Gifted [UNEDITED]

Chapter Five

    The air was cool, a little musty and harsh too. The small troop marched forward with Borath and his daughter in the middle. Miaddrian soldiers lined in twos on their elks in front and behind the huge carriage carrying them both.
   
    Aora could hear the uniform hooves of the march outside, she could even here the tiny creaks the huge wheels made. She looked outside she saw a busy market, but it wasn't always busy. The festival was fast approaching, in a month or so and the elves were preparing.
   
    "Father, why are we going to this feast?", the young elf asked her father.
   
    Borath looked at her suddenly, as if jerked put of thought. He stared for about three seconds, then he answered, "custom my child, custom".
   
    "But I don't like going to the feasts, they remind me of those days", she replied.
   
    Borath looked at her sternly, his eyeballs went straight to hers. His eyebrows shot up, and his lips pressed into a thin line, "you will never speak of that again", he told her with his teeth grit.
   
    There was silence after Borath's outburst. Borath had been breathing heavily for about a minute, and now he was calm. He reached inside his bag and brought out a small bottle.
   
    "Not again", Aora complained.
   
    "Shut up!", Borath shot. He drank a little from the bottle, he heaved and took a few more sips. He looked at the bottle menacingly, smiling and shaking his head. He emptied it, heaving heavily. He rubbed his mouth with the back of his hand, and threw the bottle out of the carriage.
   
    Aora watched him, she squeezed her face so that her lower lip pressed hard against her teeth. She breathed in, closed her eyes and held it for a few minutes, then she let it out.
   
    "We are here sir!", a soldier announced from outside the carriage. Usually it was Kamirel who announced, but he was suspended.
   
    Father and daughter stepped out of the ccarriage. Aora followed her father closely, taking note of the four guards behind her, the six guards up ahead and the two others in the rear.
   
    It had always been like this, Aora was always locked up, or confined. No free movements for her, she never went anywhere without a guard. Ever since the death of her mother, life hadn't been easy for her.
   
    When they were through the big doors leading to the ball room of Councillor Ignarim's castle, Aora couldn't help but be awed. Back home there was no ball room, there used to be, but now it was just a hollow place.
   
    She saw different colored lights, lined up very carefully on the balconies. The intertwined flights of stairs that seemed to form zigzags caught her attention too. She could see the huge chandelier hanging very high, it was littered with diamonds, and was made of gold.
   
    She made for the stairs, wanting to explore it and see how it felt walking on zigzagged steps. As she was about to climb, her father called out to her. He gestured at her to stay with the guards.
   
    A few minutes later, the chef announced that dinner was ready. He was a little chubby and he walked with two maids behind him, all of them dressed in dark blue aprons.
   
    All the Councillors were ushered into the dining hall. A very large room, but not as large as the ball room, littered with the same beautiful lights. The table was obviously crafted by from cedar wood, on the edges the images of heartborne flowers were boldly crafted.
   
    Aora took her sit beside her father at the end of the table. She sat down very quietly, watching everyone. She saw Councillor Chomirel his wife and his two sons, young elves, she remembered the last feast when she saw them, they were only chubby toddlers, now they were a little tall and stout for their age.
   
    Councillor Nazam sat down too, with his wife and child. The child was a girl, she looked so innocent, much like Aora when she was her age. No one noticed the small drops of tears that escaped Aora's eyes, they reminded her very much of the past, and how happy they used to be.
   
    She also saw Councillor Ignarim's three daughters, they were all grown and married. Marra the youngest of them had lost her husband on their wedding day. They were elegantly dressed, the oldest of them wore a very expressive gold necklace gifted to her by her father on her fourth child ceremony.
   
    High Councillor Gnarim sat alone, he had four sons but they had all died in the Great war. So now the old Councillor sat alone at the head of the table, his face showing no emotions at all. Everyone was present, only the general was absent, the High Councillor said he sent him to attend to a very important matter of state.
   
    "Celestial King in all your grace and love, please grant us peace as we eat this meal out of the bountiful grace of your being", Gnarim prayed.
   
    Everyone answered; "thank you oh mighty Celestial King."
   
    Everyone began talking, the children to each other, the adults discussed matters of importance, the ladies excused themselves later insisting that they tend to their sick mother.
   
    "How are you Ignarim, I heard you were ambushed on your way to survey the borders", Borath asked. Aora made to excuse herself too, but her father gave her a distasteful look compelling her to sit down immediately.
   
    Only the High Councillor noticed and he smiled, he said, "child, you can go ahead and excuse yourself."
   
    But Aora only shook her head, and insisted on staying, she was very adamant about it and even when her father joined the general to urge her she refused.
   
    "Ah Borath, I only survived by the grace of the Celestial King", Ignarim answered.
   
    The entire table burst into laughter, even the children, even though they were laughing for an entirely different reason. There was silence for the rest of night, there was really nothing to feast about.
   
    The ride home was silent, the empty starless sky beamed it's silence on the troop. Aora said no words to her father, and he said none to her. Instead she watched the sky's moon, it was an half moon, she bent her head a bit, and the sky looked like it was smiling.
   
    "Halt!", the soldier from before announced. The carriage opened and Borath alighted, Aora waited a few seconds before following.
   
    She watched as her father immediately rushed to the cellar, carrying as many bottles as possible. He sat in the dinning hall, with only one candle lit, Aora watched him fill the cup to the brim and emptied it in seconds. She watched him repeat the process over and over again.
   
    "Don't go please, you can't leave us. Refuse the call, get suspended. I can go in your place", Borath told his wife.
   
    "No I have to, it's my duty as a Miaddrian. I can't ever refuse a call", Kaora replied. She had red hair like her daughter, she also had blue eyes.
   
    Aora heard them argue, she was three at the time. She didn't understand what was happening, she only saw some elves hand a scroll over to her mother about a week ago.
   
    "Does your duty come before me? Before our daughter?", Borath asked.
   
    Kaora paused, she didn't answer. She made to leave, but Borath held her softly. "Answer me, please", he beckoned.
   
    He looked in the eyes of his wife, there was still no response from her. "Answer me!", he yelled, squeezing her arm.
   
    "Borath let me go, I need to cook for our daughter", Kaora replied.
   
    "First you answer me. You will not move from this spot until you answer me", he told her, he was breathing heavily. Tightening his grip.
   
    Aora was young then, but she still remembered that her father wasn't always like this. She remembered when the halls were always lit, and the garden was ever fresh with flowers.
   
    She remembered that one time when they went to the festival, Borath had won a toy for her. She also remembered the way they would play in the courtyard, sometimes in the ballroom. But everything changed, since the week the scroll was brought home. Both her parents wouldn't stop fighting.
   
    "Papa, leave mama alone. Please papa, she's crying", Aora begged her father. Borath let go of his wife, his breathing slowed, Kaora quickly rushed to her daughter and carried her inside, sobbing.
   
    "Kaora", Borath called out softly. But his wife was already gripped with fear, she didn't turn to look at him.
   
    "Stay here, don't cry", Kaora told her child. "Don't cry, I will be back as soon as the mission is complete."
   
    She was also crying, but she didn't let Aora see, she set the child to sleep. After a few minutes, Aora was fast asleep. Kaora peeped outside to see if Borath was still around. He wasn't, 'maybe he already left for the Den', she thought.
   
    Aora let out a loud wail, she started crying again. Kaora quickly put on her armor and left, she wiped her tears with her palm and shot the door hard. She stayed for a few seconds, crying and sobbing.
   
    That night when Borath came home, he looked tired. He had a bottle in his hand, half empty. Aora was so little, she didn't understand what she saw. Borath walked passed her like she didn't exist, he sat at the dinning table looking into the burning flame in front of him.
   
    Aora walked to him, "papa, where is mama?", she asked.
   
    Borath looked at his child, he carried her up to his lap and started crying. Aora cleaned his tears with her tiny hands, "papa please don't cry, where is mama?".
   
    Her father's incessant crying made her feel sad, so she started sobbing. Borath sipped from his bottle, and said "mama has gone to the Celestial King."
   
    Aora being innocent still didn't understand, "when will she come back?", she asked.
   
    Borath dragged in a breath, and wiped his tears. "She's not coming back my child. She has gone to be with the Celestial King."
   
    "I'll go find her, and bring her back. I'll fight the King and take my mama back", Aora told him. She freed herself from his hold and walked towards the door. Borath was too weak to even stop her, it was a guard who stopped her and took her to her room.
   
    "Let me go to my mama!", she echoed. She struggled with the guard but she was too weak. She started crying, all the while struggling.
   
    "That's enough now. Come on, come", Aora cajoled her father. He was already passed out, he was too weak to stand himself.
   
    "Kaora, one more bottle. Please, just one more", Borath begged.
   
    "No, no more. No more bottles", Aora commanded. She was sobbing under her breath, and soon she started crying.
   
    "Fine, fine. No more bottles. Don't cry, I'm going", Borath told her, staggering in her arms.
   
    Aora helped him up to his bedroom, she tucked him in and watched him fall asleep. She was certain he was asleep when he started snoring, it was almost a daily thing for     her.
   
    This was not the first time Borath had been in this condition, but some days, when he was in a good mood he would order a feast. The entire place would be lit with lights and decorations. But this seldomly happened, it has only happened thrice since her mother's death.
   
    Just then there was a knock on the door, it was Kamirel. "Can I come in?", he asked.
   
    "Hey", Aora exclaimed softly, she smiled, it was faint. Kamirel entered and stood behind her, "I heard you were suspended from the army?", she asked him.
   
    "Yeah, it's a long story. You don't want to hear about it", he answered.
   
    "I have time. I can't even sleep, so I have time", she told him. "Come, let's go downstairs", she said, holding his arm and dragging him out of her father's room.
   
    Aora took a drink from the cellar. "So the story?", she asked, filling one cup qbd handing it over to him.
   
    Kamirel laughed and accepted the drink, "the story is quite complicated", he started. Aora gulped down her cup too quickly, gesturing at him to go on. "Are you well, is everything alright?", he asked her.
   
    "Everything is fine. Go on, go on", she beckoned. She filled her cup two more times, gulping them down as soon as they were filled.
   
    "I think you should stop", Kamirel told her. He moved closer to her, trying to restrain her. He held her in his arms, she struggled for a while, but Kamirel was much too strong. He held her very tightly, then she started crying.
   
    "I've never had a normal childhood you know", she told him, resting her head on his chest. "When I was younger, there was no space for me to breathe. Do you understand?", she asked him.
   
    "Yes, yes. I understand what it feels like."
   
    "Ever since my mother died", she started, sobbing. "Everything just fell apart. Father started drinking and his temper became worse. The war destroyed everything, my peace, my happy family. During the damned war, father was rarely around, and I was never allowed to see the outside world—"
   
    "He did all that for you. He wanted to protect you", Kamirel cut in.
   
    "Oh shut up!", she lashed, pulling away from him. She filled her cup again, but Kamirel slapped it out of her hand. She glared at him, breathing heavily. Kamirel saw fire growing in her eyes.
   
    He stepped back a bit, "Aora, what's happening? Calm down", he said.
   
    Aora realized what was happening, she quickly relaxed and drank the wine in Kamirel's cup. "Forget what you saw", she told him, filling the cup again. "Now sit down", she commanded.
   
    Kamirel paused, still trying to process what he just witnessed. He strode slowly to his seat, still awed, his eyes were faintly wide, and his mouth was half open.
   
    "For five years", Aora continued, gulping another cup. "I was locked up in this castle, I only had the maids to talk to. Not even my father, he was never around, and if he was, he was either drunk or angry."
   
    Aora looked at him, expecting a few words in her father's defense. "Won't you say anything?", she asked.
   
    "What do you want me to say?", Kamirel asked with arms stretched sideways.
   
    Aora rolled her eyes and drank another cup, "I'm going to bed", she announced. She got up, but her legs were shaky, so she sat down again. She held her head, and opened her eyes, taking in a deep breath. She stood up again, she swayed to the left, then to the right.
   
    Kamirel rushed to her, "you're drunk", he remarked, carrying her, "you need some rest."
   
    He carried her up to her room, she kept murmuring some words he couldn't hear. When he reached her room, he kicked it open. Her room was beautiful, candles lit everywhere, and it had a lilac flower smell. She had a picture of her mother and father right in front of her bed.
   
    He set her on her bed and made to leave, but Aora pulled him back. "Stay here", she murmured.
   
    "I can't. Your father—"
   
    "He's drunk", Aora cut in. She pulled him to the bed and kissed him, she buried her lips deep in his, and made her tongue dance in his mouth.
   
    Kamirel arched his back, and ran his hand down her face. He pulled away from her lips and kissed her neck slowly, letting his every breath ring on her neck. She squirmed under him, and moaned softly. He bit her softly, and let his tongue dance slowly on her neck.
   
    "Please don't stop", she moaned. Kamirel put on finger over her lip, urging her to keep quiet. He cupped her covered breasts, still kissing her neck, then he slowly moved his thumb over her nipples. Sometimes he pressed hard, sometimes he pressed softly. 'This is totally wrong', he thought to himself. 'I'm betraying my master.'
   
    "I said don't stop", Aora warned with a whisper, biting his ear softly. She removed his hands from her breasts, and pulled her gown. Then she yanked him closer again, taking his hands and placing them on the bare breasts. They were full, too full for an elf her age.
   
    "This doesn't feel right", Kamirel complained. Aora cautioned him, and kissed him roughly. He forgot his thoughts, and kissed her back, both elves were breathing exasperatedly. He quickly pulled his shirt, and started kissing again.
   
    Kamirel pushed Aora softly, then he bent over her and started licking her nipple, while using his fingers to play with the other one. She moaned softly, squirming every now and then, and burying her fingers deep in the bedsheets.
   
    Kamirel stopped suddenly, surveying the naked elf in front of him. He admired the way the blend of candle lights and the moonlight shone on her body.
   
    "Why do you always stop?", Aora asked, pulling his hand towards her core. Immediately he touched it, she let out a soft-loud moan. "Play with me", she begged.
   
    Kamirel removed his hands and jerked Aora's legs onto his back. He bent his head and started licking her, his tongue would go up and down, sometimes sideways. Sometimes he would stop and lick the outside clean, then bury his index finger deep inside her.
   
    All the while Aora had her eyes closed, moaning and twitching, and her hands on his head. Sometimes she would moan very loud that Kamirel would stop and look at the door.
   
    "I want you inside me", Aora told him.

    Kamirel pulled away and pulled his leather trousers. Aora gulped, and retreated a bit. Kamirel noticed this, he held her hand, and said "don't be afraid."
   
    "Please don't be too rough", she begged.