed again. "Sure she does. Amanda knows where I live. She can come here herself if she needs to speak to me."

"She also said that..." Mari said, glancing at Lena, "She also said that she knows you're not who you say you are."

Mark frowned. "Really."

"What, you didn't tell them that you were just some delivery boy working in the palace?" Lena quipped.

He shot her an annoyed look. "No."

"Mark, this is serious. What did you tell Amanda? And what did you tell them?" Mari asked.

"I told Amanda I was a merc. I kinda had to, considering how I met her. I told her guardians that I was a merchant. They seemed to have bought that... except for Falalie, I guess."

"A merc? Like, a mercenary? Can you even fight? How did you meet her anyways?" Lena asked, confused.

"I can hold my own, Lena. And how we met is a long story and I don't want to really feel like sharing. It doesn't really matter now anyway."

"You should talk to them, if only to find out what they know," said Mari.

"Yeah, I know," he sighed as he got up and climbed up the stairs.

"Where are you going?" Lena called out after him.

"Getting dressed. I don't think they'd like it if I tried to meet them like this," he said as he slammed his room door shut.

Now alone with Mari, Lena looked at her questioningly. "So, Miss Izer-"

"It's just Mari," she smiled.

"Alright, Mari. You can call me Lena," she offered. "So Mari, how do you know Mark?"

She shrugged. "We've been friends for a long time. Since childhood."

"But you're the Lord Magus's daughter! King Andrew's fiancee! How did you even meet a guy like him?"

"It's a long story," she shrugged again. "But the short version is that I ran into him on the streets when we were young."

"I see..." Lena pursed her lips. "So you knew that Mark was involved with Amanda?"

"Yeah, but just recently. I just met her on Monday when I offered to teach her combat magic. She was really excited too. But then this happened," she sighed. "Did Amanda tell you anything about being with Mark?"

"No. I've been training Amanda for about five months now, but she never even mentioned his name," Lena said. "Though I wish she did. I would've warned her to stay away."

"Hey, Mark isn't like that! I know him."

"Well did you know what he tried to do to me?"

"Yes, I do," Mari replied calmly. "It was a combination of bad communication and misunderstanding. He's into bondage. It's not strange or-"

"Yes it is! What woman wants to be tied up? It's almost... almost..."

"Rape?" Mari offered, and saw Lena visibly wince. "But it's not. There is mutual consent. There are many, both men and women, who like being tied up."

"Why would they like that?" she scowled.

"Because a lack of control can be very liberating in and of itself. Some people just want their lovers to take control of their pleasures, and some like just the opposite. And some just like the occasional casual kinky fun. In no cases is anyone being actually hurt," Mari shrugged. "Well, unless they want to be, but that's a whole other topic."

Lena looked at her suspiciously, but said nothing.

"Look, Lena, I've known Mark for most of my life. He isn't like that. He's admitted that it was his fault for not communicating his intent with you better, but he had no idea what had happened to you. He would never hurt you. Despite your fights, I can tell he thinks quite highly of you."

Lena frowned. "Yeah, right."

"Of course he does. Enough that he trusted you to train Amanda, despite your personal differences with him."

"Well, I had no idea that she was with him. I know Amanda is really attractive. If I didn't know better, I'd think that he's flaunting his new conquest in front of me."

"The fact that you didn't know until today would seem to indicate that it was not his intent to do that."

Lena sighed, and nodded. "Yeah."

"On Monday, Amanda told me that she had first met Mark when he saved her from some men that attacked her. She was almost raped. In order to protect herself, she's been working hard to learn all sorts of self defense."

"Oh spirits!" Lena gasped. "Really? Wow. I guess that's why she takes her training so seriously. I mean - while I'd never use it - she's getting quite good with that dinky little elven sword of hers. I'm really proud of her, too."

"I think Mark knew that this was what she wanted, and that's why he got you to train her."

Lena thought about this for a while. Despite her gut reaction to him, she knew that Mari was probably right. Her... attack... was not an event she wanted to ever think about, but when Mark had tied her wrists, all the horrifying memories came flooding back. Even if it was unintentional, he did made her relive it, and it was not something she could easily forgive him for; but maybe she could acknowledge that he did not mean to hurt her. Maybe. Reluctantly, she nodded.

Suddenly, a strange thought crossed her mind. "Wait, what do you mean he 'got' me to train Amanda?"

Mari blinked. She might have said too much. "Eh. He makes enough connections within the palace, so he can probably pull a few strings."

Lena rolled her eyes, and shook her head. "Of course... politics."

---

Mark stood alone on the street in front of Amanda's mansion. He was not sure what to expect in there.

Lena had to return to the barracks, but seemed to be in a better mood than when she first arrived this morning. Or maybe he was just projecting his grogginess onto her when she first came. He wasn't quite sure.

Mari had wished him luck before she jumped back to the Society for her classes. She was a sweetheart.

He took the "scenic route" as he walked here, taking time to think of all the scenarios he might face in the house, and the proper responses to them. He carried his sword, just in case.

With a deep breath, he took the step towards the front doors. As he passed through the detection field he had felt the first time he was here, he knew there would be no turning back now. His hand rested on the pommel of the sword. He wasn't surprised when the front doors opened before he had even reached it.

"Hello, Mr. Raven," Falalie greeted him. She sounded... relieved?

"Hi, Falalie."

"Please, come in. We were hoping that you would show up."

Mark paused at the door. "Amanda isn't here, is she?"

"No," she shook her head. "That is what we need to speak to you about."

Almost unconsciously, he gripped his sword tighter. He stepped through.

Falalie led him to the sitting room, where five other elves sat, waiting. Their faces showed a mixture of worry, doubt, and relief.

"Mr. Raven, thank you so much for coming," the blonde elf named Vin stood and greeted him. Mark decided that she sounded decidedly not hostile.

"It's just Mark. Hello Vin, Ella, Celistra," he nodded to each. The other two, who he remembered from his first visit as the chefs of the household, he did not know the name of. "I'm afraid that I have not been introduced to you two."