Peraranië 01: The Stone Princess

Author's Note: This started as a writing exercise to imagine what Selene and Arthur's first D&D session would be like, and it grew into its own thing, more or less. It evolved into a Sword and Sorcery-style short story that I quite enjoyed writing. I hope you enjoy reading it! Let me know if you want to see more stories in this world, or if you'd prefer something more modern, etc.

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Tam shifted aside the foliage of the ferns as he crept through the jungles of Peraranië. The two-handed sword across his back remained in its sheath under his pack. The leather straps crossed his chest like a sash. Otherwise, his upper half was bare, glistening with sweat from the heat. The short sword in his hand pushed aside the tropical plants rather than cut through them. His sandals tied to his calves like roots, grounding tree-trunk-like legs. The knee-length loincloth he wore was made of stiffened hide, covering his groin and butt and wrapping over his hips. It offered little protection but was tolerable in the jungle heat. 

He’d been traveling for months, ever Southward from the frozen North. The sun had risen and set countless times since his journey began, and his supplies were low. If he didn’t reach one of the Elven cities soon, he was likely going to die somewhere in the wilderness of their empire without anyone knowing he’d arrived at all. 

Dusk set over the jungle in creeping shadows that lengthened from the trees until they formed a solid blanket beneath the canopy. Fireflies danced in between the trees, hardly illuminating anything but themselves. The large trees reached for the ground from the sky with roots like fingers grasping the soil at their tips. The thick roots rose high enough that Tam could walk under them if he stooped, which he did as the twisting paths he walked wound themselves between the trees. 

The murmur of voices like river water trickling over rocks brought his eyes to a group of elves. Unlike him, they were naked from head to toe, dressed only in tattoos that mimicked different elven runic symbols for plants and animals. Tam stopped when he saw them coming along his path, and they stopped when they saw him. 

“Good evening!” Tam said, unsure of what else he might say. 

The elves looked between each other, and a male stepped forward. He was the only male among them, his skin empty of tattoos of any kind. His clear, hairless body was smooth and glistened in twinkling beads as he stepped into a shaft of sunlight that broke through the canopy. He and the women behind him bore no weapons. Their hands were empty, but Tam knew that many elves had magic. They were no more defenseless than a great jungle cat. 

The man’s eyes glanced down at Tam’s sword, and Tam realized he was still holding it, slightly pointed toward them but also slightly to the side in an open-armed gesture, having just pushed some brush aside. He sheathed it and stood straight. 

The elves were shorter than him but not of uniform height among themselves. One of the women was the tallest, and she looked over the heads of the others to meet his eyes. 

<“He’s from the North. Far North.”> She said, speaking in the Elvish tongue, which she assumed Tam did not know. 

<“What does he want, my Lord?”> Another elf asked. 

<“We should kill him.”> Said another. <“He’s clearly a soldier. There are probably others nearby. Is this an invasion? This close to the capital?”> 

The hysterics passed through them like a plague, and Tam glanced between their excited chatter as if he didn’t know what they were saying.

“Who are you?” The man asked, speaking the human tongue. 

Tam raised his eyebrows. He hadn’t expected to find someone who spoke his language this deep into the elven jungle, among elves who seemed closer to nature than the ones he’d met before. 

“My name is Tam.” Tam answered. “I’m an emissary from the North, come to speak to the empress of these lands. Who are you?” 

The man translated for the others, whose murmuring only increased. 

“I am Sullisk, a prince of the Saortra. These are my wives.” He gestured behind him. “Syltris, Yvana, and Corratha.” 

Each bowed their head at their name being spoken, and I glanced between them. Three wives to a man? He must either be very wealthy, very powerful, very talented, and/or very foolish. Women were scarcer than men in Tam’s homeland, so his people often had the inverse, where one woman shared several husbands. He’d never considered the opposite a possibility before. 

“You look confused.” The elven man said, tilting his head at Tam. “Did I say something wrong?” 

“No, I just… didn’t know the elves practiced polygamy.” Tam admitted. 

“Ah.” The man nodded. “Not all elves do. There are very few practices or beliefs that are uniform and agreed upon by all elves. Yet, this is the way of my tribe and has been for centuries. The elves of the empire practice other ways.” 

“Are you not of the empire, then? Have I wandered so far from my goal?” Tam asked, surprised. 

The elven man shook his head again. “We are in the empire, technically. The empire is made of cities. The lands between belong to the elves that live in them. This is the jungle of the Saortra, my people, but you are close to Samudara, the home of the empress. Outside the walls of Samudara, we are free to practice our traditions and live our lives.” 

“Ah.” Tam said. “Is there a village or something nearby?” 

“Not terribly close, no.” The prince shook his head. “You have stumbled across us while on our pilgrimage to the princess in the hopes of freeing her.” 

Tam looked confused. 

“You have not heard the story?” The man asked. 

Tam shook his head. 

“A day’s march behind us is the statue of Maia, ancient princess of the Saortra.” The man said. “There is a story we are told as children of the princess who spurned the advances of a demon. In his wrath, the great demon turned her to stone, and now she waits there for her one true love to free her, the only man she will ever marry. It is considered a romantic tale of my people, and so on our three-hundredth birthday, we make a pilgrimage to kiss the statue in the hopes it will wake her.”

Tam had many questions concerning the story and its historicity, but the one that sprang from his lips before he could stop it was: “Why your three-hundredth birthday?” 

“That is how old she was when she was turned to stone.” The man said. “As it is told.” 

Tam nodded. “Well… happy birthday?” 

The man smiled. “Thank you.” He said. “Do you have what you need? Provisions for food and your journey? You know where you are going to see the city?” 

Tam considered his surroundings. “I know if I continue this way, I will find the river, and after that, I may follow it to the city.” 

The man nodded. “Yes, but be careful of that route. The safer path is through the trees. Great beasts and demons lurk by the river, and you have more meat on you than most.” 

Tam laughed at that, looking down at his arms and chest that were thicker than Prince Sullisk’s. The willowy limbs of the prince didn’t appear particularly strong, so Tam assumed his magic to be potent. Still, there was no threat between them. They were simply travelers crossing paths.

“As for provisions… I’d only ask one thing.” Tam said, taking on a more formal tone. “How do you keep the bugs from needling you when you go naked?” 

Sullisk laughed and translated the question for the puzzled women behind him, who also laughed. 

Tam didn’t know why they were laughing. 

“We ask them not to, in their language.” Prince Sullisk answered. “Of course, they do not speak as we do. They communicate by signals in the air. Scents, you might call them.” One of the women, Corratha, left the group and walked to the closest tree. She broke a shingle of bark from its trunk and carried it to Tam, presenting it to him as a gift. 

“Rub the inside of the bark against your skin. To us, it smells sweet. To bugs, it is a polite request to find their meal elsewhere.” Sullisk explained. 

For a moment, Tam wondered if the prince was having some kind of joke at his expense, but the prince didn’t seem the type or have a reason to lie. Their interaction thus far had been formal but pleasant, and there was an almost grandfatherly maturity about the man, who appeared no more than thirty. Tam accepted the piece of bark with a bow of silent gratitude to Corratha, who nodded and rejoined the others. 

“Thank you.” Tam said, addressing Sullisk once more. “For both the advice and the bark.” 

Tam made a note of the tree, committing its shape, leaves, and roots to memory so he could find more of it in the future. He’d seen crowds of them in the jungle he’d passed through thus far. 

“Safe journeys, Tam of the North.” Prince Sullisk bowed, ending their meeting with a formal farewell. 

“Safe journeys to you as well, Prince Sullisk.” Tam bowed and stood aside to let them pass. His body stirred slightly as the naked women passed him, but there was nothing he could do about that until he camped. It’d been too long since he’d seen anyone else, much less beautiful naked women. 

Camping that night brought him some peace, and the following day’s march was lighter, with the bugs leaving him alone. Their constant buzzing dulled to ambient fluttering, and they respected his request for a truce between them. Not one of them landed on any part of the skin he’d rubbed the soft side of the bark on, and he repeated the ritual in the morning before he set out with a fresh piece. 

Early in the evening, Tam’s journey brought him close to the river, by his estimation. He wondered if he would see the statue that Sullisk mentioned, but he saw no stonework or statue. Instead, he found long-abandoned ruins of wood and vine. 

High above, Tam spotted the remains of civilization clinging to the trees like the skeleton of a long-dead beast. Wooden platforms, once crafted with elven elegance, hung broken and overgrown with vines snaking like veins through the crumbling structures. 

The platforms had once been connected by a network of bridges. Most bridges had long since fallen or hung now in tatters. Their ropes were rotted and frayed by time. Vines clung to their supports, replacing them, while moss and lichen patched their broken boards. 

The jungle consumed nearly everything as Tam examined the ruins around him. Those massive vines wrapped the trunks of the ancient trees, cracking the delicate platforms and splintering them into jagged edges. The carpeting moss turned the surfaces soft and slippery. Dark green ivy crawled across the ruins and the fallen supports, obscuring the intricate carvings and patterns the elves once etched into their architecture. 

A broken staircase ahead of him began at the top of the head-high roots and spiraled halfway up a tree trunk before vanishing into nothingness. Time and growth twisted its railings with lichen. Higher still, the ruins of the tree huts clung desperately to the branching canopy; their roofs collapsed, and their walls leaned precariously against the trunks they surrounded. 

He caught sight of an archway near the base of one tree. Its elven carvings of jungle serpents and runes were faintly visible beneath the grime and moss. He did not understand their meaning, but they seemed to shimmer green in the faint light of dusk, an echo of magic not yet dead. 

The jungle pulsed with sound - the chirp of insects, the cry of unseen birds, the rustle of branches in the wind. Tam felt a heavy presence pressing on him as he examined the ruins. The ghosts of this settlement seemed to watch him from the growing shadows. The shadows beneath the ruins deepened unnaturally beneath the overhanging platforms. 

A chill crept along his spine despite the jungle’s oppressive heat. The air smelled damp and earthy, but there was something else there, too, something faint, like the ghostly sweetness of flowers long since faded to dust. 

His grip tightened on the hilt of his shortsword. Whatever had built this place was long dead, but the jungle that claimed it was alive and hungry. 

In the growing darkness, he had a difficult time seeing far ahead, but he slowed when he saw the figure of a tall, lithe woman ahead. Her back was turned toward him, and her body was bare of any stitch of clothing. She stood not far from the river he could hear beyond her. Perhaps she was here for a bath? 

No, not a woman. A statue of a woman. The statue of Maia, from Sullisk’s story. Her skin was gray and stony, but her form was perfectly sculpted to reveal the nude beauty of a lithe elf. The detail carved into the stone amazed Tam. Her long, pointed ears swept behind her, and her hair fell unbraided behind her to the base of her spine. She stood in mid-step as if walking toward the water. Her arms hung in a natural swing at her sides. She bore no weapons or tools of any kind. Her left hand reached behind her as if holding someone’s hand or reaching for them, but no second statue joined her. 

Tam wondered what sculptor might make such an exquisite piece without proper fanfare. No pedestal stood beneath her, and her place in the middle of the path seemed inconvenient. The placement was also suspect. She was too far from the village arch but stood as a lone guardian of the ruins behind him. Perhaps she’d been important once or beloved. A goddess among the elves turned into a princess over the retelling of her tale. 

Maybe she was carved by one of the ruin’s ghosts. There might be some other civilization nearby or a hermit with too much time and fond memories of the female form. He raised his head and looked around him, searching for any signs of footprints or life. A hermit by a river might seek shelter in the trees or build a home nearby, but as far as he could see, there was nothing. No smoke, no signs of life beyond the jungle’s flora and the ghostly ruins behind him. The prince and his kind had left no sign of their being here if they’d found the statue at all. 

“Hello?!” He called, cupping his hand to his face and shouting into the darkness. He tried again in Elvish, just in case, but he heard no vocal response. Only the rustling of leaves. His thick, black hair stirred in the wind. He gripped the short sword in his hand, turning his eyes to the statue just to verify it hadn’t moved. He’d seen some spooky things in his lifetime, and the world was full of strange magic. The pressing eyes of ghosts made him wary that he was being watched. 

Perhaps shouting hadn’t been wise. 

He took up a fighting stance out of habit, turning the blade over in his hand into a defensive pose so the edge stabbed away from his arm at an angle, ready to block or bite. The noises of the jungle stilled around him as if bracing for eruption. The only sound was the river water he couldn’t see as the darkness grew thicker around him. He heard the rhythmic rustling of water over stones, the dull roar. Then, he heard it shift and knew why the birds and even bugs had silenced themselves. 

The great creature crawled slowly from the riverbank onto the path, half-crawling, half-slithering with its mighty tail behind it. Was this the demon Prince Sullisk mentioned in his tale? The pouch of its throat swelled, and its great jaws opened in a bellow as if trying to frighten Tam into motion. Its yellow eyes blinked with a slimy translucent third eyelid. Their vertical pupils widened to pierce the dimming light under the trees, and Tam stood as still as the statue beside him. He felt magic in the air as it reached for him, but something in the darkness held it at bay. The rune-carved wooden bear charm on his necklace felt heavy on its string. 

The beast was nine feet long from its snake-like jaws to the tip of its spiked armored tail. Four legs sprawled from its body and bent in two places like a spider’s, keeping it low to the ground. It wore moss-green scales on its back, head, limbs, and tail. Its soft underbelly and throat bloated like a frog’s as it bellowed again, wind rushing from it and sweeping across the moss-laden path. The stench of half-digested fish and river water stung Tam’s eyes as the wind swept over him. He nearly gagged. 

The monster turned its head toward the sound, then shifted, letting its eye focus in Tam’s direction.

Tam exhaled slowly, trying to reduce the sound of his breath as much as possible. The creature’s eyes clearly didn’t work as well in the darkness, but as its nostrils flared and its tongue snaked forward, he realized that its eyes weren’t the only means of detecting him in the shadows. It stepped forward as he spun his blade and threw the short sword at its scaly forehead. 

The monstrous beast snapped its jaws at the twirling twelve-inch blade as if it were a bird attempting to escape. It clamped down on it with a fierce cry of pain as the blade punctured the roof of its mouth, and thick blood began to drip from its chalk-colored fangs. 

Its yellow eyes glowed with magic once more, and Tam felt compelled to look at it. He knew enough about magic to know that any kind of magic that made him want to do something was worth resisting. He pushed against the creature’s will with his own and found he could break through it as he drew the two-handed sword from his back. 

The creature rushed forward, moving faster than he would have thought possible with its great bulk. The creature’s sprawled legs proved strong enough to move it quickly in short sprints. He brought his blade across him in a sweeping arc, and the beast swung to the side to avoid the blow. 

The creature’s thick tail snapped in his direction, and Tam jumped over it. He landed on his feet and brought the sword down with him in an arc from above, smashing its sharp blade down on the head of the creature like a hammer. If the beast’s hide had been less scaly and more flesh, it would have ended the fight there, but a small scratch was the only sign of the heavy blow. 

The creature shook its head and drew back, shifting slightly away from him for another strike. It snapped its jaws at his leg, but he pushed the creature’s head aside with his blade as he stepped aside, putting the beast between himself and the statue. He worried the creature would smash it from ignorance for the days of work that must have gone into it, but his survival outweighed the artwork’s in his mind. If the sculptor wanted to disagree, they should have been there to prevent it. Or, if the story behind it was true, Tam did not want the next three-hundred-year-old prince to find rubble instead of their expected princess. 

Tam noticed the creature rearing back for another snap and lunged with his sword toward the creature’s jaws. It swung itself around, wielding its great tail like a tree trunk sweeping toward him across the ground. It bounced off a nearby stone and collided with Tam’s side. He wrapped his arm over it, trying to hold on to it, but the scales scratched his side with the impact, the spiky edges breaking the skin over his ribs. 

Tam brought his sword down again, chopping, hacking, and grunting with the effort as he wounded the beast. It turned again, hissing at him as it snapped its jaws. One bite would tear a chunk of flesh too dear to lose. Its front fangs were as long as the short sword still stuck through the roof of its mouth. 

The creature shook its head, rearing back and turning its eye on Tam once more. Tam thrust forward, not giving its magic a chance to reach out to him. He stabbed the point of his sword through the fist-sized eye and tore the sword upward, splattering its gore and blood across the naked breasts of the statue. 

It roared its pain to the sky, bellowing its wind at Tam in such a fierce gust that it nearly knocked him over. He braced himself, finding his footing in the earth as it gave way under him. He pushed his thick arms against the onslaught as it weakened and thrust his sword forward, piercing into the throat of the beast. He yelled and surged forward, lifting the beast to its back feet, then slicing down and flicking his sword to the side. 

Its innards spilled from its gullet in a flood, and Tam stepped back to avoid the spillage as it soaked into the earth. 

The great beast fell forward, its limbs spreading as its dying breath left its lungs directly rather than through its throat. The squish of gore rang in Tam’s ears as another breath sounded, a cry of surprise that drew his attention. 

Pale skin broke through the blood-soaked gray stone on the elven woman’s breasts. The stone cracked, but not through. Fissures splintered its surface like a broken shell on a boiled egg. The pale flesh beneath revealed itself as the flaking stone fell away, returning to the earth in thin fragments that crumbled into dust plumes as they struck. 

Tam stared at the statue wide-eyed as it became an elven woman, breathing in a breathy gasp as she stared at him. Her naked body was identical to the details of the stone, lithe and athletic, her stomach toned, her limbs strong, and her half-moon hips shifted as she shakily adjusted her stance to stand straight. Her perky and full breasts shook as she hurriedly brushed the rest of the stone from her as if it were a spider web clinging to her hair. Her hands revealed rose-pink nipples as they fell. 

She said something in Elvish that he didn’t catch, but he heard the curse words that followed it as she brushed the last of the stone from her. She stamped her feet and kicked the slain beast between them with her foot, stamping on it, then screaming as the blade piercing the top of its mouth pricked her foot. She fell backward, falling onto her ass as she clutched her wound and cried in shock more than pain. 

Tam rallied, flicking his blade free of blood and viscera before sheathing it. He pulled a strap of cloth from his belt and took her foot in his hand. She stared at him in silent surprise but didn’t protest. He wrapped her wound tightly and poured the last of his healing poultice on it and the bandage. The wound closed slowly as the magic drained from the medicine into her flesh, sewing itself closed as she stared at him, her arms holding herself up on her back. 

“You… freed me.” She said, speaking the Elvish tongue. 

“Yes.” Tam answered, his elvish highly accented. 

“Thank you.” She said. 

“You’re welcome.” Tam said. “To be honest, I didn’t believe the story. I thought you were a statue from a master craftsman with too much interest in beautiful women.” 

She scoffed, accepting his words as a compliment. Her eyes roamed over him, lingering on his arms and the scar on his left cheek. “No, I was caught by that demon-beast. Her magic turned me to stone for trespassing when she settled here.” 

“How long ago?” He asked. 

“Fifteen hundred, thirty years, three months, and seventeen days.” She said. “I counted every sunrise.” 

“You were awake that whole time?” Tam asked. 

She nodded, and Tam shivered. He couldn’t imagine a worse fate than that unless he hadn’t happened by and found the means of her freedom. 

“Many have come to visit me since then. Princes who would kiss my lips in the hopes of freeing me. You were the only one brave enough to face the monster. The others fled at the slightest rustle or roar.” Her words sounded bitter in the recounting. “I owe you my life and freedom. Thank you.” She shifted, moving to her knees and bowing, pressing her forehead to the ground between her hands. 

“I don’t…” Tam stuttered, uncertain how to respond. 

She lifted her eyes, looking up at him questioningly when he didn’t respond the way she expected. “You’re a northman.” She said, her eyes lingering on his face. His features were handsome among human standards, but he did not have the graceful beauty of the elves. He was muscular, with hard lines between his thick muscles. 

“Yes.” Tam said, answering her in his brief manner once more. 

“You’re not from anywhere near here.” She lowered her eyes along the lines of his muscular torso, following the cleft in his abs to the waist of his leather loincloth and its strip of tapered hide covering his front. Her eyes lingered there. 

“No.” He said.  

“You’ve traveled a long way…” She said. 

“Yes.” Tam said again. “Was this your village?” 

She turned her eyes to the ghostly remains of the settlement and nodded. “My people were colonists.” She said. “Our tribe settled here after the wars but were nomads at heart. We’re wild elves. They moved on. My sister was with me when I was turned to stone, but the beast…” She could no more bring herself to say it than Tam could stop his imagination from finishing the sentence. “They couldn’t enter the town; the wards on the gates prevented them, but we ventured outside the safety to fish in the river.” 

“No other family?” He asked. 

She shook her head. “If they’re still living, I’ve no idea where.” She said. “The demon-beast made the river inhospitable, so my people moved on. The nearest city is a three-day walk that way.” She pointed downriver. 

“That’s pretty close.” Tam said, looking in the direction she pointed. “Relatively speaking, I mean.” 

She laughed, gesturing to her foot. “Finally free, and all I want to do is run and fly, but…” 

“Fly?” Tam asked as her foot reminded him of his other blade. He thrust his arm inside the maw and wrenched it from the creature’s mouth. He wiped the blade on his loincloth, cleaning it before he sheathed it in its scabbard. 

“I’m a witch of the woods.” She said. “I can shift my form, or I used to. It’s been a while. My powers aren’t what they used to be.” 

Tam nodded. “You’re welcome to walk with me. I can skin this if you want to wear its hide.” 

“My people are one with nature. We don’t wear hides or clothes of any kind.” She said, waving off his suggestion. 

“I’ve seen some elves like that. I met Prince Sullisk and his wives on my way here yesterday.” Tam said but didn’t press when Maia made a face of disgust. If she didn’t want to catch up to them, she didn’t have to. Besides that, Tam had no knowledge of their destination, only that their way had crossed his path. “But I’ve met elves who wear clothes. Silks usually, or woven wool. They’re not big on hides or leather.” 

She smiled. “That’s a wild elves thing. My tribe, I suppose.” She shrugged and stood, testing her weight as she brushed herself off. She stretched and smiled as Tam’s eyes flicked away from her. “You don’t need to be ashamed.” She said. “I’m glad you enjoy my body. It’s been… a while, and if I owe someone my life, I’m glad it’s someone handsome, even if you are a little beefy.” 

Tam laughed. “Is that your idea of flirting?” He asked. It had been a while for himself, and the idea that she might find him attractive pleased him. He certainly found her attractive. 

“I did say it had been a while.” She scoffed. 

“Come on.” He gestured. “We’ll camp uphill of the river, just in case there are more basilisk in the area.” 

“The safest place to camp is on the other side of that archway.” She pointed toward the ruins of the village in the distance behind them. “The demon might be dead, but there are other beasts, and its magic might still hold them at bay from the village.” 

The runes still glowed, so there was a chance, and the darkness of night was thickening now. Tam didn’t like the feel of the place, but the further they got from the river, the better. He nodded his agreement and stood. He offered her his hand, and she took it, rising with him. She was reluctant to put full weight on her foot and looked surprised to find the poultice had worked completely. She removed the bandage and returned it to Tam, having to take several quick steps to catch up to his longer strides. 

“What’s your name, anyway?” Tam asked. He took the bandage from her and stowed it. He remembered the name from the story Sullisk told him, but he couldn’t trust its accuracy. It was only a story, after all. 

“Maia.” The elf answered. “Of the Ashwood clan. And what should I call you, Master?” 

“Uh… Master?” Tam asked, confused. 

“Very well.” Maia smiled. “If you insist, Master.” 

“No, I mean… why would you call me that?” Tam asked. He was more amused by it but also confused.

“My life is yours.” Maia said. “I thought I explained?” 

“I didn’t think you meant literally.” Tam said. 

“It’s the way of my people.” Maia explained. “You rescued me and saved my life, like something out of a story. A handsome prince from a faraway land comes and rescues a princess from her curse, and they live together forever afterward. You have saved me, my prince, so my life is yours. I am yours. I will do what I can to help and serve you.”

Tam stopped by the jungle-swallowed archway, clearing lichen from its glowing runes with his knife. “You are a princess?” 

“Well, daughter of a clan elder.” Maia said. “That is close enough for the title for my people. Are you a prince?” 

“Son of a chieftess.” Tam answered. “So… close enough?” 

“Close enough.” Maia answered, helping him clear the archway. “I am happy to serve you, my prince. However, you might need me to.” 

Tam glanced at her, watching her naked form reach over and clear away the lichen. She bore no marks on her skin, wearing only her chestnut hair. There was no blood or gore upon her, and she was bare, untouched by the dirt, the gore, or any unworthy beast. Her lithe form moved with grace and beauty, her breasts were rounded handfuls of pale flesh, and her butt, as she bent over the broken arch, was a bubble of spherical muscle. The lines of her legs and round hips were most appealing. Her nudity brought to mind several ideas of how she might serve him, and it had been months since he’d known even the platonic touch of a woman. 

Maia seemed to know what was on his mind. She grinned as she observed him, blushing as their examining gazes of each other met. The pink flush of heat spread from her cheeks, meeting at the bridge of her freckled nose. 

“However I might need?” Tam asked. 

“Yes, my prince.” Maia said, her voice low and husky. 

The tone surprised Tam. “Really? In my realm, we call such a person a slave.” 

“Then I am your slave.” Maia said. 

“What does that mean to you?” Tam asked. He knew what slaves were in his tribe, but he had no concept of what differences might exist between his traditions and those of the elves. Especially the wild elves, who seemed to have more unique traditions than the civilized elves living in their cities. 

“It means you saved my life. It's yours to use as you see fit, and I am lucky to have been rescued by such a good and handsome prince.” Maia said. “I will wear your mark with pride until my life, or your life, ends.” 

“In my homeland, slaves are used for labor until they pay their debts. They retain many rights, and when they pay off their debt, they are restored to full citizens.” Tam said. “So if you save my life at some point, you’d be free.” 

“To me, freedom from you isn't something I want. I would rather be your slave, my prince.” Maia said. 

“You don’t yet know if I am a cruel man or a kind one. You’d yoke yourself to me without any witness to my character?” Tam asked. 

Maia followed as Tam moved beyond the archway into the center of the ruins that hung above them like a death shroud. She lifted her gaze to the overgrown platforms and dilapidated tree huts, the ruins of her people. Tam wondered if she could see the ghosts watching them here, but she lowered her gaze to him and smiled to see his eyes upon her face. 

“I can tell what kind of man you are with my magic.” Maia said though Tam wondered if she was being literal. She called herself a witch of the woods, but she’d cast no spell that he’d noticed. “Let me serve you, my prince. I want to be yours beyond any repayment of debt but for the rest of your days or mine.” 

Tam wasn’t sure how to respond to that, but he had no reason to object. He was familiar with similar stories from his childhood, but stories weren’t reality. The story Sullisk told him and the history Maia recited demonstrated the liberties recitation took. Still, if this was the way of her people, he couldn’t deny her. He could also use the help, and a companion on the remainder of the journey would be welcome. Beyond that, there was her beauty to consider and his attraction to her. A strange courtship, but no one could control the beginning of a romance. 

“And when that desire changes?” Tam asked, assuming the day would come when she might tire of their arrangement and want her freedom again. He wanted to trust her, not have to watch for knives or claws in his back if killing him meant her freedom from some magical oath. 

“I will let you know.” Maia said. “But I foresee I will enjoy being your slave, my prince.” She winked at him. “Is there anything you would like me to do?” 

Tam considered her words carefully and rubbed his chin in deep thought. She altered her stance, bending her leg slightly to give him a better view of her body and holding her hands behind her. The most immediate tasks that came to mind were evident to anyone who might observe a man looking at a woman. Yet, Tam ignored the suggestion of her desire and surprised her. 

“Can you cook?” Tam asked. 

Maia laughed and shrugged. “I’m not particularly skilled at it, but I will do as I am able.” 

“Well, clear away a spot for a fire.” Tam said, gesturing to a small spot where the moss hadn’t grown over the dirt well away from the nearest roots. “I don’t have much in the way of cooking gear, but we’ll see if we can’t roast some of that beast for dinner. It’s not poisonous, right?” 

“No.” Maia said, shaking her head. “But you may want to pull its carcass farther from the river. Its scent might draw more of its kind from the waters.” 

“There’s more than one?” Tam asked, surprised. 

“It’s a beast.” Maia answered. “It lays eggs in the mud, and they hatch, grow, and swim to new locations on the river.” 

Tam nodded, now even more thankful the runes still glowed upon the arch but unsure of how he might manage to haul the carcass. It was heavy. 

“And if you can, you might want to collect a vial or two of its blood. If we come across any other nearby statues, we might be able to free them.” Maia said. 

Tam nodded. That thought hadn’t occurred to him, but she was right. Surely, there must have been other victims turned to stone by the demon beast’s magic. 

“And if you see any herbs–” 

“I’ll leave that to you.” Tam said, interrupting. “You’re the witch of the woods, and my herb lore is practically non-existent, coming from the frozen north. I trust your expertise.” 

Maia giggled. “Fair. I will seek out any that might be useful after I erect our fire.” 

Tam nodded. He set his pack down and pulled what he needed from it. Then, he left her there to begin her work as he returned to the freshly slain beast. 

Dusk had turned to darkness now, and he carried a torch from his pack, staking it into the earth beside the beast while he worked. The noises of the jungle had returned, with insects playing their songs and reels of chirps, buzzes, and trills. He cut several steaks from the back of the beast. There was more here than they could eat, and they did not have weeks to preserve the meat, so his work was done quickly. He did, however, fill six vials with blood in case they encountered more statues. If they encountered no statues, he might be able to sell the vials to a sorcerer, witch, or wizard in the city. 

By the time he returned to the village, Maia had cleared away the moss, dug a shallow fire pit ringed by stones, and built a fire. She took his torch from him as he returned and lit the dry lichen she’d gathered and placed among the small sticks for kindling. It ignited, and soon, a roaring fire roasted the skewered meat above it while she turned it slowly. 

“Rest, my prince. Relax. The fight with the beast must have been exhausting, even for someone with your physique.” Maia insisted. 

It wasn’t as though it had exhausted him, but he had no reason to protest a moment of peace. He sat at the edge of the fire’s warmth, not quite willing to endure its temperature increase even though the jungle had cooled at nightfall.

Darkness surrounded them now, limiting his sight to the ring of trees around them and the glowing runes at the broken archway. The only proof of a larger world was the noises of the insects and the occasional rustling that came from beyond the ring of the once-populated colony. 

“You lived here?” Tam asked, hardly believing the woman in front of him had lived in one of the centuries-ruined huts above them. 

Maia nodded. “Yes. After the wars, my people settled in groves by the sea, where the empire rose. As the so-called high elves grew more civilized, my people grew more nature-inclined. We struck out into the wilderness and rejected the modern comforts of civilization. This was one of our colonies.” 

Tam nodded, gazing at the ruins around them, untouched by elven hands for centuries but grasped so tightly by the jungle. “Do you have any idea where your tribe is now?” 

Maia shook her head. “My people said goodbye when they left, but that was mere weeks after I’d been turned to stone. The beasts by the river made the water source too volatile, so they moved on to somewhere they could find drinking water without the risk of basilisks turning them to stone.” 

“Basilisks?” Tam asked. 

“Our word for the demon-beasts.” Maia explained. “I expect my people found trees deeper in the jungle, away from such threats, and with a spring to drink from.”  

“Makes sense.” Tam said, almost laughing at the idea. “Where I come from, wood like this is rare.” He gestured to the trees around them. “And water is over-abundant in great heaps of snow.” 

“Snow?” Maia asked. 

“Snow.” Tam nodded. “Rain so cold it freezes into tiny white crystals and coats everything, snuffing out all but the most resilient life.” 

“I’ve heard of the great beasts of the north and the Northmen who hunt them.” Maia said. “Though… such tales were usually told among my people to scare the children. Most animals are sacred.” 

“Even the ones that turn you to stone?” Tam asked, eyeing the roasts on their spit. 

“I did say most.” Maia said, smiling slightly. “But yes. My people wouldn’t typically eat such things. We ate fruits, vegetables, grains, and fish.” 

“Such things are hard to come by where my people live.” Tam said, almost laughing. “We eat meat from the ‘great beasts of the north,’ as you call them.” 

Maia nodded. “Is that what your loincloth is made from?” 

Tam nodded. “Yes. I shed my overclothes as I traveled southward. I’m in my underthings now, but I have no coin of the realm to trade for silks.” 

Maia shrugged. “My people wear no silks. You are overdressed in my company, my prince.” 

Tam laughed. “I gathered as much from meeting Sullisk and his wives on the path. Your people have no sense of modesty or shame?” 

“My people live together in the same huts, sleeping in the same room. We have no shame of our natural bodies, their processes, or their needs.” Maia said. “It’s your modesty that confuses me.” 

“My people live together in burrows and caves, separating out space for ourselves in nooks and rooms.” Tam explained. “We consider privacy and modesty a privilege, but a desired one.” 

“Hmm.” Maia said, mulling over his words as she turned the spit. “Do you desire me to cover myself in your presence?” 

“No.” Tam answered honestly, which brought a smile to her lips. 

“I would desire to see you, my prince. To know you fully, with nothing hidden.” Maia’s hooded eyes flicked to him as she wet her lips with her tongue. Her eyes followed the lines of his abdomen to the belt of muscle over his hips that dipped low into the waist of his cloth. 

“After dinner, perhaps.” Tam said, eyeing the roast once more as the stomach behind his abs gurgled its desire. “I’ll erect the tent tonight, and we can share it.” 

Maia lowered her gaze to the fire. “As you wish.” 

They finished cooking their dinner. When the roast was ready, Tam carved it with his knife, peeling strips from it and placing them on a small metal plate he pulled from his pack. He offered a strip to Maia. She opened her mouth to receive it, leaning forward so her face was beneath it, then lifting her face toward him. 

Tam lowered the strip of meat to her lips, and she closed her mouth over his fingers, chewing as she withdrew. “Thank you, my prince.” She said after she swallowed. 

“You’re welcome, princess.” Tam said, amused by her actions. He sat, and she crawled to him, sitting in his lap and turning sideways. 

She took the plate from him and placed it in her lap. Maia wrapped her right arm around his waist while he supported her with his left arm. Then she fed him with her left hand, brushing her fingertips against his lips with each morsel. 

“Is this what you plan to do as my slave?” He asked. “To feed me when I can feed myself?” 

“Yes, my prince.” Maia said. “Unless you would rather I not?” 

“I don’t mind it.” Tam said. “Though, it might be awkward if we stop at a tavern.” He could only imagine how his family would tease him for her doting. Such favoritism and service were not the norm among his people. Men had to prove their strength, skill, and capability without any external support to be considered desirable by one of the few women. Mothers might dote upon their children, but a wife was served. The reversal seemed taboo in Tam’s bones but no less thrilling for it. 

Maia smiled. “I don’t care what tavern goers might think. You are my prince, my rescuer, and my master. Your pleasure is my responsibility, and unless I’m mistaken, I can feel that this pleases you.” She shifted in his lap, rubbing her naked ass against his clothed length that was hard and straining against the confinement of his wrap. 

“You please me.” Tam said. “I don’t think you have to worry about that. You are a beautiful princess, and my entire quest would have been to rescue you had I known your story before I entered this jungle.” 

“So where do we go from here, Master?” Maia asked as she fed him. “Do we return to the North?”

Tam shook his head. “No. Not yet. I am on a quest to speak with the queen of the elven empire. Her northern rangers have been attacking my people, and I am here to sue for peace.” 

“Why have her forces attacked you?” Maia asked, curious rather than suspicious. 

“They protect the mammoths and deer at their border. The great beasts we hunt, hunt the deer, and as such, there’s been a balance between us that has opened us to trade in the past.” Tam explained. “But the beasts have grown scarcer, hunting by the sea instead of the forests for their food. Without their predators, the deer and mammoths have destroyed what little vegetation remains. We asked to hunt them instead of the beasts, but the elves will not permit it and have cut off trade with my people for the insult of asking, which threatens us to starve. Tempers flared on both sides, and a tavern brawl has grown into a full war. If we’re not given hunting rights, many will move toward the coast, but some will see what the elves have and seek to take it by force. Even a chieftess cannot command every man, as I’m sure your Empress knows, given how your people are unruled between your cities.” 

Silence fell for a while as Maia considered his words and the problem that drove him south. He seemed wise for someone with such thick thews. She wondered how much of his words were practiced, but if he were sent as his people’s diplomat, he must have been their best speaker. 

“A princely mission indeed.” Maia said before eating a piece of meat that Tam fed to her. “I can lead you to the capital, though I’m not sure if they’ll welcome you or if the queen will give you an audience.” 

“I can handle that.” Tam said. “But I’d appreciate a guide. I’ve been traveling based on the direction and guidance from those I’ve met along the way.” 

Maia nodded, feeding him the final slice of meat from the plate. “Would you like more? Or is your stomach satisfied?” Maia asked. 

“My stomach is satisfied.” Tam asked. 

“Then may I… satisfy you?” Maia asked, placing her hand against his chest and flattening her palm against his pec. 

“You wish to lie with me?” Tam asked, holding her. 

“Yes.” Maia said. “You are strong and handsome, and we are bound to one another. Prince and Princess. I want to see you, know you, and it has been so long since I’ve felt the touch of anyone. I don’t want to leave your embrace.” 

Tam couldn’t imagine the torture of being stuck like that, awake, suspended in stone for centuries. Obviously, her people hadn’t known the blood of the creature would free her. Or perhaps they’d tried but had fallen to the beasts if they searched out their nests. Had they known she was still alive and aware within her frozen features? He wondered if there were any scholars among her people or those who knew the lore of such primordial demonic beasts as the basilisk he’d slain. He wondered how many more of the beasts there had been nesting by the river in the days when this village was filled with elves. 

He hugged her to him as she laid the plate aside, the warmth of the fire blanketing them as they embraced. She hugged him in return, wrapping her arms under his and pressing her flesh to his flesh. 

She rested her cheek on his collarbone and kissed his neck, embracing him with her lips. He closed his eyes slowly, enjoying the warmth of her breath against his skin and the press of her lips and tongue, massaging his stiff neck muscles. 

“Oh.” Tam said, moving his arms behind him to support their intertwined bodies. “Let me unroll my mat… I only have one. We’ll have to share.” 

“You rest on the mat, Master. I will rest on you when we’re finished.” Maia said, shifting off his lap and standing. 

Tam stood after her, walking to his pack and unrolling the bed mat rolled beneath it. He put it near the fire, enough for warmth, but not too close. They let the fire dwindle as they prepared for bed. Maia took a drink from his waterskin, and he took one as well. He’d have to refill it in the morning, but not from basilisk-filled waters. They’d hike a while until they came to a less dangerous part of the river. 

“Lie down, Master.” Maia said and gestured to the mat. 

Tam glanced back at his pack. He’d planned to set his tent, but there was no need to erect a tent tonight. No rain loomed in the sky, though the clouds and stars couldn’t pierce the thick canopy of leaves that spread over them. The overgrown village loomed above them, but Maia’s eyes never left his body as she crawled to him over the blanket beneath his mat. Her fingertips curled under the waistband of his cloth and lowered it over his thighs, revealing him to her inch by inch. She pulled the wrap free of his ankles and placed it gently aside. 

Tam watched her for any reaction to his nakedness, but she was demure and patient in her work, dutiful. She knelt beside him and spun her finger for him to roll over. He raised an eyebrow but rolled to present his back to her. 

She touched him gently at first, stretching her fingers over his muscles and rubbing the knots in his back and thighs with both hands. Her work became stronger as she continued; his dense musculature was tough, and he resisted every effort to soften it. 

He groaned his relaxation into the earth as her efforts released every ache in his back, thighs, arms, and shoulders trapped along his journey. She worked from beside him at first, but as she began working on his upper back, she moved to straddle him and sat across his glutes. He felt the heat of her press against him. 

“These marks of blue ink across your skin.” Maia said, breaking the silence between them with her soft voice. “What do they mean?” 

“In my clan, the tattoos are marks of victory over the challenges we face in our lives.” Tam explained. “I bear each in testament to what I’ve overcome.” 

“What is this one?” She asked, pressing her finger to a pictographic runic script that wrapped around his upper arm like a serpent, its tail twisting away from its head where it might have joined. “A great ice worm in the north threatened my clan. We rode out against it twenty strong and came back with sixteen and enough meat to last a winter.” 

“Impressive.” Maia said, and meant it. “And you slew the beast?” 

“It was a group effort.” Tam said. “But I saved the life of my father in the battle. It’s there in the runes.” 

“I can’t read your script.” Maia said. “How did you come to know the elvish tongue?” 

“We trade with elvish towns on the northern border.” Tam said. “I wanted to be a merchant, so I learned the tongue.” 

“And now you are my prince.” Maia said, leaning forward from her seat across his behind and pressing her breasts into his back as she leaned and rubbed the chords of muscle where his neck and shoulders met his back. 

“Mmm.” Tam said. “I must admit, this is the first time I’ve been rewarded for such a venture with something other than a tattoo.” He almost laughed. “Maybe your way is better.” 

Maia rested her elbow between his muscles and pressed, eliciting a groan as the ache escaped his flesh. She repeated the maneuver on the other side. “And what would your tattoo of my rescue entail? A naked depiction of myself, perhaps? Or the basilisk?” 

“The basilisk.” Tam answered. “The tattoos are always depictions of the obstacle that’s been overcome. You’re no obstacle.” 

“And yet I desire for you to overcome me.” Maia said, kissing his shoulder blade as her hair fell over him, shrouding them both in the dim firelight. “Take me, my prince. Claim me as your own.” 

“Where I come from, that’s a transgression.” Tam said. Not saying that he wouldn’t, but relaxed enough from the massage that his need for her wasn’t urgent. 

“It is not a transgression when I give you my permission.” Maia said. “It is a fulfillment of my desire. And now, I have a handsome prince beneath me, as strong as the mountains. I give you my permission to live this fantasy.” She whispered in his ear. “If you give me permission to be your devoted slave.” 

“You want me to take you?” Tam asked, shifting so that she moved off of him and knelt beside him as he slowly came to his feet. He gestured for his waterskin, and she passed it to him with both hands. 

“Yes, Master.” Maia said, bowing her head to the ground before him. “Take me.” 

He drank from the waterskin and wiped his mouth with his arm. The massage had renewed him, and it seemed to awaken her as she rubbed him. Now, seeing her bowing before him with her hair spread around her like a blanket, he shifted, standing, and offered her his hand. 

She lifted her gaze to his eyes and took his hand, standing with his help. 

He did not let go of her hand but took it and moved it behind her, holding her naked body to his with her arm crossed behind the small of her back. His lips descended to her upturned mouth. The kiss started slow and gentle, a meeting of flickering kindling that grew into a flame of passion as time pressed on. She ground against him, and his thigh parted her legs. Her heat flushed against the thews of his leg, and she moaned into the kiss. 

His erection pressed against her hip and slid to her stomach as she closed against him. Her arousal leaked from her, scenting the air with the mixture of pleasant smells that fueled his passion. His other hand wrapped around her, lowering to her round butt, which he squeezed, pulling her tighter against him. 

She snaked her arms over his shoulders, lifting herself to him so he straightened and held her by the waist with his hands. She wrapped her legs around his torso, crossing her ankles behind him as she opened to his shaft trapped between them. She rolled her hips, rubbing herself against his length without rising up high enough to let him penetrate her. She moaned into the kiss, enjoying his body as she clung to him. 

The press of her breasts against him stirred him, her hard nipples contradicting her soft, rounded breasts crushed against his pecs. He shifted his mouth away from hers to breathe, and she attacked his neck so ferociously that his instinct to throw her from him nearly kicked in. Instead, he rolled his head to the side to grant her access and brought his hand across her bottom in a sharp spank. 

She moaned her pleasure into his neck, biting and licking him in gentle nibbles that drove him crazy. He widened his stance, driving her legs slightly further apart. He lifted her by her thighs, raising her high enough that his length slid from between them. Then he lowered her onto the tip of his length, slowly at first. 

She spread for him, welcoming him into the warm embrace of her slick furnace with a moan of eye-fluttering pleasure. “Oh, my prince.” She panted. “My master.” 

Tam grunted in response, lifting her slightly and driving her to him again as she gave gasps of pleasurable grunts in response. She leaned back, letting her hair fall behind her in a cascade of shimmering chestnut locks that danced in the firelight. The sweat on her skin beaded on her breasts and slid away from the points of her nipples. His hands locked behind her back, holding her as the movement of their hips drove her against him in grinding thrusts. Her hands locked behind his neck, and her ankles locked behind his butt, holding her in place as he stood and fucked her. 

Maia let her eyes drift toward the canopy above before they fluttered closed. Her pleasure echoed through the grove, punctuated by his grunts of effort. She cried out when she came, grinding herself against his belt of muscle every time he pumped into her. She shook and clung close to him as he went still, letting her release wash over her until her heavy breaths faded into shallow ones once more. 

“Oh, Master…” Maia said, panting. “I’m sorry. It’s been so long, and you’re so…” She gazed into his face, sweeping her thumb over his cheek as she held his jaw. “Beautiful.” 

“Why are you sorry?” Tam asked, calm but still rigid within her and holding her in his arms, supporting her weight with his hips and biceps. 

“Because you did not get your release.” Maia said. 

“Are you my slave, or aren’t you?” Tam asked. 

“I am, Master.” Maia nodded slowly. 

“And it is your job to see to my pleasure?” Tam asked. “To serve me in whatever way I desire?” 

“Yes, my prince.” Maia said, understanding dawned. 

“And you want me to take you to please myself?” Tam asked, a wicked grin growing on half his face. 

“Yes, please, my prince.” Maia said, smiling. She kissed his neck and moaned as he knelt, then lowered her to his bed mat. She spread her legs wider for him as he placed his hands beside her shoulders. He held himself over her with his knees on the ground wide behind him, forcing her legs apart. She reached behind her as he started fucking, her hands stopping him from driving her across the matt, over the blanket, and into the dirt. 

She gazed up at him, and he looked down at her as his hair fell toward her. She combed it back behind his ear with her long, graceful fingers and licked her lips. She moaned in her throat in short, punctuated chirps as he drove into her and pumped his hips and body against hers. She quaked beneath him, enduring the pleasure of him breaking her body and spirit. 

She wanted her prince to master her? Tam intended to deliver and found he had to. He wanted to own her, to command her, and make her his own. He rescued his princess from her imprisonment and slew the beast that ensnared her. She was his princess now, and they would live their lives happily to the end of their days so long as they were together. 

Whatever lay ahead on the river road, they would face it together, and every night, they would camp. Every night she would massage him, or he would massage her, or she would dance for him, and they would fuck like this until they slept from exhaustion. 

“You’re mine, princess.” Tam said, practically growling the words as he fucked her. “Mine forever.” 

“Oh–” Maia gasped. “Yes, my prince!” She moaned. 

Tam’s release started low as he stiffened. It rolled through him as he closed his eyes. He pumped into her, groaning as blast after blast left his body and entered hers. It felt like she’d taken his energy with it, and every blow against her inner walls made her smile widen as his muscles softened. When he finished, his erection flagged with the rigid tension in his body, and he rolled to the side, lying on his side on the blanket beneath the mat. 

Maia moved quickly, shifting so he could lie on the mat and lay on top of him with his legs spread for her. She blanketed him with her body and her hair, letting it wash over them like a covering. He held her close to him as his chest rose and fell with his breaths. 

“Did you mean it?” Maia asked, her voice soft and quiet in the growing darkness as the fire nearby dimmed. 

“Mean what?” Tam asked, thinking back over their long conversations. 

“That I’m yours?” Maia asked. 

“Oh, yes.” Tam said, raking his fingers beside her spine in gentle petting strokes. “You’re mine. My princess and my slave. Mine to use, or pleasure, as I desire.” 

“Thank you, my prince.” Maia said, smiling against his pecs and kissing the muscle beneath her. “Thank you for rescuing me and claiming me. I will help you, and please you, you’ll see.” 

Tam smiled, letting silence fall and coax him into sleep. She’d had many chances to kill him through action and guile, but she’d taken none of them. She had multiple chances to run away and escape him, but she hadn’t done that either. She wanted him as badly as he wanted her, and they’d claimed each other here, deep in the jungle of these lands. 

But this was only the beginning of their adventure.