“I did not like the way you spoke to her,” Tási said calmly. “You were far too gentle. I told her, very clearly, what I thought about what she had said.”
“Too gentle?” I replied in confusion, remembering the harsh words I had used.
“Yes,” Tási answered, still playing with the weapon. “Far too gentle. Anyway, I gave her a few things to consider. When she has had a little while to think about them, we shall see what comes of it.”
“What exactly did you say to her?”
“That will stay between us,” Tási said quietly. “Let’s just say that I learned a long time ago how to deal with people who might make certain assumptions about me.”
Awed by the turn of events, I sat down beside Tási in silence.
“There’s a lot more to you than there appears to be, isn’t there?” I said after a while.
“Yes,” Tási replied, never taking her eyes away from her staff as she continued toying with it. “Yes, there is.”
Venna never emerged from her room for the remainder of the day. Stel made excuses for her, bringing her food when it was time to eat, but I saw that when he returned the dishes downstairs, the meals he had brought her remained untouched.
Tási and I spent most of the day exploring Oróna with Khorim and Broda. We tried to coax the story of Broda’s departure from Dhel-Ar from her, but she remained steadfast in her refusal to explain. When it was clear that she was unwilling to relate the tale, we gave up, turning our inquiries to more general questions about the dwarven Kingdom.
Broda seemed to perk up as she described the many wonders of the underground Realm. Visions of glittering caverns and great stone structures fashioned from the very heart of the mountain came alive in her words. While the Kingdom may have held some painful memories for her, it was clear that she still loved her homeland and missed it dearly.
Together, the four of us walked the city, discussing the adventures we’d had and planning those yet to come. During our wanderings, we came across a caravan that was leaving the next morning and arranged to coordinate our departure with theirs. Having made our plans for the road, we returned to the Bard for one last evening before hitting the trail once more.
Stel sat alone in the common room, clearly dejected. He looked up as we arrived, and a glint of hope flashed in his eyes as he caught sight of me. Pulling me aside as the others took their seats, he appealed to me for my help.
“She won’t come out, Dreya,” he begged. “She won’t even talk to me. Please, if there’s anything you can do, anything you can say to her… I just don’t understand.”
I loved Stel dearly, and I did not hold him in any way responsible for his wife’s actions. I had begun to put Venna’s bitterness behind me, but listening to what he said, comprehending its true meaning, rekindled all of my anger once again.
“Your wife didn’t tell you why she was leaving us?” I said, unable to contain my seething rage.
“Leaving you?” Stel said, perplexed. “We aren’t leaving you. She loves you dearly, Dreya. She would never leave you!”
“Stel,” I replied icily. “For the sake of our friendship, I will say no more. Perhaps you need to finish this conversation with Venna.”
Stel’s eyes widened as I spoke. He heard the cold tone of my words and knew that the iciness in them was not directed at him, but at Venna. With a look of determination, he turned and strode up the stairs. I knew from the way he marched up those steps that Venna would not be allowed to ignore him any longer.
“Was that what I thought it was?” Tási whispered as I sat down next to her.
“Didn’t even tell him she was leaving,” I whispered back.
“Ouch,” Tási flinched. “Almost feel sorry for her. Almost.”
We ceased our discussion as Khorim and Broda returned with a round of ales.
“Muscly-elf boy not joining us?” Khorim inquired.
“I think he had a few things to discuss with Venna at the moment,” Tási replied innocently.
I was beginning to realize that Tási had a streak of pure evil in her that I had never noticed before. I took a deep drink from my cup and silently made a mental note to never get on her bad side.
We shared a hearty meal together and indulged in a few more rounds of ale before retiring for the night. The caravan would not be leaving too early in the morning, so we were comfortable spending a little more time in the common room of the Bard before heading off the bed.
Opening the door to our room, Tási’s laughter was cut off sharply by the sight of Venna sitting on our bed waiting for us. Her face was streaked with fresh tears and she looked up at us with hopeless, red-rimmed eyes. Before anyone else could speak, Stel announced his presence. Rising from the chair where he had been sitting across from his wife, he uttered a single sentence before walking out of the room.
“Whatever they require of you, you will make this right, wife,” he said coldly.
Venna flinched at Stel’s harsh words. I stood in shocked silence as Tási quietly closed the door and the ‘click’ of the lock snapping shut echoed in the small room.
“I don’t know how to begin,” Venna sobbed quietly.
“Speak your heart, so that we may judge it,” Tási said solemnly.
The words seemed to have some meaning for her and Venna jerked upright as Tási spoke them. Nodding slowly in comprehension, Venna began her apology.
“I have no excuses,” she fumbled. “There are no reasons for what I thought or what I said. I missed you by my side, Dreya, and let envy and jealousy into my heart.”
“I imagined terrible things and they began to eat away at me. My mind conjured up the worst possibilities, and I let those dreadful thoughts sway me. I love you, but I let my jealousy turn that beautiful thing into a dark, twisted vision.”
“Tási,” Venna choked. “You saved my life, and you suffered because of it. Then I repaid your selfless act with betrayal. I have no words for you—none that measure up to the debt that I owe you. I can only offer you my humble apologies and pray that you will see fit to accept them.”
With that, Venna slid from her perch atop the bed and kneeled on the floor at Tási’s feet.
“Tási,” Venna cried as she lay on the floor. “I am so sorry. Please forgive me.”
The sight of Venna—tall, proud Venna—kneeling on the floor at Tási’s feet in abject humiliation over what she had done brought down the wall that my anger had built. I suddenly felt compassion for the woman who I never imagined I would feel anything but contempt for ever again. Before I could react to that compassion welling up inside of me, Tási answered Venna’s plea.
“I have heard you speak your heart,” Tási echoed her words from before. “You may rise and be forgiven.”
Hearing the words, Venna slowly gathered herself and stood up. Her tears continued to fall freely as she hung her head in shame.
“I have forgiven you Venna,” Tási continued, startling Venna as she spoke. “But it will take a long time before your words are forgotten. A long time and a great deal of effort on your part will be required to heal the wounds you have caused.”
“Thank you, Tási; I will do my best,” came Venna’s meek reply.
“Now sit,” Tási commanded her. “Dreya has yet to pass judgement on you. There is much more between you two, and so your betrayal of her runs much more deeply. I will let Stel know what has passed between you and I while we await Dreya’s decision.”
Venna sat down on the bed, obeying Tási’s commands without hesitation. The halfling left the room and I heard her lock the door behind her before she walked away down the hall. Alone now with Venna, I was unsure how to even begin the conversation. Fortunately, Venna started it for me.
“You were right,” she said in a low whisper. “Everything you said about me—you were right.”
“And I was so terribly wrong,” Venna choked out after a short pause.
“Help me to understand Venna,” I said softly. “We were so close, shared
so much together. How could you turn against me so quickly?”
“I don’t know,” she cried. “I don’t know. I missed you, and then you were spending so much time with Tási instead of me and I just…”
She paused for a moment before continuing.
“Hearing myself just now. It sounds so petty of me,” she mumbled.
“Venna,” I offered. “As difficult as it is for me to say this right now, I never stopped caring for you. I missed you too, but Tási needed me and our other responsibilities took away the rest of the time we had for each other.”
“Tell me, please,” Venna asked. “Are you able to help her? Is she getting better?”
I took a deep breath before replying.
“Slowly,” I responded. “I’m honestly concerned over how long it will take and what toll each of us may have to pay in the process.”
“You should have just let me die,” she muttered.
“Well,” I quipped. “Had I known what a total bitch you’d turn out to be, I certainly would have entertained the possibility.”
Her laugh turned into a snort and neither of us could help but fall into a momentary fit of giggling.
“That wasn’t very fair,” Venna said when she recovered.
“You want to talk about fair right now?”
“Nope, never mind,” she replied quickly.
We spend the next few minutes in an uncomfortable silence before she spoke again.
“So where does this leave us, Dreya?”
“I really don’t know,” I answered honestly.
“What I do know is this,” I continued after another few seconds had passed. “Tási is going to need my help for a long time. If you are going to stay with us, you have to accept the fact that she and I will be nearly inseparable. I won’t have as much time to spend with you, and that will make rebuilding our relationship, whatever that means, all the more difficult.”
“I’m willing to work as hard as I can to regain your trust, Dreya,” Venna swore solemnly.
“I need to be honest with you Venna,” I replied tentatively. “And honest with myself as well. I don’t know if you and I can ever get back what we’ve lost, if that is even possible. I want to think that it is, but I can also see the possibility that it’s too late for that now.”
“You also need to know that while nothing has developed between us, Tási and I have grown very close. The rift that you have torn between us just may serve to push things in the very direction you feared most.”
Venna choked back a gasp as I laid my soul bare to her. Not only to her, but to myself as well. I had been trying to deny what had obviously been happening, but if we were to salvage any sort of relationship, I needed to be honest with not only Venna, but also with myself.
“No,” Venna said firmly. “I won’t allow that to happen. Not without a fight.”
“This is all my fault. I messed things up badly,” she resolved. “Very badly. I may still lose you, maybe to Tási, or perhaps to someone else. But I won’t let that happen without putting up a fight!”
“Venna,” I began cautiously.
“I understand,” she said, cutting me off. “No more jealousy, no more pettiness. I will be nice, and I will play fair, but I will play very, very hard.”
Venna rose from the bed with a light spring in her step. She smiled at me, and although her eyes were still rimmed in red, those eyes reflected her genuine smile.
“I don’t think you’re fully prepared for what you’ve just gotten yourself into, dear Dreya,” she said, extending her hand.
I reached out to her reflexively, not quite understanding exactly what was happening. Taking my hand in hers, she shook it gently before departing.
Tási returned a short while later with a perplexed look on her face.
“What happened?” She asked me questioningly. “She seemed happy.”
“I’m not quite sure of that myself,” I replied, still completely confused. “But I’m fairly certain that my life just got a lot more complicated.”
18
Although Tási was due for one of our sessions that night, we both agreed that it might be better to try and skip it that day. Considering all that we had just been through, the strong emotions of the evening, it seemed the safer course of action. Tási woke first the next morning and was already dressed when the sounds of her continued preparations woke me.
“Good morning, Tási,” I said as I stretched in bed. “How are you feeling?”
“Fine,” came her curt reply.
The snippy tone of her answer told me differently.
“Show me your hands,” I asked her softly, trying not to provoke her irritation any further.
“I said I’m fine!” She snapped.
I got out of bed and quickly stood next to her.
“Tási, please, let me see.”
“I can wait until tonight,” she replied more calmly.
“Tási,” I tried to reason with her, “we’re leaving with a caravan today. If anything happens on the road, they won’t wait for us. If things get too much for you, we could be left behind and alone in the wilds without protection.”
“Let me see your hands.”
Reluctantly, Tási withdrew her arms from beneath the folds of her robes, holding her hands out for me to see. While they were not shaking as wildly as the first time she had revealed her suffering to me, her fingers still trembled uncontrollably.
“Lay down,” I ordered as soon as I saw them.
Realizing it was futile, Tási did not resist and she lay down on the bed for me. I knelt next to her while she undid a few clasps on her robes, allowing me to place my hand beneath them. Clearing my mind, I reached under the bulky fabric and rested my hand atop the soft skin of her abdomen.
I held still for a while, finding it easier to keep my thoughts under control this time. While it was good for me to practice this control, it wasn’t what Tási needed right now. Abandoning my effort to withhold the effects of my touch, I tried to let its influence creep back slowly.
Once I let the flow begin, Tási reacted immediately. I couldn’t see much due to the bulky robes she was wearing, but with my hand pressed against her warm body, I could feel her begin to move slightly under my influence. I felt the sensations too as the warm softness of her skin against mine sent tingling waves of pleasure through my body as well.
I tried to pull it away slowly, to reel my mind back into its former state of calmness, but with the intense sensations already coursing through me, I was unable to regain control. Abandoning the effort, I simply withdrew my hand from beneath Tási’s robes and let it end.
She sighed deeply as I stood up and remained lying down on the bed as I got ready. When I was almost finished, I roused her from her near sleep, and we left together, heading for the common room where the others were sure to be waiting for us. We weren’t late, but we were the last to arrive to the table, and as we sat down, plates were brought out for us. As I glanced up, Venna was smiling warmly at us.
“I made sure they would be ready for you as soon as you both showed up,” she explained as our meals were served.
“Thank you,” Tási replied genuinely as she dug into her food.
I thanked Venna as well but couldn’t help but wonder just how far she was going to go in her efforts to make up for her slander. The glint in her eye as she watched me take a bite gave me pause and I contemplated the awkward situation I was in. At that moment, I really needed some advice; however, Venna was the person I relied on most for such counsel, and yet she was also the cause for my concern. Unfortunately, this was one situation I was probably going to have to figure out on my own.
When we finished eating, we hurried off to meet with the caravan. We had arranged to tag along with them as they left by the city’s east gate and headed for the dwarven Kingdom. Arriving just as the first of the wagons passed through the massive portal, we strode alongside the middle of the caravan as we began our journey to Broda and Khorim’s homeland.
The day seemed to pass even slower than the ponderous pace of the wagons, and by midday, we had covered only a scant few miles, but the caravan showed no signs of increasing its speed. As we walked, we passed the time talking amongst ourselves, coming together at times in pairs and various groups as the day went on. Venna kept her distance from me however, never coming too close, but never straying too far away either, and anytime I happened to look in her direction, she always seemed to have a pleasant, welcoming smile for me.
Late that afternoon, Tási came to walk beside me. We had walked together several times that day, talking frequently about small matters. This time, Tási had something more important to discuss.
“What was it that you did differently this morning?” She asked.
“Differently? I didn’t do anything differently, as far as I know. What makes you say that?”
“It wasn’t as harsh as before,” she replied. “I wasn’t as completely overtaken this time. While it still had the same power, I guess I would have to say it was less forceful, less urgent.”
I remembered how it had been easier for me to maintain control in the beginning, how I had been able to withhold the power of my touch almost effortlessly. I suddenly realized why I had been able to do that so easily this time, why I had succeeded where I had previously failed. It wasn’t anything I had done differently—it was Tási that had made the change possible.
We had made all of our previous attempts at night. It was only natural, as that was when we had both the time and the privacy that our intimate interactions required. But we had always done so after getting ready for bed, after Tási had changed into her flimsy nightdress, and unlike her bulky robes, Tási’s thin sleeping outfit did nothing to hide the wicked curves of her sculpted figure. That morning had been the only time her writhing form hadn’t lay practically naked in front of me as she reacted to the power of my influence.
The difference wasn’t due to anything that I had done differently, it had been what I hadn’t seen—it was the lack of Tási’s lush curves stimulating my own desires that had accounted for the change.
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