Chapter 15

MOUNTAIN CITY

Tarifa sat on the edge of Aihola's bed, her eyes gazing on her new Drow lover and Mistress as the sun began to creep up in the horizon and cast light into the small window. Aihola's face was quite peaceful as she slept, her soft pink lips open slightly as she breathed. Tarifa remembered vividly the taste and texture of those wonderful lips as they had kissed her passionately and explored her body. Tarifa shifted her eyes and watched the rise and fall of her chest, Aihola's somewhat smaller but still very firm breasts hidden by the thin sheet, her dark nipples pressing against the fabric. Her shimmering white hair was splayed across the pillow, soft and shiny in the early morning light. The sheet covered her lithe ebony body only partially, and Tarifa allowed her eyes to wander hungrily over the taut dark flesh of her muscular thigh and calf. Gazing on Aihola like this sent a shiver of pleasure through Tarifa as she remembered the events of the previous night. The pleasures she had shared with Aihola were unlike anything she had ever experienced. Even her times with Dysea had not compared to the sheer will breaking orgasms that Aihola had produced from her, or the enormous pleasure she had experienced simply by having her face snuggled between Aihola's delicious thighs. Aihola had dominated her completely, instructing her how to please her, demanding her to do things that gave them both untold pleasures. Tarifa had experienced orgasms more powerful than anything, just by simply having Aihola firmly in control of her every move. Yet unlike a typical Drow relationship, which Tarifa knew full well was usually very one sided for the dominant Drow, Aihola had returned every sliver of pleasure back upon her with undisguised passion, desire and glee.

Tarifa stared at Aihola's peaceful face, her thoughts rushing through her mind with clarity she had never known. Tarifa had been raised to hate the Drow, she had even killed many of them in the latter years of the war they had fought, yet lying before her now was not a hated enemy. On the bed before her was a woman Tarifa had come to desire almost painfully. Tarifa knew that a small part of it was the taboo of the Drow that Aihola was breaking by sleeping with her, a small part of it was the fact that the contrast in the color of their skin drove her mad with desire, but most of all Tarifa knew it was because of the woman Aihola was. Tarifa had learned much about Aihola in their time together, relaxing in the hot tub simply talking of different things, and she had caught a glimpse of the woman Aihola truly was. On the bed in front of her was not a hated Drow enemy, but a complex and intelligent woman who had quite unexpectedly wormed her way into Tarifa's very soul. Aihola was a skilled and deadly warrior without question, but there was a side to her that Tarifa had only glimpsed at until last night. Aihola was Drow yes, and it was in her genes to dominate and be superior, but she had not hesitated in giving pleasure to Tarifa every which way she could the previous evening. She had even gone so far as to do things to her that Tarifa had never considered. Looking at her, Tarifa felt no more questions in her. This woman had wormed her way into her heart as surely as the sun came up every morning. And Tarifa relished that feeling more than anything in her life right now.

Tarifa reached out and softly ran her fingers along Aihola's shoulder and upper arm, causing her to stir and her amber eyes to slowly open. Aihola turned her head and saw Tarifa, and a small smile creased her soft pink lips. She gazed at her with a longing that made Tarifa want to lose herself within the pleasures of those lips once more. Aihola's amber eyes saw the sun coming up through the window, and she came instantly awake, her eyes ever alert as she bolted upright in the bed, holding the sheet over her breasts.

"It ... it is morning!" She gasped. "Tarifa you must..."

Tarifa smiled and took her hand quickly. "Fear not Nya Istel." She spoke softly. "Telan is already gone. I woke him earlier and sent him off with a smile on his putrid face, and none the wiser."

Aihola looked at her, her eyes taking on a shamed expression. "Forgive me Tarifa ... I have been remiss in my duties. I should not have allowed myself to act in such a way last night. It has ... it has put you in danger."

"Why in the name of the gods would I be angry over something that I found so overwhelmingly wonderful Aihola?" Tarifa asked her. "And it did nothing to put me in danger, so put that thought from your mind."

"I allowed ... I allowed my personal feelings to override caution Tarifa." Aihola told her, gathering the sheet around her body and preparing to get out of the bed. "I took what I wanted and my actions put you at risk. That was not what I had intended to..."

Tarifa silenced her words by covering her soft lips with her own and kissing her deeply. Aihola's instinctive reaction was to grasp Tarifa's head with a moan of desire and kiss her back harder, thrusting her tongue between Tarifa's lips with determination and domination. Tarifa groaned in delight, sinking into Aihola's arms, surrendering to her Mistress as Aihola returned her kiss and she gave herself to the sensations coursing through her. It felt so gloriously right and wonderful to surrender to her like this.

Aihola quickly brought her raging passions under control and pulled back from their kiss with barely concealed reluctance. "Tarifa..." She gasped softly. "Someone might come in." Aihola stared into Tarifa's sapphire eyes as they opened slowly with a dreamy expression on them, and Aihola had to fight down the urge to take her right there. Seeing her face and lips so close, Aihola realized she had some very un-Drow like feelings rippling through her, and they were feelings she now welcomed with open arms.

Tarifa nodded slowly, a look of disappointment on her face that did not go unnoticed by Aihola. "You ... you are correct." She spoke as she leaned back on the bed. She closed her beautiful eyes briefly as if composing herself and then opened them again to look at her with an expression that caused Aihola's heart to leap. "I brought us breakfast." She spoke motioning to the small table where the hot tea and small breakfast biscuits rested.

Aihola looked at the table and noticed the smell and shape of the biscuits for the first time. They were an ancient Drow recipe that she hadn't had in years and her eyes grew bright, "Lunta biscuits!" She exclaimed, holding the sheet around her as she reached for the sweet breakfast biscuit.

"I hope you don't mind." Tarifa said as she began to pour two mugs of tea. "I inquired of the Holy One a few days ago in regards to foods that the Drow considered delicacies. He told me that these biscuits were among your people's greatest invention."

Aihola chose one of the biscuits and took a bite out of it, her eyes closing in bliss as the warm biscuit practically melted in her mouth. Aihola opened her eyes as she chewed and looked at Tarifa. "Tarifa ... these are ... they are delicious." She said.

Tarifa beamed with pride and set the tea down in front of her. "I'm glad."

Aihola plucked at a piece of the biscuit on the edge of her lips and looked at Tarifa closely. "Do you not have to appear before the Council soon?" She asked.

Tarifa shook her head. "I postponed the meeting until tomorrow before we leave for Salina. I wanted..." Tarifa looked at her shyly. "I wanted to spend as much time as I could with you."

Aihola suddenly looked very embarrassed. "Tarifa ... I ... I apologize again for my actions last night." She spoke softly. "I should not have ... I should not have treated you in such a way."

"Why?" Tarifa asked her. "I did not exactly protest in any way." Tarifa smiled and her eyes turned seductive as she remembered their actions, "Quite the opposite in fact if my memory serves me correctly."

"You ... you are Queen of the High Elves Tarifa." Aihola replied slowly, her own emotions raging within her now. "I am..."

Aihola looked at her, and knew without question at that very moment that she had fallen in love with Tarifa. A taboo that was so anchored in their Drow culture, two females being lovers and Aihola found that she was surrendering to it with no qualms. Tarifa had found her way into her heart and soul as easily as any blade could have. The Queen of the High Elves had a body that caused her own pussy to pulse with excitement, a body that Aihola could explore every night for the rest of her life and never tire of. Yet Tarifa was also the Queen of the High Elves, and any relationship that Aihola desired could never...

"Don't do that." Tarifa's words interrupted her thoughts and she looked at Tarifa who was gazing at her intently.

"Don't do what?" Aihola asked.

"Don't you dare question the feelings that your heart tells you are right." Tarifa told her. "And don't question whether our relationship will continue or is right? That is what you are thinking isn't it?"

"Tarifa you are the Queen of the High Elves." Aihola spoke calmly. "I am a Drow Assassin. There could never..."

Tarifa moved much faster than Aihola could track her with her eyes thanks to her newly enhanced genome DNA, and suddenly her face was within inches of her own, her sapphire eyes having changed to the sapphire orbs outlined in black. Aihola also saw the tips of her fangs extending past her soft lips. It no longer frightened her when Tarifa changed, and she stared into those sapphire orbs with desire and love.

"I know some of the taboos of your people Aihola." Tarifa spoke softly. "I am not a fool in regards to your culture Nya Istel. I have spent several nights deep in conversations with the Holy One, learning about the Drow and your history. He gave me many books and data pads to study. I know that you have broken one of the strongest taboos of your people already by taking me into your bed. That by itself speaks volumes of the person you have become. Before last night you were hesitant with me, knowing that I desired you so, and you did nothing. What happened to change that?"

Aihola found she could not tear her eyes from Tarifa's bright beautiful face. Tarifa called her Nya Istel, "My Light" in the elfin language, and those words caused Aihola's heart to pulse in joy, "My ... my brother Tari." She answered softly. "In his message to me he told me that many of the cultures and traditions of our people had died with them. He said we no longer needed to adhere to customs and rules hundreds of years old. That we were free to take what we wanted, and that we would build the Drow again in a different image, a better image."

"And I was what you wanted?" Tarifa asked shyly.

Aihola nodded slowly, "Since that very first night." She replied honestly. "I ... I have never felt for anyone what I feel for you. No woman and certainly no man. No one has elicited the emotions within me that you have stirred. It confused and frightened me until I saw the message from Tari. His words made it all so clear to me."

"So ... so what we shared last night you do not regret?" Tarifa asked softly, her voice holding hope and promise.

Aihola shook her head slowly with a smile. "No Tarifa, I do not regret it." She moved closer to her, reaching out to caress her cheek. "Do you regret it Tarinya Enda?" (Queen of my Heart)

Tarifa welcomed Aihola's touch and she smiled dreamily, "Never." She replied softly. She reached up and took Aihola's hand in hers. "And I hope it happens again and again, for as long as I have years on this earth."

"What ... what of your role as Queen? What of..." Aihola looked at Tarifa, her amber eyes searching Tarifa's face. "It would never be accepted Tarifa." Aihola asked.

"I will not lie to you Aihola." Tarifa spoke honestly as well. "It would not be easy. I have ... I have always searched for love. I ... I believe I have finally found it with you. I do not care what you are ... I only care what I feel when I am with you." Tarifa got up and moved to the small window looking out over the top of Mountain City.

"But ... Tarifa, I am Drow?" Aihola asked getting to her feet as well and moving up behind her slowly, her heart hammering in her chest as she waited to hear what Tarifa would say to that. Aihola was prepared for the worst though she hoped for something more.

Tarifa turned and looked at her. "I do not care Nya Istel." She spoke. "I have fallen in love with you. I don't please you enough ... is that it? I'm not submissive enough? Tell me Nya Istel; tell me Mistress, I do not want to lose you."

Aihola's amber eyes did nothing to hide the feelings that ripped through her at Tarifa's words. It was more than she had expected or hoped for, and it made her soul sing with new found joy. She looked up into the eyes of her taller lover. "Ta ... Tarifa," She started to say.

Tarifa stepped closer to her, pressing her body to Aihola's and taking her hands in her own. "I have fallen very much in love with you Aihola of the Family Anatyla. It has happened very quickly I know, but I know what my heart is telling me and ... and I truly hope I am not making a fool of myself and you feel the same in return."

Aihola stared at her for a long moment, the silence in the room so complete she thought for sure she could hear the pounding of both their hearts in the still morning air. She stared into Tarifa's eyes, memorizing every contour of her beautiful face and let the words come. "You are not making a fool of yourself Tarifa, and I do feel the very same thing. More powerful than anything I have ever felt for anyone." She answered with a loving smile.

Tarifa stepped closer to her now and kissed her softly. It was a kiss of two people very much in love. There was no dominance by either of them, only a deep kiss that drew them together even more. "You do not know how that makes my heart sing." Tarifa spoke softly after they had reluctantly parted.

"What of your mother and everyone else? What will they say?" Aihola finally asked her, her hand coming up to caress Tarifa's cheek and jaw line.

Tarifa smiled dreamily once more. "I care not what they will say." She said firmly. "I had something torn from me once before because I listened to others. I almost lost the one man and woman who are like the dearest brother and sister I have ever had. We are rocks for each other, and while we may have shared something long ago, it has blossomed and grown into what it is now, a deep abiding friendship that nothing could ever come between. I will never allow that to happen again, concerning anything, least of all my feelings for you."

"Tarifa I..." Aihola began.

"I will be your willing slave in all things private to us Nya Istel." Tarifa spoke softly with a knowing and delightful smile, pressing her body against Aihola's harder, "Most especially in our bed. I enjoyed my role immensely, and I will do whatever you ask of me my Mistress."

Aihola smiled seductively, "As did I ... my slave." She answered squeezing Tarifa's hands and leaning over to nuzzle her cheek with her lips. "But never in public Tarifa. I honor and love you too much, and you are still Queen. I want us to be equals in everything we do Tarifa. Is that even possible?"

Tarifa traced a finger over her cheek, relishing in the warmth and radiance of Aihola's amber colored eyes. "It will be soon Nya Istel." She spoke softly in response. "We have much to accomplish in the months ahead, and you must meet Martin as well as the others. I will not hide from them what we share, and he would be angry with me if I tried. The time we spent together opened our eyes to many new things, and we have so much to do. Once all of us have broken from such old traditions and customs we can be together as we want to be Aihola. Until that day, we must be patient and enjoy what little privacy we will have here to the fullest. Can you do that?"

Aihola nodded confidently. "I have waited over a hundred years to feel what I feel for you Tarifa, Queen of the High Elves. Another few months being cautious of our love will not be so long to wait, and then I intend to announce it to the world."

Tarifa smiled. "You will have to beat me to that."

Aihola smiled and leaned forward to kiss her gently. "By the gods you are delicious my love." She spoke huskily. "How did ... how did Dysea let you get away?"

Tarifa smiled at her words and drew Aihola back towards the bed. "I believe that Dysea's true heart lies with Martin and perhaps someone she has yet to discover. She did not say as much when she was here, but I could feel her soul longing to return to Martin, and longing for the touch of someone else. It was radiating from her strongly."

"He is the core isn't it?" Aihola asked as they settled onto the edge of the bed.

Tarifa nodded slowly. "The moment he returned to our planet, events were set in motion that will forever change the face of everything we know. I think you will be impressed. Aside from his obvious physical attractions and he has quite a few of them," She spoke with a knowing smile. "He is perhaps the most compassionate man I have ever known. Yet that compassion is laced with steel. If you are his friend he will do anything within his power for you, but if you are his enemy ... well let's just say I have seen the side of him that no one wants to see. It is not a pretty sight when he becomes angry, and part of me believes that there is much he does not let anyone see. Not even Dysea."

"You are looking forward to seeing him aren't you?" Aihola asked with absolutely no malice or jealously in her voice at all.

Tarifa nodded slowly with a smile. "I have missed him a great deal. He ... he is like a brother to me now ... a brother and dearest friend. You know what it feels like to feel as if you are alone? When someone you are close to ... someone who shares you values and ideals and you are close too, you know what it feels like when you are apart from them. That is what it feels like to have not seen him in so long. I thought perhaps I had lost him and Dysea ... their friendship and caring ... but her visit here made me see that it has perhaps made the bond between us stronger. A bond that now includes you." She looked at Aihola and slipped her arms around her waist pulling her ebony body tightly against hers. "Enough talk of that, I am with you now my Mistress. How ... how may I please you?" She said.

Aihola smiled as passion again swept through her and she allowed it to consume her. She pushed Tarifa back onto the bed her amber eyes filled with desire and hunger as she spread her body out on top of Tarifa. "Yes ... yes you are ... my slave, and I'm sure I will come up with something over the next few hours." She spoke before lowering her lips to Tarifa's and pulling her body to hers.

EDEN (FORMERLY JUNCTION CITY UTAH)

Dysea stood on the tarmac of the airport her blood boiling in anger and her heart aching with worry as she paced in front of Vengal. She wore the standard dark gray fatigues she had adopted after coming to Eden. They were practical and comfortable yet did nothing to hide her figure in any way. Her long platinum hair cascaded past her shoulders, framing her face and falling to nearly the top of her tight ass. Buckled around her waist was a utility belt that held a holster for her K-12 automatic on her left hip, and the long bladed Wood Elf fighting knife was strapped to her right thigh. She had spent the last twenty minutes communicating directly with Anja after they both tore new assholes into the communications officer in the tower. Dysea had come immediately to the airport when Leland had contacted her that they were inbound and what had happened on their mission. It was here that she discovered that Martin's team was also inbound from their mission, but that Martin had been wounded. It took another thirty minutes of screaming and yelling before she had spoken directly with Anja.

Dysea had lit into Vengal the moment he had come down the ramp her face a mask of rage. Leland stood at the top of the ramp, Cathy next to him as they watched. They saw roughly a dozen and a half of Vengal's Wood Elf Rangers approach, led by the man Leland recognized as Matarn. Tony and Radama stood to one side of the lowered ramp, Dysea's five person security detachment spread out in a loose circle around her, Vengal and the others.

" ... realize what you have done?" Dysea ranted, only inches from Vengal's face. "Do you have any idea what your actions will do?"

"I was only attempting to rescue my daughter!" Vengal protested.

"You have used us!" Dysea screamed. "You used us to accomplish something you could not do yourself! You knew this!"

"She is my daughter Dysea!" Vengal spoke softly. "The only daughter I have left."

"You should have been forthright the moment you arrived in our presence!" Dysea screamed. "I would have done everything in my power to give you the help you needed. Everything! Instead you betrayed my trust and what's worse you betrayed Martin's trust!"

The young elf who had arrived after Vengal and the others departed stepped forward now. Matarn came from a very influential Wood Elf family and thought very highly of himself. He was very handsome with fair skin and long blond hair. His blue eyes were bright and clear, but they also held a small amount of malice in them. It was also obvious to even the causal observer that he did not care for anyone or anything that was not elfin in nature.

"He is no elf!" Matarn snapped. "Why should we care in the least if what we told him was the truth? We should not trust these human hybrids!"

"Matarn keep your silence!" Vengal hissed at him viciously.

"I will not!" Matarn barked again. "Anuk is sworn to me! She will be my wife! She belongs to me! She has been a slave and defiled by those like these men and women for too long and in what should have been a simple operation she should be back here with us and not trapped with some black skinned barbarian who is neither human nor elf!"

"These men and women are not like the others!" Vengal snapped.

"They are all the same!" Matarn answered. "We are superior to them in every way. All of them are barbarians as far as I am concerned!"

Dysea turned her head slowly to look at Matarn, seeing the look of astonishment on Vengal's face at Matarn's words. "Does this arrogant young fool speak for you now Vengal?" Dysea asked her eyes boring into Matarn.

"No my Queen, he does not." Vengal answered softly.

"She is no longer Queen!" Matarn almost shouted. "My sister is Queen now! And it was she who sanctioned this operation! An operation we should have never revealed to these people! Their incompetence has most likely cost me my most treasured property!"

Vengal's dark eyes glared at Matarn, "Property? My daughter is no one's property!" He growled. "You would do well to remember that!"

"You promised your daughter's hand to me!" Matarn spoke.

"That is true ... but she is still an individual!" Vengal replied. "You speak of her as some sort of possession."

"We will not have this discussion here." Matarn growled. "And it matters not now. Because of these fools and their incompetence, she is lost to us. I am quite sure that this black skinned barbarian is having his way with her even as we speak. We..."

Matarn's eyes grew wide when he felt the prick of the razor sharp blade press against the soft flesh under his jaw. Dysea was directly in front of him now, her emerald eyes outlined in black and her lips curled back over her fangs. Her arm was extended, holding the Wood Elf Shakur ritual fighting knife in its position. The blade had moved from the sheath on her thigh to its present position in less than a single blink of an eye. The men with Matarn had not seen anyone ever move so quickly, not even an elf and they were slow in reacting, their weapons coming up almost in slow motion. They were also far too slow and froze in mid motion when they heard the snicker of bolts slamming home driving live rounds into rifle chambers, and the barrels of a dozen HK-74 rifles jamming into their bodies in various locations. Their eyes also heard the mechanical sound of the retractable turret in the side of the Raptor behind Dysea extending and locking into place, a female elf behind the controls of the 30mm chain cannon.

Dysea glared at Matarn as a predator would look upon its prey. Her extremely cold and emotionless emerald green orbs outlined in black gazed at him with the finality of deaths touch.

"You stand closer to death's door than at any other time in your pathetic life." Dysea's words were measured and filled with an icy calm that sent a shiver down Matarn's spine unlike anything he had ever felt. "You speak of a man who has more honor within him than you have common sense. The only reasons ... and I do mean the only reasons ... that you still stand there now and are not on the ground attempting to hold your innards inside your body, are due to General Vengal and the relationship we have shared in the past, and the fact that Anuk is betrothed to you." Dysea stepped closer to Matarn, keeping the blade pressed tightly to his throat, a thin trickle of blood beginning to slide down his neck, staining the blade. Dysea's black outlined emerald eyes stared at Matarn intently. "If Nauta Melme were here you would already be dead Matarn, don't doubt that for a single moment." The sounds of the PAVE LOW III approaching caused Dysea to turn her head and look to the sky for a moment. She glanced at Leland who stood on the end of the ramp his HK-74 leveled at two of Vengal's Wood Rangers, "Leland ... place Matarn and the others under house arrest. General Vengal will be kept separate from them. Insure they want for nothing, but they are not to be allowed free access to anyplace in Eden City, or any type of communication equipment. Make sure you search them thoroughly and take anything that might be used as a weapon."

Leland nodded, "As you order Dysea." He spoke.

"You have no right to do this!" Matarn gasped, even with the blade against his skin.

Dysea turned back to him. "I have every right to do this. You have used us once, and I will not allow you to do so again. Daniel Simpson is like a beloved brother to Martin Hunter young Matarn. They have fought and survived in places you and I could not possibly imagine, they have seen things that we could never hope to understand. I dare say if anything has happened to Daniel due to your deception, you will not have long left in this world." Dysea took her blade away. "Take them."

"Dysea..." Vengal began to speak but Dysea shook her head quickly.

"We will speak later." She spoke, her words carrying firmness in them that Vengal did not question.

Vengal bowed his head slightly as Leland stepped up to him, "Until later." He said.

Dysea had already dismissed him as she turned to watch Ben bring the PAVE LOW III in for a landing. She could see the medical Hopper racing across the tarmac toward them to transport Martin to the clinic. Dysea's heart was caught in her throat at the moment as she contemplated just how important Martin was to her.

The past few months spent at his side and in his bed had confirmed for her that no man would ever have her heart as he did. That first time within the cave had been a moment of passion and lust that Dysea had been denying for too long. Tarifa had triggered something within her that she had kept buried deep and Martin had been the one to release it. She had allowed him to enter her soul, and he had allowed her to see into his, bringing them closer together than she ever thought possible for two people to be. The first few weeks after being exiled from Mountain City they had made love to each other because it gave them peace. As the weeks passed by however their loving making became more intense, more spontaneous and considerably more passionate, and they would pleasure each other for hours on end. Dysea didn't believe that Tarifa loved her and Martin anymore than they loved Tarifa, but they would always share a friendship forged in the most trying of times and one that they could always turn to in times of need or council.

Dysea's love for Martin however was something else entirely. It consumed her being in a way she could not put into words. There were times when they were in bed where she would simply allow her eyes to wander over every contour of his body and face, marveling that such a specimen of a man belonged to her. And Martin made no bones that he did indeed belong to Dysea. There were times lying within his embrace when she could also feel Martin's eyes on her doing the same thing, and she felt washed with warmth and love. Her feelings for Martin however consumed her very soul in the embrace of love.

Dysea had also recognized that a new part of her had awakened, and she no longer shied away from appraising other females. There were many beautiful women within Eden, human and elf alike, but for some reason she could not explain, her thoughts always returned to one and she found herself comparing whoever she was looking at to that woman.

Anja.

Perhaps it was because she knew of the relationship that Anja and Martin had shared however briefly so many years ago. Perhaps it was due to Anja's exotic Persian red hair and the smooth contours of her face and skin. Martin had told her everything about that night and what had transpired afterwards. Dysea could also detect the tone in his voice when he spoke about Anja. His words and tone softened, as they often did when he spoke to her. Dysea could tell that Anja still held a part of his heart that he kept locked away from even her.