Treasure Ch. 10

"Surely you could forgive us for this thoughtlessness," Adeon said. "Aren't there tales of your justness, of your mercy?"

The King leaned forward, like he was confiding a secret. "You heard incorrectly, I'm afraid," he said kindly.

"The truce!" Adeon moaned. "What of the truce?" The king laughed; a smooth noise like melting butter.

"You have broken the truce. You have shattered the truce. You have mauled the truce beyond recognition and danced upon its corpse. I do not extend my hospitality to thieves and intruders." He waved a dismissive hand. "Remove them from my sight."

Adeon willed his hands into claws, his wings to erupt from his shoulders. Rows of scales feathered out across his arms, and, to his horror, immediately shrank back into his skin. He stared down at his hands, which had refused to lengthen into lethal talons, and then looked desperately towards Catherine, who, judging by her pallor, had taken note of his predicament. A troll--massive and green with a full black mane trailing down his spine--grabbed his arms and began to drag him away, and she let out a hoarse cry as a dark-haired fairy man seized her by the wrists.

"WAIT!" she suddenly shrieked. Her voice was muted in the chaos around them, but the King seemed to take notice. He immediately silenced the room with a flick of his fingers. The man behind her quickly released her, and she stumbled forward. Adeon attempted to wrench away from his captor, but the troll only tightened his grip and rewarded him with a snarl that was intensified by the tusks curving out from its lower lip.

"She speaks," the King said lightly. "Have you something to say, human girl?" Catherine lifted her chin and fixed him with an even stare. Her hands were clasped firmly in front of her stomach.

"I am Catherine Bastion of Blackwall," she said. "My father reigns over a small duchy within the castle limits."

"How interesting," the King said thoughtfully. "Well met, Lady Catherine."

Adeon watched in amazement from the confines of the troll's arms as Catherine dropped into a perfect curtsy. "The pleasure is mine, Majesty," she replied. She regarded him demurely from beneath her lashes as she straightened back up, and the King's smile widened with delight. That grin filled Adeon with homicidal rage.

"Oh, I don't know about that," he said. Catherine bowed her head and offered him a polite smile of acceptance. "Very well. You may speak freely, Lady Catherine," he continued, propping his elbows up on the throne's armrests. "I'm very curious to learn why a fledgling duchess would stray into my halls--flanked by two dragons, no less."

"It would be my honor to sate your curiosity, Your Majesty," she chirped. The fairy King leaned forward to watch her with a fascinated sort of amusement. "I've come to warn you of an impending attack. There have been whispers within my father's walls of the eastern cities' displeasure with the fey. Since they have failed to treat with you, they're preparing to siege the forest."

"Really," the King said softly.

"Yes, Your Majesty. King Hadrien was offended by your refusal, and I'm afraid that it has caused him to act rather foolishly."

"And I presume this is the same army that plans to lay waste to your mountains?" he inquired after a moment's pause.

"You would presume correctly, of course, Your Majesty," Catherine answered.

"I see." He tilted his head to the side. "And what could have possessed you to betray your kingdom?"

"It isn't right." She gave Adeon a sidelong glance, and he squinted at her in confusion. "These are my friends, and I'd hate to see any harm come to them over the rash decisions of some angry men," she continued. The King's eyebrows rose slightly.

"Your friends," he repeated, and she smiled up at him. "Most intriguing. How would a duchess come into the company of dragons?"

"That," she said, "is a very, very long tale to tell, Your Majesty."

"We have all the time in the world, my dear Catherine," he assured her, plucking up a goblet from the table next to him and taking a long draught.

"But I'm afraid we don't," she said--almost remorsefully, like she was anxious to tell him but simply didn't have the time. "The army attacks tomorrow at dawn. We must return to offer our assistance."

He pressed a hand to his chest in mild surprise, playing along with her. "Do you plan to fight, Lady Catherine?"

"Oh yes, Your Majesty. I'm told that I'm quite skilled with a bow," she said brightly, and he burst out laughing. The fairies on either side of him echoed his laughter hesitantly.

"Of course you are," he chuckled once his mirth had subsided. "Of course you are. My dear, you are simply a delight. I just want to keep you." He rested his chin in the palm of his hand, looking thoughtful, and Adeon watched hopelessly as Catherine grew pale. "But how could a legion of dragons stand a chance without their darling archer?" he added.

"Such teasing, Your Majesty," she pouted, and he grinned.

"Only a little, my Lady." He heaved a sigh and sank back into his chair, then waved vaguely towards the fairies behind them. "Release the valiant warriors. They're needed for battle on the morrow and the journey home is long," he finally said. The trolls that were restraining Adeon and Cael gaped up at him for a moment, but eventually released both of them and took a step back. Cael rubbed his arms reproachfully.

"Will you help us?" Catherine asked softly, and Adeon watched warily as he beckoned her closer with a crook of his finger. Swallowing, she ascended the steps until she was standing directly before him.

"Perhaps. Perhaps not. As charming as it would be to see you fight for your dragons, I'm afraid these things require a certain amount of consideration," he said. If his answer bothered Catherine, she didn't let it show. Instead, she offered him a coy smile.

"You're so very kind to consider, Your Majesty. I'll await your answer most anxiously," she murmured.

"Oh, to have the Lady Catherine fret over me." He extended his hand lazily, and when she touched her fingers obediently to his palm, he knelt forward and dragged his lips over her knuckles. "Slay them all," he whispered, and she removed her hand from his to execute another flawless curtsy.

"With pleasure, Your Majesty," she replied sweetly. His eyes flitted back to Cael as he leaned back in his chair, and the smile faded from his face.

"Pray that we do not meet again," he said to Cael, who only grinned weakly up at him. "As for the two of you, I shall interpret any further intrusions as a request to stay as an eternal guest within my halls. And I would be delighted to accept. Now, go." His eyes narrowed fiercely. "Before I change my mind."

Catherine dipped her head in a grateful bow and scurried down the stairs to Adeon's side. He steered her towards him with a hand on her waist, drawing her close to his chest. Now that her audience with the King had ended, her eyes were huge with relief and staring off into nowhere.

"What on earth did you think you were doing?" he asked softly, but his lips were curving into an amazed smile.

"You told me to be polite," she whispered. "And I remembered that I knew a thing or two about formalities."

"You could have been killed, you know," he murmured. "Or something much worse. For a moment I thought he would keep you in a cage beside his throne like a canary. I wouldn't put it past him."

The grin she gave him was wild and unsteady. "But he didn't."

Adeon let out a bark of a laugh as they ascended the staircase. "He didn't."

"What would have happened had I stayed behind, I wonder?" she added smugly, and Adeon's face fell into a scowl.

"Don't press your luck. I'm still furious with you."

"Even if I saved your skins?"

Adeon was spared from responding as Cael caught up with them on the staircase, breathing hard. "You were brilliant," he gushed. "Just brilliant. You nearly had him eating right out of your hand. Ingenious, really, how you played to his weakness like that..."

Catherine frowned. "His weakness?"

"Didn't you know? Finvarra is a notorious womanizer. You'll notice that there isn't a Queen at his side." He gave Catherine a sly look. "I can only hope you didn't pique his interest too much. He's rather persistent when a lady catches his eye."

Adeon's nostrils flared. Catherine grew very pale and stared silently ahead at the stairs, her lips parted with dread. Cael looked very pleased with himself.

"Did I say something?" he inquired.

--

Back at their meeting place Adeon was greeted with the sight of Roane and Shax standing before Jiro. Roane was wearing a crown made of white peonies in his red hair and plucking nervously at a bouquet of daisies, and Shax was pleading fervently to Jiro, who accepted his protests with cool silence.

"Speak, damn you, you have to know where they've gone to!" he demanded shrilly. When Jiro said nothing, he gripped two fistfulls of his long, copper hair. "Oh, this is bad," he moaned. "This is very, very bad--" He glanced up with a start as Adeon, Cael and Catherine emerged into the clearing, and relief made his features slack. "You're alive," he croaked.

"Of course we are," Cael droned, and Adeon gave him a look of intense dislike. Roane smiled and quickly flitted to Catherine's side.

"Where's Sher?" Adeon asked, watching with bemusement as Roane chattered eagerly with Catherine. He was brandishing the flowers and making exaggerated motions with his hands, and Catherine was nodding with a wide grin on her face. When he wrenched his eyes back up to Shax, the color had drained from his face.

"I don't know," he whispered hoarsely. "We went to parley with the Queen, and this one just...wandered off," he spat, shooting a furious look towards Roane, who still seemed to be in the middle of telling Catherine a fascinating story. "We split up to look for him later, and when I found him, she had vanished..."

"So you left her there? That does seem to be a trend today," Cael said with a pointed glance at Adeon, who ignored him. Shax went white with anger.

"I came for help," he hissed, lurching forward, and Cael held his hands up in mock-surrender. "But you three were busy dawdling with the Unseelie--probably having a grand time with all of his little friends--"

"It was perfectly terrible, actually," said Catherine, who was now wearing the crown of flowers. She pushed it up with her fingertips as it slipped down towards her eyes, shedding enormous petals that fluttered to the ground like feathers. "They can't have hurt her, can they? You didn't do anything to provoke them."

"I can never know with her," Shax sighed. He began marching towards the edge of the clearing, heading south, and he glanced back at them with huge, desperate eyes. "You have to help me find her..."

"Not really," said Cael. Adeon sighed as Catherine tugged his hand, urging him towards Shax.

"It's only minutes 'til dusk," he finally said flatly, allowing himself to be dragged behind her. "We'll have to hurry." The rest fell into step beside them--even Cael, who relented with a ragged sigh.

"We can't just leave her there," Catherine retorted. Beside her, Roane nodded thoughtfully. He was munching slowly, a daisy stem protruding from between his lips.

But, to Adeon's surprise, the world only grew brighter the further they traveled, and within ten minutes, the twilit sky was the pale blue of midday. Tiny songbirds were chattering in the trees, which had turned brilliantly green with foliage and dripped with fruits and flowers. The air around them was growing warmer and slightly more humid, like there was a vast lake nearby. A glittering flurry of fluttering things--far too large to be dragonflies--swarmed past them in a buzz.

When Adeon shouldered through a wall of rosebushes, he froze. To his left, he saw Catherine clap a hand over her mouth.

Sher was sprawled out on her back across a long dinner table in the middle of a clearing, surrounded by upset plates and silver goblets. Her dress had been discarded, and she writhed, perfectly nude, over her lavender cloak, which had been spread beneath her like a blanket. A woman with close-cropped dark hair, clad only in a white tattered skirt and covered in intricate, swirling tattoos of the palest blue, was leaned over the table and settled in between Sher's long legs, and her lips were kissing and mouthing lovingly in between her thighs. A tall man with flowing golden hair was trickling wine in a fountain of rubies onto Sher's pale breasts, and as Adeon watched, he dipped forward to lap droplets of it from the tender skin. He sucked a flushed nipple into his mouth, and Sher arched her back in ecstasy. Rivulets of the wine were dripping from her chest towards her belly, where several tiny pixies of varying genders had settled to nibble at her flesh and drink deeply of the scarlet puddles that had gathered in her navel. Their wings, iridescent and pointed like a dragonfly's, shimmered like diamonds in the sunlight. Standing in front of Sher was a lithe, graceful man with silky-looking dark hair that was set with a glittering ivy circlet. He was completely naked, and Sher's head was leaned backwards over the table as she suckled eagerly at his cock. His thin fingers buried themselves in her copper hair and held her fast as he pulled away, holding himself just out of reach, and she pleaded with him in a fetching whine until he thrust slowly forward and pushed himself deep into her throat. Her violet eyes closed blissfully.

"Why didn't we come here?" the Cael sighed.

"Sheridan," Shax gasped, the blood retreating from his face. Sher opened her eyes inquisitively as he spoke, but the man she was servicing caressed her neck and whispered soft, loving noises, and she eased him slowly back out of her mouth. Her tongue swirled wetly over his tip, which was dark with arousal, and Shax covered his eyes firmly as she sucked him back into the depths of her throat.

"Such a good girl," the man purred, and Sher's eyelids fluttered with happiness from his praise. The woman in between her legs shifted in her chair and wormed two fingers inside of her, and Sher thrummed a pleased little noise around the man's width. He closed his eyes at the sound and gripped her hair tighter, and Adeon carefully averted his gaze as her throat constricted obediently to accept his release. At that moment, Jiro emerged from the bushes behind them. He took one look at the scene before him, lifted his eyebrows, and promptly turned to mosey back into the trees.

"Should we stop them?" Catherine whispered, as pale as a ghost in the light of the clearing, and Adeon looked down at her and pondered that for a long moment.

"I don't know," he finally said.

"Join us for supper?" the golden-haired man offered, surfacing from Sher's breasts to regard them with curiosity. His lips were flushed pink from wine, and his shoulder shifted as his arm rose and fell beneath the table in slow strokes. "There are wines and golden fruits from our orchards, and a myriad of pleasures at our disposal. Tarry a while and share with us."

"As gracious as you are, I'm afraid we'll have to decline," Adeon said carefully, and he cut off with a jerk as Catherine smacked his arm. "What?" he snapped, and she fixed him with a furious stare.

"Do something," she hissed.

"The dragon girl is just scrumptious. We've enjoyed her very much," the dark-haired man said, running his fingers through her hair as he slid out from her mouth. Sher sighed and trailed a hand down his chiseled hips. His hair shifted as he knelt to kiss her, revealing pointed ears that jutted out knife-like from his skull. Then he plucked a goblet up from the table, stalked through the clearing, and stopped in front of Catherine, who gawked up at his naked body in horror. "This one's pretty, too," he added appreciatively. A single finger swirled the contents of his wine as he spoke. Adeon felt his hands ball into fists.

"She's not for you," he said curtly.

"What a pity." He traced Catherine's lower lip with a wet, wine-stained fingertip, and she quickly jerked her head away. "We could all have a lot of fun."

"That's very nice of you, but I think we'll be needing her back now," Roane said from Shax's side. Shax's face was still buried in his hands, and he let out a feeble sort of groan.

"We're not quite done with her," he replied, almost apologetically. "But we'll return her to you unscathed." Behind him, Sher was bucking her hips in time with the thrusts of the fairy woman's fingers and making soft wailing noises as the fair-haired man mauled her breasts with his hands and tugged at her nipples. Two of the tiny pixies fluttered upwards to cover her throat in fleeting kisses and toy with one of her ears, and the other three seemed to be pinching wickedly at the flesh of her stomach and thighs with tiny, pin-like fingers. Adeon patiently fixed his eyes on a nearby branch as she tensed and jerked, and a long, shuddering gasp suddenly tore from her throat. She clung desperately to her partner's hair, her fingers knotting in the short, black locks, and the fairy woman rose to cover her hips and thighs in deep kisses.

"You taste like the first flower of spring," she sighed, sucking lazily at her fingertips, and Sher wriggled into a sitting position to kiss her frantically. The pixies at her belly ascended in a flurry as they were disturbed, and Sher shivered as they perched on her shoulders and nibbled at her pointed ears. The fair-haired man stroked her jaw hopefully as they embraced, and Sher quickly turned to him to reward him with another long kiss. He grasped her hips and tugged her off the table so she was sitting in his lap. She gasped as he entered her, and he began to move her hips in a slow, urgent rhythm. His pointed features grew slack with satisfaction, and she giggled--giggled--when his lips found her throat.

"Is it over?" Shax bleated out from behind his hands, and Adeon patted him gently on the shoulder, then stalked into the clearing. The others followed. Shax kept his eyes trained forlornly on the forest floor.

"Excuse us," Adeon said, and the fairy woman shifted so she was facing him. At this angle, he could see the swirling, calligraphic tattoos that spiraled around her ample breasts.

"You don't need to be so formal," she said. She smiled, revealing perfect white teeth beneath her dainty pink lips. "You're all friends here."

"That's all well and good," Adeon said gently. "But I'm afraid you have one of our companions, and she's of no use to us if you're...playing with her," he finished, watching in a captivated sort of way as Sher moved greedily in the other fairy's lap. The fair-haired man had leaned back in his chair and draped his arms over the armrests, and he was making gentle sounds of encouragement as Sher rode his hips in fluid strokes. She raised a hand to caress the pixies on her shoulder, and they sucked and nibbled on her fingertips. Adeon tried to ignore the soft, wet noises of their lovemaking and instead focused on the fairy woman.

"Don't worry. You'll have her back soon." She gazed wistfully at Sher from the corner of her cornflower-blue eyes. "I've never had a dragon before. Such a deliciously long tongue. Are you all like that?" she inquired, swiveling towards Adeon. He smiled as Catherine clung to his arm, her fingers clutching possessively at the fabric of his shirt.

"Indeed," he said.

"How wonderful." She looked at Catherine and lowered a heavily-painted eyelid in a wink that was, in itself, quite possibly the most suggestive gesture Adeon had ever seen. "You're quite a lucky girl."

"Thank you," Catherine said weakly, and Adeon watched in amusement as her face glowed pink. The fairy woman leaned forward and kissed the flushed skin of her cheek.