The Drow's Mistress

Chapter 10 Dressing Up The New Servant

Here was a young dragon with elixir flowing through her veins and neither the impenetrable scales nor a destructive dragon’s breath to protect her. News of her presence in Faeruin would mobilize every zealous adventurer on the continent. She might end up suffering a fate worse than livestock bred for slaugh/ter. Nidia’s father and elder siblings knew exactly what kind of danger she was in and were currently combing the lands to find her. Unfortunately, their search would not be an easy one for the very simple reason that it had to be conducted in secret. Nobody must find out that a dragonling was running loose around Faeruin.

Keltic and his other children had no idea that a dangerous drow now knew Nidia’s greatest secret. At this very moment, this drow was at Evenfall, waiting patiently at an inn for his mistress to return with equipment and food for him. He had been keeping count of the hours and of how long before day turned to night. Everything that seemed perfectly natural on the surface was alien to him. That included how the folks aboveground, including his mistress, preferred to get their business done while the enormous burning ball of fire hung in the heavens. That was unwelcome news for a drow who shunned the light. While sunlight did not turn him to dust, it burned his eyes and skin. If he must go out into the sun, he needed clothes that covered him completely and shielded him from its burning touch.

“Get me a light leather armor—something a ranger would wear—a tunic, boots, gloves and a cloak,” Nidia told the shopkeeper before standing on tiptoes and waving her hand above her head. “He’s about this tall and has a slim build.”

The tailor named Gerson shrugged. “Miss, we’ll need the gentleman’s measurements. We cannot promise that his armor will fit him well otherwise.”

Nidia’s face fell. Like most cities on Faeruin, Evenfall did not welcome dark elves on its streets. It had taken the half-dragon a lot of work to sneak Ysilnod into her room without attracting unwanted questions from the innkeeper. Unless she was prepared to lead the city guards on a merry chase in their own city, she would rather keep Ysilnod in the room than have him out on the streets.

“Erm… he’s fallen ill! The healer has prescribed him bedrest. Do you have anything that’s off the rack? I don’t mind paying a small fee to have them altered,” Nidia said.

“I see. Please follow me. This way, please,” Gerson said before bringing her into the next room, where the clothes were stored.

Nidia’s draconic eyes caught the black leather armor hanging in the display cabinet immediately. It stood apart from the rest. Gerson followed Nidia’s gaze and fell on the dark armor.

“I believe that’s exactly what you’re looking for. It’s a standard-sized armor that provides the protection of chainmail even though it barely weighs more than a tunic. Its rivets are made of pure silver.” The shopkeeper paused for a moment. “What marks it as an exceptional piece of armor is its elasticity. Rangers are prone to taking irregular meals. As they lose or gain weight, they may suffer from poorly fitted armor. We hired a mage to enchant the armor and boost its elasticity. Most would find it a comfortable fit.”

“It’s also really pretty,” Nidia thought to herself. The embossed branches that unfurled across the dark leather looked as if they were almost alive. The stitching was perfect. The armor seemed to glow with a soft shimmer under the light.

“How much is it?”

“Six hundred gold,” Gerson said carefully. “It comes with matching gloves and boots.”

Nidia could get five sets of leather armor with six hundred gold, but she could not help herself. No dragon could resist something so beautiful. After a brief moment of hesitation, the half-dragon made up her mind. “Throw in a hooded cloak for that price and we have a deal.”

Gerson smiled. “I believe we do.”

Nidia headed to the blacksmith and the jeweler's next. The drow looked best in fine but understated things. Unfortunately, those happened to cost the most. The fact that she paid with vouchers issued by the mercenary guild did not help. As a dragon who only cared for gold and silver, numbers meant little to Nidia. Without her realizing, she had spent a good portion of her fortune on the drow.

“I must have the most expensive servant on Faeruin now,” the half-dragon thought smugly to herself.

The shopping continued until the evening. Ysilnod noticed the skies gradually darkening outside. He shut his eyes and switched to his infrared vision. Infrared vision was what the drow typically used in the Underdeep. Through their drow eyes, creatures were swirls of bright fluid colors that were in a constant flux as they moved in the dark.

Ysilnod’s ears twitched at the sound of someone racing up the wooden stairs. He slipped into a corner silently and watched as a spill of white light streamed into the room and flung a heavy wooden chest onto the floor. Nidia’s temperature ran higher than other races. She burned white hot in Ysilnod’s eyes.

The half-dragon lit a candle before she rushed back to the chest and flipped its lid open.

“Quick, put those on and let me have a look!” she exclaimed.

Ysilnod dipped his head slightly and kept his gaze away from the stinging light of the candle. Then, he squinted and peered into the chest.

The drow was puzzled by what he saw. Before his banishment, he had been an ordinary foot soldier who received standard-issue weapons and equipment from the house. Nothing in the chest looked anything like standard. They appeared to be well-crafted, enchanted premium items. Ysilnod had never heard of a mistress who splurged on a servant.

“Mistress, these must have cost a small fortune.” Ysilnod did not reach for the equipment. He had no idea what they would cost him.

Nidia seemed puzzled too. “You belong to me. That means your equipment belongs to me too. Why should I waste my coin on cheap stuff when I’m buying them for myself?”

It took Ysilnod a few long moments before he could wrap his head around Nidia’s logic. The drow finally reached into the chest. Surprise flickered across his ruby eyes as he lifted two thin blades out of the chest. Nidia had remembered that he wielded two blades. He inspected the weapons. The thin blades were forged from adamantine while their hilts were encrusted with gemstones and silver thread. His dark fingers slid down the blade gently as he tested their sharpness.

A darkly humorous thought crept into his head. What expression would replace that look of innocence on her face if she were to be struck in the back by the very blade she had bought?

The drow banished that thought immediately. He adjusted the plans he had made previously. He would spend a little more time with the redhead. He could use a generous mistress as long as her generosity was not a front for any twisted proclivities.

“Hurry up! I’m starving!” Nidia whined like a girl desperate to dress her doll in a new dress. She would like to wear exquisite dresses and fine jewelry too. Unfortunately, she did not have the build for it. She was too short and lacked the curves that her sisters had. Fitting silk robes, corsets and velvet skirts, elaborate necklaces encrusted with huge gemstones—nothing looked good on her. She did not mind. She had her own doll to dress up now.

“As you command,” Ysilnod said before dropping his blanket and revealing his lean, naked form under the candlelight. He reached for the undergarments and started to dress himself.

His strong, broad shoulders tapered to a firm abdomen and narrow hips before extending into long, toned legs. His pecs rose and fell with every breath he took while his dark skin acquired a silken sheen under the dim candlelight. As the drow turned around, his thick tresses swished and spilled across his back like a silver waterfall running down smooth, dark stone, hiding his buttocks under its silvery cascade. The average human warrior was broad-shouldered and burly. Elves, on the other hand, were more willowy. However, their slender build belied their incredible strength. Every part of Ysilnod’s body had been carefully molded through tireless training. His muscles were well-defined and hinted at the incredible, explosive power that his slim form housed.