Lovely Dark Things

THIRTEEN (ISELEN POV)

"Green suits you well," I whisper looking at the pretty assassin. My wife raises an eyebrow, surprised, she was focused on the map that Ariel gave us two days ago and didn't notice that I was watching her entranced: the curve of her jawline, her flawless lips, her pointy ear that makes me smile, her graceful neck, the colourful tattoos on her soft and pale skin... As beautiful and lethal as the first time I saw her in Ingstad. But different at the same time: more mature and patient, less cold... At least, when she's around me.

"You think that I always look good," Ruby Rose answers smirking mischievously.

"That's true, because you're stunning, but it's also true that green is your colour: it makes your eyes stand out."

"If you say so..." my wife shrugs and focus on the map again for a few seconds before raising her head abruptly, frowning. "You look good wearing green too, very pretty..." I burst into laughing, amused by her reaction.

"Thank you, babe. I was being honest, Ruby, wasn't fishing for compliments... but thank you." I lean forward to kiss her lips gently and the assassin heaves a sigh, smiling, before pulling away to focus on work again.

Ariel gave me everything I wanted: maps, soldiers, weapons, food, even tents to sleep since there aren't enough wood cabins to accommodate an entire army in the north of the kingdom. Wood elves are great archers and know how to fight with knives, they've adapted their techniques to their environment, the type of enemies they bump into and developed special skills to walk quietly and blend in with the branches, trunks and bushes. This is why they wear green, brown and grey and they gave us some clothes so we can do the same, even if they stared at me with scepticism, like they doubted my skills. Later, they seemed shocked when they realized how quiet I am moving despite being a human but they don't know that I've been training with a temple assassin for decades.

I lean forward, closer to the map, taking a look pensively. I think I understand Ariel's problem: the river that crosses the kingdom of Athel from south to north gets wider close to the Grey Mountains and there's a small meander around some hills covered with trees working as a natural barrier. It means that a small area of forest remains isolated from the main paths and it's not easy to access it, this is the reason why her enemies are raiding the wood cabins of the few elves living here. She could ask her subjects to move to the other bank of the river, a more protected area, but she refuses to leave the hills because they're part of her kingdom and it'd would be like admitting her defeat.

Leaders can't afford to have their people thinking that they can't defend them. Ariel won't give up that area of her forest, no matter if it's small or poor, for her enemies to roam freely despite the river is a natural barrier that could reinforce her own magical barrier and it'd make things easier for her. In addition to that, dwarves live in the mountains and Gotrek could see that movement as a sign of weakness. Ariel and her elves would feel humiliated in front of the dwarves... she can't afford this diplomatic faux pas either.

"From what I remember, beast men are not the most intelligent chaos servants," I mumble pensively, my eyes fixed on me map while I extend my arm towards a tray full of food and drinks that an elf brought a few minutes ago. "A high-level demon must be giving the orders, commanding them."

"I guess you're right," Ruby nods, pouring a glass of light beer for me.

"Bread is a little dry," I grumble taking the glass while chewing a bite of the sandwich. "But the cheese is really good... What's wrong? Why are you laughing?"

"The bread is made with acorn flour, babe, that's why it's darker and less fluffy than wheat bread," my wife answers, pouring more beer.

"So, this is why you call them acorn-eaters?" I ask quietly, tilting my head to point at the tent door discreetly. Wood elves set up the camp efficiently and are out there making dinner around small fires while chatting in their language and humming songs. "I thought you were making fun of them."