by K. L. Thorne
“Will you be taking these off?” Lori changed the subject quickly, flicking her completed braid back over her shoulder. She turned to face him and jangled her manacles.
“I'll take your ankle restraints off because it’s slippery out there, but the wrists stay on, I'm afraid.” Lephas put his bag down and knelt to roll up the thin travel mattress.
“Seriously?” The faerie huffed.
“Sorry, Princess. Rules are rules.” Lephas smiled apologetically.
“I guess.” She sighed. “Can you at least take them off me for two minutes whilst I... Well, I need to pee.”
“Ah, uh...” Lephas rubbed the back of his neck. “You can't go unsupervised.”
“What?! Some kind of perv, are you?”
“Of course not! I just–” Lephas blushed. He strapped the mattress onto his pack with more force than was strictly necessary.
“I'm kidding, commander. I get it. I might run away whilst my pants are down. It's just as well I'm not shy, isn't it? Though I have a feeling you might be. You're looking a bit pink all of a sudden,” she teased.
“You're the one who– Ugh, just shut up!” Lephas growled, his face heating even more. He got to his feet, slinging the pack over his shoulder. “Come on.”
Lori ran a finger across her lips, miming her silence.
Lephas stood aside, allowing her to walk in front of him into the corridor. He gave the room a quick look over for forgotten items and triple-checked that the fire was well and truly extinguished before following the girl out of the bedroom. Stood behind her, Lephas realised just how tiny the faerie was. He was a good head and shoulders taller than her and at least three times her weight – maybe more.
She carefully shuffled into the main living space, focussing intently on not tripping over her manacles. The rest of his soldiers were packed up and waiting for them.
“Hi, boys.” Lori greeted the others with a seductive smile. She glanced at Haros, shooting him an especially bright smile.
Lephas felt his mood darken.
“Our guest needs to use the latrine.” Lephas caught the eye of one of his men. “Give her privacy, but don't leave her unattended.”
“Wh– Me?!” the boy spluttered.
“Am I looking at anyone else?” Lephas snapped.
“You mean you're not coming with me?” Lori asked, turning to face him.
“I have things I need to tie up here. Make it snappy; we need to leave.”
Lori stuck her bottom lip out playfully but obediently started shuffling towards the door, followed closely by a nervous-looking soldier. He picked up the hinge-less door and moved it aside for the princess.
“Ugh, it's cold out here,” Lephas heard the faerie complain, just before the door was put back in place behind them.
“You going to keep her in those chains all day?” Haros asked.
Lephas shook his head “No, she'll slow us down. Once she's back, I'll take her ankle restraints off. I'm keeping her wrists bound but I might attach her to one of us. That'll free her arms up, but will make sure she can't run.”
“She wouldn't get far,” Haros argued.
“No, but faeries are crafty. She wouldn't need to get far to be able to hide from us. I don't believe she knows any offensive majick but she's trained in defence. Masking her scent would be easy and even Karn wouldn't be able to find her then.”
“True. Any takers for faerie babysitter?” Haros addressed the remaining three soldiers. They all hurriedly shook their heads.
Haros looked at Lephas.
“Me?” He frowned.
“It was your idea to keep her in chains. I'm not having her slowing me down.”
“I thought you two were the best of friends now?” Lephas tried to sound playful, but it came out forced.
Haros sighed with a laugh and shook his head. He pulled Lephas to the side, stepping in closer. “You sweet on her or something?” he asked quietly.
“No!” Lephas lied. “I'm concerned about you getting too close to her.”
“Hey, look – I think she's a nice-looking piece, but I'm not seriously pursuing her,” Haros whispered. “Though I am definitely going to start hanging out in some mixed-race bars when we get back to Banesteppe. I've never seen a female faerie down there, but a demon can hope.”
“Good,” Lephas replied. “Keep it that way.”
“All I was trying to say was, I could understand it if you were... Interested.”
“I’ll admit she's not hideous,” Lephas responded cagily. “But no. You know as well as I do Zelrus wouldn't be best pleased to hear one of his men had bedded the prisoner. Especially if that person was me.”
“What he doesn't know...” Haros caught Lephas's warning glare and shrugged. “Yeah, I know. He'd be pissed. But hey! If she's not hideous, then you won't mind her trailing around after you all day, right?” The other demon slapped him on the shoulder.
“That's not what I–”
The commander was interrupted by the front door being lifted away from the frame again. An icy blast of fresh air assaulted them.
Lori was frog-marched back into the room, shivering already.
“It was not nice getting my ass out in that snow!” she whined.
“What are you talking about?” Lephas looked at the soldier who had accompanied her. “You did take her to the outhouse just down the track, didn't you?”
The boy's face fell. “Oh.”
“...You mean, you had me squat in the snow, like an animal, and there was an outhouse?!” Lori gaped.
“Just... Get your things.” Lephas pinched the bridge of his nose. He had a headache.
“I-I'm sorry sir, I–”
“Hey, don't apologise to him, kid! I have half a mind to make you go back out there and eat some yellow snow.” Lori huffed, clearly embarrassed.
Haros snorted loudly, earning a killing look from Lephas. Haros turned hurriedly to get his pack onto his shoulders. He lifted his sword onto his back and held out Lephas's sword.
The commander took it from him and strapped it into place around his waist.
“Alright guys, come on – let's move out!” Haros shouted. As the other soldiers started shuffling out of the front door, he turned to Lephas. “We'll wait outside. I'll get Karn.”
“Right behind you.” Lephas nodded and looked to Lori. “Come here.” He grabbed her shoulders and steered her to a wooden stool.
“I want you to have a word with that guy! The indignity of it!” Though she kept her gaze fixed on the embarrassed soldier, who was hurriedly exiting the farm house, she allowed Lephas to push her onto the seat. She crossed her arms with a heavy sigh.
Lephas knelt down in front of her and pulled a small silver key off a clasp on his belt. He unlocked the iron manacles and they fell free, one at a time, from the princess's legs.
“That's better,” she groaned, rolling her ankles.
Lephas clipped the manacles back together and dropped his bag off his shoulder. He placed them inside and then pulled out some leather straps with sharp spikes of metal attached to the length of them.
“What are those?” Lori asked curiously.
“You'll see,” Lephas replied and grabbed one of her boots. Expertly, he wrapped the leather around her foot in loops, like a ballet slipper, and tied them tightly half way up her calf. The spikes lined the soles of her previously tread-less boots.
“Ah, now that's a good idea. I was slipping about all over the place yesterday.” The faerie smiled.
“I'm not surprised,” Lephas focussed his attention on attaching the snow spikes to her other boot.
He jolted, the leather straps falling from his hands, as Lori reached out to trail her fingers over one of his horns. Her hand flew away as though she had been burnt. “What are you doing?” Lephas cocked an eyebrow at her.
“Sorry – I just... I wanted to know what they felt like.” She smiled apologetically.
“Do you just go around touching strangers without their permission?” th
e commander asked, bristling.
Lori ignored his ire. “Can you feel through them?”
“Sort of.” Lephas sighed, snatching the snow spikes off the floor and starting over. “There aren't many nerve endings in them, thankfully, but they do bleed like a bitch if you snap them.”
“You can snap those things?!” Lori winced. “They look pretty solid.”
“They are. Very useful for ramming into people in a fight,” Lephas replied absently, concentrating. “Our horns are very tough, but I've seen men accidentally hit them into things that have been tougher. It's not pretty.”
“Do girl demons have horns too?”
“Some of them – not all. Are we finished with question time?” Lephas pulled the second set of snow spikes tight and tied the leather in a knot.
“I guess, sorry,” she mumbled.
Lephas sighed. “It's fine. I suppose I'm just not used to faeries actually being interested in these things.”
“Lemonade out of lemons.” Lori shrugged.
“Wrists,” Lephas instructed, and the girl obediently held out her arms.
“I thought you said I was keeping these on?”
“You are,” he replied. Lephas unclasped the faerie's left wrist and quickly attached the cuff to his own, making sure to keep his sword arm free.
“Oh. I'm attached to you all day?” Lori's eyes sparkled with interest.
“For now. Can't risk you getting away from us, and I pulled the short straw.”
“Hey, I'll have you know I'm a delight to be chained to.” The girl winked at him and hopped off the stool as Lephas stood.
Lephas grabbed his pack and strode towards the kitchen table. His wrist met with resistance immediately and Lori stumbled.
“Whoa! A bit of warning?”
“I'm going to need you to try your best to keep up with me today, alright?” Lephas picked up a dark brown piece of fur and passed it to her.
“Oh, thanks.” Lori took the fur, clearly delighting in how soft it was. It was sewn together into a loop. She slid it over her head and gathered the material around her neck.
“The fur goes on the inside. Have you never actually been outside in the snow before?” Lephas sighed, fighting a smile.
“On the inside? But then no one would see the fur?” Lori frowned.
“That's kind of the point.” Lephas gently pulled the snood back over the faerie's head. He turned the material inside-out, so the dark tanned leather was on the outside with the soft fur on the inside.
He handed it back to Lori, who dutifully pulled the material into place. She tucked her braid inside and adjusted the material so it was comfortable.
“The fur is on the inside to keep you warm, not on the outside to look good.” Lephas grinned.
Lori sighed. “What a waste. This thing smells great, by the way – whose is it?” She pulled the fur up over her nose and mouth. Her stunning blue eyes shone even brighter when the rest of her pretty face was hidden.
“Uh, it's mine.”
“Oh.” Lori laughed awkwardly. “Well, you smell great.”
How did she brazen that out so well? Lephas picked up his pack again. Even the tips of his ears felt hot.
“Ready?” he asked, pulling the heavy woollen scarf up from his own neck over his face, making sure to cover his ears.
“As I'll ever be.” Lori pulled her fur hood up over her head.
The pair stepped out into the blinding snowstorm. Karn was immediately at Lephas's side. The commander stooped to give the large wolf an affectionate pat. Lori trailed a safe distance behind, keeping her eyes fixed on Karn warily.
“Let's set out,” Lephas shouted to Haros over the whistling wind.
“It's howling out here!” Haros shouted back. “It's going to be hard to travel in this.”
“I know, but the longer we sit here, the more likely it is we’ll be discovered.” Lephas glanced back at the princess, who had her head tucked down against the onslaught and her arms held tight to her chest.
He grabbed her shoulder and tugged her roughly to stand in front of him. “Whenever you can, try to stay down-wind of me. I'll try to buffer the worst of it.”
“It's so cold!” Lori cried.
“It's just going to get worse. Let me know if you start getting too cold, alright?” Lephas rested his hand on her shoulder.
Lori nodded.
“Come on.” He turned to his men. “Move out!”
The group began trudging onwards, back down the hill towards the narrow track they had been following the day prior. Karn gracefully ran ahead – the deep snow was no challenge for him.
Where the temperature had dropped overnight, the ground was icy underfoot. Even with his snow spikes, the commander could feel his footing slipping as they carefully made their way down. Lephas hoped that when they got to the bottom, the forest would shade the worst of the storm from them. He was under no illusions that their journey was going to be any less arduous, either way; the snow was deep and brittle. He glanced over his shoulder.
The small figure following him was almost up to her mid-calves in places.
Just as he looked at her, Lori lost her footing and her feet slid out from underneath her. The manacle on his wrist jerked his arm backwards and he wobbled, nearly falling with her.
He steadied himself before turning to hold out a hand for the princess. She took it gladly and he pulled her back onto her feet.
As Lephas went to pull his hand from her, her grip tightened. She took a few shaky steps towards him and, still holding his hand, latched her other hand onto his bicep.
Deciding not to read too much into it, Lephas allowed her to hold onto him as they continued. His men, although travelling much slower than they would usually, had already walked on ahead. They were only a little way in front, but the thick snow made it difficult to see them. They were just dark shadows.
They had only taken a few more steps before Lori slid again. It was a wonder the girl had made it this far by herself before they had captured her. Lephas conceded that the weather conditions were certainly harsher than yesterday, but she was like a baby deer. Her long, slender legs slid from underneath her at every opportunity.
After the third or fourth slip, Lephas lost his patience. He signalled for Lori to stop and the girl looked up, her blue eyes gazing at him curiously. Without asking her permission, Lephas swept the princess off her feet and flipped her up over his shoulder.
“Hey! Put me down!” He heard her screech and a small fist hit his back.
“It'll take us all year to get anywhere at this rate. Just sit still,” he instructed her, carefully picking his way through the snow.
Within minutes, they had caught up to Haros and the others. His friend did a double-take when he saw them approaching. Though Haros's face was completely hidden by thermal furs, Lephas knew he would be smirking.
The commander strode to the front of the group, ignoring his friend.
Still Lori continued to wriggle and she slipped from his shoulder, dangerously close to being dropped. Lephas paused to heft her back up, attempting to secure her position whilst fighting against falling on his ass in the snow himself.
The girl in his arms froze momentarily before twisting to smack him on the back of the head.
“What?!” he shouted at her.
“Hands!”
In his haste to stop Lori from falling, Lephas had grabbed her wherever he could get a handhold. When he glanced across, he had his large hand between her thighs and was using her generous bottom to drag her back up onto his shoulder.
“Oh! Sorry!” He released her immediately.
“At least buy me dinner first!” she shouted back, making Lephas laugh.
Now Lori was more secure, the commander continued tracking ahead. The wind whipped at him, and he wished he had his thick fur snood, but couldn't bring himself to feel too bad for lending it to the faerie. Besides, it smelt great, apparently. Lephas grinned to himself.
Gradually, the s
lope started to even out And, though it was still slippery underfoot, the gradient became easier to traverse.
“Do you know where the track we were following yesterday is? I'm having a hard time seeing anything I recognise in this damn weather,” Haros shouted.
“We'll have to work it out when we get to the bottom and take it a bit at a time. “The snow will have covered a lot of our tracks from yesterday, which is good from an ambush point of view, but not so great for my navigation,” Lephas replied breathlessly. Though Lori wasn't heavy, carrying her was putting extra strain on his muscles.
“Surely any men Lazuli has sent for her won't be out in this?”
“I wouldn't have thought so, but you can't be too careful.”
They continued on in silence, Lephas paying close attention to every footfall. As they journeyed, his thoughts turned to the woman he had draped over his shoulder yet again.
It was unusual how quickly she had adapted to being their prisoner. Though he didn't doubt that she was wary of his men and himself, she didn't seem to be too concerned about being captured.
He supposed maybe they hadn't given her much reason to be fearful of them. He was sure sleeping curled up next to a warm fire, being healed and given food, wasn't what she had been expecting.
Which was good. It was the way Zelrus had instructed it and was the way they were with all prisoners of war, if they were able to be.
It helped that Lori was – how had Haros put it? – a 'good looking piece'. It definitely made it easier to be kind to her.
All in all, Lephas had been pleased with the way things had gone so far. He had made good time, caught his mark and developed a rapport with her. Zelrus would be pleased.
He was sure his king would be less pleased if he knew how Lephas was feeling towards said mark. He fought to keep his mind off the princess's shapely behind, which was no easy feat when it was right next to his face.
Lephas wondered what was happening back in Awrelwood. Was Lazuli distraught to find one of his daughters had run away? Did he even care? The king was so heartless, Lephas doubted he had the ability to care about anything.