With that and a wave of his hand, Furion closed the barred gate to Illidan’s prison, then turned and quickly walked out of the chamber, the officers following him.
“You will pay for this, my brother!” Illidan screamed, straining against his bonds. “I am the one receiving the injustice and being betrayed! I hope you don’t forget, for I never will!” He stared at Furion’s retreating back with his Mindsight until it disappeared. He then gave a great scream of anguish that reverberated through the caverns, causing dust and small bits of stone to fall from the ceiling. Illidan fell to the floor on his hands and knees, breathing heavily, thoughts swirling in his head. How could his own brother do this to him? The new Well was his gift to his kind; it did, after all, allow them immortality and kept the land healthy and pure. It also gave them their magic, which he saw as invaluable, and could not figure out why they no longer cared to use it. Illidan’s body shook with frustration and hate, and he very much felt like ripping something apart with his hands.
Maiev stood to the side of his cell, watching him intently, taking in every detail of his body and demeanor. He had a gorgeously sculpted body and face with skin the most deep and beautiful hue of purple she had ever seen. His chest was covered in black tribal tattoos and his face clean-shaven, evidence of his profession of a demon hunter. He wore a blindfold, which she had heard helped to develop the other senses of the demon hunters, including a sixth or “spectral” sense, which was invaluable in the war against the demons and undead. Someone had once told her that the more advanced demon hunters used their spectral sense to create a sort of vision, to compensate for the loss of their eyes, which she thought was interesting. Her eyes continued along his body down his leather, fur- trimmed pants and to his bandaged feet. His fingernails and toenails were kept long, to make him appear more threatening.
Or something, Maiev thought.
She watched as he leaned back and into a sitting position, his long, dark grey-blue hair falling over his shoulders in a silky wave. The muscles in his arms and face twitched as he, as she could tell, was thinking. His mouth was now permanently cast downwards into a frown, the left corner suffering from a persistent tic, showing his distress.
His head turned away from her as he thought, not wanting her see the imperfection in his left cheek and the obvious misery upon his face. He could not get the bitter voice insulting his brother out of his head, and was wondering where the tears that were welling in his closed eyes were coming from.
He rose suddenly, shaking his head violently and flexing his arms unconsciously, fingers grasping at air then leaving holes in his hands as he clenched his fists. Just wait until I am out... he thought bitterly. He will not see what is co-
“So, my dear prisoner...” Maiev’s clear voice interrupted his thoughts. He heard her steps as she slowly, purposely approached him until he could feel the warmth of her body behind him. “How are you enjoying the first five minutes of your term?” Her voice was thick and almost menacing, and he could feel her breath playing lightly on his neck. Their presences were the only ones in the dark chamber, and the breath sent shivers down Illidan’s spine.
“I think we’ll enjoy all this lovely time together, don’t you?” He felt Maiev’s hand wander down his hard chest and stomach as she spoke, nails scraping nonchalantly on his silken skin. She lingered at his waist and played with the fur trim of his pants with her fingers. Illidan was rather shocked by her actions and swallowed hard, keeping his mouth shut and trying to appear indifferent to her bizarre behavior.
He felt a sudden jerk on the chain around his neck and bent backwards uncomfortably, teeth bared as Maiev’s polished helmet and face came to hover over his. “Don’t you think so?” she teased him nastily, her intense green eyes narrowed beneath her mask and a cruel smile on her lips. She saw his thick eyebrows crease under his blindfold, but could not tell whether it was from the physical strain or mental irritation.
She pushed him back up into the standing position and circled him, studying his body like it was a piece of meat. He heard the razor-sharp knives on the trim of her cape grind metallically along the floor until they stopped in front of him. Another tight jerk of the chain brought his face level with hers. Her smooth cheek brushed along his as her lips tickled his ear. “I think we’re going to get along just fine,” she whispered, her voice like acid to his delicate ears. Her nails came in contact with his neck, caressing him gently until with a hiss, she whisked them away, leaving bright, painful marks on his skin. She smiled recklessly in his face, daring him to try and lash out at her, but was disappointed by his lack of reaction. She turned away quickly and walked out of the chamber with a swish of her cape.
Illidan wanted to cry out and insult her, rip her apart with his words (and his hands, if it was possible), but he could only exhale heavily, his mouth open and lips formed in a snarl. What did this bitch think she was doing? She spoke of justice and fairness but, in truth, she could only be crazy. He could already tell she regarded him as a toy, chained up here only for the sole purpose of playing with him.
A sigh crossed his lips. He did not want to spend who knows how many years chained up and virtually alone with this psychotic woman in a musty dungeon beneath the earth. He had plans and aspirations...
And a shallow-minded brother who cared nothing for him. Illidan hung his head and lowered himself to the cold stone floor. At least now he was alone and could think freely. Isolation was never all that bad, as he was very much used to it by now. In fact, he would more than likely come to prefer it over company, given that the only chance of visitors he had now was that idiotic warden wench. He wished he had a blanket or a cloak, something to cover himself from what he was sure would come to be an incessant stare from her.
Yet he could feel her eyes on him even now when she was not in the chamber, burning into his flesh painfully.
Illidan gritted his teeth and violently pushed the feeling from his mind. He was already going mad. I cannot stay here.
He looked around his cell. It was bare rock from roof to ceiling, save for the bars, chains, and he himself. He could not bash his way out. He flexed his arms slowly and carefully, studying the chains clamped upon them. Normal chains, those like the humans and orcs forged, would have stood no chance against his brawn, especially in his anger; no, these must be enchanted to never break under force. Furion surely saw to that. Illidan was positive that the bars had received the same treatment; even if he could reach them, there was no way they could be bent or thrown to the floor. Their locks were purely magical, only able to be opened by a verbal key, which only Furion and Maiev knew.
He let out a loud growl of frustration. There must be some way out of this prison... He leaned back against the cold stone wall and swayed back and forth, thinking.
He heard the light footsteps of the Warden suddenly return toward the chamber. He remained absolutely still. Perhaps she would bore of him if he didn’t play her little game. And the sooner she lost interest in toying with him, the better. A sigh escaped his lips and he forced his mind to think of nothingness.
-----------------
Maiev strode arrogantly out of the chamber, her nose high in the air as she muttered the words to seal the bars of Illidan’s cage. She wanted to make him suffer as much as possible during his term and she hoped that her apparent madness drove Illidan insane with confusion and anger. She was bent on justice, but did not hesitate to have at least a little fun with her prey. After all, mental torture was far worse than physical torture any day. She had performed such acts as this with many of her previous “slaves,” as she liked to call them, and they usually worked quite well at making her job easier by disturbing her prisoners.
Her boots tapped lightly upon the stone floor as she continued up into a passage that led to the surface world. This was a shortcut only she knew about, and she intended to keep it that way. She reached what seemed to be a barrier of rubble, but easily stepped through it as if it was nothing. For it was. Illusions were common in the night elf magicks, but no one ever thought of a warrior using them for something such as this. Maiev enjoyed being a bit different from the rest of the Sentinels, not only in her rank but also in her skills and philosophies. She smiled as the sun kissed her masked face, pulling herself out of a small passage in the land. No one in the Sentinel army could hold to a candle to her combat abilities. Not even Priestess Tyrande herself.
Maiev stood motionless in the bright warmth of the sun, which was a huge contrast to the cold of the cave below. She felt a slight trickle of sweat began to make its way down her back and suddenly realized how warm the day actually was. For a brief moment, she wished she could shed all her armor and clothing and just lay naked in the beautiful sunlight, absorbing all the heat and radiance into her dark skin. It had been so long since she relaxed, and the heat made her almost forget her duties...
A tendril of cloud moving lazily to cover the sun shadowed her cheek, cooling it. Maiev’s eyes flew open, her trance disrupted. The thoughts of relaxation dissipated in her mind, and she went back to her plotting of how to torture her current client locked below the earth. She could not remember why she had come to the surface, so instead abandoned it for the security of the cave.
As she passed through the fake rock barrier of the tunnel, she paused. The sweat of her body, encased in her armor, had turned cold, and brought prickles to her skin. Maiev shivered and looked around. Not seeing anyone, she released her heavy cape from her shoulders and began pulling off the armor on her shoulders and chest. She worked her way down her torso and to her legs, rubbing gently at the dark chafe marks on her bare thighs and calves. She wore little underneath her armor, in order to keep it as light as possible so as not to restrict her movement.
Her shell completely removed, save for her helmet, Maiev stretched herself out on the icy cave floor, studying her body intently. She considered using it against him... And blinked. Although she had seduced more than one being with her body alone, she had never done it with a prisoner. She wasn’t sure to be disgusted with herself or not for even thinking about it.
Maiev had never been married nor even been attached to another night elf romantically. She was married to her profession, and her extremely serious attitude and obsession over performing her job had driven more than one potential mate away. Furion had joked to her about her lack of romantic commitment before, but one icy glare from her had silenced even him. Maiev was well aware of her failure socially, and didn’t care to listen to anyone rubbing it in. She had little patience for many of the druids of night elf society and their ultra-conservatism. Maiev wanted a little spice in her life, some excitement besides that of performing her duties.
A druid could not provide that for me. Maiev sighed as her hands slid lightly up and down her skin, over her breasts and stomach. She closed her eyes and pulled gently at her nipples, wishing she could find a partner who would worship her body and pay homage to it whenever she pleased, however temporarily. She was hot whenever she wasn’t thinking about her job, in need of sex. Next to the hunt of criminals, sex was the ultimate pleasure for her, and she had been suffering from a severe lack of it the past few years. The mere thought of hands groping her made her tingle inside, made her legs twitch and burn to be caressed. She missed the nights of fun she used to have before she attained her rank in the Sentinels, the nights where she wasn’t possessed by her job and actually had free time to do what she wished.
Maiev rolled to her hands and knees and began crawling towards the sun- filled end the passage. She wanted warmth, warmth of another person being close to her, the heat of friction between two bodies as they lay together. She recalled her desperation for sexual company on several occasions, in which she had even seduced beings outside of her race. She had been with a human one night and a high elf the next. She made these trips to human camps in secret when no one in the night elf camp would give in to her temptations. Back when she was a nobody. Nothing.
Now she dared not show her face to anyone for fear of losing her rank due to her recklessness back then. No one had known her name; now the whole race respected and sometimes feared it. She had a few dirty secrets she would be glad never got out, one that drove her to her treatment of her current slave.
Maiev’s face emerged into the sunlight and she felt the rays as though they wrapped around her entire body. She trailed a finger through the drying but still cold sweat on her stomach and brought it to her quivering lips. Illidan... she thought. How many centuries I have longed for that taste again...
Illidan could never see her face.
She feared he might recognize her as the teasing wench who had approached him years ago, whom he had taken up for the night...
What a night it had been...
A growl traveled up the passage to her ears. Maiev snapped to attention, and suddenly realized how childish she had been acting. Crawling on a dirty floor? She curled a lip in disgust at herself as she began donning her armor.
A brief image of the Demon Hunter’s strong hands caressing her hips floated in her mind. She paused.
...Maiev slapped herself lightly across the cheek. Don’t even think about it, woman, she scolded herself as she adjusted the golden razor-sharp armor that protected her fingers. You have a job to do.
After a deep breath, Maiev started back down the passage toward her new slave, determined to not let her personal wants interfere with her professional performance, no matter how tempting.
-----------------
Maiev stood in the entrance to the chamber, silent and unmoving as she watched the demon hunter. He was sitting on the ground for one moment, then up and pacing the next. She could see the wheels turning underneath the luxurious slick of hair on his head. He was plotting how to escape, she was sure; all the prisoners did. It was a popular pastime, sort of like the humans and their cards or sticks, only less enjoyable and without the company. Kind of like playing sticks for your sanity while the demons watched. She smirked, but stayed where she was, moderately amused for the time, while she plotted on her own. She wanted to poke his body all over with her nails and leave little puncture marks, see if it would eventually slick his body in blood the more she made, see if he would cry out or grab her and shove her away. She felt her pulse accelerate slightly as she thought of him touching her, even if it was just on the wrists.
Her smirk turned into a naughty grin as she imagined positions she could get herself into around him as she made little stabs on his body. Positions that would force his hands or face to brush something else, something more exciting than her wrists. Although it wouldn’t do much against her armor, the ideas still excited her, and she felt her body heat rise up a notch as she pondered the possibilities.
Illidan, aware of the Warden’s presence in the chamber (but not of her scheming), did nothing to acknowledge her presence. He shut her out his mind, completely ignoring her, and going about as he pleased. Even though “about” only meant pacing and sitting, maybe a little growl or a slam to the stone every now and then. His chains jingled as he dragged them around and across his cell, analyzing every inch of the stone and iron that formed his prison. He didn’t know (or really cared, for that matter) what she was thinking as he stormed about, but he could only guess how long it would be before she stepped out of that arch and came to bother him.
That’s what she is. A bother. Nothing more, nothing less. Illidan suddenly turned toward his jailor and fixed her with a half sneer, half psychotic grin. Maybe that will startle her and she’ll leave me alone...
Maiev felt a tinge in her groin as he turned to her with that, what she guessed was supposed to be, frightening expression. He could feel his “eyes” boring into her, telling her he was not afraid and clearly had no intentions of putting up with an unpleasant Warden for the rest of his term, which he also did not intend to stay the full time for. His sharp face was savage and twisted, and Maiev thought it strangely beautiful.
A sly grin on her face, she catwalked lazily to the bars of his cell, never losing contact with where she was sure his eyes would be. He followed every motion of her body, the psychotic look never leaving his face.
“Oh, my prettiest of prisoners,” Maiev said silkily through the bars. “Trying to frighten me with that beautiful little face of yours won’t work.” She slid her hands down the bars slowly until she was crouching, but stared at him down her nose. She noticed his powerful hands clenching and unclenching unconsciously out of the corner of her eye.
Baring her white teeth in a grin that would’ve frightened Archimonde himself, she winked and made a purring noise in her throat. “You’re only turning me on.”
Illidan suddenly lunged toward her with a loud roar, hands outstretched before him in the semblance of claws as if he wished to rip out her eyes and throat together.
Maiev didn’t even blink as his hands crashed onto the bars slightly over hers and his head almost came in contact with her own. “I will not be your plaything, Warden,” he snarled venomously, his every word dripping with threat. “Do not tempt me, for I will rip out every bone in your body if you provoke me so.”
Maiev giggled with delight as his hot breath played on her face and neck. “And I would enjoy every moment of it, if you did.” She snapped playfully at his nose with her teeth, inviting him to lash out at her.
“You walk on perilous ground, you pathetic whore of a wench.” He almost whispered it, as if the room was full of people, and they were words only meant for her.
Like a striking viper, her hand shot out in slap, which ended up raking his face, thanks to the sharp claw armor; he didn’t even move. “I think you would enjoy it too, big boy.” She pushed her grinning face even closer, her nose almost touching his, teasing and playing with him in the best way she knew how.
Illidan was shaking, presumably with rage, by now. His left hand slowly unwrapped itself from the bar, quaking with every slight movement. He wanted to mutilate and destroy her, and she knew it. He knew she knew it. She was baiting him and he was taking it, which was the very last thing he wanted.
He pushed himself from the bars and returned to the center of his space, his back facing her. “Just leave me be,” he muttered angrily and sat down to return to his thinking.
With a disappointed frown on her face, Maiev stood up. “You are a poor excuse for a prisoner,” she hissed. “No fun at all.” She stared at his stone figure for a moment before turning to a deep, furnished alcove in the wall which constituted as her quarters. As she was about to disappear into it, she turned and stared straight at him. “I will break you, Illidan Stormrage. And it will not take long.”
He didn’t move. With a mutter of disgust, Maiev departed to her dark room. She would break him, in the most horrific ways imaginable. It was her duty, and her specialty. She was not the most respected Warden of the Sentinels for nothing. Less than a year, she thought coldly. Just give me a year, and he will be my ragdoll.
The thought of puppeteering her very own Stormrage brother brought the slick smile back to her lips. He would be hers and hers alone; after all, they did have an upcoming eternity to spend together. So why not mess around a bit? No one would know – she would tell no one and neither would he. He would have no visitors and she would not allow him to tattle anyways.
My ragdoll. She traced a finger around her chakram, her deadly toy, which was leaning on the wall. And he will like it. If not at first, he will come to like it.
Maiev sat on her makeshift bed with her toy and began to run over it with a soft cloth. It was as shiny and polished as it had ever been, but she couldn’t help but run a cloth over it a few times each day, no matter what its condition. I love my toys...
She began to sing happily.
-----------------
Illidan’s nerves grated against one another as he heard his Watcher’s voice flow out of her chamber and into his ear. She was singing an old song that he had little care for, in a tone and note that would have driven even the sanest being mad. Her icy voice and the warm melody of the tune did not mix well. And he suffered for it.
Well, she certainly knew how to aggravate him to the point of madness.
Illidan tried to meditate to clear his mind. The technique had been an invaluable lesson to him ever since he had learned it. It had helped calm him in times of grief and anger before.
But his wall of concentration was like glass to Maiev’s piercing voice. He desperately tried to pick up the pieces in his mind but it was too much.
The constant flow of anger through him hadn’t ceased since he’d been cornered by his brother for his “crime.” As much as he didn’t want to lose his composure in front of Maiev, he was getting to the point of snapping. He suspected his brother might have even put up enchantments to keep him from concentrating too hard. Which ruled out meditating. Oh what a torture this would be if that were true...
He covered his ears as best he could with his hands. Perhaps he could meditate with a little muffling of the sound. Yes, there it was. His black vision turned into spirals of muted colors as Maiev’s voice faded in his head. He was searching for a void in his mind, the one place where he could be nothing and everything, the place where there was nothing and everything, all at once. Sometimes, this was the only way he could relax, and being in this musty cave with his tormentor was one of those times. The muscles in his body relaxed and he felt the tension inside of him begin to give. His tight face softened and he sighed. Meditating felt so good...
A swift breeze whizzed by his face, interrupted his trance. He threw his hands down to the ground and whipped his head in the direction of a slyly- smiling Warden. He turned and saw the object that had flown past his face, by what was sure was centimeters. Maiev’s gleaming chakram poked out of the wall, lodged into the stone like it was butter.
“What are you doing, Warden?” he growled.
“Well, I was hoping you were listening to my singing, dear,” she said, almost prancing up to the bars of the enclosure. “When I found you were not, I thought I should give you an awakening, just in case you were actually feeling comfortable.” She smiled nastily at him, green eyes narrowed and sharp. She muttered a few words he could not distinguish and walked into his space to retrieve her weapon.
Illidan followed her every move, an angry sneer on his face. “You’re awfully daring to step in here, girl.”
She sat across from him after verbally closing the bars and yanking her chakram out of the wall with a loud scrape. “I’m a Warden, it’s my duty to be daring.” She swept her thick cape from under her and began brushing loose stones and dust from the rich velvet. Her eyes stared piercingly into his face. “And don’t call me ‘girl,’ demon hunter. Age does not matter among our race, and I have proven myself to be a respectable citizen, just as you have.” She didn’t hide the smirk on her face as she tilted her head to study her attire.
Neither did he. “I’ve earned my experience on the battlefield while you hole yourself up with complete strangers, doing who knows what with them.”
“Well, you will surely learn what I do, won’t you? My position earns just as much respect as yours.” Her fingers began to tingle as she continued to stroke the soft material of her cape. “In time, you will learn.”
“I don’t need to learn how to be a conniving whore,” he spat.
Maiev froze. She glanced at him under her helmet and fixed him icily. “No, I suppose you don’t. Being that you already are one.” The naked images began to flash through her mind again, but she tried desperately to push them away. She did not want him to suspect that that last comment had made her the slightest bit uneasy. She began removing the claws of armor on her hands and massaged her knuckles gingerly.
Illidan laughed out loud. “Me, a whore? I’m afraid you’re mistaken, little Warden.” He sat up straighter, trying to make himself taller and more imposing. “I don’t give myself out freely to any drunkard that happens to pass by.” He thought he saw Maiev’s jaw tighten a bit with the whore statement, and decided to play her own game with her. “On the contrary, I’d rather spend my time doing something worthwhile, such as performing my job or destroying something evil.”
The matter-of-fact tone in Illidan’s voice set off a blaze in Maiev’s brain. Her left hand whipped out and grabbed onto his chin, yanking him off- balance so his face was on level with hers. “I think you have us mixed up, dear prisoner. Keep in mind I’m the one looking after you, which is part of my job. You, on the other hand, betrayed our race and are now out of commission.” She flexed her fingers, digging painfully into the skin of his lower cheeks. “I would watch my tongue if I were you. Sassing your jailor with idiotic prattle is not the most intelligent thing you could possibly do.” She snorted. “Though I can’t think of much else you are able to do with that dense rock of a skull of yours.” She pushed him away, satisfied with the ragged cuts and livid expression that now showed on his face.
“Why are you even in here, you cold bitch? Are you out to seduce me, so you have to invade what small space I have now? You are the worst representation of justice I believe there is.” Illidan’s top lip curled into a snarl. She was still calm and placid on the outside, but he had seen the small flash of rage, the barest hint of offense, and it coerced him on, forcing him to put up with the small stings of pain on his jowls, just so he could have a snap at her pride again. “I can’t believe you have attained the rank and respect you have without somehow sleeping around. It just doesn’t make sense to me. Stupid, cheating, lying girl.” He made the motion of spitting in her face.
Maiev’s mouth opened in an O of shock. What did this rash bastard think he was doing?? Whatever it was, she would not allow it on her watch.
“I hope you’re enjoying my treatment of you now, Betrayer,” she hissed into his face, “because whatever you find annoying now, you will certainly find it blindingly painful later.” She winked at him, hoping her play on words set him off a bit as she rose to her feet.
A deep-throated chuckle arose to her ears, twisting her face into a murderous scowl. In one swift movement, Maiev wrenched Illidan to his feet, shoving him brutally against the cold, hard wall with one of his arms twisted behind him in a very uncomfortable position. She took one of his chains and slowly wrapped it around his neck, singing the same tune from before in a soft but harsh voice. Every so often, she jerked the chain, continuing to wrap it until it touched his chin. Maiev’s foot swung out, catching one of his knees, forcing him into a kneeling position. The chain around his neck threatened to strangle him, though Illidan refused to let Maiev hear any weak gasps for air come out of him.
“I think I would learn a little respect if I were you, Illidan,” Maiev said sweetly. She pulled up on the chain, but pressed down hard on his calf with her foot, resting all her weight upon it. “False words can get you in a lot of trouble. Understand?”
Her glare prompted a response, but she got none. “Understand?” she repeated, another forceful jerk on the chain encouraging his answer.
Illidan grunted, his hands clawing at his neck.
Maiev released the chain above his head and kicked his limp body away to the floor of the chamber. “I’m glad we agree then.” She gathered her claws and chakram and Blinked out of his chamber into her own.
Making sure the Warden wasn’t watching him, Illidan crawled over to the wall and sat slumped against it, rubbing his throat and knee simultaneously. It hurt, though he would not admit it. He wheezed out a small laugh. He had evidently hit a sensitive spot. And that made the pain and humiliation worth it.
Prologue -- Chapter 2