The Contrast

"Balok..." Rose whispered his name, a bit scared that she would pronounce it wrongly.

He rewarded her with small, but warm smile. The same smile, that told her that she was safe with him, when she lost her virginity. Strangely as it was, this dark elf was good natured. All she ever heard about dark elves was that they were merciless killers who would kill anyone they meet. She did not know if it was true, but did not want to check. She enjoyed his company and his body.

"What are you thinking?" the dark elf asked her and Rose noticed that she got lost in her thoughts. She brushed her delicate hand against his cheek. As a result Balok nuzzled his face against her hand. That simple and yet meaningful gesture told him everything. She trusted him.

"I am thinking about what I should do with my life. I do not want to go back to the brothel. Where could I go?" she was worried and Balok knew he did not have any wise answer to give her. Noting that he was silent, Rose lifted her naked body from the pool. Their eyes met. "Take me with you."

"What...?" he did not have time to finish the sentence, as she wrapped herself around his body, squeezing him. "Take me with you, please. I will cook and clean up for you. I even know to sing and dance. I would be your companion, servant, slave, mistress,...anything you want. Just please, take me with you."

"I am on a mission, Rose, and it´s very risky. You may get hurt and I do not want that." As much he wanted to take her with him, Balok knew that it would be his fault if something happened to her. Why would she want to come with him?

"At least I could experience the life out of the brothel." He knew that she was serious in her determination. The glow in her eyes was so bright and strong. He needed to think, to really think the whole situation through. Sure, Balok did not mind her presence, and surely, he would love to spend as much time with her as he could. He would have to be really careful, if he decided to travel together with her.

"Fine" he said, after a long silence. Rose jumped for joy and kissed him. "But, you will need to listen to me, and accept my decisions. Understood?" he asked as their mouths separated. Rose smiled and nodded. The drow was stunned, her smile the most beautiful thing he had ever seen apart from her expression of pleasure and passion when they made love.

"I won´t be a burden to you, I promise." Oh Eilistraee, he hoped that he did not make a mistake. He indeed was an excellent warrior, but was not used to take care of others beside himself. But he promised himself that he would do his best to protect her. He stood up and took his boots.

"Where are you going? I thought that you take me with you."

"I do, but first I will go back to the city and buy you some winter clothes. As much as I would like to see your beautiful body without a piece of clothing, you will need warm clothes that will protect you from the cold. Enjoy yourself and you may use my blanket to cover yourself when you get out of the pool."

Rose blushed a little. Because of all the kissing with Balok and the warmth she felt, she had forgotten that she escaped in nothing but a thin dress, some old shoes and a cloak. Yes, it was a miracle that they met. She would not have survived in the cold if Balok had not taken her to this pool. He could have let her die in the snow but he did not. That drow did have a heart. And she did not regret her decision.

++++++++++++++++++++++

On this day the marketplace was crowded, a fact which Balok did not like. You could easily get lost, kidnapped or someone could rob you. Anyway, he had a reason to be here... to get enough supplies. He alone had enough food, but since he agreed to take Rose with him, he needed more food, drink, and more important -- to get her proper clothes.

The drow really had no idea what to buy for her, but he knew that the clothes had to be warm and suitable for traveling.

He would turn around from time to time to take a look if someone was following him. He did not see anybody, but there was the feeling of being watched. He had to be careful. Once he got enough food and drink, he walked towards the tailor's shop for the clothes. The tailor was startled when he saw Balok.

"How can I help you, sir?" the old and fragile man trembled with fear, not a big surprise. Balok knew well enough that humans were afraid of drows.

"I need warm clothes for a human female suitable for traveling in the cold."

"Where is she?" the old tailor managed to ask. Although it would be much easer to do this if Rose would have come with him, the drow knew that it would have been risky. As he entered the city he heard that the girl escaped from the brothel as the fire started. The strange thing was that they did not know how or what caused the fire. Luckily he had given them enough money to repair the building and there would still be money to survive the winter.

"She is sick so she was not able to come here, but I can give you her size and hight." Balok almost smiled as he said it. The tailor hurried and brought him different materials in various colors. There was dark silver, deep blue, wood brown and forest green. He considered carefully the selection of fabrics. Once he had decided which he would take, he gave the tailor Rose's body measurements and left. He really did not have anything special to do, so he went to the next inn.

"It´s such a shame, that the brothel almost burned down to the ground!" a man said to his companion.

"Yea, I heard that the son of the mayor was killed in the fire."

"Really?" the man showed obvious disbelieve in his voice.

"Yea, I do not know the details, but I heard that he went to the brothel because the old hag, Madame Ruby, had promised him a new girl. He was angry because some stranger got her first before him."

Balok was listened to the conversation. Not that he did not want to ask Rose about what had happened, but she was so tired and on the edge of death when they met, that he quickly took her to the cave to warm her. He had planned to ask her, but well...was distracted in a very pleasant way. For now he would listen to them and then he would ask her to tell him what she knew and remembered.

"No shit man?! Then it was him who set up the fire."

"No. It was somebody else, somebody who was helping the girl. You know, I gave shelter to one of the girls when they ran away from the brothel. And she told me the last thing she saw, was the mayor´s son breaking into the room of the girl he wanted to fuck and her screaming of horror as he caught her by her hands. She swears that it was then the fire appeared, just like that."

"Don't speak any further. You bring bad luck to us or to this place and I appreciate both my life and this inn."

This was serious, Balok thought. It was no doubt a magic act, but who did that? Was anyone chasing him and had attacked too late or was the attack directed against Madame Ruby or one of the girls? Or, he felt like something was clenching his heart, was someone after Rose? He did not know and had no proof, but sent a prayer to Eilistraee, his goddess, that Rose was safe until his return. He listened a little longer to the conversation and left the inn when they dropped the subject and began to speak about other not so important stuff.

+++++++++++++++++++

"Everything is completed as desired!" the tailor greeted him more relaxed. The dark elf was being polite to the old man, which surprised him, but he did not want to try his luck and get killed and robbed. But the drow did not show any sigh of violence or cruelty. So

it was safe enough. Balok had chosen wood brown material for the cloak and boots and dark silver for the winter clothes, but also told to the tailor that he could use other material to make her more clothes, it could be handy, he said.

"Thank you! You are really a master of your craft." The dark elf was very pleased by the look of the clothes. He could imagine Rose walking with him in those clothes comfortably. The winter clothes looked promising, as did the cloak and the boots. But he did not expect the tailor to make such beautiful dresses from the other materials. The dresses were perfect, and he almost got excited by imagining how perfectly her body would fit in these dresses.

"I suppose your beloved will like her new clothes."

"I did not say she is my beloved." He was confused and did not remember if he accidently said something which indicated that they were intimate. Seeing his confusion the old tailor laughed, but again he went serious out of fear he somehow insulted the drow.

"Your eyes sparkled when you mentioned her." Balok could only nod at his words. He did not know what he felt for Rose, besides the attraction and desire to touch her, but knew that he cared enough for her to protect her. They made a deal that she would come with him, but he did not tell her what exactly their relationship would be. Rose said that she would be anything he desired, but he was not sure what he wanted her to be to him. The slave option seemed too cruel to him, maybe a lover. That one was the option closest to the truth.

"You may be right, but I am not sure what I feel for her." He smiled at the tailor. The old tailor sighted in relief and returned the smile. Balok paid for the clothes, took them and left.

+++++++++++++++++++

Rose was sitting in the cave wrapped in a blanket. It was the only thing Balok left her to cover herself before he went to the city. She was wondering where he was, what he was doing right now. Did he trick her and left her here to die? No, she did not want to believe this. Until now he had never hurt her in any way. She supposed that he had a work to do in the city and prayed to the Lord that they did not connect her escape with him. She did not want to get him into any kind of trouble.

She heard a sound and turned to see Balok approaching her with big bag in his hand. Rose hurried to him and hugged him, not caring that she dropped the blanket and that her warm and naked body was pressed against him.

"Welcome back. I am glad to see you." He was silent and Rose wondered what happened back there or if she somehow insulted him by hugging him. "You can't continue the travel in your dress and thin cloak, so I bought you new a cloak and warm clothes."

"Thank you, thank you very much." She took the bag from him and emptied it carefully with her delicate hands. Rose examined the contents of the bag and took the warm clothes. Once again Balok felt the great desire to prevent her from dressing and take her right now and there, but he let her get dressed. He was sure, it would fit her.

"It´s so warm and fluffy! How much did you spend on this?" she did not want him to spent all his money on her.

"Do not worry, it was not too expensive. You also have other kind of clothes, but for now this dress along with the cloak and boots will be enough." He looked at her. Rose was so happy having new clothes and she was looking at every detail of them. She seemed so innocent and childish that he wondered if she had forgotten the fact that she had escaped and people were probably looking for her. As far as he had heard in the inn, only Madame Ruby was upset because her worker got lost, but nobody knew in which direction Rose escaped when the fire caught the brothel.

"Rose, there is something I would like to know." She turned to face him. He had all her attention, and that was good. "Back in the city I researched about your disappearance and heard from one man that the fire started when someone broke into your room and tried to take you by force. You have to tell me what you know, what you remember." He saw that she was getting uncomfortable and scared, for her eyes stopped sparkling.

"That is the truth. You paid Madame Ruby to give me a whole day off. She wanted to keep her promise. However, the mayor´s son came to the brothel and started to argue with Madame Ruby about my day off. You see, as I told you I was raised in the brothel and last year I came to age. My body was ready to serve the purpose I had in the brothel, but the same year I got really sick before I had my first customer.

I was lying in my bed almost the whole year. Before I got sick, Madame Ruby had a deal with the mayor´s son who, I had heard, was very brutal and wanted to be my first customer. That day when you left, he came and wanted to get me. I tried to stop him from entering, but he was much stronger. As he entered my room, he grabbed me by my hands. I was so scared that I screamed. That was the moment when the fire started. Madame was startled to death, as were the other girls. Even the mayor's son showed some signs of fear. The fire was spreading very fast and one of the fire covered beams fell on him. He was dead straight away. You know the rest."

"That is some kind of magic, of the elemental magic to be exact. Someone set the fire using magic. Tell me Rose, did you ever made an enemy, someone who uses magic?" he was both fascinated and stunned by her story. The person who set the fire must be very powerful, but he did not know if that person was after him or after her.

"No, the only person I made my enemy was the mayor's son and he surely did not use any kind of magic."

"Then I am very sorry, for I may have caused that. I have some enemies, since I am a warrior and use some magic." He relaxed when he found out that she was not the reason the brothel got burned down. He or maybe Madame Ruby or some other prostitute made a mistake which caused the fire. Someone who used magic got into a conflict and must have decided to get revenge by burning down the brothel. But the question was who and why.

"I do understand." And indeed she understood. There was no blame in her eyes, maybe some worry but no blame. Obviously, Rose was more mature than she seemed. He could not blame her. Life in a brothel was really hard and humiliating for women. They had no future, only hopes and dreams. Rose's only hope was to find freedom.

"Are you hungry? I have brought food." Before she could answer him, her stomach growled with anticipation. The dark elf quickly unpacked bread, meat and some fruits. There was only a little talking during their meal, but it was nevertheless pleasant. Rose found out that he was searching someone very important and after that he had to return to his realm. Balok found out that she liked the night time, because of sleep and dreams. Who knows, maybe he could take her all the way to the dark realm, he thought.

+++++++++++++++++++

"I told you, sir. We spent the whole day searching for her." Madame Ruby was trembling while she was trying to explain the situation to a handsome, muscular and blond man. "The girl somehow escaped. All I know is that she is not in the city. If she was, someone would inform us."

"Then you are more useless than I thought." Although his voice was very quiet one could notice that the blond man was very angry. His gray eyes were searching for any sign of a lie on the face of Madame Ruby. "You had promised that the girl would be broken."

"Yes, she was...last night, a stranger came and asked for a girl. I sent him Rose. He broke her, I swear." Madame Ruby was now frightened to death. And that was the most suitable description, because the man's aura was deadly, transmitting pure destructive energy. Even a stupid person would run away from his presence.

"Indeed she was broken, but only her maidenhead, not her spirit." With that the man took a step toward Madame Ruby. "You had promised me that she would be completely broken and that you knew the right man to do the job."

"Yes, yes...my lord, yes. I promised her to the mayor's only son. His reputation toward women is well known. Last year, however she got sick and I spared her from him. I do not let my girls work while being ill."

"And that stranger took her first last night?" although furious, the blond man was also curious about who that stranger was. Did he help Rose to escape and if he did, then how? Sometimes even the most perfect plans could not be completed. "Who was he? How did he look like?" he crossed his hands, waiting for her answer.

"I do not know...only Rose did see him..."

"But she escaped, you useless old fool." She could clearly see the Grim Reaper in him. Madame Ruby met him a long time ago, when she was a young prostitute in the same city, searching for customers. Back then she lived in the streets, like some rat, and was almost dead from starvation when she met him. She never got to know him, but quickly found out the two most important things about him. First thing, he was ambitious and was very skillful with dark magic. The second thing, he was seeking a servant who he would pay generously, if she would fulfill the tasks he gave her.

"Forgive me, my lord. The stranger was wearing a hood, so nobody could see his face. But he was very polite and in the morning he paid me one hundred maldas. He must be an elf, or he works for elves." Madame Ruby managed to explain to her lord.

"Maldas, you say. That is a very interesting information. Do you know how many human coins are worth one malda?" her master seemed a bit satisfied, but, she knew that this information would not help her out of trouble. She shook her head.

"No. Then I will make it easy for your worm brain. One malda is worth about ten human coins. That man is either very rich, so he does not care for it much or he was very merciful, when he did pay you one hundred maldas for Rose to have a whole day off." He laughed hard. There was cold sweat on Madame Ruby´s face. She patiently waited for him to stop laughing.

"I think that he was merciful. He must be some nobleman, when he did not take his hood off until he went to Rose's room.

"Or some assassin. The most successful warriors and assassins usually cover their faces. My dear, you welcomed a killer into your brothel."

"Yes, I may have made a mistake, my lord. But...we will find Rose and bring her back here. Then I will complete the task you have given me. Please forgive me."

"Rubina, you know that I forgive you." He drew her close to him and hugged her. She relaxed in his embrace. "Everyone makes a mistake it is natural. Nobody is perfect."

"Thank you master, I..."

"But you will not complete the task. You have had your chance but you´ve missed it." Madame Ruby tried to escape, but he was a lot stronger than her. She screamed before she felt her life was being taken.