A Line of Work Ch. 01

Note: I hope someone can enjoy this story. I've written one other that's posted on another site, I'll get around to putting it here. I also confess that I'm too lazy to proofread this more than once. Hopefully I'll tickle someone's fancy. Also, I will never use any weird fetishes, nothing of the sort.

"Mother... I'm sorry. This open world is large, and I've only seen our family grounds. I may have been brought back each time I left, but I have now come of age. You cannot legally stop me, and should you, I will resist."

That was what Lilenae's daughter said to her exactly a week ago. Her daughter turned eighteen only a month ago. Her daughter had only known life among the family estate, she was never allowed out of the estate's grounds. Thus of course she would attain some sort of curiosity about the world. She only knew about the world from her studies, books, and rumors from passing travelers and merchants. Occasionally, an envoy from some high class family would arrive, in order to negotiate terms for whatever they were interested in. Yet Lilenae would never allow her daughter to leave the estate, not since her father died.

Lilenae begged and pleaded with her daughter to stay with her, sheltered and safe from the many dangers of the world. She knew she was being slightly selfish, but she only ever had her one daughter and they were both quite attached. The world is a dangerous place, even in certain areas of the estate. Bandits, robbers, rapists, slavers, saboteurs, and many other people of all races with malicious intent populated the areas between cities.In fact, just last month, there was a small group of outlaws inhabiting a building in the corner of the estate, they were well entrenched before the estate's guards drove them off. Lilenae just didn't want her daughter to fall prey to the world, all she wanted was for her to have a decent, safe life. Find a husband, have kids, and take control of the estate. Was that too much to ask of her daughter? It seemed to be the case, despite her feelings and wishes.

If her daughter had to leave and travel, she would at least make sure she was safe. The Tessiol family was quite rich, Lilenae married into the Tessiol family with the original intent to take advantage of the assets. She didn't believe she would come to love her husband, and yet she did. So when her husband died, she was forced to take control of the Tessiol family interests, despite relatives attempting to strong arm Lilenae into giving them the money and estate. Nothing would stop her from protecting her daughter, the money was necessary and she would not let it go lightly.

"Miss Tessiol, I present to you... Arvad Eversoul." Tessiol's personal maid entered the mansion's parlor and introduced the man named Arvad.

"Ah, thank you Marribel. I am pleased to meet you, Sir Eversoul. As you already know, my name is Lilenae Tessiol. Just call me Lilenae for convenience." Lilenae investigated the man the entered the room. He was slightly taller than average, for a human. A youthful, handsome face, a strong and flexible body, and a potent charisma, all important for a wandering warrior like him. The rumored mercenary looked like what they say about him, but what about the rest of the rumors? "They say much about you, can you tell me how much of it is true?"

"Ha ha... Just call me Arvad as well. I've yet to be knighted by anyone personally. As for what they say about me, I hope it is nothing pleasant. A man of my profession can't have nice things said about him, or one would be called soft." Like his face, Arvad's voice proved equally attractive, entrancing and serene. "I can fight well enough, do you wish a demonstration?"

"What kind of demonstration? I do want to know how well you can fight, of course, this task is of the utmost importance for me. I shan't have anyone fail."

"Don't worry, Madam Lilenae, whatever the rumors say, I can assure you they do not meet even a fourth of my actual talents. My weapons were taken from your guards when I arrived, but I can still demonstrate." Arvad smiled and look around the room, surveying everything in sight. "Ah look over there, you see those chimes?" He pointed towards a set of wind chimes situated behind an elaborate window on the other side of the room.

"Of course, I had those delivered from some Elven craftsmen, I appreciate their designs immensely." Lilenae didn't see where Arvad was getting at. The wind chimes, as she said, were from Elven craftsmen, it is rare to acquire such meticulous craftsmanship from the far off Elven lands.

"I will sever the resonator from the rest of the chimes. I won't even make the rods joggle a little bit." Joggle? Didn't he mean jiggle?

Lilenae could sense only confidence from Arvad as she considered the impossibility of the task Arvad set before himself. "But... That's not something a normal being can do." Lilenae said with slight amusement, if Arvad could truly accomplish this challenge, there was no doubt to his original boasts that the rumors didn't even compare to the actual him.

Arvad pulled off several buttons from his garments. He wore cloth clothing generally suited to the common folk of the cities. Due to the paranoia to the of Lilenae and her guards, any armed individual seeking an audience has to strip themselves of their weapons and armor and put on clothing provided by Tessiol servants. His shirt parted, showing off the muscles around his chest, despite being a man of travel, he was clean and shaven, quite unexpected to Lilenae's thoughts. Lilenae averted her eyes in slight embarrassment in seeing Arvad expose himself. She watched as Arvad put each of the buttons between his fingers. He drew his arm back, and took aim at the chimes. Lilenae could barely see what happened next. Arvad tossed his arm forward while flicking his hand towards the chimes for extra velocity. The buttons pierced the glass, leaving clean circles in the window. The buttons passed between the rods, severing the fiber that connected the resonator to the rest of the chimes cleanly. Each of the resonators fell down to the ground. Lilenae widened her eyes in surprise, she had viewed the prowess of many mercenaries and magicians, but none amazed her more than now. Even though what Arvad did would generally be construed as a parlor trick, Lilenae saw the skill in Arvad.

"And the rods didn't even joggle!" Arvad comedically bowed and smiled as if he performed in front of an audience.

"I-I think you mean jiggle..." Lilenae could only make a joke at first. "I'm impressed... Honestly. Is it safe to assume that this is not only what you can do?"

"Of course. I am knowledgeable about many things. Weapons, tactics, tracking, a little bit of magic, etcetera and etcetera." Arvad was quite beguiling, Lilenae could admit that. He was certainly charming, and it was clear his words always had the color of silver and the taste of honey.

"You certainly are skilled enough for the job I have for you. My daughter, Raisel, has left the home. I can only blame the intoxicating feeling of wanderlust that possessed her. She has recently come of age, and I cannot keep her at home anymore, I desperately want to keep her safe. Thus, I want you to protect her, for as long as possible. If you feel you cannot accept, I wi-!" Lilenae was cut off.

Arvad interrupted Lilenae with a considerate voice, "I see. Your only daughter has left to pursue her dream to explore the unknown. You only wish to protect her, I can sympathize with that. I very much wish to accept, but I will not should you do not agree to compensate me accordingly." Arvad ended his words with greed. Of course a mercenary won't help assist with a woman's sob story without compensation.

"I am willing to pay by any means necessary. Be it gold and gemstones, land, or even runes... I am ready to pay." Lilenae was willing to shed even half her Tessiol fortune in order to protect her daughter.

"Well, I've heard tell that the Tessiol family is in possession of the Eyes of Derhal..." Arvad mischievously hinted at his price.

Lilenae grimaced at his price. The Eyes of Derhal were a part of a set jewels. A famous jeweler made pairs of jewels in the likeness of eyes. He modeled each of the jewel pairs after the eyes of people who commissioned him, kings, nobles, and even an Arch-Mage. Each pair of jewels were quite valuable and rare. The jewels in question, were sculpted in the likeness of the most famous of the leaders of the Merchant's Association, Derhal Johfero. Lilenae was reluctant to part with such a valuable piece, but she already decided ahead of time to pay any price for her daughter's safety.

"Marribel!" Lilenae clapped her hands, beckoning for Marribel the maid.

"Yes, milady?" Marribel appeared out of the open doorway to the parlor.

"Arrange for Arvad here to acquire the Eyes of Derhal before he leaves." Ordered Lilenae.

Marribel showed some slight surprise, she didn't think that the mistress would give up such a valuable piece. Even so, the Tessiol family held two sets of Eyes. Not just the Eyes of Derhal, but also the Eyes of Norg (a 'civilized' Orcish chieftain). Arvad Eversoul didn't need to know that, however. "Yes, milady, I will have them at the entrance to the mansion where Master Eversoul can pick them up." Marribel curtsied before leaving.

"Now that that is taken care of, take this picture of my daughter, Raisel." Lilenae picked up a framed picture, took it out and handed it to Arvad.

"Eh? She's an Elf? Are you not her mother?" Arvad asked inquisitively. The girl in the picture was an exact replication of Raisel at the age of seventeen. She had the elongated ears most Elves had, an exquisite face and features, as well as lithe and well proportioned body for her size. "Generally the children take after their mother... Shouldn't she have human qualities?"

"Well, as you may have guessed, her father was an Elf, a High Elf. For some strange reason, when Raisel was born, she had the traits of her father instead of me. It was an oddity, but it did not matter. She is still a daughter of the Tessiol family."

"Mmmm, I'm more impressed that you caught the eye of a High Elf noble. You are quite the beauty if I may so myself." Complimented Arvad, he wasn't embarrassed in the slightest at paying nonchalant compliments.

Lilenae blushed, she smiled at the flattery of Arvad. Lilenae was no wallflower, she had no end of suitors after her husband's death twelve years ago. Suitors for both her and her daughter appeared, but she could find no one that truly appreciated her, and not her looks and money. It was the same case for her daughter, Raisel had many suitors and Lilenae encouraged her to see some of them in hopes of finding a good husband. Raisel spurned all of them, she always was a stubborn girl, especially for an Elf. "Ah, thank you. It is hard to look decent at this age." Lilenae shook her head and got back to business, "Raisel most likely will not appreciate my effort to keep her safe. She will probably try to avoid you. Though she is cunning and charismatic, she is quite naive when it comes to the world. She doesn't fully realize the danger out there. In the past, she ran away from home many times to always be brought back by the estate's guards. She even seduce her way out a couple times."

"Ha ha! Naive and seductive at the same time, you don't get that too often. Don't worry, I'll either protect her with her consent or without."

"She will probably even try to seduce you in order to escape you, or take advantage of you." Lilenae imagined a scene where Arvad was getting seduced by her daughter, though she was quickly replaced by a younger version of Lilenae herself. After getting carried away, she started to feel hot and blood rushed to her head. Arvad was attractive, even by human standards. It had been a year since she last had sex, she was not the type to give up on love and be a widow for the rest of her life, so Lilenae looked for someone that she could love. Of course she could never come to Love Arvad, but that didn't mean she couldn't admire the handsome specimen in front of her.

"Eh... I admit I do have a weak spot." Arvad then suddenly looked apologetic for some strange reason that Lilenae couldn't imagine.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, it is embarassing, but I do have a weakness to beautiful women. You and your daughter are no exception." Though Arvad said he was embarrassed, he stood tall and proud as ever.

Lilenae became flustered at Arvad's repeated flattery. She thought he was joking at first, but Arvad's proud face also held a serious streak in it. Was he truly weak against women? "Though don't think I won't be able to protect your daughter from dangerous women. I can do that. If I couldn't, I'd be dead a long time ago! Ha ha! Still, I don't suppose you can give me any insurance against your daughter?"

Lilenae was confused, why would Arvad need something like that? "What do you mean? Something to stop my daughter from seducing you?"

"Mmm, yes. Trade one seduction for another, as I always say (well, only once). There are not many women like you out there, actually, I'd say you are quite unique in your looks. You don't flaunt it like most noble women." Said Arvad innocently, it took awhile for Lilenae to see where he was getting at.

"Ah, well, I am not shameless like most noble women. After all, the mistress of the Tessiol family must keep a perfect image that is free of taint and hubris. I am not the only one here who should be receiving such flattery. You yourself are better looking than the rumors say." Lilenae wasn't the best at engaging with parties of the opposite gender, she would admit that. At times like this, she merely followed instinct and chose the most reasonable response to the situation. Lilenae felt shy under Arvad's prying eyes, like all men, they observed and judged your looks, Lilenae didn't mind this time, however.

She was too modest to admit it, but Lilenae was far more beautiful that most human women of her age, and even those below her age as well. She had a distinct mature air around her that attracted many. She was well endowed with large breasts which fit in a triple D cup, she had well rounded curves thank to morning exercises, long auburn hair, and a plump butt which many men would like to grope and squeeze should they get the chance. Arvad saw all of these about her, though he especially liked the fact that Lilenae was extremely modest and didn't seem to want to emphasize her beauty too greatly. He was sure that if she put on expensive makeups, she would turn out to be even more sexy and sultry.

As if he didn't want to hold a bad image in her mind, Arvad ceased his intent admiring of Lilenae's body, though she pouted as if she liked the attention. "I'm surprised that you aren't seeing anyone as of now, Madam Lilenae. A women of your immense stature and looks..."

"Who says I am not seeing anyone now? I have had many suitors over the years, though most proved to be less than desirable. In fact, there is one man that I have met recently that has proved to be more than desirable, though the age difference is less than preferable." Arvad, despite his experienced demeanor, was in fact, twenty years of age, the rumors said he was young, so Lilenae assumed they were truthful with that part.

Arvad simply smiled and said, "Well that man has been hired to protect a beautiful woman's daughter, so I doubt he can stay for an extended duration. Though I bet he wouldn't mind seeing your elegance in a closer setting."

Lilenae saw the corniness in their dialogue, but she found it entertaining and arousing, so she let it continue. "Well my servants and guards will not interrupt unless I should call for them personally. Maybe I should wait for this man in my room? Like you say, it's elegance is fit for two, and the bed is large enough for two." Arvad would mark the fourth man she had slept with since her husband died, she remained a faithful widow for six years before admitting it was time to move on. "I'll be ready for him in about twenty... No, thirty minutes. I shan't look boring for such an intimate atmosphere and act." Lilenae would never engage in such shameless acts normally, at most she would be courting a man for a month or two before allowing them to sleep with her. However, something about Arvad awoke her adventurous side.

Lilenae made her way to her bedroom. Like the rest of the mansion, it was filled with expensive pieces of furniture and decorations. Regal curtains covered the windows, where just outside more wind chimes slept in the windless air. A king-sized canopy bed with silk sheets was set in the middle of the back wall. Two nightstands stood on both sides of the bed holding candle sticks with fragrant candles already burning.

She informed another maid, Sasha to bring Arvad in thirty minutes. Sasha was surprised, as her mistress normally never was so friendly with man. The maid at first thought foul mind controlling magic was involved, but she remembered that the mansion was covered by a high level anti-magic barrier. She decided to confirm with the resident Tessiol family personal conjurist just in case, her search only confirmed that magic was not involved and it was Mistress Tessiol true desires.

Lilenae was certainly feeling weird, that much she could confirm to herself. She knew it was not due to what she ate or any other outside influences except that of a man. What was it about Arvad that intrigued her? An impossible question to answer in a day. Lilenae always took longer than most to satisfy when it came to sex. Only her husband so far had been able to bring Lilenar to climax, and she felt that Arvad would be the second. After all, a man with such inspiring rumors has to know his way around a women, or at least that was what Lilenae's logic told her. Lilenae spent the thirty minutes prepping herself for Arvad, she had a variety of cosmetics from different areas of the world. Her husband once bought her many different High Elven cosmetics, and Lilenae had come to prefer those over the rest. She found it gave her a pure beauty as compared to the make up of the other species, even more so than cosmetics of the other Elven groups.

Lilenae looked over her wardrobe, she found that she lacked a variety of sexy clothes. She preferred modest beauty over seductive beauty, but she resigned to herself to buy some of the latter someday. She did however own a set of matching lingerie made of fine fabrics also of High Elven make. She slipped it on herself for once, normally asking Marribel to help her. The lingerie was black, contrasting against her normally pink skin. The bra pushed her breasts up, making them appear larger than they already are. The black thong was sure to attract any man no matter what race or persuasion. She admired herself in the mirror, it was rare that she wore this for any occasion. Once Lilenae was satisfied with herself, she left her large wardrobe and made her way towards the bed. She splayed her self in a vulnerable position on her bed. Lust is a frightening thing, she thought to herself, it is better to not give in to it often. If she hadn't submitted herself to be willing to have sex with Arvad, she was willing to give herself up for her daughter should that be the handsome mercenary's price.

Thankfully, she was doing this willingly, and Lilenae was determined to enjoy it. "May I come in?" The voice of a man rung out from behind the bedroom's door. Lilenae confirmed that this attractive, serene voice belonged only to Arvad.

"Of course, Sir Eversoul." The door opened up, revealing Arvad Eversoul. He still wore the commoner's clothing supplied to him, though bereft of buttons, revealing his muscled chest, which was bare of any hair, Lilenae would have mistaken Arvad for an Elf was it not the fact he had human features like rounded ears and a rugged build. It was more like he had the best of both worlds of the human and Elven races. Lilenae watched as Arvad strode over to her with an enthusiastic bounce in his step.