Chapter Five - Facto Nubilus

“And who might you be?” Lady Diana asked a small child that had dropping seemingly out of nowhere onto her desk. He couldn’t have been more than five years old, he bore the familial crest of the royal bloodline on his clothes, a set of dark robes, shirt, and trousers.

She scoured her brain, but she had no memory of there being a message or a letter sent to her that the royals would be visiting. Her eyes darted to the door, it was closed. The sun was soon to set.

“My...my lord forgive me but I must remove you from my desk,” she said wondering if she was going to be executed for touching the child. What was going on here?

“Fret not,” a voice suddenly filled her ear. It was disembodied echoing throughout the room. There was no single source.

“What…” those were the only words she could manage as she searched around in her confusion before turning towards the child standing on her desk. He stood stoically, his eyes burning into hers, that was not the look of a mere child. Were all royal children like that?

“I am not your death this day,” the voice suddenly ruptured the silence in tremor waves. It was not that the voice was loud, but that it carried power, vast power beyond her own imagining. She was half elf, daughter to a human father and elven mother. Birth took her mother and disease her father a mere handful of years back. Her birthright was the sensitivity as well as the ability with the mana that engulfs the world. The voice rippled with power she did not understand.

“Is...I….Uh,” the words were lost to her, there was simply too much going on for her mind to register reality, whatever it might be.

“Lady Diana Grovild of the house of Grovild,” the voice continued. There was no doubt that the voice came from the child now, though his lips did not move, only the gestures of his face and composure as solid as it was gave way to this. “There is a matter I must handle today with you.”

“W-what is it my lord?” she bowed deciding not to risk her life until she understood what exactly was going on before her. As an elf, having to set aside her pride became a normal practice, though she had gained some of it back when her father died and she became head of his house, it was not the same.

“East and slightly to the north of here is a market known as the Helton square,” he stated. She was aware of it, the small growing village was currently her greatest potential prospect of income for a while now due to its production of iron products that seemed to draw everyone’s attention. The products had been currently in extremely great demand bringing her region a great deal of merchant vessels seeking to do trade for the metal works. Her efforts to control the production as well as the mining had been met with resistance, unusual work conditions that disallowed her men to seek out and control the mine, find and capture the master smith. The village was too much of a delicate matter to simply stroll in and take the smith, it could potentially crumble the will of any smith that knows that works and produce lackluster products. The headaches were many.

The village was ever expanding, sprouting little hubs around it as well, new lumber camps were commissioned to fuel the forges, even a member of the imperial engineer’s guild was sent over via commission to put in the required infrastructure for the village. Roads, farms, and other things like that.

The docks were also currently under construction, the plans were to expand the harbor for larger vessels to dock and even have a drydock for ship repairs. The old dock was used for nothing more than a drop off for travelers and fishermen.

“I know of it my lord,” she said straightening her back. She was unsure as to how to act around the child as he had not actually spoken a word.

“It is unfortunate for you,” he said and in that moment he took one step forwards lifting and open palm before me. In an instant I felt myself drained of mana, drained of strength and stamina. “Your meddling has limited my works and in so doing placed yourself square in my sights. I cannot afford to allow further meddling nor potential betrayal.”

Diana struggled to stand but she had no more strength than that to lift her head and look at the child in his eyes. They glowed crimson now, the color and potency of its glow, instinctively she knew that alone was enough to cause fear. Psychologically, it was a terrifying sight to behold, the child commanded powers beyond her own and acted years beyond his age.

He drew a small hand towards her after dropping off from the desk and coming to her level, with her on her knees and him on his feet they easily met eye to eye. His hand acted with forces she could not describe, magic was elemental or scribed for specific purposes with potentially incredible outcomes. Yet here, the boy spoke without moving and ripped open her vest with a mere gesture of his hand without so much as exuding force on her self.

“There is something...interesting about slave marks,” he said as he walked forward and placed his small palm between her breasts. Diana flinched, her father had always protected her from the advances of other men, specially other nobles, after his death she had learned just how much effort he had placed in protecting her and how lonely she truly was without him. Now a child had reduced her into nothing and was doing as he pleased with her and her body.

It was the curse of all elves, half bloods or not, men simply seemed very much drawn to them.

His small fingers played with her skin, they moved and wriggled between her breasts, she did not know what he was doing, she only knew that whatever he chose to do she was at his mercy.

“Please lord,” she managed between gritted teeth. “I am faithful to the royal family. Please…”

“There is no need to fret child,” the voice whispered. “I will not harm thee.”

He pulled his hand away from her and her chest heaved as if a great weight had been lifted, her breath became normal, she did not know she had strained her lungs in subconsciously attempting to retreat from him.

His small fist began to glow, it rippled with power.

“Please…” were her only whimpered cries.

His small palm reached again between her breasts and she felt a rushing heat enter her, it quickly spread leaving part of her tingling with power.

“Making a slave marker was not difficult,” he said removing his hand from her chest as it glided up to her face cradling her right cheek. Her strength began to slowly return to her, the numbness of her body she was not aware of began to fade. “It was among the few things I learned to destroy...and recreate first. The most complex of magics I have encountered. Mine is unlike that which resides in this world, it deals in ways you are not accustomed to. This marker on you does two things, first you must obey and second you must not betray.”

He dropped a scroll at her feet.

“I leave with you a list of your new duties, see that they are done in subtle silence.”

With his final words he vanished as if he had never existed.

Diana suddenly regained full control of herself, she cradled her exposed bosom and for the first time since her father had died...she cried.