It had been 6 months since that awful day when I received the news that my lover Tristan had been killed in action. He had been ambushed by a marauding band of horde on the road to Southshore after our night together in the Hinterlands. My commanding officer tried to convince me to take a leave of absence to grieve, but I knew that I would flounder with nothing to do. So instead I continued in battle, each horde I came across I saw him standing above the broken body of my lover and it filled me with rage. After each encounter, I would be shaking and break down in tears. Finally after watching this behavior for 6 months my general sent me away for a vacation.
I chose Winterspring for my getaway. I couldn't go home to Teldrasil just yet. It was too soon to return to the home that we had shared. I had heard many rumors of the beauty of Winterspring, and I was pleased to find that they were not exaggerated. It was indeed a gorgeous place. My favorite spot was the hot springs. I would send Scruffy out to chase bunnies and strip out of my soft leather clothes and soak for hours. When I got too hot I would stretch out on the snowy bank until I was shivering from the cold.
"Tristan would have loved it here," I thought to myself as the all too familiar tears sprang to my eyes. "Stop it! You have to move on." I dried my tears for the hundredth time. I rested my head against the bank and closed my eyes. I heard a twig snap off to my left. I opened my eyes. I was so shocked to see a furbolg walking over to the place where I had hidden my clothing. He grabbed my shed clothes and looked up at me with striking, deep blue eyes and then ran into the woods. I yelled and came out of the water and followed him, oblivious to my nakedness. I tracked him to the road where I lost his path in all the footprints. I was concentrating intently on the tracks on the ground that I did not immediately notice a handsome warlock riding up on his felsteed. His intense blue eyes were trailing over my naked body. I stood up straight and bold to his perusal. He finally looked away, dismounted and rummaged through his bags and handed me a parcel.
"I believe my lady, you need this more than the intended recipient," he said in a deep rumbling voice. I did not miss the twinkle in his eyes. I was still stunned by the appearance of this handsome stranger, but reached out for the package. I untied the string and let the paper drop away to reveal a dark purple silk dress. "Go ahead, put it on," he said with a chuckle. When I turned my back to him and began to pull the dress over my head, he laughed. It was a deep rumbling cheerful laugh unlike any I'd heard since the war had begun. The hem of the dress fell to my ankles and clung to every curve of my voluptuous body. I turned around again to face him. He whistled and said, "Now there is something I could enjoy taking off of you my lady. I am Lord Drake du Loque, and you are?"
"Khalia Fadeleaf." I sank into a curtsey, "It is a pleasure to meet you Lord Drake du Loque."
"How is it that you happened to be naked on the road in such a dangerous place? I am certain you know there are furbolgs here who are not often friendly."
"Well it is because of the furbolgs that I am here. There was one who looked different from any I've seen who stole my clothes."
"How did it look different?"
"Well he had blue eyes," my words trailed off as I looked into Lord Drake's eyes, "in fact they look just like yours my lord." I noticed a twinkle in his eyes then, my suspicion continuing to build.
"So you are saying this furbolg was a handsome devil?"
I crossed my arms over my chest and tapped my foot impatiently. "No my lord, I'm saying there is some mischief afoot and I intend to get to the bottom of it."
"I see something I would like to 'get to the bottom of' and stop crossing your arms like that, you are ruining the view."
I stomped my foot and threw up my hands in exasperation. "My lord, pardon me for saying, but you are by far the most aggravating man I have had the displeasure of meeting." I started to walk away.
"Wait, please don't go. Perhaps I can help. I am a master of the dark arts," he said with that infuriating and alluring twinkle in his eyes. "And you look like the kind of girl my mother always tried to warn me about."
I was drawn to him, almost seduced by him and that twinkle was distracting! "Well my Lord, you have no idea what exactly you are getting into, but I would appreciate the help."
"I know what I would like to get into, but let's discuss that another time. Which way did this," he cleared his throat and sounded as if he was trying not to laugh and ended up coughing instead, "furbolg go." I looked at him suspiciously. This human was hiding something, I just had not figured out what, but I would.
"I am not entirely certain. I lost his tracks on the road. It is almost as if he," I paused, pondering the possibilities. Being an expert tracker, I never lost my prey. "It is as if he disappeared."
"Well my dear, what if we ponder this conundrum over dinner? You look like you could eat a large piece of meat." He was looking at my lips.
I pretended to not notice the way he was looking at my lips. No he wasn't looking, he was obsessing. "I am a bit hungry." My stomach chose that moment to chime in and express how hungry I really was. I had been surviving on plants and berries mostly since the news of Tristan's death. Food had no appeal.
Drake summoned his felsteed. He held out his hand for me and I took it, allowing him to pull me closer to the frightening beast. "Don't worry my dear, I won't let him hurt you," he whispered in my ear. His warm breath tickled my skin. He put his hands on my waist and whispered again, "You smell delightful." I blushed and let him lift me easily into the saddle. He sprang up quickly and easily behind me. He kicked his mount into a gallop. The steady rhythmic motion soothed my nerves and soon I could not keep my eyes open. I awoke with a start when I felt the steed slowing down to a quick trot and rose up too quickly. Drake's chin and my head collided.
"Oh my Lord, I beg your pardon. I must have dozed off."
"You don't have to apologize. I was rather enjoying myself." It was then that I felt the bulge pressing against my ass that had not been there before. We stopped in front of the inn at Everlook. Drake dismounted and held out his hands for me. Instead of holding me solidly, he let me slip into his arms, his hands sliding up my waist to rest just below my breasts. We stood like this for several moments until I turned away. Drake seemed reluctant to let me go, but he dropped his hands to his sides and followed me into the inn.
The normally quiet inn was a bustle of activity. In the corner a dark haired man was singing drunkenly on the hammocks. He had two bar maids curled up beside him, their generous bosoms exposed to his wandering hands. He had a large white bandage on his shoulder with spots of red soaking through. When he spotted Drake, he stopped singing and yelled "Drake! Where have you been? I thought perhaps someone had finally dispatched you to the hellfire you summon that four-legged beast out of." He hiccupped and started kissing one of the girls' necks.
