“Is…erm…is that so?” I asked, unsure of what to do. This gorgeous young woman was right on me and I hadn’t a clue on how to handle the situation. My body certainly did, however. Her presence was more than enough to bring me to full attention.
“Indeed,” she continued, staying still in my lap. I found my hands drawn down to her hair and I began to run my fingers through her luxuriously long chestnut-colored locks. “I am an outsider too. The Kintelis took me and my family in, but all of our women were past the age of childbirth. Though the clan was kind to take us in…all bridegrooms were not interested in taking one from my background.”
“You are different from the others?” I asked. She nodded, shifting her head against me. It felt good.
“My clan has mixed blood from low elves, creatures that lived deep beneath the sea. Long ago, my matriarch fell in love with a prisoner of war and they sired a generation together. They say her love was so great for that low elf that the Stars gave her more children than any single elf woman could bear. Such…such stories were myths though. She had her two children, as any elf woman did. But that persistent rumor has led other clans to look at my people and think…” she frowned for a moment. “Enough has been had? Is that the expression?”
“You’ve had enough,” I replied. “You mean the Kintelis think there were too many of your people?”
“Indeed. So, we are at the back of the line to marry when eligible men are brought into the home. Until the day you arrived.” She smiled and lifted her head up, looking at me. “I am thankful you chose me. And I wish to help you. But I speak in secret because…” she paused and laid her head back down, swallowing a little in order to muster up the courage to continue speaking. “Because elves, by tradition, do not learn your language out of spite. Mother may learn your words and she may deign her husbands to learn them as well, but for us common elven folk, Velecian is a traitor’s tongue. It is a sign of giving up on the homeland and staying here.”
Esha had said it was difficult to learn the Velecian language. Maybe she didn’t mean physiologically difficult. “I see.”
“None know I speak your words,” she continued. “So please, I beg you, do not ask me to speak when I am around others. I cannot face ostracism at their hands.”
“Of course, Miss…” I trailed off. Firstly, she wasn’t a Miss. Second, how does one ask his wife her name?
“Yoni,” she replied.
“Your secret is safe with me,” I said. “Though you must find the Velecian classes frustrating.”
“I did not come here to speak about languages,” Yoni whispered. I swallowed again. She sat up fully, looking up at me. “You must choose your first wife according to the custom. Approach her and present her the key to your room. She will then be your lover and companion until her stomach swells. After which, you may then move on to your next beloved to seed her garden.”
So that was how it worked? Oh thank the Stars. That made things much simpler. “I see.”
“You have not approached any of us. And the other two fear you mean to divorce them. But I think you know little of our custom.”
“That much is true,” I said, looking deep into her lovely brown eyes. Something awakened in me, something fierce and passionate. A desire unknown until now. “But at the same time, no one has told me any such customs.”
“Indeed. So I am telling you now, so that you may do your duties as our Landon,” Yoni said. “Whoever you choose is your prerogative. It says nothing about status nor favor. We expect equal treatment, kindness and respect, so do not fear in making your choice.”
Landon meant husband. Of course, that made sense. Yoni fell silent after that, merely gazing up at me. Her smile was unmistakably alluring. Something in me snapped and I found myself coming alive, surprising the quiet and analytic part of myself.
“I shall show you a human tradition,” I said, taking her hands gently in my own. I stood up, prompting her to rise as well. “We do not give our brides keys,” I continued, feeling my heart pounding. But it was too late now. Desire, lust, duty and instinct all came together at once as I swept her off her feet, carrying her in my arms. “Rather we bring them to our warm beds.”
“Oh my!” Yoni gasped as she draped her arms around my neck, giggling from my sudden gesture. “What other traditions do you humans have?”
“I intend to show you each and every one of them,” I replied as I brought my first wife to her blissful new abode. Something had overtaken me. I’d like to lie and say it was a sense of duty, but damn it, I was a man, was I not?
Chapter 23
The next morning, I woke with a slight start, wondering if everything from last night had been a dream or perhaps some juvenile fantasy. But no, lying next to me was a quietly sleeping Yoni, naked and beautiful. We had consummated our marriage with a great deal of passion and awkwardness, enjoying each other fully and learning very quickly that elves and humans didn’t seem all that different beneath the bed sheets.
I don’t know what took over me last night, but I was thankful that the deed was done. In the human laws, a marriage wasn’t true or official until consummation and I had been a bit worried that Esha would inquire into my husbandly actions when she arrived. The last thing I needed was for her to withdraw support from our alliance until a pregnancy happened. And frankly, attending to my duties as Gentleman of the House had never been more enjoyable.
But something in my heart ached as I watched my bride sleep in gentle bliss. She had pulled off the sheets in the middle of the night and was lying away from me, her beautiful backside so inviting. To be united with someone was so profound. And to know that she was mine and I was hers…it was enchanting. Though I didn’t know her very well, nor she me, we were together for such a great purpose in that moment. Would she love me as I wanted to be loved? Did elves have romance? Or was copulation merely for the purpose of procreation? Would this lovely creature relegate me to the sidelines the moment her stomach stirred with life? I did not know.
I placed a hand on her waist and gently kissed her neck, causing her to stir. She mumbled something in her native tongue (for she had exceeding difficulty speaking in Velecian during the moment) and forced my hand in between her legs. Before we could begin our next grand foray into lovemaking, however, there came a frantic and very unwelcome pounding on the door.
“Come on!” Joeth said as he slammed the door open wide, prompting me to shout and throw the sheets around my bride first and myself second. “It’s already noon, you’ve got work to do.”
“Hey! Get out!” I shouted back, putting up an ineffectual hand as if it would stop him from coming in.
Joeth paused, squinted at me and at my wife who had fallen back asleep, ignoring the presence of the bore wholly, then growled. “Are you kidding me? How in the hell are you getting action when I can’t get anyone to even look at me.”
“I’m not ‘getting action’,” I hissed, hastily donning my trousers so I could quite thoroughly kick this man’s ass. “She’s my wife and you will be respectful.”
“You’re married? How can a nerd like you get a wife? I mean where do you even find the time to look at a woman when you’re always reading or looking at the Grid?” he grumbled as I grabbed him and forcibly shoved him out the door, slamming it behind him.
“Don’t ever come in here again!” I shouted.
“Yeah, yeah,” Joeth replied. “Oh, by the way, I was actually coming to tell you that your niece is here. And nephew. Well, one of your maids was going to summon you but you ignored their knocks long enough. Come down when you’re decent.”
I groaned as I leaned against the door. Yoni sat up, alerted by the noise I had made by slamming the door hard. “Landon, is something the matter?” she asked, rubbing her eyes.
“No, just a jackass who needed removing,” I replied. I wanted to climb right back into bed and snuggle up with her, but…the clock was still ticking here. Each hour that passed without me making some k
ind of progress was an hour the Baron would use against me. I sighed. “Sorry, but I must go.”
She sat up more fully, letting the sheets drop off her. “You must kiss my stomach first.”
I grinned at that and blushed at the same time. I certainly wasn’t used to seeing a woman so casually naked, but that was married life for you. I was quick to kiss her on the stomach as she requested. As I pressed my lips against her belly, she placed both hands on my head and whispered something in Elvish. It sounded devout. A prayer?
She released me from her grip and I raised my head to meet her eyes. I swallowed hard and ventured to kiss her, but she pulled her head away at the last moment. “You mustn’t kiss me,” she said, blushing. “Tis improper for a man to kiss a woman’s mouth.”
I frowned. “That wasn’t the case last night.”
She giggled and then leaned forward, pressing her lips hard against mine. “I was kissing you, last night, my love. Not the other way around. Now go, conquer the day. I must go to my midwives and begin consuming the love potions meant to quicken my womb.”
I raised an eyebrow. Not at the idea of using magic to aid childbirth, but rather the fact that potions were involved. Immediately a dozen questions came to mind. What alchemical composition were these potions made of? Was this a folk remedy or did they have magical ingredients? Could I learn these secrets? Could I make something better?
My wife paid no attention to my mutterings about potion composition, going about dressing for the day. I took my leave (though not too quickly, as watching a woman dress was rather mystifying and she certainly seemed to make a show of it), heading downstairs with two goals. First, I would meet and greet with the arriving parties and then, once they were all settled in, I’d knock a tooth straight out of Joeth’s mouth for such a vulgar intrusion into my private abode.
The parlor was buzzing with activity, for someone had taken to playing my uncle’s old piano that had been moved down there. It was a simple ditty called “The Queen’s Favorite General”, a satirical take on how golems have replaced flesh and blood soldiers. Raucous laughter echoed through the hallways as I approached and I must admit, the piano player was quite delightful.
“And as the saying goes, nobody knows war like the Queen’s Favorite General!” old man Eustace crooned, eliciting a great deal of applause.
I entered the parlor to see that a host of elves and humans were gathered around the piano as none other than Lady Efera played while her husband stood beside her, belting out the lyrics to the tune. The old man and his much younger bride seemed to be quite into it, gazing fiercely at one another as they performed, smiling and laughing while they played.
As I stepped into the room, a hand caught me by the chest. It was Esha! All the parties had arrived together, it had seemed.
“It is good to see you,” Esha said, pushing gently on me, forcing me to back up, out of the parlor. Despite those words, I could see a slight scowl on her face. No doubt she was irritated at my mustering.
“Mother,” I replied with a half bow. “It is good to see you too!”
Her ears twitched ever so slightly, moving downward to denote some agitation. The Kinmother scrutinized me for a moment, squinting and looking me up and down. “You took a great deal of resources from us.”
“I called upon my allies, all of whom are now my blood,” I replied with a grin. “I was perfectly within my rights.”
A slight tension rose between us as Esha’s ears dropped even lower. They were still quite pointy and rigid but now directed down, like angry slopes. “I had asked you not to use my money,” she said. “We have a very important holiday coming up.”
How should I handle this? She was irritated, sure…but I could sense it was a mild frustration. Nothing relationship breaking. This was a bit of a test, wasn’t it? “I sent you a letter explaining my actions, was it not to your satisfaction?”
“Defenses are your problem, not mine,” she replied. “You dug your own grave with this Efera nonsense.”
“Well, I hope to explain to everyone that this defense will be quite necessary for our mutual health and prosperity,” I said, still keeping my friendly demeanor. “After all, we’re one big family now. Trust me, you will be pleased with the proposal.”
She scrutinized me further, taking a slight sniff in the air. Her ears twitched up and down as she examined me. “You are unhappy with our arrangement. You think I have tricked you and that gives you the false belief that I owe you.”
“Don’t you though?” I asked. “I mean, I have no intention of holding it over you, but let’s be honest here. Truly honest. You took advantage of me and my ignorance. But…I understand.”
Esha’s ears went up at that in surprise, though she kept her expression the same. It looked like while she might be able to control her face’s emotions, the ears told quite a different story. “Is that so?” she asked, voice staying cold and aloof.
“Your people are dying out. And it seems you have little recourse other than to resort to such methods. I understand, though I don’t particularly approve,” I explained. “But what can we do? I intend to take care of my new family and raise them up well. I’ll try to sire as many children as I can.”
Esha shook her head and sighed. “Only two per elf-maid. Our species has extremely limited reproduction abilities, hence the crisis.”
Only two children per woman? That seemed…wrong. I don’t know how to put it but that felt off to me. Perhaps it was my curiosity as a gentleman scientist. Anatomy and physiology were both extensive parts of the classical alchemist’s education. Before one can pour all manner of concoctions down a gullet, you must know how everything within the human body works. In fact, in the old days, alchemists usually doubled as physicians, though this fell out of practice once healing potions became a major commodity. You can thank the Mercantile Society and their own potion industry for the reason why I was not considered to be a licensed doctor.
“Hey! It’s Richard!” Nelson shouted from the doorway, spying us in the hall. He waved frantically upon seeing me. “Come in and listen to a tune.”
“Just a moment,” I replied, putting a hand up. I kept my gaze on Esha. “I’m willing to do everything I can for your people. And I’m willing to disregard your trickery against me, out of respect for your entire race. You owe me a great deal. And I intend to collect what is my due, not to harm you or to spite you. But because we’re in this together and I cannot survive alone. And if I fall, your daughters fall with me. And I know you cannot abide by that.”
The elven matron looked at me long and hard, eyes never shifting, lips never betraying what she was thinking within. But I could see her ears slowly sink down until they fell to a neutral position. She let out a little sigh and relaxed considerably, her shoulders dropping down with her arms. “I understand, Blake,” she said after a moment of silence. “I…” she glanced around carefully, to confirm no one was within earshot. Nelson had already wandered back to the impromptu concert and the singing was growing loud enough to drown out her words. “I don’t honestly know what I expected, Blake. From you. Because, well, I have never done this before. I hope you don’t hate me. But our options were running out and I had to make a call. I didn’t know what would come next.”
This made sense. There was some shame on her face, shame at having gone to such lengths to trick me. “Let us move past it,” I said. “Our fates are forged together from here on out. I will take care of your people and you in turn will take care of us. Simple as that.”
This seemed to satisfy the matriarch. She gently touched my right ear and pinched it, as if this were an affectionate gesture. “Very well then. Let us begin this meeting on good terms. And quickly, for that wretched music from that soundbox is grating on the soul.”
“You don’t care for the piano?” I asked.
“I was referring to the man’s singing.”
Chapter 24
While the mood of the early afternoon had
been quite high among my allies, I was unfortunately the one forced to bring them all to the current reality. In no short part, I explained the situation to them, highlighting the threat facing our little region. We sat in the conference room, though it looked more like a law office with the sheer number of staff my allies had brought with them.
Scribes were everywhere, spread out on the tables, taking notes, recording words verbatim and sometimes even interrupting my conversation to ask a question or two. It was a little shameful, for both the Kintelis and the Frankinsons to have a full staff of scribes accompanying them, while I had no one but Sigmund sitting next to me. And he had nodded off more than a few times during the extremely lengthy conversation. What was the significance of keeping such intense and dedicated records? Both parties, human and elf, did so, meaning that this was a standard practice. I made a mental note to find a few good clerks to hire to work on my behalf. Maybe I could get some of the elven men lazing about the house to do so.
“I see little reason for why you called us here,” Eustace said, once I had finished explaining the predicament. “He won’t be targeting either myself or the elven lands, for we have built our defenses up over generations. You’re the one with the weakest estate, so frankly, this sounds more like your problem than mine.”
“Eustace, you do not speak for me,” Nelson said, his words firm and strong. I was surprised to hear him speak with such authority. My niece, Avaline, who was sitting beside him nodded without a word, reaffirming the new patriarch’s words. “If Richard needs help, we must work to aid him.”
“He can’t muster us for another three months,” Eustace protested. “Let the man handle his own affairs.”
“Are we to give the minimum to our allies?” Nelson asked, shaking his head. “Should our reputation become that of stingy misers, so unwilling to provide aid outside what is legally required of us?”
Gentleman's Wars 2: A Tower Defense LitRPG Series Page 14