moonlitscholar | for favoredheir

for favoredheir

"Well. You'd think a place called the Valley of Scribes would have more information to find within it. And that it might be a valley."

Briona and Eskander had just spent the past two days wandering through a seemingly endless expanse of stinky, muddy wasteland, all in search of an ancient monument that she'd read about in one of her books. The book talked it up as a historical marvel, a ritual site that was supposed to hold the secrets of the ancient elves, the usual kind of thing that Briona got excited about. The princess was often to seek out such places when they were near, since she had Eskander along for the ride anyway, and he may as well have to work to earn his keep. And work he did, through an incredibly dangerous "valley" full of things that wanted both of them dead.

And after all that, when they finally found the monument, it turned out to be nothing more than a pile of rocks with a mild magical current running through it. Certainly nothing Briona hadn't seen before, and not worth all the hassle. She honestly felt a little bad for putting Eskander through all that, though he would have his reward, as usual, once they were back in civilization.

When they finally, finally reached the inn, Briona saw to the room arrangements and let Eskander get the door. She set her traveling satchel down on one of the two beds, then sat down on the edge.

"I apologize that it wasn't what I hoped," she said. "You're not hurt, are you? Need I heal you at all?"

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Well, that had been profoundly disappointing. At least for his client and sort of for him as well. He'd accepted the job for his own personal reasons and partly because she'd said she thought there might be something magical about the place. Seeing new things was always interesting, so why not? The muddy, hot reality had been incredibly depressing. Not to mention the various wild creatures that had seemed hell-bent on ripping them both limb from limb. By the time they reached the miserable pile of rocks that was waiting for the, his sword arm had started to get tired.

The journey back had been about the same and it's with a sense of relief that he follows her into the room they've rented and face-plants onto one of the mattresses before he rolls over and cranes his head to peer at her.

"Hurt? Nothing besides a few scratches here and there. I don't think any of them really got through to me," Eskander shrugs and then his expression settles into a sly grin, "Bit of a wild goose chase, though. Who puts a pile of rocks in the middle of a swamp, anyway? And then calls it the Valley of the Scribes?"

"I will admit, the book I found it in has had its authenticity called into question on a few occasions..." Briona glances off to the side, as though avoiding his gaze. "Clearly, no one has fact-checked it in centuries. Next time we are in the capital again, I'm going to have words with that librarian."

She stands up and steps over to a mirror on the wall, brushing her dark hair back over her shoulders and letting out a sigh. Thankfully, they were able to secure a fairly comfortable room at this inn, perhaps the best they have available. A bath and a hot meal will do them both wonders.

"I'm not sure where to head next." They've just settled down, and Briona is already trying to plan ahead. "Perhaps we could rest a day while I look through my other books for something nearby..."

Eskander snorts, "Called into question a few times? Well, that's all. Never mind wading through lizard-infested mud..."

He wasn't going to dignify the muck by call it water. It had been full of biting insects and things that liked to bite. He scrubs at his face with a hand and then rolls to his feet as she steps over to the mirror. One advantage to this particular contract? They usually got a decent room. He crosses the room, shrugging out of his jerkin and tossing it over a chair. They both smell of sweat and the stink of the swamp isn't that far away, either.

Still, he can't help but admire the way her hair cascades down her shoulders. A grin flickers across his face and he wraps his arms around her, settling his chin on her head. It's an intimate position, but they have an intimate arrangement.

"I could use a bath and something that's not trail rations, yeah. As for what's next...? Well, I'm in favor of just taking a day to rest."

Of course, what he means by rest might not be exactly the same thing.

"Otherwise, don't ask me. I don't know a damn thing about your magical research..."

"Perhaps the fact-checkers all died in the swamp," she offers with a shrug.

As Eskander takes his place behind her, she looks up at him in the mirror, awaiting the crack about her small stature. When it doesn't come, she smiles slightly and leans back into his arms a bit.

Theirs is an odd little arrangement, and occasionally Briona wonders what her elvish ancestors would say about a princess entering such a thing. But after all this time, she can admit she's grown at least somewhat fond of Eskander.

"I suppose you have earned a day off," she teases, reaching up and tapping the side of his beard with a finger. "We need you in fighting shape before we move on."

Don't worry, he'll make short jokes later. Right now he's enjoying the feeling of having the princess snug against his front. They're not exactly in a relationship. Certainly not one of the traditional variety. But it is a relationship. Maybe a business one more than anything, even if they do get along. Not that Eskander can really complain, honestly. So far it's been... interesting. And he's fond of her.

He snorts and allows his hands to run over her belly, "You do, don't you? And what sort of shape am I going to leave you in before we leave, hmm?"

That was a terrible, terrible innuendo.

"I'd say I'd take payment now, but we both smell like sweat and swamp water..."

"I have to be rested too, you know." Briona scoffs, and reaches down to swat at the hand smoothing over her belly. Hardly even an innuendo, really, when it's just the slightest step from suggesting it outright. But there is a smile on her face.

She imagined he would want to get down to business once they were alone, but he does have a point about the sweat and the swamp water. She doesn't particularly want to put her mouth on him if that's the case, and she usually ends up doing so.

"They have baths out back," she says. "It would only take half an hour to clean up, if you can possibly contain yourself that long."

Eskander makes a small 'tch' sound when she swats at his hand. Look, he's fond of her. And if he finds her very attractive, well that's a bonus, isn't it? Of course, if he hadn't, then he never would've accepted the job in the first place (at least not at the 'price' she was offering). He slips his hand free of her but not before giving her hip a quick squeeze. Then he steps back, hands up in a mock defensive gesture.

"Look, if I can put up with that swamp, I can put up with waiting until the both of us are actually clean again..."

His teeth glint in a grin that's mostly teeth.

"So, your majesty, I guess I'll see you in a half an hour? Gotta get cleaned myself, anyway."

He'd suggest bathing together, but considering the public nature of it all, he's not sure she'd go for it.

"Half an hour," she confirms with a crisp nod of her head. With that, she turns around and goes to gather a few things from her satchel, then marches off with purpose.

Why hadn't she told him an hour? As Briona luxuriates in one of the stalls in the bathhouse, she curses not giving herself a little longer to just enjoy the hot water. She washes her hair and runs a cloth over her body, and nearly reaches for one of the small bottles of herbal soap that she carries. Then again, Eskander is probably going to get her dirty again soon enough. It would be a waste to use it just now.

When she's finished, she combs her long hair out and dresses in a silky, lavender-colored robe. And nothing else. She considers this efficiency. And she rather likes trying to make Eskander gape at her some before she gives him what he asks for.

She strides back into the room with all the grace and presence of an elven princess, holding her robe closed around her. If Eskander didn't beat her back, she's decided to wait for him in an appealing position on one of the beds.

"Half an hour," he replies with a laugh and he lets her go. He has his own bath to take. Just because he's a sellsword doesn't mean he won't appreciate being clean; he was born a noble, once upon a time. Not that he thinks about those days that often (unless you count when ever he's drunk as often, which it is). He spends his time soaking in a hot bath and letting the ache in his muscles ease. Sure, he's going to be putting a different sort of ache into them in a little while... but why make things worse than they have to be?

He finishes and his own mode of dress is a bit more complete: breeches and a loose shirt. Not quite fully dressed, but probably a bit more than Briona, all things considered. He takes his time on the way back to the room, running through his own thoughts. It's been a strange arrangement, but he can't complain. She pays the inn's bills, he protects her in the field, and he gets the privilege of savoring an elven princess. He wonders if her family would approve. If they knew, anyway. He's still chuckling at that thought when he opens the door and steps inside to find her settled on one of the beds, waiting for him.

She's graceful and lithe and petite and absolutely stunning when she's laid out like that. He does gape (just a little) and he hastily bumps the door shut behind him.

"Well, I must've said something right..."

"I was just thinking how much I appreciate you taking that tree branch in the face for me earlier," she muses, as though this is terribly rote. That troll was a little too close a shave for her liking, but barring any tree-related minor injuries, Eskander took care of it with finesse, as usual. "I thought you'd enjoy something nice to look at."

Paying for her bodyguard with her body had not been Plan A by any means, but Briona needed protection in her travels, and couldn't possibly afford the sort of coin it would cost to keep Eskander's attention. In desperation, she'd offered to keep his attention this way, and, well. Here they were.

When they first agreed, she was quite resigned to the idea. But after all their time traveling together now, Briona-- dare she say it-- had grown quite fond of him as a person. What began as an obligation to pay him turned into more of a naughty, fun little game that she enjoys playing. He gets her, she gets to toy with him and to keep on traveling, and everybody's happy.

She sits up, adjusting the robe just enough where it looks like it might open too far, before closing it again. "So, my brave guardian, have you thought how you'd like to be paid?"

"Well, maybe it improved my looks," he retorts. And as he does he steps across the room toward the bed, face splitting in a sly grin as he runs his eyes over her form. She's... beautiful. Stunning. And so many other words, some of which really aren't suitable for polite company.

"Besides, it feels worth it now," he continues as he settles onto the bed. He tugs his shirt off over his head and then starts to crawl up the bed towards her with a low noise at the back of his throat, eyes alight with a certain fire that she can probably recognize by now.

"I still have to think about that. I'd love to fuck you properly-" He enjoys spitting out the harsh words, if only because he likes to think he can shock her a little, "But you tend to think that we shouldn't."

She leans back against the headboard, running her hands through her long hair to push it back over her shoulders. The robe comes apart at the chest, but her crossed legs ensure all it shows is a long, teasing stripe of skin all the way down her body.

"Because we shouldn't," she says, as calmly and practically as she's said it every other time he asked. She's never gone into detail about why she thinks so, aside from a few pithy excuses about risk and humans and elves, and then changing the subject to what she will do for him instead.

"But I can be so much more creative than that," she continues. She tugs her robe aside enough to bare a breast for him. "Surely, you had some ideas in the bath."

God, what she does to him - especially when she shows off. She knows that it gets him, starts his heart beating in his chest, his pulse quicken, his belly tighten with that first hard, hot knot of arousal. He breathes out with a low laugh, eyes tracing the exposed strip of skin and then the swell of her breast. He plants a kiss against her leg as he starts to 'climb' a bit higher.

"Oh, I have a lot of ideas, princess," He replies. He likes calling her that. A slightly vindictive part of him likes to rub in the fact that she's slumming with a sellsword. But he's fond of her, really. He eases himself alongside of her and this time his lips brush the bare peak of her nipple as she tugs aside her robe for him, lips teasing at the soft flesh.

"Would you let me put my cock between your thighs?" His fingers are on her legs now and then the smooth strip of exposed skin, fingernails dancing over her navel and up to the valley between her breasts, drawing little white lines as they pass.

Briona can fully admit she enjoys watching him lust for her. A flash of skin or a suggestive look or a few simple words get him under her spell, and she has fun seeing exactly what it takes to get him as he is now, crawling for her. She'd be lying if she said it didn't appeal to her to have a man like him, strong and rugged and, frankly, huge, fawning over her

As he sidles up to her, she leans back to let him to her breast, luxuriating against the pillows as he mouths and touches her. She smiles, humming softly in the back of her throat as his fingers tease her skin.

"Yes," she says. "All you like. Let me grab my oils."

Eskander makes a noise against her skin that's somewhere between a groan and a sigh. He could let her get up, but then he wouldn't be touching her. It's a real dilemma. The vibration of it runs out of him and into her for a brief moment and then he reluctantly pulls back with a little grin, allowing his fingers to linger for a little while longer. At least until she pulls away.

"Alright. But I hate to let you leave like this, just when I'm getting started..."

He can feel himself swelling with arousal, cock tenting against the cloth of his breeches. Speaking of which - he starts to unlace them, leaning back on the bed so he can start to wriggle them off of his hips. It's a bit awkward looking, but that's clothing for you.

"I'll be right back. Have some patience," Briona scolds him, with a smile on her face. "Then you can touch me all you like." She rolls aside, towards the aisle between the beds, and towards her satchel sitting on the other bed. And she almost certainly knows exactly what she's doing when she sweeps her robe aside, showing off as she bends to search through the bag.

Among her little bottles of elven herbs and tinctures she has a small pink one, full of fragrant oil. It's come in quite handy for some of her more adventurous payments to Eskander. Once she's fetched it, she comes back to the other bed, dramatically shedding her robe just before she crawls back up to kneel on the mattress.

She drips some of the oil into her palm, then spreads her thighs to apply it between them. Another delay, yes, but they'll both appreciate it when it lets Eskander go as long as he likes without rubbing either of them raw. "How would you like me positioned?"

"Patience has never been one of my strong suits, I'm warning you..." Eskander sighs a bit over-dramatically, but he lets her go. He doesn't mind the show she gives her (and he knows that she is showing off and he loves her all the more for it). His eyes sweep over the curve of her rump and her slender legs and the cleft between her legs. He almost wants to cross the room to her and simply keep her bent over for him - but he won't. Instead he leans back on the bed and watches her, his cock free of his clothing now and it looks dark, swollen with arousal and swaying against his belly. There's already a little bead of pre-come staining the tip and he has to sigh softly as she joins him on the bed again.

She's beautiful nude. She's beautiful all the time, of course, but Eskander especially appreciates her when she's naked. He reaches out to draw a pair of fingers down her chest, trailing from her collar bone to the swell of her breasts and then down, teasing and circling at a nipple as he considers his answer, lazily watching as she rubs oil against her thighs. It's an enticing sight and he can already imagine the slick warmth of it.

"I'd like you on your side, so I can wrap myself around you, princess..." He grins at her, fingers leaving her breast to trail down her belly, traveling as close as he dares to her sex before she either pulls away or swats him.

"Very well." Briona acts as though she doesn't notice his touches as she finishes oiling her thighs, but the little shivers she gives and the flushing of her skin speaks otherwise. She even lets his fingers get surprisingly close to between her legs, waiting until the very last second to move- and perhaps that is the slightest of juts of her hips against them before she does.

She leans onto her side, throwing him a smile over her shoulder before resting her head in one hand, propped up with an elbow. Facing away from him, she straightens her top leg and lifts it, then bends at the knee to offer him her thighs.

"Come have your fill, my brave guardian," she says. She will certainly not admit that she welcomes the return of his hands on her.

Eskander notices the little jut of her hips and his eyes sparkle for a moment as he watches her move. That is always a joy of it's own, even when she's fully clothed. She has a grace and elegance about her that no human woman could hope to match and he enjoys being able to watch it day in and day out. He follows her as she rolls on to her side, slipping an arm around her middle and pressing a kiss to the nape of her neck as he presses himself against her back. His broad chest presses into her and she can likely feel the slick, engorged head of his cock drag against the curve of her rump.

"You're beautiful when you get all ready for me..."

It's a compliment. Of sorts. Another kiss against her neck, lips light and ghosting, while his hand slides over her belly and then up, over her ribcage until he can palm one of her breasts, rolling the peak of her nipple between two fingers. And then his cock drags across her again, teasing between her legs, as if threatening to slip into that wet heat she's forbidden him, and then finally finds that oiled, slick skin and slips between her thighs, the tip of his cock just catching against her sex as he starts his first slow thrust, "hilting" himself against her with a low moan of pleasure. His cock curves back, the upper surface dragging against her labia as he starts to pull back, hips hitching.

He's taking it slow, lavishing attention on her with hands and lips (a love bite against the curve of her throat, intending to leave a mark so tomorrow someone will know that she's his). This is relaxation. So why rush?

She makes a satisfied noise in the back of her throat at the kiss to her neck, and she settles back comfortably as he eases up behind her. The drag of his cock along her skin makes her tingle, a feeling that only gets stronger as Eskander pleases himself with touching her. Briona squirms in his grip, bending her back to press her belly and her breasts and her hips against his worshipful touches. Her eyes close, and she relaxes at his mercy.

He is the first human she's ever been with this way, and before she had no idea how their large size would appeal to her in the bedroom. But Eskander is not only big, he's strong, and his hands and his fingers and just the way he's tall enough to nearly engulf her are all things she's come to enjoy.

Her hum is a little higher pitched when his cock slips between her thighs. That's another thing about him much bigger than the average elf man. She's had her mouth and her hands on it, and she's grown to appreciate the size of it, too. Briona sighs with pleasure as its girth slowly, indulgently rubs between her legs-- and she shivers when it brushes her labia, sending a delicious chill up her spine.

"That's nice... ah!" She squeaks at the nip, but doesn't pull away. "Excuse you..."

He does have size on her. He's just an inch or two shy of six feet and that really does mean that he practically engulfs her when he wraps his arms around her, especially because his body is wiry and full of muscle. He's not the largest swordsman to ever wield a blade, but compared to an elf? Certainly. That's one thing he likes about this: it's exotic, for both of them. The fact that she's so willing to give him pleasure in exchange for protection is another.

He laughs breathlessly against the shell of her ear as she admonishes him for the bite. His teeth close against the earlobe and he gives it a little tug, just his cock slides easily through the gap in her thighs again, a shudder running through him as he drags it against the wet of her sex. She's right there and it'd be so easy to take her - but he respects her wishes. He does and he will.

"What's wrong?" He teases, tongue curling against her ear, "Don't want people to know that an elegant, refined little thing like you is taking it from a human sellsword?"

It's... a tease, but he gets off a little on the idea. His teeth graze her ear once more and then her neck, threatening a hickey or mark of he gets his way.

She shivers again as he mouths her earlobe. He knows an elf's ears are sensitive, the bastard, and knows he can get her purring if he toys with them. She leans back against him further, letting her arm relax rather than trying to hold herself up with it. It puts her hand in the right position to reach back and do a little aimless touching of her own, mostly hitting his arm and shoulder.

Well, two can play at that game. "Oh, what my people would think, if they knew their princess debased herself with a brutish human..." She adds a thick layer of drama to her voice. "And not once. Not twice. But at his beck and call..."

She tightens her thighs slightly, dragging him against her folds again with a timed wiggle of her hips. That had not, perhaps, been the original plan, but... by the ancients, it did feel nice, thick and warm and hard, rubbing against her.

"What would you do, if you could show me off?"

"I think I'd like them to know that. Think about the looks we'd get..." Eskander replies with a note of relish in his voice. He's still focusing the attention of his mouth on her ear, trailing little licks and nibbles and sending warm breath skipping over it whenever he has the chance. His other arm has joined the first, snaking under her neck and wrapped around her shoulders, fingers lightly skimming the dip of her clavicle. His other hand is lavishing attention on her belly and then her breasts, teasing first one and then the other with touches against her nipples and sharper ones against the firmer flesh, nails digging in to leave little white lines. As proof of their passage.

His hips work again in that slow, lazy thrust, a low hiss of breath forced out of him as the flesh of her thighs grip at him as he pushes through and against her. He has to answer her question still, but the pleasure of sliding the engorged, heated shaft of his cock between those slick, oiled thighs of hers is a bit distracting. Her skin is smooth and clean and perfect.

"What would I do...? I'd bend you over a table in the common room and take you right there. I'd make sure everyone knew what a filthy little minx you really are behind closed doors!"

"My father would absolutely despise you," she purrs. "My family would be scandalized. Utter disgrace..." It's mostly true. A bit exaggerated, perhaps... Her fellow elves would shudder at the thought of a human touching their royalty, but they'd understand Briona's zeal for exploring and studying to protect that culture, and whatever she had to do to do so.

Not that she'll tell Eskander that. Not when he seems to enjoy it this much.

She wonders if he'll notice how warm her skin is becoming as she starts to flush all over. Every little drag of his fingers on her skin adds fuel to the heat starting to burn in the pit of her belly. Every playful little nip and lick of her ears makes it worse.

And the firm, slick velvet of his cock sliding back and forth between her legs has the effect of dumping oil into the flame, making her breath quicken. She's getting wet, only adding to the slickness as he thrusts between her thighs.

"Take me in public?" she teases. "Let them all hear me moan and beg for you. Let them all see how you've claimed me, and won an elven princess all for your own?"

"Wouldn't be the first," he murmurs in response against her ear. He keeps his mouth right there, pausing in his dirty little murmurings so he can suckle the very tip of one ear between his lips and run his warm, wet tongue against it, teasing her. They're both becoming heated by now, skin flushed, sweat starting to bead as the room seems to grow hotter (and with it, the smell of arousal, the smell of sex). He worms his way closer, hips still moving in those lazy, slow thrusts, back and forth, dragging his cock between her thighs, pressing it up against the slickened, wet surface of her labia with each thrust. He's changed the angle slightly, deliberately trying to drag as much of his shaft across her as he can. Both for his pleasure and for her own.

"Won? I'd tell them that this was how she paid me. That you were giving me this like some sort of whore..." He's pressing his luck a bit, possibly. He enjoys teasing like this; a mocking sort of dirty, filthy speech. He just hopes he doesn't press it too far. Especially because his cock catches against her and it makes his toes curl, the slow warmth in her belly picking up, heart skipping as a low groan is torn out of him. He lowers his head from her ear finally to bury lips against her neck again, the meat of his palm grinding against a nipple as he tries to expand his touch and his impact on her.

"And I bet you'd moan so prettily, too," he mumbles against her skin, trailing the hand that was against her collar bone up, past her chin, probing at her lips with a pair of fingers.

for favoredheir

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

I am about to head to bed! But I'll catch up in the morning.

you got it!

as a heads up, gonna be on mobile for most of the day.

same!

Finally home!

wb!

ty ty

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject