Chapter V: Out of Sight
"Prepare for unforeseen consequences."
- The G-Man (Half Life)
General Niara Shadowleaf knelt at the foot of the steps that led to the elevated throne, keeping her head bowed down as she delivered the final report of recent events that her mistress was already aware of. She was late and afraid, so afraid. Her body was as tense as a notched arrow, her eyes on the verge of tears. She had to fight for each sentence that came out of her mouth. At least there was no one else present but the two of them.
"I am afraid that Ridge was... beyond s-saving. The Resistance took us by... by surprise. There was n-nothing that I could possibly... Not with the small force I had with me. If only..." she muttered, thinking how pathetic she must have looked to her mistress, how disappointed she must have been. But she dared not look up. She couldn't. She was frozen in place and the only thing keeping her from falling apart was the same fear that was doing this to her.
Ilhirel's tone of voice was surprisingly devoid of emotion. Analytical. "And just when you had finally picked up the trail of your previous failure..." she said, staring down at the she-elf from her throne.
Niara flinched, her muscles tensing. She panicked. To fail again so soon, she thought, finishing her mistress' sentence. Oh no, please... It took her a long time to muster the strength to continue, and Ilhirel did not interrupt her, which scared her even more. "We fought off the first wave, but there were too many. Half the local City Watch turned traitors, even Lord Brook himself took part in the uprising. I did all that I could..."
"What you did," Ilhirel interjected, "Was lose one of the most important cities of the South to a bunch of rebel upstarts. Even I know that, and I don't care about the South at all. But never mind." She waved her hand as if it were completely unimportant. "Do continue."
"I..." The interruption left the elf paralysed for a few moments. Tonight will be my end, she thought absentmindedly. "I ordered a... tactical withdrawal..."
"You fled." Ilhirel corrected her testimony.
It was becoming too much for poor Niara. The strain on her mind manifested physically, causing her to tremble, barely getting the words out. "I-I... I f-fled..." No... Please, no... "To the nearest settlement, to regroup. We regrouped, and... I sent word to you, Mistress. And decided to s-stay in the field, muster more troops. I c-called for reinforcements, gathered what I could, tried to stop the enemy's advance..."
"Oh, the enemy stopped their advance, eventually. But I doubt that it had anything to do with your efforts. More likely that they just grew tired. In fact, your feeble attempts were insufficient to even give the illusion of having helped, really, if half the assessments I received were correct." Ilhirel scolded her, yet still retaining her rational tone. The way she spoke, you'd think she didn't have a stake in the matter at all. This only scared Niara more.
"A commander with your experience should have recognized on the spot that any further skirmishes would be a complete and utter waste of time and resources. A far more logical course of action would have been to save what could be saved, return home, and plan a counter-offensive. Wouldn't you agree... General?" she called her out but didn't give her the time for further apologies. "Instead, you saw fit to... remain in the field, as you put it, for the length of a week - low on supplies, troops, morale... Sending only brief reports through your messengers... It seems to me, General," Ilhirel rose from the throne and slowly descended the stairs towards where Niara was kneeling, "That you were more afraid of coming home than facing a superior enemy force in battle. How odd."
Niara felt Ilhirel standing in front of her, just a step or two higher. She tried hard to still herself, but with no success. She visibly shivered, the same thoughts crossing her mind back and forth, again and again. She failed, two times in succession, inexcusably, on such a scale that not even her impeccable career could make up for it. "I-I-I... Forgive me. I was... afraid, so a-afraid..." was all that she managed to say.
"That's enough. Look at me, Niara." the Sorceress said.
Niara heard Ilhirel sigh, heard the ruffle of her robes betray some movement, and thought: Maker, this is it. This is how I go. Then she felt a gentle warmth on her cheek, the palm of a hand, encouraging her to raise her head and look up. She did. And there she was, the figure of the woman she loved - dressed in her usual red robes with woven golden runes, her face framed by medium-length blonde hair. A face adorned with a... smile? Niara blinked several times, deliberately, trying to clear her blurry vision. Her mistress was in front of her, down on one knee, caressing her left cheek with the palm of her hand. The look on her face was shockingly compassionate. There wasn't even a trace of the horrid execution that Niara was expecting in sight.
"Nia." Ilhirel cooed fondly, gently wiping the tears off Niara's face even as they fell. "My dear, beloved Nia." She only ever called her that in their most intimate moments. "It is I who must plead for your forgiveness."
A wave of emotions flooded Niara. Her eyes were wide in disbelief. She'd failed her mistress, and now she was hearing Ilhirel plead for forgiveness from her? She had to protest.
"Shhh. Silence." the Sorceress placed a finger over the elf maiden's lips, guessing her intentions. "True, I was angry at first. Outraged, even. You not only failed me twice, but refused to return to my side afterwards. But then my anger passed, and I realized that I was not thinking right. That I've allowed my ambitions to blind me. You see, the Amaranth is important to me - but so are you."
Niara thought her heart was about to give up, but all it did was beat faster. Her eyes filled with tears all over.
"News of you falling in the ambush reached me at the same time as those saying how you survived without a scratch, so I didn't take it seriously at first. Only later did it cross my mind just how close I came to losing you. And then I thought of you out there, risking your life again and again in a battle that you knew you could not win, just because you were too afraid of what I might do if you returned to me empty-handed once again."
"I didn't..." Niara struggled to get the words out. "I didn't want to disappoint you, M-Mistress. I did everything I could, everything -"
"Shhh, Nia." Ilhirel silenced her, lovingly stroking her white hair. "You've done enough. You are home now, safe and sound, and I'm going to take care of you. I promise."
That, at long last, sent Niara over the edge. She fell forward, collapsing in Ilhirel's embrace, finally relaxing. Finally safe. Finally happy. She breathed in Ilhirel's scent, her warmth, as if it were more important than oxygen.
But just as the Sorceress was about to continue, the gates of the throne room suddenly opened and a knight hurriedly entered, pausing at a respectful distance. "My apologies for interrupting, your Highness, but there is an... individual here, demanding to see you. We've no idea how he reached the courtyard undetected, but he claims to have vital information about the Amaranth and will only speak to you in person. What are your orders?"
Ilhirel's annoyance at the interruption subsided as soon as she heard the Amaranth mentioned. She stood up, pulling Niara up with her. "Go to my chambers and draw a bath, will you? I will be there soon, and then I'll make your every wish come true." she promised with a sultry smile.
And she did, feeling better than she'd felt in days. But still not, she knew, as good as she was going to feel before the evening was through.
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