Gerald was in the fields, overseeing the work, with Anne was at his side.
As I approached, he said, “Ah, my boy, it’s good to see you. How is your day going?”
I smiled and said, “Well, it’s going very nicely. I don’t know if you had heard, but well, Gerald, did you know that I didn’t know what a widow-wife was until yesterday? Oh, of course you did. We talked about it last night. Well, it’s all settled. Alice and Brenda are with us now, and we talked to the children, and they were all very happy. They will move in with us tonight. There are too many unpleasant memories for all of them at the house they have. I would like to sell it or trade it for one, either next door or directly across the street from Lucy’s house. If you will help me arrange it. Um, and we might want some modifications made, if there are builders who can do it.”
Gerald said, “Of course. No problem at all. I’ll help you arrange everything. And we have plenty of builders. We can get started tomorrow. Things are going so well. Who would have imagined. We will be mostly done with the hard work here tomorrow. After that, just the regular workers will come every day. The rest will go back to a more normal life, and try to settle into the village as it was. So, for you, I need to help you register the land with the kobold cave as yours, find a trade for the old house, and find you builders for renovations. Fine fine. No problem at all. Oh, this is Anne. No, you met already. Sorry, my head is muddled from all of the excitement. Fine fine.”
Anne said, “Ronin, we didn’t really talk earlier. I’m happy for Alice and Brenda. And of course, Valeera and Harmony. You have all of our finest, and all of our most special. No one else would be suited to them. I was about to say, especially Brenda and Alice, because I know them better, but when I think about it, Val and Harmony were even more special in some ways. None of them would have been happy without you. And now, April, Tanya, and Jack. Jack and my son are close friends. He is a wonderful boy.”
I said, “He seems to be. And the girls are sweet. I love all of them already.”
Anne said, “I want to ask about something, but I’m a bit embarrassed to be so nosy.”
I smiled and said, “Anne, I guess that you’re my mother-in-law now. Can’t you ask me anything? The way that Jean and Lucy tease me and make me blush can’t be less than what you want to know.”
Anne smiled and said, “I suppose so. Well, if it’s OK, are Alice and Brenda happy? Are they able to enjoy lovemaking? They had a difficult time for many years. I have been concerned that they might not be as able to enjoy a real husband as they should.”
I said, “Anne, I think that they’re very happy. They tell me that they are. They actually tell me that they consider themselves to have been virgins until last night, because what we have together is so much more satisfying than anything that they had known. Brenda told me a little while ago that she wants to have a talk with me right away, and she didn’t seem to mean that we would be talking at all. And Alice said that she too wants a chance to show me how much she loves me again as soon as we can be together. Does that answer your questions?”
Anne grinned and said, “I think so. I think that I’ll ask them myself and perhaps get more details. But I’m glad that you think that they are good for you.”
I said, “They are all very good for me. Will you excuse me though? I do want to get home before too long, and I need to speak to Lucy before I go.”
Gerald said, “We will start on projects for you tomorrow. I’ll come to your house in the morning, after breakfast. Lucy loves you. I’m glad that you are close to her. Go have a nice time. Maybe she will take you swimming. We’ll see you in the morning.”
Anne said, “Lucy might take him swimming?”
Gerald said, “If she wants to. She and Ronin are very close. There is no jealousy about anything. Lucy knows what she’s doing, and Ronin is my son. We should all go swimming together soon.”
Anne said, “Well, of course, if we all go together. I was just surprised that she would take him without you. Not that it’s a big thing, of course.”
Gerald said, “No, it’s no surprise. She’s his mother more than any other. She had no children, but somehow Ronin is her son in a very wonderful way. Anyway, go have fun. I don’t know where she is, but she will be happy to see you.”
I thanked them both and walked away. As I walked, I quietly used my extra senses to look for Lucy. She was near the farm house, talking to some women, and I headed that direction. I wasn’t in a hurry. It wasn’t far, but before I got to the house, I saw Lucy walking toward me. We smiled at each other and she hugged me warmly when we met.
She said, “Ronin, apparently, we need to talk. Shall we go for a stroll?”
She linked her arm in mine and led me off toward the orchards.
She said, “First, tell me what’s been happening today.”
I said, “Well, Gerald has spoken to Anne, and she has agreed.”
Lucy said, “Good. She isn’t part elf, but she’s the most wonderful woman. I’m happy for all our sakes.”
I said, “And second, I talked to Alice and Brenda’s children, and before I had a chance to tell them what was on my mind, the boy, Jack, demanded that I take their mothers as my widow-wives. Then he went and announced the decision to Alice and Brenda and his sisters and told them that he had decided, as man of the house, to turn them all over to me. The sisters were all in favor, and I didn’t have to say a word.”
She grinned and said, “And then Ichabod came.”
I said, “Yeah. And Jack knew that he was coming. Wait, did you know that he wasn’t dead? Killed in the orchard?”
Lucy said, “No. But I had my suspicions that something wasn’t exactly the way that Alice had said. I wondered if she and Brenda had somehow disposed of him, but I could tell quickly enough that that wasn’t the case. Alice said that he was dead, and he was clearly gone, but there was the matter of them not having any money left to them. It all pointed to them having been abandoned. So what happened?”
I said, “We went to talk to him, me and Val and Alice and Brenda. He had another woman with him. He demanded that Alice and Brenda rejoin him and move him back into the house with them. He wasn’t well received.”
She laughed and said, “I wouldn’t have thought so. Ronin, they had me teach them things about lovemaking, but they confided in me about the challenges that they faced. They tried to make it work so hard. Harder than they should have perhaps. Anyway, continue your story.”
I said, “Brenda didn’t know that he wasn’t dead. Alice did. Ichabod had left a note and taken the money. Lucy, I haven’t told Gerald about this.”
She said, “No, we won’t spread this around. Ichabod died in the orchard at the hands of the kobolds.”
I said, “So, when we saw them, Brenda was furious. Both she and Alice told him that he had died in the orchard as far as they were concerned and coming back from the dead now wouldn’t change that. They told him that they wanted nothing to do with him and that I was their husband and always had been. Ichabod, on the other hand, was insistent that he was staying in the village. At that point, I sent the girls back to our picnic, and I walked he and the woman out to the road. I tried to tell him to leave, but he wasn’t having it. Finally, I told him that I had changed my mind and they were both very welcome to stay.”
Lucy smiled and said, “You did? I’m curious.”
I said, “I told them that the kobolds came to raid the village when they got hungry, that we could hear the screams of their victims throughout the night, but that I thought that having a few old and feeble people in the village was a very good idea. By the time I finished my ghost story, they were both convinced that I planned to feed them to the kobolds before morning. They left in a hurry and I don’t think we’ll ever see them again.”
Lucy laughed and said, “Ah, you framed your argument in terms that Ichabod would understand. He would have fed his own family to kobolds to save his skin and had no doubt that you would eagerly feed him to them for your own
sake. Brilliant.”
I said, “I became a worse monster in his mind than the kobolds themselves. And, I wanted to go at least one day this week without having to kill anyone.”
Lucy squeezed my arm and said, “Have you had to kill many lately?”
I said, “Three yesterday, kobolds for three full days before that, one of Dawn’s tormentors the day before that, and rats before that. Since I’ve been here, maybe two weeks now, I’ve had only two, now three, days perhaps that didn’t require me to kill one or several monsters. I’m happy for the steady work, but a day off now and then is welcome.” I smiled and chuckled a little.
She said “I would suppose so. But, like you say, steady work is a blessing. And you haven’t done so bad financially.”
We walked on for a while, joking about this or that, and eventually wound up at the pools where the girls and I had had a nice time the day before.
Chapter 25 - Practicing with Lucy
Lucy said, “We can talk here. Take off your clothes.”
I didn’t even argue with her now. I pulled off my shirt, then my pants, and Lucy peeled down her dress. We folded the clothes and set them aside.
Lucy said, “A quick swim, and then we can really talk about why we are here.”
The two of us went down into the water, taking a short bath and swimming a bit, but for less than ten minutes. Then we walked back to the grassy spot on the bank and sat down.
I said, “Sit facing me. Like this. Good. Lucy, did you know that I wanted to talk about something?”
Lucy smiled and said, “Sure. And I want to know how you called me last night. I have had premonitions before, but this was very different. I was drawn to you And I knew where you were. I knew that you weren’t in danger, but I knew that you needed me urgently. It was actually kind of comforting and reassuring. Do you want to tell me about it? Do you know how you did it?”
I said, “Yes, I do. Both. I mean, I do know how I did it, and I do want to tell you about it. I want to show you. But I had better explain first.”
She smiled and said, “OK. But, what do you think of my dress?’
I was caught off guard and said, “What dress. Um, Lucy, you aren’t wearing a dress.”
She said, “Oh, you did notice. Well, a compliment would have been nice. I mean, if a lady takes off her clothes, she likes to know that she’s appreciated.”
I said, “Lucy, you are one of the most beautiful women in the world. Of course I noticed. How could I not?”
She grinned and said, “Then, from now on, say so. And be specific next time. But back to less important matters. Go on.”
I said, “OK, it’s something that I learned with Harmony. If I look with a sense other than my eyes, I can see the elveness in us. And more. Here, let me show you. But, there are these ribbons and chords. Don’t pull on them. Close your eyes and hold my hands and try to see what I see.”
She said playfully, “Oh, this is exciting.”
I held Lucy’s hands and closed my eyes and drifted toward the invisible realm of this sight.
I looked for Lucy, and brushed against her and whispered, “Can you see it?”
She said quietly, “I can. Give me a moment. Let me adjust. Ronin, this is amazing. I see both of us. And you are stronger here than I thought. Are you stronger than I am?’
I said, “I don’t know. That isn’t important. But you can see it? I want to stop and see if you can do it without me. Try.”
I opened my eyes and left Lucy alone for a minute.
She said, “I can. I can see it well. Just a minute.”
Lucy opened her eyes and then closed them again.
She said, “I was able to stop and start again on my own.”
I rejoined her and she said, “But, it’s clearer when you are with me. This is amazing.”
I said, “See the chords running between us? The ribbons floating out from us and into us from each other? They are very sensitive and I have to concentrate very hard, but we can touch them. Or pull or push them. Last night, I needed you, so I followed the ribbon from Harmony to you, because it was strongest, and very gently, I started to pull you. And you felt it.”
She said, “Ronin, this way we can communicate over long distances. If you need me, or I need you, we can tell each other. What are these other ribbons?”
I said, “That one is from you to Harmony. This one from me to Harmony. These are from me to the other girls. And here is Alice, and Brenda, and the children.”
She said, “But only to those with, you said, elveness?”
I said, “That’s what I call it. Follow that one with your mind, and see Harmony at the end of it.”
Lucy learned to do what I told her to, and soon we had Harmony in our sight.
Lucy said, “This is going to be very useful.”
I said, “And, by looking like this, we can spot elf blood in anyone around us. It’s how I verified the Alice, Brenda, and their children have it, but Ichabod didn’t. I want to see if we can learn to speak to each other. If not in words, then in impressions of some kind. If the girls and I are in danger, can we tell you? Or more importantly, can we tell you that we are well and fine and that no one needs to worry that we have been injured or killed.”
Lucy said, “That would be so incredibly kind. If I can know that you’re safe, and tell the others, that would be so much easier when you are away from home.”
I explained what I knew so far about the connecting ribbons, what happened as I tugged on them, what happened when I tried to push one toward Val, etc. We looked at how the image of each of us differed based on our degree of elven heritage, and how to compare them. I didn’t mention the fact that I had used this to awaken a dormant part of Dawn’s being. Lucy was very excited by all of it.
She said, “Ronin, this is amazing. I knew that I could do certain things, but I never shared it with anyone, and I never deliberately practiced to get better. Look here. Look at the connection between you and I. It’s at least as strong as the one between Harmony and I now. It has grown over the past hour as we practiced together.”
I said, “We should practice more over the next few days. But we have to be careful. Especially at first. Remember what happened to Val when I tried to touch her.”
We agreed to take it very slowly and carefully. We would practice only with each other, at least for a while. We would try contacting each other from a distance and see what we could communicate. But all of it took an effort, and Lucy was tired out by what we had done so far. I was a little worn out as well, but Lucy was more so, because it was entirely new to her. We rested beside the pools for a little while, mostly in silence, and then we took another swim.
When we were done, and getting ready to put our clothes back on, Lucy turned to me and stood close.
She said, “Ronin, hold me for a moment.”
Without a thought, I took Lucille into my arms and held her warmly against my body. I felt her relax and melt into me, sighing gently. We stood like this for a moment, breathing and feeling our love for each other, Lucy leaning her face against my chest.
She said, “Ronin, thank you. I think that I need you as much as the others. You are good for us. And for me. I get something from you that I have never felt before. I think because I’m older and more ready to see and receive it than I was when I was younger. I don’t even know what it is. I’m not much older than you are, well, I suppose that I’m old enough to be your mother, but I don’t think of it that way. I never had children, but being held by you is being held by my grown son. A man who will always love and care for me. As if I held you in my lap as a baby and felt your love for me as your mommy. Thank you for coming here. I love you.”
Lucy tilted her head up to mine and kissed me on the lips. There was no sexual passion, but an incredible amount of emotional connection and love. I squeezed her tighter, and then we parted to get dressed.
As we gathered our clothes, Lucy turned her back to me and bent over to pick up her dress and I was hi
t by an overwhelming urge to tell her exactly what I thought of her.
I blurted out, “Lucy, you are stunning. My goodness, you have the most wonderful behind. Your behind is so lovely. So perfect and firm and shapely. Lucy, you are younger than I am, aren’t you? Tell me the truth.”
Lucy pulled on her dress, and I just stood naked and dumbfounded, and she said, “I am older than you are. But, our kind don’t age quickly. You and the girls will live a long time, and you will all keep your youth longer than you expect. But, that was wonderful.”
I said, “You look wonderful.”
She said, “No, I mean that it was wonderful that I was able to communicate with you silently.” I stayed quiet, and she continued, “Ronin, Sweetie, put your clothes on. I tried to communicate with you. I didn’t tell you what to say, but I did tell you that I wanted you to tell me what you thought.”
I said, “Oh. Well, now that you say that, I see it. I felt like I had to tell you what I thought of you, but I didn’t really have to, did I? No, I see now that I could tell that you wanted me to. So I did. I wanted to because you wanted me to. No, not because you wanted me to. I wanted to, and I knew that you wanted me to. So I could. Was I too bold?”
She smiled and said “Not at all. I told you before, if I take my clothes off, I want a compliment if you have one. You said it a bit more forcefully than I had expected.”
I said, “This thing is very powerful. We have to learn to have finesse. You might have thought that it was a gentle nudge, but to me it was a splash with a barrel of water.”
Lucy said, “OK. Some rules then. First, we don’t tease each other. It would be too easy for me to abuse this to embarrass and arouse you for fun. I can’t help it. Sex magick is my thing. It’s fun. It’s what I think about. It’s fun to play with. So, first rule, I can’t use it for that kind of fun. And neither can you. If I slip up, be kind to me and don’t retaliate in the same way. Just remind me that we have a rule.”
The Edge of Harmony: The Guardian Maidens Book 2 Page 23