Captain Eustine walked down the corridors of the ‘palace’ with a sense of inevitable doom and tedious hassle. She felt her upper lip stiffen as she noticed that the usual Drow guard had been replaced with Dark Elves from Lady Embla’s personal unit. She could understand the desire to protect this human pet of hers, but there were surely better uses for these maidens than to stand around a room and do nothing all day?

There were still predatory ferals within the Court’s safe zone! How was one human worth more than the increased security for everyone!?

“Captain.”

The Dark Elf gave a lazy salute to her fellow, and Eustine could only stiffen her upper lip, returning the salute in turn. “I’ve come to meet… the human.”

“Yes, the Lady gave clear orders.” A firm nod.

The following silence had been meant for Eustine to use and step into the personal chambers the human was currently inhabiting. She, however, didn’t. Her eyes glared at the wooden door as she inwardly desired to blow the whole palace into one gigantic fireball.

“He is not like the humans from the kingdom.” The comment startled her slightly into looking at the guard who’d spoken up.

“And I should take that comment how exactly?” The maiden’s cheeks lit up slightly. “You… should remove your collar.”

Eustine stiffened. “I will do that when I deem it adequate.”

The two guards shared a look and a knowing smirk. There was something there Eustine was not privy of. She scowled. “I will have you know, the human I am bonded to is not a prisoner.”

“We are very aware, ma’am.” Both nodded quickly, showing proper discipline and stiffness as they did.

Content on having seen at least that much, Eustine took the impulse and knocked on the door twice. Inwardly she wished there would be no answer, but she could easily pick up on the rushed steps and the door swinging open.

She’d seen the human from a distance, but this was the first time seeing him face to face. The first and most immediate word that came to mind was ‘fairer nobility’. The man looked like he’d been plucked out of some myth of a fair man who’d lived in lavish opulence and excess. His skin was pale, and freckles adorned his face. There was a slight homely plump edge to his features that spoke of having never starved, and his fiery red hair was lustrous and vibrant in a way that should only be possible for someone born out of a fire-wielding maiden.

“Captain Eustine.”

The man spoke with slight surprise and that little edge of breathlessness that betrayed a life devoid of physical strain. Though she turned her focus elsewhere. The young man was actually wearing clothes, a set of black pants and a sleeveless shirt. His arms were thin, unblemished save a freckle here and there.

It presented a soft allure Eustine could see herself enjoying under different circumstances. “Mister Dodson.” She reminded herself to greet back, nodding at him and noticing his outstretched hands. “Yes?”

“Your weapon.”

Eustine almost blushed in embarrassment, had she really forgotten to remove her weapon? Was she that wary of the human? She berated herself as she removed the two swords from her belt and handed them to him.

Seeing Barry nearly fall from the sudden weight he was holding added a tiny amount of amusement. She eyed him as he placed the two sheathed blades next to the door and closed them behind her.

“I hope you don’t mind the dim lighting.” Barry spoke hurriedly. “I heard Dark Elves are more sensitive to light than humans, so…”

“I don’t mind.” Eustine took a look around the room, she spotted the royal-sized bed and was about to note how odd it was that it appeared to be littered with what looked like excessive pillows, blankets, and some other items she couldn’t recognize, when her attention was drawn to the table between herself and the bed.

“I was wondering about how that worked, though I was never given much of an answer.” The young human had moved towards the table. It was small, enough it could only really had enough room for three to eat tightly side by side. “Here.”

“What?” Eustine looked at the table, the white blanked covering it, and what appeared to be pillows underneath.

“It’s a massage table.” Barry said, patting the lumpy mantle. “It’s meant for you to lay face down on, and I give you a massage.”

“You give me a massage.” Well, the guards were certainly right that Barry did not follow the local kingdom-bred standards.

“Yes.” A nod and a slight blush, and Eustine abruptly realized she couldn't see his aura.

Frowning, she stepped closer, and the young man froze nervously. Her eyes lingered over his figure. “Are you ill?”

“I’ve… heard that a lot. I’m alright.”

He didn’t look it. His aura was so tenuous, weak, barely even there. And Eustine couldn’t detect any enchanted items on his person that might have been suppressing it either. Was this what a pure-blooded human looked like? It certainly explained why the Lady coddled the young man, he looked as if a stiff breeze could knock him over.

Better get back to the matter at hand. “So do you plan to bond me after you’ve given me a massage?”

“I just… wanted to talk first.” He gestured at the table. “You’re stiff, and I just think that it would be better to get to know each other before we decide on the bonding.”

His excessive softness was not something Eustine was enjoying. Should she press on and just get done with it? “I’d rather not waste time.”

“Please?” He asked, holding onto a bottle of what appeared to be oil. “Have you ever gotten a massage from a human? Is the novelty not worth at least some patience?”

He had a point there. Eustine shrugged her shoulders and shook her head. She reached up to the straps of her leather armor and didn’t waste any time in stripping all the way down to the nude. Lady Embla hadn’t really left much room in the interpretations of her orders, something about training him.

Seeing how the young man had turned his back towards her and made an obvious effort not to turn her way, Eustine had to wonder if the Lady was going about things the right way. “Face down?”

“Yes.” Barry nodded even if he didn’t turn to look her way. “You… have a sheet there.”

“For what?”

“Covering up.”

Eustine rolled her eyes, just moving towards the table and doing her best to lay down on its surface. It wasn’t exactly something she’d experienced before, the pillows were arranged under the mantle in such a way that it felt as if she were sinking into it. And she discovered a hole for her face, convenient. “Like this?”

She held back a huff as she felt a mantle covering her ass. Her focus moved towards just closing her eyes and pushing herself to will this whole thing to come to an end.

The Dark Elf shuddered as she felt something warm pouring on her back. It was the oil, only a little of it. “Please do relax.” His hands pressed against the liquid and Eustine had to stop her thoughts for a moment as she felt how soft his hands were.

“Sure.”

His fingers remained on her shoulders, his touches weren’t strained, or at least she didn’t feel like he was straining himself. He was lathering her back with the warm oil, a soft scent of… pine-needles? It was subtle, enough so she was sure the human himself wasn’t able to pick up on it.

“Do you happen to know why Dark Elves are called that?”

The question stirred her thoughts. “It’s what we’ve always been called.” She muttered, the silky smooth sheets around her were drawing her in. “Drows shift into Dark Elves if they’re strong, and if Dark Elves become strong enough, they become a Dark Lady.”

“And Warlocks?”

“The Lady said that it is only possible if a Dark Elf fulfills a ritual of sorts, a very dangerous one.” She muttered, rattling off the old memory.

“Do you think the Lady is strong?”

“Lady Embla? She’s our strongest fighter.” Eustine sighed, feeling the hands moving their way down from her shoulders. Barry wasn’t going to be undoing the knots she could…!

A sharp gasp followed as something cold and hard pressed down on her back. The coldness cause for greater alarm than any actual discomfort or pain. It took half a second to warm back up though, and Eustine gritted her teeth for another second to push herself to relax. The metallic object was pushing down on a particularly sore spot on her back, there.

“Just relax.” Barry whispered, putting more of his weight into it, his voice coming out as a strained grunt. “You were saying about the Lady being strong?”

“She’s our Lady after all, she leads the Court.” Eustine grunted in turn as she could sense her body going limp right as Barry moved the pressure slowly further up. “Oh, that’s…”

“Have you ever gotten a massage?” He was slightly out of breath, though not slowing down. “It feels like you have more knots than a tree.”

“Massages are for…” A sharp breath as his hands moved down her spine, shifting slightly and holding her waist for a moment. Eustine hesitated, sensing his fingers dig into her skin in a way that was definitely for something else, right before he moved them back up and to her shoulders. Had she imagined it?

“Yes?”

“Maidens don’t need massages.”

“You’re tough, right.” Barry’s hands were moving down her back again, carefully and softly caressing every scar and curve of her muscles as if memorizing every inch of her. “Very strong.” His voice lowered again to a whisper, his hands moving back down towards her waist.

His fingers returned to her waist, this time only temporarily, shifting slightly further down towards the cloth covering her ass. Eustine tensed again, but only until his fingers left her body and reappeared on her calves. For a fraction of a second she’d expected something else.

“Not necessary.” She nodded slightly, breathing to relax back into the soft sheets, the lingering scent of pine feeling slightly stronger, her body slightly warmer. “We can survive without it.”

“True.” Barry acknowledged. “Maidens like you can just about survive anything. It’s why Embla trusts you so much.”

The way his voice had shifted as he spoke caused a slight swell of pride inside Eustine’s chest. She nodded as his fingers moved to the other calf. “That’s right.”

“And… and you trust Embla, right?”

“With my life.”

A slight silence followed, and Barry’s hands moved up to her thighs. She drew a sharp breath as his fingers began to squeeze at her muscles, the touch might not felt intentionally erotic, but her body was certainly feeling that way.

“You have very pretty skin.”

The offhanded comment made her pause. “You’re joking, right?”

“No. The gray color is exotic in a way I hadn’t expected.” His fingers were definitely lingering close to her ass. “And…”

Frowning, Eustine turned around, pulling herself up enough to move and lay face up on the table. Her gaze locked onto Barry’s blush and the way he’d pulled his hands away instantly. She noticed how he looked at her, how he couldn’t avoid staring at her breasts, at her bush. The pride from earlier grew slightly.

“Go on.” She declared, laying back down though not looking away. “What else do you like?”

“I, um, I…” He blushed harder, looking upwards. “I was supposed to, um, this isn’t going how I expected it to.”

Eustine quirked a brow. “And what were you imagining would occur?”

“I… wanted to guide you, a bit? Kinda, just walk you through the emotions.” He said. “And then see if it was enough to trigger the bond.”

“How would you hope to do that while I am…” Eustine’s eyes widened as she reached up to touch her throat. The collar was gone. Alarms rung on her head, she whipped to look around, and found the strap of leather on the bed. “I didn’t notice it?”

“You might have been a bit too relaxed.” Barry muttered, finally having gathered the courage to meet her irate eyes. “If… since this… is sort of a mess, would you let me try one last thing?”

“One last thing before I fuck you the normal way and hopefully be done with this?” She scowled at him, holding back the glower.

“Y-yes.” He stepped closer, reaching out towards her. “It’s… um, it’s the thing that Lady Embla enjoys the most.”

That perked Eustine’s interest, though she didn’t stop the frown. “What is it?”

“She… talked about freedom.” His fingers moved to slowly press her shoulders back onto the table. His expression serious as he met her gaze with a sudden seriousness that felt out of place in his otherwise soft features. “She talked about how she never really noticed how maidens are always in a cage of their own making, that… everyone grows blind to the shackle they wear every day.”

His fingers brushed against her throat, and Eustine drew in a sharp breath at the ticklish sensation. Barry’s hands traced gentle lines up and down either side of her neck, making it all too apparent she was entirely devoid of her collar.

“Lady Embla said that she loves this the most. The reminder that she’s free now, that she’ll never have to wear a choker ever again.” The image became vivid in Eustine mind’s eye. Her neck bare, devoid of the slight tightness that would always remind her of its existence every time she strained herself during a fight or training. “Lady Embla kept saying that I freed her from it, that she’d never truly felt like she was herself until she could walk without it and not fear going feral.”

“That’s… that’s nice.” She agreed softly, closing her eyes and focusing on those fingers.

“Don’t you want to feel that every day? Feel this?” His touch was becoming bolder, touching her neck and shoulders. “Why wouldn’t a beautiful powerful woman like you want it?”

Why wouldn’t she? Why ever wear the collar ever again if she could go without it entirely? Had she ever truly been devoid of it?

In that moment, in that instant, Eustine felt naked and exposed in a way she couldn’t even understand. The emotion welling within her and growing until her cheeks began to grow hot.

A sharp gasp followed, goosebumps running down every inch of her skin. Something within her clicked, and the realization hit her like as if she’d been struck by lighting. She wanted this, she’d always wanted this. This… this… liberation. The emotion swelled and burst as an odd giddy smile appeared on her lips. When was the last time she’d ever felt so… so…

Was this hope? Joy? She opened her eyes and looked at Barry, truly looked at him, for the first time she realized what the Lady saw in him. Not a weak human or meaningless symbol.

He was to be their wings.