*Sunfire Estate, Current Day*
Braeth'el tightened the straps on his bracers, pulling the hard leather against his skin firmly to ensure they wouldn't slip in combat. With that task complete, he checked his belt sheaths to ensure that each of the half-dozen daggers he carried could be easily retrieved and thrown. Combined with the weapons included in his boot sheaths, he had a decent supply of equipment to deal with any eventualities.
He paused for a moment in his trip down the empty stone corridor, holding his hand up. On his right ring finger sat a small golden ring with a green emerald set in it. He stared hard at the object, focusing on it and trying to conjure the magic within it to life one last time. The ring had been enchanted by Biara long ago, and was linked to a bracelet that Kyliska wore and that they had been using to communicate regularly for the past few weeks. That is until all communication from Kyliska had abruptly ended two days prior.
Braeth'el had attempted to contact the wayward Sunfire sister multiple times, and he was becoming concerned now. Kyliska was headstrong and often thrust herself into the heart of battle, but she was usually at least aware enough to keep her allies informed of her intentions (indeed, how could one not hear her battle-cries anyway?). That she had not contacted him in so long, especially after she had been so very interested in talking regularly with him, was an ominous sign, and there was only one thing to do.
With a shrug Braeth'el completed his trip down the corridor, pushing open the door to Biara's bedchambers and slipping inside before closing and locking the barrier behind him. He moved quickly to one of Biara's dressers, counting the drawers and opening the second one from the bottom. He smirked as he peered within it, noting a rather large and amusing collection of lingerie, stockings, and other unmentionables that the busy Magistrix probably never ever wore. Digging down into the drawer and pushing aside the delicates, he uncovered the hidden door beneath the clothing.
"Ah Biara, you were always a terrible spy. You fired me and didn't bother to move the magical objects that you specifically told me about for emergencies. It's fortunate that you are so bad at this, because now perhaps I can find out what's going on," Braeth'el murmured.
Picking one last pair of panties off of the door and casually tossing them on the floor, Braeth'el opened the secret compartment and reached in, retrieving an orb made of glass. The object had Kyliska's name on it, with runes encircling it in careful patterns. He touched the writing and the entire object began to glow, casting an image against the wall beside him.
Braeth'el's mouth hung open in surprise as he turned to watch the image. As expected, the scrying orb showed him Kyliska's current location, and not too surprisingly she appeared to be manacled to the floor of a dungeon somewhere. What caught him by surprise was how she looked. In the image, she was kneeling on the floor, her eyes closed and her hands clasped together in prayer. Tears ran from her eyes as she quietly murmured something that the orb would not let him hear. As he watched, a soft, radiant light seemed to shine down upon her, and golden wings seemed to spread from her back. She remained motionless, her plea to the light continuing and her eyes closed as it blessed her.
It was as if he were looking upon some mythical angel, so radiant was the light and so beautiful was Kyliska. He had seen her in many different places and situations, had known her to be rough on the battlefield or taverns and sometimes more feminine when her sister Biara forced her to dress the part, but never had he witnessed Kyliska's faith. In it he saw the heart that beat beneath the rough edges and the constant warfare; he saw the love and joy that she possessed deep within her, beneath all the flaws, and he found it breathtaking.
For a few moments, Braeth'el simply watched Kyliska in her prayers before he finally tore his gaze away from the orb and set it down on Biara's dresser. He shook his head, already planning his next steps. "It figures...she becomes a delicate, beautiful little thing right when she's likely in the most danger once again. I guess I'll go get her, but this time she's staying put here until she's taken some classes on how not to get captured."
With that he turned and headed for the door, leaving Biara's room even more of a mess than he and Kyliska had left it last time.
***************************************
*Sunfire Garrison, Evening the next day.*
Kyliska opened her eyes, her prayers falling silent as she finished her plea. She'd been praying for days now, not only for rescue but also for forgiveness and even to cleanse herself. She'd eaten very little, the fasting allowing her to focus and putting things in perspective. Likely her captors were concerned about the fact that she had refused food today, but she needed time to think and to clear her mind of more mundane things so she could focus on the Light and what her father had told her.
Already she had begun to feel better about herself and what she could do. Her life, up to this point, had been battles, booze, and romantic encounters that had not left her feeling fulfilled. The Light had made her see everything in a different way, but it also had taught her that it didn't always have to be this way. There were paths that lead to true happiness if she were brave enough to walk them and the one thing Kyliska had was bravery aplenty.
A noise further up the hallway drew her attention, and she turned to see a figure speaking softly with the two guards that were stationed at the beginning of the row of cellblocks. The conspirators that had captured her were few in number, and could only keep guards in the dungeon itself while Thandir and Dralath took care of running the daily business of the military outpost.
As Kyliska watched, the visitor turned and began to walk towards her, Dralath's form becoming clear as he drew nearer. He paused on the other side of the bars, staring down at her where she sat on the floor, looking disappointed. "Kyliska, you've not eaten much again today. If you think to starve yourself so that we let you go, know that we will simply force you to eat if need be. There are ways this can be done with magic."
Kyliska shook her head, rising and standing in front of her betrayer, "I'm not starving myself, I'm fasting. I need time to think, time to focus. You've already overthrown my authority here and imprisoned me, leave me to my thoughts and prayers at the least."
Dralath shook his head, "You know we can't do that. We can't allow you to die in the event that something goes wrong here. If you won't comply, we'll be forced-"
Kyliska's eyes widened as a shadow seemed to detach itself from the deeper shadows along the corridor's walls, rushing up behind Dralath. Before the elf could finish what he was saying, he was forcibly propelled forwards, his face almost comical to Kyliska as it collided with the bars. His skull made a loud *dink* sound as it rebounded off the iron, the elf's fel green eyes rolling up in his head as he was rendered unconscious.
Dralath never hit the ground, his body caught in two strong arms and gently eased down to avoid making any noise. Further up the corridor, the guards there heard nothing, and continued to chat amongst themselves, not even glancing towards the cell. As Dralath was set down, a black-cloaked figure loomed up over him, a pair of fel green eyes meeting Kyliska's and almost making her gasp.
"Ah, there you are, Kyslika," Braeth'el said cheerfully but quietly. "I've been looking everywhere for you. Don't you know it's impolite not to report in when you've told someone you were going to?"
"Braeth'el!" Kyliska whispered breathlessly. "You came to find me! Oh thank the Light!"
Braeth'el merely nodded, pawing at the fallen Dralath and then standing up, the keys to the cell taken from the unconscious Sin'dorei. "We'll get you out of here and to your guards. From what I saw outside, no one is really aware that you are down here. We just need to get through the few who have participated in this conspiracy."
With that he stepped over the unconscious elf and gently put the key in the lock. Before he turned it, he withdrew a small vial from a pouch, coating the lock and key with oil. With a grin he turned it, and it silently unbolted, allowing him into the cell. In an instant, Kyliska was in his arms, hugging him tightly. He grinned and shook his head, wrapping an arm around her and patting her back before releasing her and bending down to apply the oil to the lock on her manacles. Once she was free, he gestured at the unconscious Dralath and the two pulled him inside the cell before slipping out and closing it silently.
All of this occurred in the utmost of secrecy, and the guards at the end of the hallway heard nothing, continuing their private conversation. Braeth'el took a few steps down the corridor, Kyliska following before he held a hand out, his palm against her shoulder. He looked back at her and shook his head, signaling that she shouldn't follow; she was not a trained assassin after all.
Kyliska nodded and bit her lip, not wanting to stay back but understanding that it would be better if things were done quietly and swiftly. She held perfectly still as she watched Braeth'el make his way down the hallway, his muscular form crouched low in a half-crawl that would have made an inexperienced person's back ache to mimic. She watched him admiringly as he moved in complete silence towards the guards, circling so that he was approaching in a direction from which neither of them were looking. He drew a dagger and then re-sheathed it, perhaps thinking better of it.
A few feet from the guards, he drew a solid metal sap, the heavy object coming out and quickly colliding with the back of the first guard's head. The second guard's eyes widened and he opened his mouth to cry out just as Braeth'el threw some sort of caustic powder into his face. The guard began to choke and cough, his eyes watering as he stumbled into a wall. Braeth'el casually walked up to him and cracked him over the skull with the weighted sap.
As the second guard fell unconscious to the floor, he signaled for Kyliska to move forward, and she did so with a gleeful smile on her face, stepping over the traitors and again wrapping her arms around him. Her glee was short-lived though as a voice cut through the silence.
"What's this? You have another lover, Kyliska?" Thandir's voice echoed from the stairwell leading out of the dungeon.
Braeth'el and Kyliska both turned to see the Sin'dorei that walked towards them, two remaining traitorous guards in tow as they drew near. Thandir paused a few feet from the two, his expression stern, "Regardless of who this is, we cannot allow you to escape; it would ruin everything and put us right back where we started. Take them."
The two guards behind Thandir drew swords and began to advance on Braeth'el and Kyliska. Braeth'el shrugged and drew his daggers only to find Kyliska's hand on his shoulder. He turned and met her gaze, her eyes staring deeply into his as she spoke, "Braeth'el, please do not kill them. It is my fault that this all happened. I don't want any deaths over my mistakes. Not again."
For a moment Braeth'el said nothing, simply staring into the fel green pools of Kyliska's eyes, seeing the tears there again as whatever conflict she had within her warred with her thoughts. He nodded at her once, his voice gruff, "I'll leave them alive for you, Kyli."
Braeth'el turned and marched towards the approaching guards while Thandir smirked at them, "How touching that you think you could-"
Lightning fast Braeth'el lunged forward. The first guard swung at him only to find the lithe rogue had dodged around him. With almost comical precision Braeth'el's dagger slashed out and parted the elf's belt, causing his sword sheath to slip down his legs. Braeth'el's daggers came up in an 'X' as they caught the second guard's sword above his head, even as he lashed out with one leg, kicking backwards and firmly kicking the now-encumbered first guard hard in the ass.
The first guard stumbled forward, his sword sheath entangling his legs and causing him to windmill his arms as he fell face-first into the solid stone wall of the corridor. His sword clattered out of his hand and was swiftly picked up by Kyliska who stood over him and kept him from rising. In the meanwhile, Braeth'el spun around, allowing his second opponent's sword to fall downward. He punched forward with his main hand, his fingers stiff and his dagger held only by a thumb.
His fingers jammed into the guard's throat, causing him to gag and crumple backwards as Braeth'el casually kicked him in the crotch and stepped past him as he howled. Thandir, eyes wide, drew his own sword and slashed at Braeth'el only to find his blade parried and then deflected up and away, a vicious hit with the hilt of a dagger shattering his wrist and causing him to release his grip on the weapon.
The fight had lasted all of ten seconds, and Thandir brought his unbroken hand up above his head as he found the point of one of Braeth'el's daggers at his throat. The spymaster stared at him with a hard look, his voice firm, "I believe you owe the Lady Sunfire an apology."
"S-sorry..." Thandir croaked, sounding panicked.
Braeth'el poked Thandir a little with the dagger's point, "Say it right."
"S-sorry, L-lady Sunfire..." Thandir said again.
Kyliska nodded, her eyes closed and a prayer on her lips. Her Light came down upon Thandir, his broken bones knitting together as she healed him. Once the prayer was done, she looked at him, a glow in her eyes that had never been there before, "I forgive you, Thandir. Although you and your men must be imprisoned for what you've done, I forgive you. You will not die this day."
Thandir swallowed a lump in his throat and nodded. He stepped forward as Braeth'el removed the dagger from his neck and prodded him, helping one of his allies up and heading for a dungeon cell at Kyliska's bidding.
A few moments later the traitors were imprisoned and Kyliska was finally able to lower her weapon. She turned to Braeth'el and smiled, feeling at peace at last, "Thank you so much, Braeth'el. You don't know what I've been through."
He sheathed his weapons and nodded, a calloused hand placed on her shoulder gently as he spoke softly to her, "I am beginning to see that it was more than I know. I told you I would watch out for you, Kyli. I'll always be here for you."
Kyliska nodded, leaning forward to kiss her spymaster once before breaking away, "Come, let us get out of this place. I need to speak to my sister about what's happened here and then...I think it's time I went home. There is much I need to change."
With that she strode away up the stairs of the dungeon, leaving Braeth'el to stare after her, alternately watching the pleasing sight of her swaying hips and considering the changes that had come over her. He shook his head and smiled; it was never a dull moment with the Sunfire Sisters.
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