The Beast

"Finish it you pansy little fuckers," I managed to choke out, with a mouthful of blood.

By the time I'd managed to pull out all the arrows piercing my lungs, they'd freed the body and were moving off.

"COWARDS!"

That was met with a series of fireballs, which just set me off laughing. It took me a couple hours to pull free the rest of the arrows. By the time I was done, exhaustion from healing had set in. If I could keep this up, they'd probably kill me out of anger... But first I had to recoup some strength.

The sound of heavy boots woke me this time. The dungeon slowly filled with hundreds of heavily armoured elves with crossbows. As I watched them form up, a gap emerged, and an older, more refined, but familiar looking elf approached. I just watched in silence as the man came to a stop, just out of reach of my arms. He was almost six feet tall, with dark wavy hair and pale complexion. I'd describe him as elegant, more so than most others I'd ever seen. He was clearly Eila's father.

"You killed seven of my men, and the jailer, why?" he asked in a calm an even tone.

"You burst into my home, attacked me, burnt it to the ground. Then had me thrown in a cage, why?" I replied just as evenly.

"You cocky-" An elf stepped forwards, only for the elder to hold out his hand, silencing him.

He sounded pretty familiar too, "that you Darjl?" I chuckled, "how's the face?"

Darjl made to move again, but the elder silenced him with another wave.

"What are you, beast or man?" Asked the elder.

"Better question, is what am I not?" I replied cryptically.

The elder regarded him a moment, "do you know the current whereabouts of a wizard known by the name of, Henry?"

"I'll need a map, I can mark the spot I took that shit, yes," I chuckled.

"You are his creation then?" The elder asked, his eyebrows raising.

I shouldn't have opened my mouth... Bastard came in asking questions, treating me with dignity and I answered... Fuck... I just sat down against the wall and glared at the elf in silence.

"What can I offer you, for your cooperation?" He asked.

"My immediate release and escort to the nearest forest," I grumbled.

The elder elf smiled sadly, "I'm afraid that cannot do."

"Then I'm afraid I'll kill anyone who comes within arms reach of the bars."

His eyes narrowed slightly, before he simply turned and walked back through the multitude of guards. I watched them leave, before a small opportunity arrived. An elf stumbled over their own feet in the direction of the bars. In a flash, I had them by the wrist and yanked them firmly into the bars. The sound of shrieking metal being forced to deform drew the attention of all the surrounding soldiers. It took them a moment, but before I could thread the soldier back through like the jailer, I was pelted with dozens of steel bolts. These went deeper than the arrows, but not by much.

I fell to the ground, coughing up blood as I slowly pulled the bolts free. It was a few minutes in, when I realised the elder elf was back, staring hatefully at me, while another pair were pulling free their dead comrade. I just smiled and spat a glob of blood at him, earning me another bolt. They'd have to kill me before they'd get any civility from me.

As expected there were no meal times. Either they were irregular, or being withheld from me as punishment. But that was ok... Eventually I'd just start eating my victims. So it was a surprise when Eila appeared before me. And I'm not going crazy, she just appeared.

"I'm sorry," Eila said sadly, resting her head on the bars.

"If you'd just let Darjl kill me, I wouldn't be in this mess."

"I... I couldn't let him just kill you like that... You didn't deserve it... You didn't deserve any of this," Eila sighed, before softly sobbing.

"Oh cry me a river, maybe I'll drown and be done with all this."

"Darjl is being credited with your capture..."

I cocked an eyebrow, "and?"

"And he's been granted a royal boon... He's going to ask for my hand." Eila shuddered. "I don't want to die... But it's better than letting that filth put his hands on me."

"Sucks to be you then doesn't it... I actually WOULD like to die, so unless there's something you can do to help that..." I just let the statement finish.

"I can get you out..." Eila whispered.

"Fuck you," I snarled back, "either this is a ploy from your father for cooperation, or you're dangling hope in front of me for your own sick pleasure."

Eila choked back a sob, before dropping to her knees. "How can I convince you to trust me?"

I thought about it for only the briefest moment, "open my cell, come inside and strip off naked," I growled.

As expected, she dropped her head, and simply vanished. Good fucking riddance... She's nothing but trouble. I was still contemplating how many ways I could cause mischief when the lock on the cell clanked. It opened itself as if by magic, and I couldn't help but tense up, thinking something was about to go very wrong. When Eila popped back into view, standing before me I jumped again.

"Fucking... Gods... Again!" I growled.

She simply smirked again... Bitch... But then it dawned on me... She was in my cell... A moment later she bent down, grabbing the hem of her gown, she slowly started to wiggle it upwards to remove it. She was serious after all.

"Stop... I believe you," I cursed myself, her moonlight legs were on display. Flesh so soft I wanted to beg for a taste ...

She smiled softly as she slowly lowered her gown. "Will you help me, if I can get you free?"

"You're a pain in my ass you know that?" I grumbled, "you get me out, I'll take you with me, deal?"

Eila's face lit up, it was a strange feeling watching her. She was truly the most beautiful creature I'd ever seen. Beauty straight from one of my books... "Deal. You really don't have a name... Do you?" She asked softly.

"Nope... I'm the creation of a mad wizard. He never bothered to give me one, and I never asked." It was an honest reply.

"I'm going to call you Frelser. In my native tongue, it means saviour." Eila smiled.

"You realise I've killed three people since being locked in this cage, and I ate the man who created me..." I chuckled.

"And yet, you are still willing to help me," she smiled back. I tried to glare at her, but all that did was make her smirk. "Can... Can I ask you something real quick?"

"Mmm?"

"Can you hold me a while?" She asked softly.

"Ah... Why?" I wasn't opposed to the idea, but the request threw me a little.

"Because... The cell door is open, and I'm standing before you. Either you're the gentle giant I think you are, or you'll crush me and escape. Either way, I'll be done with... Darjl."

I stood still for a few moments, before going with my gut instinct. I stooped over slightly, and gently pulled her into a close embrace. As she laid her head on my chest, she stiffened.

"Oh gods..." Eila pulled back slightly.

"Sorry, did I hurt-"

"No! No... Gods... This must be what my father wanted..."

"Eila... You're making me uncomfortable..." I grumbled.

"Frelser, you're full of energy. Imagine, if I were to describe the amount, I'd be comparing you to the sun, where I would be a candle..." She said slowly.

"I'm no mage, so how does that work?"

"That's just it... Any mage that was able to get to your power, would be almost invincible... A magic power source like none other." Eila chirped excitedly.

"Well... Not that I'm particularly keen on being an object owned by a mage, but how exactly do I get the power out, and how would I give it to you. Seems kinda handy if we're getting out together..."

Eila's face dropped for a moment, before she grimaced. "My father was talking about a machine that drained blood and distilled it."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing, "I'm not completely comfortable with that..."

"Uh huh... The other way I can think of... Is the 'old way' of sharing power," Eila wash blushing now. "Elves usually marry for power. Sometimes that's power between houses, sometimes that's power between sorcery. When two mages... Unite... They share their power. Weak mages become stronger, strong mages have their power weakened, their offspring are generally stronger as a whole."

Did I honestly just hear her right? "So what you're telling me... Is-"

"That if I sleep with you, I might be able to gain some of your power..." Eila was slowly going brighter shades of pink.

"Ok... How about we put a pin in that for now... I'm sure you're not keen on sleeping with a monster like me anyway..." I said slowly.

"Not to mention you might actually kill me... Look at the size of you..." Eila smirked.

"Well... About that... Wait, no, not important, won't happen anyway," I grumbled softly.

The distant sound of a door opening drew our attention. Eila immediately vanished, and I sat in silence as I watched the door to my cell close and lock. I couldn't help but hope this wasn't some elaborate ruse to get me to behave. My mood however, immediately dropped when I saw who was coming towards me.

"Darjl, how's the face, lad?" I called.

Darjl came to a stop before me, he had a large basket in his arms, "oh, troll boy. I'm here by order of the king to 'coerce you into cooperation', so to speak."

"Why don't you come a little closer then, and I'll tell you everything I know," I smiled sarcastically.

Darjl didn't answer, merely placing the basket before him. Plucking off the lid, he dropped it on the floor and reached into the basket. What he pulled out was some kind of recurve bow. Holding it up for me to see, he reached in and plucked out an arrow.

"Y'know Darjl... I'm gonna get out of here one day. And when I do... I'm going to eat you alive... And not in the fun way that Eila let me."

Darjl went a funny shade of purple in just a few moments. His anger clearly got the better of him, and a short draw later, the first arrow slammed into my liver. He didn't stop there however, another twelve arrows found places around my chest. All over again, I was choking on blood. But that wasn't the worst part. I was pretty sure these were coated in something, because other than the obvious pain of a fucking arrow in my gut... They felt like they were on fire...

"Now, while you're pulling those out of your lungs. Would you be so kind as to answer my questions?" Darjl asked, walking back to the entrance to collect a chair. "First question, did you really have relations with my betrothed?"

I couldn't help but grin. "Said I was the best she ever had, had her screaming for more-"

Darjl cut me off with another arrow. "Where is the location of Henry the Just?"

"Told the king, get me a map, I'll mark where I took my favourite shit," I chuckled. Darjl however, shot me again. This time in the stomach. "Gods, just bring me a fucking map already. He's dead, I killed and ate him. I can mark on a map where I shit him out."

"So he's dead? Why didn't you just say that?" Darjl snarled.

"You asked where he was, not whether he was dead. How the fuck am I supposed to know what you're think-" Darjl shot him again.

"You will accept the king's invitation to be assessed by his physicians for the purposes of study," Darjl ordered.

"Fuck no," I growled back.

Darjl just took a deep breath, pulled another arrow and fired it into my shoulder. "You will accept the king's invitation to be assessed by his physicians for the purposes of study."

"Not happening you sick fuck," I spat.

This time he shot me twice, before making his demand. I refused again, only to be shot another half dozen times. Every time I refused him, Darjl became more irate. He began aiming for my hands, stopping me from being able to pull arrows free. By the time he'd run out, I was a pin-cushion of arrow shafts and could barely breathe. Darjl took one last look at me before he left, and I managed to spit a mouthful of blood in his direction. But by this point, he was probably used to my defiance and he quickly left. Now... How the fuck am I going to pull out all these arrows when I don't have hands...

Eila popped back into view standing before me. Making me jump again, this time all I could do was gurgle a small, illegible curse. But I stopped, seeing her face, I could make out tears. She was crying... Hell, she hid inside my cell instead of escaping... She'd been there the whole time...

"I'm sorry..." She cried softly.

Before I could react, she pulled an arrow free of my chest, making me wince in pain. Quickly I held out my hands, hoping she'd pull those arrows free. Thankfully she got the hint and pulled those first. It wasn't long before the two of us had all the arrows removed. Now all it took was to rest and heal. By that I mean pass out until morning. It was still early hours when I started to come too. But I had a strange pressure on my lap. Cracking open my eyes, I couldn't see anything. That's when it dawned on me that Eila was curled up, invisible on my lap, leaning against my chest. I was genuinely shocked, I had no idea what to do. So I just sat still. In the silence I could hear the soft sound of her breaths. I tried to match them with my own and eventually fell asleep again.

The slam of a distant door woke me this time. The invisible weight that was Eila suddenly moved off. I had no idea where she had gone, but if it was Darjl with his bow again, it was best she wasn't around me. So it was a mighty surprise, when a slightly plump young elf came into view. She was beautiful, not in the same way that Eila was ravishing. She had similar features, dark hair, but straight, pointed ears and moonlight skin. Just built in a more, comely and warm way. It was also quickly apparent that she was heading this way.

"Excuse me, sir..." She started, nervously.

I cocked an eyebrow, did she really call me sir?

"Might I bother you for a moment?" she continued, shifting from side to side.

"No need to call me sir, but I suppose... My friends call me Frelser, who might you be?" I decided politeness was the way to go. Giving the name Eila gave me wasn't going to make my situation any worse.

She seemed to react to my name a moment before she collected herself. "My name is Ally, I'm the handmaiden to Princess Eila... She's missing sir... I'm worried, the king is searching the grounds. He thinks she's run off to avoid marrying that pig, Darjl. But she told me she was coming to see you... You didn't... Eat her... Did you?"

I chuckled despite myself. "No... I'm afraid not. Though I'm sure she'd be delectable. I haven't seen her since I was originally captured."

"Do you swear you did her no harm?" Ally asked, her demeanour shifting suddenly. There was almost a dangerous edge to her stance.

Before I could respond, a series of soft thumps rang out. Eila must have been stamping her foot. Ally however, had an immediate reaction. She hiccuped and tried to stifle a sob. She herself, quickly stomped her foot, playing a quick beat. Before my eyes, Eila reappeared.

"Oh Ally, I'm sorry, I had to be certain," Eila ran to the bars, throwing her arms out.

Ally immediately rushed in, taking Eila in her embrace... And pressing their lips together like lovers... Gods damn it... I mean, sure, that's certainly a turn on to watch. Hell... She wouldn't have been interested in me anyway...

"Ladies, please..." I groaned.

They pulled away quickly, before darting in for another quick kiss, before Eila turned back to me. "We're taking Ally with us."

"No kidding..." I couldn't suppress the sigh. "So when are we doing this?"

Eila and Ally exchanged quick glances, before Ally spoke up. "Your... Engagement... Is tonight, dearest."

"It will have to be tonight then, before the party," Eila said quickly, glancing at me for approval. I nodded my agreement, the sooner the better as far as I was concerned.

"You better go make an appearance then, Eila." I said evenly, "don't want to arouse suspicion, they might set guards here."

Eila stood still for a few seconds, clearly lost in thought. With a quick nod, she turned to face me. "Take this, be ready for us to come back. If we don't... I won't hold it against you for leaving."

I held out my hand and took the key she offered. Without a word, I got up and moved to the door, unlocking it and letting Eila leave. Her face a mask for the briefest moment before she simply vanished. Ally gave me a quick smile, before quickly leaving on her own errands. Again, I was left alone in my cell... My sticky blood stained cell.

... Chapter Four...

It had been several hours. The dim light that filtered into the dungeon was replaced with torches some time ago. Every now and then I could swear I could hear music, and yet... No sign of Eila or Ally... I have to admit I was starting to worry. Something didn't feel right about just leaving the two of them behind... Even if Eila did tell me too. I seriously doubted that anyone would be down to check on me any time soon, but I wasn't liking my chances if I were still here by sunrise.

I was anxiously, pacing around my cell, when I heard a door slam closed. My immediate reaction to seeing Ally was... Surprisingly, joy. But the look on her face quickly changed my mind.

"Frelser!" Ally cried, she looked like she'd run the whole way here, in a ballgown no less. "Darjl, he's got her... Tonight was supposed to be their engagement, but the king wed them an hour ago."

I was surprised by my reaction. Vision streaking red, it took me three goes to fit the key, before Ally overcame her fear of me and helped.

"Most of the guards will be at the feast, the place should be pretty quiet." Ally said quickly, already moving off towards the door.

I moved in behind her immediately. I had no idea why I felt so strongly about this, but the thought of Darjl putting even his hands on Eila just felt... Wrong... Wrong in a way that made me want to hurt people... Unfortunately, the first person we came across was a guard. The three of us pulled up immediately. He flicked his gaze from Ally to myself a few times before opening his mouth to yell. I chose that moment to stuff my hand into his gaping jaw.

"Turn away Ally, you won't want to see this," I said softly, as I dragged the man towards a nearby window.

By now the elf was choking, making strange gurgling noises. I could feel him working his jaw, trying to bite and hurt me, but my skin was too tough to damage. I peeked out the window, just to be sure nobody would see what I was about to do. By luck, there was a nice set of bushes below where I was standing. Without further ado, a quick twist of my hands and the guard went limp in my grip. I lowered the elf as far as I could, I didn't really want anyone to hear a crash as I dropped the corpse. But with a surprisingly soft 'thud' I turned around... Ally... She was standing perfectly still, staring at me with a strange expression.

"I... You won't kill us will you?" She asked softly.

I wasn't really sure how to respond, but I grimaced softly. "I'm sorry you had to see that. And no, by this point you and Eila are the closest things I've ever had to friends. I'm no threat to either of you."

Ally seemed to find her resolve hearing my words, and with a short nod, she turned and continued down the hall. We were lucky enough to avoid the next set of guards. They had been speaking amongst themselves and Ally ushered me into an empty servants quarters, while they passed. A few corridors down however, we had a little problem. Ally had ducked around to take a look before informing me the door to Darjl's room was guarded. There were two of them, just around the corner. Beyond the door, we could both hear the muffled sounds and cries as Eila was being whipped and beaten.

"Ally... I'll need you to distract the guards. I'm sorry, but this will be messy." I sighed, not knowing if she would be mentally prepared for what I was about to do.