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Valley of the Hunted (Frelance & Kikora)

"She has not told you?" Ross laughed and looked back towards Teyha. "I can't rule this valley on my own Janek. I need someone to remind me of what I once was and what the people of this valley need." Janek should be able to figure out the rest on his own since he had to be smart to be in the higher ranks of the rebellion. He looked back at Janek. His face was hard but he looked through Janek not at him. "My people were starving just like yours are now. We could not buy our food like your people should be able to do." He pulled his hood down a bit farther and moved so the sun was to his back before continuing. "We decided to grown our food and what better place than here? This Valley is a natural coral with easily dependable exit points." He reached into his robes and pulled out an old bronze pedant with the crest of a family that had died out when his kind had taken over. "If it weren't for this family I would be the one trying to find you. But I was betrayed by my kind and exiled." He held up the crest so that it was perfectly visible. There was a thin band of gold that was also hanging from the same leather as the crest. It looked like half a wedding ring or one of a pair of very thing rings.
 
"Teyha is very empathetic." The Drow agreed, and sighed softly, glancing back at the girl. "But young still. She does not understand that not all can be saved, and I fear the naivete will hurt her one day."

He turned away from the crowd to watch Ross silently. The Vampire pulled back his hood and on reflex the man cast a spell, drawing his shadow from the ground up, to shelter them both from the effects of the sun. "My kind is not fond of it either." He said simply, before his lips tightened at the man's cold description of life in the valley. "You tend to your food poorly." He responded, keeping his tone even with some effort. "Starved and dying, diseased and scared. Is this was you regularly feed on?"

If he was going to continue the display of the crest cut it short. He moved forward, and reached out, not taking the crest but moving it so he could see every detail clearly. "The Vercu'ul family." He breathed softly, his eyes softening. "I recall them. Powerful humans at the uprising, one of the few who accepted your rule, if I remember. The rebellion was young then, blossoming, and they wished to end it before fighting broke out. A peaceful solution, if I recall correctly..." He paused a moment, his gaze flickering up to Ross. "Rumor had it the elder daughter had grown close to one of the vampires, and even the villagers were aware that she and he planned to rule united..."

The Drow paused, his tone fading to an apologetic low as he sought the gentlest words to describe the rest of the tale. "Word reached the rebellion first that a rival found the girl alone, and bit her. A vampire's venom can do many things, dosed powerfully enough can destroy the mind. Driven by the rival the woman attacked her vampire ally and sought to destroy him, and to defend himself he was forced to kill her. The rival convinced the rest of his kind that he killed the woman in cold blood when she refused his company, and he was cast away."
 
Ross focused on Janek and glared at him. He glare was full of hate and he even went as far as to take a step towards him. "I have been gone since we took over. None of this is my fault." He almost took an step back as the Drow shielded them from the sun. "I feed off off of those who are loyal to me for the most part."

He watched as everything fell into place as Janek spoke. He growled when Janek mentioned a rival Vampire. "His name is Merth. The one who is trying to hunt your kind down." He slipped the crest back into the robes and then leveled his gaze on Janek again. "Still dont think I can be trusted?"
 
Janek's gaze was icy cold, his lips pressed into a thin line, the only visible sign of his anger. "Loyal." He said blankly, as if tasting the word. "Like the little witch? I do not appreciate you feeding from my soldiers."

All the same Janek nodded slowly. "We know of Merth." He said quietly, "He is a cruel man, vicious." The crest disappeared in Ross' clothing and Janek took a moment to heave a sigh. "That is powerful evidence, vampire. Though, even if I were to believe you meant well then and mean well now, how can I be sure your new advisor wont suffer the same cruel fate as your last?"
 
Ross stood up and shook his head. "The young one is different. I did not know she was a soldier until the second time I fed off her. Until then I was just guessing." He looked to the slaves and searched until he saw Teyha.

"It mean more to me than it can to any of your kind." He laughed and crossed his arms. "I knew him even before are second lives started. If anything he got worse when we started hunting for our food." He glared at Janek. "You can't and neither can I. the only saving grace is that everyone in the castle thinks that she is my um pet right now. So Merth should leave her alone."
 
"And you still fed from her." He responded coolly, glancing once at the group of slaves, Teyha bopping between them, hard for even Janek's eyes to pick out when dressed in the oversized men's trousers. "She's only a little girl, young, naive. I cannot say I approve of feeding from children. Nor Ophelie either, however old and mature she might be."

Janek snorted at the mention of the other vampire, his fists tightening in the billowing sleeves. "His cruelty makes him well hated in the rebellion. It is hard to imagine he was ever human." He replied softly, standing quietly as he let his thoughts wander back to the army, his mission. It would not be hard to convince the troops to kill Merth, but to not slay those creature... That would be far more difficult. He was silent for a moment as he pondered before shocked out of silence by the revelation of what the vampires thought Teyha was. "Pet?" He growled, turning his eyes onto the girl once more. She was laughing, he saw, her hand resting lightly on a large man who seemed to be amusing her with some joke or another while she tended to numerous welts across his arm. Her current sunny disposition was all too pet like for Janek, and he turned away quickly. "Is that why you took her?" He asked. "She amused you as a pet? Only after you reached the castle could you have known what kind of a girl she is."
 
"Yes, I needed to feed and she pissed me off the first time. She is young but she considers herself an adult. That makes it okay in my books." He just shook his head at the memory of it and smiled. "She was trying to be so brave. As for Ophelie if it weren't for me she would have been drained long ago but not before Merth got his hands on her. I have never fed off of her." His voice was icy as he spoke.

Ross glared at Janek. "We were all once something else. Try to keep that in mind, It may save your life someday." He crossed his arms and smirked when he heard the question when Janek repeated his word. "She would be considered my slave if I had bought her but because she has connection or at least the other vampires think she does they will think she is my pet until I break her." Ross thought about his next question for a bit before answering. "No. I took her because she stood up to me. I had seen enough of her personality to know I liked it when I fed off her the first time. Anyway when we found Ophelie at her house I knew I had to take both of them if I was going to do have any chance of learning about how things in the Valley have changed. So since Ophelie was Vikki's catch I took Teyha so I could get some information."
 
"It doesn't in mine." Janek responded. "Teyha is not a brave person." He reflected aloud, watching the witch work with a smile. "She was never considered to be a soldier. She wont hurt others, even when she can, and freezes under pressure. Makes an excellent doctor, but in combat her fears show... Perhaps this work is suited for her."

Ross' glare didn't affect Janek any, he simply crossed his arms and looked coldly back, his eyes narrowing. "I will not forget, it is simply difficult to believe one could have lived as a human, but treat them like cattle all the same." He shook his head at the contradiction, a deep furrow growing between his brows to show his growing agitation now. He moved abruptly, spinning on his heel to watch the sky darken as dusk neared. "Do you intend to break her?" He asked at last. "It almost seems as though you have, but I cannot think of how. I have never known Teyha to give her trust to a man so easily. She pulls back, runs away, and if she defends it is from a distance and out of sight. What have you done to make Teyha serve you?"
 
Ross just shook his head and smiled. "She does not have to be a soldier to be brave. She has to deal with blooded and broken men and women. That takes courage because she is taking their lives into her hands." He thought for a few moments then added. "She is good at protecting her allies as well. If I had not shocked her I would not have known what your or Kaura's names are or knew what you looked like."

"After seeing that humans never learn from their mistakes know matter how many times they make them you stop thinking as yourself as one of them." Ross watched with interest as Janek finally showed emotion. "If I was going to beak her would I have gotten her to contact you?" He frowned but stopped himself from growling at Janek's words. "She does not serve me Janek. She will be ruling with me not for me." He thought about his question for a moment as he figured out how to answer it. "I shocked her, she pushed me to far so I pushed back the second time I fed off of her and I guess I broke down some barriers."
 
For a moment Janek smiled. "Healing suits her." He agreed. "Many do not have the stomach for it, if you would believe. They can kill, but try to mend life and it becomes far too much." He shook his head at the peculiarity of it, but knew it was how people were, each with a strength and weakness. As a leader he understood this well, which was why he shielded his weaker subordinates from more of the dangers. Teyha and Kaura more than others. He knew the two for years now, and looked upon them kindly, perhaps more affectionately than he should for his position.

"Humans are short lived." He reminded Ross gently. "Which is why we are meant to guide them, to teach them." He paused for a moment to listen, his frown deepening. "Shocked?" He asked softly, her eyes narrowing slightly. "Did you beat her?" He demanded, his voice suddenly cold, and he glanced sharply back to Teyha, searching for a sign of injury on her body, "Teyha is not the kind to push so aggressively."
 
"Killing your enemies is much different than not being able to save the life of an allie." Ross had killed his share of enemies but it was always the people he could not save that stuck with him. "Everyone's strength is another persons weakness. We just have to find out what our own is."

Ross laughed at the thought of guiding humans. "That might have been true before but things have changed. I have been out side the Valley for Sixty years Janek and trust me Humans don't want anyones guidance. Your kind has been pushed back into the forests. The humans kill or enslave anyone in their path. The old ways only survive here and maybe in a few other places now." He groaned in frustration. "Of course I didn't beat her! And its not my place to tell you what I did. Its between us." He looked at Janek and shook his head. "I know that but I was not intending to do it." He was starting to get pissed off. Janek had know idea what it was like to be one of his kind and so should not be trying to judge him.
 
"Old ways?" Janek scoffed, whatever tolerance he had for the man disappearing as far as it had appeared. "Do you believe this is the old way?" The drow demanded, sweeping his arm out to gesture to the whole of the valley, "We cling to whatever life your kind allows us. Humans do not know when the next of their kin may disappear, and there is only so much we Elves can do to aid them. Our resources are pressed thin, even those who come for advice eave with little they may apply." His tone darkened further, his hand tightening for a brief moment before the fleeting emotion passed. "Wait. Be patient. The time to act comes soon. For six decades we offered the same words, how long will they head it. No, Vampire, the old way was destroyed here."

He spun to glare at Ross, losing himself as he stepped forward. "How am I to trust me if you will tell me what you did to shock one of my own?" He demanded. "That child is not the same girl I knew, she has changed. I cannot say it is not for the best. I will; however, know what it is you did to her. She is a fragile girl, Vampire, I would not want her harmed."
 
"Look, the old way is still here because you give the humans advice and help them with what you can. Yes it may not be what it used to be but it is better than nothing." He shook his head and groaned. "The time to act will be in a few days Janek. Thats why Teyha reached out to you."

He glared back at Janek and took a step forward of his own. "You might want to trust me because she is still alive along with Ophelie and I could have had you killed as soon as you arrived." His voice had a slight growl to it now. "I made her into a Women Janek." He let this sink in for a second before continuing. "She pushed me at the wrong time and I pushed back." He knew this was not going to go over well with Janek so he pulled his hood lower and walked away from Janek and into the slaves to find Teyha.
 
"A few days?" Janek asked, clearly startled by the speed of which the revolution was happening. "I will need to alert my men, it will be a rush to prepare."

He began to move away, already considering the plans when he heard Ross continue, and he ignored the urge to sigh. "And if you wished to manipulate us you would do just this." He observed, turning a cold eye towards Ross. "You did what?" He demanded, grabbing Ross by the shoulder. He wheeled him around to look him in the eye. "Such an act is unforgivable!" He roared, loud enough for the slaves below to freeze, and stare up at them. "How dare you wish to negotiate with me when you have sullied the body and reputation my subordinate! If you believe I will allow you to harm her further you are mistaken. I will not allow her to suffer around a man like you."
 
"Alert whoever you need to. Its happening with or without your help." He tensed when Janek took his shoulder. He faced Janek and glared at him as he was yelled at. "Shut up Janek! You can't do anything about it now." He took a step closer to Janek and lowered his voice. "Her reputation is fine Janek. You are the only one who knows about this. So shut up and no one else will know about it and her reputation will be fine. Harm her? calm down, I did it without thinking but yes I meant to harm her and I could have done worse." He smirked at Janek's last comment. "How can you do that Janek? She is staying at the Castle with me and even if I would allow her to leave the revolution would have to be sacrificed because no one would trust me anymore." Not that they trusted him all that much now. Just enough to allow him to maybe become one of the elders.
 
Janek's grip tightened slightly, and his glare intensified. "You're using this revolution to hurt her." He said coldly. "You know she wont pull away so long as other people are at risk, and that is the only reason she is staying near you." He said, withdrawing his hand. He gazed directly into Ross' eyes, letting him see no amount of humor in his eyes. "You know very little about that child, so come with me." He said, turning back away from the slaves. "Follow and if by the end of it you think she would be happy by your side then I will have no protests."
 
"I am not using the revolution Janek. I told her to stay away when it happens but she would not have it." He wanted to pull away but he made himself stand still. "If that is true then when this is done she can leave because your people and mine will work this out and every one will be safe." Ross almost smiled at the comment but stopped since it was not the time. "Fine but this has to be quick." He started to follow him then stopped and waved Merk and Kat back when he saw them following him. He turned back to Janek and followed him. "This had better be worth the time it will take Janek."
 
Janek didn't say anything, he just moved deeper into the woods. "It's not far, luckily." He said, glancing once over his shoulder once more at Teyha. "Frankly I am surprised she came so close, usually she does even come within miles of where she had once lived." He sighed heavily, and continued on the way. "There was a reason one so young was living alone, as you might be aware. Still I doubt she told you much about herself, and hearing is not the same as seeing."
 
It took Ross a minute to understand what Janek was talking about. "She lived out here? Why?" Ross sighed then moved up beside Janek. "She has a lot on her mind, so she may not realize how close she is." Ross thought about it for a moment then looked at Janek. "She mentioned she was abused briefly but not how or by who."
 
Janek shrugged slightly. "There is a small village just beyond these trees, her parents lived there as guards employed by your kind." He told Ross, giving him a brief sideways glance. "Which is why they are untouchable, the most we could do to help the girl is remove her from them as silently as possible." They broke through the trees, and as he said there was a small village lined with several houses, most in far better condition than the ones Ross say entering the Valley. "This is where those under the castle employ stay." He explained softly, Teyha's home is there." He said, gesturing to a soft blue home. Several of the occupants were outside, a man and a woman dressed in guard clothes, working on a small garden they used for their own food. Besides their lighter brown hair and far heavier bodies they bore a striking resemblance to the girl, obviously her kin. With them were two other large boys, the larger slow-moving one standing well over six feet tall, his obtuse body dwarfing even his parents.

Janek didn't need to move closer, knowing Ross' sharp eyes could tell everything he needed to know even from the distance. "Her parents and brothers." He said, "They became guards when she hit puberty, leaving the home for days and nights alike, and in that time the eldest son took horrid advantage of her. All but the father are powerful magic users, you understand, though the girl is the only healer in the group. Between his black magic and his size there was nothing she could do. Each day she spoke out she would be punished by her parents, hit denied, abused, and she could only fear for her innocence. Each attack by Bradyn, her sibling, became less controlled, and she was sure he would rape her. Of course your kind did nothing to assist her, so we did. As far as they know their daughter "Cassie" was murdered by revolutionaries and her body burned. Teyha was moved to the village on the other side of the castle, and we watch them to ensure they do not draw close."

He paused, and turned to Ross, "And you raped her." He finished. "The family she knew violated her, and so did you. The one fear she held above all others, and she must live with you as she did them, with no shelter, no protection, only your broken word to keep her safe."
 
Ross watched the family moving around outside the house and made sure to study them all as closely as possible from where he was. He listened silently to what Janek told him. When Janek finished speaking Ross had to walk back into the trees so that he would not do anything. He took another minute to think about what he had just learned. "My word is not broken Janek. It as good as hers, I just have more power." He turned back to the house and watched them family some more. "Will they recognize her if they see her again? Or will I have to get rid of them to keep her safe?" He knew that he would have to get rid of a large portion of the humans that were employed at the Castle it he got into power.
 
Janek stood back and watched Ross for a moment. "She told me you swore not to hurt her, that you would try not to rape her. Two weeks ago." He told the man softly, turning his own back to the family to retreat back into the trees. "Would you?" He asked. "They bear a resemblance to her, and it has not been long since she left them. She's lost weight, changed her hair color, but they would see it is her. Though I warn you, if you hurt them Teyha will not be happy with you. She has a soft heart."
 
Ross groaned as he remembered his words. "I swore not to hurt her but I did not mean for rape to be included in that. Thats why I told her I would try not to rape her." Ross could take Janek's question two ways. "Yes, I would probably recognize her and yes I would get rid of them." He looked to Janek and smirked. "There are ways to get rid of them without killing them or imprisoning them Janek." He turned away from the family again. "Lets go I don't want to be away for long now." He turned at started walking back to the clearing.
 
Janek raised a brow, but followed all the same, leaving the depressing place Teyha grew up behind them. "There has not been rape in Elven society for centuries." He told Ross, "It is difficult for me to imagine it being hard to not rape someone who does not want sex. We believe bliss comes from two willing partners, and to force it destroys the act." He shook his head slightly, tucking his hands away in the folds of his cloak. "Do what you wish with them, it will be a relief to not have to waste manpower watching their every move."
 
"I doubt you interrupt people while they are in the middle of having sex after being abstinent for more than a month either now do you?" Ross didn't both looking at Janek as he spoke. He slipped his hands inside the arms of his cloak so he looked like a monk. "The next time i am with her it will happen the right way I assure you Janek." He smirked at being given permission to do what he wanted. "I find a way to keep Teyha safe from them." He sped up slightly so that they would make it back sooner.
 
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