Susan grinned and said, “Agreed. Next, our daughters are the unexpected delight we have found in this latter stage of our lives. They aren’t students, but blessings.”
Viola said, “Agreed. It would be the same as paying me to be my dear mother. It’s ludicrous. Next, there may be various minor costs associated with the orphans and children, especially their clothing and dresses for the widows. We are partners in this and we will share in the labor.”
Susan said, “But not in the finances, unless we ask for something as a special need arises.”
Viola said, “And you will bring all special requests to this committee for discussion and a decision for financing it.”
Susan said, “Agreed. The costs for the orphans and widows will be handled as needed and the labor is shared. “
I said, “Viola, we could easily provide everything for the widows.”
She said, “And deprive the village? No.”
Susan said, “Next, the profits from the clothing shop and the cobbler.”
Viola said, “Mother, I’m sad to say this, but our involvement will decrease over time. I love helping the women at the shop, but you will find that Marvella will have an eye like mine and will soon take any place that I have made for myself in your shop. Mothers Tanya and Amanda see what I do and now do the same. It was good for me and I learned so much that I never dreamed of, but we know that it won’t continue.”
Susan said, “I know dear. It breaks my heart. You have your life in Goldenwood and now your very important work as secretary. It’s another reason that the apartment is always yours and so are these chairs at our table. We need you to come when you can, but your involvement in what we do diminishes and your role at your own home increases. We will be together when we can, but we won’t burden you with the business of clothes and shoes, except to the amount that you enjoy it as a game, not a business.”
Viola said, “Agreed. But let me come and play often, because I do enjoy it.”
Tanya said, “We love you dear. We love you more than a daughter. We are blessed to have this family. Marvella, you need to act the same way. Be in love with us as we are in love with you.”
Marvella had tears in her eyes and said, “I have never…um, I was Nogud. But I waited like we were told. And the sleeper awakes and I’m in a home with my family and even have a man.”
Yuki exclaimed, “The Sleeper!”
Chapter 6 - The Sleeper
I said, “What is this thing about the sleeper. The women today said cryptic things to me about stories from their mothers.”
Yuki said, “I’d forgotten. It was stories from my mother’s mothers. It was so long ago that I had forgotten and I never told Lark like I should have. Marvella, he is the sleeper, isn’t he!”
Marvella recited quietly, “When the sleeper in the woods awakes, he will say we’re not mistakes. The witch will melt and burn in hell, but we will all be very well. Born to love and be his wives, he will come and give us lives. Irene says that he is dead, but we know that he lies in bed. It might take a thousand years but when he comes then no more tears.”
Yuki said, “Yes! I had forgotten. Joshua, you are The Sleeper.”
Marvella said, “The story says that a very long time ago, there were four very special sisters, daughters of fairy princesses. The king in a far country sent them to his son who lived in the woods. The prince had been injured and was still in a magical sleep when the young sisters arrived. The door to the castle was locked and there was no way inside. The woman who was to deliver them to the prince went insane and cursed the princesses and blamed them for the long and difficult journey and for every evil in the world at that time. The girls were young and had no choice but to go with her and do what she said, but it was not what they were destined for. It was passed down from mother to daughter that the prince was not dead, but still in a magical sleep and would awaken one day to set the world right and break the curse. When we met you, we knew that the day had come, even though none of us still believed it.”
She went on, “Husband Paul, I love you. Please forgive me, but this man, your son, is my master. Not as a mate, because I am in love with you, but as a kind of king over all of my kind, if it’s true that he is The Sleeper. It changes nothing of my love for you.”
Paul said, “My dear, he is certainly The Sleeper that you talk about. He awoke as you say after nearly a thousand years of sleep. How is he your king?’
I said, “Paul, long ago, after the cataclysm, but not long after, my grandfather sent four very special sisters to Goldenwood to be my mates. But I was still asleep and the door was locked. The woman Irene was my mother. She was a very bitter and hateful woman. She started the tradition of the Nogud out of hatred for these beautiful girls and a hatred of both me and my grandfather and my grandmothers. I had never heard this part of the story until just this minute.”
Marvella said, “Our great-great-great grandmothers were meant to be his brides. But instead, it’s our daughters who have that privilege now.”
Paul said, “And it’s my privilege to have your love now. Do you regret anything?”
Marvella said, “No! Look how young he is and look at how beautiful the girl at his side is. It was for my generation to bring about the next, though I had no daughter myself. But the responsibility was never mine, but his. It was The Sleeper’s destiny to awaken and free the Nogud and find happiness for us. When we came to him he said to go with you and be happy…and I am.”
Paul said, “So Joshua, the woman who wounded you was a descendant of your mother? Or one of her agents?”
I said, “No. Life spans now are longer than in the past, and somehow the woman Irene had lived for over eight hundred years. When I went to Stevespont, it was my own mother who was still alive. She died at my hand as she tried to murder me.”
Marvella said, “The witch is dead.”
I said, “So, the fact that I was injured and asleep for all that time was known and passed down from mother to daughter for the last eight centuries?”
Marvella said, “As stories and fables. But now, some may remember. If there are still others, they will come and find you if they remember.”
I asked, “You mean if they hear that a man named Joshua is in Bonvale?”
She said, “No, when they see that they are the last. When they see that the women in tunics have disappeared from the eight villages. I don’t know how many there are, not many, but when the ones in the tunics notice that their sisters have disappeared, they will come to the haunted wood. If they hear that the witch is dead, and if they know the stories and rhymes, they will come to you. You have taken the tunics from how many so far? Six?”
I said, “Five. You and the one now called Fiona, and the three who are with me. The fourth was destined for it, but I was able to find her before she went to the school.”
Marvella said, “And then there’s the big one. But even we don’t know how many there are. We had no names and often no faces.”
Viola said, “I knew Lark and Raven because we traveled together for a long time, but if we had been separated, we might not have known each other the next time that we met.”
I felt like I had as much information as I was going to get from this discussion, so I tried to change the mood.
I said, “But now, you have names and dresses and homes and husbands. Marvella, you said that you would want to work in a shop or make shoes. Have you had a chance to work at the shop yet?”
She smiled and said, “A little bit. It has taken some time for me to get used to showing my face and not hiding. Paul and my new sisters have been wonderful, but I still sometimes reach for my hood when a stranger is near.”
Tanya said, “She is doing very well and she is a joy to be with.”
Amanda said, “But there is one area where she disappoints me.”
Marvella blushed and hung her head and Amanda continued, “Joshua, she says that you’re her master or king or something, make her behave for us!”
/> I asked seriously, “What’s the trouble? Mother, you’re joking with us. She can’t really have done anything wrong.”
Amanda smiled and said, “She is very dear and I love her as much as the rest of our house, but she refuses to bathe with us.”
Marvella snapped her head up and looked at me and said, “I have never been with other women that way. Paul bathed me on that first day, and it was pleasant, but I was overwhelmed by my feelings of being loved. But I’m not beautiful and I should not bathe with real women.”
I looked shocked at her and my mouth hung open. I looked to Paul and he frowned and nodded sadly. I looked again at Marvella.
Viola said quietly, “Joshua, it’s for Lark or Brenda.”
I said, “Yes. Marvella, I could talk to you and explain things, but Viola knows better. Paul, may I send our dear Marvella to Havenrest for an evening?”
Paul said, “I’ll miss her. When will she come back to me?” and he winked to let me know that he was fine with it.
I said, “I think that will be up to Lark and Brenda. And Clarice.”
Marvella looked a little frightened and said, “Joshua, I’ll do as you and Paul say, but…” and her voice trailed off.
I said gently, “Marvella, the family will be bathing together, if not tonight, then soon. But that isn’t the problem. The problem is that we love you and you need to hear stories from Lark and Brenda so that you will know how much we truly do love you.”
Amanda said, more seriously and gently than was normal for her, “Joshua, is it possible for me to go with her to Havenrest? I know that it’s a secret place, and I know that Brenda and Lark are very magical, but I love this one so much and I would miss her and I would fret all night about her wellbeing. I don’t think that I can sleep if she’s gone.”
Marvella stared at Amanda and Amanda answered her, saying, “Yes, you are that much a part of me and that is how I think of you now. And that is the only reason that I ask your king for help with this. It’s not for bathing; it’s for love that I want you to see what Brenda and Lark will say to you. Or Clarice. Your life is new, but you don’t know how new it is.”
Amanda stood up and dropped her dress and sat back down nude at the table. No one stopped her.
She said, “You see? I’m naked here with the ones that I love. And I feel their love for me. Even my son. There’s no shame for me and nothing impure in this moment.” Then, turning to me, she said, “Son, may I go with her to Havenrest? Restrict what I’m allowed to see and what I am allowed to do however you like and I will not disobey you.”
I said, “Of course you may go. Marvella, I won’t force you though. If you go to see the mysteries of Goldenwood, where I slept for so long, and if you go to see Brenda and Clarice, the enchantresses who live there, it’s your choice.”
Marvella said, “I will go. I see that you think it’s best. And My husband wished it of me. And Amanda takes it so seriously that she lays aside her dress to show me how far she will go to love me, so I will go anywhere. And if Amanda goes with me, it will be less frightening.”
I said, “Marvella, you told me yourself: you are descended from fairy princesses. It’s true. I knew them as my grandmothers. Amanda wants you to know your heritage, that’s all.”
I called the girls at Havenrest on the ear piece and said, “Ellie, come here and take Amanda and Marvella to the boat and then to Havenrest. Brenda, Clarice, Lark, Marvella needs to have you show her magic. Clarice, do you know what to do?”
Clarice said, “I heard it all and I have had Lark and Brenda listening since Viola mentioned their names.”
Brenda said, “Lark knows just what to do and so do I. I’ll let Lark show me the details.”
Ellie said, “OK. My clothes are off, so I can come now.”
I turned back to the table and said, “Ellie will be here in a moment. She will take you to Havenrest and you will see my castle. Mother, you will be happy that you went.”
Amanda was standing up now and motioned for Marvella to join her in walking toward the cove where Ellie had the boat.
Marvella said, “Amanda, your dress.”
Amanda smiled and said, “Viola says that no one wears a dress in Goldenwood. Didn’t you take yours off when you walked with Paul there? And there are no men here but our husband and his son, and there are no men in Havenrest if Joshua is here. Viola said that Raven calls them nudists.”
Marvella looked about sheepishly and then quickly pulled her dress over her head, but held it against her front, covering her breasts.
Amanda said, “Dear, it’s not a requirement. Leave it on if you like. There’s no shame either way.”
Marvella closed her eyes and sighed and then held the dress away from herself and handed it to Amanda. Amanda hugged her tightly.
Marvella said, “Um, Viola, do we need to take our dresses with us?”
Viola smiled and said, “No. Lark and Raven will give you things to wear if you stay for a meal. The dresses will be here in your apartment when you return. Naked you go to Havenrest and you will return in the same state.”
Paul said, “Marvella, I trust these women absolutely. They will care for you and make sure that you are always safe and loved. Stay as long as they say,” and he stood up and kissed both Marvella and Amanda tenderly.
Ellie appeared from the direction of the river, as naked as the other two and led them away by the hand. I heard her say, “You have nice boobs,” as they walked toward the boat. She was correct, Marvella was a very fine looking woman. She was an older version of the girls of my house, and there was no doubt about it.
Chapter 7 - To Bed With Viola
A short time later, the women started cleaning up from our meal and Paul and Susan and I stayed at the table.
Paul said, “I was not that bothered that Marvella was shy. She’s very pleasant.”
Susan said, “She is, and we do love her. But Amanda is right, she is wounded from her time as a Nogud and if Lark and the others can help her, all the better. She is loved nonetheless. What a tale she had for us though. Joshua, your legend is larger than we knew. She called you a king. Is that a saying or an actuality?”
I said, “It’s a saying. I’m not descended from royalty. I am only the king of my own house.”
Paul said, “Perhaps.”
I asked, “What do you mean, ‘perhaps’, my friend?”
Paul laughed and said, “Oh, I was just thinking that if there were to be a king, who would it be but the man who tames unicorns and slays dragons? I meant nothing more, believe me. This is no prophecy about your future among the eight villages, I assure you. I don’t want you to become king. Nor do I want you to become mayor. I would have you advise one, but not be one. And it is nothing against you. I don’t think being king or mayor would be a pleasant life. Don’t let too many people know how capable you truly are, my son.”
I laughed and promised to keep my head down when necessary.
Viola came when she was done with her kitchen duties and the two of us excused ourselves for the evening to go to our apartment. I didn’t quite remember the last time that Viola and I were alone for the night. It may not have been since the very first day when we had stayed at the inn, before Paul and Susan had taken us in, here at their farm.
We took our time going to our rooms. WE weren’t in A hurry to be anywhere; we were together and that was enough. I felt our love blossoming again, like it had that first day. I opened our door and Viola preceded me into the room and then I closed the door behind us. Viola said that she would be back in a moment and she went off to the small bathroom and then into our bedroom.
When she opened the bedroom door again, she was wearing the very short, loose fitting night dress and she looked amazing. It draped her in a lacy curtain that allowed me to see the beauty of her skin in a spectacular way. It wasn’t sheer or transparent, but enough of the fabric was missing in very tiny cutouts and patterns that the pink of her nipples showed deliciously.
She said
, “Master, come in and I’ll put you to bed.”
I put out the lamps in the living room and joined my lover in our bedroom. Viola closed the door and undressed me where I stood.
She said, “Lie down. On top of the covers. It’s a warm night.”
I lay down, with my head propped up against the wall slightly and Viola climbed onto the bed between my legs. She had her head near my crotch as she said, “Tell me what’s on your mind and about what happened today.”
I said, “OK. I like the idea…” and at that moment, Viola took my penis in her moth and began to suck on me very tenderly. When I interrupted myself, she raised her eyes and looked at me and smiled, her mouth full of the tip of my manhood. Her smile encouraged me to keep talking.
I moaned and placed my hands on her shoulders and said, “Oh that feels good. You want me to tell you about my day?”
She pulled off of me and looked at me again and said, “For now.”
I said, “OK. Oh that feels nice. I was going to say that I like the idea of you taking full charge of our money. You’re very good at handling those things and I want you to do it from now on. I’m excited that you want to act as our secretary and take all those burdens off of me. Oh Viola, that feels so good.”
I was quite stiff now and Viola was slowly working me in and out of her mouth. Now she wasn’t playing with the head of my shaft, but was lying between my legs, pushing her mouth down over me as far as she could go. Occasionally, she took a breath and then pushed her lips all the way to my balls. She stayed there for a moment and then pulled back a few inches and took a breath. It was slow and tender, even as she swallowed the length of me. Slow and comfortable, and warm and loving.
I grunted and tried to continue. I said, “And, um, I don’t know how much money we have uh, left, and maybe we need you to sell something to the uh, oh nice, collector.”
The Watchman Page 6