“Is she ok? We didn’t hurt the little thing, did we? asked Lynna.”
Ivy raised her head with a contented smile, shook her head and laid back.
“We didn’t hurt her, but I think I’m going to have to lock the door when I come to see you from now on. I never thought that my consorts could be better in bed with my other consorts than I am until now. Pretty soon you won’t need me at all!
“James, you know that we’ll always need you, because we love you,” disclosed Ivy. “A woman in bed was a wonderful experience, but she couldn’t fill me up and completely satisfy me. You have nothing to worry about.”
“Well, my pint-sized consort, are you going to go back to your bed or are you going to sleep there with me still inside you?”
“I’m good here, but thank you for asking.”
I pulled a laughing Lynna over to me, cradled her head on my shoulder and we all fell asleep.
Chapter Nineteen
After three days of boring court, relaxing walks through the Halfling fields and marveling at the rapid expansion of the village, Aunt Alba showed up for Kemma’s lessons. She got my attention and wagged a blank wand at me, and I knew that she’d gotten permission to reinstate Lynna’s magic, if she wanted. I didn’t know if it could be done because it had never been attempted. I waited, out of the way, until Alba could talk to her about it. When I saw the smile, I knew I had my answer. Alba looked at me and tossed a roll of parchment on the floor and asked if I would deliver it to my father. When I checked his location and saw that he was with Mother, Gwen and Della, I knew that they were waiting to make the attempt. I dropped the letter in front of them and waited. Two whole minutes later they popped into the room. Lynna almost injured herself with a curtsy that would have crippled a less flexible woman. Mother crossed to her and urged her to stand, informing her that family didn’t bow to each other and she was family now. I could tell that her knowing that I was a prince hadn’t really sunk in until she was standing before the King and Queen. My father talked to her for quite a while, because it was he who had been the most offended by her rejection of magic years ago. They then set about the attempt. For those who could see magic, it was an impressive and powerful display. Of course, in the room full of people there were fewer than half a dozen who could see magic. To the rest of the room, it just looked like four people staring at one poor young lady, who was the center of attention. Finally, the four people embraced each other and I knew they’d succeeded. Lynna came to me and hugged me, thanking me for making it possible for her to be a wizard again. Attempting to be happy for her, I told her that she was welcome and I’d help all I could. The wizards said they had to get back, declared their goodbyes and ported out. Alba stuck around and gave Lynna a couple brown uniforms and a cape. She said that if they needed alterations, we could get them done, but she thought she had gotten close. Lynna went off to change and Alba dragged me into a corner.
“I can tell something is bothering you, Nephew. Tell your aunt what it is so I can tell you to get over it.”
“When I was out and about, Lynna was the first person that was friendly to me. I didn’t have to be magical and I could just be James. Now she’s magical again and I’m feeling selfish. I liked my sweet, laughing, good in bed, non-magical Lynna.”
“I’m sorry; I didn’t know you felt that way. It seemed to mean so much to her that I didn’t take into account how you might feel. I’m sorry, James.”
“It’s all right, Aunt Alba; I’m just moping and will get over it soon. I’m happy you could give her a gift that she really wanted. And that uniform is going to look good, too. I might have to borrow her before your lesson today, when I see her in it!”
Alba laughed. “Yeah, you’re feeling better already. I’ve noticed that since you got your girls, your mind stays in the bedroom a lot more. But I haven’t figured out how you and Ivy…”
“Well I’m not going to tell, but I’m sure that she would. There isn’t a shy bone left in her body.”
“I just might ask her out of orneriness, just to see what she’d say. But your sexy new wizard consort is coming out, so I better get ready to educate. See you later, nephew.”
I decided that I needed some air so I kissed Star, and informed her that the archery range might be fun today. I let her know that I’d be going north, in case I was needed, and left the castle. I proceeded to the courtyard, activated my shield and went airborne. I flew slowly over the village and gazed down at some new construction, then climbed to five hundred feet and flew due north. My province bordered the kingdom of Itus to the north, but I knew nothing about it. Because it was a hundred miles away, I kicked up the speed. Since I was just getting out, I might as well learn something. I passed farm houses and even a small village, which I thought was called Vock. It made me fear that I’d been so concerned with making sure that Kethos Village did well, I’d neglected the rest of my province. I determined to try to do better and at least visit the other villages and towns to find out what they needed or if they were doing fine.
As I approached the border between Eredwynn and Itus, I could make out the road running east to west. Peering ten miles into Itus, I could see the land beginning to change to swampland. I’d heard that the majority of the country was a giant swamp, but hadn’t imagined it until now.
I slowed as I thought I saw movement in the field below me. I came to a halt and hovered, trying to decide what I was looking at. There were four rows of earth several hundred yards apart being pushed up, as if giant moles were traveling underground. The mounds were appearing on the surface at a pace slightly faster than walking speed, and were progressing due south from Itus into my country. Anything odd that was coming into my province was my business, so I landed ahead of the mounding earth and watched them come towards me.
Fifty feet from me, the earth erupted and a creature half sprang, half flew from the ground. In an eerily loud and clear voice the creature uttered, “We’ve found one already! A hundred miles early, but the smell of magic is strong.”
The other three mounds of earth opened and similar creatures, that may have once been human, began walking toward me. I wasn’t terribly worried, but did step up the power on my shield, just to be safe. They lined up ten yards apart and fifteen yards from me and confronted me. The thing challenged, “Are you a wizard from Wizard’s Castle or Kethos? We are tasked with removing the wizards there and opening Eredwynn for our master. Why he would want this forsaken green land is beyond us, but it is not for us to understand.”
I responded with caution. “I am from Kethos and cannot allow you to threaten my home. Return the way you came and you’ll be permitted to live in peace.”
“Ha ha! ‘Live’, he says, but perhaps he means ‘exist’. But to exist we need to feed, and you seem to be a good source for sustenance.”
I began to reply when strong waves of energy buffeted me from all four creatures. Della had said that the only way to get rid of these things was to turn them to ash, so I responded with a flamestrike aimed at the closest. It screamed as the fire engulfed it and then crumbled to the ground. I was rocked with a second wave and then targeted the next thing in line. Again my spell powdered the creature, but left me weakened and shaken. I was confused, because two flamestrikes and a shield shouldn’t even faze me! I checked and my magic was very low. It was much lower than it should be, and definitely lower than I wanted it to be in a combat situation. I took the safest course and ported back home.
I arrived back in my room just as Alba returned with the girls for lunch. She saw me and dragged me off to an empty room.
“What happened to you, Nephew? You look like you’ve just been through a war!”
I explained what I’d seen and the feel of the attack from the creatures. She’d never heard of either the creatures or the attack, but suspected that they were draining magic with it. I asked her to get with Della and find out what she could. These things were headed our way. They were moving rather slowly, but I didn’t want to was
te time. I was cautioned that I was allotted minimal magic usage only, and she’d be back as soon as she knew anything. She ported out and I exited back to my room to lie down.
Ivy jumped on the bed and bounced her way over to me. She asked, “Do you know what your aunt asked me? She wanted to know how it was possible for you and me to be together in the bedroom. I explained how we did things, pretty much the way that I thought that she did things except that I was smaller. I said that I had to go slow sometimes. She acted like she didn’t believe me. That might have been what she was thinking because she sure was giggling a lot. I told her that if she didn’t believe me that she could come over some night and we’d show her how we did it. Is it normal for a human to turn that red? I was worried about her. Oh, and in about four months do you think that we could get a Halfling midwife and your Aunt Chloe to come over? I don’t think there will be any problems but with it being half human it would be better to be prepared, just in case.”
I had to slow her conversation down in my head and replay it at half speed. I barely held back my own chuckles, imagining Alba asking my Ivy about our sex life. My brain finally came to the midwife part, and everything that went with that. “Ivy, are you telling me that you’re with child? Are we expecting a baby in four months?”
“I think I said that. You’re not upset about it, are you? I made sure that you were the first person I told. I hope you’re happy for us.”
“I’m thrilled and excited for us! I don’t think we’ll have any trouble getting Chloe here, because she loves helping with babies. But I believe I’ll get the rest of the girls together and let you make an announcement.”
“Would you mind telling them for me? I’ve been told that sometimes I ramble, and humans have trouble keeping up with what I’m telling them.”
“I’d be honored, my love. Just sit on the foot of the bed and I’ll call everyone in. Brace yourself for a hugging storm, because that’s how the girls will react.”
She grinned and I got out of bed and moved around to the foot. I called, loudly enough to be heard by everyone in the apartments, that I’d like everyone to gather at my room. All six girls filed in with questioning looks. I rarely called everyone together and lately it had been to announce bad news. This time it was good and I decided I’d do it the same way my father’s wife and consorts had, but differently. When everyone was settled I declared, “I need to tell you all something that has just come to my attention. I know that you girls usually help each other with whatever is needed. For the next four months or so, Ivy may need some extra help from time to time. If you see her looking tired, just lend a hand, if you can.” I sat and regarded the girls for a moment and they just appeared confused. I glanced over at Ivy; she grinned and clasped her hands over her tiny belly. Her condition wasn’t noticeable unless you knew what to look for, but she must have presented the pregnancy signal with her action. I stepped out of the way as the girls surged forward to hug her and place their hands on her tummy. I found a relatively quiet chair in a corner and closed my eyes.
Kemma saw me sitting by myself and came over to me. She sat in my lap, and using telekinesis, brought me a drink from the table. I felt her magic as she was using it, and it helped to ease the feeling of pressure in my head. I described to her the creatures that I’d run into and the ability they had to drain my magic. I also informed her that her using magic around me had made me feel better. I let her know that if we had to fight these things, I wanted her and Lynna to stay clear, because the amount of magic that they could drain was astounding. I didn’t want them to be hit and knocked out. The way the monsters looked, I was sure that they would have no qualms about eating a victim, once they were down.
There was a knock on the door and Kemma jumped up to answer it. A messenger from Jorin stood there and stuck his head inside. He looked pale and flustered. “My Lord, there are people here to see you. Their Majesties the King and Queen, Lady Chloe of the White Wand, Instructor Alba, Lady Alice, the Twins, the Naiad, Della and the Elf, Lady Gwen. They are requesting to come to your room.”
“You could have just said that my family was here,” I laughed. “All those fancy titles drive us all insane. Send them up, and thank you for the message.” I looked around and Star was staring. She and Ivy both were looking overwhelmed and started drifting off toward the wall, where they would be out of the way. I shook my head and gathered them to me. “Since my parents are here, we should inform them that they are going to be grandparents. Just remember that they are your family and those titles that the messenger was tossing out are what other people call them.”
Star whispered, “But so many legends in one room with us. Ivy and I have heard about them our whole lives. I’ve met some of them at one time or another, but all of them at once like this has me terrified!”
There was a tap on the door and my family was ushered in. After the usual pleasantries, I stated that I had something to tell them and then we would get to the reason for their visit. I called Ivy to join me and the poor girl was vibrating with nervousness. “Mother, Father, I am proud to announce that Ivy and I are expecting a child. You are going to have your first grandbaby. I thought you’d want to know as soon as possible and this worked out well. I just found out a few minutes ago myself.”
Ivy found herself cuddled, hugged and kissed by legends that she’d only dreamed of ever meeting. After she managed to withdraw, I described my experience with the creatures to the north, how they had drained me rather quickly and how I’d felt better when Kemma had used magic around me. Della directed my father to raise a couch from the floor and hold it up. Those of us who could see the magic could tell that most of the energy was going to the couch, but there was a swirl coming from the concentrated energy and going directly to me. Della suggested that whatever ability they had used on me had caused me to be able to drain small amounts of active magic. Father disclosed that they were all going to go hunt for these creatures and that he’d like to have me up and able as soon as possible. He asked Della if the novice, adept and apprentice girls from the school were brought here and played games with telekinesis, if they would be in any danger. He thought that having active magic around me might recharge me enough to be battle-ready, should the need arise. Della believed that the small amount that I drew, and the fact that I only drew active magic, would cause no problems for the students. Alba promised that she would round them up, with Star’s permission. She didn’t want to bring a room full of girls in without the lady of the house bestowing her blessing. Star responded that if it would make me feel better, then she would allow anything, at which my mother enclosed her in a huge hug.
They all took off on their missions and I moved to the bed and stretched back out. I informed the girls that they were about to meet a lot of girls their own ages now, and if they became friends they could have companions whenever they wanted. I volunteered Kemma to transport the girls to Wizard’s Castle and Lynna, too, when she learned to recall. Kemma divulged that she had left some friends there that she would be happy to see again.
Chapter Twenty
Aunt Alba finally returned and brought most of the school with her, or so it seemed. As they filed through the door, I was glad for a huge room. She’d brought nine girls with her, and she introduced the two groups of girls and then came to check on me. I advised her that I wasn’t feeling as puny, but thought that building my magic back would be an excellent idea. I said that I’d also given a lot of thought to having magical consorts. She laughed and reported that she’d just brought a bunch with her who were all quite hopeful that I would decide just that. I shook my head and corrected that since she would be coming to train Lynna and Kemma anyway, she might as well test the rest of my girls. That way she could visit Ivy and might not turn so red around her anymore. She ignored that and promised she’d get right on the testing, and asked if she could use a bedroom for that. I sent her to Lynna to ask for her room. I knew she’d do her best to reduce disappointment in any girls who didn’t pass, as
she went off to her favorite task.
“All right, ladies,” I announced to the students, “form a circle around the room. I’ll toss out some pillows and you can pass them back and forth, using your telekinesis spell. My girls can’t do magic and love watching it, and I love watching students in uniform. We have a winning situation here!” If I could draw energy from blushes, I’d be ready to battle a dragon. The girls formed up and I threw the eight pillows from my bed into the circle. They never let a single one hit the floor and I started feeling better instantly, as the magic started drifting my way.
I was enjoying the scenery and my wandering male mind was starting to think that another consort might be a good idea, when Aunt Alba sat beside me. I’d been so distracted I hadn’t noticed that she’d left for a while, but she must have, because she was twiddling two blank willow wands. I sighed. “Okay, which two passed and which three will I have to comfort.”
Alba smiled. “It’s easy to remember. The Eredwynn girls passed and your Sabia girls didn’t. The girls who didn’t took it well, since they hadn’t heard about any magic other than that of the goddess Calla. The girls who did are still in Lynna’s room waiting for their wands, and are still getting over the shock. Little Ivy said that she’s the first Halfling ever to be chosen to be a wizard and has promised to make me proud.”
“Well, you should get in there, give them their wands and teach them how to focus their telekinesis. They could then join this crowd out here and I could look at them, too. You might want to hurry before I have myself talked into nine more consorts wearing tight pants, with those tight…”
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