My Servant Is An Elf Knight From Another World

I let her drive the rest of the way over. It seemed like she desperately needed a distraction… so I figured it was better for her to have something to do with herself than absolutely nothing at all. 

From point A to point B, there wasn't much in the way of chatter - yeah, I also figured it was a bad move to distract her from her distraction otherwise she just might end up swerving, and the next thing I know, I'm in the back of ambulance heading to a whole completely diffrent building to spend the night in.

Besides, she was already doing a pretty excellent job straying her focus without my input. No clue what was going on in that mind of hers, but the fact that she was running red lights, forgetting her blinkers, and - God forbid - ignoring the speed limits, meant that there had to be a whole lot more going on beyond the surface than just driving. 

When we finally did arrive at the hotel, a high-rise skyscraper which was an even grander establishment than the restaurant itself, it took the full entirety of a half-hour just getting to the entrance.

Not sure why she insisted on parking her car herself despite a warm and friendly valet being more than happy to do it for her, nor if it was even at all necessary to lap the building twice looking for the aforementioned parking space… but sure, to each their own, I suppose.

It was after entering the lobby and greeting the front desk while simultaneously marveling in awe at the palace-like interior, and the gold-like sheen of everything, that I found out Irene already had everything sorted out from the beginning… and when I say everything, I mean everything.

What was that, you'd like to know the price for a night? But sir every expense has been paid for already.. You wanna have a look at our room selections? Can I take that to mean you'd like to add on one more to the penthouse suite that you already reserved for?

To cut a long story even short, moments later we were standing shoulder to shoulder inside the glass lift, pushing the button for the top floor in one hand, and holding the platinum-plated card for our room with the other. 

Irene was staring fixated at the transparent ground, a writhing pressing fist hard against her lips, and I was staring at her, gaping more like - wondering to myself of the average annual income of a police detective to justify such egregious money burning. 

And I guess I must have been thinking out loud or something, because as the elevator doors parted open, she stepped out first and strode on far into the distance, speaking to me through her echoes bouncing across the hall. 

"I had decades to earn, decades to save, and not just as a detective. I've had... plenty of career opportunities over the years, alright? Money's not an issue for me, and don't you dare ask to pay it back. Don't you mention it either, I already know it's too much! I just… I wanted to make sure, and… never mind - just get over here already! I need the keycard for the door." 

Anyway, to cut an even shorter story short, there I was another full half-hour later dipping my body and ebbing my fatigue away in a steamy hot and soapy bath in a porcelain bathtub which by itself was quadruple the size of my own at home. 

In fact, I'd even go as far as to say that the entire bathroom was bigger than my entire apartment way back when, much more pristine too… don't think I've ever seen marble tiles reflect and refract so acutely in my life before. It was almost blinding, really.

Once I figured I've drenched myself for long enough already, I stepped out dripping and nearly slipping… drying myself with the self-heating floor tiles. On a countertop nearby, I took one of the fluffy white bathrobes neatly folded atop and wrapped myself with a tightly looped knot in its warmth and comfort. 

Then, whether it'd be an impulse or something else entirely, I took a sniff of the air again. I felt my mind blank, my body tense. I was reeling - then a moment after - I returned to myself once more, fogging the bathroom mirror with my breath… staring at an almost deranged gaze reflecting back at me through the murky condensation.

"Still there," I whispered to myself, breathing heavy. "She's still there." 

Maybe I was just getting extra receptive to her allure, or maybe it was her getting stronger… or perhaps even a strong mixture of both cases, but ever since we left the park, ever since I suggested we should go, it was as if an intangible part of her had tethered itself to me, and like a parasite, was burrowing itself deeper and deeper into my consciousness. 

I was seeing her when she wasn't there, smelling her when I shouldn't be, hearing her in every splash, every trickle of water... and there was also a sharp zesty taste in my tongue that I just couldn't quite place. 

My senses were gradually getting overridden… until it was only her that remained, and only her that mattered.

Perhaps the pact was finally taking into effect after all this time. It's a thought, isn't it? Overwhelmed by desire, suffocated by passion, lusting after her to my last dying breath.

What a way to go.

Even right at this moment, in the harsh twinging deep in my chest, I was longing to see her again. I wasn't dried properly, I was still dripping plenty, but I swung open the door anyway and left to go look for her, and satisfy this deep longing. 

The rest of the penthouse was just as grand and lavish as the bathroom. Chandeliers on every ceiling, a big balcony with an even bigger pool, and high-rise windows in every room offering a beautiful nighttime view of the cityscape.

Irene really spared no expense making this a night to remember. 

Quietly, I slipped into the master bedroom, moonlight through slanted glass panels my only guide, and there, silent on the foot on the bed, Irene stared out into the night, the same white robes wrapped loosely around her pale slender body, and a hand running through the seams of her damp hair she finally let hang free.

I almost lost myself in the moment again, the mere sight of her just sitting there completely captivated me to no end. There was an almost ethereal, almost angelic aspect to it all - her, basking in the soft shade of moonlight, with grace and elegance exuding out of every thoughtless action. 

She didn't have to try to be beautiful, irresistible… or even divine. 

Irene simply just was. 

Full stop. 

Then, with a muffled creak of my foot against the floorboards - that mesmerizing image of divinity was completely shattered, as she whirled panicked-stricken eyes towards me.

Restlessness again, apprehension again, the way she sat herself up straight and rigid at the sight of me. Nervously, she crossed her arms, crossed her legs, and veered her eyes away as I took a place just right beside her.

Here we were, finally… and I haven't the faintest fucking clue as to what to say or what to do next.

"Did you..." Irene clenched and unclenched her jaw, puckering her lips in and out in rapid succession. "Did you shut off the faucet properly when you left?" 

The faucet? What are we even talking about…

"Yeah, I did," I replied, nodding. "It's shut." 

"I noticed it leaks even after you completely twist it close. So you have to really twist it to make sure it's shut fully." 

"It's shut."

"Are you sure? Because, well, it's a really tight twist… and we shouldn't waste any water, so we should make sure that it's at least  - "

"Irene," I looked at her. "It's shut." 

I've never heard her this undone. Even when embarrassed, even with all composure lost, she'd always had something to say, something that made sense at least.

What do leaky faucets have anything to do with anything right now, and more importantly, who cares about that right now? 

I certainly don't, and most definitely, neither did she.

"Are you hungry?" Her eyes darted about. "I could call room service first." 

Again…

"Dinner was over two hours ago by this point," I pointed out. "I didn't take you for a glutton." 

"I'm not hungry," She said.

I blinked, baffled. "Then…?"

"I'm asking if you are." 

"I'm not." 

"Are you sure?" 

"I'm pretty sure, yes."

"But that could change at any moment," The bed gave a creak, Irene began to shift. "I should order something, anyway. You know, just in case, just as a precaution, so that later we don't have to - "

I shot my arm out the moment she tried to drift away. Tight around her wrist my fingers curled, my fingers pulled - hauling back onto the bed, landing quite awkwardly onto the mattress thanks to her resisting. 

"What are you - ?!" 

She tried to get up, but I kept her down - placing myself above her, locking her squirming hands into mine, pressing them firmly into the sheets. She wriggled her legs, flailed her body - her bathrobe coming more undone in the struggle. 

"Let me go," She demanded. 

I shook my head. "Let yourself go. You're stronger than I am, aren't you?" 

She flailed again. "No, I'm not." 

"Yes you are," I steadied my breath, blinking back my focus that was phasing in and out, and spoke again. "Right now, you are." 

"I don't want to hurt you, that's all." 

"No?" I raised a brow. "Then why are you trying to run?" 

"I'm not," Slowly, subtly, she stopped flailing. "I'm not running. I'm just not…"

"Ready?" I suggested, and when she didn't answer, when her gaze faltered again, I knew. "Then when? In an hour? Two?"

"I-I don't know," She whispered, her tone of defiance fizzling. "Just, just not now… I don't think I'm ready now." 

"We don't have much time. I don't have much time." 

"I know that!" Her eyes snapped to mine once more. "I-I'm not saying I won't do it, I will! I want to! I love you! I'm just really, I just, I don't… I don't…" 

The quiver in her voice was much more prominent than ever before now. The way her hazel eyes trembled before mine. I've never seen her like this… this… 

Scared.

"Irene," I leaned my head in closer, deeper into her aroma, her presence, wracking my senses senseless. "Just what are you afraid of?" 

She went limp beneath me. The tension in her body had gone, her hands were steady, her legs stayed still. 

"After," She muttered, a whisper warm, lightly caressing my lips. "I'm afraid of what happens after."