It was almost within her grasp. The sacred spells of Esterlin. Right there. Just out of reach, behind an unlocked door... with a huge guard patrolling the halls in front of it.

Elyn crouched low to the ground, hidden around the corner, watching the giant of a woman walk toward her. She hadn’t seemed to notice Elyn yet. She admitted herself, Elyn was not particularly skilled in the arts of stealth. But it did come to be somewhat necessary from time to time.

The room ahead of her was usually reserved for escape training in the Esterlin Princess Guild’s fortress. But, this time, it was guarded. The others were all out. Elyn was alone in the place with.... well, no time to think of that now.

That huge woman, standing over six and a half feet tall, pale skin, green eyes, long red hair, muscular and shapely, the sandals on her feet attached to protective greaves covering her shins. A short tunic, showing off her strong upper thighs, a leather belt across her waist, and a perfectly shaped, silver chest plate with a neckline that... Elyn had to shake her head.

She doesn’t play fair, distracting me like that... Elyn thought to herself.

She wore her usual red, silken dress, trimmed with black, a split up both side to show her beautiful legs. It matched her heeled shoes. The ivory-skinned mage peered around the corner with her soft, red eyes and, brushing aside the bangs of her short, thick orange hair.

How did it come to be that the Sacred Spells of Esterlin were within the Guild’s training room? Elyn had no time to reflect on that. For now, she had to get past the huge, very attractive woman.

Unfortunately, while she sat there planning... a huge shadow passed over her body and remained there. Elyn, still in her crouched position, looked up when the light changed.

The guard stood over her, a scowl on her face, but unable to conceal the smile in her sharp, green eyes.

“Looking to get in there, are you?” the guard asked, nodding toward the training room.

“Of course not!” Elyn said, acting offended, standing as tall as she could. She was a tall woman herself, nearly reaching six feet, but this guard dwarfed her. “I was inspecting the wall here. One of the lower bricks was coming loose.”

“Right...” the guard said. “This area is off limits. And I think you know that.”

Elyn gasped and placed a hand to her chest, further feigning her indignation. “What a scurrilous accusation! Spurious even! I am with the guild, how very dare you!”

The guard tried to hide her smile as she rushed behind Elyn, wrapping one thick arm around her waist, planting another over Elyn’s mouth. “Mmmrrppph!” Elyn said, into the strong hand, struggling against the tight grip of the huge guard.

“Looks to me like you’re caught,” the guard said. “Time to come with me.”

Elyn resisted ever so slightly as she was dragged off down the hallway to another of their training rooms. She had been in there not so long ago. Nothing but a pair of chairs were inside that room. Along with mountains of rope and cloth...

Before she knew it, Elyn was inside the room, forced to the chair, her arms wrenched behind her back, behind the back of the chair, crossed, and tied together tightly.

“Moving a bit quickly, aren’t you? At least ask me out to dinner first before skipping straight to the fun stuff.”

“Enough of your talk,” the guard said, jamming a wadded up cloth in her waiting mouth, pulling another between her teeth to seal it in. Then another cloth was tied on over her mouth to further silence her. The guard continued her work then,, wrapping a thick coil of rope tightly around Elyn’s arms and torso.

One went around her biceps and below her breasts, while another went above them, wrapping her arms just below the shoulders. These were cinched with another pair of ropes between her arms and chest, tightening them. Another was passed between them, forming a harness on her chest, wrapped around the back of her neck, and tied off tightly.

“Hmmpphh...” Elyn said, admiring the skilled ropework. Still not done, the guard secured Elyn’s back to the chair with another coil of rope, using that to also secure her wrists to the back of the chair. Another rope went on over Elyn’s gorgeous thighs, holding her lap in place, while yet another wrapped up her thighs above the knees. More rope went on just below her knees, around her calves, and finally her ankles. The guard then pulled her ankles so far back they were no longer touching the floor, and tied them off at Elyn’s wrists, attaching them together, and forcing Elyn to arch her back slightly, pulled into a helpless position.

“Gmmmd wrrmmkk,” Elyn mumbled into her gag.

“I do have some practice,” the guard said. “And besides, I did owe you.”

Elyn shrugged. “Fmmr mmnmff,” she said.

The guard turned away from Elyn toward the door. “And now to plan for your inevitable rescuer. I do hope that chair beside you does not stay empty for long...”

...

The guard continued patrolling the halls, though she seemed much more... aloof, this time. There was something a bit dead in her stare as Lathiira approached the same corner Elyn had been captured by. She crouched low, as Elyn had, and eyed the training room with the spells in them.

By comparison, Lathiira was better at stealth than Elyn and could easily get past the guard and to the spells. Of course, she also needed to rescue Elyn. She knew the mage would get captured by this hulk of a guard. So she was prepared for this.

The bard, with long, blonde hair, sharp green eyes, wearing her tall leather boots, green tunic and matching breeches, Lathiira didn’t exactly blend in, at the moment. But she was going to change that.

Whispering an incantation, the bard became as shadow, creeping her way through the hallway and past the guard. Silently opening the door, she stepped inside and walked to the table in the centre of the room. There sat many scrolls. Spell scrolls. Her own spell scrolls. She owed one to Elyn. The quick spell she used wore off as she waited.

Picking the scrolls up and placing them in her belt along with the sword on her hip, Lathiira turned and left the room. As expected, the guard stood there, staring down at her.

“Oh dear,” she said. “I appear to have been caught.” She didn’t sound worried in the slightest. Instead, she willingly went along with the guard, who led her to the same training room Elyn was held within. When she entered, the guard walking closely at her back, the two met eyes.

“I see someone did a thorough job on you,” Lathiira said.

Elyn nodded, giggling.

“It looks like this someone knew what she was doing.”

Elyn nodded again.

While they spoke, the guard shut the door and locked it. She shimmered once before disappearing. Both women in the room turned to look.

“Seems our friend decided to leave us. Should I...” At that moment, Lathiira’s form grew in height. Her limbs became more muscular, her hair turned red, her clothing changed, but her sharp eyes remained the same. “Become her again? Have a bit more fun with you?”

Elyn chuckled and shrugged as far as the ropes would allow.

Lathiira, still in the guard’s form, grabbed Elyn’s chair, turning it sideways, and brought it level with the empty chair, turning it sideways as well. The two chairs were now facing each other.

“This will help with the view. For both of us,” Lathiira said.

Elyn giggled again, squirming in her ropes, keeping her eyes on the transformed bard.

“And that, Elyn, is how illusion spells work. Think you can make them work?”

Elyn nodded. Lathiira took one of the scrolls from her belt and tucked into the rope around Elyn’s waist. “That’s the illusion spell. Learn that, and you can make what you saw with that guard while we walked in here. Or any other number of things. You’re a smart woman. I’m sure you can think of some other uses.”

Elyn smiled beneath her gag.

“I owed you that one for the escape from last time. A shame I was a bit busy to actually watch but, well, I was impressed at how you detached yourself from that pole. And from me.”

Elyn giggled yet again.

“But if you want this one, the ability to change your shape...” Lathiira tucked the spell in through the top of her tunic, her form reverting back to normal. “You’ll have to come and get it. And I fully intend to watch you escape this time. Be sure to give me a show.”

Lathiira sat down in the chair opposite Elyn With another whispered incantation, the ropes around them on the floor jumped to life. Before they started snaking and slithering toward her, Lathiira reached down to the floor and picked up three cloths.

“Can’t forget this,” she said. “We have to be fair, after all.”

Lathiira stuffed one cloth in her mouth, pulling another between her teeth, tying it off behind her head, before pulling the last one tight over her mouth, tying that one off as well.

Calmly placing her hands behind the back of the chair, Lathiira let the ropes get to work. She remained still, barely even flinching as the ropes worked their way around her limbs, responding to her thoughts, and binding her the same way she had bound Elyn.

The bound her wrists first, then worked their way up and around her chest, forming the same harness as the one Elyn wore. Elyn, meanwhile, watched this display with rapt attention. She had just done the exact same thing not so long ago but watching the moving ropes bind someone else was... well, Elyn was having thoughts run through her head that were less than pure.

The ropes continued to bind Lathiira, now working their way to her legs, securing her lap and her waist to the chair, before finally pulling her ankles back, lifting her feet off the ground, and tying them to her wrists. Bound and gagged in the exact position of Elyn, Lathiira’s smiling eyes met the smiling eyes of Elyn.

Lovely to see you like that Elyn’s voice rang out within Lathiira’s mind.

Same to you Lathiira’s voice said back. I wanted a front row seat to your next escape.

A fine choice Elyn’s voice said. And kind of you to give me such a wonderful view.

I am nothing if not accommodating, Lathiira thought. But I did not just do this out of kindness. I have my own selfish reasons for this as well.

Oh?

You spoke about your view but mine, well... it’s delicious.

Elyn felt herself blushing. A part of her felt guilty for feeling flattered by a compliment from someone who wasn’t Aurora but she and her girlfriend had an understanding. As did Lathiira with hers, it seemed. But Elyn would keep that to herself. She couldn’t help but keep reading the beautiful elf sometimes, though she felt a bit guilty about that, too. Her power was not always something she could control when it came to reading a person. And she was utterly fascinated by Lathiira so it came to her automatically. But, knowing the elf’s discomfort with such things, she pushed those thoughts aside and let the elf remain at least partially a mystery to her. After all, Lathiira was even more interesting if Elyn didn’t know everything about her.

I daresay, I’m flattered Elyn’s voice replied. A compliment from a pretty elf such as yourself... it does wonders for my confidence.

As though you need help with that Lathiira thought, her voice, and her eyes, smiling. She chuckled into her gag.

True. But it is still very nice to hear. And with all this bondage, well, Lathiira... I think I like you.

You ‘think’?

I do think. Perhaps if you struggle around for me, maybe show me where you put that spell, I might know for sure.

Lathiira laughed into her gag. And say I do this for you... will you attempt to escape to earn the spell?

You know I will. I’d love to get my hands on it.

They stared at each other for a moment, not a thought passing between them, looking each other up and down.

Promise? Lathiira thought.

They both laughed then. Oh I promise Elyn’s voice replied.

Though no one was due back for a while, if anyone had stumbled upon the scene, they would find the two bound and gagged women, eyeing each other, laughing away into their gags, and struggling with their bondage. And they would likely think it a strange way for two people to bond. But bond they did indeed.