Ssylphiel checked herself in the mirror. She had a Dark Day Celebration coming and she picked a witch outfit that would hopefully prove sexy enough. She made sure the bodice revealed her cleavage, but still obscured her nipples. She floofed the petticoats in her skirt and checked to make sure her midriff wasn’t obscured, then she checked her makeup. Perfectly spooky for the upcoming month and the party. Lord Dravis Goodblood and his wife were attending and she wanted them in her bedchambers. All that was left was her hat. It was a traditional witch hat. She tilted it so that her hair flower was still in view. “There we go,” she purred. She then heard a knock on her door. “Come in,” she said. Sanliel then came in. She was dressed as a sexy vampire with a skirt, hair rose, bodice, and cloak. “Ah, a Vampire Elf maiden, hm?” purred Ssylphiel with approval. “But why the worried face? Afraid I’ll hoard Dravis and his wife? They asked after you. I think they’d approve of an Elf maiden in our chambers.”
“Well, this costume was a gift from Lord and Lady Goodblood, and I’m glad to hear I’m invited for a little bedtime fun with them and you,” said Sanliel, “but that’s not why I’m worried.”
“Then what troubles your mind, my little Sanliel?” cooed Ssylphiel as she started coiling the Elf.
“It’s…well it’s not exactly a sexy matter,” replied Sanliel. She pulled out a rock. “I finally teased out why your blessing box had this. It’s from my cousin, Benvar.”
“The soldier boy? I remember him.”
“I’m sure you had fun with him, but this is gonna make you want to stay away from him. It’s a cursed rock and he wants you to bless it with a cage of iron.”
“Oh, he wants me to undo a curse? …Iron doesn’t exactly stop curses, but Ancestral Silver-”
“No, he wants you to enhance the curse’s potency.” Ssylphiel arched an eyebrow in confusion. She took the rock from Sanliel.
“I don’t normally do something like that,” she muttered as she coiled Sanliel up to her chest, pinning her arms to her sides. “Come to think of it, why would he want any Divine Being to enhance this thing’s curse?”
“Elven beliefs,” explained Sanliel, “say that if you can get someone to accept a cursed item as a gift, the curse will transfer to the person.”
“You know, I think I’ve seen that in action,” mused Ssylphiel. “But…what kind of curse could be on a rock?” Sanliel hesitated in answering.
“…That rock’s from the Battlefield of Eternal Tears,” she finally said. Ssylphiel threw the rock across the room and slithered at top speed to a corner the furthest away from the rock! That battlefield was the site of the bloodiest battle in the history of the world and was aptly named!
“Just why would your cousin want to pass that kind of hot karma on to someone else?!” she yelped. “A cursed rock from that place doesn’t NEED enhancing!” She heard gasping and realized she tightened her tail’s grip on Sanliel’s neck, cutting off her air! She relaxed her coils and Sanliel caught her breath.
“Benvar…” she gasped, “had a childhood buddy. …They turned on each other over a woman that turned them both down. They’re both active-duty military and his former friend’s unit is about to deploy.”
“…Have you summoned the Tree Guard?” asked Ssylphiel. “Because I’m NOT blessing this thing.”
“Did so the instant I got the details. Benvar’s been arrested for stealing from a historical site and the Tree Guard, last I heard, is about an hour away from our northern borders.”
The Tree Guard arrived at the palace gates in two hours. They were a combined Elf and Dryad unit dedicated to preserving historical sites. Ssylphiel slithered out of the palace and approached the Guard. “Who’s in charge?” she asked.
“We are,” called an Elf man as he and a Dryad arrived. “We were informed that a rock was taken from the Battlefield of Eternal Tears and, by our oath, we are here to retrieve-!” He didn’t finish his usual spiel as Ssylphiel practically shoved the rock into his hands.
“You know the reason behind the theft?” asked Ssylphiel.
“Y-Yes, we are,” replied the Dryad commander in confusion.
“I only have two requests for you,” said Ssylphiel. “One, tell Benvar ‘Blessing refused’. Two, get that rock out of my territory and put it back where it came from! No one wants it here!”
“…I don’t normally hear of you Divine Folk refusing to bless something,” remarked the Elf, “but I speak for the Tree Guard when I say we approve.” The Tree Guard then left in short order. Easiest job they’ve had.