This story contains dubious consent, corruption, a male character, a tentacle creature, and breeding.
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Sir Malin should have already been the bridegroom to Princess Helena. He was one of the most accomplished knights of the kingdom, he was an elf of noble lineage, and his willowy frame moved with grace and poise. He had been raised alongside the princess, and they had explored the secrets of the castle and of love together. Malin had been promised her hand in marriage umpteen times, and the two had fostered a tender, quiet romance for years, praying that soon they would be brought together by the emperor.
And yet now an impossible barrier was being placed before Malin.
Emperor Grout sat on the high throne while Malin knelt. The elf could feel his face burning and pointed ears buzzing.
"The Sakanth, my Lord?" Sir Malin asked. His mouth was dry as he asked.
"Yes, Malin," the emperor answered. He was short and round, and the clothes he wore were dyed with cinnabar and other expensive pigments. His cheeks were rosy as he sipped from a silver goblet.
"The Sakanth," Sir Malin said, "is beyond the Kingdom's capabilities, your highness. You said as much a week ago."
"And you believed me then, apparently," the emperor slurred, "so believe me now. You *will* get the Sakanth's head." The king turned his gaze to a servant. "More wine."
The servant scurried off.
"I would need reinforcements, intelligence, and potions, of course," Sir Malin said, "not to mention more firepower. Even then, I would have no idea what kind of power I'd be going up against, your Excellency. I want to be smart about this."
"So you're questioning my power of mind?" The emperor asked, tense fire rolling under his voice.
"Of course not, your Highness," Sir Malin quickly said. "I just would need more resources."
"Well, you will have no such thing," the emperor said absentmindedly.
The servant returned and poured blood-red wine into Emperor Grout's goblet. He sipped, not noticing when some dribbled down his chin and stained his ruffled collar. The emperor was not only a fool; he was a drunk fool.
Malin let his blood boil silently, and he checked his tone before he spoke. "I don't question your reasoning, your Highness, but perhaps I may ask the purpose behind this strategy."
The emperor sighed and leaned back. "If you really are to wed my daughter, Sir Malin, I need you to be otherworldly in your abilities. *This* is your final opportunity to prove you are who others say you are. Now go, and let me enjoy my drink."
Malin left, and he prepared for his journey.
Only a day later, Malin was on his way, riding his horse and daydreaming about Princess Helena.
The couple's goodbye had been gentle. They had a midnight tryst assisted and expedited by handmaids and servants empathetic to the lovers' situation. Malin had used a secret tunnel behind the first emperor's portrait to leave the first guard's room--the passageways through the castle were familiar. The two met in the garden beneath a fig tree, holding one another close.
"You just cannot leave me, Malin," Helena said. Her eyes were wet. "You--well, you just *can't*. I don't care what my father says."
"You may not care, darling," Malin said, "but your father's word is law, and if we are to finally be--*when* we are to finally be together, we must have been following that law to its letter."
"But what if that law is ridiculous as this?" Helena asked.
"We are both well aware you can't say such things," Malin said, looking around sharply. "Anybody loyal to the Emperor could call you forward for treason."
"Treason it is, then!" Helena yelled. "Killing the Sakanth is a mountain nobody can climb--nobody! He takes life as much as he takes breath, and you'll be next if you leave."
"Hush, dear," Malin whispered. "I can do anything--take on any enemy--if it means coming home and returning to your embrace." He wove his fingers into hers and soothed the princess more, but his resolution and confidence was dishonest. In his stomach, Malin had held doubt.
Now, as he rode on horseback through a barely-charted mountain pass, that doubt returned. He knew where the Sakanth was, and he knew how to enter his lair--that part was easy. Nearly anyone could have come face to face with the Sakanth if they so wished. What Malin lacked, along with every other human, elf, and orc, was the ability.
A voice rippled through his chest, begging him to turn back, admit cowardice, and deny the emperor. Many knights and nobles would understand, to be sure. To not be consumed with terror in the face of the Sakanth would be sheer stupidity.
Yet Sir Malin's hands refused to waiver. His body was too cowardly to admit to being scared. He pushed his fear into the recesses of his mind, and he rode on.
The route to the Sakanth wasn't a particularly hard one, but it was traveled so infrequently that many times, Malin had to resort to following the stars and his gut to decide where the road was supposed to lead. He found himself traveling around collapsed walkways and rotten bridges, each left to the choking grasp of time. At these moments, his map was useless. It seemed that at every turn, he was delayed.
As he approached the Sakanth, the sky darkened into a steel gray, and the little amount of wilderness around Malin--the singing birds and sparse vegetation--disappeared. The only trace of life was the occasional skeleton, sometimes humanoid and sometimes not. Sir Malin tried to give what rites he could to the expired creatures before burying them under piles of stones.