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After a long time a finished personal art - the most amazing gift from Marianne for my birthday as she commissioned me a picture for myself ❤️ Thank you again for this, it was so fulfilling and satisfying to paint something for me again! ❤️ you are my true patron

I decided to paint a scene from RP I am writing with my best friend for 3 years - it is a scene from a brothel, where is Nelthir captured and Thalia is going to rescue him. It is one of my most beloved scenes from our story, as it is the first time when it is shown how important they are to each other.

There picture itself is little bit stylized as I wanted to show them with most important attributes - for example Nelthir's sickle, magic dragonfly and a yellow rose - a symbol of their love. Originally Thalia worn green dress, but I liked the red one more

Here I tried to translate that part of story to English - I tried really hard, but English isn't my native language, so sorry for mistakes ^^

***
Thalia hesitated before the door. One more step and she will make a complete idiot out of herself. Approaching footsteps helped her make up her mind, and she quietly slipped inside, silently closing the door behind her, leaning against it, ready to disappear back into the hallway in no time.
A sigh came from the bed, but it wasn't a sound of pleasure, but of relief.
"Thalia..." Nelthir muttered, "you can't imagine how happy I am to see you..."
He thought they would never meet again and parted without saying goodbye. And that the door would be opened by some paladin at best.
Then he realized the absurdity of the situation. Him, helpless and naked, with his hands twisted behind his head, handcuffed to a bed in a room styled like a forest by three women pretending to be dryads...he who had promised to do everything to protect her...and waiting to be rescued from her, a true dryad. How could he fall for such a cheap trick? The feeling of helplessness and humiliation was enormous. Quickly putting on his mask of a confident powerful necromancer, he smirked and raised his head.
"Well...this is exactly how I pictured it in my wildest dreams...did you dress up like that for me?" he said in a teasing tone as he slid his gaze down her body.
Thalia froze. Sure enough, it was Nelthir, and surprisingly alone. But after the second sentence, she wanted to throw either a knife or a bottle at him... or both. She ostentatiously ignored him and began looking at the furnishings of the room. The trees... couldn't please her eye, although they could be quite realistic for the average person, the bed in a similar style...interesting choice.
"Truly lovely," she said wryly as she finished her inspection. "Did you dress up like that for me?" she asked as nasty as she could. Not even waiting for an answer, she approached the bed and turned the bottle of strong mead into his mouth. "Drink," she commanded. "When you're sober, you're unbearable."
Nelthir jerked, trying to dodge but couldn't do much because of the handcuffs. He felt the alcohol burning in his throat and he had no choice but to swallow. A few strands ran down his chin to his neck. As Thalia pulled the bottle away, he managed to say:
"You know...those who pretending to be dryads could learn from you...they kept poking me with spears, but they weren't nearly like that..." he left unsaid and grimaced at her.
"Like what?" she asked in a dangerous tone as she realized what he said. "Did you play with someone who pretended to be dryad here?" There was none of the concern in her voice that he had found there before, just genuine surprise, and the hand with the bottle remained suspended in the air. "Our game ended sooner than it began..." he shrugged, even though he was restrained in his handcuffs. His head was beginning to spin a little. The mead intoxicated him unusually quickly. "I have to settle for poor imitations..." he smiled crookedly and lifted himself up to meet her face. "And they weren't nearly as...wild and dangerous..." he whispered with a provocative smile.
"You're a moron," she told him, "and still too sober." With those words, she gagged his mouth with the bottle again. As he gulped the mead, she continued: "Seems like they were dangerous enough for you." She took away the bottle and waited.
The elf stopped thinking clearly. He licked his lips and smiled. "That's true, they managed to handcuff me. You haven't managed to do that yet," he rested his gaze at her. "I like it when you're wearing a red dress."
Thalia held up a finger. "Roots," she said, sipping the mead. "Oh, and I like wearing them too. It was Tristan's idea so I wouldn't stick out so much when I went to check if you were enjoying yourself enough," she grinned, looking at the huge bed. "Too wide for one," she said matter-of-factly, throwing herself next to the elf.
The elf watched her in surprise: "I completely agree with you...and I would get out of your roots," he smiled and turned his face to her. "You wouldn't even stick out naked," he added, his eyes running over her curves.
"You wouldn't," she shook her head, "you wouldn't burn them while I control them, you can't imagine what it's like, burning from the inside... so you wouldn't get out," she stated before taking a moment to think about what he said next. "And the other thing you said...” She nodded to herself and put the bottle into his mouth again.
Nelthir scuffled, and as he put his mouth away from the bottle, he rolled onto his side, his arms twisted above his head. He frowned, his eyes shining and his mouth twisted into an incalculable smirk. "By the way, it's very considerate of you to come check on me to see if I'm enjoying myself enough...unfortunately, I'm going to disappoint you..." he said, feeling a mead running down his chest. His neck was already sticky.
"So… you woke me up. That wasn't very considerate of you," she shrugged. "And the whole time I was worried if it wasn't part of some of your games, and if I was going to make a complete fool of myself," she admitted and turned to him. His eyes caught her gaze again… like a web could catch a fly. "But it seems that… how was it? The light finds you in moments of greatest pleasure?" she grimaced.
"That old woman wasn't telling the truth...I didn't even get close to the moments of greatest pleasure," his head was spinning and he felt extremely content that he could just lie here with Thalia next to him. "I'm sorry, I didn't want to wake you up..." he said quietly. "I didn't know you could feel my pain…do you feel other things or just pain?" he frowned for a moment, fascinated by the thought. "For example...pleasure..."he flashed his pointy teeth at her in an amused smile.
Thalia took a sip. Her mind come up with the most stupid things and it took her quite a while to suppress them all. Almost all. She raised herself on her elbow and licked the slowly flowing drop from his jaw.
"You don't drink any better than the dwarves," she grimaced and put her head down again, "you're all covered by it. At least you don't have that beard..."
Nelthir froze in surprise and exhaled. "From now on I will only drink like dwarves..."
Thalia was grinning and her eyes were huge, black... and a bit drunkenly glistening. "And to your question... after all, you know I feel your pain," she said and frowned a little, "how else would I find you around the arena? When I felt your every hit..." she ran her hand over her body , where Nelthir was almost hacked to pieces.
The elf was still a little off and frowned.
"Yes, I know, but I didn't know you still maintained that connection…" he looked down at his chest as he remembered the arena, where thanks to Thalia was no sign of injury. "Ah...I have a drop of mead on my chest too..." he purred in a velvety voice and smiled drunkenly.
"I… it's not about some conscious connection…a pain, especially unexpected…I feel it, yours, Tristan's, Anerion's too." She was tugging at the string around her neck. "While I'm wearing your hair, I can find you, I can feel pain, and if I concentrate hard, I could also sense other strong emotions, maybe the general condition... I'm not good at estimating like this, I don't do it, that's your business," she finished clumsily and gave a little shrug. She without thinking wiped the aforementioned drop with her finger and hold it before his mouth.
Nelthir nodded and turned his attention to her hand. He closed his eyes and let her finger enter his mouth, slowly sucking the mead. Then he let her finger slip to his lips, rubbing gently against it, and opened his glowing eyes.
Thalia realized she'd been holding her breath for a moment… and exhaled.
"Nelthir..." her heart was beating faster and she had a strange feeling somewhere in her belly. She pulled her hand out of his reach but couldn't stop looking into his eyes.
"Yes?" he whispered, keeping his eyes on her. His mouth was suddenly dry and it occurred to him that there was very little air in the room.
Thalia shook her head slightly as she tried to clear her mind. She was drunk. And he was Nelthir. But his look didn't help her at all.
"We should go," she said slowly as she remembered why she had come in the first place.
"Are you sure you want to free me?" he asked hoarsely, his eyes fixed on her.
Thalia felt the familiar tingle again at his question, his tone...the expression on his face. She forced herself to breathe.
"I'm sure you don't want to stay here like this," she said, but it was as if she didn't have the strength to move until he let her go.
"That depends....whether I would stay here alone..." or with you. Everything else lost meaning for him at this moment. There was only him...and her. And the door he passes through will return him to the cold and bleak reality.
"They're expecting us both," she said quietly in a sort of near-sober reflection. "Anerion and Tristan are ready... either to go help or leave quickly..."
The elf nodded and turned his face away. He wasn't thinking clearly... he let himself be carried away by the alcohol... and by something else...
"I don't know if the handcuffs can be opened, or if I need a key," he said in low voice.
"We'll find out," Thalia leaned a little over him, finally free when he turned his gaze away from her... She still has knives, the tip could open it, she thought. She twirled Nelthir's bonds in her hands for a moment before she found a small mechanism and the pale-glowing hoops opened with a soft click. "You're free," she whispered.
"Thank you", he replied quietly.
Nelthir sat up, facing Thalia, feeling the gentle warmth radiating from her skin. He looked into her eyes for a moment and then looked down at his wrists, badly burned.
"Just a moment," she said, gently taking his hands in hers. She looked up at him and smiled softly, she couldn't help it. She pulled out a knife, cut her palm, and took one of his burnt hands, then the other. "I should have freed you immediately, forgive me," she whispered. She felt his pain enough to wake her up, but then she left him chained here… for how long anyway?
"I would have stayed in those handcuffs all night if I knew you were coming for me…" he whispered softly.
She still held his hands, gently, as if they were still burned. "I'd come," she whispered. "You are mine, Nelthir… and I take care of mine. I will always come… until… you decide otherwise," she finished quietly. Until you're gone, they both heard the unspoken. Despite all that… his words struck something deep inside her again and she suddenly didn't want to leave.
Nelthir smiled sadly at her. He's hers…but not as much as he'd like, he realized. He pushed those thoughts away and carefully freed his hands. He lifted one of them to her face and gently caressed her cheek, marveling at the softness of her skin.
"Thank you," he repeated again, silently.
Thalia involuntarily closed her eyes under his touch and gently leaned to his hand before she realized what she was doing.
"You would do the same for me," she replied just as quietly.
Nelthir nodded and reluctantly put away his hand. He got up and started picking up his things from the ground.
Thalia stared at the ceiling, giving the elf as much privacy as she could. She hadn't even realized he was naked for a while... his face and glowing eyes were all she could see... and now she was kind of surprised. Women in the forest danced on the ceiling, and one of them...
Nelthir dressed and looked at Thalia. He looked in the direction she was looking. "Didn't you happen to know the artist? That half-naked beauty looks remarkably like you," he smiled gently.
She looked at him - he was already dressed, thankfully - and then back at the ceiling. "I'm thinking about it," she admitted, "but I don't know." She shrugged and stood up from the bed. "Are we going?"
The elf nodded and together they headed for the door. He turned back to Thalia at the door. "You know…I don't think I'll ever be able to drink mead again without remembering today…" he said, the corner of his mouth lifted in a soft smile, his eyes shining a little brighter.
A wide smile spread across Thalia's face. "That's only good," she declared contentedly. She took the almost empty bottle from the bed and gently swirled the mead on the bottom.
"Do you want some more?" she asked a little provocatively, tilting her head. The earring was done... and this memory of theirs should not be forgotten.
Nelthir grimaced and approached her, "It would be a shame to leave it here." He tilted his head back and opened his mouth, his eyes glowing mischievously. "But only from you, you already have experience in this."
With a cheerful smile, Thalia tipped the bottle into the elf's mouth and poured mead into it much more gently and sensitively than before. Until the last sip remained - then she straightened the bottle again and finished it herself with an amused look fixed on the elf's eyes.
The elf smiled, licked his lips and then he touched his sticky neck.
"Fortunately you didn't even spill now…or unfortunately?" he winked at her with a provocative smile and opened the door.
Thalia hesitated with a smile, but turned again and took the paladin magic-infused handcuffs from the bed. No one needs to know what happened... and when the handcuffs disappear, they might think for a while that someone - perhaps for the needs of an empty room - just moved him. She hid them behind a strap on the her thigh where she carried the knives, and carefully took their fallen hair from the bed. Not a trace of her must remain here. She then turned back to the elf who had been watching her the whole time.
“I know a quick way out, the side entrance.”
Nelthir nodded but objected: "I'll have to go back for the sickles."
Thalia frowned. "Where did you leave them?"
"The guards took them from me at the main entrance....I could take them now..." dark purple flames flared around his hands, "but I don't want to draw attention..."
"No, you don't want that," Thalia nodded grimly. "We can go around from the outside," she suggested, "like you went inside before." She didn't like looking for a way through a building full of people when she didn't really know what had happened... The realization surprised her. Did they really not talk about it at all and drink instead?
Nelthir nodded. "But the guards won't give them to me voluntarily..and they're not allowed to see me. Do you have an idea how to get them from them?"
Of course he could kill them, grab them in his dark tentacles...but somehow he didn't think it was appropriate using his magic when she was with him…
"Are there two of them?" she asked. "They don't happen to be whole in plate, do they?"
“Two…and no, they only had light armor, daggers, swords, and one handed crossbows.”
"Um, I guess we could handle it together..." She paused. "And, Nelthir? How did you come to those glowing bracelets anyway? I mean… I can probably imagine exactly how… but – it's not common practice to have paladin bonds in a brothel… didn't they tell you something more?"
Nelthir scowled, his brain finally starting to think soberly.
"You are right, it isn't…they didn't say anything, but their job was just to handcuff me. I think the paladins somehow found out I was in the city…it won't be long before Jane and her order will find out too..." he looked worriedly at Thalia. “It's possible they already know and are heading straight here.”
Thalia shrugged nonchalantly, "It is going to take a while." Then she grimaced. "I guess she misses her horse."
She was in a contented, undaunted, and relatively carefree mood brought on by the alcohol, Nelthir's presence, and the relief that nothing serious had happened. Despite the fact that she was already able to think a little rationally, she didn't make trouble out of anything.
Nelthir grinned at her cheerfully. "You have no idea the immense satisfaction I feel every time I ride on his back."
They headed down the hall. A woman was just walking towards them and looked at them curiously. Nelthir quickly put his arm around Thalia and sighed:
"Tonight was really worth it, what you can do is just…"
The young woman walked past them and disappeared at the end of the corridor. Thalia nodded gravely.
“I can get a chained elf drunk.”
They continued on and she led them out through the corridor. The sounds from the surrounding rooms were louder and more frequent than when she followed him, but the night was also late and the number of customers increased. They were almost outside when Thalia spotted another female figure in the straight corridor. She quickly turned to the elf, pressed him against the wall with her hands on his chest and with one she went to the back of his neck and pulled his face to hers. His hair fell around her face and she knew it would look like they were kissing. She told him in his mind:
"I don't know many elves with glowing eyes… it's your most distinctive feature. No one must see an elf with glowing eyes leave."
Nelthir forgot to breathe for a moment, but then he ran his hands up her back, running passionately along it. After all, they had to appear believable.
"He must have been good enough to deserve such a reward," said a woman passing by with a smile. Thalia didn't take her sight off Nelthir's eyes… the entire corridor was dark, now even more shadowed by his hair and this close up… they'd only been once, and that was a dream. He was glowing and she allowed herself one louder gasp as he pulled her close and began stroking. After the woman's sentence, however, an answer popped into her head.
"At first he acted like an arrogant asshole and I thought I'd just leave him alone...but it turns out there's more to him," she smiled, running a hand through Nelthir's hair.
The situation was getting out of Nelthir's control. What was supposed to be just a show hit him deeper than he expected... Her closeness reminded him of their shared dream, and how much he longed for her... He was losing control and his body was betraying him. His breath hitched, he had to open his mouth slightly to be able to breathe at all. Her face, her eyes were so close...her mouth...he gently brushed his nose against hers and held her tighter with his hand. They were so close that they were exchanging breaths and the heat of her body was burning him with intense desire.
"You're not Bela," the woman said after Thalia spoke and stopped in surprise.
She could resemble her friend in appearance and clothes, but her voice betrayed her. However, she had no reason to feel threatened, rather it was suspicious that a couple who had no business there got in. The woman's voice brought Thalia into the present and the real world.
"No, I'm not," she said, rubbing against Nelthir's nose as well with her eyes closed.
Meanwhile, the hand she had on his chest until now was running down his body, enjoying the moment, especially knowing that it would be over in a moment and they were happily interrupted. She slowly stroked him all over, enjoying the gentle tension in his muscles… and all the other evidence of how much he wanted her… before she reached her hand to her thigh and pulled out a knife. She sent him a brief image of what she wanted to do - it wouldn't help if he kept holding her, and when she felt his hold loosen, she quickly twisted and slashed woman with the knife. She just quietly yelped and grabbed her bleeding shoulder. Thalia touched her blood, made the woman calm, healed her wound. "Go on doing what you wanted. Nothing happened here, no one was here," she said, looking around. But luckily there was no one else in the corridor. The woman nodded somewhat stiffly and left.
"Thalia…" Nelthir said hoarsely, his back against the wall and his head tilted back. His chest heaved rapidly and he watched her from under eyelashes. "I hope we don't meet anyone again, because if something like this happen again, you will have to handcuff me and leave me here..."
Thalia turned to him, a satisfied smile on her lips, the blood and magic bringing some of her sanity back to her. A little bit.
"The poor guy hasn't even enjoyed himself today, and I'm already next in line to trouble him... but don't worry, I won't leave you here to the strumpets," she teased him, but grabbed his arm and pulled him away from the wall. "Then let's go before someone else shows up," she suggested in a more normal tone. Along with that, somewhere in her mind, she was thanking everyone that the woman passed by... and especially that she didn't have a voice similar to Bela's. She wasn't at all sure how it would turn out...
Nelthir nodded, turning his glowing eyes away from her. It was enough for him to lose control, to forget everything around him, the danger that threatened them...he forced himself to smile:
"So after all those women had something similar with you, they also started and didn't finish," he said teasingly and they went out out the door. They circled the building and stopped short distance from a main entrance, hidden in the shadows. "What's your plan?" he whispered.
Thalia stared at him, his eyes still shining brightly…enough to make her happy, but also too much for them to get close together.
"The easiest thing would be to sing... but I'm afraid I'd have to leave you tied up," she looked at him. There was no way she was going to leave him out of it if she started spinning her spells with singing. "Then all I can think of is to just come over there and start talking to them... you come up from behind and one will be mine, one will be yours, what do you say? If they gave me both names, that would be best, we'll see," she shrugged and looked at him.
The elf nodded. "Sounds like a plan. Make them turn their backs to the door…and leave it slightly ajar."
*
"We shouldn't be drinking together," Thalia said as they made their way to the inn after they retrieved his sickles.
The elf turned to her. "I had no choice..." he grimaced at the memory of how he lay helpless and Thalia forcefully put the bottle into his mouth. "And besides…if I knew what alcohol does to you, I would have tried to get you drunk a long time ago…" he said quietly with a provocative smile.
Thalia had to laugh. It was a nice night, the elf really needed her, no one was hurt and they left in peace and good spirits. She hit him, knowing that it wouldn't hurt him anyway.
"I guess you really didn't have much of a choice," she grinned and waved the handcuffs in front of his face. "If I knew what alcohol does to you, you'd be drunk the whole time we've known each other," she snapped back at him. "You know, you're unbearable when you're sober."
The elf also had to laugh at her words. Despite the threat of persecution and not very bright prospects for the future, he felt that his head was light and his heart was carefree. Grabbing Thalia from the side around the shoulders, he pulled her close and playfully ruffled her hair, similar to how he used to do with Anerion.
Thalia snarled and wriggled away from him with a laugh. "You're not going to get away with this easily," she started ruffling his hair as well.
Nelthir began to laugh and feebly defend himself. He finally managed to grab her by the wrists and pin her against the wall of the nearest house, immobilizing her. He ran his messy hair over her face, tickling her and had a cheerful smile on his scarred face.
"You're like a little boy," Thalia managed to get out between gleeful giggles. She finally gave up trying to squirm to the side or push him away and instead threw herself against him, hiding her face in his chest.
Nelthir grabbed her, lifted her into the air, and began to spin her until his own head began to spin. She was light as a feather. He was laughing the whole time and didn't care if anyone could hear him. After a while he put her down on the ground again, holding onto her unsteadily so he wouldn't fall.
"I thought I was like an old overripe pear," he said with a grin.
Thalia whooped and hugged him tightly, having a similar balance problem like him.
"I see you may be old and tactless, but at least your memory is serving you well," she teased him with a laugh as she got back on her feet, still not letting go of him as she felt dizzy.
"Besides, you've almost convinced me in that one night that you're hard and juicy like a ripe pear after all," she teased him further and began ostentatiously nudging his chest and arm muscles with her finger.
Nelthir grinned and the whole world spun with him.
"You should have tasted me, that would have convinced you," he said teasingly, twirling a strand of her hair around his finger. Then he got a little serious. "You know…I'm glad you came to me tonight. Not just for freeing me and saving me…but being with you is more to me than anything any of those women could give me,” he said quietly, his hands gently resting on her shoulders and his eyes glowing like embers. Every moment like this with her…healed something in his wounded soul and filled the void in his heart.
Thalia stood looking at him for a moment, her heart and mind torn apart. Then she threw herself into his arms and hugged him strongly. And she didn't let go.
Nelthir buried his face in her hair, wrapping his arms around her tightly. They stood there at night, illuminated by the light of the moon, he tall, in a long cloak, and she next to him, tiny, lost in his arms. He stroked her long hair, lost in thoughts.
"I'll miss you..." he whispered.
"You don't even know how," she sighed, squeezing him with all her strength and pulling herself closer to him. It was a completely different hug than some time ago in the hallway... and yet it meant incomparably more to her. "But let's save these sad things for tomorrow," she said after a moment, realizing the direction such a conversation would inevitably take. Every reminder of his departure was painful, and every similar shared experience, every similar spoken sentence... it only made it worse. Despite that, or perhaps because of that, she didn't even move, she stood pressed to him in a strong embrace, delaying every moment that had to come.
Nelthir wanted this moment to never end, but he finally nodded weakly and very reluctantly pulled away from her.
They enjoyed the peace, closeness and sight of each other for a short while longer... before they set off again towards the inn in a kind of silent agreement. They were surprisingly close - they hadn't even realized it until now - and suddenly they saw a familiar building in front of them and the worried faces of Tristan and Anerion in the doorway.

Picture in full resolution and step by step process is on my Patreon.

Commissions are open!

Commissions info: www.deviantart.com/x-celebril-…

Description

Instagram Facebook Patreon My website
__________________________________________________________________

After a long time a finished personal art - the most amazing gift from Marianne for my birthday as she commissioned me a picture for myself ❤️ Thank you again for this, it was so fulfilling and satisfying to paint something for me again! ❤️ you are my true patron

I decided to paint a scene from RP I am writing with my best friend for 3 years - it is a scene from a brothel, where is Nelthir captured and Thalia is going to rescue him. It is one of my most beloved scenes from our story, as it is the first time when it is shown how important they are to each other.

There picture itself is little bit stylized as I wanted to show them with most important attributes - for example Nelthir's sickle, magic dragonfly and a yellow rose - a symbol of their love. Originally Thalia worn green dress, but I liked the red one more

Here I tried to translate that part of story to English - I tried really hard, but English isn't my native language, so sorry for mistakes ^^

***
Thalia hesitated before the door. One more step and she will make a complete idiot out of herself. Approaching footsteps helped her make up her mind, and she quietly slipped inside, silently closing the door behind her, leaning against it, ready to disappear back into the hallway in no time.
A sigh came from the bed, but it wasn't a sound of pleasure, but of relief.
"Thalia..." Nelthir muttered, "you can't imagine how happy I am to see you..."
He thought they would never meet again and parted without saying goodbye. And that the door would be opened by some paladin at best.
Then he realized the absurdity of the situation. Him, helpless and naked, with his hands twisted behind his head, handcuffed to a bed in a room styled like a forest by three women pretending to be dryads...he who had promised to do everything to protect her...and waiting to be rescued from her, a true dryad. How could he fall for such a cheap trick? The feeling of helplessness and humiliation was enormous. Quickly putting on his mask of a confident powerful necromancer, he smirked and raised his head.
"Well...this is exactly how I pictured it in my wildest dreams...did you dress up like that for me?" he said in a teasing tone as he slid his gaze down her body.
Thalia froze. Sure enough, it was Nelthir, and surprisingly alone. But after the second sentence, she wanted to throw either a knife or a bottle at him... or both. She ostentatiously ignored him and began looking at the furnishings of the room. The trees... couldn't please her eye, although they could be quite realistic for the average person, the bed in a similar style...interesting choice.
"Truly lovely," she said wryly as she finished her inspection. "Did you dress up like that for me?" she asked as nasty as she could. Not even waiting for an answer, she approached the bed and turned the bottle of strong mead into his mouth. "Drink," she commanded. "When you're sober, you're unbearable."
Nelthir jerked, trying to dodge but couldn't do much because of the handcuffs. He felt the alcohol burning in his throat and he had no choice but to swallow. A few strands ran down his chin to his neck. As Thalia pulled the bottle away, he managed to say:
"You know...those who pretending to be dryads could learn from you...they kept poking me with spears, but they weren't nearly like that..." he left unsaid and grimaced at her.
"Like what?" she asked in a dangerous tone as she realized what he said. "Did you play with someone who pretended to be dryad here?" There was none of the concern in her voice that he had found there before, just genuine surprise, and the hand with the bottle remained suspended in the air. "Our game ended sooner than it began..." he shrugged, even though he was restrained in his handcuffs. His head was beginning to spin a little. The mead intoxicated him unusually quickly. "I have to settle for poor imitations..." he smiled crookedly and lifted himself up to meet her face. "And they weren't nearly as...wild and dangerous..." he whispered with a provocative smile.
"You're a moron," she told him, "and still too sober." With those words, she gagged his mouth with the bottle again. As he gulped the mead, she continued: "Seems like they were dangerous enough for you." She took away the bottle and waited.
The elf stopped thinking clearly. He licked his lips and smiled. "That's true, they managed to handcuff me. You haven't managed to do that yet," he rested his gaze at her. "I like it when you're wearing a red dress."
Thalia held up a finger. "Roots," she said, sipping the mead. "Oh, and I like wearing them too. It was Tristan's idea so I wouldn't stick out so much when I went to check if you were enjoying yourself enough," she grinned, looking at the huge bed. "Too wide for one," she said matter-of-factly, throwing herself next to the elf.
The elf watched her in surprise: "I completely agree with you...and I would get out of your roots," he smiled and turned his face to her. "You wouldn't even stick out naked," he added, his eyes running over her curves.
"You wouldn't," she shook her head, "you wouldn't burn them while I control them, you can't imagine what it's like, burning from the inside... so you wouldn't get out," she stated before taking a moment to think about what he said next. "And the other thing you said...” She nodded to herself and put the bottle into his mouth again.
Nelthir scuffled, and as he put his mouth away from the bottle, he rolled onto his side, his arms twisted above his head. He frowned, his eyes shining and his mouth twisted into an incalculable smirk. "By the way, it's very considerate of you to come check on me to see if I'm enjoying myself enough...unfortunately, I'm going to disappoint you..." he said, feeling a mead running down his chest. His neck was already sticky.
"So… you woke me up. That wasn't very considerate of you," she shrugged. "And the whole time I was worried if it wasn't part of some of your games, and if I was going to make a complete fool of myself," she admitted and turned to him. His eyes caught her gaze again… like a web could catch a fly. "But it seems that… how was it? The light finds you in moments of greatest pleasure?" she grimaced.
"That old woman wasn't telling the truth...I didn't even get close to the moments of greatest pleasure," his head was spinning and he felt extremely content that he could just lie here with Thalia next to him. "I'm sorry, I didn't want to wake you up..." he said quietly. "I didn't know you could feel my pain…do you feel other things or just pain?" he frowned for a moment, fascinated by the thought. "For example...pleasure..."he flashed his pointy teeth at her in an amused smile.
Thalia took a sip. Her mind come up with the most stupid things and it took her quite a while to suppress them all. Almost all. She raised herself on her elbow and licked the slowly flowing drop from his jaw.
"You don't drink any better than the dwarves," she grimaced and put her head down again, "you're all covered by it. At least you don't have that beard..."
Nelthir froze in surprise and exhaled. "From now on I will only drink like dwarves..."
Thalia was grinning and her eyes were huge, black... and a bit drunkenly glistening. "And to your question... after all, you know I feel your pain," she said and frowned a little, "how else would I find you around the arena? When I felt your every hit..." she ran her hand over her body , where Nelthir was almost hacked to pieces.
The elf was still a little off and frowned.
"Yes, I know, but I didn't know you still maintained that connection…" he looked down at his chest as he remembered the arena, where thanks to Thalia was no sign of injury. "Ah...I have a drop of mead on my chest too..." he purred in a velvety voice and smiled drunkenly.
"I… it's not about some conscious connection…a pain, especially unexpected…I feel it, yours, Tristan's, Anerion's too." She was tugging at the string around her neck. "While I'm wearing your hair, I can find you, I can feel pain, and if I concentrate hard, I could also sense other strong emotions, maybe the general condition... I'm not good at estimating like this, I don't do it, that's your business," she finished clumsily and gave a little shrug. She without thinking wiped the aforementioned drop with her finger and hold it before his mouth.
Nelthir nodded and turned his attention to her hand. He closed his eyes and let her finger enter his mouth, slowly sucking the mead. Then he let her finger slip to his lips, rubbing gently against it, and opened his glowing eyes.
Thalia realized she'd been holding her breath for a moment… and exhaled.
"Nelthir..." her heart was beating faster and she had a strange feeling somewhere in her belly. She pulled her hand out of his reach but couldn't stop looking into his eyes.
"Yes?" he whispered, keeping his eyes on her. His mouth was suddenly dry and it occurred to him that there was very little air in the room.
Thalia shook her head slightly as she tried to clear her mind. She was drunk. And he was Nelthir. But his look didn't help her at all.
"We should go," she said slowly as she remembered why she had come in the first place.
"Are you sure you want to free me?" he asked hoarsely, his eyes fixed on her.
Thalia felt the familiar tingle again at his question, his tone...the expression on his face. She forced herself to breathe.
"I'm sure you don't want to stay here like this," she said, but it was as if she didn't have the strength to move until he let her go.
"That depends....whether I would stay here alone..." or with you. Everything else lost meaning for him at this moment. There was only him...and her. And the door he passes through will return him to the cold and bleak reality.
"They're expecting us both," she said quietly in a sort of near-sober reflection. "Anerion and Tristan are ready... either to go help or leave quickly..."
The elf nodded and turned his face away. He wasn't thinking clearly... he let himself be carried away by the alcohol... and by something else...
"I don't know if the handcuffs can be opened, or if I need a key," he said in low voice.
"We'll find out," Thalia leaned a little over him, finally free when he turned his gaze away from her... She still has knives, the tip could open it, she thought. She twirled Nelthir's bonds in her hands for a moment before she found a small mechanism and the pale-glowing hoops opened with a soft click. "You're free," she whispered.
"Thank you", he replied quietly.
Nelthir sat up, facing Thalia, feeling the gentle warmth radiating from her skin. He looked into her eyes for a moment and then looked down at his wrists, badly burned.
"Just a moment," she said, gently taking his hands in hers. She looked up at him and smiled softly, she couldn't help it. She pulled out a knife, cut her palm, and took one of his burnt hands, then the other. "I should have freed you immediately, forgive me," she whispered. She felt his pain enough to wake her up, but then she left him chained here… for how long anyway?
"I would have stayed in those handcuffs all night if I knew you were coming for me…" he whispered softly.
She still held his hands, gently, as if they were still burned. "I'd come," she whispered. "You are mine, Nelthir… and I take care of mine. I will always come… until… you decide otherwise," she finished quietly. Until you're gone, they both heard the unspoken. Despite all that… his words struck something deep inside her again and she suddenly didn't want to leave.
Nelthir smiled sadly at her. He's hers…but not as much as he'd like, he realized. He pushed those thoughts away and carefully freed his hands. He lifted one of them to her face and gently caressed her cheek, marveling at the softness of her skin.
"Thank you," he repeated again, silently.
Thalia involuntarily closed her eyes under his touch and gently leaned to his hand before she realized what she was doing.
"You would do the same for me," she replied just as quietly.
Nelthir nodded and reluctantly put away his hand. He got up and started picking up his things from the ground.
Thalia stared at the ceiling, giving the elf as much privacy as she could. She hadn't even realized he was naked for a while... his face and glowing eyes were all she could see... and now she was kind of surprised. Women in the forest danced on the ceiling, and one of them...
Nelthir dressed and looked at Thalia. He looked in the direction she was looking. "Didn't you happen to know the artist? That half-naked beauty looks remarkably like you," he smiled gently.
She looked at him - he was already dressed, thankfully - and then back at the ceiling. "I'm thinking about it," she admitted, "but I don't know." She shrugged and stood up from the bed. "Are we going?"
The elf nodded and together they headed for the door. He turned back to Thalia at the door. "You know…I don't think I'll ever be able to drink mead again without remembering today…" he said, the corner of his mouth lifted in a soft smile, his eyes shining a little brighter.
A wide smile spread across Thalia's face. "That's only good," she declared contentedly. She took the almost empty bottle from the bed and gently swirled the mead on the bottom.
"Do you want some more?" she asked a little provocatively, tilting her head. The earring was done... and this memory of theirs should not be forgotten.
Nelthir grimaced and approached her, "It would be a shame to leave it here." He tilted his head back and opened his mouth, his eyes glowing mischievously. "But only from you, you already have experience in this."
With a cheerful smile, Thalia tipped the bottle into the elf's mouth and poured mead into it much more gently and sensitively than before. Until the last sip remained - then she straightened the bottle again and finished it herself with an amused look fixed on the elf's eyes.
The elf smiled, licked his lips and then he touched his sticky neck.
"Fortunately you didn't even spill now…or unfortunately?" he winked at her with a provocative smile and opened the door.
Thalia hesitated with a smile, but turned again and took the paladin magic-infused handcuffs from the bed. No one needs to know what happened... and when the handcuffs disappear, they might think for a while that someone - perhaps for the needs of an empty room - just moved him. She hid them behind a strap on the her thigh where she carried the knives, and carefully took their fallen hair from the bed. Not a trace of her must remain here. She then turned back to the elf who had been watching her the whole time.
“I know a quick way out, the side entrance.”
Nelthir nodded but objected: "I'll have to go back for the sickles."
Thalia frowned. "Where did you leave them?"
"The guards took them from me at the main entrance....I could take them now..." dark purple flames flared around his hands, "but I don't want to draw attention..."
"No, you don't want that," Thalia nodded grimly. "We can go around from the outside," she suggested, "like you went inside before." She didn't like looking for a way through a building full of people when she didn't really know what had happened... The realization surprised her. Did they really not talk about it at all and drink instead?
Nelthir nodded. "But the guards won't give them to me voluntarily..and they're not allowed to see me. Do you have an idea how to get them from them?"
Of course he could kill them, grab them in his dark tentacles...but somehow he didn't think it was appropriate using his magic when she was with him…
"Are there two of them?" she asked. "They don't happen to be whole in plate, do they?"
“Two…and no, they only had light armor, daggers, swords, and one handed crossbows.”
"Um, I guess we could handle it together..." She paused. "And, Nelthir? How did you come to those glowing bracelets anyway? I mean… I can probably imagine exactly how… but – it's not common practice to have paladin bonds in a brothel… didn't they tell you something more?"
Nelthir scowled, his brain finally starting to think soberly.
"You are right, it isn't…they didn't say anything, but their job was just to handcuff me. I think the paladins somehow found out I was in the city…it won't be long before Jane and her order will find out too..." he looked worriedly at Thalia. “It's possible they already know and are heading straight here.”
Thalia shrugged nonchalantly, "It is going to take a while." Then she grimaced. "I guess she misses her horse."
She was in a contented, undaunted, and relatively carefree mood brought on by the alcohol, Nelthir's presence, and the relief that nothing serious had happened. Despite the fact that she was already able to think a little rationally, she didn't make trouble out of anything.
Nelthir grinned at her cheerfully. "You have no idea the immense satisfaction I feel every time I ride on his back."
They headed down the hall. A woman was just walking towards them and looked at them curiously. Nelthir quickly put his arm around Thalia and sighed:
"Tonight was really worth it, what you can do is just…"
The young woman walked past them and disappeared at the end of the corridor. Thalia nodded gravely.
“I can get a chained elf drunk.”
They continued on and she led them out through the corridor. The sounds from the surrounding rooms were louder and more frequent than when she followed him, but the night was also late and the number of customers increased. They were almost outside when Thalia spotted another female figure in the straight corridor. She quickly turned to the elf, pressed him against the wall with her hands on his chest and with one she went to the back of his neck and pulled his face to hers. His hair fell around her face and she knew it would look like they were kissing. She told him in his mind:
"I don't know many elves with glowing eyes… it's your most distinctive feature. No one must see an elf with glowing eyes leave."
Nelthir forgot to breathe for a moment, but then he ran his hands up her back, running passionately along it. After all, they had to appear believable.
"He must have been good enough to deserve such a reward," said a woman passing by with a smile. Thalia didn't take her sight off Nelthir's eyes… the entire corridor was dark, now even more shadowed by his hair and this close up… they'd only been once, and that was a dream. He was glowing and she allowed herself one louder gasp as he pulled her close and began stroking. After the woman's sentence, however, an answer popped into her head.
"At first he acted like an arrogant asshole and I thought I'd just leave him alone...but it turns out there's more to him," she smiled, running a hand through Nelthir's hair.
The situation was getting out of Nelthir's control. What was supposed to be just a show hit him deeper than he expected... Her closeness reminded him of their shared dream, and how much he longed for her... He was losing control and his body was betraying him. His breath hitched, he had to open his mouth slightly to be able to breathe at all. Her face, her eyes were so close...her mouth...he gently brushed his nose against hers and held her tighter with his hand. They were so close that they were exchanging breaths and the heat of her body was burning him with intense desire.
"You're not Bela," the woman said after Thalia spoke and stopped in surprise.
She could resemble her friend in appearance and clothes, but her voice betrayed her. However, she had no reason to feel threatened, rather it was suspicious that a couple who had no business there got in. The woman's voice brought Thalia into the present and the real world.
"No, I'm not," she said, rubbing against Nelthir's nose as well with her eyes closed.
Meanwhile, the hand she had on his chest until now was running down his body, enjoying the moment, especially knowing that it would be over in a moment and they were happily interrupted. She slowly stroked him all over, enjoying the gentle tension in his muscles… and all the other evidence of how much he wanted her… before she reached her hand to her thigh and pulled out a knife. She sent him a brief image of what she wanted to do - it wouldn't help if he kept holding her, and when she felt his hold loosen, she quickly twisted and slashed woman with the knife. She just quietly yelped and grabbed her bleeding shoulder. Thalia touched her blood, made the woman calm, healed her wound. "Go on doing what you wanted. Nothing happened here, no one was here," she said, looking around. But luckily there was no one else in the corridor. The woman nodded somewhat stiffly and left.
"Thalia…" Nelthir said hoarsely, his back against the wall and his head tilted back. His chest heaved rapidly and he watched her from under eyelashes. "I hope we don't meet anyone again, because if something like this happen again, you will have to handcuff me and leave me here..."
Thalia turned to him, a satisfied smile on her lips, the blood and magic bringing some of her sanity back to her. A little bit.
"The poor guy hasn't even enjoyed himself today, and I'm already next in line to trouble him... but don't worry, I won't leave you here to the strumpets," she teased him, but grabbed his arm and pulled him away from the wall. "Then let's go before someone else shows up," she suggested in a more normal tone. Along with that, somewhere in her mind, she was thanking everyone that the woman passed by... and especially that she didn't have a voice similar to Bela's. She wasn't at all sure how it would turn out...
Nelthir nodded, turning his glowing eyes away from her. It was enough for him to lose control, to forget everything around him, the danger that threatened them...he forced himself to smile:
"So after all those women had something similar with you, they also started and didn't finish," he said teasingly and they went out out the door. They circled the building and stopped short distance from a main entrance, hidden in the shadows. "What's your plan?" he whispered.
Thalia stared at him, his eyes still shining brightly…enough to make her happy, but also too much for them to get close together.
"The easiest thing would be to sing... but I'm afraid I'd have to leave you tied up," she looked at him. There was no way she was going to leave him out of it if she started spinning her spells with singing. "Then all I can think of is to just come over there and start talking to them... you come up from behind and one will be mine, one will be yours, what do you say? If they gave me both names, that would be best, we'll see," she shrugged and looked at him.
The elf nodded. "Sounds like a plan. Make them turn their backs to the door…and leave it slightly ajar."
*
"We shouldn't be drinking together," Thalia said as they made their way to the inn after they retrieved his sickles.
The elf turned to her. "I had no choice..." he grimaced at the memory of how he lay helpless and Thalia forcefully put the bottle into his mouth. "And besides…if I knew what alcohol does to you, I would have tried to get you drunk a long time ago…" he said quietly with a provocative smile.
Thalia had to laugh. It was a nice night, the elf really needed her, no one was hurt and they left in peace and good spirits. She hit him, knowing that it wouldn't hurt him anyway.
"I guess you really didn't have much of a choice," she grinned and waved the handcuffs in front of his face. "If I knew what alcohol does to you, you'd be drunk the whole time we've known each other," she snapped back at him. "You know, you're unbearable when you're sober."
The elf also had to laugh at her words. Despite the threat of persecution and not very bright prospects for the future, he felt that his head was light and his heart was carefree. Grabbing Thalia from the side around the shoulders, he pulled her close and playfully ruffled her hair, similar to how he used to do with Anerion.
Thalia snarled and wriggled away from him with a laugh. "You're not going to get away with this easily," she started ruffling his hair as well.
Nelthir began to laugh and feebly defend himself. He finally managed to grab her by the wrists and pin her against the wall of the nearest house, immobilizing her. He ran his messy hair over her face, tickling her and had a cheerful smile on his scarred face.
"You're like a little boy," Thalia managed to get out between gleeful giggles. She finally gave up trying to squirm to the side or push him away and instead threw herself against him, hiding her face in his chest.
Nelthir grabbed her, lifted her into the air, and began to spin her until his own head began to spin. She was light as a feather. He was laughing the whole time and didn't care if anyone could hear him. After a while he put her down on the ground again, holding onto her unsteadily so he wouldn't fall.
"I thought I was like an old overripe pear," he said with a grin.
Thalia whooped and hugged him tightly, having a similar balance problem like him.
"I see you may be old and tactless, but at least your memory is serving you well," she teased him with a laugh as she got back on her feet, still not letting go of him as she felt dizzy.
"Besides, you've almost convinced me in that one night that you're hard and juicy like a ripe pear after all," she teased him further and began ostentatiously nudging his chest and arm muscles with her finger.
Nelthir grinned and the whole world spun with him.
"You should have tasted me, that would have convinced you," he said teasingly, twirling a strand of her hair around his finger. Then he got a little serious. "You know…I'm glad you came to me tonight. Not just for freeing me and saving me…but being with you is more to me than anything any of those women could give me,” he said quietly, his hands gently resting on her shoulders and his eyes glowing like embers. Every moment like this with her…healed something in his wounded soul and filled the void in his heart.
Thalia stood looking at him for a moment, her heart and mind torn apart. Then she threw herself into his arms and hugged him strongly. And she didn't let go.
Nelthir buried his face in her hair, wrapping his arms around her tightly. They stood there at night, illuminated by the light of the moon, he tall, in a long cloak, and she next to him, tiny, lost in his arms. He stroked her long hair, lost in thoughts.
"I'll miss you..." he whispered.
"You don't even know how," she sighed, squeezing him with all her strength and pulling herself closer to him. It was a completely different hug than some time ago in the hallway... and yet it meant incomparably more to her. "But let's save these sad things for tomorrow," she said after a moment, realizing the direction such a conversation would inevitably take. Every reminder of his departure was painful, and every similar shared experience, every similar spoken sentence... it only made it worse. Despite that, or perhaps because of that, she didn't even move, she stood pressed to him in a strong embrace, delaying every moment that had to come.
Nelthir wanted this moment to never end, but he finally nodded weakly and very reluctantly pulled away from her.
They enjoyed the peace, closeness and sight of each other for a short while longer... before they set off again towards the inn in a kind of silent agreement. They were surprisingly close - they hadn't even realized it until now - and suddenly they saw a familiar building in front of them and the worried faces of Tristan and Anerion in the doorway.

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