The elf’s potion had an effect he hid from me

I woke up.

I didn’t know where I was or what had happened to me. Everything after the blackout was blurry, but what came before was still vivid and terrible. I was climbing with Bruno, Tobías, and Marcos—my climbing partners—up a sheer rock face. Nothing we hadn’t done dozens of times, but someone made a mistake. I suppose it was Bruno, the least experienced one, who didn’t secure the anchor properly in a crack. The piece came loose from the wall and my rope didn’t hold.

I fell. I knew it from the dull thud of my body hitting the rocks and the crunch of my bones. I figured I was badly hurt, with several open fractures and the certainty that no one was going to reach me in time. As a mountain paramedic, I assessed the severity in seconds and understood that some of those injuries were fatal. I wanted to scream, but the pain had drained my strength. And then I passed out.

Now I was waking up here, in a soft bed, with a blanket over me and a deep strangeness in my chest. There was no trace of pain in me.

I lifted the cloth covering me and checked my body. I was whole. I could move my feet, and that calmed me down. At first glance I found no bruises or scars. Not a scratch. What I was, though, was weak and starving. A few meters away I saw a bowl with berries, mushrooms, and a piece of cold meat. I put one foot on the floor, tried to walk, and nearly went face-first into the ground. I got back into bed, but the noise was so loud it alerted someone. Not long after, the door opened.

“Hello. You finally woke up, and I’m guessing you’re pretty hungry,” said a handsome young man.

I couldn’t help noticing him. Tall, athletic, with long, thick hair. He brought the tray to the bed and watched me eat with a calm curiosity that at times seemed to amuse him. I didn’t care: I had to eat, and after all, someone had saved me. I finished the plate down to the crumbs.

“Where am I?”

He smiled. I swear his smile was clean, almost unreal.

“In my village, safe. I’m Aren, the healer of my tribe. I found you a few days ago at the foot of the mountain. You were about to die, but I treated you in time.”

“A few days ago? How many?”

“Almost three weeks.”

“Three weeks?” I repeated, almost shouting. “That’s a lot! My friends must be looking for me. I can’t stay. Thank you, truly, but I have to go back.”

“Yes, of course,” he said politely, “but you’re still weak and the road is long.”

“I’ll manage.”

With one tug I threw off the blanket, and then I noticed something: I was wearing tiny underwear that left my flesh almost on display. I covered myself again while asking him about my clothes. With no trace of mischief, he explained that to treat me he had to take all my clothes off, that they were torn and dirty, and that he had buried them. The women in his village didn’t wear underwear, so he asked the tailor for something to cover me; the man hadn’t understood properly and had sewn that tiny pair of briefs and a tight bra.

He took a dress out of the wardrobe and handed it to me naturally. The design surprised me: low-cut on top, short below, tight at the waist. I put it on as soon as I asked him to turn around. I felt strange in something so fitted, when I lived in technical gear. And there was something else I sensed but didn’t confirm: it seemed to me my breasts and hips had grown.

Aren helped me stand and take a few steps around the room, making sure I didn’t stumble. Being alive and intact was a miracle.

“What did you do to me, exactly?”

“I healed you.”

“That’s obvious. My tibia was exposed and my collarbone was showing. At least three broken ribs, possible liver damage. I’m not a healer like you, but I’m a doctor. I know curing me was almost impossible.”

“Maybe among your people it’s impossible to care for someone who is dying, but not here,” he said. “I used herbs, mushrooms, and roots. I set your bones and applied the mixture every day for these weeks. It was worth it.”

“It’s miraculous. It would be a huge discovery where I come from.”

“I don’t think that would be a good idea,” he cut in quickly, with a smile that suddenly became enigmatic, almost regretful. “Sorry, I didn’t ask your name.”

“I’m Mariela. Mari, for my friends.”

“Look, Mariela, this potion I gave you has certain side effects. It doesn’t happen to everyone, but I wouldn’t have given it to you if I hadn’t seen you in such bad shape.”

“What kind of side effects?”

“We’ll talk about that if they show up. Don’t worry; it was that or let you die. Now come on, I have to deal with a couple of matters with the council.”

***

I could already walk on my own. He put sandals on me and we set off toward the village. On the way he told me about his people, how they had survived far from “humans,” and how no one from the outside had set foot on those lands in decades.

When we arrived I noticed something: everyone was singularly beautiful. Vigorous men beside tall women, with delicate curves and tender faces. A group I would only have found on a runway, and not even then.

“What are you, Aren?” I asked when curiosity overcame caution.

“Your people call us elves, Mari. Though we prefer other names.”

I was so shocked I stumbled. Elves. Now I really could think I was dead, or hallucinating.

“You thought we only existed in books?” he insisted. “Look at yourself. Touch me.” He took my hand and placed it on his chest. “Still think this is fiction?”

“I don’t...” I tried to say as I pulled my hand back. The contact had thrown me off balance.

He laughed out loud and opened the door to a large hall. Twelve chairs in a semicircle around a circular room, and on them twelve men and women. Calling them elders would be a poor epithet: they all looked vibrant and in their prime.

“Aren,” said the one in the center, “what have you come for?”

“I brought this human to my hut. I cared for her, fed her, and clothed her to save her life.”

While the oldest elf took his time, I started to feel something new: I looked at each of those beings as a unique piece of extreme beauty. And more so with each passing moment.

“The last time a human was here was one hundred and eighty-seven years ago,” the councilor continued. “And it didn’t end well.”

I looked at Aren again. He seemed magnificent, charged with a sensuality that was at times irresistible.

“I understand, Master Vaeren. Perhaps I broke a rule, but our laws command us to save anyone who can be rescued.”

“Indeed. And what do you want to do with her now?”

The hall fell silent. I pinched my leg, trying to calm my anxiety.

“I want to keep her,” he said flatly.

Under other circumstances I would have objected, but I felt drugged. One of the women spoke.

“Aren. You are betrothed to my daughter. Will you break that betrothal?”

Only a few seconds of silence, but the wait felt endless.

“Yes, big sister. I will keep the human.”

More murmuring. And I began to feel hot. The chief spoke like thunder.

“If that is your wish, Aren, the council grants it. The human is yours.”

“Wait... hers?” I reacted. “As if I were livestock?”

There were voices of protest and the chief struck his gavel.

“The human has no right to speak in this sacred place. Didn’t you explain it to her, Aren?”

“I’m sorry, counselor. It won’t happen again.”

“What?” I asked, but he crossed his index finger over my mouth, and the touch of his skin made me blush.

“In ten days I will announce my betrothal to this woman,” he said to everyone. “Today I’m taking her with me, if the tribunal agrees.”

“We do. Take her.”

***

I felt myself getting wet when he touched me, which is why I didn’t protest. But something wasn’t right. Not only was I getting hotter and hotter: I saw every man as a possible lover and Aren as a prodigy of virility. My nipples hardened and my sex throbbed, swollen.

“Aren,” I said, gathering what little composure I had, “what exactly are those side effects?”

“It won’t harm you, Mari. They’re safe herbs.”

I stopped him a few meters from the house.

“I understand that, but you’re not telling me everything. Do they make people very lustful?”

He opened his eyes a bit wider than he should have, like a child caught doing something wrong.

“Anyone who takes them feels an enormous urge to... mate.”

“You gave me that?” I asked, alarmed. “And how long does it last?”

“For the women here, three or four days. But for you I had to give you a concentrated mixture; it was the only way to save you. I figure no less than fifteen days.”

“Idiot!” I exploded, hitting his chest. “You should have just let me die! And is that why my parts grew?”

He endured my fists without flinching and nodded.

Then I threw myself at him. I kissed him, scratched him, ripped his shirt off in tugs while pressing my legs against his.

“What am I going to do for two weeks with this need?” I took off my dress in one motion. “My body is demanding that you possess me.”

“Mari, I’m not going to disrespect you. Cover yourself and breathe.”

“If you didn’t want to disrespect me, you shouldn’t have given me that thing.” I pulled off my bodice. My breasts sprang free.

And then I understood. I knew nothing about elves, but I know how men work. I got on my knees, pulled down his pants, and without giving him time to react, took in my hands what appeared before me. I brought it to my mouth. It tasted different: like the countryside, fresh grass, walnut, and salt. I sucked with urgency until I felt my effort take effect: it started to grow, harden, heat up.

“Mari... wait,” I heard him protest, but it was useless now.

I pushed him onto the bed, tore off my panties—and confirmed that my hips had a new roundness—and straddled him.

“This is going to change everything,” he said. “You’re not the one in control. It’s your instincts, multiplied by my po...”

I didn’t let him finish. I guided his member to the entrance of my sex and slid down onto him.

That was when I understood the difference between elves and us. The moment he entered me, I swear he swelled, filling all the space inside me. I could feel that flesh filling me completely, how as he went in and out he left me burning, drenched, and wanting more.

“Aren... love,” I whispered, moving with desperation, “is this real?”

He had already lost control. He grabbed my waist and lifted me up in one sudden motion. His hands moved to my buttocks, my arms around his neck, and his member held my whole body while he carried me around the room. I floated with him buried in me to the deepest place, and every step made me bounce on that firmness. No one had ever taken me like that. He didn’t seem to get tired.

My moans filled the hut. Suddenly he threw me onto the bed, turned me halfway around, and put me on all fours. In his hands my body was like cloth.

“So this is what you wanted, is it? Now you’re going to know real pleasure.”

He held me by the hips and sank into me as if I were already his. He started slowly but hard, flooding my cavity, which grew hotter and hotter. I felt like a female in heat accepting the best of the pack. I begged him not to stop. With one hand he caressed my swollen breasts, and climax approached with crystal clarity. I moaned shamelessly, and then it came: an explosion born in my sex, running up my spine and bursting in my head. My legs trembled.

Aren gave me a few seconds, without leaving me, and then went at it again. I felt the greatest desire of my life, but also something like true love. Suddenly he said he was going to come, that he was going to pull out for our safety. His hips tried to separate from mine, and at that instant I grabbed his ass with all my strength and wouldn’t let him escape.

“Mari, wait,” he tried to protest.

“I want you inside me, love,” I said between moans. “I need you there.”

I felt a warm torrent fill me and, with it, a new orgasm, even more intense. My mind flooded with colors, with an energy that went from my groin to the tips of my fingers. I was soaked through with everything: with him, with me, with desire fulfilled. A few tears slipped free as my skin finally understood the mystery of true sexuality.

***

Several minutes passed before we both recovered.

“Mari, now you’re mine. This is real. That’s why I didn’t want to do it.”

“You made me yours, and I loved it.”

He turned to me, pleased.

“I’m glad you accept it. Because now that you belong to me, there’s no way you’re leaving here.”

Something about his words didn’t add up.

“Wait... this whole making me yours thing is a metaphor, right? There’s no pact that forces me to stay.”

He started laughing.

“Mari, among my people, when an elf seals a woman, she becomes his property. And that’s what I just did with you.”

I went cold.

“You... sealed me? What does that mean?”

“Don’t make me explain what you already experienced. Better accept it and devote yourself to being a good wife.”

“Wife?” The sex had been delicious, but I hadn’t expected such a responsibility. “Wait. I just wanted to sate my desire, this doesn’t bind us in any way.”

“Mari...” his expression hardened, as if the kind elf I knew had vanished. “You don’t understand.”

I got scared, but fear made me speak out.

“What is it I don’t understand? That you’re going to turn me into a slave wife?”

He got out of bed. Naked, he walked to the kitchen and came back with a rope. I looked for my clothes, but only found the underwear.

“What are you going to do with that?” I asked, startled.

He climbed on top of me. I tried to hit him, but his strength was far greater and with little effort he overpowered me. He began tying my wrists to the headboard.

“I don’t know how it is among your people, but here it’s different,” he said. “My seed is already inside you. I can’t let you go until you understand.”

“Aren, please, don’t tie me up,” I pleaded, kicking uselessly. “I understand.” I lied.

“You’re not telling me the truth and I don’t have time to argue about it. I spent a lot of energy and I need to rest. But you are not leaving here.”

“Love, untie me,” I begged through tears. “I’m not going anywhere. You know how crazy what you did made me.”

“We’ll talk tomorrow, beautiful. Rest well.”

And he left the room.

***

I tried to wriggle free, searching for a gap in the knots. When I couldn’t, I burst into tears and eventually fell asleep.

I don’t know how long passed, but someone woke me with a couple of gentle pats. I opened my eyes and found myself facing a beautiful girl who, with a finger to her lips, was asking for silence.

“Don’t get worked up,” she whispered. “I came to free you. Trust me. I’m Nyssa, daughter of Vela.”

What could I do? I had no options. I let her untie the ropes.

“Why are you helping me?”

It was dim, but I swear I saw a triumphant smile.

“For revenge. That bastard left me in front of the council. Humiliated before the whole community.”

I remembered the scene in the hall. Aren had broken off a betrothal, and this someone must have been her.

“You’re the councilor’s daughter,” I guessed.

“That’s right.” My hands were free. “We need to move fast. These elves sleep a lot after mating, but if he wakes up, we’re lost. Put this on.” She handed me a long tunic.

Nyssa made stealth her ally and got me out of the hut without a sound. Once outside, she pointed me in the right direction.

“Follow this until the river. Take the path down along the bank and in a couple of days you’ll reach a settlement of your own kind.”

I was grateful, but the need had already come back. I confessed it to her.

“What do I do, Nyssa?” I asked, suddenly unsure whether leaving Aren was a good idea.

She looked me straight in the eye, with the sun peeking over the horizon. She was one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen.

“Eat these berries when the urge gets strong,” she said, handing me a pouch of seeds. “They won’t take away all the desire, but they’ll let you think. If you ration them well, they might last until you reach your people.”

“He knew... and didn’t tell me?” I asked with deep sadness.

“Aren is not a bad elf, but he can be very selfish. I’m sure he liked you so much he wanted you all for himself.”

She rested her warm hand on my shoulder and smiled.

“What’s going to happen to you?” I wanted to know.

“I’ll be fine. No one saw me come in. And I’m the councilor’s daughter.”

I looked at her face one more time and thought that this must be how the first women in the world were: beautiful, wise, sensual. I started down the path. After a few steps I turned back.

“Will I see you again, Nyssa?”

“Not in this life,” she replied, and smiled again. Then she walked off in the opposite direction.

***

I walked for as long as she estimated, until I reached a village. I managed the berries prudently, but when I saw Bruno, and then Marcos, I couldn’t resist and took them to my room to relieve myself. I also had sex with a couple of sailors, a tour guide, a customs officer, and an aspiring politician I ran into on my corner when I got home.

Bruno fell for me. He said he would never find a woman hotter, and he didn’t care how much I had changed. A week and a half after returning from the excursion, he was already engaged to me.

Now then... why am I telling all this, if no one is going to believe me? Probably because I finally understand what Aren meant when he said he had sealed me. Among his people, that must be the word they use for conception. And yes: now I know I’m pregnant, that in a few months I’ll give birth to a baby half human and half elf. That he will never know his father. And that I will never again have an lover as passionate as that one.