Archives: Liberation of Ales
Prologue: Rest in Lesmoa
The day before, Meridian made his decision to return home to the village of Ales, and after walking from Roid, his first stop was the small city of Lesmoa after night fell. He didn’t quite have the money for a stay at an inn, nor did he want to expose himself to the social atmosphere. Instead, the half-elf hunkered down in an alleyway amongst a few barrels, wrapped up in a cloak.
Cebina walked through the streets of Lesmoa. She had wandered for some time now since she had left Flaim, and had headed in no particular direction. The monastery had given her a small sum of money, just to help get her started on her journey, but it most likely wouldn’t go very far unless she found an another source soon.
No problem, she thought. Just have to find a rich man with a large pouch of money. Men, she found, could be easily manipulated. Most of them anyway. Some would pay a good amount, even drop their fears of her race for a good night with her. Of course it all depended on the circumstances, and Cebina had not been in this town long enough to feel comfortable. For now, she side stepped into an alley, not noticing that a cloaked figure amongst the barrels and walked until she found she was out of sight. There, she took a moment to relax, taking a seat on a wooden crate with a long sigh. She was tired from walking. Looking for an inn could wait for now...
Meridian kept still as someone entered the alley, but his heart started pounding in his chest. He prayed to himself that the passerby wouldn’t notice him, which she didn’t, but she did sit down on the other side of the alley across from him. He was, however, relieved to see it was a woman, which he could tell from the way she walked and what he could make out of her figure beneath the cloak. Should I say something? I’ll probably startle her...but how long will she sit here? Meridian thought, his mind tumbling over his next move. It was an uncomfortable arrangement.
Finally, the half-elf lifted his head, hoping that the motion would be enough to get her attention. With his head raised, she would be able to see his pale, feminine face under his hood.
Cebina had not been sitting for long before she noticed a movement in the corner of her eye. She was startled, but made sure to keep her emotions under control as she looked over to the person sitting across from her in the alley. A cloaked figure that she had missed now looked up at her. A feminine face with green eyes looked up at her with uncertainty. She relaxed, seeing no reason to be afraid of this woman.
“Well, I didn’t realise I’d be sharing an alley,” she spoke to the cloaked girl as if she were speaking to a friend. “So what’s your story? Don’t like crowd out there?”
Meridian breathed a sigh of relief when she didn’t seem too frightened. “You could say that,” he replied softly, his voice markedly baritone. It probably wasn’t what she was expecting to hear out of his face.
Cebina went silent as the figure answered back with a male voice. It wasn’t something she had expected to come from the face she saw. The idea of it being a man seemed to turn on a switch inside her. She instinctively flirted with any man she saw, though she wasn’t certain she felt like trying it with this one. The fact that he was crouched in an alley indicated that he most likely had no money for an inn, so she couldn’t see how he could be useful to her at all.
Still, it wouldn’t hurt to stay on his good side for now, at least until she knew more about him. She crossed her legs and leaned against the wall, sicking her chest out proudly. She still had the cloak, but her nice curves could still be noticed. “Yeah, crowds can be such a bother at times.” She kept the same friendly tone she had before. “Have you been here long? I’m new in town, you see. If you can tell me anything about this place it would really help me out.”
Meridian noticed her figure as she repositioned herself, and turned his eyes away. It was a nice form, much like Lianora’s, the only woman he had ever been intimate with, but he had no intentions of trying that again. “I’m only passing through,” he replied. “But maybe I could help. Do you need a place to stay maybe?”
Cebina couldn’t help but feel annoyed at the fact that the boy turned his eyes away from her like that. She didn’t like being ignored. She couldn’t help but roll her eyes as he asked her if she needed a place to stay. No, she thought sarcastically, I want to sleep in an alley all night. Of course I’m going to look for an inn or something!
“That would be helpful, though I was hoping you could tell me more about the people here.” She got up and stretched, almost seductively, “But I suppose it’s getting late. A place to stay would be nice. Do you know where the nearest inn might be?”
“I didn’t really look, but I think there’s a place about a block away,” he replied. I could probably afford a room, but that would mean dealing with people... “This... might be an odd request from some stranger you just met in an alley...but if you go to an inn, can I go with you? I really don’t want to be alone in such a public place... I tend to get mistaken for a woman a lot and well, they usually aren’t very gentle about it.”
Cebina lifted an eyebrow at what the boy said. “Well no offence, dear, but before you said anything I was sure you were one too. And to be honest the way you act doesn’t really indicate otherwise.” It was quite a bold request, asking a stranger to share a room. Usually she would refuse. He clearly had no money for a room of his own and she wasn’t into helping other for free. And she certainly wasn’t going to help him out of pity either. In the end she gained nothing by helping him. Still, it wouldn’t cost her extra if they were in the same room. And if anything, it would be more entertaining that spending the night alone. Not that she feared being alone, but she’d be more bored than anything else.
“You can come along if you like,” she finally said. “But you’ll be sharing a room with me since I’m not paying for a second room. Also, don’t try anything with me unless you’re willing to pay up for it, understand? A body like this doesn’t come cheap, you know.”
It rankled Meridian that she would suggest that he would do anything to her without her consent, but she didn’t know him. “I can assure you I would never do anything to you that you didn’t want,” he said sternly, though he suddenly realized that the sentence didn’t quite come out right. Lowering his head, he hid under his hood so she couldn’t see the blush on his cheeks.
The dark elf couldn’t help but laugh at the boy’s comment as he lowered his head to try and hide blush that brushed his cheeks. Her laughing didn’t seemed to be making him more comfortable either. “Oh don’t worry dear. I’m not worried about what you might or might not do to me. I really couldn’t care less. All I’m saying is that if you do want something, just be ready to hand over a good amount of coin for it.” She turned away, not really caring what his reaction would be at her offer of selling herself and took a few steps towards the end of the alleyway. “So? Are you going to take me to the inn or not?”
Meridian’s blush only got darker as he realized what she meant. “Well...uh...right...this way,” the half-elf stammered, then stepped out of the alley and headed toward one of the inns he’d seen when he came into town. This was shaping up to be one awkward night, if he was going to spend it with a prostitute. It was preferable to the alternative though.
As they started walking, he realized that they hadn’t introduced themselves yet. “I’m Meridian, by the way,” he said to his companion.
“Pleasure to meet you, Meridian. You can call me Cebina.” The boy was cute, she’d give him that. The way he blushed and acted so shy and meek was adorable in a sense. She wondered for a moment if or how he’d react when he’d come to find out that she was a dark elf. People didn’t always react very well, not that she cared what anyone thought of her anyway.
He led her inside and inn and she walked casually over to the innkeeper, placing her coins down on the desk. “A room for the night, please.”
The innkeeper looked over the two travelers with a raised brow. The one under the cloak was obviously a woman, and for some reason, she was hiding, but he wasn’t going to probe as to why. His eye lingered on Meridian longer, trying to decide whether or not he was a man or a woman, but judging by the lack of curves underneath his cloak, the innkeeper realized he was male. A couple?
“One or two beds?” he asked.
Cebina pondered the question for a bit. It would be very forward of her to ask for one bed for the two of them, but then so was Meridian’s suggestion at sharing a room in the first place. Plus she had already told him that she wasn’t about to spend any extra on him. She smiled under her cloak, “One will do for us.”
“Five gold then,” the innkeeper replied, then took a key down from the wall behind him while he waited for his payment.
At the thought of sharing a bed with Cebina, Meridian grew anxious, though he soon realized he would likely be sleeping on the floor. At least that was better than hunched over in an alley, exposed to the elements.
The woman placed the five gold pieces in the inn keepers hand. “Also, I’d like to request a breakfast for my friend and I, but I’m afraid I’m a little short on gold now.” She brought a white gloved hand up to the innkeeper’s face, caressing it lightly, “However,” she purred seductively. “If you’re up to taking ‘other’ methods of payment...” She let her suggestion trail off at that, leaving the man time to think it over.
The innkeeper was easily snared by Cebina’s seduction, but Meridian wasn’t comfortable with it. “I have a few silvers, will that cover our meals?” he spoke up.
Just then, a woman about the same age as the innkeeper stepped out of the kitchen and noticed Cebina’s hand on the innkeeper’s face. She shot him a glare and the innkeeper drew back. “Yes, they will,” he said, then handed the key over to Cebina.
Cebina did not see the woman enter the room, but she assumed the woman’s presence by the sudden look of fear the innkeeper gave behind her. He drew back suddenly and quickly accepted Meridian’s offer. Cebina smiled under her hood.
“So glad we could come to an arrangement,” she said as she took the key from his hands. She turned and spotted how uncomfortable the situation seemed to make Meridian. This would certainly have to be something he’d need to get used to if he planned on hanging around for a while. “You still coming with me, dear?” she asked him as if nothing had just happened.
Cebina was so nonchalant with letting others use her body, but Meridian had been used himself. It put a bad taste in his mouth. “Yes,” he replied. “Shall we?” he added, offering to let her lead the way up to their room.
Cebina led the way up the stairs. The room wasn’t too far down the hallway. She used the key to unlock the door and walked into the room. There was a bed there just big enough for two.
“Well that was fun,” she giggled as she heard Meridian close the door. “Did you see the look on that innkeeper’s face when his wife caught sight of him?” Finally she moved the hood of the cloak off her head, letting her dark skin and white hair show. She turned to face the boy, her red eyes meeting his as she crossed her arms over her chest.
“Not afraid of dark elves I hope,” she waited for his reaction.
Of course, Meridian was surprised, as expressed when he raised his eyebrows, but he’d never met a dark elf, or really, another elf. He heard about them during the war, and perhaps, he would have avoided her if he knew it when he first saw her, but now he knew her a little. “Well, that’s a surprise,” he said with a small chuckle.
Pulling back his own hood, he revealed his half-elven ears peeking out through his long hair. “I’m a half-elf myself. Not half-dark...I assume at least. I don’t know who my real father was,” he explained.
Well that explains the feminine features, Cebina thought. He was certainly a very beautiful boy. At the sight of his half-elven ears Cebina came to understand somewhat why Meridian seemed to shy away from crowds. As the boy had never known one of her kind, she had also never met one of his. However she knew that half-breeds like him never lived the happiest lives, never really fitting in with humans or elves...
“I doubt you’re half-dark elf,” she said simply, taking her cloak off to reveal her revealing outfit underneath without a care. “You certainly don’t act like a dark elf anyway.” She sat on the bed and crossed her legs, “So, since we’ll be sharing a bed together we might as well get to know each other. What business brings you to Lesmoa?”
Share a bed? Meridian thought with a gulp. As she revealed her outfit, he grew even more uncomfortable as he realized just how sultry his roommate was. With no where else to sit, he pushed beyond the sudden weight of anxiety he was feeling and approached the bed to take a seat on it about an arm’s length from Cebina.
“I’m going back to my home town,” he said. “I have some business to attend to there.” Though he had no remorse in the thought of what he intended to do, he didn’t think many people would support his quest for vengeance. “What about you?”
Cebina laid back on the bed, stretching out her form in front of the boy, but kept her gaze on the ceiling. She was silent for a moment before answering Meridian’s question. It wasn’t until the boy had asked that she realised she really had no idea where she was headed to in the first place. She had set out from Flaim to find a way to make herself stronger, but now that she thought of it, she really had no idea where to start.
“Just passing through, though I’m not headed anywhere in particular. I just left a Myrii monastery in Flaim.” Her gaze fell on the boy, who suddenly looked confused at her mention of being from a monastery. Clearly, she didn’t look the type. “I wasn’t part of the order,” she clarified, “I was going through a tough time and they helped me out, that’s all. Decided I needed to be on my own, wander around a bit, find ways to make myself stronger, meet new people... maybe find others like me. Who knows, maybe someday I’ll even get a chance for revenge.”
She rolled onto her side, keeping her gaze on the boy. She had mentioned her search for revenge so casually, as if talking to a long time friend. Of course, if pressed, she wouldn’t go any further into it. She was mostly trying to read the boy through his reactions.
If she has her own goals for vengeance, maybe she wouldn’t be so critical of my own, Meridian thought. His eyes drifted to her figure as he thought—he couldn’t really help it—but he soon snapped his eyes back up to her face. “Who wronged you?” he asked.
Cebina smirked at the question, “So many that I can’t even remember them all. Although there are two or three faces that stand out from the others.” She shrugged. “For now it’s not important. They’ll all get what’s coming to them someday, I’ll see to it myself.” Her eyes suddenly held a glint of hatred and determination to them. She had spoken calmly, as if she was passed whatever had happened back then, but the look she held clearly indicated otherwise. She blinked, and that look was gone, replaced by one of curiosity. “You said you had business back home,” she leaned in closer to him, “Would you like some company during your travels?”
“If you would like,” Meridian replied. His own mind was on revenge now, and it sparked his emotions. As Cebina leaned toward seductively, he didn’t blush this time, and there was something stronger in his voice. “I have my own quest for vengeance, however,” he added. If she asked him more, undoubtedly that strength would falter. Bringing up how he had been used was not easy for him, but he had told Lianora, after all, and Cebina was reminding him more and more of that sultry priestess.
Well, this is a pleasant surprise, Cebina thought, her eyes sparkling with interest at Meridian’s last statement. There was something in his voice when he spoke of vengeance; something that excited her. Somehow, it gave her a new found respect for the boy in front of her. “Is that so?” she purred. “I like a man who knows what he wants.”
Meridian’s confidence sank a little again as she spoke, but a part of him wanted to impress her. He just didn’t know how much longer he could hold the anger at his father before it sank into shame at what he did. He held his gaze with her inquisitive red eyes though, not daring to break it and show weakness. “I’m going to kill my father, at least, the man who ‘raised’ me, if you could call it that,” he said with an amount of venom to his voice, holding his head high.
Cebina’s eyes were filled with lust and Meridian’s last sentence set her in motion. His voice held that beautiful venomous tone that made him practically irresistible. Her head moved quickly and she covered his mouth with her’s in a passionate kiss before he had the chance to say anything else. Her hands grabbed his shoulders to pull him down on the bed with her, and she made a mental note to herself to slip on her rings if he responded in favor to what she offered.
Meridian was shocked, to say the least, but he certainly wasn’t going to push her away. Cebina was beautiful, exotic, seductive...how could he resist? Though as she first kissed him, he was struck dumb, once she pulled him down on top of her, he resolved to let her have what she wanted. He wanted to impress her, and he seemed to have done so. Though inexperienced, he had a good teacher, so he hoped he could only impress her further. I hope she doesn’t expect me to pay if she started it... the more logical side of his mind wondered, but he only returned her passionate kiss, positioning himself over her.
