Mirror (part 21 of 28)
Back to Part 20Naga the White Serpent, powerful sorceress and
adventurer, stalked down the hallway, her leather
bikini and bottoms barely holding her impressive
assets in check. Her long black hair flowed over her
cape, her shoulder armor gleaming with polish. She
made quite a striking figure, only weakened by the
annoyed expression on her face.
"All right," Naga said quietly as she stopped near a
window, "there's the ledge I saw from the other side
of the castle." Climbing up into the opening she
murmured, "Let's see if I can..."
ZZAAPP!
"Owww," Naga staggered backward, clawing at the
leather collar around her neck, tears gleaming at the
corner of her eyes. It took a few moments for the pain
to fade, blinking away her tears as she writhed on the
floor.
'Damn it, I can't seem to find any weaknesses in the
spell holding me inside rthe castle,' Naga thought as
she got up, dusting herself off.
Naga's muscles ached but she made herself start to
move, fighting through the pain. With a shake of her
head Naga staled off, determined to try another
section of the castle and see if she could get out
there.
In another part of the castle the sorceress Hectate
paused, her eyes unfocusing a moment as she sensed
something magical. "M'lady?" Gwenyth asked
respectfully, the pink haired girl waiting nearby for
any of her mistress's requests.
"Naga's still working her way around the castle,"
Hectate noted, the lovely blonde smiling in
admiration, "testing the limits of her confinement
spell."
"Should I order one of the guards to stop her?"
Gwenyth asked, frowning.
"I gave her my word," Hectate reminded her firmly,
"that Naga could have the freedom of the castle."
"But mistress, she..." Gwenyth started.
"Does my word mean so little to you?" Hectate
demanded, eyes flashing with sudden anger as she leapt
up from her chair. She slapped Gwenyth hard, her hand
leaving a flaming red mark on the girl's cheek.
"I'm sorry," Gwenyth staggered back, her cheek
throbbing.
"I have compromised my honor to save myself from my
fate," Hectate said coldly as she looked down at
Gwenyth, "but I will not violate my word. Is that
understood?"
"Yes mistress," Gwenyth whimpered, holding her hand to
her cheek.
"Good," Hectate stalked back to her seat, her robes
flowing around her beautiful form. "Now," she said in
a much more casual tone, "where are Inverse and the
other Naga?"
"Taking the main road towards Cimeria," Gwenyth
reported seriously, still watching her mistress
warily. "They're using the inn's and road houses and
our agents are having little trouble in tracking
them," she explained.
Hectate frowned slightly, picking up her goblet of
wine and drinking a bit. "Why are they being so
obvious?" she wondered.
"Over confidence?" Gwenyth offered. Quietly she added,
"They have so far defeated the bounty hunters we set
after them."
"True," Hectate conceded. She swirled the red fluid
around in her glass as she thought, "Are any of the
giants available?"
Gwenyth's eyes widened, but she did didn't argue or
debate. "Most of them still remain in their castle
Utgard in Jotunheir, m'lady," she reported. A pause,
"But the offering of a powerful enchantment might call
one to your aide."
"As long as it isn't a disguise spell," Hectate said
after considering the issue a moment. "Their
assaulting mortal women is a sin I have no wish to
assist," she added firmly.
Gwenuth nodded, "I'll send them a message requesting
their help, as well as including that condition."
"Good," Hectate said, "you may go."
"Ma'am," Gwenyth nodded.
As Gwenyth left Hectate added a bit more gently,
"You'd best put some ice on that cheek, too, to
prevent swelling."
"I'll do that," Gwenyth said with a sigh.
"Ma'am?" the tall, brown haired female guard blinked
as Gwenyth appeared, seeing the flaming red mark on
the woman's cheek. She fell into step beside her, as
usual since Naga had been set free to wander the
castle at will.
"Don't ask, Jira," Gwenyth cut her off. Seriously she
said, "I need a messenger to go to Jotunheir, one that
hopefully won't start a war with the wrong words."
"Strife or Dan," Jira said after a moment's pause,
"they're both reliable, good men, and if the giants
eat them their expendable."
"Good," Gwenyth said, "send them."
"What, both?" Jira asked.
"One can keep the other out of trouble," Gwenyth
visibly winced as her cheek throbbed. "I need some ice
too."
"Come on," Jira said gently as she lead the way.
After first waving down another guard and passing on
the instructions Jira took them into the storage
rooms, massive chambers holding meat and other goods
to feed the castle's many residents. Carefully
scooping up some of the mountain ice that was shipped
in daily Jira pressed it gently to Gwenyth's cheek.
"Oh that's nice," Gwenyth sighed while shivering a bit
with the chill air of the cold room. Still, it was
better than enduring her throbbing cheek.
"I'm glad," Jira murmured, the taller fighter sliding
a arm around Gwenyth's shoulders.
Unconsciously Gwenyth leaned into Jira's warmth,
"Thank you."
Jira gulped, glad that Gwenyth couldn't see the desire
plainly written on her face. "You're welcome," she
answered softly.
After a moment Gwenyth sighed, pushing away from Jira.
Regaining her composure she said, "We'd best get back
to work."
"Of course," Jira said as she held open the door to
the room.
Briskly Gwenyth seemed to abandon any sign of
vulnerability as she said, "While the mistress has
ordered Naga given the freedom of the castle, that
doesn't mean we can't keep an eye on her."
"Oh?" Jira asked. Both women had been concerned by
Naga's new freedom, but neither had been given a
choice about it. 'Maybe it was during those talks I
first noticed her?' Jira thought as she looked at
Gwenyth.
"Have a guard shadow her, but don't be obvious,"
Gwenyth ordered.
"Of course," Jira bowed, her eyes twinkling.
Gwenyth punched her shoulder, "Don't mock me, please."
'Never,' Jira thought, a smile teasing her lips.
Onwards to Part 22
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