Dawn & Dusk finale (Excerpt - Opening Scene)

Lukas awoke to a pleasant sight - the most pleasant sight he could imagine, frankly. His Asrai twin…lovers were spooned on either side of him in bed. Blonde Arahan and dark-haired Naestra. Arahan was blissfully snuggled up against his toned body while she slept - a state that he was still getting used to. Making love to the point of her exhaustion was the only relief he could ever get from her fiery temper. Naestra seemed to fare better, smiling as she slept but stirring slightly when Lukas readjusted himself. 

He had been dreaming of home; of his sister Ava showing off her clay pottery to him, of his little brother Christof wanting to play another game of soldier with him, of his stepfather Sven showing him the newest armaments that he’d crafted from his forge. Lukas began to dwell on his family more and more, wondering if they believed him to be dead. Certainly it had been some time since he’d been back home, and any survivors from his unit might have sent word back to Reikland by now of his supposed fate. 

Looking down at the beautiful elf women nestled against him, he felt conflicted. Knowing that they were both pregnant with his offspring had certainly changed everything. He had been planning to make his way back home now that he was nearly well enough to travel again. He was anxious to see his family again. But this change in circumstances made him reconsider this course of action. He felt at least partially responsible for Naestra and Arahan’s pregnancy, and was honorbound to help them raise the children when they were born. Assuming the wood elves even allowed him to stay past his recovery.

He supposed he had time yet to plan his next move. 

Lukas had only begun to drift off again in the hopes of getting a couple more hours of sleep when he was awoken by a strange sound. It sounded to him like the fluttering of wings. Beyond the hut, it sounded as if the forest itself had completely come alive. Birds chirped throughout the entire glade, wolves howled in the distant boughs of the woods, and he saw a flock of deer sprinting through the edge of the glade in the window beyond the hut. Athel Loren itself seemed to announce the arrival of a visitor. 

The door to the hut drew open, seemingly of its own accord, and Lukas’ eyes widened at the sight before him. A beautiful, blue-skinned feminine creature fluttered before him - two magnificent and vibrant wings akin to those of blue/purple-colored butterfly wings and a pair of moth-like long eyebrows as well. She wore a green sheer gown that only accentuated her figure beneath. The woman had an ethereal, otherworldly presence about her, with striking, iris-less eyes that seemed to peer right through him. Even Naestra and Arahan did not appear so…serene. 

The woman cocked her head at him, seeming to observe him with fascination as if he was a most curious specimen. He sat there dumbstruck for several moments under her gaze, unsure of what to say to her. He began to worry if he had anything to fear from her, especially given the two naked wood elf women nestled against him. 

After several moments, the woman finally spoke to him. “So…you are the man that my emissaries have chosen as their mate,” the woman said. There wasn’t any condemnation in her voice, just curiosity and matter-of-fact simplicity. Lukas blinked, taken aback by the elemental tenor of her voice. She sounded like some sort of goddess. Perhaps she was. 

Given where he currently was, he knew it was fruitless to deny it. “I am.” 

She looked at Naestra and Arahan before gazing back at him. “Do you know who I am?”

He took her in for several moments, his eyes widening. He felt like a fool for not realizing sooner, after she’d referred to his two elf lovers as her emissaries. “You- you’re Queen Ariel, are you not?”

She smiled. “A perceptive young man I see. Good.” Ariel fluttered closer to him as he sat up in bed. “Allow me to get a closer look at you.” When he was within reach, Ariel reached across Arahan gently taking hold of his chin. Her expression was impossible to read, but to his credit he did not flinch under her gaze. 

After a few moments, she smiled sagely. “I see that Naestra and Arahan chose well. Your heart is pure and valorous, young one.” 

He blinked, not sure how to respond. How could she glean so much about him from a mere glance? Lukas gave her a grateful nod, staying silent. 

On either side of him, he heard Naestra and Arahan both stirring. The raven-haired and blond-haired sisters seemed to wake up at the same time, rubbing their eyes. 

Arahan groaned. “Ugh, sister, is he murmuring in his sleep again?!” She turned over on her side, her eyes widening when she saw Ariel’s majestic form hovering over near the bed. “Oh…

“...my queen,” Naestra finished for her sister. Both of the Sisters of Twilight hopped down from the bed, bowing in supplication to Queen Ariel. 

Ariel looked disapprovingly at her two girls with her arms crossed, her wings fluttering behind her. “My chosen emissaries… I see your vigilant watch of our borders has grown less vigilant of late.” 

“Oh…no!” Arahan exclaimed brashly, rubbing her arm. Neither she nor her sister made any attempt to cover up their nudity in front of their queen, not seeming fazed by it in the least. “We can assure you, the border is secure! We have just been…”

“Distracted, my queen,” Naestra added, looking equally sheepish as her sister before their patron. 

Ariel shook her head scoldingly with a smile. “So it would seem.” She sat down in an oak chair with her legs crossed while she appraised the two other Asrai females before her. The blue-skinned elf queen then looked at Lukas, who seemed fearful in the face of her disapproval. “Fear not, young one. The fault lies with my emissaries, not with you. You suffered great injury whilst fighting the vile Skaven that threatened our borders. My girls trust you, as do I.” Lukas’ shoulders sagged with relief that there would be no punishment for him having lied with her “daughters.” He wondered perhaps if that would change once she found out about the pregnancy. 

She looked back at Naestra and Arahan. “Your duties have…slacked, my darling emissaries. In more ways than one. To mate is only natural, but you failed to properly share your plans with me. This young human male has planted his seed inside you, and you did not think to share this revelation with me in person?” 

Naestra and Arahan looked away in shame, and Ariel tsk’d both of them scoldingly. “Worse still, I was forced to explain your actions to Devlin and Cordal. Your chosen mates were incensed at first. You’ve robbed both of them the chance to plant their lifeseed in your wombs before a much younger man of the Empire was able to. But I have cooled their anger.” 

“Thank you, my Queen,” both twins spoke in unison, looking down at the floor sullenly. 

“Nevertheless,” Ariel intoned forebodingly with an oddly mischievous grin for a being so pure, “a punishment is due for both of you.” 

With that, the wood elf queen fluttered up from the chair. Lukas’ eyes widened when Ariel flicked her wrist, her green gown falling to the floor and leaving the matronly monarch completely nude before him and the two sisters.