Ancient Ruins (Ancient Dreams Book 1)

by Benjamin Medrano

  * * *

  Sistina’s tree still took Phynis’ breath away. Phynis paused, looking up at the gigantic willow and simply taking it in for a few minutes. The sparkling flickers of light along the limbs, the pale bark, and the crystalline red ‘fruit’ on the tree were just so different than what she’d seen on any other tree before. And adding to that, she knew it was Sistina’s tree, and she felt that Sistina was one of the few beings she dared trust anymore. She might trust an angel, but they were rarely nearby.

  Evrial hovered a few feet behind Phynis, but she ignored the guard. She’d already been suborned by the general once before, so how could Phynis really trust her? Maybe ignoring Evrial wasn’t the right approach, but by the same token, she wasn’t certain what other options she really had. It wasn’t as though the woman would leave her alone if she asked.

  But Sistina...the dryad, or genius loci, or whatever one wanted to call her, she didn’t care about who Phynis really was. Sistina had no interest in the throne, or the fact that Phynis was a noble. Her biggest concern was that Phynis was related to Sistina Constella by some unknown distance. And Sistina was here, underground, and divorced from everything outside of these cave systems. Phynis wasn’t absolutely certain she could trust Sistina, but she seemed like a better option than any other possibility that she could think of. She simply felt...safe.

  Brushing the branches aside, Phynis stepped inside the swaying curtain of branches to find Sistina in almost exactly the same pose she’d found her in the last time they’d visited. Sistina was wearing clothing of a simple cut, similar to Lily’s, but otherwise it gave Phynis an almost eerie flashback, like the librarian in the castle who she felt never moved from his office and never changed clothing. And eerily enough, she opened her eyes to look at Phynis in the exact same way as the last time as well. It was incredibly strange, and Phynis opened her mouth to speak, and then hesitated, growing unsure for a moment. Was this truly a wise decision, what she’d come here for?

  “Phynis Constella.” Sistina’s voice was soft as it thrummed through the air, and it was like she’d just strummed a chord that resonated deep inside of Phynis. A chord of understanding and kindness.

  Eyes welling up with tears, Phynis sniffed, then stepped forward and almost fell into the dryad’s arms as she wrapped her arms around the warm, soft figure before her. The faint scent of lilacs surrounded the dryad and enveloped Phynis as Sistina slowly pulled her in close. And as she began to cry, Phynis whispered. “Sistina...please help me?”

  The dryad spoke in her usual manner, and yet it almost sounded like a vow. “Yes.”

  * * *

  Sistina knew that Desa was unhappy about something. It had been obvious in Helia’s eyes too, that impression that something was wrong. What it was, though, had puzzled her for a time. Right up until she saw Phynis inside the tunnels.

  The princess’s mana was twisted, and her attitude starkly contrasted with what Sistina had seen in Phynis before. When Phynis had visited before, she had shone with determination, hope, and light. Now she was dark and twisted, almost in agony. Her brand thrummed with energy, and she could feel it resonating with something in the elf’s mind. Or was it something in her head?

  Sistina wished she had time to speculate on it, but keeping track of the myriad conversations in the cavern took a large portion of her attention. It wasn’t hard to keep track of everything in her domain, but it didn’t leave almost any to spare for properly considering or changing things, she’d found to her chagrin. It’d made the last few weeks harrowing, as she tried to learn and adjust her structure at the same time. She was fortunate that there hadn’t been any more determined attempts to break through the outer caverns, or they might have succeeded.

  But when Phynis started approaching her, Sistina had been forced to think more deeply. She took a mental step back from most of the other conversations and focused on Phynis. On her body language and the unconscious tension in the princess’ body. She examined more deeply, and found the young elf was almost in heat like an animal, and yet her mind was fighting it. This wasn’t something that the brand was doing, either. It was something else. Something deeper.

  Sistina’s perceptions faded somewhat when Phynis reached her and she opened her eyes to regard the young woman. Seeing the despair, frustration, and need for understanding in the princess’s eyes. So Sistina gave Phynis what she needed. Sistina was willing to listen to anything, so spoke her name with that promise embedded in it. “Phynis Constella.”

  It almost surprised her as tears began to trickle down Phynis’ face and she lunged into Sistina’s lap. Suddenly Sistina was glad she’d modified her body to be more like a mortal’s, and she gently hugged the elven woman as she asked. “Sistina...please help me?”

  So Sistina nodded and answered softly. “Yes.”

  The guard looked uncomfortable, and Sistina gently gestured for the other woman to go away. Shooing her away, really. Evrial hesitated for a long moment, so Sistina gave her a hard look, and the elf finally stepped out of the shelter of Sistina’s canopy.

  Considering again, Sistina sighed and touched Phynis’ forehead, and then down over the brand throbbing against the elf’s skin. Then she asked softly. “Help?”

  “I...I need both. But I just...I don’t know. The brand first? So they can’t control me like that again?” Phynis begged, and Sistina suddenly realized what had happened. Or what had almost happened, since Phynis felt intact to her senses.

  So she nodded and reached downward, gently pulling down the hem of Phynis’ pants to get a good look at the brand. It was made more difficult by the princess not letting go of her, but Sistina managed to work around it. Phynis was fragile enough as it was. After a few moments she’d exposed the brand, though, and she held the blouse up and out of the way while she studied the brand via her other senses. Phynis was in the way if she’d tried to examine it with her eyes, but again it wasn’t necessary. On the other hand, the brand was absolutely fascinating when compared to the other two types she’d encountered thus far.

  The royal blue brand was even more complex than the silver one that adorned Desa. It was also made more difficult in that its complexity was woven into Phynis’ body as well as controlling her minor talent with magic. In fact, it was deeply tied into the very root of Phynis’ body, and Sistina quickly realized that this was designed to control the bearer far more deeply than she suspected anyone else might realize. It touched on fertility, arousal, and even into the bearer’s sexual preferences and mental state. Which meant that this would take a delicate, careful touch if she wasn’t going to destabilize the already unstable princess.

  But there was nothing to do about it but try. So Sistina reached down to touch the center of the design, and carefully inserted her mana into the brand.

  * * *

  A thread of heat spread through Phynis’ brand, and she gasped and shivered as it caused the frequent arousal that had been wracking her body to awaken again. She shivered in Sistina’s arms as the warmth slowly spread through her stomach. And then Sistina spoke.

  “Complex.” She murmured in Phynis’ ear, then seemed to hesitate. “Slow.”

  “T-take as long...as you need to…” Phynis whispered, shivering more as the warmth penetrated fully into her stomach and began to spread upward. She suppressed a whimper as her arousal was suddenly quashed for a bare moment, before suddenly surging back even more powerfully than before.

  * * *

  “Evrial? Why are you out here?” Desa asked, pausing as she saw the guard standing outside of the curtain of branches surrounding Sistina’s tree. It caused a faint amount of alarm, but not too much. Not since Evrial looked like she wasn’t too worried.

  “Ah, Sistina gestured for me to leave. I heard Phynis ask her for help, and Sistina didn’t look like she’d take no for an answer.” Evrial replied uncomfortably. “I’m sorry, I just...I didn’t know what else to do.”

  “I doubt there was any other choice you could make. Sistina is a s
trange one, and I don’t think she’d hurt Phynis.” Desa frowned in spite of herself, and then looked toward the tree. “But she also doesn’t seem like the type to do what other people want.

  “I don’t think so either, but it’s been sounding kind of strange in there.” Evrial told her, blushing slightly.

  “What? I…” Desa hesitated, debating for a moment, then took a deep breath and shook her head. Then she took a few steps forward and slipped her head through the branches.

  Phynis’ quick, deep breathing was suddenly audible inside the canopy, and for a moment Desa misinterpreted what was going on. The princess was in Sistina’s lap with her pants partially pulled down, and her skin was flushed a bright shade of red as her breathing came in heavy gasps. The dryad’s hand was against Phynis’ lower body, and for an instant Desa was outraged. It took a moment before Desa realized that Sistina’s hand was unmoving and there was an expression of deep concentration on her face.

  Realizing what was going on, Desa hastily stepped back and shook her head, heat rising in her own cheeks. She had to wonder how the thin canopy of branches was holding back the sounds from inside so well. But she spoke after a moment, looking at Evrial as she did so. “Ah, while it may sound strange in there, she’s just trying to alter her brand. I remember that expression on Sistina’s face from when she was working on mine. I think that since Her Highness’ brand is different, it’s having some sort of side effects. Just let her be for now. It took an hour for mine, and it hasn’t been half of that since she came here, so don’t be too surprised if it goes on for a while longer.”

  Evrial looked at the branches, then at Desa, and finally she sighed and nodded. “If you say so.”

  Desa decided that this was a good time to beat a hasty retreat, so she turned and quickly walked away.

  * * *

  The surges of arousal were replaced by waves of pleasure as time passed, and Phynis had lost track of how long she’d been in Sistina’s arms. The warmth was radiating through her entire body now, and she was utterly lost in the surging waves that enveloped her. The only thing she found strange was that she couldn’t hear Sistina’s heartbeat, but even that was a faint thought at her best.

  But the heat was surging still more with every passing moment, almost cresting like a wave before pulling back, giving her moments of clear, aching clarity and torment before the wave came surging back in again. And it was building with each wave, growing more powerful.

  As the wave built again, even bigger than the last time, Phynis whimpered softly, her arms tightening around Sistina. The heat built, and built, the wave at the edge...and then the crest of it crashed over and through her.

  White-hot, molten heat flooded through Phynis’ veins, scorching pleasure vibrating her body as she let out a strangled cry, her eyes going huge as flames rushed through her lower body and up through the rest of her. And the heat didn’t stop, as it rolled through her over and over, until her mind all but went blank under the pleasure. It seemed to take an eternity before it finally came to an end, and Phynis almost went limp as she all but collapsed in Sistina’s arms, her mind blank from the overwhelming sensations.

  It took her a minute to see that Sistina was finally looking her in the eye, and that her hand wasn’t touching the brand anymore. Phynis also realized, somewhat faintly, that Sistina looked rather concerned. Twitching slightly, Phynis realized her panties were rather damp as well. She hoped she hadn’t wet herself, and she managed to ask, her voice trembling in the aftershocks of the experience. “Are...are you done?”

  At Sistina’s nod, Phynis gave a slight smile of pure relief. “Oh good.”

  And then she passed out.

  * * *

  Something was severely wrong with the brand Sistina had been trying to claim. She knew, somehow, that this was not how they were intended to work. Not normally, anyway. But this one was connected deeply to Phynis’ pleasure centers, and she hadn’t been able dislodge it. So she’d focused on claiming it, so she could examine Phynis’ body in more depth.

  Which she did as Phynis passed out in the aftermath of her mind-blowing orgasm. And as Sistina examined her, she found a crystalline lattice that had dissolved into Phynis’ brain. A lattice designed to interface with the brand, and which also was designed to affect the elf’s mind.

  And as she examined the crystals further, Sistina’s mood soured, in spite of the stream of mana that Phynis was now providing her. The information those crystals provided her was not welcome. Not in the slightest.

  She hoped dearly that Phynis’ family didn’t blame her for not knowing what she’d been doing when she’d unintentionally activated the conditioning in those crystals. After all, she didn’t think she could undo all of it.

  Chapter 30

  Waking with a start, Phynis blinked away the haze of sleep, feeling faintly confused, especially when she found herself in a room that she didn’t recognize. And she felt like she’d been freshly bathed, and it took her only a moment to realize that the clothes she was wearing were clean and new. The last few moments she remembered before passing out suddenly leapt into her mind, and she blushed a brilliant shade of red, covering her mouth as she closed her eyes and groaned.

  “Are you done? Oh good? How dumb could I be?” Phynis murmured to herself, agonizing over the stupidity of her comments to the beautiful dryad. A dryad that had made her feel better than she ever had before in her entire life. Someone Phynis felt she could trust, unlike anyone else in her life. And then, after everything Sistina had done for her, she’d said such idiotic things before falling unconscious. It took Phynis a few minutes, but eventually she managed to pull herself together. Removing her hands from her eyes, she took the time to look around the room she had woken up in, somewhat dubious as to how she got there.

  The room was fairly large, with a small bed that was...well, she’d slept on worse beds before. To be fair, she suspected that this one was actually close to average quality. The walls were stone and all the surfaces were carved to resemble trees with their branches covering the ceiling and the occasional animal or bird among the branches. A number of deer and flowers hid among the carvings near the bottom of the walls as well. She was impressed by the artistry and effort spent on the walls of the room, and the other furnishings were similar in style, with a dresser, wardrobe, and a desk as well, each carved with the same degree of effort. Only the desk and bed were fairly plain, which made them seem oddly out of place in the otherwise ornate room.

  “Your Highness? Are you awake?” Desa’s voice was slightly muffled by the thick door, and Phynis frowned to herself, distrust raising its head again. She debated not saying anything, but likely as not Desa would check personally if she didn’t reply. That would just make the problem worse, and she sighed, shaking her head before she replied.

  “I am.” Phynis spoke loudly to ensure she was heard.

  The door cracked open let Desa slipped inside, the captain looking relieved as she smiled. “Oh good. I was worried when Sistina brought you to us unconscious.”

  Pausing a moment, Desa frowned at the wall, then looked back at Phynis again. “Are you alright? What happened?”

  “I’m fine. All Sistina did was adjust my brand so I couldn’t be commanded.” Phynis retorted in a snippy tone. “I just wasn’t expecting the way it felt. And it took a while, too.”

  “Sorry, I’m just surprised. It took her an hour to change my brand, but yours took nearly half again as long. And mine didn’t seem like it would knock me unconscious. It was mostly boring.” Desa replied slowly, frowning more. “Maybe it’s just the differences between the brands we were given.”

  Phynis sniffed, then frowned as she thought about it. As much as she didn’t like to think about it, Desa might have a point. She hadn’t heard of anyone else with a brand like her own. After a minute she asked. “How long was I unconscious?”

  “Only about an hour. Maria got you cleaned up and into your room.” Desa told her, shrugging as she mentioned one of t
he nobles among Phynis’ maids. “The expedition is about settled, and the researchers are making noises about getting to this library. I guess they’re getting anxious.”

  “Hmm.” Phynis considered that for a moment, trying to decide what to do, then realized that they almost certainly would be guided by Sistina. And in that case she found that she wanted to be with them. Phynis hesitated a moment before making a decision and speaking. “I’m going to accompany them.”

  “As you wish, Your Highness.” Desa replied, not even a slight hint of surprise on her face.

  * * *

  Desa had to wonder what was going through Phynis’ head. She was trying to hide it, but the princess seemed happier about something since she had woken up. That was enough to make Desa’s spirits rise somewhat, but Phynis was still acting quite distant.

  Almost more concerning to her was the princess’ room. All of the rooms in the building had been about the same, with simple stone walls, simple beds, and a wardrobe, dresser, and desk. But she would have sworn that none of them had carvings on the walls, nor did they have elaborately carved furnishings. And she knew that Phynis’ room hadn’t had any of those when she’d brought her to the room to let Maria clean her up.

  It meant something strange was going on between Phynis and Sistina, and Desa wasn’t certain she liked it.

  * * *

  Sistina noticed the group of researchers coming toward her tree, as well as Princess Phynis, Captain Desa, and another pair of guards. She noticed that the soldiers were not branded, unlike those who’d been with Phynis before. One of the guards was in gear more like most of the regular soldiers that she’d seen in the escort commanded by Vendis, while the other was in the black and silver which seemed to be standard for Phynis’ guards.