Maiden 02

A whole month had passed by since Lezard had seen the wondrous sight of the bathing maiden and her entourage. A full thirty days, and countless hours since he had last laid eyes on the beauty that had stolen away his heart. And every single day, without fail, Lezard Valeth returned to the Ancient Forest of Spirits, his feet having worn a path through the brush, straightway to the trees around the lake. And though he tried to be patient, making not a sound, still the otherworldly females did not return to the lake. It was enough to make him despair on ever seeing the platinum haired maiden again, and his heart screamed in protest at the thought.

Lezard was not idle as he waited. He shunned books, for they had little information to give him. Not when he had the philosopher’s stone at his beck and command. It was a wealth of knowledge, easily surpassing that of the world’s, and all at his fingertips. All he had to do was look for it, and look he did. He spent his nights pouring over the stone, squinting at it’s center, demanding it give up it’s secrets. His patience was eventually rewarded, a face was given up to him, that of the maiden.

He learned she was a Valkyrie, the mystical Goddess of Fate, the Chooser of the slain. Such knowledge did not deter him in the slightest, it only added to her allure and intrigue. He learned those women that had accompanied her were her shield maidens, specially chosen einherjar that had been granted the gift of bird form so that they might travel easier among the realm of Midgard. Their helmets were the key to this magic, the feathered helms containing a brief sparkle of power from Lord Odin himself. Even the Valkyrie herself could not transform without her feathered helm, needing Odin’s blessing to form those beautiful wings of her. Lezard quickly realized that if he wanted to capture the Valkyrie he needed to get his hands on her helmet, to trap her here on this mortal plain. Only then could he approach her.

He tried not to let his mind wander, tried to prevent himself from losing time to the fantasies that took hold of him when he thought about what he would do to the maiden….with the Valkyrie. He tightened his hands around the oak of the tree, letting the bark dig into his flesh, let the brief pain tear him away from his fanciful desires. He shook his head, frowning, looking around. Somewhere hidden in the bushes was his servant Bellion, the green orge like homunculus no stranger to his master’s dark deeds. Bellion had accompanied Lezard on many past kidnapping attempts, and was an old pro at snatching women from their homes. Even now he blended seamlessly among the green shrubbery, watching and waiting for his master’s signal.

Lezard was thankful for his minion’s loyalty, glad his pea sized brain kept him from complaining about the endless waiting this mission forced them to endure. If anything, Bellion was even better at waiting than Lezard, able to sit still for hours at a time, barely breathing, not even blinking his eyes as he stared. It was almost unnerving the way he became like a living statue, silent and unmoving.

Lezard let out a sigh, one of sheer frustration. It was getting late, and he was beginning to fear the Valkyrie was not coming. Would she force him to endure another twenty-four hours without her, force him to content himself with memories of how she had looked emerging from the water like some sea nymph? He was fearing that very thing when the sound of wings were heard. Birds were calling out, elegant sounding trumpets, feathers falling as they flew overhead, unaware of the man on the ground.

He watched as the birds circled the lake, carefully scouting out the area. He held his breath, willing himself to be made invisible, not daring to move or even think for fear of them somehow noticing his presence. They flew around the circumference of the lake, once, twice, a total of three times before landing on the water. The swans slowly glided towards the shore, taking their sweet time, Lezard watching them all. As before the Valkyrie was not among them, the maiden seeming to shun the sunlight, even as her servants delighted in it.

Lezard watched as the birds walked across the shore, wings coming forward to touch their small heads. They seemed to shimmer, light flaring up all around them, and though he tried to keep watch, he was forced to look away. When he returned his gaze to the lake side, the birds were no more, six tanned battle maidens in their place, holding their feathered helms in their hands.

They walked over to the bushes, setting the helmets down, quick to shed the rest of their armor. They moved fast, but not carelessly, making sure not to dent the metal of their clothing, carefully folding up their dresses onto the ground. And then they were off, running to the water, laughing and chasing each other. It was a race to see who could make it to the lake the quickest, a tall blonde emerging as the victor.

Lezard watched them play with a hot surge of impatience, unmoved by their nakedness. He had no interest in these vapid, shallow creatures, their bodies doing little to arouse him, not since he had seen what true beauty was. Only the Goddess, the Valkyrie could move him, she alone made his heart beat and his blood boil, and he knew he would go mad without her in his life.

Hours seemed to go by slowly, a torturous crawl as Lezard waited for the Valkyrie to arrive. Panic flared in him as he idly wondered if she might not show up this time. The maidens in the water gave no sign of waiting for anyone, not even sparing a glance at the sky. Perhaps she wasn’t coming, would she deny him her presence, make him wait another whole month for her? He didn’t think he could survive waiting any longer, surely he would die without her, withering away to nothing. Already he found it hard to eat, hard to sleep, all his thoughts and actions consumed by her. Lezard knew he was thinner yet, love sickness making him lose his appetite, and dark circles colored his eyes from lack of sleep. He’d be paler yet if not for all the time he spent out in the sun waiting for her.

Even as he fretted and worried, a cool wind rustled the tree branches, causing him to look up and gasp. It was not a sudden breeze that assaulted the trees, but flapping wings that stirred them up. Lezard stared at the large shadow, watching as it flew past the now risen moon, watched as it—she made her way to the lake. If he wasn’t staring so hard at her traveling form he would have noticed the maidens pausing in the water, lifting up their hands in greeting to the Valkyrie. He almost didn’t look away when the light became blinding, so intent on her was he that he was willing to risk the loss of his eyes, just to keep staring. But good sense prevailed, and at the last second he shut them tight, cursing himself a fool.

When he opened them, she was already walking across the water, her wings making soft fluttering movements. She reached the shore, the maidens running to her side, Lezard’s body tensing up as he fought not to rush to her. Instead he sat back and waited, watching as she removed her feathered helm, seeing her wings melt back into her body. He tore his eyes away from the Valkyrie only long enough to watch as one of the maidens took the helmet from her. He made careful note of where she sat it down, knowing it would be disastrous of him to grab the wrong helmet!

Lezard kept on staring at the spot the helmet lay, even though every fiber in his being wanted to stare at the Valkyrie and her undressing. Instead he watched the helmet, seeing women return to it’s spot to add the cobalt blue armor around it. He listened, hearing the splash of water, hearing voices talking as they followed the Valkyrie out into the middle of the lake. He quickly glanced upwards, seeing the shore empty, and then he was glancing back at the Valkyire’s armor, licking his lips nervously.

This was it! The chance he was waiting for! Lezard began moving forward, half crawling through the bushes, carefully stepping over twigs, not making a sound. He had shed his cape for this endeavor, not wanting it to snag on anything. It seemed an eternity to him, but at last he reached the shrubs that bordered the start of the shore. He crouched down behind them, arms reaching forward to touch cold metal. His hands shook with excitement, and he gathered up the pieces of her armor, leaving none behind, not even the white dress she wore underneath it. At last he touched the helmet, and he bundled it up in her shift, wrapping it securely.

Panting, he began dragging her armor up away from the shore, storing it among the trees some distance away. He could not bear to destroy something that belong to her, wanting to leave it where he could come back and find it. Easily reclaim it for his collection of artifacts stolen from the Gods.

Once the armor and helmet were hidden away, Lezard was able to focus in on the beach once more. The Valkyrie was just emerging from the waters, moonlight like a spot light on her skin, casting her in soft illumination. He could see the water on her, and Lezard wanted to trail his tongue over her skin, lick each individual drop up till she was all dry. ~Soon.~ He whispered to himself. ~Soon.~

The Valkyrie made herself comfortable on the boulder, running her hands though her hair, even as the maidens played in the water. One broke away from the bunch, approaching the Valkyrie, tending to her hair. Lezard’s eyes practically bore holes into the Valkyrie’s form, the man concentrating all his attention on the woman. He saw every sigh, every smile, each quiver of her flesh knowing that soon those sighs and smiles would belong to him, and only to him.

At last the Valkyrie stood, a silent signal for the others to depart from the water. They all made their way to the shore, and headed towards the bushes they had left their clothing by. The Valkyrie stood on the shore, apart from them, unconcerned, waiting for her clothes to be brought to her. Suddenly a cry was heard, a maiden discovering his theft. Other maidens rushed to join the one who had cried, dropping to their knees, digging in the sand, desperate to find the missing armor. Lezard saw the Valkyrie frown, the first displeased expression he had ever seen on her lovely face.

He watched as she strode forward, her walk confident, seeing her mouth fall open as she asked what was the matter. Tearful explanations from the gathered girls, their body posture meek and begging for forgiveness. The Valkyrie frowned harder, bending down to look among the bushes as well. Lezard bit back a chuckle, confident they would not discover what he had done with her armor. They spread out, searching harder and further among the bushes, desperate to find the Valkyrie’s armor. And yet they turned up nothing, returning to her empty headed.

Lezard saw the Valkyrie bowing her head in defeat, a deep sigh issuing out of her mouth. Apologetic looks were given her, as the maidens began dressing, pulling on their armor. Lezard was gladdened to see the philosopher’s stone had been right, each armor had been specially crafted for each maiden, and could not be given to another. It left the Valkyrie with little choice but to wait on the beach while her maidens took to bird form, presumedly flying off to go get help.

He waited for them to leave, watching the Valkyrie as she stared up at the sky, arms crossed over her chest. He imagined he could see her shivering, rubbing her hands on her arms in an attempt to get warm. She sighed, and was turning back towards the water, staring at it’s surface. Minutes passed, and she did not move, just standing there, hugging herself. Lezard wondered what sort of insecurities she was having in the moment, deeming it now time to reveal himself to her.

He wasn’t quiet as he moved, letting his body make as much noise as it was prone to, twigs snapping underfoot as he all but ran towards her. She was turning, and he caught sight of cerulean blue eyes widening in shock. Her pretty pink lips parted, and she let out a scream at the sight of him, taking a step backwards. Lezard grinned, advancing on her, watching as she ran into the water, seeking safety in it’s icy embrace.

Lezard let out a muffled curse, running after her, feeling the water splash around him, dampening his legs up to the knee. He wasn’t the best athlete, but desire quicken his legs, made him speed up and gain on her. His pursuit brought them to the point where water reached their chests, Lezard lunging forward to grab her from behind, ducking them both head first under the water.

The Valkyrie twisted in his arms, kicking out her legs, hands pushing at his chest, trying to break free. Lezard awkwardly hung on to her, trying to rise up out of the water, still clinging to his prize. She screamed in his face, eyes angry, and it delighted him, made him laugh out loud. Her marvelous breasts were pressed against his chest, Lezard keenly aware of every part of her that touched him. His hands were tempted to slide down her body, to touch her in the many ways he had dreamt about all these days past. But he wasn’t that far gone, knowing he needed to get her away from the lake, and back to his home before he could do anything with her.

It was with regret that he turned, trying to drag her back through the shallows. She fought him tooth and nail, hands slapping across his face, fingers clawing at his skin and Lezard almost dropped her a few times. He saw Bellion standing stoically at the water’s edge, just watching them struggle. Lezard gritted his teeth, and barked out a command, ordering the homunculus to come help him.

Bellion marched into the water, and the Valkyrie screamed at the sight of him, her struggles becoming more frantic. Lezard held on to her arms, watching as Bellion reached for her waist. With a grunt she was lifted up out of the water, tossed over the homunculus’ shoulder. Lezard let out a sigh of relief, reaching upwards to push his glasses up his nose. He watched as the Valkyrie began hurling out curses, beating her fists against Bellion’s back, her legs kicking up as she attempted to get free.

“It’s no use struggling.” Lezard told her, but she ignored him, still intent on reclaiming her freedom. Lezard sighed, and shrugged his shoulders, content to let the maiden tire herself out in this manner. He clambered out of the water, clothes clinging wetly to him, already raising a hand. Shouting out the words to the teleportation spell, seeing blue light circle around them. The Valkyrie ceased her struggles with a gasp, recognizing the magic as something powerful. Lezard smiled, hoping to impress her with his talents for spells.

The light flared up around them, seeking to wash over them. The area around the trio seemed to waver and distort as though from an immense heat, and with a ringing sound that echoed out over the water, the trio vanished from sight….