Hello again, everyone. Apologies for taking so long in posting this. I received the edits for my second story and struggled with those for a while. Either way:

IMPORTANT NOTE. PLS READ! I finished the edit for M&MV and submitted it to the PHs. Once it (hopefully) gets accepted, I will pull it from online. Just letting you guys know, so you won’t find yourself in the previous situation.

Other than that, enjoy the chapter. Oh, and check out my site. It’s quite pretty now .

Chapter 21

Eireene Skyeyes. Alix’ beautiful mother. I sit in front of the fire and look at her, no longer knowing what to believe.

It’s been six months since I abandoned the royal palace in Leothein, six months of hope, despair, hatred and longing. In spite of Reh’s efficiency in detecting Alix’ mother, here we are, still with no news of my love, still hunting for an obscure stranger that I am not even sure will help. I hate myself for agreeing with this plan in the first place. I hate her for slowing me down. I hate every damn thing that’s keeping me from Alix.

When we first decided that we should try and find Alix’ father, I did not expect the voyage to take so long. Xoz wasn’t all that far, after all, and my most pessimistic estimation told me that in three months maximum I would be able to detect my love’s sire.

I should have just tried to find Alix by myself. With Reh’s help, we would have eventually discovered the location of the dungeon. But at the time, it seemed much wiser to enlist the aid of someone who had the means to scour Leothein and detect any hidden prison that may exist. After all, many of the demon prisons became targets of the Xoz during the war. A significant part of those in Northern Leothein had actually been destroyed. They didn’t have the time to reach into Southern Leothein and finish the job, but I thought that Alix’ demon father probably had some sort of idea of where anyone might be able to find a demon prison. And if not, perhaps he could give me some support so that we could force the information out of the fae king.

Alas, I did not foresee the difficulties nature threw at me. Winter came, catching us on the slopes of the mountains bordering Xoz. Perhaps I would have been able to withstand the horrible weather, but Eireene fell ill and we ended up forced to wait for her to recover.

From the start, our voyage seemed to be cursed. I thought I did the right thing in telling my brother to stay behind, with Reh. Xoz would not be safe for an elf. The Goddess knew that I myself would probably find my death at the hands of these demons. I did not mind, as long as they helped me find Alix. I wasn’t willing to sacrifice Lar for my quest and I told him, back then, to stay in Leothein, thinking he would be safe.

And now, I find myself alone, with this woman I resent, and worrying that my brother might be dead in the civil war that broke out in Leothein. As it turns out, since I had left the army to go in search of my lost love, and Rothin had not recovered from his mysterious disease, a series of fae nobles took advantage of my absence to secure their own position. In my absence, I was declared a deserter and a traitor to my kind. The fae nobles, led by some obscure man called Flamecloud, proceeded to attempt taking over the dark elf forces.

This, of course, did not sit well with my men. Not because they were particularly loyal to me, mind you. They respected me as their leader and as a warrior, but respect only went so far. The reason why my men decided to protest was because in the end, Flamecloud was a fae elf. And who had ever seen a fae leading over a troop of dark elves? Once word of it came to the king’s ears, chaos erupted. It was the final straw, the one last thing that tipped the scale in favor of conflict.

I cannot turn back, I know this. Nothing could make me turn back at this point. Even if my hopes of seeing Alix alive have almost died out, I still hang onto little spark that keeps telling me I will find him. I just need to keep going. Just a little longer. Not even the knowledge that my country has fallen into the trap of petty power struggles can bring me back. I can only hope my love will not become one of the victims of this horrible war.

It is not easy to continue on our way. Eireene Skyeyes resents me just as much as I resent her, or more. In that, she strangely reminds me of Alana. But unlike with my supposed fiancée, I find it difficult to truly hate Eireene. She just looks like Alix so much it hurts. Her hair, her eyes, her skin, everything about her reminds me of my love. Sometimes, when the fire casts weird shadows over her face, I have flashes of my beautiful Alix, kissing me, touching me, giving himself to me. I feel like I’m losing my mind and I no longer know what to do. The only thing I am thankful for is that my body has not betrayed me and like my heart, remains loyal to Alix and Alix alone. Getting hard for Alix’ mother would be disastrous.

“He loved you, you know.” She says, again striking conversation with me only to torture me.

“Stop referring to him as if he’s dead.” I snap at her. “He loves me still. And we’ll find him.”

Eireene just glares at me. “Maybe, maybe not. But either way, you don’t deserve him. You don’t deserve the feelings he had for you.”

Her words are like daggers to my heart, but I don’t show it. I know she is right, but I can’t let her affect me. Besides, I am fairly certain she has greater sins to atone. “That may be. But I am quite certain I am not the only one who lied to him.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” She replies coldly.

“Do you think I’m stupid, Eireene? Do you think I don’t see you for who you really are? I guess you just happened to have an item that could help you find housing and guidance in Xoz. You just happened to know your way through these forests.”

She remains frozen, but I can’t stop the words flowing from my mouth. “If your son was half demon, why didn’t you retreat to live somewhere far away? Why choose the fae palace? You’re a spy, Eireene. And don’t go preaching love for Alix. You didn’t live at the fae palace for him.”

But before she can say anything to reply to my accusations, a strange noise reaches my ears. Someone is coming.

Immediately, I reach for my weapon, gesturing for Eireene to step back. We opted not to contract any guides, instead relying on my own knowledge of Xoz, the maps we brought along and Eireene’s suggestions and sense of direction. However, as luck would have it, it seems now that I distrusted her for naught. She really does know her way around the demon land, an understandable fact if I took into account what I now realize of her.

Over two dozen demons step out of the underbrush, giving me almost identical frustrating smirks. When we’re not on the field of battle, they really don’t look so otherworldly or evil. In fact, aside from their hair color, build, and complexion they weren’t that much different from elves. That is, if you didn’t take into account the horns that quite obviously peaked out of their hair and the black wings attached to their backs. Of course , the fact that I myself had fallen for a half-demon could have a connection to my sudden finding the demon race more appealing. Who knows how elven psyche works?

“What do we have here?” A tall male demon says in a Northern Xoz dialect. “Two stray elves lost in the middle of the demon country.”

“Spies?” Another one suggested in a more serious tone.

“Well if they are spies, they’re horrible at it.” The first demon replies with a chuckle. “I would have expected more from the famous Jan’ke Nightbourne. It seems that elven elites are just as foolish as their rulers.”

I am not surprised that he’s recognized me. After all, I did kill a significant number of his companions during the war. Furthermore, how many elves could there be bearing a extremely visible burn scar on the face? Not many.

I want to snap at him and make him swallow his insult. Even if they aren’t physically repulsive, they still have horrible personalities. Luckily, I don’t get the chance. “We’re not spies.” Eireene starts, in flawless Xoz. I let her speak, since I am more than aware that in this endeavor, I have the humiliating role of being the hired muscle, protecting the truly important person, the lady who has trouble travelling into far away lands. In truth, my usefulness stopped at the borders of Xoz. She is at home here. Anyone could help her reach her destination.

She steps forward and retrieves a medallion from around her neck. I have seen it many times by now. It is a beautiful gold piece, its shape clearly representing the sinuous curves of a woman’s body. The moon casts its rays on the small beautiful rubies embedded in what I call the strategic spots of the medallion: the breasts, the juncture of the thighs and the eyes. What is more remarkable however, is that when Eireene touches with her bare hand, those rubies turn to flame and a weird marking appears on the jewel.

So many times I have seen her do this, and yet I am find myself still watching enraptured as the eyes of the little golden pendant turn to flame. I don’t know why, but that flash of red reminds me of Alix, of that time when we made love in the forest and I unknowingly caught a glimpse of his true nature.

I must admit that when I first saw the pendant, I thought there would be no way that little trinket could help us find Alix’ father. Apparently, I couldn’t be more wrong, since said trinket had opened a lot of demon doors for us. People still gave me ugly looks, but they actually seemed to show Eireene respect. That doesn’t surprise me anymore, but it did hint to something else I didn’t originally realize. It became clear to me that Alix’ father had to be some sort of important person. I only hoped that he not hate me as much as Alix’ mother and he would at least allow me to live sufficiently to find my love.

The demons seem taken aback when the jewel presents its message to them. They look at each other in confusion and start talking in hushed voices. Even so, I have no trouble in understanding them. “It can’t possibly be the marking of the Cerberi.”

If I had any doubt that Alix’ father belonged to an important family, that surely settled it. The Cerberus is the most preeminent family in all of Xoz, the clan that births the future head of the country.

“I don’t know. I’m not inclined to risk it.” Another demon said.

“Do you think we should take them to the camp?”

“I don’t think we have much of a choice. You saw the pendant the woman had.”

“That won’t be necessary.” Another voice rings out from the darkness. I feel unsettled by the fact that I didn’t feel the approach of the new demon as quickly as I felt the other men.

“Taxien…” Eireene breathes out, her eyes wide with surprise and maybe, relief. She launches herself into the arms of the new demon and Taxien catches her, holding her tightly against his chest.

“If you were trying to be stealthy, showing the pendant I gave you to half the demons around wasn’t the way to go.” He says, sounding amused.

His eyes harden as they fall on my figure, and I have the time to mentally thank the Goddess for finally finding Alix’ father before the tall demon growls, “What are you doing idiots? Seize him.” Apparently, my initial assessment of this plan was correct. I would not be getting out of Xoz unscathed.

***

Both Lar and myself obediently allowed Reh to tie the dark cloth over our eyes. It occurred to me that I could experience now what my love continuously lived through, this darkness that shrouded everything. I decided I didn’t like it very much, but I could understand how Alix had perfected his other senses so. My hearing already felt more focused on my surroundings, taking in what my eyes could not.

I distantly wondered if Reh really thought I could not find my way back here simply because I’d been blindfolded. I sincerely doubted that, but in the end, he’d probably just acted according this “policy” of theirs.

We walked behind Reh, carefully guiding our steps so that we wouldn’t fall or bump into anyone. I shouldn’t have worried, especially not about the latter issues. Reh had begun to lead us through some sort of alley, then through what seemed like a secret passage way. Both the walls and the ground were smooth and even, completely uniform and I inwardly smiled, admiring the precaution and the prudence these people showed. After all, even if a blind man couldn’t see, he still had a chance of finding his way through touch, but if everything was kept uniform, there would be nothing he could cling to.

As I had expected, Reh led us through what felt like a labyrinth of turns, lefts, rights, norths, souths, wests. The Goddess only knew how many turns he took. Still, even as we exited the secret passage, breathing fresh air again, I knew that I could probably find my way through it again if I really wanted to. “All right, you can remove the blind folds now.” Reh said after we walked away from the passage.

I wondered why my friend had allowed us this courtesy, since it would have been more logical to just wait until we arrived to our destination. Nevertheless, unwilling to question my good fortune, I took off the dark cloth that had covered my eyes, already taking in my new environment. Holding the thing over my eyes had been uncomfortable and annoying, especially since elves were not used to not seeing.

Night had already fallen over the city, and I could see the stars shining down on us from the sky. The entire area was dark, seeming a completely safe and sleepy neighborhood of homes. Nice. Who would guess the base of operations of the thieves’ guild would be in this peaceful place, where homeowners went to sleep shortly after sundown? I arched a brow at Reh, and he grinned at me, knowing that I probably approved of their chosen location.

My brother, however, just looked dazed and slightly nauseous, blinking as if to find his focus after the tortuous trip through the passage way. Reh chuckled at the expression on Lar’s face and Lar gave my friend a dark look. Reh seemed to want to say something, but stopped himself just in time. I suspected it had to do with their liaison and their continuous struggle for discretion. Personally, I thought it was no one’s business but their own. I realized then that it was not out of kindness towards me that Reh had told us to remove the blindfolds, but due to the effect that the little trip had had on my brother. I suppressed the urge to smile at the small gesture of protectiveness, knowing neither Reh nor my brother would appreciate it if I pointed it out.

Instead of focusing of his lover as he seemed to want, Reh proceeded to walk down the cobblestone road. “It’s here.” He nodded towards the innocuous looking building I knew actually housed the most dangerous thieves’ guild in all of Thralnia. “I asked a friend to keep an eye on her while I got you guys here.”

I nodded silently and followed behind him as we entered the thieves’ guild. The house seemed to have three entrances, the normal one that helped maintain appearances, the servants’ entrance and a hidden door that opened for Reh only after my friend whispered a magical password. “This way.” Reh indicated. “Keep your eyes forward and stay with me.”

I assumed that meant it had taken a lot of convincing for his thief friends to help me with this. Indeed, no one came out to meet us, but I felt eyes watching us from the darkness, scrutinizing our every move. My senses screamed at the hostility I could feel permeating the air. I couldn’t say I was surprised. Technically speaking, as a dark elf, I had no business interfering in fae affairs, just like that idiot lieutenant had said. Therefore, I had no right to intrude on any of the issues regarding the thieves’ guild. However, I did represent an authority of sorts so I couldn’t expect a warm welcome here.

Ignoring what my senses told me, I continued to walk behind Reh. At some point, my friend had taken hold of my brother’s hand and pulled him along, obviously feeling fearful that Lar, in his absentmindedness, would commit some sort of stupid act that would cause the thieves to go against us.

We went through a dark foyer and I kept my gaze ahead like Reh had instructed. Finally, Reh guided us up a winding staircase that ended in a corridor shrouded in shadows. A woman’s voice rang out loudly from across the hallway, sounding both furious and afraid. “Why am I being held here? I don’t have time for this. I just wanted someone to help me across the border.”

We slipped through the corridor silently, heading towards the source of the sound. The discrete light sneaking from ahead seemed to cast a peculiar spell on the walls, the silhouettes of three people following us as we moved along. I suppressed a laugh at my own occurrence, even if I felt a bit frustrated that the atmosphere of this silent house made me wary of my own shadow.

When we finally reached the last closed door, we stopped and Reh gestured me forward. He pulled on Lar’s hand, silently indicating that he needed to stay behind us. Again I felt my heart fill with a sad glee at the knowledge that in spite of my own sorrow, my brother had found someone to take care of him.

As I entered the room, I took in the presence of three people waiting there, two men and one woman. In spite of the fact that her back was turned, I instantly recognized her as being Alix’ mother. Her hair reminded me of the spun gold of my love’s locks. There could be no other person in the world with such perfect hair, although to be quite honest, I thought Alix’ hair shone brighter and more beautiful than his mother’s.

I cleared my throat, drawing attention of the occupants towards me. Three sets of eyes turned towards us. The men didn’t seem surprised to see Lar and Reh, but I did catch a flash of surprise at my presence. I couldn’t help but feel a bit smug at the fact that I still had the ability to sneak on anyone. That thought brought to mind that no, I couldn’t sneak on anyone. Alix heard me always. Alix, my lost love.

Focusing on my goal, I gave the woman that had birthed Alix a dark look. She seemed intimidated by my stare. “General Nightbourne.” Her voice almost trembled as she whispered my name. “Greetings.”

I leaned down and kissed her wrist according to custom. “Greetings, lady Skyeyes. I apologize for the inconvenience, but we have something to discuss.”

She sat down, or rather collapsed on the bed. I realized the reason behind this wasn’t necessarily because of my presence, but because of physical and mental exhaustion. “What do you want?” She asked, almost in tears. “What do you want from me?”

I nodded towards the thieves that had kept Lady Skyeyes company and they silently departed. “I just had a few questions. If you can answer them, we’ll let you go.”

At that, Alix’ mother lifted her eyes and looked at me. “I’ll answer anything. Just tell me where my son is. Just let Alix go. It’s not his fault, for any of this.”

I shared a look with Reh. It would seem that Alix’ mother didn’t know anything about her son’s possible location either. I expected this. Still, I couldn’t help but feel dismayed at the realization that I would yet again be stuck. With the fae general sick, I had no idea who could know about the location of Alix’ prison. Only the king, but not even I had the resources to attack the fae ruler. “Why did you want to go over the border?”

“I wanted to go into Xoz,” she immediately replied. Shaking her head, she changed her trail of thought. “Please… I’ll give you whatever you want. Just release my son.”

“I don’t know where Alix is,” I said coldly. “That’s what I’m trying to find out. But the fae general has fallen ill and the lower ranks have no clue as to where he might be. ”

“Why would you want to find my son?” Eireene asked, sounding skeptical. I just arched a brow, unsure if Alix had told her anything about me. Her eyes widened in realization and she shot to her feet. She launched herself at me, but I caught her easily, restraining her movements. “Of course!” She screeched. “It all makes sense now! It’s your fault, all your fault. Your fault my son is gone.”

I couldn’t contradict her. The fact that I had lied to Alix and agreed to the wedding with Alana had been instrumental in the discovery of Alix’ identity. However, I did know something, the fact that we had to leave the past behind if we had a chance to save Alix.

“Please, calm down!” I said coolly. “Tell me, why exactly did you want to go to Xoz?”

Eireene took a deep breath, apparently trying to calm herself. “I wanted to find Alix’ father. He is the only who can help my son now.”

As I stood there, looking at her, I couldn’t help but think that maybe she had a point. Perhaps, in order to find my love, I would have to ally myself to my worst enemy. If it helped me, though, I wouldn’t mind. At this point, I knew I would do anything to rescue Alix. If finding Alix’ father could help, I would be all for it.