Darkness still clouded Callia's field of vision as she came to consciousness. She blinked in an attempt to reorient her elven eyes to the pitch black of the cavern. A whimpering groan slipped forth from her lips as she rolled to one side. Her head and body ached mercilessly from the multitude of wounds she had garnered during the arduous battle with the trolls. Long ragged gashes on the sides of her torso throbbed. She shifted, laying flat on her back and cried in earnest. She couldn't remember a time when her body felt this tortured. Callia had seen many battles in her life, but this one... This one had scarred her in a way none of them ever had. She couldn't recall a time when she longed for death to come swiftly. The tears ran down her cheeks unchecked. She didn't even bother wiping them away. It hurt far too badly to raise her arms.
Hushed voices reached her ears and she turned her head in the direction of the noises. It was in that moment she realized she was not in the main chamber they had fought the trolls in. This chamber was smaller and blissfully free of the vile creatures. She recognized the two voices as those of her two companions, though she could not make out what they were saying. A loud sob escaped her lips as she studied both Jaz'rin and Ethilathain. Just knowing they were there made it all feel less hopeless. They had succeeded in their mission, but Callia knew she had lost something vital from within her soul.
Her sobbing drew the attention of the dark elf and the dragon who immediately rushed to her, flanking her on both sides. Jaz'rin pulled from his pack a few vials. He began to slowly administer a healing salve to the jagged wounds on the sides of her torso. Callia whimpered as she began to feel her skin begin to burn. He shushed her tenderly while popping the stopper off another vial. He held it to her lips , urging her to drink. She swallowed because she knew she had to. Her eyes caught his. Sorrow filled his cerulean depths. Her brow furrowed as she looked at him in askance. Callia didn't understand why Jaz'rin seemed to be saddened. It wasn't his body that had suffered.
He shook his head at her, confusing her even more. He pulled a soft length of tanned hide from his pack and wet it with water from a skin. With a wink, he bathed her, washing away the dried blood from the many cuts and gashes she'd gotten during the battle with the trolls. Many looked to be painful. The troll king's axes had done a number on her. He gently applied more salve to the deeper ones and wrapped them with bandages. He noticed some of the smaller wounds had already knitted back together from the effects of the healing draught he'd made her drink.
Jaz'rin went lower still, parting her thighs with the brush of his hand. Blood seeped from the torn depths of her womanhood. He gave a fierce growl, muttering an expletive in the dark elf language under his breath. If the daemonfaey wasn't already dead, Jaz'rin swore he'd have him raised just so he could be the one to drive his blade deep into the vile creature's black heart.
He knew that washing away the dried and dribbling blood was the best place to start. He was utterly gentle with her. He knew she would need as much tender care as he could give her and it would be best if she abstained from any carnal activity for a while. He would miss that the most. They hadn't been together since before they entered the ruin of the tower. But it was for the best.
She let out a small moan of pain as the soft cloth swiped over her ravaged lower lips. He soothed her by stopping for a moment, softly stroking her hair. Then he dipped his fingers into the healing salve and applied it as gently as possible to her tortured nether flesh. He whispered to her, telling her everything he was doing. She shivered and let out a low hissing groan. The salve tingled and burned her sensitive flesh. She could feel his fingers stroking the healing concoction over her warm wet walls.
On her other side, Ethilathain sat down and took hold of her hand. He stroked it softly, hoping to draw her mind from the pain that throbbed all over. Then he settled in next to her, still holding her hand and nuzzled his face into her hair. He pressed himself flush to her, letting her feel the warmth of his skin. It wasn't meant to be sexual in any way. He sought to comfort her in the only way he knew how by taking her mind off what Jaz'rin was doing.
It didn't take long to coax her into a restful slumber. Her eyes became heavy and droopy and she yawned pitifully. She couldn't fight it any longer, no matter how bad it hurt. She gave in and allowed herself to fall into a deeper healing sleep.
O.O
Five days passed before Callia woke up...to pale sunlight trickling across her face. She stretched her arms high above her head, no longer feeling the pain from her torso or arms. Pushing herself up, she scanned her surroundings. She was no longer in the cave of the trolls. She glanced around. It looked like she was in a forest clearing complete with a sparkling brook. She lay upon a bed of furs and fragrant flower petals, which rested beneath a green and gold leafy canopy. The scents of heather, jasmine, and lily filled her nostrils.
Where am I?
, she thought.
How did I get here? Is this a dream?
Her body no longer ached. She knew she must have healed while she slept. She ran her fingers over her flesh, noting her skin was smooth and blissfully scar free. She didn't really understand how that was possible since the last thing she remembered was Jaz'rin tending to her and Ethilathain resting beside her for comfort.
Jaz'rin. Ethilathain.
She called their names, searching the clearing for any sign of either.
Where are you?
Jaz'rin...Ethilathain...
her voice became more frantic.
JAZ'RIN...WHERE ARE YOU? ETHILATHAIN...DON'T LEAVE ME...
Callia cried out as she stumbled to her feet.
She cried their names a fourth time, her voice raising several more octaves before turning into a scream of terror. A beast like none she'd ever seen before crashed through the underbrush and charged at her. The six-legged creature, whose body was entirely made up of writhing thorns and vines, had a face that resembled a gorilla with long thorns protruding haphazardly from every inch of its eight-foot long frame. Callia screamed again and turned to run.
She cried out the names of her companions as she launched herself into a flat out run. Turning to look back, she noticed the beast was a mere few feet from her. She could feel its fetid breath on her skin and forced herself to run faster. A sidesplitting ache surged through her as she glanced down at her body. The wounds on her torso had ripped wide open and blood coursed from it, coating her legs with a crimson tinge. Callia screamed once more, the names of her companions lingering on her lips as the thorny abomination pounced on her. It knocked her down and she let out a howl of pain.
Then her world went black...
O.O
"JAZ'RIN! ETHILATHAIN!" She blurted as she lurched upwards on her bedroll. A jolt of pain surged through her, causing her to shriek pitifully.
She glanced around again. The grey stone walls of the cave greeted her with their dreary ambiance.
What the...
She checked her body, noting the many bandages covering her wounds.
A gentle hand touched her brow and coaxed her back to the fur pallet she rested upon. She recognized Jaz'rin's voice tenderly soothing her.
"Jaz'rin!" Callia called out.
"Shhh...rest, my sweet," He urged and held a vial to her lips. "For healing... and sleep."
Callia drank from the vial, and settled back onto the pallet. She made herself comfortable and allowed sleep to claim her once more.
O.O
"Callia," the voice whispered, as if on the breeze that wafted through the peaceful clearing.
Callia lay tangled in the furs of her makeshift pallet, the breeze trickling down her naked back and dancing down her bare thigh.
"Callia."
This time her name registered in her sleepy mind and she began to stir. Slowly she opened her eyes and surveyed the sunlight splattered clearing. No one was there. Was it only in her mind that she heard
someone
call her name?
Then, across the way, a shimmering form began to glow with an ethereal light, pale at first, but then growing in intensity.
"Callia, my love, come to me," the voice beckoned.
As if entranced, Callia rose naked from her pallet; her long strawberry tresses tumbling down to gently tickle her bare bottom. She approached the insubstantial being, her hand outstretched to touch it.
Suddenly the light blazed around her. She could see nothing but white fire that did not burn. Her heart raced as she felt her body being pulled forward. As the light faded, Callia found herself in an opulent bedchamber like none she'd seen before. Looking around the room she took in the massive four post bed, the crackling fire, the over stuffed chairs, the stone walls and all at once her eyes locked onto the purely masculine gaze that met hers from the shadows.
"Come to me, my sweet Callia," his honeyed voice poured inside her and warmed her in the deep, secret places of her body as he slipped into the firelight.
Callia's eyes drank him in. Tall, muscular, dark. He stood before her, dressed only in tight black breeches that barely concealed the straining bulge that pressed for freedom. His bare chest begged her fingers to touch. Her eyes slid up and onto the face of the man who stood before her. The man her sleeping mind had chosen to give to her.
"Ethilathain?" she stammered.
"Callia, I've loved you since I first laid eyes on you. It is time again that I love you in the flesh," he said stepping closer and closer. She could smell the raw sensuality of his heated skin. She ached to be in his arms.
"Ethilathain? But how? How is this possible?" She searched his soulful tri-colored eyes for answers and saw his unrestrained lust, his need to take her.
Holding out his arms Ethilathain said, "You will receive all your answers in time, my dear. But for now, let me hold you. Let me love you and truly make you mine."
She stepped into the circle of his arms as he inclined his head and took her mouth with his. Unable to control the wave of lust that drove him, Ethilathain's hands ran down her naked body. Stroking, caressing, teasing, touching Callia's skin, feeling her soft round breasts pressed against his chest, he slowly slid his tongue between her lips. Tasting her, sliding his tongue inside her hot, wet, velvety smooth mouth, his erection screamed for release from the torture of his breeches.
Callia felt her nipples rubbing his hard chest, making them pebble hard and achy. She opened her mouth sucking lightly on his tongue. Her hands roamed the expanse of his muscled back and down to feel his firm buttocks.
