Chronicles of an Elven Bed-warmer
Chapter the Tenth
Elissa's Offer
Still not wearing pants.
Kallian was upset with Elle, to put it lightly.
"I can dress myself." she growled.
"I'm sure you can, but my way is more fun."
"For you maybe."
"Exactly. Now be a dear, and indulge an old lady."
"You're not that old." The rogue mumbled under her breath.
Kallian wore a Grey turtleneck sweater tightly fitted to emphasize her "assets" and a long wool skirt with white silk stockings that flashed alluringly as she walked. She'd never worn stockings before, let alone silk ones, or anything made of silk for that matter. She rather enjoyed the way it felt on her skin, it made her feel quite... sexy?
One of the reasons she put up with being the maid's dress-up toy was that Elle always made her look good. Much better than she, herself could. The other was that the older elf could be surprisingly scary when she didn't get her way.
After walking for a while, the pair stopped outside the library. "Now, mind your manners in front of Lady Elissa. She's a lot more... formal than Lord Aedan." the maid warned Kallian. Then without waiting for a response, she opened the door and announced their arrival. "Miss Inri to see you as requested, milady."
Kallian tentatively entered the room. She noted the roaring fire in the fireplace made the room rather cozy. But most of her attention was drawn to Elissa herself. She was wearing a long silk dressing gown over a modest slip, her long red hair was down out of the coils she usually kept them in, and the light from the morning sun diffused through the frosted glass of the window in such a way as to make her look almost angelic. Any male - provided he wasn't blind, related by blood or a "Bachelor" - who had happened across the scene would have become instantly infatuated with the young Lady Cousland. As for Kallian, she had never wanted to hit anyone so badly in her entire life... aside from Vaughan, but he was already dead, so he didn't count.
"Ah, Miss Inri, so good of you to join me, would you care for some tea?" Greeted the Lady cordially.
Slightly suspicious, the elf narrowed her eyes a bit, but eventually responded with a nod. The two sat down at the table where a light breakfast was already laid out. Elissa gracefully buttered a scone and took a dainty bite. After several moments of watching the older girl eat, Kallian was starting to get agitated.
"I understand that you summoned me, milady. Is there something I can do for you?"
Elissa popped the last of the scone into her mouth and steepled her fingers in front of her face and gave Kallian an indecipherable smile. "I think you'll find the question is, Miss Inri, or should that be Tabris?" she paused. "Is what can I do for you?"
"What do you mean?' The wary elf asked cautiously.
"Well Miss - I think I'll stick with Inri, wouldn't want that to slip out in public - you have been presented with a unique opportunity." while she was speaking, Elissa had gotten up from her seat and was moving towards one of the book shelves. "My brother seems to like you. Would you say that the feeling was mutual?"
"Er, well, uh, the thing is... er." Kallian stuttered, taken of guard by the lady's bluntness.
"Yes or no, Miss Inri, it's not a difficult question." Elissa demanded, moving toward the smaller girl.
"Well uh, you see, um..."
"Tick, tock, time is running out, Miss Inri, yes or no? Hmm?" Continued Elissa, ratcheting up the pressure, bowing down to stare directly into Kallian's face.
"Yes!" The blond elven rogue blurted, her eyes closed.
Elissa immediately assumed a more friendly posture. "See, wasn't that simple?" she patted the elf on the head and moved back towards the shelves. Kallian was so stunned that she didn't even register the condescending gesture. "Anyway, on with the business at hand. You're quite a competent fighter. You could be better, but that's not really the issue." Elissa removed a short stack of books from the shelf she was standing next to.
"Your real problem is that you lack...refinement."
Kallian refrained from commenting about how smashing people in the face with one's shield hardly qualified Elissa to talk about being refined.
"A proper mistress - and make no mistake, that is what you are - needs to be able to act like a lady when the situation demands." The young Lady placed the stack of books on top of her head and began walking back and forth across the room. "Fortunately, I can help you with this," Kallian looked on as the books barely moved, she wasn't entirely sure what the point of that was, but it certainly was impressive. "Of course you could always refuse my kind offer and continue to muddle through the nobility as you have so far, but seeing that we both care about my brother, I'm sure you wouldn't want to cause him any undue embarrassment." She removed the books and replaced them on the shelf. "Of course, should you choose to submit yourself to my tutelage, we can also work on your fighting skills. So, what say you?"
Kallian was torn. On the one hand she didn't really like Elissa very much, while on the other this sounded like stuff she needed to know. Plus, entitled, overconfident bitch or not, Elissa was one of the best fighters in Ferelden, and she was offering to train Kallian. After mulling it over for awhile, she made the only decision she really could.
"When do we start?" She would do just about anything to help Aedan, even put up with his overbearing sister.
"Ah, excellent. I had wanted to start with a quick spar but-" she indicated the snow-covered window. "So we shall start with something else. Mrs. Russel, you can bring them in now."
When Kallian saw what Elle brought in, she paled as she realized what she was about to endure.
"Oh, don't be such a wuss." The older elf woman scoffed. "It's only a four inch heel."
0-0
Aedan woke up a little later. He wasn't really surprised to see that Kallian was no longer with him, she would usually go back to her room at some point during the night. Yesterday had been an exception, though a pleasant one, something about protecting his reputation. He would rather she stayed, but he could see her point.
He was, however, surprised when neither Kallian or Elissa joined him for breakfast. He missed the company, Kallian especially, he had always enjoyed watching her in her usually brief sleeping costume. Not that he would ever admit that to anyone, he was a gentleman after all. So he decided to have a walk around the estate, just to make sure that everything was running smoothly, and not to look for his wayward elf or his sister.
He had yet to find either of the females, but he had come across a few of the staff, who, for some reason kept grinning at him. It was a bit unnerving. 'What's wrong with everyone today?' he thought.
He eventually ran into Sergeant Cartwright, who also grinned at him. That was the last straw, the man in charge of of his guard was one of the most persistently disgruntled characters Aedan had ever met. He almost never smiled and certainly didn't wear such a large cheese-eating grin, like he was sporting now. Aedan was genuinely surprised that the man's face didn't crack.
"What are you grinning at, Sergeant?"
"Er, what? Am I? Guess I'm just in a good mood is all, milord."
Aedan instantly became even more suspicious, Cartwright was well known for having the disposition of an angry badger with a toothache. "You're never in a good mood. Now spill, why is everybody grinning at me?"
"Well, er, we're all just happy for you, milord."
"Eh?"
"Um...you and the elf, sir."
"What about Kallian and I?" A nugget of suspicion began to form in his mind.
"Well... you're fucking her, aren't you?" Aedan scowled at the sergeant's foul language, though he winced on the inside. But the guard failed to notice and continued. "Used to know a damn hot elven whore back in my younger days, milord. She would do pretty much anything I wanted if I rubbed her ears the right way. And payed her, of course."
Aedan's scowl deepened at that, which the sergeant finally noticed and stood at attention. Though the young lord silently filed that tip about rubbing ears away in his mind for future reference.
"Sergeant, would you ever, in your right mind, use such crass terms if you found yourself speaking to my mother and father, or any respectable member of the nobility for that matter?"
Cartwright hastily answered "Of course not, milord."
"Then let me make myself perfectly clear, Sergeant: Whenever you are on active duty, you represent the house of Cousland, and neither I or any member of my family will tolerate such undisciplined behavior. And as for the rumours that seem to revolve around myself and my bodyguard, know any relationship between myself and Miss Inri - assuming that should such a thing even exists - is no business of anyone but ourselves. Is that understood?"
Sergeant Cartwright swallowed and nodded "Perfectly, milord."
"Good. Dismissed."
As soon as the sergeant left, Aedan headed off towards the library, specifically the section where Kallian kept all those smutty novels she loved to read. Perhaps there was a book which contained a descriptive scene between a male human and elf woman. One that involved rubbing ears...
0-0
Shianni awoke suddenly to an urgent need. She quickly pulled the chamber pot out from under her bed and threw up what seemed like everything she had eaten and drank over the last three days. 'I am never touching another bottle of alcohol again as long as I live.' She thought, as she did every time she had a hangover. One of these days it would finally stick.
"Are you okay?" asked a cheerful voice. Shianni turned and squinted myopically at the last person anyone would want to meet while hung over.
"Oh, wow, you look terrible!" Regarded Mel, unhelpfully, and much too loudly in Shianni's opinion.
"Not so loud..." Shianni croaked.
" Oooo! Have you been drinking?" the curly-haired blonde seemed to actually be getting louder.
"Go away." croaked the redhead."
"Does this mean today's reading lessons are canceled?"
Mostly as an attempt to do something useful with her time, Shianni had been trying to teach some of the girls how to read, Surprisingly Mel was one of the better students, at least when she could be persuaded to sit still for more than five seconds. Shianni was considering bringing some things up from the dungeons...
"Erg..." Shianni moaned.
Interpreting the noise as confirmation, Mel turned and broadcasting to the room in general, "Hey! No reading classes today!" and there was much rejoicing as they all ran noisily outside to play in the snow.
"Ungrateful little..." Their instructor mumbled before burrowing back into bed.
She was re-awakened several hours later by Ser Mhiri.
"Shianni." The guard gave the slumbering elf a gentle shake.
"Ugh...go...'way." Then, against her better judgment, she poked the top of her head out from under the covers and opened her eyes. She estimated it was late afternoon by the shadows around the room.
"The Queen wants to talk to you." explained the knight.
"Tell her I've died." Shianni replied before pulling the blankets back up over her head.
"Well, okay, what from?"
"Being dead."
Mhiri turned to Anora, who was standing just outside of Shianni's field of vision. "She says she's dead, Your Majesty."
"Well," she responded. "I suppose she would know." The Queen paused briefly in reflection. "It's always so sad when one's pets die." Mhiri gave a solemn nod of agreement. "Should we bury her in the garden?"
"Oh yes, Your Majesty, that would be quite appropriate."
"Are you done?" Groused the disheveled elf as she finally emerged from her cocoon.
"Eek! A zombie!" exclaimed Mhiri.
The Queen put her hand up over her mouth in an attempt to stifle her giggles.
Shianni pinched the bridge of her nose. This was going to be a long day.
Hope everyone had a nice Christmas. I got clothes and a beard trimmer. I am officially an adult. It kind of sucks.
Yes I know it's a bit short again this month but I wanted to post something the new semester starts and I get busy again. So no complaining.