[RPG] [Dwi][PeL] Alanna Anaris ~ Temptation in the Tub

[Timothy Collett]

Alanna grumbles and growls as she arrives in Askileon with her two  
walking wounded.

"Well," she says as she finally enters the Royal suite in the palace,  
"that was a total fiasco!"

She makes as if to flop into an overstuffed armchair, but her aide  
clicks her tongue and waves her hands anxiously. "Your Majesty, your  
clothes—!"

Alanna looks down at herself and sighs. She is covered in road dust  
and spattered with blood—both old and fresh, human and monster. "Yes,  
I suppose I had better change before I ruin the lovely upholstery,  
hadn't I?" she fairly snarls. Then, with an effort she un-scowls and  
turns to her aide. "Sorry, Kyra. I don't mean to snap so. I'll make  
sure not to destroy the furniture, I promise. Now, you go...find  
something to eat; I know you're starving. I'll be fine on my own for  
a while..."

Kyra bows and backs out, looking both irritated and relieved.

Alanna shakes her head and heads to the bathroom, where she turns on  
the taps to fill the enormous bathtub (two man-lengths long and one  
wide, almost a pool) with hot water—And thank all the Gods we've got  
this working now; I couldn't take having to call for the pages to  
bring bucket after bucket of hot water from downstairs anymore, or  
worse, go out to the bathhouse—sheds her clothes, and slips, after a  
few minutes to let the water level rise to an appropriate depth,  
gratefully into its relaxing embrace.

It's not long before she realizes she isn't alone.

"Well, I was wondering when you'd show up again," she remarks  
sardonically, not bothering to open her eyes. "Figures it would be  
just when I'm finally getting comfortable again. So what kept you?"

"I've been watching you," replies the low, musical voice of Elanzil.  
"I'm rather proud of you, actually. You wrapped those people right  
around your finger to get yourself chosen as Queen, and get them to  
accept your choices for Grand Imperator and Duke without more than a  
peep of protest."

Alanna grits her teeth at the word "proud," but says nothing. At the  
sound of gentle splashing, though, and the feel of a body disturbing  
the water, her eyes pop open in surprise, to see the Goddess  
descending into the bath at the opposite corner. She slides into the  
water until it comes nearly to Her shoulders and lies full-length,  
Her feet not quite touching Alanna's.

"Mmm," She remarks, "this is really quite a nice thing you have  
going, Alanna. Before long, you really will be an Empress...as long  
as you can keep your people moving in the same direction."

In spite of herself, Alanna snorts at this. "I've got it under  
control, or will have, shortly. The conquest of eastern Dwilight  
proceeds apace."

"Possibly, possibly," the Goddess almost purrs, "but it would be so  
much easier if they would just listen to you, wouldn't it? You have  
the loyalty of the Royal Arbitrator...he would be very easy to...lean  
on..."

Something about the relaxing hot water and the eddying currents of  
steam in the room seem to give Elanzil's voice a hypnotic quality.  
Alanna has to force herself to remember Who she's talking to for a  
moment before replying, "My problems are my own, Dark Lady. I do not  
require Your assistance for them—or, for that matter, for my bath."

A smile curves Elanzil's lips, and Her eyes seem to glow from within  
with a strange eagerness. She leans forward, Her torso coming free of  
the water in a sight that, Alanna thinks irrelevantly, would surely  
be riveting to any man, but which rivets her attention in other ways:  
though the Goddess's body iss, of course, perfectly proportioned, it  
iss crisscrossed with old scars. Some, Alanna even recognizes from  
her history lessons, like the one that cuts diagonally across Her  
from Her left shoulder nearly to Her right hip, given in one of Her  
defeats at Arelien's hand, before They agreed to fight such battles  
by proxy to avoid damaging the heavens and the earth. The scars  
fascinate her, as they remind Alanna of her own scars—and of the fact  
that one of Elanzil's most important characteristics is that no  
matter how many times, or how badly, she is defeated, she always,  
always, comes back to fight again...

"Remember, Alanna...a woman should always use all the weapons at her  
disposal in a battle. And politics..." She chuckles. "Politics is  
always a battle." As She speaks, She slides through the water closer  
to Alanna, until She can touch her left arm, and side, where She runs  
Her finger along Alanna's own scars there. At first, Alanna flinches  
violently away from the Goddess's touch, which seems piercingly,  
burningly cold, but then it subsides to a tingle, and she feels  
somehow unable to pull away.

"You know, Alanna," She murmurs, "I can help you with these if you  
want..." As she draws her finger along the scar on Alanna's left  
side, a pain strikes through it that makes Alanna gasp, but when she  
looks, the scar is gone!

Head still somewhat fogged by the strange atmosphere Elanzil has  
created in here, Alanna starts to protest, but isn't quite sure what  
to say.

"Here, let me give you a taste of what I can give you, my Golden  
Queen," Elanzil says, and stands suddenly, making a wave of water  
which briefly covers Alanna's head. When she sits up, spluttering,  
she realizes that the aches and pains that have plagued her ever  
since her terrible torture at the hands of Sandalak's brutal Executor  
are all but gone. Not only that, her scars have all vanished, and her  
body feels and looks like it did when she first came to Ikalak:  
fresh, young, and healthy.

Bewildered, Alanna looks up at Elanzil. "How...? Why...?"

Looking down at her, Elanzil's eyes flash, and her voice has changed  
from silky persuasion to iron certainty. "Why? Because you are one  
who deserves My favour, Alanna. You are among the strongest women in  
these lands, and your heart does not truly follow the path of My soft  
sister.

"Never forget Who I am, Alanna. Never forget who you are!"

And with that, she vanishes, leaving Alanna to remember a truth she  
has long forgotten about just Who Elanzil is: the patron of scorned  
women, and of women's ascendance over men.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://news.battlemaster.org/pipermail/rpg/attachments/20080328/b0458a39/attachment.htm