He had the most beautiful girl his eyes had ever seen right in front of him. He wasn't sure if he was more hypnotized by her beauty or by her atypical features. Her pale blonde hair and those deep blue eyes didn't help either. She had soft features and a small, cheerful nose. But his gaze tended to go to one other thing—her long, slender ears.
It was strange; he used to believe that life had already shown him everything it had to offer. But now he was in a fantasy world, with countless things to see and a damn beautiful elf in front of him. He felt his heart beating with anticipation and unease about what lay ahead.
—Ahem, ahem— The dark elf coughed, breaking the silence. Only then did Nemes realize he had been rudely staring at the girl in front of him. The elf in particular only displayed a shy blush under the intensity of his gaze, not appearing angry.
—Very well, Lady...— The boy left the word hanging. Nemes understood what he wanted, but hesitated a bit. How should he introduce himself?
—Nemes— she replied. It wasn't her body, it wasn't her identity, she told herself. The dark elf seemed to doubt the intelligence of the other party due to the delay, empirically demonstrating it by raising an eyebrow.
—Lady Nemes— he concluded. Both elves looked at each other for a few seconds, then the girl shook her head. Nemes didn't interrupt their impolite conversation in front of her.
—This young lady by my side is Her Highness Princess Misra Neverwinter of Intos. And I... you can call me Sixtin— he said the last part dryly, making his powerful tone in the first part amusing.
'Misra, Misra...' she thought, searching her memories for any character with that name, but nothing came. That meant one of two things: either she had died before becoming someone important or, indeed, she had never been important. What she did know were her dynasty, the Neverwinters. A house that had once been among the greatest, but after the eclipse only remnants remained.
—We would like to have proper introductions, but we are in an emergency— the girl spoke hurriedly, waving her hand in front of her companion to silence him. —We would like to ask you some questions, if it's not too much trouble, of course— she continued speaking, though her tone lowered with shyness. She couldn't hold Nemes's gaze. 'She's a princess?' she doubted at her behavior. Receiving her affirmation, the boy interrupted and took control, leaving Misra pouting and playing with her hair, looking offended.
—How did you end up being captured by the bandits?—
After an interrogation, in which she simply denied any accusations and told more lies than she could remember, Sixtin just sighed at her denials.
—Are you sure you don't know where the mirror is?— Of course, she knew where the mirror was; she had it well guarded beside her, but she wouldn't give it to them. She didn't know what kind of artifact it was or what they would do if she revealed it. If she were in trouble, she would sell it in some market for a few coins.
—You are my saviors, I swear by my blood that I don't know where it is— she said stubbornly, placing her hand over her heart to seal the oath. Sixtin sighed again; the dark circles under his eyes were visible, contrasting with his white hair.
—Very well, Lady Nemes, you may go. Thank you for your help— he stood up and opened the carriage door, pointing with his palm to the exit. When Nemes, somewhat stunned by how quickly they had dismissed her, moved to get up, Misra interrupted.
—Wait! Can't she come with us?— she asked her companion. With each word that came out of his mouth, he looked more tired. —That... that could be problematic, Your Highness— he responded without much argument. —Are you going to leave her here? It's like condemning her to death, we can't do that!— she seemed intent on contradicting her companion.
—We can't take her to the castle; the Queen will kill me— Only when he said that, a flash of doubt crossed Misra's eyes. 'Don't leave me here, please' she inwardly begged. Misra looked at him, searching for any excuse she could grasp onto; momentarily they made eye contact. Nemes wouldn't waste that; immediately she activated her ability 'Please don't leave me behind, please' she prayed inwardly with strength, while maintaining an intense gaze.
Misra tried to look away, but realized her body resisted stopping looking at those deep ruby eyes; she wanted to contemplate them for an eternity. Suddenly, from the corner of her eyes, she noticed something. A pair of small, pointed ears had temporarily peeked out from Nemes's beautiful silver hair. 'That's it!' she thought and pounced on the girl without asking.
—Your Highness, what is— —
—Shut up and look!— she said as she pushed Nemes's hair back behind her ears. Nemes saw Sixtin's eyes widen in surprise.
—Elf ears... But that shouldn't be possible— he began to think aloud.
—They're smaller than normal, that's why we didn't notice— Misra boasted, as if it were a monumental achievement.
—Maybe a half-elf?— he inquired, looking for an alternative.
—No, no half-elf can have white hair. You already know that— he replied, as if such a thing were absurd.
Nemes just stood there with a blank look on her face, while those two looked at her ears closer than she would have liked. 'They were vampire ears!' she wanted to scream, obviously she didn't.
—A deformity?—
—Yes, that's what I was thinking. Anyway, we have to take her to the castle. Mother will want to see her— Sixtin hesitated for a moment, but finally agreed. When Misra received his affirmation, she finally looked Nemes in the eyes not as a guinea pig but as a person and timidly asked her:
—W-will you come? Among elves we have to support each other! Don't you think?— It was strange; she seemed very desperate to want to take her to the castle. Nemes didn't believe it was exclusively because of her hypnosis 'There's something fishy going on here' she thought inwardly.
—Y-yes— she answered hesitantly, as the girl seemed very anxious and pleading awaiting her response. When her words came out of her mouth, Misra let out a squeal of joy and jumped to hug her 'Where did this confidence come from? Was it because they were both elves? Or because of the hypnosis?' she wondered inwardly.
During the energetic hug, Nemes couldn't help but look at the girl's neck in front of her; she could smell it. A beautiful fragrance, like chocolate. She also felt and heard Misra's pounding heart, how tempting it was.
—Control yourself, control yourself...— she repeated to herself when she saw her teeth graze the girl's neck. Just a few millimeters more and...
They separated; fortunately, Misra had finished the hug before the worst could happen.
—We're going to start moving— she said, feeling the carriage tremble. Sixtin had already left at some point, leaving them alone.
—Can you tell me the story of the bandits again, Lady Nemes?— she asked, her eyes shining with anticipation.
—This is going to be a long journey— she said to herself in her mind, but outwardly she just nodded with a small smile. She couldn't stop thinking about her neck...