Remember...

Chapter 5: Colors of Delirium

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Finally, the chapter is here! More importantly, the next chapter is finished, which means it should be here in a few days to a week or two, instead of... however long this chapter took >_> ... Sorry. Anyways! I hope you guys like this one.

Content Warning: Non-consent.

Comments and critiques always welcome!

CCG

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Amanda stumbled along in a haze, her tears streamed down her cheeks freely. She didn't bother to wipe them. Ellisa was speaking to her, but she wasn't really listening. They followed Linae while Falalie walked behind them. It was a long walk, but her mind was elsewhere.

Amanda felt a hand shake her shoulder.

"I asked you a question. How long have you been sleeping with him? Since he came back?"

Hesitantly, she nodded. She felt like a young child, being scolded like this.

"And before that? Did he make you sleep with him to get your escorts to get to Astrin? 'Cus if he did-"

"No! It wasn't like that!" She sobbed. "I wanted to sleep with him! He didn't ask for anything."

"Don't try to defend him! You were confused, and he took advantage of you as payment-"

"No Ellisa! I'm telling the truth! He had already arranged the escorts for me before I offered to sleep with him. He was not coercing me at all!"

Ellisa frowned. "What? Why would you do that?"

"Because... because I was almost raped as my first time. I want to experience sex on my own terms. So I gave myself to him," Amanda looked down at the ground. "He's a good person. And he's never hurt me, even when he's had plenty of opportunities to do so. I trust him."

Her guardian sighed. "But your father did not want this for you."

"Why? Why does he expect me to stay 'pure', while my brothers get to sleep around? I know Felix and Jurian have had a few lovers since I was born, and Asger has slept with so many women and men that I've heard jokes about him!"

"I'm sorry I don't have the answer to that," said Ellisa, without anger. "I understand that it must be frustrating, but it is not for us to question your father. Our duty was only to protect you and watch over you."

They walked in silence, wrapped up in their own thoughts. Only Falalie noticed something was off as they turned onto a small road.

"Hey Linae," Falalie call out. "Where are we going?"

"Back to the embassy first. This is a short cut," she replied.

"Oh. Damn, couldn't you have picked a less sketchy rou-" Before even finishing the sentence, she felt the the weaves of unfriendly magic. "Ambush!" She yelled as she pushed Ellisa and Amanda out of the way of a white bolt of magic.

Needing only a second to recover, Ellisa quickly pulled Amanda into a recessed doorway and assessed the situation. There were four men in the road up ahead, two in red robes. Casters.

"Fal! Two up ahead in red. They're yours."

"Got it!" Falalie replied as she constructed a spell of her own, firing off white bolts of force towards their assailants.

Taking a look behind, Ellisa saw half a dozen men with swords appearing from alleys, racing toward them.

"Shit! We need to get out of here," she said as she looked around. There was an alley a small ways up ahead, leading to the left. "Linae! Clear the alley ahead to the left. I'll get Vin and Ella to meet up with us."

With a nod, the elf charged ahead, using magic to parry stray bolts of force as she knocked down one of the armed men charging at them. The second one did not attack, but stayed in cover, by the side of the mages.

Once she saw Linae disappear into the alley, Ellisa looked back at Amanda. "Let's go, my lady," she said and dragged her into a sprint.

Only just recovering from her initial shock, Amanda kept up the best she could while constructing a push spell and fired it off at one of the red robed men. Just as she turned into the alley, she saw the surprised expression on the man's face as he was sent flying back into a lamp post. Stooping as she ran, Amanda grabbed the sword from the man that charged them, and followed Ellisa into the alley.

"Vin, Ella. We're being attacked. Meet up at the drow Temple of Aria north of the fifth ward," Ellisa spoke into her necklace as she ran after Linae. The alley was long and full of twists, but they were able to follow Linae by the sound of her footsteps. It was oddly quiet, but neither she nor Amanda questioned this good fortune.

Before her thought was even completed, a door flew open, and three armed men charged out at them with swords drawn. Without a moment of hesitation, Ellisa parried the sword of the first man and thrust her sword through his stomach. The second man, a quick learner, approached more cautiously.

The third man, however, ran straight for her charge.

Amanda gasped as her body froze up in fear. Every muscle in her body screamed at her to run or to curl up and hide, but she only stood there, caught in the indecision. She could only stare, wide eyed, as the man ran toward her with his sword raised above his head.

"Amanda!" Ellisa shouted as she dashed towards the third man. Leaping into the air, she tackled him to the ground right in front of the panicking elf girl, who yelped in surprise.

"Ellisa!" Amanda gasped in surprise, staring at her guardian stabbing the man from behind. However, a movement in the corner of her eye pulled her out of her daze.

The second man that had approached Ellisa earlier now ran toward Amanda, winding up a swing of his sword. This time, however, Ellisa is not going to be able to intercept him; though this time, Amanda is prepared. Captain Banks's lessons came back to her as she raised her sword to deflect the blow while at the same time stepping in the opposite direction of the swing.

Their swords collided above her head, the shock of the impact sent a jolt of pain up her arm, threatening to wrench the sword from her hand, but somehow, she held on. As the man's momentum brought him past her, Amanda followed up with a downwards thrust. The angle was awkward, and due to her inexperience, she didn't know whether she had timed the thrust as well as Captain Banks would have liked, but the end result was the same: The man screamed and collapsed into a heap onto the ground behind her, pulling the sword from her hand.

While Amanda stared at the body on the ground, her guardian finally got to her feet. "You did very well, my lady."

"I killed him..." she mumbled as she watched the small pool of blood forming beneath the man. It wasn't the first time she had killed someone of course: the hazy memory of a night in the forest so many months ago came to her mind. She had, in a panic, stabbed a red robed wizard that had attacked her guardians; but back then, she was so scared that she was not fully aware of what she had done until much later. This time, Amanda knew exactly what she was doing, and carried out her actions almost exactly as she had envisioned. This time, it felt very different.

Ellisa looked around to make sure there was no other threats before wrapping her arms around her charge in a warm embrace. "You were protecting yourself. It is okay my lady. It is okay if you kill to protect yourself or those you care for," she said softly, "but now is not the time to contemplate this. We need to get you to safety first. There may be more of them around."

Amanda said nothing, but shivered as she held onto Ellisa tightly.

After a few moments of silence, the older elf released her. "My lady, we need to keep moving. Will you be ok?"

"Mm-hmm," Amanda nodded in affirmation as they resumed their run down the twisting alley.

Occasionally glancing back at her charge, Ellisa was rather impressed with how well she was handling this situation. Perhaps they would get out of this without...

Suddenly, from up ahead a white bolt of magic flew out from a shattered window, and struck Ellisa squarely in the chest. Amanda screamed as her guardian was slammed into a wall, then dropped unceremoniously onto the road.

A door opened, and three men walked out. Two had swords readied, while a third in a red robe looked on from behind them.

"Ellisa! Ellisa! Are you ok?" Amanda shook her guardian's unresponsive body.

"She's alive. Probably. And we'll make sure she stay that way if you'll come with us peacefully," the man in the red robe said.

Quickly taking Ellisa's sword, Amanda stood between her unconscious guardian and the men. "Just... leave us alone!"

Sighing, the red robed man frowned. "We need her alive."

Amanda felt the beginnings of a spell as she saw the two armed men charge at her. In a panic, she rapidly constructed her own spell, and prayed to the Goddess that it would work.

A searing white flash appeared right before the robed man's eyes, causing him to cry out and falter in his own spell. One of the armed men swung his sword in a high arc, giving Amanda plenty of time to dodge and parry the attack, then reposting with a thrust into his chest. He collapsed into a heap at her feet.

The second man tried to hit her sword in an attempt to knock it out of her hand, but she jumped back. As he tried for another swing, Amanda released a wave for force, knocking his legs backwards. Charging immediately, she gave him no time to recover his balance as she drove the sword into his offered throat. Not knowing how much strength to use, the thin elven blade pierced far into the man's neck, and a spray of blood covered her arm in the crimson liquid. Amanda gasped and pulled back in surprise, but with all the adrenaline pumping through her veins, she quickly recovered to focus on the task at hand.

Finally, Amanda ran to the stumbling magician, who was blindly firing off bolts of force in any and all directions, and ran her blade through his chest.

Amanda surveyed her surroundings. It appeared that there was no one else. She tried to calm her own panicked breathing, and as her heart rate returned to normal, a sudden feeling of lightheadedness came over her. With shaky legs, she walked back Ellisa's unconscious body, and collapsed onto her knees. She felt sick.

A sudden pounding of feet alerted her of someone running down the alley towards them. A sense of dread built up in her stomach as Amanda willed her body to stand, raising her sword and readying another spell. How much longer could she keep this up, she wondered.

"Ellisa? My lady?"

It was Linae.

Amanda closed her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief as she once again fell to her knees.

"Linae! Oh Goddess it's good to see you!"

"What happened?" She asked with alarm as she knelt down next to Amanda, embracing her tightly.

"These guys jumped out from a house and attacked us. A wizard knocked out Ellisa, but I was able to fend them off," she explained as she hugged Linae, crying tears of happiness.

"I'm so sorry..."

"It's not your fault. They were hiding in the house up ahead."

"I know," she said. "I'm so sorry I have to do this."

There was only time for Amanda to gasp in shock before a sharp pain at the back of her neck turned her world to black.

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Falalie deflected another bolt of magic as she fired off one of her own toward remaining robed mage. The six men behind her had gone off in the direction of Linae and Ellisa, allowing her more room to maneuver and dodge the barrage of spells from ahead.

Several times she had tried to run into the alley to follow her comrades, but each time, she was stopped by a concentrated burst of magic bolts. She grimaced. If only she could use full scale combat magic... but risking the attention of the Society Enforcers could make the situation go from bad to worse. Her opponent clearly knew that as well, limiting himself to only use various forms of Push bolts and other sanctioned spells. This was getting nowhere.

Spying the second robed man unconscious on the ground, an idea formed in her mind. Throwing a stream of weak Pushes at the unconscious man, she smiled as he began to stir. He looked around, confused, until a bright flash shocked him out of his dazed state, just in time to see a swarm of white magical bolts heading straight for him. He screamed feebly as he reflexively lashed out at his attacker with a spear of ice.

Falalie heard a loud crash as the man was hit with a dozen bolts of magical force, sending him flying into a wall with a wet crunch. She almost didn't see the spear of ice coming straight at her until it was too late.

Falalie screamed as it struck her through her shoulder, pinning her to the wall behind her. She watched in horror as the other robed man took this opportunity to construct a long spell, interspersed by the occasional bolt of magic that she was forced to deflect. She didn't even have enough time to melt through the ice spear before a cloud of white bolts erupted from above him, all flying towards her. Falalie closed her eyes.

---

Ella and Vin ran through the crowds as fast as they could. They had left the human back at a public square, sitting gloomily on a bench. He didn't even seem to notice that they were gone.

As they traveled through the fifth ward, they ran past a group of Society Enforcers covering up the body of two dead men. There was a trail of blood. It led through an alley, where a small group of city guards were looking over a few more dead bodies. They looked at each other and breathed a sigh of relief, seeing no familiar faces among the dead.

They stopped as they emerged from the alley, across the road from the drow temple. There was no sign of Ellisa, or Linae, or their charge. There was only a group of worried looking drow priestesses tending to a very pale and bloodied Falalie sitting against the wall of the temple, holding a clump of cloth ripped from her shirt to her right shoulder.

"Ella, Vin!" she called out. Her voice was weak.

"Fal! What happened? Are you alright? Where are the others?" Ella said as both of them rushed to her side.

"I don't know," she replied with a wince. "I ran here as fast as I could, but I didn't see any sign of them. No one here saw any elves matching their description pass by."

A drow priestess touched Ella on the shoulder. "Your companion is seriously injured. She needs help," she said. "We wanted to bring her inside to treat her, but she's refused to move until you came."

She shook her head. "I'm fine. Ella, Vin, we need to get to the White Keep, and tell them what had happened."

"I'll handle that. Vin, take her back home and have Celistra take a look at her."

Falalie shook her head again, and tried to rise, but the world seemed suddenly... sideways.

"Falalie!" she heard her companions cry as the cold, blackness of oblivion claimed her.

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Consciousness returned slowly for Amanda. She heard men shouting, laughing.

She shook her head as she pushed herself into a sitting position. The room was dimly lit, and her vision was still blurry.

There was a woman's voice as well. She blinked her eyes a few more times.

There were definitely movements up ahead.

As her eyes regained focus, a sudden rush of recollection hit her. She froze.

She was naked, in a large cell enclosed by metal bars. A few steps away, a group of men gathered around a small wooden table with a redheaded woman lying on top. While the room was dim, Amanda made out enough of her features to know. It was Ellisa. Her arms and legs were strapped to the table legs, arching her backwards.

"Tell us. Tell us you want it," a man with a ponytail said with an unfamiliar accent.

"I want your... I want your cock," Ellisa said, her voice quivering. "Please."

"That was terrible!" Another man said as he pinched her nipple, making her squeal. "Do it again, better, or we'll go get that other girl over there. Oh look! She's awake now."

Amanda stayed absolutely still as several of the men turned to look at her.

"No! Please! Fuck me!" Ellisa cried. "Use my cunt. Fuck my throat. Give me your cum!"

"Now that's better!" Ponytail nodded. "But you know what? Let's make that even more convincing. Where's the collar?"

"Wait! Please don't!"

A man with a huge scar across his face produced a grey pouch. "Here, boss. How many should we start off with?"

"How about six? Seven? Or maybe we can just go with eight and watch her cum her brains out while we go fuck the other girl?" He teased as he ran a finger along her neck.

"No! Do whatever you want to me, just leave her be!"

Ponytail laughed sharply. "Aww, you're so sweet. You'll let us do anything to you?" He ran his hand down her chest and stomach.

"Yes. Anything!"

"I want you to watch as I put seven charms on that little slut over there," he said with a twisted smile, "and make her cum around my cock."

"No! You bastard! Don't touch her! Don't touch her!" Ellisa screamed as she watched the man take the collar from scar-face, and approach Amanda's jail cell.

Amanda desperately tried to construct a spell to push him back, or to do anything, but the weaves of magic potential that normally was felt everywhere just seemed missing. It was like grasping at empty air.

Ponytail seemed to know what she was trying to do, and laughed. "Oh no, little slut. This basement is warded. No magic for you."

Amanda whimpered as she cowered back into a corner.

"Stop." A woman's voice came from the shadows.

To everyone's surprise, Ponytail stopped mid-stride. "Yes? What do you want?"

"The goddess does not wish for this one to be sullied by men."

Amanda tried to look at the woman, but the corner of the room was conveniently shaded from the lamps that was placed throughout. All she could make out of the woman was that she was wearing a dark robe, and that she was sitting on... a bench?

Ponytail narrowed his eyes. "Fine," he said as he spun around and pointed to Ellisa. "But we can use her?"

"Yes. Do what you will with that one. However, I believe it would be in your interest to keep her alive. Much like the traitor here," she said as she gave her seat a smack, which sounded amazingly like the sound of skin against skin, "she would fetch a good price in Hek once she is broken."

He nodded, then turned to the other men. "Well boys, I guess our job for the next week and a half is to break this whore here, and wait for our big payday in Hek!"

Many of the men cheered and chuckled.

"No! Don't hurt her!" Amanda yelled at the men around Ellisa. They ignored her. In desperation, she turned to the woman in the shadows. "Why are you doing this?" Amanda asked shakily. "Please, tell them to stop!"

"Hmm? Are you willing to offer yourself in her place, then?" The woman laughed at the look of fear that crossed her face. "No, I didn't think so. Don't worry, this filth won't touch you if they know what's good for them. The goddess wishes to break you herself. Your guardian there is merely part of the payment to these men here. They will dispose of her as they see fit."

As she stared into the darkness, Amanda was beginning to make out a little more detail about the woman now. To her horror, she finally realized that the robed woman was sitting on the back of another woman on her hands and knees. Long dark hair cascaded around the kneeling woman's face, obscuring it from view, but Amanda knew. It was Linae.

"If you only knew your fate," The woman laughed. It did not sound like a malicious laugh, but something was definitely off. "Your companion's fate would seem far more-"

"Linae!" Amanda gasped. "What... what is going on? What did you do?"

"I'm afraid this little one here is a bit occupied at the moment, and can't answer you," the robed woman answered. "She's got three charms around her neck, and a nice cock gag in her mouth. She's probably struggling just to breathe right now, aren't you, my little slave?" she slapped Linae's ass again, who remained motionless.