The terrible glowing of the muzzle blinded her sight. Of course, there was nothing to see in her new apartments, but this did not make the dim light less irritating. A couple of minutes after the amusing conversation, she felt him unplug the dreaded thing. He carefully removed it and hid in the cloth so that they could enjoy total darkness together. 'What about the chains?' she suggested. She heard the ring of heavy metal against the stone and felt the weight go off her body. 'I wonder can he really do it.'
'The first part – no,' the harsh voice answered. 'The Witch King is mine and mine alone.'
'And what of the Queen?' she stood up from the dirty stained chair and comforted herself, stretching every part of her body she was able to move. 'You are not my Queen, Morathi,' he answered.
'You always tell that, yet you keep coming for me-'
'I came for Malekith, witch.'
'You are such a tease,' she blew a kiss to the figure, lurking in the dark, 'Alith Anar.'
She knew he would smile. She could almost sense it. Some part of her wanted to cast a spell that would reveal his face, but that could uncover her temporary freedom.
'You are a dreaded twisted creature beyond any redemption.' She felt genuine sadness in his voice. 'And though I slew thousands of your children,' he stepped close to her, 'I can never afford myself to cut off the Hydra's head.'
'Because that does not kill a hydra, Alith.'
'Because that does not kill a hydra, Morathi.'
She leaned on him, wishing to succumb to her desires and indulge in pleasures with her mortal enemy. Alith Anar stepped back.
'I am a monster beyond redemption,' she smiled, 'but so are you, dear,' these strange words surprisingly came from her mouth. 'Yes, Alith, your hatred to the Druchii is matched only by mine to the Asur.'
'Irony.'
'Indeed.' She took his hand into hers. 'But I don't hate you.'
'You lie.'
She didn't. Among many lies she told in the millennia of her life, this wasn't one.
'You fuck whoever you please. Aenerion, Caledor, Malekith, me, Malus, Rakhart, Lokhir. Is Tyrion the next on your list? His brother? Or the Bretonnian girl that saved your life?'
She put her arm on his cold cheek. 'Such-' she didn't know which words to pick. '-such is my nature, Alith. I have been born and raised by followers of Slaanesh, my sexuality is just another weapon. I always wanted you to understand it, but you never could.'
No response came from him. Not a single muscle on his face moving.
He ultimately failed to understand some aspects of her, but she knew everything about his true nature. Maybe even more than he did.
She finally heard him make a deep breath before she heard, 'I wish I didn't love you.' She felt a hot tear on her finger, the millennia of emotions and despair he was hiding poured down his cheek. Morathi knew it was true. And she could tell the same words with the same degree of truth to them. She slowly stepped on her toes and landed a kiss where she felt the tear warm her. His breath against her left ear. The arms around her back. 'Do you remember Nagarythe, Morathi? The azure of the skies, the dark of the waters. Green of the grass. The taste of raspberries and pine nuts. The laughter of the children. The leaves of the ivies.' Her hands entangled his long hair as she whispered to him. 'No, my love. I don't remember the warmth of the wind, the smell of the flowers, the song of the flute or the sight of fertile land. All that we ever gave to each other were pain, misery, and death.' Now she felt tears in the corner of his eyes. 'I wish I was different.'
'I wish I was too,' he forced his head into her hair.
She felt warm kisses on her neck.
'No, Alith, stop-' she took a step back. 'I don't want to do it in this shithole. I want to look you in the eyes. I want to wash off all of the filth, remove my stupid armor and these ridiculous antlers in my hair. I don't want to be the Hag Sorceress when I'm with you.'
'I don't want you to lose yourself for being with me.'
'I can be better than I am. And you too.'
'I can do it,' he answered.
'What?'
'Grab my arm and don't let go.' She felt his grip. 'We will travel through the Shadow Realm Pathway.'
Before she could ask what he was about to do specifically, she found herself floating in the grey void, illuminated by ghosting lights. She felt like traveling great distances and standing perfectly still at the same time. The dark cloud surrounded them, and in a second it faded, revealing the small chamber of Asur craft. She carefully stepped to the window and saw the glittering spires. 'Where are we?' She turned her head to him.
'The pocket world Loec craved for me.' Alith joined her at the window. 'These are the mere illusions,' he pointed at rainbows, white towers, mist, and mountains.
'Your home?
'My salvage for the toughest of times.'
She glanced over the room and saw a chair, table, mirror, and a bed in the corner.
'Home,' she insisted.
His eyes grew heavy with grief. 'Nagarythe is my home, and now Shadow Warriors are all that I have.'
'You are alone,' she suddenly felt her heart sink, 'you have nothing but vengeance.' Shocked by what she felt, she leaned against the window. 'I have doomed you. Your people and mine. Aenerion and Malekith.' She felt his finger pull her chin up. 'I can not forget this. But I can only truly accept you if you embrace what you feel now and guide it to peace.'
'This war will never end,' she never would imagine herself feel so defeated for the power she wielded. 'My people are beyond redemption. I do not believe in any good future.'
'I believe in you.'
She felt him land a gentle kiss of piety, grief, and love where the tear poured down her cheek. She never allowed herself to show her true weaknesses and insecurities to anyone except Aenerion and Alith Anar. Was her true self revealed as she was alone with them, or did she just let her arrogant and proud self go for these brief moments? For all of the hundreds and hundreds of years, she soaked in blood, treachery, cruelty, and indulged in pleasures in the name of Slaanesh and to her amuse. Was it the pull of the Chaos God?
'You believe in me because you can't afford to lose me, but you will never believe in the redemption of any other Druchii,' she realized. 'But I am the Druchii.' She never felt so desperate and heartbroken, maybe in her entire life. 'Kill me now when I won't resist you.'
'You know I can't do that.'
'Yes,' the sorrow strangled her throat.

They stood in front of each other, doomed for an eternity of pain, self-hatred, and meaninglessness. They were one of the most respected and powerful people of their respective races, but even they were too tiny to change the course of an ancient conflict they started. She could control Malekith and most of the Druchii, restrain from attacks on Ulthuan, but that was all she could do without her own kind turning against her. The millennia of cruelty, pleasures, and hatred have poisoned their minds, her people reveled in slaughter and agony of their foes. A miracle was required to make her children doubt the ideals she bestowed upon them through centuries. Her miracle was Alith.
As her heart was pierced with the arrows of such deep feelings, she felt more alive than in any orgy or battle. She didn't want sex, she didn't want blood, she didn't want power and she had no ambition to obtain any. Is that's what restrains mortals from carnage? Love?
She leaned her body on his, their faces against each other. In a minute, her shy attempts to kiss him turned into trying to eat him out. She wanted to love, feel, breathe, be with him and forget all of the harsh realities of life. He answered her with passion, but even as he landed the kisses all over her neck and face, she saw the same sadness in his eyes. Was he also willing to forget himself in loving her?
The little cloth that she had was thrown somewhere away, and his armor fell on the stone floor. All that really mattered was short breaths, his hands around her body, and him.

They cuddled in his thin white bed. She could have told for the time that they have been there the battle of Al-Haikk was over and her son was desperately searching for his mother in the darkest catacombs under the city.
'Does time pass here at all?' their eyes were inches away.
'Much slower than in our world.'
'So we won't surprise Prince Teclis and Loremaster Talarian the next day?' she wondered.
'No,' he smiled her back.
Suddenly their expressions changed. They both knew what was the last time they smiled at each other with such a light heart and a feeling of genuine happiness and love. With some degree of shock in his eyes, Alith swiftly came out of bed and opened a door under his table. In his hand, he held a Stone of Midnight. 'I think,' he approached, 'I must give it back, Morathi.' He gently passed the artifact to her.
She laid on her back and twisted the item for some time. 'Weird. I thought it will smell of your semen.'
Alith burst into laughter, and she kicked him in the leg, giggling. 'Thank you,' she sincerely told. 'Now,' she stood up and seriously looked in his shining eyes, 'let's kill my son.'