A Life Owed

Disclaimer: Someone asked me to write something short. I said I do not think I can write anything this length but I took the challenge and wrote something anyway. Just something short and fun. I wrote with the theme snow in mind, so if you find snow to be scary, better run away now!

*********************************************

"Hey! You up there. Are you okay?" a voice called.

She tried to find the source of it. Her vision was blurry and trying to quickly scan her surroundings didn't help make her focus better. Tall tree, tall tree, tall tree, small moving tree, tall tree. No! that small moving tree wasn't supposed to be there.

"Hey, you alive?" the voice called.

It sounded like a man.

"Help," she tried to speak, but her words didn't carry.

She tried to wiggle to show that she was indeed alive. Swaying her feet trapped in the noose.

"Hold on. I'll try to cut you down," the man called.

She could see him move towards the tree they had hung her in. Five filthy humans that had ambushed her at night. They had stolen everything she had of value and then hung her by her feet in the tallest tree. She wasn't sure how long it had been since they had left, but it had been several days since she had accepted that she would draw her last breath hanging in this tree. At least until today.

"You're going to fall, but I'll try and catch you," the voice called.

She tried to look down at him to show him that it would be a bad idea, but before she could find him she was already falling. She tried to turn so that her head wouldn't be the first thing to hit the ground, but with her hands bound behind her back it wasn't easy. Even if she had accepted death, it still felt odd if it would come this quickly after being close to salvation.

To her surprise he didn't only catch her but managed to hold her safely in his arms, embracing her closely before laying her down softly on the ground. His big eyes shining brightly as a blue sky as he leaned down to check on her.

"Thank you," she tried to say, but her voice failed her yet again.

He pulled her up to sitting, cutting the ropes binding her hands, holding her up with a strong arm on her back. A skin flask appeared, and she greedily took it, pouring the cider over her face in an attempt to drink it, eventually finding her mouth and guzzling the liquid down. She didn't like cider, but right now she would even drink dwarven ale just to quench the thirst that had her on the brink of death.

"Calm down," the man said.

She didn't. Not until it was empty.

"What happened?" the man asked.

"Humans," she answered. "Stupid, filthy humans. Scum of the earth."

Her voice was back, but it was shaky. She tried to get a few more drops out of the flask, when she remembered what was expected of her. The humans had left her to die, and if her savior hadn't shown up, she probably only had a few more moments left until death. She lowered the flask and looked into his eyes. Her vision was still blurry, but she knew it was the face of the greatest hero that ever lived.

"My life is yours, repaying the life owed," she promised.

"I've got some bad news," the man answered.

*****************************************************

"Fall, where are you?" The man called.

Even after five years of living amongst humans and serving him, she never got used to the things they would eat. She had offered to cook some real food for him, but when they stayed at an inn, he always preferred whatever they served. Three slices of bread, and sausage and carrots prepared in a broth. Not a green in sight? No wonder humans turned out the way they did.

"Here we go, Master Finn," she said, putting the tray down on the table in front of him. "Anything else I can do for you?"

"Same thing you do for every meal," Finn answered.

She knew, but even after all the time she had done it, it always felt better if he ordered her. That way she could assure herself that she didn't do something that foul with a human out of her free will, but because she had given an oath to serve.

He made room for her, and she kneeled down and crawled in under the table. His cock was already out. Big and smelly. She had never seen a male elf naked, but she imagined their genitals were clean and proud. Nothing like a humans. It seemed to be the most important thing in their life, yet they took no pride in making sure it was presentable.

"Who knew you elves were the perfect little cocksuckers. Your mouth is always ready to serve me, right Fallegriel?" Finn said, mouth full of food.

"Yes, Master Finn," she answered.

It was true. On their first night together, he had tried to figure out how far her pledge would go. She had hated taking him in her mouth that day, even if she had tried to not show it. Every day since she had been asked to repeat it, and she had learned that she was good at it. Better than any human, according to him, but that only made sense. Elves always excelled. Fighting. Art. There was nothing any other race could compete with elves in. Five years ago she hadn't imagined that sucking big human cocks would be on that list too.

"Are you going to deep throat me today too?" Finn asked.

She knew it wasn't a question. More a statement. His cock was way too big for her mouth. The only way to take it all was to let it slide down her throat. He had trained her for months before she could do it effortlessly. Trained her in every way to please him. Many times, it made her wish that she hadn't pledged her life to his. That she had known that he was a human before she had foolishly spoken the words. Yet, she had never broken her promise that her life belonged to him. She was proud of that.

"Ah, here it comes. Swallow my seed, my little elf slave," he grunted.

She quickly slid him out of her throat, taking the first spurts in her mouth until it filled up too much for her to hold any more, and then she pulled him out and wanked the last few ropes onto her face. They covered her like a warm and comforting blanket. She had found it humiliating at first, but he loved to cum on her face and she had learned to embrace it, just as she had learned to like the taste of his sperm.

"Let me see," he instructed her.

He moved his chair backward, and she peeked out from under the table to show him her mouth full of his cum.

"You can swallow," he told her.

She did. Letting the tasty treat go down her throat, then trying to gather any leftover cum from her mouth and swallowing a second time, before showing him her empty mouth.

"Good girl," he complimented her. "Now what do you say?"

"Thank you for the meal, Master Finn," She said.

She felt her face blush. Being called a good girl felt weird. The way he said it felt so full of love and pride in her accomplishments that it always made her feel good. She was more than 500 years older than him, yet something in her made her yearn for his praise.

He grabbed her collar, pulled her up while he leaned down kissing her forehead.

"Now you better warm up the bed for us, because we got a big day ahead of us tomorrow," he said.

She tried to hide her face blushing even more as she got out from under the table and jumped into the bed, putting the covers over her and starting to move around. It was cold, but it didn't bother her that much. Soon he would lay his warm body next to her, and that would make sure she didn't freeze during the night. She just needed to make sure it was warm enough for him to lay down first.

*************************************************************

"Sir, you shouldn't go out there today. There is a storm coming," the Innkeeper said.

"We'll make it back in time. Just make sure you got some extra wood to make the fire burn extra hot for us," Finn answered.

"It will be safer if you stay here until the storm has passed. I'll give you a good price," the Innkeeper said, sounding worried.

"We'll be fine. The gods are waiting for us and will make sure we're safe," Finn answered.

The Innkeeper didn't seem happy, but they accepted that Finn put their faith in the gods. She wasn't sure though. Human gods were nonsense. Yet the journey they had been on was important for Finn, and she had taken every step with him. Visited the four corners of the world on his pilgrimage to visit the birthplaces of the gods. This was the last one. Snih. The mountain god.

"Are you sure we need to do this today?" she asked.

"It's the perfect day. They're the god of cold and snow, so it only fits that we get a little storm," Finn said. "It's their way to welcome special visitors, like us," he insisted.

They had been to the desert of Nic. To the far island of Vo. To the great jungles of Lys. Neither of those gods had greeted them with any storm.

"See. The air is just extra fresh today," Finn said, taking a deep breath as he stepped outside of the inn.

It was cold, but no signs of any storm. Fall still found it barely tolerable. There was a good reason why no elves had any settlements this far north. Elves weren't meant for these conditions.

Light snowfall accompanied them on the trail. Soft flakes that melted quickly on her face, and created a fluffy coverage of the path. She had heard about snow being hard to walk in, especially freshly fallen, but it was a pleasant hike. The sun even came out to greet them as they reached the top of their climb.

The other gods had massive temples but here it was only a small stone hut. Inside was an altar holding small gifts left by travelers, and the walls were covered by artistic depictions of Snih. All of them with long white beards. She almost expected him to be naked in a few of them. Some of the other gods had been, but this buff old man had proper protective clothes on.

A loud howl sang. It didn't come from any animal she knew, even if she didn't know what kind of beasts would hide on a snow-covered mountain. The most likely culprit would be the wind, and she opened the door, just to have it ripped out of her hands, barely managing to step out of the way as it swung past her. Instead a strong whirl of snow hit her face, making her lose her balance for a second. How had the weather changed that fast?

She got a hold of the door again, battling it for a few moments before the gust weakened and she managed to slam it shut.

"Master, I think we have a problem," she yelled.

He didn't answer. Hadn't he felt the bone-chilling wind?

"Master, the storm just hit," she said even louder.

"I'm praying," Finn answered.

"Is it possible to make a fire in here? I think we need to stay. Maybe even for the night," Fall said.

There wasn't any fireplace, but the way the wind howled there might be somewhere made to lead smoke out.

"A little snow never hurt anyone," Finn said.

"There is more than just a little snow," Fall said.

"I know this is the first time you see falling snow, but there's nothing to be scared of," Finn said, trying to comfort her.

"The people in town said we needed to stay out of the storm," Fall argued.

"Fine! I'm done praying so we can leave now before it gets bad out there. Is that what you want?" Finn said.

It wasn't. It might be her first time seeing snowfall, but she knew a strong wind when she saw one. Or felt one, for that matter. They had warm clothes, specially made to resist the weather in this region, and a tent they loaned in the village in case they got snowed down, yet it didn't feel right to go out there.

"Done. Are you ready too?" Finn asked.

She wasn't. She wanted to stay.

"Who's in charge?" he asked.

"You are," she whispered.

"Louder," he said.

"You are, Master," she said.

"And I say we go. Either you get ready, or I'll carry you, and you know what I'll do when we get back at the inn if I need to carry you," Finn said.

His face clearly showed he wasn't playing around.

"Fine," she said.

She didn't have much of a choice.

The howling was getting louder, but he didn't seem to care as he watched her get ready. She didn't want to say anything but just nodded at him when she was ready, and he nodded back and went for the door. It blew open again, but he didn't seem to care as he let her go outside, greeted by the strong wind and the sharp snow it carried. He fought to get the door closed, but right now it felt like the world could come crashing down and he wouldn't admit that he had been wrong and that they needed to shelter until the storm was over.

As he walked past her, she could already see that his front was covered in snow, but he powered through it. She followed him closely, trying to use his larger frame as cover, and it helped a little bit even if the wind seemed to find its way around him. They kept a fast pace at first, but eventually it slowed down. She couldn't see the path herself, and she started to feel like he was traipsing. Why did humans have to be so stubborn?

"Master," she called, but she felt the wind was too strong for her words to reach him.

They had gone too far to turn back, but they couldn't be even halfway down the mountain yet. By now it must already be past supper, and with their current pace it would be long into the night before they made it back, and who knew how much colder it would get at night at this altitude.

"Master, we need to find somewhere to shelter," she screamed, grabbing his clothes to get his attention.

He stopped and turned, and she wasn't sure if he was trying to talk or if his frost-ridden face was shivering. Either way, he pulled off his backpack, pulling out the tent bag. She felt like they should find somewhere that kept them out of the wind first, but she could barely see more than a few steps ahead, and the snow made everything white, so she wouldn't know where to look.

He ripped the tent out, just as a big gust swept over them. She turned away to protect herself, only to see how the tent expanded, lifting up and whirling away into the snow. She took a few steps after it before she lost sight of it. She knew it was lost forever.

"Master, what do we do?" she asked.

Only the wind answered. She turned, only to find that he was gone too. She took a few steps towards where he should be when something hit her leg. It took her a moment before she realized she was on top of him. Her savior face down in the snow.

"Master, please wake up," she begged him.

******************************************************

"Fall?" Finn whispered.

She nuzzled him close, trying to share her warmth with him. Then she realized he had spoken. She opened her eyes, finding two tired, big, blue, eyes looking into hers. For a moment she got lost in them before she understood he had woken up.

"What happened?" Finn asked, his voice shaky.

She wanted to tell him, but first she needed to make sure he was okay. He had been through something unthinkable.

"Healer," she yelled towards the door, dashing out of bed. "Hold on," she said, turning towards Finn, before continuing out the door. "Healer Harvis, he is awake," she screamed again.

Harvis came running. One hand on top of his head to make sure his hat stayed on, and the other hand holding his medical bag. Gravy running down his beard, an easy tell that he had abandoned his meal.

"You sure?" Harvis said, a few steps ahead of her, and then looking into the room himself. "You are," he answered himself.

"What's going on?" Finn asked.

She had seen Harvis investigate Finn's health a few times already, and now he had his listening device out and pressed against Finn's chest.

"He awake?" the Innkeeper asked, showing up behind her.

"Would someone tell me what's going on?" Finn asked again.

"You've been very lucky," Harvis said.

"You passed out on the mountain," the Innkeeper added.

"The storm?" Finn asked.

"The little one saved you," the Innkeeper said. "Dragged you down the mountain. I had closed for the day and went to bed when I heard her knock. At first I thought it was the wind, but there she was, looking more like a little snow monster than a human, err, elf I mean. You on her back."

"Fall," Finn said, looking at her.

"Everything looks fine," Harvis said. "Just take it easy for a few days and make sure you get plenty of food and ale. The stronger the better."

"I'll get it," the Innkeeper said.

Harvis left to finish his meal, and fall climbed into the bed again. Their eyes met. She was sure they would both perish on the mountain, and even as she had made it to the inn, she had been sure she would lose him. Three days had passed, and even as Harvis assured her that he was recovering, it felt like every moment of him not waking up brought him closer to passing.

"You saved me?" Finn asked.

She nodded.

He then reached for her collar, unclasping it and pulling it off her neck.

She was confused, but before she could ask him what he was doing, the Innkeeper returned.

"Here we go. Hot food and my strongest ale," the Innkeeper said.

They helped him sit up, putting pillows behind his back so he could lean against the bedrest, with the tray resting over his legs. It felt so good to see him eat.

"We're going to need another room," Finn told the Innkeeper.

Another room? Why would he ask for that?

"Why," she asked.

He turned to her, smiling wide.

"Because you are free now. The life debt has been repaid. I saved your life, and now you saved mine. We are even. A life for a life," Finn said.

This was true, yet she hadn't been ready for it.

"Congratulations," the Innkeeper said, smiling happily at her.

"I'll escort you back to your people. Unless you would rather travel without humans by your side now when you are no longer forced to, of course," Finn told her.

Her head was spinning. She hadn't seen many elves since that day in the forest. It would be nice to be back to them, and she did complain a lot about humans. She rubbed her neck. Was he happy to be rid of her? She had always felt like she was the one that was forced to be with him, but what if he had actually been the one forced to be with her? Five years of having a stupid little elf following him everywhere.

"Should I move your things over to the other room, miss Fallegriel?" the Innkeeper asked.

"Please do," Finn answered. "I'll carry her expenses until she decides to leave. If you would please wait to check out of the inn until we can split up some of the money we have. After all, we earned it together, and it is only fair that you have some of it," Finn added.

The Innkeeper walked out with her things. She picked up the collar from the bed. If he wanted her gone, at least she would keep it as a memory of the last five years.

"Thank you for everything," she said, her voice shaking.

"I should be the one thanking. It was the best time of my life," Finns said.

****************************

No.

It didn't feel right. This wasn't what she wanted.

She fiddled with the collar. Could she put it on again?

No.

She couldn't do that herself.

The entire day she had been sitting in her room. When it got dark, she had moved to the bed, but sleep evaded her. How could she sleep like this? Alone. Her entire life ripped away. Everything she wanted. Everything she cared for. Everyone.

She knew she had complained a lot. Out of habit more than anything else. Elves weren't supposed to serve. At least not humans. She had hated humans, but that was before. If anything, she had learned they weren't that bad. At least not most of them.

Could she do what her heart was asking her to do?

The fact that he seemed to chase her away was burning a hole inside of her. They had been so close, and now it felt like he was pushing her out. She hoped it was an act. His final good deed towards her. Give her an easy escape from what he might have seen as her captor. Setting her free, thinking that no one would choose the life they had shared voluntarily.