Timeless Two

4

"A short way down the corridor from the control room is a vault door like you might find in a bank. The Aelven went in there. The queen said something about it being a door that leads into underhill." Ari shrugs. "It's the place they came from originally. Any way she took all the aelven and went behind that door. She gave me the combination and promised that if I set off the final defense that the rapes would stop." Ari says more than a little bitterly.

"I forgot one thing about that bitch. She always tells the truth, she has to, the Aelven can't lie. But they've learned to twist and turn the truth that you think you are hearing one thing when in reality it's something completely different. The rapes would end with my death was what she really meant." Ari looks for her clothes.

Grey goes to the storage locker and hands them to her. Ari takes out a folded piece of paper. "This has the combination on it. That much has to be true. But the numbers don't have to be in order and they aren't. When I tried it in this order it wouldn't open. Have your techs try different variations of those numbers. One of them will unlock the vault. What you will find inside I don't know.

"The queen didn't want a filthy half breed in her precious underhill." Ariele is exhausted. She lies back and closes her eyes.

"Who are you Ariele?" Grey whispers not wanting to bother the sleeping girl.

"I'm the bastard daughter of the commander of the queens army." Ariele says and looks at him.

Grey can't help but stiffen. Heaven have mercy on the poor girl. "You are cousin to the queen." Grey is horrified.

Ari shakes her head no. "Niece. My father was her brother."

That would explain so much. Why she would be so well schooled in all things Aelven. But it doesn't explain the other. "She had you raped and tortured?" Grey is sickened. He'd known the reputation of the Aelven but this is worse than he'd thought.

Ari smiles bitterly. "No more personal questions general. Just being in the hospital is giving me sick memories."

With the marks on her body Grey can believe it. "I'll get you out of here." He can't let her suffer more than she has to.

Ari wants to smile but has to fight the tears. "That's sweet of you it truly is general, but where would you take me? The dungeon? Just kill me now, I'd rather be dead than return to that place. Actually," Ari grimaces in pain as another spasm wracks her body. "Killing me now sounds like a very good idea.

"What else do you want to know? Data on the kidnappings should be in the central computer. All the weapons information is there as well. I couldn't save any of the slaves the bitch had them all killed before she talked to me. I had no idea. But there wasn't much I could do, I couldn't even save myself." Ari groans in massive pain.

"Give her a pain blocker but not something strong enough to knock her out." Grey demands of the nurse. She nods and comes back with a syringe full of something. Soon Ari is much more relaxed and even smiling.

"Hi Grey." She says and Grey suspects that whatever the nurse gave her made her high as a kite. She motions for him to come closer, and he does. Ari leans up and kisses Grey. Grey is so shocked that he lets it go on and finds himself kissing her back.

Just then a door closes rather loudly and Grey breaks off the kiss. He stares at her in bemused wonder. She just stares at him in wonder. "So that's what it's like to kiss and be kissed." She says and giggles.

"Here's your breakfast general. I see the girl is awake. Has she said anything useful or is she too high?" Jeshua hadn't missed the girl's condition or what the general had been doing. Although knowing the general it had been the girl to initiate the kiss.