For the Love of Elves (World Walker Book 1)

by Shawn Keys

  Moon elves were among the most common, with forest elves being the other. Or, perhaps sea elves, though they lived so much below the waves that they were rarely seen. Sun elves used moon elf families to rule smaller duchies and outlying cities, overseeing human nobility. Sun elves technically owned those lands, but they hated leaving their crystal towers for long. Moon elves were the ones who exercised the realm’s power day to day. Or, when here in the castle, acted more directly as sun elf servants and squires to the gendarmes. After all, sun elves did not wish the stench of humans this close to them, and moon elves were ‘tolerable’.

  Ajax thought the maid was far more than tolerable. She was wearing a simple cotton dress worn off her shoulders and draped to below her knees, but let her move freely. That plain attire couldn’t quench her natural, silvery radiance. What was more, her concern for Callistia was immediately evident and totally genuine. After watching a court feasting on her pain, Ajax couldn’t help liking this moon elf instantly for her loyalty and kindness.

  Callistia drifted over to the windows, gazing out onto the wide ocean and the huge silver moon hanging like a deity over the water. Wisps of cloud were mild shadows against the power of that radiant light. The unearthly vision was worthy of inspiring the dreams of artists. It calmed her rage, but didn’t soothe it away completely. “My brother decided this was the day, Helleanna.”

  The maid came up short, her pale hands covering her mouth with lips that were tinted a deep dark-ocean blue. “Oh, no!”

  Callistia hung her head in sorrow-filled pain. “I didn’t know what form his attack would take. Only that it would come. What he chose… was abhorrent.”

  Being referred to as a horror stung Ajax’s ego, but he couldn’t bear to object. She was right. He swore a part of Callistia had been attracted to him on some level, but any mutual attraction was lost in the crude game being played.

  He had already hurt the egos of so many elves. He didn’t stand on ceremony here. Not waiting to be spoken to, Ajax rushed to say what he hoped would solve this pain for her. “Lady Callistia, there is no need for this.” He debated telling the whole truth, but not yet. She was desperate, and he could not risk the real artifact even to save her from pain. For all he knew of her, she would offer it back to her brother to salvage her place in court. He thought she was of more noble character, but… well, in her mind, he was ‘only human’. It was a gamble he could not take.

  But while he could not risk the artifact, he could certainly risk his life. “I know I am the heart of this problem, and you may not want to hear my voice. But please listen.” He appealed to the moon elf she had called Helleanna. “Servants know the true paths through their castles. They know where people move and when. You could take me from the castle without being seen. Yes?”

  Helleanna was caught off-guard by the bold human towering over her. She might be a servant, but she was also one of the privileged fae. Moon elves were still held in far higher esteem than any human, especially a random human prisoner in rugged travelling clothes. “Who are you?”

  “I was once a knight of a nearby realm. If I dare speak against another royal sun elf, he was a brutal ruler. I never realized how terrifying he was until I faced his anger. Now, I’m an Errant trying to protect a magical artifact that your King… that all sun elf kings… might kill to have. But there is a secret to its magic. I was not lying when I told him it could take decades for him to awaken it. Take me out of here! I can leave, and run from two kings instead of one.”

  For a brief, brief moment… Callistia was tempted. The hope of salvation shone in her eyes.

  But it faded as reality crushed in on her. Her gaze fell to the floor’s rug-covered marble. “Shame fills me for the dark way I have treated your kind in the past. Your offer is sweet, and perhaps it comes from a good heart, Sir Knight. But it is impossible.”

  Ajax melted a little as she granted him the title that he had forfeited to protect the spirit of the pendant. He was beginning to see why her brother might be threatened by his sister. “I beg you to reconsider. I would be lying if I wasn’t…deeply conflicted. If I can be bold yet again, I would say that to be with you is a dream I would gladly embrace.” Concern bloomed on her face, but Ajax rushed to say, “But it wasn’t his to give. Not in my eyes.”

  This time, a true smile of appreciation dawned on Callistia’s face. That, too, died quickly. “I’m afraid you are wrong. It is.”

  Helleanna had to ask, “What has happened?”

  Taking a deep breath, Callistia managed to relate the tale without gnashing her teeth. As she finished, bitterness was rich in her tone, “I have always expected an arranged marriage. Our culture demands it, and I expected my brother to use me as either a political edge or a means to end a war. I even expected that he would match me with a rival that he knew I despised to prevent me from actually forging a real bond between the two realms. Instead, he intends to discard me before I become dangerous to him.”

  Helleanna objected, “You are no danger to him!”

  “He views it differently, it would seem.”

  Ajax insisted again, “You could not be blamed were I to vanish.”

  For the first time, Callistia faced him more directly. She didn’t hide behind an apology to his entire race. She addressed him as a person. “Yes, he could. Do you understand the two games being played here, Sir Knight?”

  Ajax held up a pleading hand. The title stung, and being the weapon that would destroy her honor didn’t make him feel any knightlier. “Please, My Lady, call me Ajax. It is my name, and to be honest, I care less and less about a knightly rank given by a sun elfish lord.”

  Helleanna’s swept eyebrows rose even further at the bold comment, surprised at his courage in front of a princess. She could order his death for such a statement.

  His risk was a safe one. Callistia huffed in quiet humor. “Ajax it is, then. Mud-knights –”

  Ajax’s strong, craggy facial features tightened with reflexive displeasure.

  Callistia did not miss it. “–… which I realize now must be an insult all its own.”

  “One we bear. We have our reasons, My Lady. For the price of suffering the insults, we gain the chance to protect our own. If we fought on our own, the death toll would be far higher. But with the backing of elfish steel and magic, we can fight off entire hordes if necessary. We are all selfish in that way. Sun elves see it as defending their crystal castles. That much is true. But human cities of stone and mortar are also saved from falling into ruin.”

  Both of the female elves had grown soft, half-enchanted smiles. It was Helleanna who said, “I never thought I’d hear words like that come from a brute like this.” She narrowed her eyes in jesting suspicion, “As big as an orc, but as well-spoken as an elf. Quite a combination.” Heat stirred behind her eyes.

  Ajax didn’t miss it. An echo of what Lyvarress had said came to him. Take the moon elf to your bed as well. An intoxicating blend of new fantasies rushed through him, making it hard to keep a level head.

  Callistia shifted the conversation back to her first question. “Ajax, do you see the games my brother is playing?”

  Ajax nodded. “He is pressuring me to give him secrets freely, and in a fashion that he can claim innocence in how he obtained them. Even if my old king demanded the artifact’s return, your king could claim rightful ownership. It wouldn’t matter that his whole court was witness to him forcing this agreement on me. Or that his gendarme hauled me here in chains. Or that he broke the pendant off my neck to take it. He can paint history however he wants and never tell a lie if I give in.”

  Callistia nodded. “And there is the second. One you would not understand because you have not been here.”

  Ajax guessed, “He wants to cripple your reputation. Why?”

  Saving her mistress from praising her own virtues, Helleanna answered, “She is incredibly popular within the realms. Despite what you saw in court, she does have her own supporters there. But more-so, she has the respect of
the other elfish clans on our lands. I give you my oath, I do not serve her by force or by decree. I would give my life to save hers a hundred times over if I could.”

  Callistia sighed, thanking Helleanna with a fond stroke on her shoulder. “As you may suspect, my brother does not share that same respect from the people. The realm fears him. They are also aware of the prosperity he has brought to these lands. He is not heavy with taxes nor harsh with his laws. I know our people, and in truth there are no grand rebellions against his leadership!”

  Helleanna added, “We look to the other realms, like Tyranthelam’s, and pity the yoke you live under. Ours seems light by comparison!”

  “But my brother is lately infected by suspicion and doubt. I blame Jurrmonglavor, the viper of an advisor who came to these lands two decades past. He whispers nothing but poison and politics and putrid ideals. I hate him.” Callistia once again tried to relax away from the fury threatening her good sense. “Do you see, Ajax? The King’s magic in truth-seeing is formidable. I do not have the skills to hide from what he would see. Especially not with something so fundamental as this. If I deceive him, he will call me traitor. And if I am a traitor, so is everyone who has called me friend. Even those without connection to me would be at risk. He could name anyone to be my creature at court and purge them. Witch-hunts would be mild in comparison. The entire court would be under his boot, and I would be equally ruined. While you might be willing to flee, I am not willing to pay that price.”

  Ajax searched for an answer, “You could tell your friends to cut their ties with you. Sever any links and prove your isolation –”

  Callistia held up a hand to stall his protests. “– All in a single night? I have until the sunrise rituals to surrender myself to you. What can we do in a single night to disprove a rebellious rumor that does not actually exist? He needs my reputation ruined, and he will have it.” She clenched one of her fists in helpless anger. “There are other ways he may have done so.”

  Helleanna nodded, her lips twisted with anger. “A spiteful move, using your cherished beliefs.”

  Ajax tilted his head, “I am missing something?”

  “As you know, the elder god-beings are long faded. But the elemental powers elves worship have…texture. For sun elves, the scourge of fire has two faces: that which burns with pain and that which burns into purity. Many sun elves are known to enjoy the bite of a lash. You have fought beside the gendarme; you must have seen them rise into near-frenzy when wounded in battle?”

  Ajax nodded gravely. “An imposing site. I’ve seen them go from cautious to reckless in a heartbeat.”

  Callistia added then, “Purity can be equally compelling to us. Do not think of them as rules. Is there any rule that I must be virgin until I give myself to a husband? No. But it feels right. I knew my chances of finding love in whatever match my brother arranged for me was slim. But at least my soul would be soothed by entering with a chaste body. Other sun elves would respect that.”

  Helleanna added, “And hate your brother even more if he gave you to a monster.”

  Callistia sighed once more. “It is all linked. I wish I did not care so much, but I do.” Her lips actually trembled as they rose to Ajax’s. “Thus, he gave me to you. A bold statement, for there exists no realm where an elfish princess would be given to a human in marriage. Having you spoil me removes any doubt that the one who claims my body will also claim my betrothal.”

  The primal beast that dwelled in Ajax’s heart wanted to break things. The ogre heritage down one side of his family tree wanted to claim her then and there. He couldn’t deny he wanted her. But more than her body, he could see loving this elfish woman for her compassion and thoughtfulness and intelligence and anything else buried inside her. Can I only be a weapon used to break her? Can I not be her shelter in a storm?

  Callistia took a final, heavy sigh and met the Errant’s eyes once more. Daringly, she reached up and placed a warm hand on his chest over his heart. “I am sorry you are part of this.”

  Ajax shook his head, “How could you be at fault? You want love, or at least connection. We met in that cursed tower an hour ago. Hardly time to erase generations of prejudice.”

  Helleanna watched the two connected. She licked her soft lips, and a small spark of an idea lit her eyes. “What if… there’s an answer to this riddle?”

  Callistia gave her a puzzled look. “Riddle?”

  Even more eager, the dressing maid spelled it out, “The King can divine the truth. But he will ask the questions he wants.” Her look begged forgiveness from her mistress. “You can guide his questions. Speak before he asks, and let him read the truth he wants to see in the words you choose to cloak the truth.”

  Callistia shook her head, “I cannot be vague enough to pass off what did not happen as real. He will want me to admit it. To hear me saying I sacrificed myself to Ajax to meet my brother’s whim.”

  Helleanna looked sad, wishing she could do more. “My idea can’t save you from that embarrassment. Whatever happens, you are going to stand in front of him and be hurt. Damn him for causing you that much pain. I think only of the future. And… you have never cared about politics, My Lady! You don’t care! But your soul cries at the loss of your purity, so that is what I would have you keep.”

  Callistia objected, “How? He will know if I have held myself precious. You cannot take my place in this!”

  A totally subconscious growl echoed from Ajax’s chest. His leather codpiece creaked a little as his erection threatened to punch through the leather.

  Helleanna noticed both. Her smile showed a little of the mischief inside her. “Our knight might approve of the idea.”

  Callistia rolled her eyes in exasperation. “I cannot lie come sunrise!”

  Helleanna nodded, “And what would happen if the first thing you said to your brother was that you hated him? Hated him for letting this human…” Her eyes begged forgiveness of Ajax for reverting to old, harsh views. “…ravish you in the dark of the night?”

  Callistia closed her eyes, begging for patience, then opened them again and showed her frustration. “He would think he had won. He would have no need to ask anything else. Unless he could feel a lie behind the words.”

  Helleanna looked triumphant. “My thoughts exactly. He would have no need to ask more. And so he would never know that your purity remained utterly intact.”

  Ajax squinted in confusion. “What?”

  Callistia thought her daft. “You make no sense!”

  Helleanna was almost smug, forgiving them for missing it. “Elements preserve me from the gentle innocence of knights and sun elves.” She flashed a wicked smile. “When he ravishes you, he will do it in the darkness of your ass.”

  Ajax’s throat went immediately, painfully dry. She can’t be fucking serious!

  But she was. Helleanna pressed despite the shock on Callistia’s face. “He will demand to know if the human has taken you. The answer… an honest yes. He will want to know if you gave him a night like no other… an honest yes. He will want to know that an elf has given a human a precious part of herself… an honest yes. And through it all, your purity would remain!”

  Callistia’s unruffled poise was cracked. “Th… I…”

  Through Ajax’s lust, there were practical concerns as well. He pushed down the animal inside, saying, “It will hurt.”

  Helleanna slipped closer, and reached out to place her own hand on his hip. Now both of the elfish women were connected through their touch. Ajax wished he had less clothes in that moment. There was a lustful heat growing stronger in Helleanna’s ice blue eyes. “Yes. At the start. But I told you about sun elves. Not all of them embrace pain through the heat of battle.”

  A true blush rose from under Callistia’s dress. “Helleanna, you go too far!”

  The moon elf pretended at submission, bending to the princess’s will without surrendering her intent. She turned toward her mistress and clung to her side. Helleanna leaned in and whispered in her ea
r, “I won’t abandon you. I’ll be here to… ease your passage, My Lady.”

  Ajax was torn in two. Want and concern in equal measure, and both alone were enough to threaten to break his mind. He coughed out, “I am layered in the filth of the road. I’m not fit to be with you! I had thought surely you would let me flee. I did… not think…”

  Slowly, Helleanna curled her hands to capture each of theirs. Walking backward, she drew them toward the crystal partition at the far end of the room. A whiff of steam issued over the top. “Fortunate, then, that I had prepared a bath for My Lady to soothe her after the stresses of court.”

  He held his tongue, wondering what bath was going to hold him? The steel tubs he saw at inns were laughably small. He tended to bend them at the seams with his weight. But he allowed himself to be drawn forward by the seductive moon elf, who shifted her lustful eyes back and forth between the mis-matched couple.

  They came around the partition into another vision of heaven. A huge marble bath rose from the floor’s foundation. Large enough to fit a dozen people if they squeezed, it was more akin to a private hot-spring than a bath.

  Helleanna relaxed her hold on their wrists, and asked innocently, “Which of you shall be first?”

  Callistia was still in mild shock.

  Ajax was locked in place; not with pride, but honor. He didn’t dare accept until asked.

  Helleanna’s smile never wavered. She had expected this. “Fine, then it will be me.” Her fingers reached up and drew the strings that held her dress together. She enjoyed fine clothing as much as the rest, but she had expected a quiet night with her mistress. The loose cotton dress barely clung to the outside of her shoulders. A few shrugs, and the fabric fell to the ground.