My Elven warlord can't be this cute!

Tiffania Westwood needed a familiar, she just didn't know it yet. Who is a better familiar for an innocent elf maiden than a King of Elves? The Witch King, of course! To Malekith at least the trees didn't have eyes and no Chaos Daemons were in sight.

Warnings: see chapter 1, I'm wrecking Warhammer lore as I yet have to read the Sundering series.

Disclaimer: Don't own shit except the belief that Malekith is entitled to tendies and Mommy's milkies

Chapter 4: Maiden and the Witch King II

"Why?" was the single worded question that spilled from her lips and Malekith was once again speechless. In this new world he had been free of his prejudice of the Asur and schemes of his mother. Here, the millennia long warfare he had waged on his kindred was meaningless and so were the atrocities he had committed during his reign. No longer he had the duty manage the ruthless nation of killers, pirates and slavers while juggling the scheming nature of Morathi and Hellebron. Despite his banishment at the hands of Asuryan, the Witch King had breathed his first breath in peace with a singular task. Looking in the big blue eyes of Tiffania, his blackened heart felt something that hadn't been there in a very long time.

Shame.

For Asurayan's sake! He felt actually ashamed as the half-elf chit looked at him with disappointment. The organ in his chest felt as it was squeezed by an iron clad hand. What was wrong with him? As the Druchii looked at her he could swear that his mind was playing tricks on him as for a moment she reminded him so of his late wife. Of course, some things were different, like her…bossom or the childlike innocence she approached the life with, but he could imagine Allisara from long ago, yet it only brought him pain as always. Malekith recoiled as if her hands burned him through his conjured robes. Flashing her a look of surprise he turned to her and grabbed her by the shoulders. Her eyes widened ever slightly at his actions, but the Witch King paid no attention as there was something much more important than his explanation of the horror that he had committed.

"How do you know about this?" he asked once more and poured magic into his eyes that made Tiffania flinch back from his gaze, yet the Son of Aenarion didn't stop. He pulled closer, uncomfortably so, that their foreheads were almost touching. Tiffania had closed her eyes and even tears were starting to swell. Did she think that he was going to take her here and now? That he would take a maidenhead of nothing more than a comely child on wooden floorboards against her will?

While there had been times such tactic was useful to crush the spirits of his foes and treacherous minions, the Witch King didn't personally participate in those matters.

"I-I-I…" the girl started to stutter and as if floodgates were open. Tears spilled now freely from her eyes and Malekith could only sigh at her almost predictable reaction, supposedly that would be another thing for him to change once she would gather the courage to ask for his tutelage.

"Do not cry child" he said with as much gentleness he could muster and wiped away these tears on her face. Tiffania stifled a sob and continued to look at him with eyes wide in fearful anticipation.

"If I were as evil as you thought of me no amount of tears and pleading would stop me" he explained, not deigning to mention the fact that ever since he had come to his world his volatile and cruel temper had oddly been silent as if snuffed out completely. Of course, this was also due to fact that there was very little which could strike his ire in the foreign world without trying and while the chit was had lit a small spark of irritation, Malekith could forgive her that given the circumstances.

"W-Who are you…r-really?" she had mustered enough courage to repeat the question and the Witch King knew then and there that he won't be able to make her shut up about the matter without jeopardizing the task at hand.

With a long-suffering sigh, the dark-haired elf began to explain. He started with something simple in which she would relate with.

"My people were usurped on the eve of my father's greatest sacrifice"

The election actually had happened over a decade later once everything had calmed down for normal governance to ensue. It didn't change the issue of itself, however

"After the war people wanted peace and the select few that stole the throne from me believed me to be much like my father- too strong and warlike to be allowed to rule. So, they conspired against me in secret and I only knew of their betrayal too late. They congratulated me on my decision to venture out and found great cities for our people on the distant shores of the world, but it was little more than voluntary exile" The Witch King explained, letting the ire of thousands of years to seep through his very bones. Sometimes it paid off to have the ability hold grudges and recall every wrong done to you with an amazing clarity, especially if one was lying through their teeth to do so.

In her eyes he could see her worry and disgust vane as she slowly took in the knowledge of his private life that he had seldom given to others before. So many friends and allies he had lost, to betrayals, to nature and his many foes, yet whenever he told his past to someone, it was hard to let the memories rest.

"Yet all of my exile wasn't spent in vain. I did found great cities and meet new friends, like the High King of the Dwarves Snorri. Never before had I seen such fury in such a short man" Malekith laughed as he recalled the hunt for the Shaggoth and the herds of the filthy beastmen that dared to encroach on their forces.

"However, even then the pretender tried to rob me of my achievements and claimed the achievement of the friendship of our races as his own, before banishing me once again and Asuryan knows I did not rage against him or plot his demise." Malekith now had made a small ball of purple flame manifest in his hand which he juggled with surprising grace and finesse, making it spin and pivot in the air, his green eyes focused on the flame. With the corner of his vision he saw Tiffania whose eyes were almost glued to the miniscule flame and with a smile on his lips he multiplied them in dozens, each swirling with the colours of the rainbow. The small flames surrounded the world in a spectacle never seen before the half-elf's eyes. A small gasp echoed from her chest and the Witch King continued his tale

"Years later they called me back. I hoped that they had called me to rescind their decision and crown me the Phoenix King, but instead I was called back to clean up their mess once again!" Malekith clenched his fist and the small flames grew from the size of the apples into that of boulders before exploding in a shower of sparks.

"Cults of pleasures and sin ravaged the blessed Isles of Ulthuan and I was called up to quell it while the indolent king and his bootlicker princes feasted and revelled the threat away. I hunted them relentlessly, without mercy and moment of respite. It seemed that my quest was going as planned, then one day I received a missive of the gathering of the upper echelons of the cult. Naturally, I knew that this chance couldn't go to waste."

"What happened then?" Tiffania asked as she drew her attention back from the shower of sparks which slowly died out in the night, revealing the cloudless sky and its two moons. The Dark haired elf sighed and rubbed his face with some fatigue and returned to his tale.

"It was in a hidden temple of Hekharti and Akharti- the twin goddesses, the Hek of Magic and Ak of Pleasure. It was a grand hidden palace, where scented candles filled room with sensuous scents, from mere whiff would make a human catatonic from the pleasure. The cultists naked and writhing like snakes in mating , coupling among soft pillows and lush carpets. An orgy of pleasure and decadence I had never seen before at the time. At the very top of this sensual madness was a throne built on naked suplicants, sat their leader. She was the most beautiful woman I had seen in the world- her face covered with a great golden mask with antlers that would put a great elk to shame-"

"She was Morathi, wasn't she…" Tiffania interrupted and Malekith nodded.

"I couldn't fight there, outnumbered and alone, yet I knew that I had her and if…if I could get her guard down then all of this would come to an end and the possibility of me becoming the Phoenix King was ever present in my mind" he admitted to the elf who listened with rapt attention.

"So I decided to seduce her and of course she saw right through my bluff and called it. In my arrogance I bedded her and when came the time to arrest her, she threw away her mask and unleashed her sorceries upon me. I brought her low after hours of fighting, but then I realized that I couldn't kill my mother, the woman who had brought me into the mire with her and dishonoured the memory of my father so thoroughly. Alas just then she explained why she had founded the cults when I had my blade raised, ready to fell her and then impale myself on the very blade for my sins."

"She convinced you, didn't she?" Tiffania had a small scowl on her face as she hugged her knees to herself and gazed at the stars above her. Malekith saw the discomfort o her face and begun to ponder just what Morathi had shown her.

"Yes" the elfin king knew better not to lie and merely nodded his head with this small gasp of answer, before turning away from her to look once again in the sky. Though with the corner of his eye Malekith spied her drew into her shell like a snail, curling her hands around her knees and sighing.

Deciding that it was best to continue, the Witch King resumed to tell of his fall from grace

"I spared her, and it changed everything. Had I not then nothing would have changed. I would have remained an attack dog, despite the torment I had endured." He faced her and saw the half elf deep in thought, eyes looking far in the distance.

"Would you have done it again?" Tiffania's voice cut through the brief silence like a knife.

"Yes" was the simple answer Malekith gave her and there was nothing else he could have said. These thousands of years the Witch King had spent decades thinking about 'what if's' and despite his mind taking pathways through every single one of his choices the branches of his possible future aided by magic and records did little to provide him with an alternative or better route for elves or himself. If he had forsaken her and did his duty in executing Morathi, he would have been praised lightly, before sent off, lest he impede the rule of Bel Shanaar. In that future Malekith would have fled from the memory of elvenkind by his rivals and ended up completely inconsequential to the future of the world, while the elves would grow fat and decadent, ripe for the picking of Chaos.

Maybe it was his own selfishness, but he refused to be in the wrong. This was where he had gotten and there was great wisdom in never looking back. Casting glances in the past stole the sight of the future.

Cast adrift in this strange world with an improbable task, the sight of the future was all Malekith had.

"H-h-how…can…I…trust…you?" her small voice rang out after the long silence. Turning back to her, he saw her eyes wide with apprehensive hope, tinged with fear.

"You must" he simply answered and offered her a sad smile, reminding how he, himself had often been in the same situation. He saw her sharply breathe in before wanting to say something, but he silenced her with a single finger.

"I may be the dreaded Witch King of Naggarond, Scourge of the World, Bane of Chaos, Master of the Vicious Druchii and the One Who Walked the Realms of Chaos, but I made a promise to you Tiffania" He spoke slowly, leaving nothing to interpretation. He grasped her hands and hastily tore off his gauntlet to show the brand of a golden eagle shining on his hand. It matched hers, softly glowing in the night sky.

"For better or worse, we are bound together"

With a quiet sigh, the half-elf was mesmerized by the brand and it was all that Malekith needed to grab her hand and warm it with a cantrip, sending the heat through Tiffania's body. A blush crept in her pretty features and Malekith knew he had her.

"I'll show you all wonders that can exist in this world and for better or worse by the will of the Eagelfather, who sent me to you in your hour in need is my penance" the son of Aenarion said this pledge earnestly, lying little for here he had no responsibilities ,save those imposed by Asuryan and those were vague at best, for what were these few years on an entirely new world compared that to the mind rending realm of Chaos. With present company a few centuries would pass like months.

"Alright" Tiffania spoke and let her eyes wander away from Malekith to the starry skies that surrounded them

"Alright'' her eyes darted back to him "But I want you to be truthful with me. No more secrets between us Malekith…I mean it!" It was laughable that such chit would deign to command this of him, but then again, he had chosen to involve himself with her.

That and there was a small flame in her eyes that the Witch King realised immediately, being a premium scout of talent of untold ages realised this as hunger. Then he wondered whatever she would have done if he or the assassins didn't encroach or her simple days. Would she have foraged for berries and mushrooms, bathed in river and spent the rest of her days in this gentle bliss.

Completely unaware of the maelstrom of power that slept dormant in her blood.

No, Malekith refused to allow that. She belonged to him. Lessers would use some pretense of nobility, chivalry or need to act in the same manner as he did, the only difference was that the Witch King felt no need to disguise his intentions. He wanted her to be his retainer and guide to this strange world, there was nothing simpler and purer.

He wanted her and he would get her. The King of Druchii wasn't known for giving up.

"I promise ,Tiffania Verdan" Malekith spoke, in his mind already supplying him with more avenues to avoid less than pleasant truths. Duplicity was almost second nature to one as him, but his hand feeling a phantom stab, the elven warlord understood that Asuryan wasn't quite pleased with that statement.

"Verdan?" a puzzled look set upon her fair features and the male elf once again chastised himself as he knew that Tiffania was not of Asur or even Druchii stock, instead of a different elf altogether.

"It means 'of the forest' in Eltharion"

"Oh, it's fitting" she laughed and Malekith was reminded of chiming bells.

"Indeed" the Witch King agreed with a tug upwards on his lips. The previously serious topic was almost forgotten in the eyes of the Child, who no doubt had been apprehensive against him in the beginning, but had failed to realize the slight magical persuasion he had visited upon her. It was benign in nature and was mostly used by the Asur parents to calm unruly children and force them to calm down and be more suggestible, but the spell lost it's usefulness after the child reached maturity and their mind became more resilient to magic. However, Malekith had tweaked the spell to increase its effectiveness.

"What are we doing next? I know we're heading to the academy…" tweedling her thumbs and the dark-haired elf nodded at the question.

"Why, yes. You told me about your sister and it would be unwise to leave her there as your enemies have found you already" The sorcerer nodded and closed his eyes, immediately opening them, now blazing emerald with sorcery and malice as an less than amiable grin appeared on his face, revealing his pearly white teeth.

Tiffania with eyes wide scrambled back from him, but could not as his hand clasped around her own. Blue met emerald, it saw uncontested confidence, while their owner saw fear in the others.

"It seems that they have sent rats with wings to hunt us down, ha!" Malekith let out a sharp laugh and waved his hand in the air. In the distance a flap of wings could be heard.

"What?!" Tiffania shook herself from the brief trance of Witch King's eyes and looked in the distance. Far from them, six gryphons with their knights were flying straight at them, bearing standard of Tristain.

"No, they are Tristain Gryphon guard! Maybe they are here to welcome us?" the half elf said shakily, but Malekith's not amused face and cold eyes told her what her heart knew all along. These men were sent here to kill her and the other elf, because of their blood, no doubt.

"Malekith, they are the elite mages of the royal family, it's a suicide to go against them!" Tiffania plead, for even if Malekith was an accomplished sorcerer, the sheer numbers would overwhelm him!

"Nonsense," the sorcerer barked with laughter and with a wave of his hand the winds against the house started to howl and bark, covering the flying dwelling into a globe of air. Like a shimmering stream of water it enveloped them, separating both elves from their assailants, but the six knights had different ideas.

Gryphon knights were the best of Tristain for a reason, their mastery of the wind magic being triangle tier, threat to peasant levies and lesser mages. A single triangle mage could wipe out a village if no mage was sent to oppose them. They were six, with their ferocious steeds and orders to rend the small house apart, kill the girl and take the ring from her dead fingers. Orders were simple and none would have dared to refuse a direct command.

In tandem the six were stupefied as they saw the house enveloped in sphere of air. Immediately their thoughts were of at least square class mage, which spelled trouble, luckily for them, they only had to destroy the flying object as even the greatest mages were incapable of flying without their mounts. Most likely the girl had found a windstone and with her elven magic managed to rip the chunk of earth out of its rightful place.

With a single command from the squad leader from his gilded white gryphon, the mages released their most powerful wind blades to tear down the shield. Like rocks cast upon the water, the blades sent air out of the sphere and to their eyes the shield seemed to weaken.

"Malekith" Tiffania cried out as the Elf King continued to smirk "They are going to break through!"

She pounded on his chest, drawing his attention to her. He scowled and grabbed her hand, stopping her offensive in its tracks and with quiet voice that sent shivers down her spine explained.

"Watch, childe" Malekith proclaimed with deadly calm as the knights continued their assault. The half-elf hugged his chest in fear, closing her eyes to block out the sight of blades smashing against the barrier and the howling of the wind. If she had opened her eyes, she would have seen the air from the barrier slowly surrounding the knights around the house.

She was still a child, but the Witch King was patient in his quest. This girl would be his second Kouran Darkhand in this world, but instead of Crimson Death, her weapon would be that of Dhar.

Human mages were so predictably brash, the elf though as through his eyes he saw both men and beast inhale the air around them, unaware of what was about to transpire. He could feel how it filled their lungs, nostrils and joined them in blood, how pathetic.

Mages wielding air should have known how to it can be used to their own doom. Shaking his head in bemusement Malekith shook the girl that still clung to him like the heldenhammer amulet humans used.

"Open your eyes Tiffania" son of Aenarion spoke and waited as the girl dared to open her eyes.

"Watch Tiffania" he grabbed her chin and let her look upon the men who sought their doom. Clad in rich clothes and little armour to protect their flesh, they wielded halberds and pikes with gems, acting like magic. That moment the wall of wind thinned enough for them to see them clearly in the night sky and from the shocked expression the men attacking knew this too.

"Heavens belong to us girl, see these apes cast down back into dust where is their place!" Malekith barked and threw back his arm.

The air ignited.

In horror, the young girl watched as fire rose, surrounding the knights and their mouths. Their screams would have haunted her, but she felt nothing as she knew they would harm her with only the reason that she was her father's daughter.

"Let them burn"

She said as she watched flames rise from their nostrils and eye sockets.

"Let them burn"

She said as the gryphons threw off their masters in animalistic panic, seeking to free themselves and seek out water.

"Let them burn"

She said as her last vestiges of mercy died in an inferno, wishing that though these men were evil, their deaths would be fast enough for them not to suffer.

As Tiffania Verdan watched dispassionately as these assassins fell down with their mounts, looking like husks, Malekith smiled. Her thoughts were unguarded and yet there was no need for him to read them. He could see her apathy as the riders fell from their mounts. Yet these warriors had very valuable information of the processes and the Witch King, while many things, he wasn't wasteful.

With a negligent flick of his wrist, the last survivor was flung through the barrier, dousing his flames and landing him before the Elves. Baly singed, once glorious armour was little more than tatters. His breathing laboured and heavy as he clung to his life. Snarling Malekith filled the man with Magic of Dhar, willing it to make the human survive the magic fire that had left him so scarred.

Tiffania was surprised that the burns seemed to vanish from the man's flesh. Eyes popped back in his skull and skin draped over the charred flesh. As the sorcery unfolded so did the humans wits. Screams of pain became gibberish, then sentences and lastly clear precise orders to destroy her home, kill her and grab the ring on her finger. It was as if Malekith had rewound time for this man, who now looked at the two Elves with surprise and horror. No doubt he would have plead for his entire soul to the two, but the Witch King gave him no such chance.

Faster than lightning, his hand shot out and grabbed the struggling human by the head, covering the eyes. The man let out a surprised "what" before he started to scream as once more Malekith's emerald orbs glowed in the darkness.

The King of Elves stood there as his captive screamed, until the man finally fell down, lifeless. He offered Tiffania his hand and smiled at her, gone was the viciousness that killed six of some of the most feared magicians in Tristain, then resurrected another, before killing him again. It was almost too easy for her to forget herself in his entrancing eyes and roguish grin, but now she knew that everything Morathi had told her about Malekith had been true, but the woman had failed to understand one thing.

She could live with that.

So as the stars slowly turned to clouds in the sky the flying house headed towards the school for Magicians, where a certain familiar couldn't sleep.

Alarielle of the Asur looked out of her window with a frown as she felt a spark of Dhar in the distance, much more potent than native to this strange realm. However, it had appeared and vanished as just as suddenly. Still the frown remained and she continued to sit in her vigil, chanting and drawing the spirits to her. If the humans would deign to attack her, they would rue the day.

A.N: Hey it's me! I'm back and while there is no expected chapters very soon. I'll still try my best. Morathi's plan backfires as expected and Tiffania starts to embrace her companions nature, while Alarielle starts to wonder just who IS Asuryan's chosen. If you have any questions, please do ask them and I'll try to respond.

Leave a review and be merry!

-Spook