Author's Note: You're wonderful, really, you are. Such comments and interested questions I've received - a writer can't get much more of a compliment than that. It lets one know that you are under their spell, so to speak. All will be revealed, never fear. But for the time being, you'll just have to ponder. :)
A special thanks to Dixiedevil67 - she was kind enough to illustrate a scene from this story. And she also put up with my nit-picking, heh.
It turned out beautifully and I'd love if you'd take a moment to go check it out: It's in the Author's Hangout/Visual Arts sub-forum on Literotica's Bulletin Board.
I've tried several times to include the link - and for some reason it just won't work, which means this chapter was rejected several times. :/
She's very talented and I may have to bother her again in the near future. ;) Thank you for being such a lovely audience. Now lets get to it, shall we?
P.S. Sorry about the wait - I kept having to fix link issues. -.-
Ginnnnnnnna!
_____________________________
Kirik watched the woman in front of him. He observed the lines of her body and how her hips swayed back and forth enticingly as she moved.
Anatomically speaking, they were quite similar to the women of his kind, just a bit smaller scale. It really would have been a shame to cut her to pieces and, privately, he was rather relieved that it hadn't come to that. What a waste it would have been of such pretty skin.
She was also showing remarkable resilience despite the situation. It probably wasn't an easy transition from freedom to prisoner in so short a time; not that he would know. He began to ponder just how strong she was and, in turn, just how strong her race was as a whole.
From what he'd seen thus far; the human males were pathetically inept. Two had fallen now, with minor effort on their parts. His juvenile brother had brought down an adult who'd been one of their supposed authority figures.
He glanced over at Kael now, who was peering up at the tree tops as they followed the village wall, and fetched a sigh. The youngster was still too easily distracted; he should be keeping a watchful eye on his charge. It wasn't wise to let your guard down around an unwilling captive. And the younger sister was anything but willing.
"Kael," he began.
Kael blinked and turned to look at his brother, eyebrows raised in silent query. Kirik pointed two fingers towards his eyes and then to Andi. Kael's mouth thinned but he nodded curtly and turned to keep a better watch on the blonde girl in front of him.
"We're almost around now and it's still rather early," Anya began without turning. "And it's the middle of the week and snowing, the clearing by the Falls ought to be deserted. We'll most likely be able to cut onto the mountain trail without anyone spotting us."
"How long until we arrive at this wizard's dwelling?" Kirik asked, mulling over what she'd just said.
"Usually it'd take a day or so by horse and cart, but we've neither. I imagine it'll be about three to four days walk - not counting any stops we must make."
Anya glanced over her shoulder and found that Kirik was watching her intently. Her skin prickled and she felt a rush of warmth heat her cheeks once more.
"Your face turns red whenever I study you, woman. Why?"
"I-I guess it embarrasses me. I'm not used to being stared at," she replied, facing forward again.
"Shame makes you turn red, does it? Anger must as well, then. Your sister was angry and grew red when Kael doused her earlier. Do humans turn any other colors?"
Anya thought about it for a moment, "we turn white when frightened. Some people can turn rather yellowish if they are anemic - infants especially - or if their liver begins to decay. And we'll brown when we spend too much time in the sun."
Andi was listening and had to bite her tongue when Kirik called attention to her humiliating ordeal again. Best to keep quiet, she'd seen their savagery first hand and had no wish to be on the receiving end of it. But it wasn't easy.
"What about the spots on her face? What are those?" Kirik asked, pointing at Andi.
Anya glanced at her sister and almost chuckled despite herself. Andi touched her cheek self-consciously and risked a look back. Kirik seemed genuinely curious. Anya nodded at her, encouraging her to respond.
"They're just freckles," she mumbled reluctantly.
"What are they for?" He continued.
"Decoration," she said flatly.
Kirik was quiet for a moment and then said something to Kael. The youngster looked incredulous and then replied, sounding amused. "He told me to tell you that those are the ugliest decorations he's ever seen," Kirik told her.
Andi whirled around, mouth open to defend herself, "yeah? Well you tell him that he's just ugly in general."
Anya covered her eyes with a hand but Kirik merely shrugged and began to speak to Kael. The young male stared thoughtfully at Andi for a moment, and began to reply again; this time staring directly at her.
Kirik grinned as he translated, "he said that quite a few females back home would tend to disagree with you."
Andi glowered at Kael and turned again, unwilling to look at his wretched face any longer. She heard him speaking to Kirik again.
"He wants me to ask you if you are spotted anywhere else on your body."
"That's NONE of his business!" Andi cried, pulling her coat a bit more tightly around herself.
Kael snickered when Kirik translated her words. That had bothered her. He thought about this as he examined her. She was less muscular than the females at home and her bone structure was much more delicate. Powerless, really; she would be useless in a fight. She was also colored so strangely; her skin didn't even have a hint of violet in it. And then there were those blemishes on her cheeks; those were considered adornments?
