The Tattooed Woman Pt. 10

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Chapter 10:

Captain Gorsini lay alongside the Dark Elf simply holding the woman and drawing in her enticing scent, her unbound silver hair was splayed about her shoulders, and he luxuriated in the feeling of her naked form moulded against him. He ran his hand across her shoulders, tracing his fingers along the silken smoothness of her skin, down the front of her body and over the woman's breasts as he kissed the back of her neck. She responded with a happy sigh of contentment.

Neither of them was a passive lover and their bout of love-play had become increasingly frenzied as the night wore on until they both collapsed, panting, laughing and covered in a light sheen of sweat. After another drink of spiced rum and a mouthful of sweet fruit and berries, they had begun again, only more gently this time, and with no little tenderness. Afterwards, they simply lay alongside each other dozing in the serene afterglow of their nocturnal activities.

Gorsini sighed, "I know we are foes, but if it ever comes to pass you wear my collar, I want you to know I'd treat you fairly, for what it's worth."

Ashunara giggled, she hated it when she giggled for it made her sound like a witless child instead of a mature woman of some four hundred and twenty winters.

"Would you not sell me for coin then?"

He grinned, sensing the game she played, "Never. I'd keep you all to myself, and you would satisfy my every need."

"And if I didn't?"

"Well, then I'd have to apply suitable correction, but gently I think."

The Dark Elf slid her hands lower, and he felt her razor-sharp nails playing along his thigh, "Well, I thank you kindly 'Master', I doubt I'd deserve such tenderness though, for I imagine I'd be quite a troublesome slave."

He laughed, "Of that, I have absolutely no doubt milady, I suspect within weeks it would be you ruling my household, and not the other way round. But what of me, would I receive fair and gentle treatment?"

"Fuck no! I'd ride you like my best horse and sell you the moment I grew bored of you."

"Aw, you say the sweetest things, Captain. But I mean what I say, I'd treat you fair, and see you safely ransomed home if such was your wish."

"Go to sleep, you foolish man."

He kissed her again on the back of the neck, "You are a hard woman Ashunara, have you no soft words for me?"

"Oh dear Gods! You are so typically human. Ever has your kind been ruled by your passions and not by your wits. I am a Dark Elf, I have no interest in sentiment, in truth, I cannot afford it, for in a hundred years you will be dead and mouldering in a barrow, and I will be as unchanged as I am now. If you want soft words, go sleep with yon blonde trollop outside! Maybe once you're done making moon-eyes at each other she'll sing you a lullaby. Now either make love to me again or go to sleep."

Gorsini chuckled, "Well, if those are the only choices, I know which one I prefer, and he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close once more.

Ashunara turned to kiss him, "Better, maybe there's hope for you yet human."

Outside Tallis sat by the fire still sharing a warm blanket with the tall blonde woman. She had spent the evening in talk with her, asking of her homeland and listening avidly to tales of storm giants and midwinter feasts in wondrous mead halls of legend. The foreign woman's voice was melodic and evocative, her smile was warm, and her grey eyes had an alluring quality that seemed to draw in the young Dark Elf.

Tallis had seemed fascinated by the braided gold torc worn by the woman and also by the tattoo on her neck and she found herself recounting the tale of the strange woman they had taken in.

"So, she has a tattoo like mine?"

Tallis toyed with the braided gold before stroking the woman's neck, "Not precisely, hers paints a more complete picture shall we say, it is more complex, but there is at least a little similarity in form for both your tattoos appear to have a certain serpentine quality to them. This jewellery is most interesting, do you revere dragons?"

"Dragons?"

"This serpentine shape and the engraving, it has the look of a dragon."

"Oh! We call such things a 'wyrm', and aye, they are mighty creatures of great power. They are to be feared and only the very foolish would show them disrespect."

The Dark Elf toyed with the torc for a few moments more before tracing her finger lightly down across the woman's throat, "The way you describe your kingdom makes it seem to be half-way between the Fae realm and the lands of men."

Magda mused for a while, "Perhaps so, for we have our magics as well as rituals and customs to ward off trolls and draugr."

"Draugr?"

"They are the undead, unquiet spirits who haunt graves and barrows."

"Ah, wights?"

"I've heard the term; it seems to fit. Indeed, there are many similarities in our lands, though the creatures you describe as trolls are not as we would call them."

Tallis leaned closer, her gaze met that of the blonde woman and her voice was almost a whisper, "How so?"

Magda swallowed nervously as she stared into those strangely distracting red eyes and tried to focus on her tale, "In my land trolls are also creatures of great cunning and magical power, while here they are described more as ogres. The things you call 'hags' seem more trollish to me."

"I enjoy listening to your tales Magda, you seem well travelled."

The human woman nodded, "Ever was I unsettled. The witch-woman who was my mother's midwife says I am possessed by a restless spirit. I love collecting stories and songs and always have I wanted to see what is over the next hill. Some say it is a curse of sorts for it means I'll never have a home or family of my own."

"It sounds lonely," the Dark Elf's fingers played idly with the woman's long fair hair, "are you lonely?"

The pale woman trembled, "Sometimes, when I sit alone at a campfire in some wild and remote place, or as I shiver on some damp and drizzly eve, then I might find myself thinking fondly of a warm fireplace and the good cheer of trusted companions. But like as not the next dawn sees me wondering, "What's over there," or "What stories do these folks have to share" and off I wander."

The Dark Elf nodded as she pulled the blanket closer about them, "But my Captain says you have been here a while, for she speaks of hearing you sing a year and more ago."

The woman looked at Tallis with a wistful smile, "T'is true I have lingered here longer than is my habit, but there are so many strange folk and stories to be found hereabouts, and oft have I dreamt about the lands of the Fae. It sounds like a wondrous place, full of ancient tales of magic and myth. I think I would give all that I owned to explore such a place."

Tallis chuckled mischievously as she began to stroke the woman's neck, "Would you give your freedom?"

Magda quivered at the touch and her voice all but trembled, "Alas no, for that's the one thing I hold most dear to me. I think if I was tied to one place, one person, I would go mad. I do not think I could suffer it. It's a regret of mine. I wish I could see your lands though, truly, but they say all who wander there uninvited are taken into bondage."

The Dark Elf nodded again, "That's more or less true, for we are a suspicious folk by nature and do not tolerate masterless humans and the like going abroad in our realm. But those in service, or those who are known to us, having already served and earned their freedom, well, that is a different matter. Perhaps if you wish to enter the Fae realm you should seek to indenture yourself with some company of travelling harpers, explorers or cartographers. Thus, you could see out your term of service and have an answer for those who would question your presence in our domain."

The woman looked to her and raised an eyebrow, "Do you think this possible?"

"I don't see why not. My own mother would take you in, though that would be as a slave of our house, and perhaps not entirely to your liking. They say she's a cold and ruthless sort, and that's true enough, but she enjoys music and would happily show you off at any affairs she might host. Like as not she would consider it a coup to have such an exotic creature to entertain her company. And while she would hardly be the friendliest of sorts, she would rigidly abide by any contract you had between you, and she rewards loyal service. If you proved yourself to her, she would probably allow you to explore, provided it did not interfere with any purpose of her own."

"Forgive me, but you paint something of a cruel picture of her."

Tallis smiled, "I think 'ruthless' might be more accurate a description of her nature than 'cruel', but unless you insulted or disobeyed her, and provided you were respectful and not overly familiar, she would not abuse you. In truth I think she despises wanton cruelty and sees it as weakness."

"Weakness?"

"To her cruelty without purpose is nothing more than petty indulgence. Now that's not to say she wouldn't wring the marrow from your bones if it suited her design, but she would never do such a thing on a simple whim."

Mahda stared wide-eyed at the woman, "And this is your mother?"

Tallis laughed, a darkly musical sound that Magda found equal parts terrifying and tantalizing, "We are Dark Elves. Let us just say we look at things from a different perspective and leave it at that."

"Indeed."

Magda frowned at the Dark Elf for at the beginning of the evening, it had seemed that Tallis listened in wide-eyed fascination to the foreign woman, but strangely the encounter with the bound and gagged Dark Elven captive seemed to have dampened her spirit somewhat, and she saw her glance frequently at the bound woman.

Magda put her arm about her and pulled her close as she tried to speak a few words of comfort, "She has not been harmed Tallis, I swear it. Other than being bound and stripped neither Gorsini nor any of his folk have laid a hand upon her."

Tallis nodded as she pressed herself against the blonde woman and pulled the blanket closer about them as she whispered, "I know."

She leaned her head on the woman's shoulder and sighed. Magda for her part stared at the burning embers and shaking her head sadly she began to hum an old tune she recalled as a girl, only to stop as the cold edge of a razor-sharp blade touched her thigh, and then she realised how a fly might feel once it had been enticed into a spider's web.

Glancing down she saw the blade in the girl's hand was concealed by the blanket and when she looked into the smouldering red eyes of the Dark Elf, she felt a shiver of fear run through her. Those strange alien eyes were unblinking and no longer held the slightest trace of the sympathy and warmth of earlier.

Tallis's voice was a bitter, betrayed whisper as she leaned close to the woman, "You ensorcelled me?"

Magda swallowed, "A minor enchantment, nothing more, I... I swear it."

The blade pressed down slightly, "Is that why my Captain went off with that human so easily?"

"No! The spell washed off her like water off a stone, her will is too strong for such a gentle charm. And even if it did not, that would be a vile act, to make her behave so, and I would do no such thing to her."

The Dark Elf's voice held an edge of anger, "But I'm weak, is that what you say?"

"No, not weak, more...," the woman sighed, "you are more of a romantic I would say, you dream more, I think. It makes you slightly more malleable is all."

"What is the purpose of this charm? And be warned, if I think you lie, I will open up the artery beneath my blade and spill your blood like water from a jug."

The woman nodded, "I understand, and I feel your anger at being tricked, but the spell was meant to make you less crafty is all, lower your inhibitions and induce you to reveal your thoughts a little, nothing more. I have not harmed you."

"Why?"

"Gorsini wanted to be sure that there was no subterfuge or hostile scheme planned and that we could trust your intentions. If you had some malicious intent, you would like as not have spoken of it to me under the influence of the charm. That's all! I swear it."

"Then why did I share a blanket with you and damned near hug and embrace you so? Why am I yet drawn to you?"

The woman chuckled, but the feel of the blade across her thigh had a sobering effect and she quashed the desire to laugh, "It's a side effect of the charm, nothing more. It will fade soon enough. And I took no advantage, in fact, I doubt I could have, for all you did was talk of this Sunkissed girl you clearly fancy. In truth, I'm almost envious."

Tallis leaned in close as if she was about to kiss the woman but instead of feeling warm lips the woman heard a cold whisper, "Break this charm now, or I'm going to kill you."

"You already broke it yourself; it was but a small spell, nothing more. We just... had to be sure. I... I'm sorry."

The Dark Elf leaned back and stared into the woman's grey eyes, "Are you sorry?"

Magda sighed, "Truthfully? No, not really. We needed to know, so I did what I had to do."

Tallis gave the woman a genuine smile and withdrew her blade, "That's the most sensible thing I've heard yet. And are you satisfied now?"

"As well as I can be. You certainly have no inkling of any subterfuge or treachery planned by your Captain, but I cannot know for certain what thoughts she has in her mind. Not without weaving a more powerful song. If I attempted such, she would certainly recognise my intent and like as not murder me."

Tallis imagined Ashunara's reaction to any attempt to enchant her and shuddered at the thought, "Well, the Captain is less... forgiving than I am, that much is certain."

Magda looked at the young Dark Elf with some amazement, "Are you not angry with me?"

"I am angry with myself, for being so feeble-witted that I allowed myself to be ensnared by your web. But no, I am not angry at you. Using magic and subterfuge to obtain knowledge or advantage is part of our very nature. Indeed, I would have been insulted had I known you had this ability and deemed me not worth the bother. Had you harmed me though, or if I thought you had coerced my Captain into her licentious behaviour then, well let's just say we would not be having this conversation."

"You are not feeble-witted Tallis, you half-suspected what I was about I think, and you broke the enchantment yourself quickly enough."

"Yes, how exactly did I do that?"

"It was when that idiot angered you, the strong emotion purged my charm like a tonic. Any such strong feeling, or perhaps a sensation, such as a hurt or pain, would do the same. I should have realised it."

"And when you were humming your little tune there, were you trying to charm me again?"

Magda blushed, "Actually no, I just enjoyed the feeling of you leaning against me and I was humming a tune I remembered from when I was a child, I... I thought you might like it, nothing more."

The Dark Elf leaned back against her again, "Then hum your tune, it's pleasing enough to listen to, but you best keep your damned hands to yourself woman, I'm spoken for."

Magda sighed, "Pity."

...

Come morning Ashunara rose and dressed in her mail. Gorsini, much like the Dark Elf, had similarly awoken as the dawn's early light had barely begun to pierce the dark shadows outside. He had also garbed himself in gambeson and mail, though he was slower as he had paused to enjoy the spectacle of the woman dressing.

The Dark Elf grinned as she struggled with her boots, "Enjoying the show?"

Gorsini smiled as he reached around her lithe waist to help buckle her sword belt about her, "Very much so Captain, though I think, perhaps, I enjoyed watching you taking it off all the more, but it's a close-run thing."

Once armed and armoured Ashunara turned and stood before him, one hand on hip and the other on the pommel of her sword, "Well Captain, do I pass muster?"

"Indeed, you do. It was an honour to offer you the... ahem, hospitality of my tent."

Ashunara grinned, "I've had worse evenings."

The man laughed and theatrically clutched his heart, "Argh! I'm wounded."

Ashunara stepped closer, "You spoke of what would happen if I ever wore your collar?"

He sobered, "I did."

The Dark Elf nodded, "I make it my business to know the quality of my enemies Gorsini and you are a known sword. You have taken more than a few of my kind in raids and knowing that we might one day meet on the field I sought out those who had been taken by you and later ransomed, so I might learn what I could of you."

He smiled, "And what did you learn milady?"

"They say you are a hard and ruthless man in battle, a cunning commander and a devious foe."

"Is that all they say of me Ashunara?"

"No, they say that you treated them fairly, that you did not indulge in abuse, brutality or rape, and when it came to ransom you dealt with them honourably. So I want you to know, if it ever does come to us facing off across a field one day then you best ward yourself, for I'll cut your throat from ear to ear in the blink of an eye if I get the chance," she leaned in close and kissed him to take the sting from her words, "but, for what little it's worth, I'd regret it, and trust me, from a Dark Elf that's no small thing."

He stared into her all but black eyes for a long time before he shook himself, "You know, it goes to illustrate the insanity of my life, but that's probably the nicest thing anyone has said to me in years."

Ashunara laughed, "Oh, and one last thing. If that lanky blonde doxy of yours ever casts a spell at me again I'm going to slice off your manhood."

"That sounds fair," he braced himself, "ready?"

She nodded, and with practiced ease dismissed the smile from her lips, "Let's do this."

Outside Gorsini quickly noted the captive Dark Elf was still naked, bound and gagged, though her blindfold had been removed and she was now staring daggers at the younger Dark Elf standing nearby, presumably trying to look innocent.

He had no idea what an innocent Dark Elf looked like, but he recognised the nervous glances the young woman was giving her Captain and he grinned, "Interesting to know that recruits act the same no matter their ilk."

He stifled the grin and turned to Magda, "I thought I instructed that the prisoner be unbound and dressed, what happened?"

The skáld shrugged, "She became a bit of a bore, so we left her as she was."

He sniffed, "Fair enough. How fares the company?"

"We received word from the Dark Elves that Lamberson lives and is much improved. They have him in a travois and he will be ready to travel as we pass their position. Our surgeon returned to us during the night and says that while the man requires to be dragged for now, he's no longer in danger and will be able to walk once he recovers from losing so much blood, so perhaps only a day or two before he's back on his feet."

"Good news indeed Magda, anything else?"

"Yes, Captain, Dana returned in the wee hours and reports signs of pursuit. They will be here in about a day and a half, she left her brother to keep a watch and intends to return to him once she has rested."

Gorsini nodded, "Well enough, but instruct her instead to go to the Dark Elven encampment as per my agreement with their good Captain and await their pleasure until our company has passed their position. In the meanwhile, what of us?"

"Breakfast is all but done, and the camp prepared. Once your tent is dismantled, we will be ready to march. Oh," she turned to Ashunara, "Dana again offers her thanks for being so well treated by your company Captain."