Killing Beauty

Ashva bit down her emotions and lowered her eyes to avoid meeting her mother's gaze. In the past she had simply let things happen, but she couldn't do that now. She had to think. She had to keep Haldir alive until she could figure out how to get them...and the princess...out of there. "I'll do what you ask," she murmured, her voice barely audible.

Lady Melann was at once pleased with Ashva's decision and suspicious of it. "I do not mean for this to last forever," she coldly informed her. "And I will not accept any half hearted endeavors. If I sense you are holding back, I will kill him myself. It makes no difference to me."

Ashva now looked up and said, "What would you have me do?"

Lady Melann smiled, considered it a moment and then said, "Come walk with me. We need to talk about this." Caressing her daughter's face, she added, "There is much to learn."

Haldir watched Ashva leave the garden with her mother, leaving him alone with the orc and the Os riders. Expecting the worst now, as if his situation were not bad enough, he braced himself for either a verbal assault or a physical one. But it did not come. Inda, glaring at the orc, growled, "Slink back into your hole, warglouse."

Surprized that one of Lady Melann's riders would address him so, the orc Baggor faced Inda and hissed, "Perhaps you fancy elven flesh yourself?" Inda's hand went to his sword, and the orc realized that Inda was not a man to be trifled with, at least not now. Snarling at the Osman, he slunk out of the garden.

Inda glared at the retreating creature and then back at Haldir, who had watched this exchange with great interest. Dissention in the enemy ranks was always good. Not wanting the elf to think that he had done that for him, he pointed a gloved finger at Haldir and said, "I plan on watching you die."

"It sounds like its going to be entertaining," Haldir snapped back sarcastically. "Will there be music?"

Inda stared at him, then laughed and spun on his heels, waving his men after him. Pointing to one dark rider, he said, "Stay here until My Lady returns. If the orc shows up first, gut him."


Lady Melann loved the dark sea with all its mystery and fury, but her daughter had unfortunately inherited a little too much of her elfin father's ways. Too sensitive. Standing on the cliff overlooking the harbor, Melann said, "Tell me about him."

"Haldir?"

"Who else, my dear?"

Ashva hesitated a moment and then asked, "What is your desire?"

"How did you meet him? I find it hard to believe that you would even associate with elves after the last mishap."

Ashva took a deep breath, letting the salt air tease her senses, and then she said, " When Inda attacked the princess's escort, he did not kill all of them. I happened along, and now I am here."

"How many did Inda leave alive?" Melann asked, deeply annoyed with her careless captain.

"At least three elves as good as Haldir," Ashva lied, finding some enjoyment in her mother's ire.

"Three? I will need to speak with Inda in private." Then realizing that her anger was amusing her daughter, Melann returned to her good graces and said, " You do not understand right now why we must do this, but you will in time." Strolling along the cliff in front of her daughter, her hands inside the billowing sleeves of her gown, she said, "You have gifts that you have not learned yet. I want to teach them to you."

"Will I ever be as great as you?" Ashva asked, thinking she could push the woman off the cliff but then realized that Melann was probably anticipating that

"You flatter me," Melann laughed, her voice like soft chimes on the wind. "But no. When I chose your sire, I knew you would only have diluted powers. But I understand that you can speak with animals. That is an elven trait, although not as common as talking to plants. I hear Lady Galadriel has a beautiful garden. Is that so?"

Ashva could hear the sarcasm in her mother's voice and said, "It is the kind of garden an elven queen would enjoy. I do not like them so organized."

Melann looked back and smiled. "You are a child of chaos, order would quickly bore you," she explained. Ashva said nothing, the light in her eyes dim. "So how do begin this?" Melann asked curiously.

"I don't understand," Ashva replied.

"It's simple, my dear. Your hands have the power to draw pain or pleasure out of a victim. If one is intense enough, it can kill. We can focus on one or both. It's your choice."

Ashva let the words settle in her mind and then said, "You want me to hurt him?"

"That is an option, but since he is your lover, I suspect it would be easier for you to learn how to arouse him, and I'm not talking about the way animals do it. I am talking about magic." Then, as an added incentive, she said, "Of course once you can hold him on the edge of the knife......." she stopped. Ashva would be able to figure it out. A dark cloud passed overhead followed by a light drizzle. "So much for our walk. Come, let's go see how he's doing."


Haldir did not like the look in Ashva's eyes when she returned from her walk with Lady Melann. "May I speak with him?" she asked softly, her face completely unreadible.

"Certainly. Tell him what we are planning."

Ashva inclined her head and turned to Haldir who was more than a little curious about what they had in store for him. "Is it going to hurt?" he asked, trying to make light of it for her sake.

She hesitated, unable to answer. Were there no other choices? "Remember when you told me to do what I had to do?" she asked him.

"Yes."

"Forgive me for what I am about to do," she whispered and then turned away. "I do not want him watching," she told Melann.

"No, don't cover my eyes!" Haldir snapped. "Ashva, don't cover my eyes!" But she had her back to him and would not listen as Melann's servant produced a silken scarf and approached him. He fought her effort to blindfold him, which Lady Melann found quite amusing. These golden creatures feared a loss of sense more than anything.

"Which one are we starting with, my dear?" she asked curiously. "I recommend pleasure, it will be easier for you, but the choice is yours."

"All right, whatever you suggest," Ashva replied.

Lady Melann accepted her answer and motioned for the servant to step back. Haldir frowned and tried to shut down his mind as she opened his tunic, looking for an expanse of exposed skin. Her touch was light, but he knew how to ignore light touches. He controlled his body, not this wargbitch. Lady Melann smiled at his beautiful defiance, ran her hand down his hard chest to his belly, where she flattened the palm of her hand over his navel and slammed him with so much sensation that his legs buckled. It was only a flash, a heart beat at best, but Haldir learned at that moment that he did not control his body. The scarf was tied around his eyes.

"Come now, he can't see you," Melann crooned softly.

Asha turned back and accepted what she had to do, grateful for now that pain was not involved. Only a loss of control, which to this proud elf was as good as pain. "I don't know how to start this," she admitted. "What do I do?"

"Start with his hand, that is always the simplest place to begin," Melann explained, discovering that she was enjoying her role as tutor. "The hand is very sensitive. I'm going to teach you to caress it with your mind. Make him feel it without actually doing anything." Then to Haldir, the unwilling participant of her lessons, she said, "You'll be pleased to know that when Ashva is finished, she will be able to hold you on the point of climax indefinately. I call it the edge of the knife."

"And there is a useful purpose for that?" he asked beathlessly.

"You will find out soon enough," she purred and stroked his head. He really was a pretty thing. "Now concentrate Ashva, you can do it. And dear Haldir, you can help her here by letting her know if you feel anything."

He didn't respond. He could feel Ashva's hand on his, warm and solid, but he could feel something else, something that seemed to be inside his hand, caressing it from the inside out. He found himself dreading when she graduated from his hand to other parts of his body.