Chapter VII: The Relativity
As the sounds of the drawbridge disappeared into nothingness, Teelina's gaze lifted from the floor. "Do you intend to simply stand there invisibly for the rest of the evening?" she asked, somewhat angrily.
A slight chuckle could be heard as Moria lifted her spell. "Not really," she commented, a small smile upon her lips. "I was merely wondering when it would be that you would get around to addressing me." Her smile indicated she had been there for longer than the Sorceress had first thought. "After all," the elder woman continued, stepping forward, stopping when she stood few paces from the Eternian. "It would have been unquestionably rude for me to 'show up' during your conversation."
"What does it matter if you were there anyway?" the Sorceress asked, looking into the amethyst eyes she knew so well. "Isn't it equally rude to listen in on someone's discussion?"
Moria's smile widened slowly. "Only if neither of the participants know you're there." She winked a slightly pinwheeling eye. "You knew." It was a statement of fact, not a question.
Teelina's nod was barely visible. "I knew," she whispered. Had the elder woman not been Dereskian, she would not have been able to hear her reply.
Silence fell upon the room for a long moment.
Lady Moria was the one who broke it, for a change. "You've heightened the security measures around the castle," she noted, almost absently. "Was that solely for my benefit?" Her tone was slightly amused, and her eyes twinkled beneath white eyelashes.
The Sorceress shook her head. "Not entirely," she answered honestly. "With Skeletor's recent. improvements, I thought it wise to strengthen the shields."
"There's another reason," Moria more stated than questioned, looking into the younger woman's mind. "One you don't want me to discover.. Interesting." The Sorceress glared angrily at her. Lady Moria's reply was only a mischievous smile. "I'll let you keep your secret," she said, winking, while withdrawing from the redhead's mind. The unspoken 'for now' hung in the air.
After another short pause, Teelina questioned, "Is there something that you wanted, Moria? Or are you here for no reason? I should think you would have more things to do than waste your time with an Eternian."
The elder woman strode the few steps between them and caressed the redhead's face gently. She smiled softly when the younger woman did not flinch. "You're becoming used to me. That's good," she whispered softly.
Teelina caught the older woman's hand with her own. "Why do you continue to find me so fascinating?" she questioned, a bit of exasperation in her voice.
The Dereskian smiled at her softly, stroking the tanned hand with her own pale one. "Because there is still hope for you," she answered mysteriously, eyes twinkling.
The Sorceress took her hand away and regarded the Dereskian uncertainly. "What do you mean?" she inquired hesitantly.
Her smile widened slowly. "To answer your first question more completely, you hold my attention because you are not nearly as dense as those other fools you continuously surround yourself with." Before the redhead could reply, Lady Moria winked softly. But then again, you are not entirely Eternian."
The Sorceress' eyes grew as wide as saucers and her mouth dropped open. "What the hell do you mean by that?" she questioned, confused and angry and eager to hear more all at once.
Moria sighed exasperatedly and looked up at the ceiling, as if to say 'why me?' "I don't know how many times I have to say it for you all to clue in. There are Nine Hells, Teelina, not one." She sighed again. "I suppose I really shouldn't expect too much. You're still half Eternian, after all."
"I don't see where you're going with this," the younger woman said obstinately. "I'm a full-blooded Eternian like everyone else in this kingdom."
The Dereskian Queen shook her head gently. "No, you most certainly are not. And I'm actually surprised you don't know it. Did your mother never tell you?"
"Tell me what?" the Sorceress quipped.
Lady Moria's words were calm and straightforward. "Who you are. What your heritage is. Who your father was."
Once again, the blue eyes widened considerably. Teelina shook her head gently. "No. She never said anything. Why would she?"
A small nod greeted her in reply. "Why indeed," Moria commented, sighing softly. "I suppose your identity is not really necessary knowledge if you are in training to become keeper of a pile of stones. Though I did, at least, think she would have discussed you parentage with you."
"Oh, and I suppose you know all about my father?" Teelina asked arrogantly.
Moria snapped the fingers of her left hand gently. Immediately, a great book, probably one of many, appeared in her hand. She walked over to the steps of the pyramid and sat down, holding the great tome in her lap. "I won't boast being an expert on the man, but I know more than you do," she said quietly, indicating, without really asking, that the Sorceress should sit beside her.
Without being asked, Teelina sat down next to her as Moria flipped to a particular page of the book.
"Here it is," she said softly, stopping at a series of pages picturing what looked like a very long family tree in very tiny writing. "This is one of many volumes of the Dereskian Sacred Texts. They are. records of the entire population of the Dereskïgiä, they're names, parentage, birth dates and death dates, starting with the very first of them," she flipped backwards to the top of the 'tree,' "to the last." She flipped forwards to the most recent entry, 'Moritënia Vadorian.'
"Evil-Lyn," the Sorceress said, somewhat amazed she could read the name on the parchment. "Her father isn't shown," she commented, shooting a questioned look at the older woman.
Moria met her gaze and replied simply, "She isn't his technically his child. He had no bloodline to speak of, because he lacked DNA. Listing him is therefore unnecessary." She regarded the younger woman amusedly. "You can read it?" she asked, an odd sort of smile on her features.
The Sorceress looked intently at the old book. "A few of them, though not all," she admitted. "Of those I can read, I seriously doubt I could pronounce more than an eighth of them."
The elder woman nodded slightly, as if determining that Teelina's ability made sense to her. She pointed to a name on the same page. "Can you read this one?" she asked.
"Caerlin Vadorian." Teelina read dutifully. "But it's been altered to read something else." She squinted at the parchment until she could make out the letters. "Moria. .You," she concluded looking into the eyes of the older woman.
Another nod. Moria pointed to the names above her own.
"Monicaldeno. Alessena. Your father and mother?" Teelina questioned. The elder woman smiled and flipped to the prior page.
There were fewer names on this page, and the younger woman looked at her regal companion questioningly. The Dereskian Queen explained, "This is one of the non-royal lines. Their names are slightly less complicated, and their family lines less elaborate."
She indicated a name near the bottom of the page.
Teelina had a slight problem making out the symbols. "Bre- Brehimin?" she questioned, trying to sound out the syllables.
"Brehimähd," corrected Moria gently. "That one is rather difficult. Look beneath him."
The Sorceress regarded the name directly below the hard-to-pronounce one. "Miranith," she read easily.
Lady Moria nodded. "Very good. And the one beneath that?" Her tone began to get slightly more wicked in its tone, but she doubted that the Sorceress would be able to detect it.
The redhead looked at the name, and her eyes widened. Had she been the one holding the book, it would have fallen from her hands. She rubbed her eyes eagerly, thinking perhaps she had read it wrong. But the symbols stayed the same. T-E-E-L-I-N-A. She thought for a minute it might have been some other woman with her same name, but the birth date beneath it was her own.
She swallowed then, her throat suddenly very dry. "Why am I listed?" she demanded, more than a little disturbed.
Moria looked at her a bit incredulously. "You can't guess?" At the silence which greeted her, the elder woman continued, "Teelina, there is only one reason that you would be listed in the Sacred Text of the Dereskïgiä. Are you so certain that you cannot deduce what that reason is?" Again, the redhead was silent. "Oh, come now," Lady Moria exclaimed. "Surely you're not that Eternian!"
The Sorceress shot her a look that was solid ice and hatred.
The elder woman laughed and snapped her fingers, making the great tome in her lap vanish. "I didn't think so," she laughed, stroking Teelina's face with her hand.
"I am not Dereskian," the redhead said flatly, jerking her head back as if Moria's touch burned.
A slow smile slid across the features of the elder woman. "You can deny it all you want, dear," she said softly. "But the Dereskïgiä is in your blood, as much as you might hate to think it."
"Then why do I not feel the consciousnesses of all the others?!" she asked, so enraged that she did not realize that Moria had not been speaking in Eternian when she had spoken. Nor did she recognize that she had answered her in the same language.
Inwardly, the Dereskian Queen laughed. \\Because I have not wanted you to,\\ she answered in her native language, smiling widely. \\I am the Dereskian Queen, the one remaining Ancient in living existence. If I do not want the collective voices of the Dereskïgiä to reach you, be assured that they will not reach you.
\\Besides, you must take into account that you are only half Dereskian. Even if I did allow the consciousnesses entry into you, you would still not become as strong as I am. Actually, because you are only half Dereskian, it could very likely kill you.\\ She smiled, waiting to see if this time, Teelina would comprehend not only was she was saying, but what she was saying it in.
\\Why in Nine Hells are you speaking in Deres- ah!\\ The Sorceress' expression transformed into one of utter shock. "How the hells do I suddenly know Dereskian?!" she exclaimed angrily, as if it was Moria's fault.
The Queen of the Dereskïgiä grinned. \\In the same way that you now know that there are Nine Hells, Teelina. The information was always there, I merely triggered it by showing you the Text.\\
Teelina had to try very hard not to answer in Dereskian. "Then un-trigger it!" she demanded.
\\I cannot,\\ the elder woman proclaimed simply, her smile wider than Teelina would have liked.
"Why not?" she pressed through clenched teeth.
The elder woman caressed her face lovingly. "Release your jaw, dear. It makes you look very unattractive to have it so stiff."
As almost a reflex, the redhead's jaw slackened. Moria's eyes whirled with delight. \\It does work!\\ she exclaimed happily.
Teelina looked at her uncertainly, not sure why she done as the older woman had requested. She only knew that it felt like the right thing to do. "What works?" she asked nervously.
A wicked smile came upon the features of the older woman. She stood gracefully on her feet, indicating that the Sorceress should do likewise.
Teelina attempted to continue to sit, but found that she was compelled to do what Moria asked. "What have you done to me?" she demanded.
\\I have done nothing save give you back your identity, Teelina. However, that identity is Dereskian, and I am the Queen of the Dereskians. Therefore, it is your duty to obey me.\\ Lady Moria's smiled widened and her eyes began to whirl in a fiendish delight.
"I will never obey you!" the Sorceress exclaimed, her wings extending to their full width and a fierce wind suddenly blowing up from out of nowhere.
A dull, malicious sound filled the air as the Dereskian Queen laughed at the younger woman's anger. A stronger, more ferocious wind rippled through the air at her call. The sound of cloth being ripped echoed through the room and was consumed by the wind. Two wings, one white, and the other black, extended from the elder woman's back.
\\If you needed any more proof that Dereskian blood flows in your veins, there it is,\\ Moria commented, indicating the wings on both their shoulders. \\True, you have two of the same, but it matters not in the long run.\\
With a strangled cry, Teelina leapt at the elder woman, her staff clutched tightly in her hands as she prepared to strike.
The moon haired woman merely lifted a graceful hand. \\Stop,\\ she commanded gently. The Sorceress froze in midair, much to Moria's delight. \\This is too perfect,\\ she commented, laughing. Both of the winds died down at her bidding. \\The Sorceress of Grayskull is bound to do as I request.\\
"Sorry," said Teelina, continuing her assault. She brought her staff upwards and struck the older woman in the chin, causing her to fall backwards. "I don't obey murderers." She hovered in the air, brandishing her staff heatedly.
Moria used the force behind the blow to flip backwards and into the air. Supported by her massive wings, she went towards the Sorceress slowly, bringing her hand to the younger woman's cheek. Teelina tried to strike her, but found she was unable to move.
The Dereskian Queen chuckled as she brought her face very close to Teelina's own. \\Then I would say it is a very good thing I'm not a murderer,\\ said the older woman, running her hand along the Sorceress' jawbone seductively.
Teelina struggled with her inability to move for a long while, finally breaking Moria's spell to the point where she could make facial expressions, though she had a sinking feeling that the elder woman wanted her to be able to do that. When she tried to decay the spell further, she found Lady Moria's holds upon her body too great.
A dark chuckle escaped from the older woman as she watched Teelina struggle. \\You look absolutely stunning when you're frustrated, Teelina,\\ she commented, amused. Her hand traveled down to lay in the space directly below the Sorceress' neckline.
The younger woman sneered what little of her face muscles she could move. *You're despicable,* she said mentally, unable to move her jaw enough to speak in reality.
Lady Moria smiled wickedly and let her hand travel somewhat lower, until it rested in between the redhead's breasts. Teelina stiffened visibly. *Believe me, Teelina,* she answered in kind. *I know it.* She regarded the younger woman's face as it contorted in a sneer.
Teelina's blue eyes became suddenly hard and icy. They reminded the elder woman of someone, but she could not quite place where she had seen that look before. She gazed into those eyes for a long moment, and her own amethyst orbs seemed to bore holes into Teelina's face, so intense was her stare. After a time, her eyes widened softly with recognition, and she lifted her hands from the younger woman.
The elder woman stepped away and, slowly, the great wings collapsed into her back. She turned from Teelina, and walked towards a wall. \\I had forgotten, lingered too long,\\ she whispered to herself.
With a sudden cry, the redhead found she once again controlled her movements. However, instead of being angry, curiosity got the better of her. "What had you forgotten?" she questioned uncertainly.
Lady Moria turned and looked at her, as if seeing her for the first time. \\A promise.\\ she answered softly. \\One that has gone too long unfulfilled.\\ She put her back to the wall and slowly began to fade into it. Teelina made as if to prevent her, but Moria stilled her with a raise of her hand. \\I will return, Teelina,\\ she said simply, and then disappeared.
At her exit, the Sorceress felt a great weight lift off of her, as if Moria had been controlling her thoughts and actions, and was now letting go.
That was insane, Teelina thought to herself. I cannot possibly be half-Dereskian. A small voice within her then asked why it was she had obeyed Moria's commands. I fought back to the best of my ability, she argued to herself. I doubt a true Dereskian would do such. The voice popped up again, reminding her of the words which had laid beside her name in the Sacred Texts.
'Teelina, daughter of Miranith,' it had read. And then, beneath that: 'Illegitimate.'
As the sounds of the drawbridge disappeared into nothingness, Teelina's gaze lifted from the floor. "Do you intend to simply stand there invisibly for the rest of the evening?" she asked, somewhat angrily.
A slight chuckle could be heard as Moria lifted her spell. "Not really," she commented, a small smile upon her lips. "I was merely wondering when it would be that you would get around to addressing me." Her smile indicated she had been there for longer than the Sorceress had first thought. "After all," the elder woman continued, stepping forward, stopping when she stood few paces from the Eternian. "It would have been unquestionably rude for me to 'show up' during your conversation."
"What does it matter if you were there anyway?" the Sorceress asked, looking into the amethyst eyes she knew so well. "Isn't it equally rude to listen in on someone's discussion?"
Moria's smile widened slowly. "Only if neither of the participants know you're there." She winked a slightly pinwheeling eye. "You knew." It was a statement of fact, not a question.
Teelina's nod was barely visible. "I knew," she whispered. Had the elder woman not been Dereskian, she would not have been able to hear her reply.
Silence fell upon the room for a long moment.
Lady Moria was the one who broke it, for a change. "You've heightened the security measures around the castle," she noted, almost absently. "Was that solely for my benefit?" Her tone was slightly amused, and her eyes twinkled beneath white eyelashes.
The Sorceress shook her head. "Not entirely," she answered honestly. "With Skeletor's recent. improvements, I thought it wise to strengthen the shields."
"There's another reason," Moria more stated than questioned, looking into the younger woman's mind. "One you don't want me to discover.. Interesting." The Sorceress glared angrily at her. Lady Moria's reply was only a mischievous smile. "I'll let you keep your secret," she said, winking, while withdrawing from the redhead's mind. The unspoken 'for now' hung in the air.
After another short pause, Teelina questioned, "Is there something that you wanted, Moria? Or are you here for no reason? I should think you would have more things to do than waste your time with an Eternian."
The elder woman strode the few steps between them and caressed the redhead's face gently. She smiled softly when the younger woman did not flinch. "You're becoming used to me. That's good," she whispered softly.
Teelina caught the older woman's hand with her own. "Why do you continue to find me so fascinating?" she questioned, a bit of exasperation in her voice.
The Dereskian smiled at her softly, stroking the tanned hand with her own pale one. "Because there is still hope for you," she answered mysteriously, eyes twinkling.
The Sorceress took her hand away and regarded the Dereskian uncertainly. "What do you mean?" she inquired hesitantly.
Her smile widened slowly. "To answer your first question more completely, you hold my attention because you are not nearly as dense as those other fools you continuously surround yourself with." Before the redhead could reply, Lady Moria winked softly. But then again, you are not entirely Eternian."
The Sorceress' eyes grew as wide as saucers and her mouth dropped open. "What the hell do you mean by that?" she questioned, confused and angry and eager to hear more all at once.
Moria sighed exasperatedly and looked up at the ceiling, as if to say 'why me?' "I don't know how many times I have to say it for you all to clue in. There are Nine Hells, Teelina, not one." She sighed again. "I suppose I really shouldn't expect too much. You're still half Eternian, after all."
"I don't see where you're going with this," the younger woman said obstinately. "I'm a full-blooded Eternian like everyone else in this kingdom."
The Dereskian Queen shook her head gently. "No, you most certainly are not. And I'm actually surprised you don't know it. Did your mother never tell you?"
"Tell me what?" the Sorceress quipped.
Lady Moria's words were calm and straightforward. "Who you are. What your heritage is. Who your father was."
Once again, the blue eyes widened considerably. Teelina shook her head gently. "No. She never said anything. Why would she?"
A small nod greeted her in reply. "Why indeed," Moria commented, sighing softly. "I suppose your identity is not really necessary knowledge if you are in training to become keeper of a pile of stones. Though I did, at least, think she would have discussed you parentage with you."
"Oh, and I suppose you know all about my father?" Teelina asked arrogantly.
Moria snapped the fingers of her left hand gently. Immediately, a great book, probably one of many, appeared in her hand. She walked over to the steps of the pyramid and sat down, holding the great tome in her lap. "I won't boast being an expert on the man, but I know more than you do," she said quietly, indicating, without really asking, that the Sorceress should sit beside her.
Without being asked, Teelina sat down next to her as Moria flipped to a particular page of the book.
"Here it is," she said softly, stopping at a series of pages picturing what looked like a very long family tree in very tiny writing. "This is one of many volumes of the Dereskian Sacred Texts. They are. records of the entire population of the Dereskïgiä, they're names, parentage, birth dates and death dates, starting with the very first of them," she flipped backwards to the top of the 'tree,' "to the last." She flipped forwards to the most recent entry, 'Moritënia Vadorian.'
"Evil-Lyn," the Sorceress said, somewhat amazed she could read the name on the parchment. "Her father isn't shown," she commented, shooting a questioned look at the older woman.
Moria met her gaze and replied simply, "She isn't his technically his child. He had no bloodline to speak of, because he lacked DNA. Listing him is therefore unnecessary." She regarded the younger woman amusedly. "You can read it?" she asked, an odd sort of smile on her features.
The Sorceress looked intently at the old book. "A few of them, though not all," she admitted. "Of those I can read, I seriously doubt I could pronounce more than an eighth of them."
The elder woman nodded slightly, as if determining that Teelina's ability made sense to her. She pointed to a name on the same page. "Can you read this one?" she asked.
"Caerlin Vadorian." Teelina read dutifully. "But it's been altered to read something else." She squinted at the parchment until she could make out the letters. "Moria. .You," she concluded looking into the eyes of the older woman.
Another nod. Moria pointed to the names above her own.
"Monicaldeno. Alessena. Your father and mother?" Teelina questioned. The elder woman smiled and flipped to the prior page.
There were fewer names on this page, and the younger woman looked at her regal companion questioningly. The Dereskian Queen explained, "This is one of the non-royal lines. Their names are slightly less complicated, and their family lines less elaborate."
She indicated a name near the bottom of the page.
Teelina had a slight problem making out the symbols. "Bre- Brehimin?" she questioned, trying to sound out the syllables.
"Brehimähd," corrected Moria gently. "That one is rather difficult. Look beneath him."
The Sorceress regarded the name directly below the hard-to-pronounce one. "Miranith," she read easily.
Lady Moria nodded. "Very good. And the one beneath that?" Her tone began to get slightly more wicked in its tone, but she doubted that the Sorceress would be able to detect it.
The redhead looked at the name, and her eyes widened. Had she been the one holding the book, it would have fallen from her hands. She rubbed her eyes eagerly, thinking perhaps she had read it wrong. But the symbols stayed the same. T-E-E-L-I-N-A. She thought for a minute it might have been some other woman with her same name, but the birth date beneath it was her own.
She swallowed then, her throat suddenly very dry. "Why am I listed?" she demanded, more than a little disturbed.
Moria looked at her a bit incredulously. "You can't guess?" At the silence which greeted her, the elder woman continued, "Teelina, there is only one reason that you would be listed in the Sacred Text of the Dereskïgiä. Are you so certain that you cannot deduce what that reason is?" Again, the redhead was silent. "Oh, come now," Lady Moria exclaimed. "Surely you're not that Eternian!"
The Sorceress shot her a look that was solid ice and hatred.
The elder woman laughed and snapped her fingers, making the great tome in her lap vanish. "I didn't think so," she laughed, stroking Teelina's face with her hand.
"I am not Dereskian," the redhead said flatly, jerking her head back as if Moria's touch burned.
A slow smile slid across the features of the elder woman. "You can deny it all you want, dear," she said softly. "But the Dereskïgiä is in your blood, as much as you might hate to think it."
"Then why do I not feel the consciousnesses of all the others?!" she asked, so enraged that she did not realize that Moria had not been speaking in Eternian when she had spoken. Nor did she recognize that she had answered her in the same language.
Inwardly, the Dereskian Queen laughed. \\Because I have not wanted you to,\\ she answered in her native language, smiling widely. \\I am the Dereskian Queen, the one remaining Ancient in living existence. If I do not want the collective voices of the Dereskïgiä to reach you, be assured that they will not reach you.
\\Besides, you must take into account that you are only half Dereskian. Even if I did allow the consciousnesses entry into you, you would still not become as strong as I am. Actually, because you are only half Dereskian, it could very likely kill you.\\ She smiled, waiting to see if this time, Teelina would comprehend not only was she was saying, but what she was saying it in.
\\Why in Nine Hells are you speaking in Deres- ah!\\ The Sorceress' expression transformed into one of utter shock. "How the hells do I suddenly know Dereskian?!" she exclaimed angrily, as if it was Moria's fault.
The Queen of the Dereskïgiä grinned. \\In the same way that you now know that there are Nine Hells, Teelina. The information was always there, I merely triggered it by showing you the Text.\\
Teelina had to try very hard not to answer in Dereskian. "Then un-trigger it!" she demanded.
\\I cannot,\\ the elder woman proclaimed simply, her smile wider than Teelina would have liked.
"Why not?" she pressed through clenched teeth.
The elder woman caressed her face lovingly. "Release your jaw, dear. It makes you look very unattractive to have it so stiff."
As almost a reflex, the redhead's jaw slackened. Moria's eyes whirled with delight. \\It does work!\\ she exclaimed happily.
Teelina looked at her uncertainly, not sure why she done as the older woman had requested. She only knew that it felt like the right thing to do. "What works?" she asked nervously.
A wicked smile came upon the features of the older woman. She stood gracefully on her feet, indicating that the Sorceress should do likewise.
Teelina attempted to continue to sit, but found that she was compelled to do what Moria asked. "What have you done to me?" she demanded.
\\I have done nothing save give you back your identity, Teelina. However, that identity is Dereskian, and I am the Queen of the Dereskians. Therefore, it is your duty to obey me.\\ Lady Moria's smiled widened and her eyes began to whirl in a fiendish delight.
"I will never obey you!" the Sorceress exclaimed, her wings extending to their full width and a fierce wind suddenly blowing up from out of nowhere.
A dull, malicious sound filled the air as the Dereskian Queen laughed at the younger woman's anger. A stronger, more ferocious wind rippled through the air at her call. The sound of cloth being ripped echoed through the room and was consumed by the wind. Two wings, one white, and the other black, extended from the elder woman's back.
\\If you needed any more proof that Dereskian blood flows in your veins, there it is,\\ Moria commented, indicating the wings on both their shoulders. \\True, you have two of the same, but it matters not in the long run.\\
With a strangled cry, Teelina leapt at the elder woman, her staff clutched tightly in her hands as she prepared to strike.
The moon haired woman merely lifted a graceful hand. \\Stop,\\ she commanded gently. The Sorceress froze in midair, much to Moria's delight. \\This is too perfect,\\ she commented, laughing. Both of the winds died down at her bidding. \\The Sorceress of Grayskull is bound to do as I request.\\
"Sorry," said Teelina, continuing her assault. She brought her staff upwards and struck the older woman in the chin, causing her to fall backwards. "I don't obey murderers." She hovered in the air, brandishing her staff heatedly.
Moria used the force behind the blow to flip backwards and into the air. Supported by her massive wings, she went towards the Sorceress slowly, bringing her hand to the younger woman's cheek. Teelina tried to strike her, but found she was unable to move.
The Dereskian Queen chuckled as she brought her face very close to Teelina's own. \\Then I would say it is a very good thing I'm not a murderer,\\ said the older woman, running her hand along the Sorceress' jawbone seductively.
Teelina struggled with her inability to move for a long while, finally breaking Moria's spell to the point where she could make facial expressions, though she had a sinking feeling that the elder woman wanted her to be able to do that. When she tried to decay the spell further, she found Lady Moria's holds upon her body too great.
A dark chuckle escaped from the older woman as she watched Teelina struggle. \\You look absolutely stunning when you're frustrated, Teelina,\\ she commented, amused. Her hand traveled down to lay in the space directly below the Sorceress' neckline.
The younger woman sneered what little of her face muscles she could move. *You're despicable,* she said mentally, unable to move her jaw enough to speak in reality.
Lady Moria smiled wickedly and let her hand travel somewhat lower, until it rested in between the redhead's breasts. Teelina stiffened visibly. *Believe me, Teelina,* she answered in kind. *I know it.* She regarded the younger woman's face as it contorted in a sneer.
Teelina's blue eyes became suddenly hard and icy. They reminded the elder woman of someone, but she could not quite place where she had seen that look before. She gazed into those eyes for a long moment, and her own amethyst orbs seemed to bore holes into Teelina's face, so intense was her stare. After a time, her eyes widened softly with recognition, and she lifted her hands from the younger woman.
The elder woman stepped away and, slowly, the great wings collapsed into her back. She turned from Teelina, and walked towards a wall. \\I had forgotten, lingered too long,\\ she whispered to herself.
With a sudden cry, the redhead found she once again controlled her movements. However, instead of being angry, curiosity got the better of her. "What had you forgotten?" she questioned uncertainly.
Lady Moria turned and looked at her, as if seeing her for the first time. \\A promise.\\ she answered softly. \\One that has gone too long unfulfilled.\\ She put her back to the wall and slowly began to fade into it. Teelina made as if to prevent her, but Moria stilled her with a raise of her hand. \\I will return, Teelina,\\ she said simply, and then disappeared.
At her exit, the Sorceress felt a great weight lift off of her, as if Moria had been controlling her thoughts and actions, and was now letting go.
That was insane, Teelina thought to herself. I cannot possibly be half-Dereskian. A small voice within her then asked why it was she had obeyed Moria's commands. I fought back to the best of my ability, she argued to herself. I doubt a true Dereskian would do such. The voice popped up again, reminding her of the words which had laid beside her name in the Sacred Texts.
'Teelina, daughter of Miranith,' it had read. And then, beneath that: 'Illegitimate.'