Diamond Elf - Chapter 5

Chapter 5

In the morning, Chelindra and Gabriel were surprised to find that the senior officers had ensured that everything was ready to go by the time Chelindra joined them. This meant that they were ahead of schedule, which pleased Chelindra greatly.

They departed the castle as soon as King Collin hugged Chelindra goodbye. Gabriel reflected that King Collin must have meant it when he said that he regarded Chelindra as his own daughter, for he didn’t feel compelled to hug any of his other Officers. Though, he did give them an inspiring speech.

Gabriel didn’t have much to do before they left the castle as the other senior officers had already done his work as a gesture of acceptance and gratitude. He watched the soldiers as they marched, and marveled that even the females seemed to be capable of marching such a long distance.

He had known that there were females in King Collin’s army, of course, since General Grey had often called Collin a fool for allowing his country’s women to die in such a manner, but Gabriel now knew it to be a necessary tactic on the King’s part. He simply did not have enough soldiers to compare with the Empire, even with the women. Without them, the Armintan army would surely be likened to a village at the foot of a volcano emitting lava.

Gabriel gave his reassuring smile to one of the female soldiers as she noticed him looking at her. She grinned back in a suggestive manner.

Another female soldier caught her look, and nudged her. “Don’t try to catch his eye! He’s General Chelindra’s lover! Who knows what she would do to you if you tried to steal him from her. Or worse; if you succeeded!”

Gabriel pretended that he didn’t hear the comment, but couldn’t stop his eyes from locating Chelindra. I wonder if she knows what they are saying about us?

Chelindra was at the head of the army, and Gabriel was mingled in with the senior officers, so Gabriel figured that she couldn’t have heard the gossip. Chelindra turned to smirk at Gabriel in a way that made him wonder if she knew what he was thinking.

Chelindra’s smirk was actually her way of being both amused and frustrated by the gossip. Chelindra had housed officers in her quarters before without anyone assuming that she had taken a lover. So, why did everyone seem to assume that now?

It was only a three-day march to the border closest to the palace, which was most likely the place the Emperor would send his troops in order to attempt to seize the palace, and finally take control of Arminta.

The first night, Gabriel had been given a cot in the senior officers’ tent, but had embarrassed himself by falling asleep in Chelindra’s tent during the evening staff meeting. He simply wasn’t used to so much travel, and was exhausted. Chelindra laughed, and promptly dismissed the meeting.

“Don’t worry about him, he can sleep there tonight.” Chelindra waved the officers away when they discussed which one would best be able to carry Gabriel to his cot. They shrugged, and figured that Chelindra had just confirmed the rumors of their relationship.

Contrary to her officer’s assumptions, Chelindra did not invite Gabriel into her bed. Instead, she placed a blanket over his shoulders, and left him to sleep slumped over the table. After that, she got comfortable in her bed, and listened to the camp gossip. About her. And Gabriel. That’s when it hit her that allowing him to remain in her tent probably hadn’t been the smartest idea she had ever had. In fact, it only added fuel to the fire of rumors.

Lover hmm?

The next night, Gabriel vowed not to embarrass himself, but could not force himself to remain alert during the staff meeting. His head swayed noticeably, and Chelindra had about three seconds to decide what to do before he fell over and possibly hurt himself. She sighed.

“Meeting dismissed.”

She took pity on Gabriel, and helped him to lie on the ground. Then, she covered him with a blanket, and decided to go over her unfinished paperwork. She did this comfortably in bed with a large mug of relaxing tea to sip from. She steadfastly ignored the increased gossip, and wondered why it was so difficult to keep her mind on her work.

Gabriel began to whimper in his sleep, and Chelindra wondered if he did that every night, and she just hadn’t noticed it somehow. She left him alone until he also began to thrash about, and moan in fear.

In his dreams, Gabriel was reliving the days in his youth when Master Grey had decided to motivate Gabriel to work as efficiently as possible by severely punishing any inefficient action on Gabriel's part. The punishments were usually not violent, but could be very cruel. They were designed to inspire fear, obedience, and efficiency.

The particular punishment that Gabriel was reliving was when his Master had locked him in a very small closet for 24 hours without food, and with strict orders not to make a mess in the closet. It was also dark, and Gabriel had to neatly and correctly write the alphabet over and over on the wall.

The reason Gabriel was thrashing in his sleep was that he knew that he would be beaten if the Master found any flaws in Gabriel’s writing. His only comfort was that the Master’s wife had snuck him some food, and a candle nub that he could use to make sure he wasn’t making mistakes.

The Mistress also had brushed her hand along his cheek to comfort him, and gave him a motherly hug. General Grey and his wife had never had any children, and she tried to soften her husband’s harsh punishments to the poor child whenever she could.

Chelindra brushed her hand along Gabriel’s face in an attempt to wake him, and his dream self thought that it was Mistress Grey sneaking him a small amount of comfort. He responded by wrapping his arms around her, and burying his face against her chest.

Chelindra hadn’t expected that, and could feel Gabriel shivering slightly. “Gabriel… Gabriel, wake up. You’re having a nightmare.”

Gabriel opened his eyes, and discovered Chelindra in his arms. What was more, he liked having her there! He blushed in embarrassment, and Chelindra unexpectedly kissed him.

The kiss between them lingered, and was repeated several times before Chelindra turned her head, and fought to control her rapid breathing.

“Interesting,” she remarked.

Gabriel agreed, despite being confused on how Chelindra had come to be in his arms, and why she had decided to kiss him.

“I do not intend to share my body with you this night, but perhaps you will avoid a repeat of your nightmare if you share my bed,” Chelindra suggested, hoping that her presence would give him peaceful sleep, which was generally one of the gifts elves were born with.

“It’s embarrassing enough that I have fallen asleep in your tent twice now. I don’t think I could bear it if –“

“If you’re worried about what people will say, well, they already think we’re lovers, so there’s really nothing to be embarrassed about,” Chelindra pointed out.

Gabriel blushed. “Except sharing your bed with you.”

Chelindra was slightly embarrassed herself to discover that her left pointer finger was tracing swirling paths across his back. Her whole body was reacting to him in a way that she had never experienced before.

She unconsciously pressed her body into his. “It’s just for sleep, Gabriel,” she reminded him. What is wrong with me?!

Gabriel yawned, and nearly drifted back to sleep, but figured that she was right. He probably should sleep in a bed, since sleeping on the hard floor was almost certainly what had triggered the dream. He sleepily tried to hold onto her with one arm as he attempted to remove his excess clothing with the other hand.

Chelindra helped him, allowing her hands to freely roam his body, and was grateful that he was too tired to make her finish what she was starting. She was not so easy! Then again, she had never been so powerfully tempted either.

Soon, they were in bed, and Gabriel was sound asleep. Chelindra pulled his head so that it rested in her bosom, and stroked his back comfortingly. She eventually managed to fall asleep, but not before her imagination ran wild with all of the other things that could be happening between them.


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