Lament of the Fallen

After the fight, no one questioned the duo’s presence in any of the rooms of the party. They had no idea how strong Noyala was, but just Dee’s presence alone was enough. Now Noyala was free to move from one group to another, exchanging information. The various cliques were more than willing to curry favor, and information was a pretty cheap price to pay in their minds all things considered. They either forgot to pay attention to the old maxim about information being power, or they simply chose to ignore it.

Dee didn’t really care that much. Sidhe politics were convoluted beyond belief. While Noyala’s world was centered around her people and the machinations of the court, for Dee it was a minor distraction in the grand scheme of things. The only reason she cared at all was because Noyala did. She realized that there was a possibility of Noyala succeeding and becoming the ruler of her people, which would mean she would have to stay with them. Even if that happened, Dee would not be staying. She might visit or even stay a while, but her path lay elsewhere. It might be nice to have a branch to land on when things got too heavy, but in the end, her journey would continue.

While Noyala spent time poking at the affairs of the court, Dee found something else to entertain herself with. The offered delicacies held her attention for a while, but despite their considerable level, they were still finger food at best, not a real feast. What finally drew her attention were the couples dancing to the tune of the talented musicians. Music was already something almost sacred to her, but this dancing thing was new. She’d known about it of course and had failed miserably at doing it herself when she tried to perform a ritual for the gods during her priestess training with Mazatl. This type of dancing was very different.

The ritual dancing was a performance and a display of devotion. This, on the other hand, the dancing between the couples that obviously cared about each other was something halfway between a battle and sex. She was reminded of something she had read in a book once: “Dancing is a perpendicular expression of horizontal desire.” It sometimes also mixed in something like a negotiation between two courting parties where the male made an offer and the female chose to either accept or reject the proposal, as represented by their movements. This was not a ritualistic performance but something else entirely. Or at least it was that between good dancers. Some of them were simply spinning in a circle and going through the motions.

Speaking of motions, Dee noticed that there were certain steps, both in the literal and figurative sense, followed in each type of dance, but on the whole, the pairs were fairly free to interpret the rhythms and beats as they desired. It was more of a style thing where certain dances encouraged certain types of behavior and atmosphere. This dance was much more about passion while that one was more like the negotiation of a courtship. She tried memorizing the seemingly mandatory steps and styles in case the chance came to take part.

At some point Noyala appeared next to her. “Did you get what you needed?” Dee asked.

“More or less.” Noyala replied with a slightly odd tone due to the fact that she had noted the intensity with which Dee looked at the dancers. So had some of the dancers in fact and they felt a little uncomfortable. “I got as much as I’m going to get here. There are some choices we need to make before we proceed much further.”

“Such as?” Dee asked, not really focusing on Noyala’s words, but still able to understand and answer due to her ability to multitask.

“Well, I’ve come to the conclusion that I really should make a bid for the throne. That much you probably expected. Now the next question is: how far I am willing to go to get the position. Am I willing to kill those that support my sister for example? Many of them haven’t done anything I could judge them for by supporting her. In fact, many of them have similar thoughts to those that I have, which is why they support my sister in the first place. It’s just that they have not taken their thoughts to the logical conclusions just yet. They see some of the danger but don’t realize the full extent of it just yet. Can we punish them for not seeing as far as I can? They might come to my position given enough time, but there isn’t enough time to convince them and they are currently supporting my biggest rival. And if the worst comes, am I willing to destroy my people in order to save them down the line?” Noyala’s voice became morose.

“You know, there are softer ways to get people to do what you want. Besides, sounds to me you don’t need to convince everyone supporting your sister. You just need to convince her instead.” Dee pointed out, still somewhat distracted by the dancing couples.

“Do you think I didn’t try? She has not seen what hides in the dark places of the forest.” Noyala shot back exasperated.

“Then you need to show her. Or you can kill her. That said, you are right. You need to decide how far you’re willing to go.” Dee finally looked straight at Noyala. “If you do get into this, you can’t do it with half-hearted conviction. Now, enough about such dark topics, I want to try that.” She pointed at the dancing couples that were just finishing a song.

Noyala wasn’t exactly sure what to do with the sudden change of topics and the glaring disconnect in moods. Dee had just gone from talking about something extremely serious into dancing. Finally, her feelings just bubbled out as laughter. “Have it your way. Do you know how to dance though?”

“I think I got the gist of it.” Dee replied. “It might take a moment for us to find our pace, but I think I can do it.” After all, even with the ritual dancing her execution had been technically perfect. It’s just that she didn’t really put emotion into it. However, the types of moods in these dances were something she could do. Hopefully.

The two moved on to the dancefloor. Neither of them was male, but the two were both assertive enough to take the lead so that was not an issue. Noyala had more experience but allowed Dee to take the lead at first. The first dance was a little mechanical as Dee was still finding her footing so to speak. Luckily she was naturally graceful, had a perfect ear for rhythm and was fully capable of winging it. To those observing the situation was a little odd. The two women were clearly stunning, although Dee was even more so by design, and moved like only trained fighters or dancers could. On the other hand their dance was a little emotionless.

The next dance started to change things. It was one of those dances that were almost like a negotiation. Now that Dee had gotten the hang of the basics, she felt free to get into the swing of things. Everyone watching, but especially Noyala, felt that something had changed. Dee led Noyala on a graceful chase across the dancefloor as if a young lover pursuing her chosen. Noyala got into it as well, playing hard to get and coy. Suddenly Dee changed the pace, changing from an eager person chasing an unwilling target into a proud and aloof individual, as if saying “well if you don’t want to, then I’m certainly not going to humiliate myself chasing you.” Noyala grinned at the change in atmosphere, and suddenly took the more aggressive stance.

Now the roles were reversed, as Noyala took the lead. Now she was doing the chasing, while Dee was playing the unwilling partner trying to run away, feigning an expression of someone jilted. As the song ended, the two had seemed to come into a semblance of an understanding. The dancefloor was starting to gather observers, just like Dee’s earlier fight had done. Their dance had been very expressive if a little odd. To top it off, it seemed like the musicians were getting into the mood as well, though they were secretly getting silent requests from the two dancers. To the amusement of the musicians, the requests were separate but very similar.

The next song was much more aggressive in nature. The two dancers started something that looked almost like a close range battle for domination. It was like the two were trying to force the other into making a mistake or taking a misstep, stepping into each other’s space and depriving them of places to step into. At times one was leading, while at other times the other one took the reins. The two started to feel like the dancefloor was limiting them somewhat, as the other couples were getting in the way. That brought another element into their rhythmic battle, as they had to take the others into consideration. They still felt a little stifled.

Dee finally had enough and the two started rising up from the dancefloor. At first, Noyala felt a little confused but then realized that Dee was using her telekinesis to form an invisible dancefloor of their own above the others. She was worried for a moment about the fact that they were rising above the others in very short dresses but realized that Dee had also controlled the shadows to hide those parts that should not be seen. Her momentary hesitation provided Dee an opportunity to attack though. Dee managed to take control of the situation, and the dance ended before Noyala could regain it. Thus the dance ended in a way that signaled her submission to Dee’s control.

The next song was much more passionate. This changed the feel of their dance completely. Dee remembered some of the lessons Nessera had given her about how sexual encounters for women were dependent on setting the mood. Nessera had also said something about dance being almost like sex with clothes on, which Dee had not really paid attention to back then. She was paying attention now though.

Noyala could feel the air around Dee changing and could see a whole new kind of fire burning in Dee’s eyes now. She also sensed something that Dee had used once before, something that Noyala realized Dee must have learned from the succubus. There were clear pheromones in the air, and Noyala felt a desire welling inside her as well. She realized Dee could be very seductive when she got in the mood and didn’t mind at all.

The two’s dance started slowly with slight caresses and brushes with hands to places that had not been touched before. Slowly as the song picked up in speed and passion, so did the two’s actions as they were openly caressing each other and rubbing against one another. As the dance went on, the two were engaged in what could only be considered heavy foreplay on the dancefloor, and it was very passionate. The audience and other dancers were also affected by the mood and got caught up in the two’s pace. Desires flared and longing gazes were exchanged. There would be many a passionate encounter this night.

As the dance ended the two dancers were panting heavily, and only a small part of it was from exhaustion. They both decided now would be a very good time to cool down, as they grabbed drinks and moved rapidly towards one of the balconies that overlooked the gardens. The two were glad to be left alone for a while as they tried to cool down. With the two having enhanced constitutions from their level of power, the alcohol in the drinks did nothing for them. Even the powerful wines of the Sidhe were like water when it came to inebriation and they simply tasted great and were cold for the two. In truth, Dee could drink a whole company of dwarves under the table at this point, and Noyala was only slightly less impressive.

The two stood side by side on the balcony in full silence, simply enjoying each other’s presence and thinking. Something had once again changed. They had silently acknowledged earlier that they had feelings for one another. Now the two had felt passion and found themselves liking it. The thing was, neither of them was quite ready for it. Hence the need to cool things down a bit. The two still held hands though, as they watched over the garden.

The two might not have minded indulging in their passions for a bit, but there were some things preventing them. Instinctually they both knew that if they gave into those passions, they would both fall hard. They could both sense a powerful connection building between them, and the passions were just a part of it. The problem was that they both knew that staying together would be a very unlikely scenario in the long run. And if they were to let go and fall hard for one another, the pain from their eventual separation would be that much worse.

As Noyala had said, Dee had already guessed that she would make a bid for the throne. She would take the position to try and save her people, to try and avenge the attitude of her family throwing her into the shadows, and to go against her sister that had been blessed. There was a great deal of bitterness in that last part. Her sister had everything while she became a shadow, and in a twisted way, Noyala wanted to take all that happiness away from her sister. Or she would die trying. It wasn’t healthy but it was what it was. They both also knew that Dee would not stay in the forest. They both realized the implications.

Dee was starting to come to the conclusion that maybe they should just take the plunge and let the chips fall where they may. Her thoughts were interrupted though when Noyala spoke. “I have a little late evening activity planned for us.”

Dee grinned. Maybe she wasn’t the only one willing to take the plunge.

----------

“This is not what I had in mind when you talked about late evening activities.” Dee argued with a deep sigh.

The two were overlooking another mansion owned by one of the supporters of Noyala’s sister. The idea was to break in and either kill the owner of the mansion or at least find something they could use for leverage. The owner of the mansion was a powerful mage and he was also one of Noyala’s sister’s most important supporters. No matter what they decided to do about the other nobles, this one they had to deal with one way or another.

“Oh? So what exactly did you have in mind?” Noyala asked with fake coyness. They both knew exactly what Dee had in mind.

“I thought I’d try and take you mind off politics for a few hours.” Dee shot back.

“Just a few hours?” Noyala teased.

“I’ve noted that some people tend to run out of stamina at that point.” Dee said half-defensively, half-proud of herself.

This got Noyala’s attention. As far as she knew, the only other partner Dee might have had, and Nessera’s words had been pretty clear on that when the succubus was making a lot of dirty jokes, was the succubus. So a succubus ran out of stamina with Dee? That made the whole idea even more intriguing. Anyway, that was for later. Now they had a job to do.

The mansion they were observing had weird defenses, to say the least. The mage owning it was mostly also responsible for the defenses. The man was an accomplished illusionist and the mansion was filled with his handiwork. Anyone trying to break in would find themselves lost and confused and vulnerable to more defensive spells. It was hard to avoid traps you could not see. The idea was good in theory. Even someone with Dee’s stealth skills would find it hard to infiltrate the manor because stealth did nothing against the illusion spells that were always active.

There were, of course, downsides as well. As any guards would also be subjected to the illusions, the number of guards on the premises was almost non-existent. The owner could craft an amulet rendering the guards immune to the illusions, just like he himself was wearing, but every such amulet was a possible security risk. Hence why there were only a handful of guards. There were some mindless golems for extra defense, but the same thing that rendered them immune to illusions also made them dumb. The golems were only there to provide muscle against those already stuck in the illusions.

“I can see why you wanted to rush to take him out inside this place.” Dee said with some amusement. There was another problem with the defenses.

“Yeah, this is probably the easiest place to catch him by surprise considering your talents. If he was at his home in the empire capital, then we’d have to go through much heavier defenses.” This mansion was only one of many such places owned by the man, and he was only here because he was visiting an ally. Tomorrow he would go back to the empire’s capital. “You should be able to see through the illusions easily.”

That was the glaring problem with the defenses when pitted against someone like Dee. Illusions always carried a certain mental component and Dee was almost entirely immune to them thanks to her being a psion with mental training. She could also use her special sight to see straight through the illusion spells that managed to affect her at all.

Without wasting time Dee started moving through the mansion’s defenses while Noyala darted the opposite way, taking distance from the mansion towards a particular place they had agreed on. While Dee would be unaffected by the illusions, she didn’t have so much leeway that she could take Noyala through the traps and defensive spells with her. That would have required Dee to actually carry the other woman. However, unlike Noyala, she didn’t know what she was looking for when it came to leverage. So, the idea was that Dee would enter the mansion owner’s office and open a portal for Noyala to step through. The deepest parts of the mansion were not filled with illusions for practical reasons, so there was no need to worry at that point.

Dee easily reached her destination and allowed Noyala to enter. Then the Sidhe woman started going through the man’s office. “Anything?” Dee asked after fifteen minutes.

“Well, he’s involved in several illegal activities like upper inks trade, but I haven’t found anything that would really work as…leverage.” Noyala’s voice trailed off as she read a letter sent to the man in question. Her expression darkened as she read on. Then she checked the place she had found this letter in more carefully, only to find a small hidden compartment inside the drawer. Her expression kept darkening as she read the documents inside.

“What is it?” Dee demanded as she noted the change in expression.

“He knows. He knows exactly why I want to take our race from this forest, and the reason the monarchs die earlier. He knows but doesn’t care. Which means my parents know and they’re still pushing my sister into taking the position. He was also in cahoots with my mother in arranging the ambush that brought us together and killed my friend. There are other names mentioned as well.” Noyala said angrily. She disliked her sister, and would gladly kill her with her own hands, but she still felt slighted that her parents would throw both of them away like this.

“I’m guessing we don’t need to leave the man alive after all? And I’m guessing we also got a list of people that need to disappear?” Dee asked, figuring where this was going.

“Yes, tonight we hunt.” Noyala confirmed with a grim expression. “At least four of the people on this list are in the city at the moment.”