Archive of Our Own

Vindalvi ran through her clan’s camp. She dodged her people as they did their chores and ran zig-zag around the large white and brown tents. Finally, she made it to her destination, the campfire where Wise Adda was teaching the rest of the children. The fire crackled and popped as the lesson of the day was taught. Vindalvi snuck into the back of the group, next to her best friend, Scolto. 

“Where have you been?” Scolto muttered to her. 

“I want to show you something,” Vindalvi responded quietly. 

“If Wise Adda sees that we, especially you, skips another lesson, we will be in big trouble!”

“Has she noticed I haven’t been here yet?” Vindalvi asked with a smile. 

“Probably. She always knows.” 

“Come on, Scolto!” Vindalvi grabbed her friend’s arm, tugging him to follow. 

The young boy sighed before looking at their teacher. When she turned her back, he nodded to Vindalvi. The two young wood elves quickly and quietly took off. Vindalvi led Scolto away from the camp and into the forest that surrounded their camp’s valley. 

Vindalvi always loved the idea of exploring away from their camp, and she often dragged Scolto along. But they were young kids and they weren’t supposed to leave the camp. Especially because Vindalvi was the niece of the Keeper, the leader of their clan. Vindalvi’s parents had left her in the care of Keeper Dirlot while they went and lived their lives as adventurers. They didn’t want to put their daughter in danger, so as a baby, Vindalvi was left with the clan. But she continuously waited and wished that her parents would come back and take her when she was older to go on their adventures. 

“Vindalvi!” Scolto called after his friend. “Where are we going?” 

The girl turned to him and shoved him around a corner before chasing after. The two young elves were left in front of an entrance of a humongous cave. Vindalvi had a smile that reached from one pointed ear to the other as she looked into the darkness in front of them. Scolto just stood there with his mouth agape. 

“Let’s go inside!” Vindalvi said. 

“What? No!” Scolto refused. “We are too far from camp and this is dangerous! What if there are humans in there?” 

In the past, elves were seen as slaves and servants to the human race and had been treated as second class citizens for centuries by them. That is why so many elves live in clans in the wild instead of in the cities and towns. Wood elves, specifically, rarely interacted with any other kind of race since many of them saw the wood elves as the savages in the forest. 

“Don’t be so suspicious of everything, Scolto! It’s just a cool cave and I bet you if we go inside, it’ll be an even cooler cave! Come on!” Vindalvi grabbed hold of her friend’s wrist and started to drag him towards the entrance. But before they could enter, they heard the familiar sound of hooves hitting the ground. 

“Vindalvi!” 

The girl slowly turned around and saw her uncle atop of his faenna. They were large white deer, and all had even taller white antlers that twisted like vines on branches. And behind Vindalvi and Scolto were a bunch of faenna with their riders on them. 

“Uncle Dirlot,” Vindalvi greeted with a smile, trying to convince him to not be mad at her. 

He raised an eyebrow at his niece. “When Wise Adda informed me you had been skipping yet another lesson and then took young Scolto with you, I should have expected this sort of behavior. We are going home where you will stay in the tent until I see fit.” 

“But Uncle Dirlot,” Vindalvi whined. 

Keeper Dirlot didn’t wait before grabbing the child’s arm and forcing her up on his faenna. Scolto went up to his own mother who was on a faenna as well. She didn’t look impressed at all with her son’s behavior either. Once both of the children were safe on their respective guardian’s faennas, the group of elves started back to the valley. 

“When will you learn, Vindalvi?” Keeper Dirlot suspired to his niece. “Who knows what kind of creatures are out here that could have gotten you. Humans are not the only threat, there are plenty of others that would happily take you away from me.” 

***

Ireki watched from up in a tree in anticipation as the two little elves admired the entrance to his cave. The moment they entered, he’d have food. He’d wrap them in his warm colored coils, put them to sleep and eat one and save the other for a later meal. They were unarmed, the two wouldn’t be a match to him, as young as he was.

It wasn’t unusual for nagas, like him, to be left alone at such a young age. He was barely a child and already on his own. His parents probably sent him out of their cavern a bit early but Ireki didn’t mind. He was fine with being alone. He could take care of himself! He didn’t care if his parents kicked him out early because he was taking up space they wanted for their hoard! He didn’t! 

Ireki’s mouth was watering at the idea of a filling meal when he heard a kind of clopping sound. He watched as a bunch of adult elves on these big white deer ran up to his two meals. They had weapons and greatly outnumbered the child naga. He was forced to watch as his meal was taken away from him.  

Once the elves were gone, probably back to wherever they came from, Ireki slithered back down to the ground. He entered his dark cave and once he was deep enough, he lit the torches. His cave was huge, a lucky find for him. He did love his cave, especially compared to his parents' cavern. His was bigger, more spacious and it was safer. Maybe that was karma for his parents. 

Ireki looked at his small hoard of gold. Nagas, like him, often collected gold and other kinds of valuables. He was no different when it came to his treasure. His collection was barely anything since most of his time was spent trying to find food. But he had a plan to have such a huge hoard that if his parents ever did find him and came to visit, they’d be stricken with jealousy. 

But until then, Ireki could only do what he could to survive. So, using his sharp fangs, he ate through some tough meat from an old catch of a rabbit. 

***

It had been years, somewhere around ten, since Vindalvi had been back out this far. She had forgotten about the place. She was so young that the memory of the cave turned into a blurry image. She remembered how she snuck out of camp, and she remembered going back to bring Scolto back to the place. But after that, she had forgotten. That memory had been swept up with all the other memories of her sneaking out and seeing things she believed were cool. 

But now, a much older Vindalvi had snuck out and gone exploring again. She went a way she had thought she had never been before but after a while of walking, so much walking that she knew she was a great distance from the clan’s camp, she came to a familiar cave entrance. It wasn’t until her eyes had landed on it that the memory came flooding back. 

Vindalvi slowly approached the entrance and peered her eyes in, trying to see anything in the darkness. She couldn’t see anything and she knew she should turn around and go back home. Go back, hope her uncle hadn’t noticed her absence and forget about this cave once again. But her curiosity was eating at her. 

She decided to go in. 

She took off the bow she had taken from their weapons master without asking. She’d return it, so it wasn’t stealing. She nocked in an arrow and pulled the bowstring a bit and slowly started to stalk into the cave. 

She still couldn’t see anything and the farther she went, it only seemed to get darker. Eventually she couldn’t even see her bow and arrow in her own hands. The sunlight that had barely entered the cave from the entrance was long since past. Vindalvi was surrounded by nothing but blackness. 

Just when she was about to give up and find her way back to the sunlight, there was a small shuffling sound. With a small gasp, Vindalvi pulled back the bow string further and started aiming in the darkness. She couldn’t tell where the sound had come from, the caves walls seemed to bounce sound off of them. And even if she knew where the sound came from, she couldn’t see to aim. She would have to shoot blindly into the darkness. If the target was small, she’d have to be blessed by the Ancestors to hit it. If the target was big, she’d just have to hope the arrow would go somewhere worth shooting. 

“Who's there?” she called out. “Reveal yourself!” 

There was another shuffle. She spun around, thinking it came from behind her. But she still couldn’t see anything and the noise was gone. Fear was starting to bubble in her gut, not that she’d ever admit it aloud. She chose to come into this cave. If she ran away screaming, it would just confirm what her Uncle Dirlot had said: that she couldn’t take care of herself outside of the clan. 

There was another shuffle and Vindalvi was spinning again. She was starting to become dizzy. She didn’t know what to do. Whatever was around her, it was mocking her. She was about to just start shooting arrows blindly in the dark and hope that an arrow hits something. 

Just as she was about to release an arrow, she felt a subtle tap on her shoulder. Vindalvi turned to where the tap had come from. What she was met with wasn’t darkness. 

She couldn’t see anything but two glowing eyes. Their glow gave her the ability to see the slightest silhouette of a head. The eyes were bright yellow with two black lines slitting them: snake eyes. Before she could react, before she could unleash her arrow into whatever she was looking at, the eyes changed. 

The snake eyes disappeared, just to be replaced by a spiral of red, yellow, and orange. There was no pattern to the colors, they were random, giving Vindalvi nothing to focus on. The spiral and its colors filled her vision, it was the only thing she could see. Without even realizing what she was doing, she started to lower her weapon. She felt like she was spinning and she couldn’t look away from the memorizing motif.

Distantly, in her mind, Vindalvi’s logic was screaming at her to pull back her bow and shoot. It told her this was dangerous and she needed to get out of there and run back to camp. She needed to run back to camp and tell her Uncle Dirlot there was something dangerous in their forest. 

But as the colors pulsed, Vindalvi’s logic was pushed away until it was only a slight murmur, and then it was gone. The colors felt safe. She knew she could just stare at them and everything would be okay. Her mind had become sluggish, nothing else mattered to her but watching the pretty colors. There was no danger. She was okay. She was safe. She was with the colors. 

***

Ireki did love how his victims fell. He rarely was able to hypnotize humanoid creatures. Maybe a random human that stumbled across his hunting grounds, but he mostly had to settle for typical forest animals. But there he was, taking control of a little elf that wandered into his cave, a thing that never happened. 

He had watched her since she took her first step inside his home. Even with his bright scales, the darkness cloaked him as he watched her travel farther and farther into his cave. With his snake eyes, he could see perfectly well in the dark, which made it just that more entertaining for him to watch the elf freak out and spin. 

He would have continued to play with her if he hadn’t smelled her fear spiking. Her arms had tensed and he knew she was about to shoot that arrow before trying to run. Though Ireki knew that she wouldn’t hit him and that she wouldn’t get caught, he did enjoy a slower induction rather than a panicked prey. 

The elf had fallen faster than he thought she would, her eyes were already starting to mimic his spirals. Her mind would be absolute mush and she wouldn’t be able to look away, which she wouldn’t even want at that point. The dopey smile that all humanoid creatures got when in such a pliable situation had already formed on her face. The elf was completely under Ireki’s control. 

“Good elf,” Ireki cooed at her. “Such a good elf for me. Now, drop the weapon.” 

With no hesitation, the elf dropped the bow and arrow on the ground, unceremoniously. Using his long tail, Ireki swiped the bow and arrow away. With the weapon out of his way, starting with the end of his tail, Ireki started to coil himself around the elf. 

Once she was covered from ankle to neck, Ireki took his prize even deeper into his cave. Once far enough in, light from torches could be seen and they were in the main area of his cave. In the middle of the cave, light flickering off from the torches, was a huge pile of gold. It shined bright and illuminated the dark cave. Over the past ten years, he had grown his home and his hoard.

But gold wasn’t the only collection Ireki had. There were bookshelves lining the cave walls with hundreds, possibly thousands, of all kinds of books. From fiction to nonfiction, from books about magic and potions to books about history. There was a cauldron and a collection of glass bottles that would hold potions and other ingredients. He even had a collection of pillows and blankets for his nest. 

Ireki wasn’t like most nagas. He knew this from a young age, being thrown out from his nest earlier than most taught him that. But as he grew, he became even more estranged from his kind. Most nagas only collected precious metals, like gold. They had one huge collection, not multiple like Ireki did. But he did not care what other nagas would think of him, or his collections if they were to come across his home. If he wished to study witchcraft, he would. And if he wished to collect things other than precious metals, then he would. 

Ireki turned to his catch, she seemed to be shifting more into his coils. Strange. Ireki had taken many creatures, none of which had reacted the way that this elf was acting. They would take on the spirals in their own eyes, they would have a dopey smile, and they would listen to every one of his commands. But for this elf to lean into his coils, almost longingly, had Ireki befuddled. His power shut the brain off, left them open to his suggestions, but it never made them affectionate to him which he could do if he wished. 

Raising an eyebrow at the elf, Ireki’s human torso got closer to her. Her half lidded eyes fluttered a bit as he got up close. He titled his head to the side with curiosity at her reaction. He knew it wasn’t an elf thing; he had once caught two adventurer elves, a couple. Not the tastiest meal he ever had. Elves had this nutty flavor that was not one of Ireki’s favorites, not that he wouldn’t eat it. Sometimes eating the less tastier things made the tasty things that much more enjoyable. 

Deciding that playtime was over, Ireki had his eyes illuminate the spiraling colors. The elf’s eyes widened as they were brought even deeper into the naga’s spell. The spirals were addictive. Ireki had learned that at a young age, one of the few things his parents actually took time to teach him before banishing him from their cavern. Once one sees them performed in a naga’s eyes, it consumes their thoughts and the feeling given to them. Once they had seen it, they would fall almost instantly the next time. If one were to ever escape, eventually they would come crawling back, maybe without even knowing why. Ireki wasn’t sure how much he believed that. He knew that someone could get addicted, but he had plenty of escapees that hadn't crawled back to him. He didn’t know if he believed if it just depended on who and what escaped or maybe it was just another folklore of the nagas to express their power. But in Ireki’s experience, no creature has come crawling back after only one session with his eyes. 

"Ssleep,” Ireki ordered in a hiss. 

The response was immediate in the elf. She completely slumped in the coils and her eyes shut. So easy. Ireki uncurled himself from the elf. A whine erupted from the girl at the loss of contact with his scales. Ireki stared at the girl that laid on the stone floor, debating if he had actually heard her or if his mind was playing tricks on him. 

As he continued to stare at her, something seemed to spark in his mind. He knew this elf. Or at least, he had seen her before. It was the same elf that had almost entered his cave with her friend ten years prior. Realizing just who she was, he felt disappointment that he hadn’t recognized her earlier. He would have had a lot more fun toying with her conscious mind. 

Ireki had never forgotten about that day. The day he almost had two young elves come into his cave and give him his first filling meal. Only for them to be saved before they knew they were in danger. Even after, when his hunting and his hypnosis got better so he had a filling meal whenever he needed, the memory of this girl who was willingly dragging her friend into their downfall stuck with him. 

Ireki was taken out of his thoughts when the elf, in her reverie sleep, reached out for the end of his tail that had been laying near her. He stayed frozen as her hand found him and grabbed hold. Still asleep, she pushed herself to it and wrapped her arms fully around it in a hug. Ireki had to maneuver some of his other coils to allow him to “sit” on them, he was that bewildered. 

This elf was asleep, in his trance without any orders to do anything of the like. But there she was, snuggled against his tail. If he wasn’t certain that she was deep under his trance, he’d think this was a way of her trying to gain trust before attempting to escape. But no, she was in his stupor. He could see it, smell it, feel his power inside of her. 

This elf was making it challenging for him to kill her. He always tried to be merciful to his prey. Putting them in a nice dazed state where they can be happy with nothing in their brain but thoughts of the colors. He put them to sleep so they’d be dreaming of his spirals. They’d pass staring into bliss. 

But looking at this elf, even in the perfect state to take her life, he didn’t think he could do it. He had been determined when he was younger that he’d find this elf, find out what it was about her that stuck out to him, and then he would do what he wanted all those years ago. But now? Now, he had been around the thing that had stuck with him. She had entered after all this time of growing and maturing. If the Gods had anything to say, there had to be a reason this elf had been stuck in Ireki’s mind. There was a reason he remembered the day she appeared better than he remembered the day he was kicked out of his parents home. This elf made him question himself, made him question his power, but he couldn’t kill her. He couldn’t enjoy her as a meal. 

He couldn’t eat her. 

Ireki pulled his tail away from the elf who whined yet again at the loss of contact. He slithered up to her and picked her up in his arms. He would take her out into the forest, somewhere where her elf clan would find her. Maybe the hunters on their large white deer. They’d take her back to their camp. And with any luck, she’d be out of Ireki’s life forever. 

***

Two years. It had been two years since Vindalvi woke up to her Uncle Dirlot pacing in front of a cot in the healers tent. She didn’t remember anything that had happened before that. She told the healers and her uncle that. She said that the only memory she had was the cave and how dark it was. 

The healers told her and her Uncle Dirlot that the cave and darkness had to have been a dream. Vindalvi was nowhere near a cave when she was found. Just under a large tree in one of the clan’s hunter’s paths. She had been there passed out with a bow and arrow laying next to her. There was nothing to show that someone had taken her there. But the hunters hadn’t been able to wake her up which is why they had hurried her to the healers. 

Vindalvi didn’t believe it was a dream. She remembered finding the cave again and she remembered remembering the first time she had seen it and dragging Scolto. She remembered entering and not being able to see anything. The memories before whatever happened were too vivid to just be a dream. 

When she argued this to her uncle and told him that they had to take a few hunters and find out just what lived in that stupid cave, he shut her down. He said he wasn’t listening to it because she shouldn’t have been out there in the first place. He, and the healers, believed that either someone had knocked her out and ran when they heard the clan’s hunters, or she had accidentally, somehow, knocked herself out. So that meant there was no need to go into that cave and find out what lives there. 

Vindalvi fought for weeks but no one listened to her. The only thing that they did was keep an eye on her so she couldn’t even make it a step out of camp without being ambushed by over half of her clan. Eventually, she just stopped trying. 

She started to stop looking at the border of her camp. She started helping with the chores and spending free time listening to Wise Adda’s lessons and stories. Her Uncle Dirlot would look at her with pride instead of worry and disappointment. He smiled more and even told Vindalvi if she kept up the mature behavior, she could come into power for the clan in the future. He told her a year and a half ago when she started her new role. 

But ever since those words spilled out of his mouth, Vindalvi had been doing nothing but suffering. She wanted to keep her uncle proud. She didn’t care about having any power in the clan, but she knew what he meant when he said that; he was going to want her to take over as Keeper when he joined the Ancestors. 

Keepers would have constant conversations with the Wises, especially the head ones like Wise Adda, and other leaders in the clan, such as the head hunter, and they would come up with a list of people who could take over. Then they’d take that list and listen to the Ancestors. Though Vindalvi didn’t know how the Ancestors shared their choice, the head Wise would tell the Keeper. There was always a choice in case something bad happened to the Keeper, otherwise on their deathbed, it would be announced who was the Ancestor’s choice. Most of the time, a child of the Keeper would take over after being raised and first hand seeing what it entails. But Keeper Dirlot didn’t have any of his own children, he only had his sister’s daughter.

Back when Vindalvi snuck out and acted “reckless” as her Uncle Dirlot said, she knew there was no chance that the clan and the Ancestors would choose her. But with her new attitude, the role of future Keeper was weighing on her, even though she wasn’t certain that it was her. She didn’t care if she was Keeper in the future, as long as her uncle was proud.

So Vindalvi pushed herself to do everything she could. She helped Wise Adda and other Wises teach lessons to the children, she helped feed the faennas, she helped her Uncle Dirlot with any work she could, she ran through the camp so many times that by the end of the day her feet were raw from not being relieved for endless hours. Vindalvi barely slept. She couldn’t. She would try and try but her body would never shut down so she’d go out and do work until the sun came up and her clan started to wake. She’d lie and say she just got up earlier than everyone else to start on some of the workload. She’d only get some sleep when her body shut down on its own and she’d get maybe an hour or two that felt more like blacking out then sleep. She always woke up feeling even more exhausted. After a year and half of it, Vindalvi had become a pro at hiding her exhaustion from her clan, even if hiding it just exhausted her even more. 

That’s why she found herself out there yet again. She had never been able to believe that her experience was a dream but after she dropped her fight, she just told herself it was. But when she couldn’t fall asleep yet again, she left her tent, borrowed another bow and arrow and for the first time in two years, stepped out of the confines of her camp. 

She didn’t tell the healers or her Uncle Dirlot the full truth. The truth was, she did remember a little bit of the time after the blackness. There was no image or a certain memory, more of a feeling. She remembered a happy feeling, a warm feeling and a feeling of safety. And when she woke up in the healer’s tent, she felt more refreshed than she had ever been. She had slept better than she had in her entire life. But Vindalvi wasn’t sure if she was trekking through the forest to get answers or if she was going to try and get some actual sleep. 

With an arrow already nocked and the bowstring pulled back, Vindalvi found the place she had been looking for. She made it to the outside of the cave. It was just as dark inside as she remembered but unlike last time, there wasn’t even a touch of sunlight that grazed into it. Just the smallest bit of moonlight from the night sky above her. It was just as she was taking her first step inside that a feeling of being watched slammed into her gut.

“It’s rather rude to intrude on someone's home without even knocking,” a voice from behind her said. 

Vindalvi spun around and shot an arrow in the direction of where she heard the voice. The arrow ripped through the air and hit a tree, digging itself deep into it. Vindalvi was breathing heavily as she grabbed another arrow, nocked it and looked around to find the source which had spoken to her. 

“Up here, darling,” the same voice called out. 

Looking up in the branches of the tree she hit, she saw it. Or, she saw the shape of it. The greenery blocked the moonlight from showing its full picture. But it had a humanoid upper body but the lower, it was in the shape of a humongous snake. The thing was wrapped around the branches of the trees and Vindalvi could tell, it was staring right at her. 

It started to unwrap itself from the branches as it lowered itself down from the tree to the forest floor. Once the moonlight hit it, Vindalvi was met with tan, almost bronze, human skin on its upper body except for a few scattered scales that matched his long tail the color of golden. He had spiky black hair that matched his sharp teeth. No, they were fangs. And his eyes, they were ones of a snake. Yellow and slitted. 

The thing looked from Vindalvi to the arrow in the tree. He grabbed hold of it and yanked it out. He examined the arrowhead with curiosity before putting his attention to the hole it left in the tree. 

“You have an incredible shot,” he said. “Strong too.” 

He turned to her and started to approach when Vindalvi pulled the bowstring with another arrow and aimed for his chest. “Stay back, monster!” 

He stopped. “Naga, if you would.” 

“Naga?” she asked. “Is that your name?!”

He smiled. “No, it is what I am. A naga. My name is…”

“I don’t want to know your name!” Vindalvi interrupted. 

The mons- naga, hummed in response. With speed Vindalvi didn’t think was possible, he moved behind her to the entrance of the cave. Vindalvi quickly twisted to follow, keeping her aim of her arrow at him. 

“But I want to know your name,” he said. “After watching you come here for some time, I have grown curious.” 

“Watching me? You were here two years ago?” 

“Wass it that long ago? I thought it was shorter. But yes, I was here. I was here since long before your first journey here, twelve years ago now, I presume.”

“So I really was here. I did come here!”

The naga raised an eyebrow at her. “You did.” 

Vindalvi tightened her grip on her bow. “Do you know what happened here that day? I can’t remember and I need to know!” 

The naga started to laugh with a shake of his head. He knew something that she didn’t and he thought it was funny. Vindalvi was tempted to just shoot him then and there. That would stop him from laughing at her. But if he had the answers she wanted, she needed him alive long enough to tell her. 

“Stop laughing!” Vindalvi said, taking a step closer to the creature. “Tell me what you know or you're going to have an arrow in your heart, if you even have one!” 

The naga looked at her with a smug smile. “You won’t shoot me.” 

“And how would you know that?” 

“Because, I’m the only one who knows what happened to you.” 

“Then tell me!” 

“I will, if you do something for me.” 

Vindavli looked at the naga with narrowed eyes. “What is it?” 

“Your name,” he responded. “Tell me it.” 

Vindalvi hesitated, did she want to give him her name? He was acting as if this was all just a game. If she gave her name, she’d just be encouraging him. Did he actually know what happened to her or was he just stringing her along? 

“Vindalvi,” she finally said. 

“Vindalvi,” the naga repeated, tasting the name in his mouth. “A pretty name for a pretty elf.” 

Vindalvi pretended to not feel how her cheeks warmed with a blush. “I told you my name, now you tell me what happened two years ago!” 

“My name is Ireki, not that you asked,” the naga said, slithering a bit closer. 

“What happened to me two years ago?” Vindalvi repeated. 

Ireki shook his head, “Hypnosis.” 

“Hypnosis?”

“Yes, you were hypnotized. You were quite lucky. The one who had you under their control was going to feast on you but they changed their mind. So they took you to that tree and left you to be found by your clan’s hunters.” 

Vindalvi’s mouth went dry. “But who or what would…” 

Ireki snickered and before Vindalvi could question him, out of nowhere his long tail swiped at her. She yelped as she was knocked off her feet and her bow and arrow was dropped to the ground. She reached to grab her weapon but Ireki shoved them far from her. He then started to circle her until his tail surrounded her in a circle. He leaned down, his face mere inches away from hers. 

“You really don’t know anything about nagas, do you?” he questioned. 

“What?” Vindalvi asked, trying to hide the shake in her voice. 

Ireki leaned further down, next to her ear and purred, “I’m the one that hypnotized you.” 

Vindalvi’s eyes grew wide and she pushed her naga back. Or she tried to, she had been the one that ended up moving. His strength caused him to be more of a wall she used to shove herself away. She had shoved so hard that she ended up with her back up against his tail that blocked her in he was still circling around her, there was no way out. 

“Don’t be scared,” Ireki chortled. “I can smell the fear radiating off you. Among other things.” 

“Stay away from me!” Vindalvi shouted. “You can’t have me! If I am not back home by sunrise, my clan will come looking for me! When they find you, they’ll kill you!” 

“Oh, darling, if I wanted you to be a meal, you would already be under my control. And let your clan come, I think I can handle some little elves.”

“If you’re not going to hypnotize me, what are you going to do with me?” 

Ireki's smile turned dark. “You misunderstand. I am going to hypnotize you but you are going to ask me to do so.” 

“What? I would never!” 

He crept closer to her, circling his coils even tighter so she couldn’t move away at all. “Oh, but you will, darling. I said I can smell other things on you. Stress, exhaustion, the need to relax. That’s why you came back here, not because you wanted answers. If that’s all you had wanted, you would have come back years ago.”

“You're wrong!” Vindalvi spat out. 

“Don’t you remember how good I made you feel? I can do it again and I don’t even need anything from you in return. You react so well to my power and I just want to see it again. See if anything has changed. I would have left it be but you came crawling back. Crawling back for the feeling of bliss and warmth.” 

“Let. Me. Go.” 

Ireki backed off a bit, a smug smile still plastered on his face. His tail started to move and soon, Vindalvi was no longer surrounded. She didn’t hesitate before standing and running to her bow and arrow. She nocked the arrow but before pulling the bowstring back, she looked at the naga. He wasn’t moving, just watching her with a raised eyebrow. She knew, the moment she pulled the bowstring, he’d attack again. There was no winning against this monster without backup. So instead she put the bow and arrow back on her back. She turned and started her way back to her camp without a word. 

“I have no plans of ever eating you,” Ireki said, “if that helps ease your mind for when you come back.” 

“I won’t be coming back,” Vindalvi responded over her shoulder. 

The only answer she got was a hum. She didn’t wait for anything else, she just left. She traced her steps all the way back to her camp that was quiet. None of her clan members would have believed her if she told them what had happened. They would have said it was just a dream. Vindalvi knew it wasn’t, she didn’t dream anymore. She didn’t sleep. And if her Uncle Dirlot found out she snuck out of camp in the middle of the night, the pride in his eyes would disappear back to the old look. She’d never leave again. She’d resist the urge to return to that naga for the promises of a goodnight’s sleep and a feeling of relaxation. 

Her resistance lasted two weeks. 

***

Ireki was leaning his back against the trunk of the tree, his coils wrapped around its branches. He was reading one of his books in the moonlight. Or that’s what he had been doing. When he smelled a familiar scent, a smirk came across his face. Looking down below, he saw a familiar elf getting closer to his cave. She had her little weapon still, but he could smell it in the air; she was going to surrender. 

When she made it to the entrance of the cave, Ireki closed his book and made his way down the tree, behind her. He was a silent creature, making it all the way down and up to her without her even realizing. 

“I don’t do well with those weapons,” he hissed into her ear, causing her to jump. 

Vindalvi spun around and backed up when she realized just how close Ireki was to her. She seemed to be debating something before she put the arrow back and dropped the weapon to the ground. Ireki grinned before using his tail to swipe the things away. Vindalvi looked as if she was about to chase after it before changing her mind and looking up to the naga. 

“Do it,” she said. 

Ireki chuckled. “Do what, darling?” 

“You know what!” 

Ireki slithered behind her, placing his hands on her shoulders and leaning next to her ear. “I do, but I want to hear you say it, want to hear you ask for it.” 

With an exhale, Vindalvi turned to face him. “Please hypnotize me…” 

Ireki’s fangs flashed in the moonlight. “And what is it you want to do while under?”

“I… I want to sleep. I want to forget the stress. I want to relax.” 

“I think I can do that, darling,” Ireki responded as he pushed her long hair behind her pointed ear. “All you have to do is look into my eyes.” 

As soon as eye contact was made, Ireki had his eyes start to shift into the colors. Vindalvi’s reaction was immediate. Her shoulders relaxed and Ireki had to grab hold of her shoulders so she wouldn’t fall. Her pupils were already gone and her eyes were starting to reflect his. He knew she was susceptible, especially after last time, but Ireki was seeing just how badly she needed to let go. He couldn’t help but feel bad for the poor elf. How long had it been since she could relax? He had his spirals speed up a bit to pull her down faster, get her in a deeper trance. 

“Pretty…” she uttered, her mouth ajar.

Ireki couldn’t help but titter. “Yes, very pretty. Continue staring at the pretty colors and relax for me, okay?” 

She gave the weakest nod. It didn’t take long after that until she had that dopey smile, indicating she was in his complete control. Ireki allowed the myriad of colors in his eyes to withdraw as he admired Vindalvi in her hazed state. She was perfect to him. He had never had someone willingly come back to him. They always put up at least some resistance even when they knew that deep down he was giving them what they wanted. But not Vindalvi, she just fully surrendered. 

“Come with me,” Ireki ordered her as he took hold of one of her wrists. “Let’s get you somewhere more comfortable.” 

He led her into his cave. Her steps were clumsy and if it wasn’t so adorable, Ireki would have carried her. The pace was slow but it caused an idea to reveal itself to Ireki’s mind. He stopped and tugged Vindalvi closer to him. He leaned down so his lips were caressing her ear as he whispered. 

“With each step you take, you are going to sink even deeper into my power. The more relaxed you will feel. The more open to me you will be. Do you understand?” 

“Yes,” Vindalvi said in a tired and breathy voice. 

“So good for me. Let’s begin.” 

Ireki continued to lead his tranced elf deeper into his cave which in turn caused her to go deeper into trance, her eyes fluttering with every step. Ireki did love placing triggers and playing with the mind of his victims, but having it be a willing victim made it that much more exciting. Vindalvi had no idea what she got herself into. Ireki could do anything to her while she was in his control. But she had put her trust in him and he knew, if he wanted her to continue coming back, which for some reason he was starting to want, he’d have to keep at least some of that trust. 

By the time they finally made it to the main area of Ireki’s cave, Vindalvi’s eyes were half lidded. She was so deep that Ireki could say anything and she wouldn’t question it. There was nothing left in her brain but the colors spinning around and Ireki’s words. All the stress that Ireki had smelled before was gone, replaced by only the scent of exhaustion. 

He brought Vindalvi to his own nest, filled with his many soft pillows and blankets. Being cold blooded, Ireki used the blankets, and the torches to keep himself warm. Making sure all of himself is in the nest, he pulled Vindalvi onto his lap so she was leaning her back against his chest. 

“To help you,” he said as one of his clawed hands started to play with her hair, “I need to know exactly what causes this stress. So, I want you to remember for me.” 

Vindalvi instantly tensed up as whatever stressful memories cut through the colors that swirled around in her mind. She whined as her relaxed state was stolen away. Ireki hushed her as this was happening to make sure she didn’t snap out of his trance. 

“It’s okay,” he reassured her. “Now, tell me.” 

If Ireki was being honest, he didn’t need to know any of it to help Vindalvi, but it was a chance to get to know the elf that had infatuated his thoughts. When he first put her under that tree, he didn’t want to see her ever again. Or that’s what he told himself because ever since he laid her down there, he couldn’t stop thinking about her and how she reacted to his power. So no, Ireki didn’t need the information from Vindalvi, but she did not need to know that. 

“My uncle is Keeper,” Vindalvi responded in her tranced voice. “I want him to be proud of me so I work. I try to do everything to make him proud of me but it is tiring. I don't want to disappoint him like I used to. I have to be the perfect niece, the perfect wood elf. But all the stress has made it to where I can’t sleep. I stay awake for weeks at a time before my body shuts down for maybe a few hours and I wake up even more tired.” 

Ireki nodded. “Is that all?” 

“I just want to sleep and forget about everything for a while. Please…” 

“I can do that,” he grabbed Vindalvi’s chin and had her look him in the eye as his eyes were engulfed with his spirals. “Let those memories fade away now. Nothing but my voice and the pretty spirals.” 

Vindalvi relaxed immediately on Ireki’s lap. He had her stare for a few minutes before deciding to let her get some sleep. He voiced the order to her and moved her off his lap and into the nest. She whimpered as she reached out for him but was stopped when his tail wrapped around her wrists. Ireki slowly coiled himself around her to settle her and soon, she was in a deep sleep in his coils in his nest. 

Ireki smiled as he brushed his claws through her hair. “I think we are going to be great friends.” 

***

The sun would be rising soon. Vindalvi had told Ireki that she couldn’t be late getting back home or her clan would notice her absence. After all the years, she didn’t even know how many at that point, one would think that the two of them would have their song and dance down. Vindalvi snuck to his cave when everyone in her clan was sleeping and they would hang out, discussing their lives and exploring the dark forest, before he hypnotized her to sleep. Then he’d wake her up before the sun rose and she’d go back to camp just in time for no one to notice she had been gone. 

But that morning, Ireki had woken her up a bit later than he was supposed to. Said something about how she was more tired than usual and he wanted her to get extra sleep. But that extra sleep caused Vindalvi to be in a race against the sun on who could land on the camp’s ground first.  

Against Ireki’s suggestion, Vindalvi had continued to try and be the perfect niece and the perfect elf to her uncle and to her clan. The naga had threatened to make it a hypnotic suggestion but the threat was empty. He wouldn’t do anything like that to her, she knew that. 

She wasn’t far from her home but the sun was already starting to graze upon the earth behind her. As fast as she was, she wasn’t faster than the sun and once it hit the clearing, her clan would start waking up and it wouldn’t be long after that they’d be emerging from their tents. 

“Vindalvi?” 

She went rigid before steadily turning towards the familiar voice. On top of his faenna, Ayala, was Scolto. The two of them were still best friends and they still told each other everything. Well, mostly everything. Vindalvi never told him or anyone about Ireki or about her sneaking out every night to him. But besides that, they shared everything. 

“Scolto?” Vindalvi said, realizing herself caught. “What are you doing out here so early?” 

“I feel like I should be the one asking you that,” Scolto responded.

“I asked first.” 

Scolto rolled his eyes. “I woke up really early and couldn’t get back to sleep. So, I thought I would bring Ayala out and stretch her legs while looking for a good place to hunt today.”

Scolto had become the apprentice to their lead huntress, Nicy. So it wasn’t uncommon for him to go out early and scope out where certain animals would be for food. But he usually left after the sun came up, not while it was coming up. 

“Now you,” Scolto continued, staring at his friend expectedly. 

“I couldn’t sleep either so I thought I’d wander around a bit,” Vindalvi lied. “I lost track of time.”

“How often do you do this? You are up early every morning.” 

“I’ve only done it a few times. Nothing to freak out about. Are you going to tell my Uncle Dirlot?” 

“I should.” 

“But will you?”

Scolto didn’t respond. Vindalvi knew that even though they were best friends, she couldn’t hold her breath that he’d cover for her. He used to when they were younger and even after their first time at the cave, she had been able to drag him out sometimes. But after he got the apprenticeship with Nicy, he wasn’t willing to risk her choosing another. Vindalvi couldn’t blame him, it just didn’t bode well for her when she was standing there outside of the camp. 

“Hop on,” Scolto said, extending a hand for her. “If we run, we can get back before anyone comes out of their tent. But we have to hurry.” 

Vindalvi smiled before taking her friend’s hand as she mounted Ayala and wrapped her arms around Scolto’s chest. Once sure she wouldn’t fall, Scolto grabbed hold of Ayala’s antlers which riders used to keep themselves steady and help steer the faenna. Over the years, Vindalvi had realized that faenna antlers no longer looked like vines wrapped around branches, they instead looked like coils wrapped around branches to her. 

With a quick nudge to her side, Scolto told her that they were ready to go. Faennas were faster than the average human’s horse, more graceful too. A faenna only made the necessary steps. Very rarely would it make much noise besides the thumping of its hooves. Even then it had to be a herd of faennas for the hooves to make a loud noise. It was only because of their speed, dexterity and Ayala’s bond with Scolto that they made it back to camp just as other elves were coming out of their tents. 

Vindalvi quickly jumped off of Ayala and turned to look as if she had just been having a conversation with Scolto. Scolto rolled his eyes at her but stayed and the two of them picked up a normal conversation about hunting plans. 

“Scolto, Vindalvi,” Keeper Dirlot said as he approached the two, “I was just about to come find you.” 

Vindalvi turned to her uncle to see that Nicy and Scolto’s parents were with him. Scolto dismounted Ayala, resting a hand on her neck. Vindalvi looked at him with a questioning look but Scolto just shrugged back.

Like every morning, Vindalvi greeted her uncle with a hug and he kissed her on top of the head. They had done the same thing since she was little. Keeper Dirlot was determined to make sure she knew that she was loved. She knew he loved her but he insisted on showing it. Though he never said it, Vindalvi knew it was because her parents left her with him and never came back to even meet her. 

“You weren’t in the tent this morning again,” Keeper Dirlot said. 

“I woke up and thought I’d get started on some work,” Vindalvi responded, glancing over to Scolto who was refusing to look at her and instead was focused on petting Ayala’s hide. 

“Did you and Ayala go out?” Nicy asked Scolto. 

He nodded. “Yes, we weren’t out for long but we did find a few places that would be good to go today. Ayala and I can show you.” 

Nicy shook her head. “Later. There is something we have to discuss.”

Scolto’s eyes widened. “Is everything okay? What’s wrong? Are the faennas, okay?” 

Keeper Dirlot placed a hand on Scolto’s shoulder. “Everything is fine, Scolto. What Nicy means is there is something we all have to talk about,” he explained with a gesture to Scolto’s parents, Nicy, and Vindalvi. 

“All of us?” Vindalvi asked. 

“Yes,” Keeper Dirlot confirmed. “Why don’t we all come to my tent to discuss.” 

“A tent conversation?” Vindalvi asked, her voice rising in concern. Conversations in their tent were saved for extremely important things. Usually conversations were around the main campfire or just somewhere outside. But to be summoned into the Keeper’s tent meant you were in an extreme amount of trouble (as Vindalvi had been quite acquainted with when she was young) or there was something huge happening. 

“Yes, let us go discuss.” 

Nicy nodded before calling over Ylla, the faenna herder of the clan, to escort Ayala back to the rest of the herd. Once they were all in the Keeper’s tent, Vindalvi realized Wise Adda was also there, waiting. She glanced at Scolto who was looking at her just as confused. 

“Are we in trouble?” Vindalvi asked. 

“No,” Keeper Dirlot said, raising an eyebrow. “Why? Did you two do anything that would be worth being in trouble for?” 

“Not that I can think of,” Vindalvi lied, “which is why I am so confused.” 

“I have been talking with Nicy and it seems that Scolto is doing far better than any of us thought,” Keeper Dirlot explained. “When the time comes, the Ancestors have told Wise Adda that they agree with him becoming lead hunter.” 

“That’s amazing!” Vindalvi said, hugging her best friend. “I told you not to worry so much!” 

Scolto hugged his friend back before turning to Keeper Dirlot and the other adults. “Thank you, I do really appreciate it but why is this a tent conversation? Couldn’t this have just been said outside?”

“The Ancestors gave me a second message as well,” Wise Adda elucidated. “The message is about the both of you.” 

Keeper Dirlot smiled, “Vindalvi, Scolto, the Ancestors have told us that you two are to…”

***

“MARRY!” 

Ireki only let out a small hum as from behind him, Vindalvi paced angrily back and forth. This was the first time in a while that she had come to visit him while the sun was up. He had been about to eat when the elf ran into his cave ranting about something. So as she paced, Ireki started to cut some fruits he gathered in the forest for his guest. 

“My uncle just calls me into his tent with Scolto and there is Wise Adda! And what does she say? That the Ancestors have said that Scolto and I are to be married! An arranged marriage! I didn’t even say anything! I couldn’t think of anything to say! I just turned and ran! My first time in years I just ran away! Sun fully up and I didn’t even wait for an opening. I just ran out of camp and came here! I was lucky to not be followed here!” Vindalvi continued to rant. 

“I would appreciate it if you did not bring an army of your elves to my cave,” Ireki responded calmly. “I feel that our relationship would be quite effected if I had to kill some of your clan.” 

“I did not work all these years to be perfect, just to be forced into an arranged marriage!” Ireki heard a thump and looked over his shoulder to see Vindalvi had fallen to the ground, laying on her back as she spoke. “Why would the Ancestors do this to me?” 

Ireki grabbed the wooden bowl with cut up fruit as he turned and slithered his way up to the elf on the ground. “I take it you are unhappy.” 

“What gave me away?” she responded, sarcasm thick on her tongue. 

Ireki hummed. “Open,” he ordered. 

Vindalvi opened her mouth, allowing Ireki to place a piece of fruit in it. She sat up as she chewed the food. Ireki had insisted she eat after realizing she hadn’t eaten since the night before. He did not like when she starved herself because she forgot to eat in her work. Ever since they had officially became friends, Ireki had made it his goal to take care of Vindalvi when she forgot to take care of herself. Being as nagas didn’t have to eat or sleep as much as elves made it easier for him to focus on her. 

“It’s not that I don’t love Scolto,” Vindalvi said before Ireki could shove another fruit down her throat. “I do love him, but not romantically. He is my best friend. I don’t want to marry him.” 

“Then don’t,” Ireki said, wrapping his tail around Vindalvi’s waist as she tried to scoot away from the food he was feeding her. 

“Easy for you to say, Ireki. Your Ancestors don’t tell you the path you're supposed to follow.”

“If my Ancestors were the ones I worshipped, I’d be accursed. They would not like me.” 

“Do your Gods like you?” Vindalvi asked. 

Ireki smirked. “Not in the slightest.”

Vindalvi shook her head at him and tried to unwrap herself from his coils but he kept a tight hold of her until she agreed to finish eating. Once the bowl of fruit was gone, he finally released her. He watched as she stood and started to pace again. If she kept freaking out, he felt as if there would be no choice but to coil her up and place her into a trance long enough for her to stay calm. 

“I always knew I’d end up marrying,” she said. “I never had a problem with it before. But I had hoped I’d get to choose the one I got to be with.” 

“Do you have someone in mind that you do wish to marry?” Ireki asked her. 

“No,” Vindalvi said quickly, too quickly. 

She tried to turn away but Ireki saw her face go red with a blush. He stuck his tongue out and could taste the lie in the air. He raised an eyebrow at her with a dark simper. He slithered up until he was right behind her. Placing his hands on her shoulders, he leaned down and hissed into her ear. 

“You know how I feel about lying, Vinni.” 

Vindalvi cringed at the nickname he had given her. “I’m not lying, Ireki.” 

“Vinni,” Ireki scolded, teasingly. 

“Leave it alone, Ireki.” 

“Tell me the truth and maybe I will. Iss there someone you have in mind that you wish to marry?” 

“...yes,” the elf whispered, just barely loud enough for Ireki to hear. 

Something panged in Ireki’s gut, something like curiosity but an angry curiosity. A curiosity clawing inside of him that needed to know more about what Vindalvi was talking about. He forced Vindalvi to turn towards him and guided her chin to look up at him. He stared down at her, she was refusing to look him in the eye. 

“Who?” he asked, pushing down the angry curiosity so it couldn’t be found in his voice. 

“Nobody…” Vindalvi said, trying and failing to push herself away. 

“Don’t lie to me, Vindalvi,” Ireki was getting irritated and it was taking a lot for him not to put her under his control and force her to tell him. “Tell me their name!” 

Vindalvi hid her face in his chest, “Ireki…” she mumbled. 

“Tell me!” 

Vindalvi slowly looked up at Ireki and into his eyes. “I just did.” 

Ireki stopped and stared down at her. She had told him about everyone in her clan and he knew every name. She didn’t say any of those names. The only name she had said was… oh. 

She said his name. 

“I should probably go,” Vindalvi finally freed herself from Ireki’s grip. “My clan’s hunters are probably out with my uncle already searching the forest.” 

Vindalvi barely started making it down the hall to the exit of the cave when Ireki’s tail shot out and grabbed her wrist. She didn’t have time to react before Ireki pulled her back and kissed her. She was tense for a moment in his grasp before relaxing and kissing him back. When their lips finally parted, Ireki’s smirk had returned. 

“Oh, darling,” he said. “You should have told me sooner.” 

“When I said I want to marry you, I didn’t mean today but maybe someday. We both live extremely long lives and…” Vindalvi explained, starting to ramble. 

Ireki hushed her. “Marriage or not, you are my treassure.” 

“Oh, by the Ancestors, I love you, Ireki.” 

Ireki pulled Vindalvi closer, “My Vinni.” 

“You need to stop calling me that,” Vindalvi giggled. “You know I rather my actual name.” 

“All mine.” 

***

Vindalvi walked beside Ireki as they made their way back to his cave. It had been a few weeks since they confessed their feelings for each other and Vindalvi had started to sneak out during the day again. When Vindalvi had left after that to go back to her camp, she had been caught in the forest by the hunters, Nicy leading the one search group. She was dragged upon her faenna and taken back to camp. 

Vindalvi was no longer the perfect elf or the perfect niece. By the time Keeper Dirlot had finished his lecture between the two of them in their tent, the sun was starting to set. He was outraged that she disrespected not only him and the others that had been in the tent, but the Ancestors as well. Apparently, Scolto had confessed to finding her in the forest because Keeper Dirlot had started to question her how many times she had secretly snuck out of camp and acted like a reckless child. Vindalvi had lied, said it was only a few times in early mornings and she kept her mouth shut about Ireki. 

“I refused,” she said to her lover as they continued their walk. They had gone out to collect more fruit for her and to hunt for some meat for Ireki, which is why Vindalvi had a bow and arrow on her back. 

“You refused?” Ireki repeated, turning to her with a curious look. 

“To marry Scolto,” she explained. “I refused.” 

“You did?”

Vindalvi nodded. “We were at the main campfire. My uncle was talking to Wise Adda, and Scolto and I were there. It was two different conversations but I couldn’t concentrate on what Scolto was saying. So I stood up and I said that I wasn’t going to marry him. They all just stared at me for a second and I walked away before they could find their voices. I grabbed the bow and arrow and I left before anyone could stop me.” 

“I am proud,” Ireki responded as he pulled her into a half hug. 

“At least someone is of me.” 

Ireki grabbed Vindalvi’s chin and tilted it up to kiss her, possessively. Vindalvi practically melted into him, dropping the basket that had fruit stored in it. He was the only reason she was able to get herself to refuse what the Ancestors had laid out for her. She wasn’t willing to marry Scolto and lose Ireki. Although, she wasn’t sure he would be so willing with how he always called her his. She was slightly scared that if she did marry Scolto, Ireki would kill him. 

“What are you going to do, darling?” Ireki asked her as he pulled away. 

“I’m not sure yet. I don’t want to leave my clan, I still love them all. I guess I’ll just keep refusing. Maybe eventually, they will give up.” 

“And what about us?” 

“I’ll tell them, someday,” Vindalvi picked up the basket and soon the two of them were back at the entrance of the cave. Vindalvi was about to enter when she noticed Ireki had stopped. He was sticking his tongue out in the air and looking around. 

“Is everything okay?” she asked. 

Ireki looked at her, “Someone is here.” 

In an instant, Vindalvi had dropped the basket and had her bow and arrow nocked and ready. The small bit of meat they had found was dropped near the fruit and Ireki was ready to defend. It was only when Vindalvi heard the sound of hooves hitting the ground that she realized what was about to happen. 

There was no time for her to tell Ireki to go back into his cave, not that he would have listened to her. Out of the trees her clan came out, all the hunters on their faennas, leading them was Keeper Dirlot on his. All the hunters had their bow and arrows out, their arrows pointed right at Ireki. 

“Vindalvi,” Keeper Dirlot said, a glare staring right at Ireki. “With us. Come on!” 

Vindalvi heard Ireki hiss angrily and a clawed hand went to block her. The arrows pointed at him were pulled even more back. Vindalvi quickly ducked under Ireki’s arm and stood in front of him. She wasn’t going to let them hurt him. 

“How did you know I was here?” she asked. 

Her uncle moved his gaze from the naga to his niece. “Scolto followed you and saw you go to this monster. He came and found me. Over here, now, Vindalvi!”

He didn’t sound angry at her, more scared for her. It wasn’t everyday that Vindalvi heard her uncle scared. But fear did crazy things. She couldn’t smell emotions as Ireki could but if she could, she was sure that she’d smell at least the slightest bit of fear from every elf there. Which meant she needed to de-escalate their situation before arrows were shot. 

“Vindalvi!” Keeper Dirlot repeated urgently. 

“No!” she said. “You don’t understand! He isn’t dangerous! He’s my friend! He’s been my friend for years! He won’t hurt any of you as long as you don’t threaten him!” 

“He’s a naga, Vindalvi!” Keeper Dirlot argued. 

Vindalvi froze. “How did you know that? He had to teach me about nagas and what they were.” 

“I have studied different creatures and races my entire life. And you would have known about his if you hadn’t skipped your lessons so often. One of the ones you missed was about nagas and their dangers!”

“He’s my friend,” Vindalvi repeated. “I came out here every night for years and he’d use his power to help me and…” 

“You let him hypnotize you?” her uncle interrupted, voice raised to an almost shout and it would have been if it hadn’t been for his shock. Even his faenna reared up at the absurdity of the situation. 

“I couldn’t sleep!” she cried, tears stinging her eyes. “I was exhausted, Uncle Dirlot! I was constantly stressed from trying to do everything! I needed to be perfect! I worked and I worked and I never stopped! I couldn’t sleep and when I did, it was more of a blackout! Ireki helped me! He hypnotized me and allowed me to relax and sleep. But he never went farther than that!” 

“You don’t know that!” 

“I remember every session we had except for the first one when we first met!” 

“Vindalvi,” Keeper Dirlot tried to speak calmly and delicately. “He could have made you forget.”

“He wouldn’t do that!”

“How do you know?”

“Because he loves me!” Vindalvi yelled. Her tears had escaped and like waterfalls they flowed. The forest was silent after that. No one spoke. “And I love him,” she continued after a moment. “It’s why I refuse to marry Scolto.” 

Keeper Dirlot took a few steps towards his niece but stopped when Ireki hissed in warning. Vindalvi glanced at him over her shoulder, giving a pleading look to him not to do anything before looking back to her uncle. 

“You don’t love him, Vindalvi,” he said. 

“I do.” 

“No, you don’t. I guarantee you he manipulated you to love him when under his hypnosis and then made you forget about it.” 

Vindalvi shook her head, slowly back up until her back was against Ireki’s chest, searching for comfort. “He wouldn’t do that.” 

“Nagas are not like us, Vindalvi,” Keeper Dirlot said. “They will do anything to keep what they want.” 

“He wouldn’t do that!” her voice rose in volume. “You don’t know him like I do!” 

“He could have complete control over you, and you wouldn’t even know it. A naga can slowly take control over someone under their hypnosis and after enough, even out of trance, the naga can control them, most of the time without their victim realizing. When that happens, there is no evidence to prove that he did it,” her uncle reasoned. “And if you are that deep, the only way to break that spell is to kill him.” 

Vindalvi couldn’t breathe. She just wanted this to end. She wanted to go back into Ireki’s cave and have him put her to sleep. She wanted him to stop what was happening but the moment he went to attack, or even say something, the loaded up arrows would shoot. Her anxiety must have been noticed by him because she felt one of his clawed hands laid on her shoulder and squeezed. He was reminding her he was just behind her and everything was going to be okay. 

“Let her go!” Vindalvi looked up and saw Scolto on Ayala come forward, his arrow fully pulled back and ready to shoot. Ireki only tightened his grasp on her, ignoring him. That’s when Scolto released the arrow. 

“NO!” Vindalvi wailed, moving in between the arrow and her lover. 

It hit her. 

***

Ireki reacted immediately. He moved with full speed and caught Vindalvi as she fell backwards. The arrow had hit her right shoulder and it was deep. Her weapon had fallen to the ground as blood started to dribble its way out of the wound. 

Ireki gathered her into his arms and pulled her up fully to his chest, partly in comfort and partly as protection. He knew as long as he had her in his arms up with his torso, no arrows would fly. They wouldn’t risk hitting her and they wouldn’t want to hit him and cause him to drop her. 

“Ireki…” Vindalvi forced out through pained gasps. 

“Shhh,” he hushed her. “You are just fine. We’ll fix that up inside in a moment.” 

“Don’t hurt them…” 

Ireki glanced at Vindalvi's clan. Scolto was on his white deer with wide eyes and his face had gone so pale that it was almost matching his animal. All the other elves’ grip had slackened on their bows and their Keeper, Vindalvi’s uncle, was stuck staring at his bleeding niece. Ireki could smell in the air how he was feeling, too scared to move as if a single step would cause her to lose her life or cause Ireki to go savage upon her. 

“Ireki, please…” Vindalvi mewled, pulling Ireki’s attention back to her. 

“I’m going to put you to sleep,” Ireki decided. “That way you won’t be in any pain, darling.” 

“Don’t hurt them, Ireki,” she repeated. 

“Shh, just look into my eyes. I will handle this, don’t you worry any.” 

Ireki filled his eyes with his hypnosis and straight away, Vindalvi’s pupils shrunk and were replaced by mirroring spirals. As he pulled her deeper into his power, the rest of her clan tensed but no one did anything. There wasn’t anything they could do without risking hurting Vindalvi even more. 

“Ssleep,” Ireki commanded as soon as Vindalvi was completely in his power. 

Her head fell back, eyes rolling up behind her head. Ireki maneuvered her so her head was laid against his chest and she was in the most comfortable position she could be while still being in his arms as a protection for the both of them. Ireki kissed her forehead and whispered “Mine,” so quietly that no one else would hear. 

With furious eyes, Ireki turned to the elf clan. He stretched out his coils and moved himself higher into the air to show his strength. It was a challenge for them to try and attack him. He had stayed quiet before and only hissed when they were getting too close from taking his treasure away from him. 

He hadn’t wanted to say anything or move because it was Vindalvi’s family, it was her clan. If he had intervened, he’d have to kill at least some of the elves and risk Vindalvi getting hurt. But now, Vindalvi was hurt by one of their arrows. He wouldn’t mind taking them all as a meal anymore. 

“I sshould take control over all of you,” he hissed. “I sshould make you all fight each other until every one of you lay dead on the ground. I sshould take you dead and ssnack on your meat for yearss to come. I have magic in my cave that will keep it all fresh.” 

“Give me my niece,” the Keeper, Dirlot, who Vindalvi told him was his name, tried to instruct him. 

Ireki narrowed his snake eyes at the elf, “Never, your clan only inflictss pain on her. The arrow iss jusst one of many incidentss.” 

“You don’t know what you are talking about!” 

“Don’t I? It wassn’t me sshe wass trying to be perfect for. Sshe broke from trying to be perfect for you and your clan. Sshe iss better off with me where sshe can relax and ssleep.” 

“You are a monster!” Scolto shouted, him and his white deer moving forward, only to stop when Ireki hissed and grew taller. 

“I am a naga,” he said, “and I am not the one that sshot her, am I?” 

“That arrow was meant for you!”

“It was, wasn’t it?” Ireki looked down to his treasure who slept blissfully in his arms. “Let me tell you what is going to happen. I am going to let you and your little clan disappear. I am going to take what is mine and treat her wound. And you all will sstay disappeared or I will not hesitate to send you to your Ancestors early. You will, forever, leave me and what is mine alone.” 

“She isn’t yours!” Scolto and his white deer moved even closer but were stopped by Dirlot. He didn’t want to risk anything and Scolto was starting to push Ireki’s buttons. 

“She isn’t? My Vinni confessed her love for me first. She gave herself to me,” Ireki said with a sadistic chuckle. “And unless you want her to wake up to find that I had no decision but to kill her best friend, you will back up and disappear.” 

“We will come back for her,” Dirlot reassured Scolto in a quiet voice, thinking Ireki couldn’t hear. 

“Her name is Vindalvi,” Scolto said to Ireki in a weaker voice as his white deer backed the both of them up. 

Dirlot looked to Ireki, a determined look in his eye, “If you hurt her, I will kill you myself.” 

“You plan on killing me already,” Ireki responded in a matter of fact voice. 

The leader elf didn’t deny or confirm what Ireki already knew. Instead he signaled for his hunters to retreat. He was the last to leave with Scolto but soon, the sound of deer hooves faded and their scent went distant. 

Ireki lowered himself down closer to the ground before using his tail to collect the basket of fruits, the meat and Vindalvi’s weapon. Once he had everything, He started taking it all and his sleeping treasure into his cave. He got what he was after and he had what was his. Her uncle was right about one thing, a naga would do anything to keep what they want. 

***

Vindalvi woke up with a groan. When she opened her eyes, she realized that she was in Ireki’s nest surrounded by an absurd amount of pillows and blankets. She pushed herself up in a sitting position, making a shrill noise when she put weight on her right arm. Looking at her shoulder, she saw a bunch of bandages wrapped around it. 

She got herself to stand and climbed her way out of the nest. She barely made it a few steps before she felt a smooth coil wrap around one of her ankles. Looking behind her she saw Ireki approaching her as his tail traveled further up her leg. 

“You should be laying down,” he said as his tail started to wrap around her waist. 

“What happened?” Vindalvi asked, ignoring what he said, instead trying to unwrap herself from him. 

“You got hurt, I treated it. You will heal fully, leaving only a small scar.” 

“That’s not what I meant, Ireki. My clan. What happened with them?” 

“I persuaded them to leave for the time being. But they will be back. We are moving.” 

“Moving? Ireki, I can’t just leave! They are still my clan, they are still my home! And my uncle, I’m the only thing he has left! He doesn’t have a spouse or children. By the Ancestors, his sister, my mother, abandoned him just as she did me! I can’t just leave!” 

“They want to kill me, Vinni.” 

“I’ll convince them not to! I’ll go back and find a way to convince them that you aren’t what they say you are and everything will be alright. We will be able to be together and everything will work out.” 

Ireki frowned and came close to pull Vindalvi into a hug, being careful of her shoulder. “Oh, darling. I wish that could happen, that your clan could agree to let us be together but it won’t happen. You know that, deep down. The only way we can be together is for us to leave. The only way for me to be safe is for me to move.” 

“They’ll come around, they have to!” but Vindalvi didn’t believe it. It was a lie and they both knew it. 

“Darling, I will not stop you from going back, but I have to go. You have to choose what you want. But tell me soon please so I know if I have to pack things for you,” Ireki said as he kissed the top of her head. “Now, how about I get you something to eat, hm? Sit on my coils.” 

Ireki made a pile of his coils for her to sit on. Once Vindalvi was comfortable on them, he shifted the rest of himself to where he stored the food. He skinned a small rabbit and started cooking since Vindalvi couldn’t eat raw meat like him. As the meat cooked over a little fire, he started to cut fruits. 

“Ireki,” Vindalvi called. 

“Yes, darling?” 

“My uncle was wrong, right?” she asked. “When he said that you have complete control over me. You aren’t controlling me and my thoughts, right? When I say I love you, it’s because I do actually love you, right? It’s not fake?” 

Ireki didn’t turn to her as he continued preparing the meal. “Darling, when a naga puts a hypnotic suggestion, that suggestion becomes the truth. If I had hypnotized you into loving me, that love would not be fake. It would be real love, just like someone would love without suggestion.” 

“You aren’t helping yourself any.” 

Ireki sighed before turning and bringing Vindalvi her meal. “No, I did not hypnotize you into loving me. That was all you. Why? Do you doubt me?” 

“I don’t know,” Vindalvi answered honestly. “My uncle said I wouldn’t remember. I have two sides in my brain. One that wants to trust him and one that wants to trust you.” 

“Your uncle also said that there would be no evidence that I did it. What he didn’t say was that there is also no evidence saying I didn’t do it. There iss no way for me to prove to you that I didn’t. It iss up to you to decide who you want to trust,” Ireki explained, caressing her cheek. “But I can say this, if I hypnotized you into loving me so you wouldn’t leave me, why would I offer you to go back to your clan when I leave?” 

“You could be manipulating me. Offer to let me go when in reality, you know I’m going to stay with you because you made me think that way.” 

Ireki chuckled before grabbing Vindalvi’s face and kissing her. She made a little noise of ecstasy before pushing herself deeper into the kiss. If it hadn’t been for her hands holding the bowl with her food, she’d have just made a mess on the ground to clean. 

“I will tell you this, darling,” Ireki said as he broke the kiss. “If I were to hypnotize you into loving me, there wouldn’t be any part of you debating you trusting your uncle over me. There would be no hesitation, you would know right away that you were coming with me.” 

He kissed her forehead before using one of his claws to tap on the bowl in her hand, a silent order to eat. Vindalvi started to chew on the food he made for her as he started to pack some of his things. As she ate, Vindalvi debated on what she was going to do. When she was young, she did always want to be an adventurer like her parents were but as she grew up, she let go of that dream because she knew that it would never happen. If she did go with Ireki, there would be some adventure while they looked for their new home. She wouldn’t be an adventurer, but she would see more of the world. 

But did she want to leave her clan? She’d leave Scolto, she’d leave the place she grew up, she’d leave her Uncle Dirlot. After everything they had been through, after being each other’s only family left, was she ready to leave? Vindalvi had been an adult for years and technically could have left at any point but she stayed. But Vindalvi didn’t know if she stayed to be the perfect niece and elf or if she stayed because she wanted to. She no longer was perfect and she no longer was trying to be. 

But if she stayed, she’d lose Ireki forever. Her heart felt as if it would shatter into billions of pieces if she did lose him. She didn’t know if she could ever fall in love with anyone again. She wasn’t sure she could ever forget him. And what would happen when he was gone? Would she be back to not being able to sleep? Would she have to marry Scolto? Would she go back to trying to be perfect? 

The answer to what she was going to do was all rooted in who she trusted more. She trusted both Ireki and her uncle with her life but who did she trust to be right? Her uncle had studied and stories were apparently told about how dangerous nagas were. How dangerous their control was. But Ireki was a naga. Who better to learn about nagas than a naga himself? And would Ireki really do something like that to her? 

“Ireki,” she called. 

He hummed in response as he continued to pack, not looking at her. 

“I’m coming with you.”