Gifts of Affection

“…and under the authority of the Magistrix, the Sin’dorei reserve the right to administer punishment as seen fit.”



She mumbled to herself as her quill scribbled scratches into the parchment. Common was a dreadful, barbaric language indeed.



[i]“Signed,



Aria Dawnrunner”[/i]



She pressed the quill thoughtfully to her chin as she pondered. She placed the tip back to the parchment beneath her name.



[i]“Special Assistant to the Magistrix”[/i]



Satisfied, she neatly folded the parchment into thirds, reaching for the hot wax seal. Aria heard a knock on her the heavy oaken door to her private study. She raised her gaze as the door creaked open.



“I hope you’re not busy, Sis…” Senna closed the door softly behind her as she entered.



“Not at all, Senna.” She lied. Aria tucked the note into her flowing red robe. “What’s on your mind?”



“Well…” Senna started. She tried to hide her reddened eyes, dried tears outlined on her cheeks.



Aria took notice immediately. She rose to her feet, walking towards her sister. She wrapped her an arm around her, her other hand wiping the tears from her cheek. “What’s wrong? Who did this to you?”



The elder blood elf hugged her sister, holding her head against her neck. She could hear Senna’s sniffles. Aria took a good look at her sister’s face as she slowly released the embrace. “Sit down, Senna. Tell me what’s wrong.” Aria led her toward the end of the large bed, gesturing for her to sit.



Senna buried her face in her sister’s lap, feeling the soft texture of the flowing red robe against her cheeks. She could feel familiar fingertips stroking down her long, golden hair. “I missed you. I was scared.”



Aria blushed, her cheeks matching her robe. “I missed you too, Senna. I was worried sick. I didn’t waste a second when you didn’t return home from the market.”Aria’s fingers brushed the hair from Senna’s long, sensitive ear. “I’m just glad you’re home, and safe.”



Senna smiled weakly. She raised her head from her sister’s lap as she looked ahead at the ornate tapestries decorating the walls. Her sister always had a taste for extravagance. She glanced to the side. “Can I tell you something, Sis?”



“You can tell me anything, Senna. You know that.” Aria’s voice was soft and comforting. She placed her arm around her sister, pulling her close.



Senna paused. The words felt like they were stuck in her throat, burning. “I-I don’t want to be a priestess anymore,” she whispered.



Aria’s eyes widened in surprise as she grabbed her sister’s shoulders. “What?” She pulled Senna towards her, until they looked at each other face to face. “You’ve wanted to be a priestess since you were little, Senna. Why are you changing your mind now?”



Senna averted her eyes, silent.



Aria’s eyes darkened, her voice lowering to a growl. “…Did he touch you, Senna? In that way?”



A heavy silence fell onto the room.



“…Senna, I love you no matter what. You’re my little sister.” Aria threw her arms around her to emphasize the point. “…but I need to know. Did he… hurt you?”



“N-No, no…” Senna squeaked. “He didn’t touch me.”



“Are you lying to me?” Aria gazed into her little sister’s eyes, demanding. “I know when you’re lying, Senna.”



“No, no! I’m a good girl.” Senna steeled herself as she braced herself, trying not to wither under her sister’s searching gaze. “We made our pact, remember?”



Aria nodded. “I’ll always be there to protect you, Senna. Fire and light. I will get behind any decision you make. Just tell me, though… why?”



Senna clenched her eyes shut as she desperately recited the words from her memory. “I thought everyone had good inside them. I just wanted to help. But then… he showed me darkness.” Her eyes stared into space as she spoke. “…I can’t trust anymore. I can’t believe the things the Magistrix taught anymore.”



Aria was silent as she studied her sister’s face. A sisterly instinct told her something wasn’t quite right. “You don’t have to continue your training if you do not wish to, Senna. I won’t make you.”



Aria gave Senna a final hug before she rose to her feet. She crossed to the other side of the bed, where she slipped off the flimsy red dress, replacing it with her leather armament. “We’ll talk about this more later, Senna. Now, I have some business to attend to.” Aria walked out of her chambers, softly closing the door behind her.



Senna erupted into tears as soon as her sister was out of earshot. She grabbed the satin pillows, clutching it tightly against her chest as she cried her heart out. It was the hardest thing in the world to lie to her own sister. To lie about no longer believing in her faith. To lie about… him.



Even now, her body still ached. He had scarred her body, causing irreparable damage to her. She was defiled. The Magistrix would be able to tell in just one glance. That was why Aria had to tell her. She hugged the pillow tightly as she curled up against it.



How she hated him. He destroyed her innocence and purity, and crushed her dreams. And now she had to lie to her own sister. She had to lie about her beliefs. She had to lie about what he had done to her. Her nails sank into the pillow as she imagined him sitting in his cell below, that vile grin on his face…



= = = = =



Vaen’s howls of sheer anguish filled the small cell, his pained screams reverberating off the walls. The torch flickered as Aria brought the whip up high above her head again, aiming it across his bare back.



“…Are you going to speak yet, little boy? Do you think you’re fooling me, pretending to be tough?” She brought down the long bullwhip, flaying his broken back, innumerable red welts pounded into his skin. The torch flickered again.



“AUHHGGHH!” Vaen’s howls of pain mixed with a gurgle of blood, dripping out of his mouth. He collapsed onto the filthy dungeon floor, only to rise on his hands and knees again. His sapphire blue eyes stared into those two malevolent emerald orbs defiantly, his lips pursed tightly together in a grimace. His chest heaved with exertion as he breathed heavily. He braced himself for the next lash.



Aria bent down to one knee as she looked amused into the human’s defiant gaze. “Just like every other warrior. “Stupid, reckless, and defiant to the end.” She brought out a vial attached to her waist, swishing its viscous green liquid in front of his eyes. “I’m going to give you one last chance, mongrel.” She carefully poured the contents onto the long, leather bullwhip, slathered with his blood. There was a faint sizzle as the poison met blood. “What did you do to my sister?”



Vaen spat at her, a glob of his spit landing on her polished leather boot.



She rose to her feet, winding her arm high. She brought the leather whip high over her head. Vaen looked up to the fearsome figure of the crimson-haired blood elf, a pleased smile on her lips, the whip arched to strike in her hands. Vaen quickly averted his eyes towards the torch, the shadow of her figure on the wall.



His unholy screams filled the air as she brought the whip down, flaying the skin across his collar. She quickly swung the momentum of the whip around again, bringing it slicing across his back again in the opposite direction, eliciting another ear-splitting shriek. Her speed hastened as he writhed on the floor, expelling the air from his lungs as another vicious strike shredded the skin along his spine. Gripped in the sheer agony, he rolled on his side, clutching his back with his hands. She brought down the whip again, lashing him across the face, from his eyes to his nose, down across his cheek. He howled as he felt the acidic poison festering against his skin, burning his flesh, cauterizing in the wound…



==-==



It was late in the evening before the torch finally burned itself out. Vaen’s body heaved with each labored breath, his open wounds had drenched his back with dried blood. His body was barely recognizable as he lay his face against the cool, dungeon floor.



Soft footsteps slipped down the stairs, into the small cellar. A key quietly slipped into the iron cell’s lock, two hands slowly opening the door to prevent the creaking hinge from sounding. Soft, feminine hands clutched onto a dagger. Her figure was hooded, shrouded in a robe of midnight blue. A dark aura hung across her figure. She crouched down beside Vaen’s broken body.



She sheathed her dagger. “You’re not going to die on me just yet. Not until I’ve had my vengeance.” She laid her hands across Vaen’s body, concentrating as the exposed open wounds began to close, leaving vicious scars across his body.



Her eyes caught sight of something beside Vaen’s body. The black-bound tome.



Senna’s fingertips grazed across the cover.