storyteller4271/art/Gandriel-again-782230173?fbclid=IwAR3UTKfqhiLqVQEDY_l_s9eGO3Efv6vj2_7WQPtrOWo8DVJlWulTSTJr9E - painting of Gandriel
"Aren't you cold?" Gandriel inquired as he trailed after Anelisse, watching the small girl glance to and fro as they descended further into the tunnels, the remains of her ragged dress trailing limply behind her. "You're soaked."
"I'm fine."
"Are you certain? You're barely clothed."
She leveled a look at him over her shoulder that had him directing his attention towards the wall. No point in pushing it then, he conceded as he found a particularly interesting cobweb to stare at, splashing through yet another puddle.
The young blonde had been shooting him looks of murderous intent for the last twenty minutes and he didn't expect her to stop anytime soon.
He let out a long sigh, rubbing at his face. The women he kept contact with were usually crawling all over him, not snapping at and manhandling him. He missed the company of the sweet-faced dames in Marchedor, so unlike the prickly females ahead of him.
In that regard, he realized with amusement, Anelisse and Celeste could be considered twins, despite their physical differences. Their temperaments reminded him a great deal of the ruling matrons in Monteserre. He suppressed a shudder.
The thought also roused images of a dark-haired woman that had his heart twisting sadly - he missed his mother dearly. She would have already lectured him about his lack of attention to the freezing girl in front of him.
He felt more than saw her steely glance land on him again.
Nope, he wasn't going to risk it.
They trekked in a silence for several long minutes with only the sounds of their pattering feet and the trickling of water for company. The tunnels slowly descended deeper into the earth and the pooling puddles began to lessen as stone floors slowly faded into dirt.
The slavers hadn't taken a very subtle route with their captives, Gandriel noted uneasily. They'd only made a handful of turns that were easy enough to follow, especially to one with a keen sense of smell.
The musky scent of human bodies grew with each passing step they took, the tang of salty tears and blood entwined with it. He tried to ignore those bits.
How Celeste intended to move what were clearly dozens if not hundreds of slaves without getting caught was beyond him, but he didn't intend to question her nor abandon her quest. He just sincerely hoped she had some ingenious plan to get them out, up through the tunnels, and back to Fallon before the guards noticed and someone got an arrow in the back.
He wasn't particularly confident in the notion.
More shivers danced across Anelisse's bare shoulders and he gnawed on his lip. His brows furrowed at the center of his forehead as concern flitted through his mind. He caved.
"Are you certain you wouldn't like my cloak?" he offered again, reaching to pull the article from his shoulders. She could hate him while being warm at least, not that it would do much, soaked as it was. It was still better than nothing.
"No." She didn't even bother to turn and address him this time, briskly ignoring him. He dropped his hand and bit back a groan. Well then.
She shivered again and Gandriel moved to unclasp his cloak and give it to her regardless when Celeste suddenly stepped to the shadows and crouched.
"Quiet."
She raised her hand to halt them, listening.
"There." She pointed ahead of them, where the narrow tunnel diverged and widened considerably. "They're that way."
She palmed her dagger free from her belt before motioning for them to follow. Anelisse, tiny as she was, followed suit and produced her knife from some inner fold of her shredded skirts, the blade large and clunky in her hands. Gandriel grimaced, awkwardly running the fingers over the hilt of his own blade.
Had he told Celeste that he hadn't had any official combat training besides fencing as a youth? And that even then he'd been thoroughly walloped? No, he was fairly certain he hadn't mentioned that.
Best to not bring it up now, then.
Maybe if they got caught without being killed he'd at least be able to find something warm for the stubborn blonde.
Celeste moved like a wraith in the shadows as she crept around the crumbling bend in the tunnel, following the faint echoes of shifting cloth and hushed, fearful whispers.
Anelisse flanked at her back, clutching Lukas' gawdy blade and watching intently for any movement as Gandriel followed not far behind. The smell of metal was beginning to entangle itself through the scent of fear and unwashed human.
Armed men, several of them.
As Celeste slipped easily down the corridor, the tell-tale flickering of torchlight caught her eye, its orange hue casting deep shadows in the dark recesses of the tunnel. She raised a hand to halt Gandriel and Anelisse behind her.
"There's at least several guards in there," Gandriel murmured behind her, tawny eyes flashing gold in the firelight as he glanced rapidly to and fro as though calculating their odds. "If you happen to have a brilliant plan, now would be the time to execute it."
One had been forming at the edge of mind since they'd begun their descent. She only hoped it would work.
"Listen closely, both of you."
Celeste finally reached the archway where the faint torchlight flickered from, her mind twisting as she steeled herself, her hands lax at her sides. Quietly, she dared a peek around the corner. There, huddled against the far wall of the chamber were easily five dozen people, nearly all of whom she recognized from Vanica.
The scents of filth, uncertainty, and fear were muffled by the musty smell of the rotted hay they'd clearly been using for bedding. Heavy iron chains led from their hands and feet to anchors buried deep in the chamber walls.
Scattered amongst them were several armed guards, standing about indifferently as they watched two of their companions arguing with a blonde prisoner, two children huddled behind her.
One of the children was Marrien, her dark hair dirty and matted, her brother's arms clasped protectively around her as he pressed into Layla's, his mothers, legs.
"The girl goes," the larger of the two guards grumbled impatiently, "she's already been sold. Step aside, woman."
"You cannot have my daughter!" Layla cried, her shoulders shaking as she stood her ground between the guards and her children. "Take me, but not my children."
As though sensing Celeste's presence, Marrien glanced upward and her sad hazel eyes immediately locked with Celeste's. Her eyes flared wide in recognition as her lips parted.
Celeste quickly shook her head raised a single finger to her lips, hushing the child. Marrien gulped and turned her attention away from Celeste, back towards her mother who stood soundly between her and the guards.
"I said, step aside," the man growled, more harshly this time as his hand came to rest on the pommel of his sword. "The girl's worth more than you are so it'd be in your best interest to move."
"I will not let you take her!"
The guard's hand slammed painfully across Layla's face sending her reeling backwards as the children cried out in panic. "I told you to move, woman—"
Celeste's snarl turned into a startled gasp as a hand grasped the back of her head, fingers entangling in her hair. She scrambled as her assailant hauled her upwards and forward.
"Gentlemen," Gandriel's smooth purr rumbled behind Celeste, his gloved hands digging into the sensitive skin of her scalp and tugging at the delicate hairs, "there's no need to handle the merchandise so roughly. You wouldn't want to harm the buyer's product, would you?"
All the guards suddenly snapped to attention at this new voice, brandishing various mismatched weapons.
"So unobservant, you humans," Gandriel hummed as he pushed Celeste forward forcefully towards the armed guards, her attempts to dislodge his hold around the back of her head unsuccessful. "It's not surprising your companions let this one get away."
A feral grin graced his lips, "Or this one."
He glanced over his shoulder as Anelisse dove at him from the shadows, knife drawn, fury twisting her features. A cry of anguish escaped her as he easily knocked the blade to the ground with one hand and caught her forearm. He pulled her upwards and pinned her against the wall, still keeping hold of Celeste with his other hand.
"Sneaky little minx, aren't you?" the male cooed as he held her arm tightly above her head, trapping her body with his hip, cool amusement on his features. The look she shot him was absolutely murderous. "Impressive for such a small thing to slay her guards. Even more impressive you were foolish enough to trust me."
"Take your hands off my sister," Anelisse seethed, thrashing under his hold. "Let us go, you lecherous, lying prick!"
Gandriel only clicked his tongue. "Listen how the trash makes demands. At least she's easy on the eyes, right boys?" He turned his attention back to the startled guards who regarded him with wide eyes, their weapons still held aloft.
"Oh, do you suddenly not recognize me?" Gandriel shook his head as he dragged Anelisse forward away from the wall, his hand in a death lock around her wrist.
The men scrutinized the male, squinting in the dim torchlight before recognition flashed across some of their features. Their skin turned ashen as they took in his tall form, his mouth curved in a mocking, cruel smile.
"You're that fae bastard from the Queen's Dame," one of the men, a short round fellow with a thick beard, finally gasped. "I recognize your face from the docks."
"Bravo, my good man! It seems at least some of you have functioning eyes." He glanced around the room at the captives, disdain wrinkling his nose. "Not that you'd really need them with the folly here."
Celeste contemplated stomping her heel into his toes but resisted the urge, gritting her teeth as his hand dragged her head back so forcefully she faced the ceiling. Anelisse had no such reservations, taking the moment to use her free hand to dig her nails into Gandriel's forearm. He didn't so much as flinch.
"What are you doing here?" the man spoke again, warily. "You should have sunk with that ship."
So, they didn't know Gandriel had been the one to capsize their vessel then. The fool, charismatic as he was, took it in stride.
"I, for one, am more resourceful than you useless humans," Gandriel drawled, his eyes flashing with arrogance, "and managed to save my goods from that shipment." He suddenly grabbed Celeste's hair more tightly, fingers digging into her skull as he forced her to look up at him.
His eyes gleamed, begging her, Play the part.
She shot him a glare, but slipped into her role, jerking against his hold, her scalp singing in pain as hair tore loose.
"Let me go," she hissed, pulling and thrashing against him as a smirk graced his lips, "You said we would come to help these people! Not that you were bringing me back to them!"
"She's a fiery thing, as you can see," Gandriel chortled darkly as he jerked Celeste close, his other hand dragging Anelisse behind him as he stepped further into the room. "Though her powers proved to be a flop, the contact was wrong."
"You mean to say the fae bitch isn't actually a resurrectionist?" one of the tall guards, apparently the leader, growled in annoyance. He pinned Celeste with a menacing stare; she cowered away. Let him think her a terrified invalid.
"Quite right," Gandriel sighed dramatically. "Seems that lying little fly from Vanica was promising you something that didn't exist."
"There were witnesses that saw it," the guard spat in response, his eyes evaluating Gandriel and Celeste carefully, "swore by it."
Marrien sent a worried look towards Celeste as she shuffled closer behind her mother.
Gandriel gave a dismissive tsk. "Of course there were, we fae can't expect you humans to understand the power that you see or how it works. I've evaluated her powers and she's nothing but a simple healer, and not a very good one at that. She only healed the child, she didn't bring her back from the dead." He gave a breathy chuckle. "As though such a thing were possible."
The guard considered. Celeste held her breath.
"You fae bastards have some use at least," he grumbled, sheathing his blade and nodding his head towards the other guards, who quietly lowered their weapons well, mistrusting glares softening to approval. "Excellent work then, hand the women over and you'll get your reward."
"Ah ah, I don't think so," Gandriel cooed, pulling Celeste closer to him. "You see, I've gone to a great deal of trouble to bring her to you and by the laws that govern us she technically belongs to me now."
"What rubbish are you speaking of?" the bearded one barked, stepping forward, "There's no such laws."
"But there are, gentlemen, there are." Gandriel's voice darkened as he stared each of the men down. "As written in my contract with your lovely organization I was promised due compensation for subduing and bringing the girl to you. A large compensation I might add, one that I would say is equal to her price now that we know her 'power' is false." He smirked as the guards shifted uncomfortably. "Fortunately, unless you boys would like to scrounge up a rather large amount of coin, I'm willing to barter with you."
"Why should we pay you at all when we can just kill you?" one of the thinner guards chuckled, running his hand down a wicked-looking mace at his side.
Distant thunder violently boomed through the tunnels, sending bits of dirt scattering from the ceiling, eliciting screams from the shackled slaves. The man immediately paled.
Celeste had to bite back a bark of reprimand for Gandriel to not bring the entire tunnel system down around them.
"I wouldn't recommend testing my temper any further, gentlemen."
Gandriel roughly shoved Celeste forward, causing her to tumble headfirst onto her knees before the guards. "Take her, and I'll keep this one for myself." He turned his attention towards Anelisse and gave her an approving once-over. She only snarled in response.
"-And the little one." He pointed towards Marrien who froze, her eyes widening in fear.
"She's already been sold, boy," the tall leader replied, his face still blanched from Gandriel's show of power. "As has the blonde bitch," a sneer at Anelisse, "I can't give you either. Take your pick from the others."
"Unacceptable. I want them both."
"You'd be wise to stop arguing—"
"YOU would be wise to know your place, human." Gandriel's voice came out in a great growl, all fae male arrogance and possessiveness. Celeste blinked in surprise, resisting the urge to glance back at him as the guards all took an instinctive step backwards.
"I've made my choice and seeing as I could kill you all and simply take what I want, I'd say I'm being generous." He motioned to the guards, now beginning to sound rather bored. "Bring her to me now."
The men glanced at one another in tense question, unsure how to proceed.
"I said," another boom echoed throughout the tunnels, sending more dust falling around them as Marrien yelped, "bring her to me now."
The leader gave a shallow nod before the guards shoved past Layla and reached for Marrien. James cried as he clung to his sister, refusing to let her go. The guard made to forcibly remove him when Gandriel piped up with a cold chuckle.
"If he's so set on going with her then I'll take the boy too," he said with a nod. "I say for all my hardship and, as interest for your disrespect, that's a fair trade." He reached his hand out for the chains. "The two children and the female, if you please." He sent a sensual look at Anelisse over his shoulder, who scowled in response. "And with that, gentlemen, I'll let you keep your lives and the bitch healer. A fine trade if I do say so myself."
The round guard spit in annoyance but nodded as he pulled both James and Marrien away from a sobbing Layla and passed their manacles over to Gandriel, who tugged both children towards him as he adjusted his clamp on Anelisse's wrist. He nodded once in confirmation, then gave a mocking bow, the chains clanking in his grasp. "Pleasure doing business with you, gentlemen."
He sent a soft glance at Celeste, almost apologetic. She gritted her teeth as she willed him to go, to flee while he had the chance. He'd played his part.
He blinked his eyes once, his only sign of confirmation behind that hateful smirk plastered on his face as he regarded the guards one last time before suddenly vanishing into thin air, taking a startled Anelisse and the children with him.
Celeste barely contained the eyeroll as a sigh of relief escaped her. She knew the idiot could winnow.
Gandriel felt his heart heave and drop in his chest as he stepped between places, panic and fear driving his magic to take himself and the others anywhere other than the slave tunnels. Even as that somewhere else rapidly materialized into the interior of a dimly lit building.
He suddenly found himself left to the whims of gravity as he plummeted through open air and landed with a resounding whump as a puff of hay straws flew up around him.
It took him a moment to orient himself amongst the loud clucking of panicked chickens and the startled snort of a horse, the dingy smell of sweet grass assaulting his nose. He found himself staring at a dark pitched roof, the paint along its surface peeling with age.
He'd winnowed them into a barn.
A gasp of surprise escaped his lips. The plan had worked, the guards had bought into his shoddy acting job and-
Oh by the Mother. So he was able to winnow-
"What was that?" Anelisse snapped from somewhere above him. Groaning, he raised his head and found the petite blonde on the hay loft with the two children clinging to her as they regarded him with wide eyed fear. An old worn ladder sat nearby that led down to the barn's floor.
At least he'd managed to get them onto a stable surface, he thought glumly as he remembered his less-than-graceful tumble. He was fairly certain he'd wrenched his left shoulder. He'd just as soon stay put for the moment.
"I don't know," he admitted sheepishly, having had no intention of doing that. It had just happened, like some instinctual pull on his magic. "Celeste calls it winnowing."
Even with the distance and dim light, Gandriel saw the look of distaste warp Anelisse's features. She quickly and quietly rose to her feet and moved towards the descending ladder before quickly scaling down, motioning for the children to follow her.
Once on the ground the children reattached themselves to her legs, their small bodies shivering from the penetrating cold.
"Anelisse?" the little girl whispered in bewilderment as she clung to the woman, her brother clinging just as close on the other side, "W-what is going on?"
"We're getting you away from the bad people," Anelisse said gently. "We need to keep moving though, so we can get you somewhere safe."
Marrien swallowed hard past her throat full of tears. "What are they going to do with Celeste?"
"Nothing you should worry about, sweet girl," Anelisse comforted, smoothing the girls hair, "she's going to try and get your momma and the others free."
"So you did come to rescue us," a wail escaped Marrien's wobbling lips, causing Anelisse to drag the children closer. "Oh, what if they hurt Momma, if they hurt Celeste—"
"They won't," the girl assured the panicking child, "I promise."
"What about the mean man?" Marrien whimpered, casting a wary glance at Gandriel still laying prone amongst the hay, groaning slightly as he tested his shoulder. She pressed into Anelisse, away from him. "Is he going to take us for slaves-"
"No," the blonde murmured. Guilt twined through Gandriel's stomach at the terrified looks the children were sending him, "He's going to . . . help us."
She sent him a look that said if he even thought otherwise she'd dig his grave herself.
"We need to get moving now, especially since you've just handed my sister back over to hands of the enemies." There was no small amount of venom in Anelisse's tone.
"It was her plan," he shot back weakly, still reeling from his sudden winnowing. His head swam as he stumbled to his feet. "I only did as she asked."
"You didn't make any attempt to deter her," Anelisse growled as she tugged at the chains about the children's wrists, trying vainly to free them. "If she dies, I will kill you." She shot him another glare. "I might just slit your traitorous throat anyway."
Gandriel blew out a breath, annoyance beginning to filter in as exasperation took over.
"You can't seriously blame me for your sister's choices—"
"I can and I will." She pointed a delicate finger at the cowering children. "Now, get the manacles off of the children and hand over your cloak."
He didn't argue. He slung his cloak off with ease and tossed it at the silvery woman before taking hold of the boy's wrist. With deft hands he quickly broke the iron shackles off the child, careful not to hurt him.
"See?" he smiled, gently rubbing the boy's wrists, "No more chains."
"Thank you," James mumbled, his brown eyes wide as he bobbed his head once and scuttled behind Anelisse once again. Gandriel turned and made quick work Marrien's cuffs as well. The small girl nodded her thanks.
"Where are we?" Anelisse inquired as she glanced around the quaint building, the animals having settled from their unexpected guests.
"In a barn?" Gandriel offered, shrugging his shoulders. He didn't think telling her he had absolutely no idea was a good option, especially considering the only thing he'd thought of when he'd winnowed them was somewhere safe.
"I'm not even going to grace that with a response," Anelisse snipped. Stepping quietly through the hay, she cracked the door open and was met with an onslaught of icy rain. "I think we're still in Rainfelle."
She turned towards him.
"I don't suppose you could use that little vanishing act to get us to the ship?" It had been the point that Celeste had emphasized the most, get Anelisse to the boat, get her away. The blonde had been near unwilling to let her sister hand herself over to get on the inside of the slave trade.
She had almost insisted on going as well until Celeste had reminded her she would be more use on the outside than stuck playing slave alongside her.
He shook his head, his shoulder still groaning in agony from his fall, "I don't know if I can do it again, I don't have very good control over it….it just sort of happens."
She quirked a fine silver brow at him.
"Ah, so you don't perform well under pressure," she clicked her tongue, the double meaning of her words evident as she crossed her arms beneath her chest, "that's not surprising."
Annoyance flared through him.
"I'll have you know," he hissed back, "I do just fine under pressure when it comes to matters of—" Gandriel sent a sidelong glance at the wide-eyed children watching him. "You know what I mean."
She didn't look convinced.
"So, how are we getting out of here then?" She looked anxiously towards the door as though waiting for slavers to come crashing through at any moment. "We can go on foot, but how much time will that take?"
Gandriel glanced around, thinking when his eyes landed on a large bay work horse casually chewing on hay at the back of the barn, seemingly unconcerned with the happenings around him.
"We'll borrow a horse."
"Borrow?" Anelisse said incredulously, "Gandriel, I don't think what you're planning is considered borrowing, more like stealing—"
"No, it's borrowing," he insisted as he made his way towards the large gelding, who simply twitched an ear at him and pulled at another mouthful of hay. "We'll bring him back . . . eventually."
Anelisse only gave a long-suffering sigh.