“My name is Margaret Clints, most people call me mother” Mother began. “These are my children.”
“Your children?” the well-dressed soldier said looking around.
“They are like my family, they work for me to provide a service to those of means” Mother replied.
“This is a whore house!” the first Soldier said as he grabbed Ruby by the arm. “Oh me and the boys will have fun with this.”
“Ruby is not for you and the boys” Mother said irritated. “If you are looking for skin there are plenty of other places for you to find it along with whatever pox they might carry. My children are clean and well-bred and definitely not for the likes of you.”
“Why you old bitch” the Soldier said as the well-dressed one put up his arm.
“Unhand her Jones” the well-dressed soldier said. “This looks like one of those fancy whore houses I have heard is rumored to exist here. What is your going rate Ma’am?”
“Depends on which one of my children you want and for what” Mother replied. “Normally it starts off at one gold, depending on what you need them for. Most people want more than their physical needs met, they are looking for a companion to go places with or have dinner with. That could be pricier depending on how much of my children’s time a customer wants. On the high end, one of my children has made over five gold for an encounter.”
“I am not paying no whore five gold” Jones said. “This old bat is mad Captain Luke. I am going to take this one here with the big red lips and put it on my cock. I have never fucked a woman this put together before.”
“And you won't do anything with her now” Luke said. “You and the other men have been dipping your wick into any hole you can find. Who knows what kind of pox you have. Everyone in here is for high ranking officers and mages, at least now we can have our fun without worrying about our dangly bits falling off.”
“But Sir” Jones said desperately. “Just look at this one, look at all of them, you can't keep this to yourself.”
“My children are on a strict diet and they work out every day Captain Luke” Mother began. “Handing over one of my children to one of your associates like this man would be like giving a fine meal to a vagrant. Sure the vagrant will eat, but will he taste the food? Will he swish the wine around in his mouth to get the hints of flavor certain grapes from certain regions give off? Will he notice he is eating grass fed beef reared by trained professionals, slaughtered by the best butcher and prepared by the best chef or would he just know he was eating meat?”
“She is right Jones” Luke said. “Go find your own playmates, tell all of the mages and officers you see to come to this building.”
“This is bullshit” Jones said. “All I wanted is one.”
“Run along Jones” Luke said raising his voice. “And get them all here.”
“Would you like to meet all of my children?” Mother said.
“Of course I would” Luke said.
“Glen if you can go get the rest of your sisters” Mother said looking at Glen who was wondering if he could kill any of them and escape.
“Wait a minute” Captain Luke said. “This one works for you as well?”
“Yes” Mother replied. “Glen is my only male child, his brother left not even four days ago with his new employers.”
“This is a sick place” Jones said. “None of us would ever.”
“You don’t have any ladies in need of some companionship?” Mother asked.
“Ladies?” Luke asked. “You mean this man is getting paid to do things to women?”
“My Glen has not had any complaints” Mother said.
“I never knew such a thing existed” Luke said. “If a woman was looking for someone to uh, exercise with, I am sure she can find someone.”
“Milord” Mother replied. “I am sure that as an officer if you needed someone to exercise with as you put it, it wouldn’t be terribly difficult to find. You are well mannered and make a dashing figure in your military uniform, I am sure if you wanted to flirt someone would be willing. However would that someone look like any of my children or would they be decidedly average?”
“Point” Luke said. “I wonder what the few ladies we have with us will say about this. A male in this line of work, I know exactly who to hand him over to. What is his name?”
“Glen, Milord” Mother replied.
“And why wasn’t Glen out there fighting for his country?” Luke asked.
“He is not yet eighteen Milord” Mother said. “His physique comes from exercising and dueling.”
“He is a duelist?” Luke said. “A duelist who keeps himself in shape and probably listens to every word any woman has to say, even the annoying ones. I guess I can see how some old lonely women want a decent fling without bringing anything home. He can run along and get the rest of them, me and you have things we need to discuss.”
“Like?” Mother said as Glen disappeared.
“Well we are in a war no matter how well spoken you are” Luke said. “A lot of my men like Jones are on the front lines and they don’t live long. They are given leave to loot and rape the women here until their hearts content, provided she is not a noble or some other important person. Any whores we find are definitely free game so to speak. I am going to take one of your women and she is going to be mine until this war is over and probably longer depending on how this plays out. All of your workers here will be handed out among my peers. I am not going to pay you and neither are they, the only thing I can tell you is that they will not be mistreated or passed around. I appreciate talent wherever I see it and it looks like you have put a lot of work into these people.”
“I have put in a lot of work” Mother replied. “And a lot of money. I suppose knowing you are not going to do things that you could do should be good enough for me.”
“But” Luke said.
“But I would like it if they could see each other” Mother said. “This is a hard life, each one of them have to be perfect and it is filled with long hours and plenty of study. Any woman can lie on her back and get it, but can she talk about war strategy, the best way to make plum pudding, give a massage and clean your weapons?”
“No” Luke said. “Most definitely not. I will try and get them to see each other whenever possible. When we are on the move we live in tents, when we come to a town like this one we can be scattered. Lucky for you the army is just passing through, tomorrow sometime we will be ready to leave. Tonight though is just to let our troops let their hair down a bit.”
Glen came back with everyone else just as other soldiers and what Glen assumed were mages came inside the building. Luke ended up taking Monica, he liked her light blonde hair and sky blue eyes. Glen was a bit sickened as the men looked like they were picking out which horse to buy, they walked all around his sisters and even made a few of them disrobe before choosing who they wanted. Glen tried to clear his mind of what was happening as the man named Captain Luke came over towards him with a woman in a plain brown robe. She looked sickened as well at the choosing, Glen thought she looked decidedly plain next to his sisters, whether she was angry because of that or because she didn’t like what she had seen so far Glen didn’t know.
“Tiffany this one is yours” Luke said.
“What do you mean mine?” Tiffany said.
“He is a male that works here making women happy” Luke said. “I never seen a male one of these before and neither have you. Now you can have your fun without worrying about getting pregnant or anything else.”
“You think I am going to sleep with him?” Tiffany said shocked. Glen thought her words said one thing but her eyes said another.
“You know you want to” Luke said. “You may call the men nasty but I know the reason why you insist that certain fruits and vegetables stay uncut. No one eats that many cucumbers and I can't blame you for not wanting to give any of the mages or officers with us a tumble. Most are married and even if they are not they are not likely to want you afterwards. Now y
ou can have your fun with him, if anything you know that he is not dumb enough to use you for anything other than his safety.”
“Safety?” Tiffany asked.
“I am going to make it known that any man who touches any person set aside for the exclusive use of an officer or mage will be killed” Luke said. “Those mages and officers who were not lucky enough to get one of these here are on their own, stealing property is still stealing property. I am sure Glen here will realize that there are going to be a lot of angry men out there willing to pound on him for being a man in the business or put him to hard labor.”
“And you don’t think your little toy will run at her first opportunity?” Tiffany said.
“Of course she will, but only after the war is over” Luke said. “Plenty of time until then though. Well go on then, take charge of him or I will offer him to the others. I am sure someone will be curious enough to see why this one was able to get women to pay him for it.”
“Why are you giving him to me?” Tiffany replied. “Especially with our history?”
“Because you deserve a little happiness” Luke said. “Our families would never see eye to eye, mages only marry mages and the women in my family are expected to stay home and keep house. We would never work out no matter how much we may care for each other. I found it easier to cope in the arms of another woman, I think you should at least have a bit of fun before your family arranges for you to marry some idiot since you refuse to pick a mage.”
“Come on then” Tiffany said as she looked at Glen. “Go and get your things, I am living in another home a little ways from here.”
Glen went to his room and grabbed his travel suitcase, he had only stayed over somewhere once but always kept it packed just in case. Tiffany secured a manor that was a block over from Mother’s, a spice merchant lived there but Glen rarely saw him and his family. Glen walked inside of the house and saw Tiffany had her own guard force, two men stayed out in front of the house and looked to have gotten into the wine. Three more men were inside and all had curtains they had wrapped up around fat bundles of valuables.
“Who is this Mage Tiffany” said an older man chewing on a piece of meat.
“He belongs to me Wallace” Tiffany said. “Do something stupid and you will be dealing with me.”
“What do you mean he belongs to you?” Wallace said confused. “Is he a slave you have claimed?”
“He is a whore I have claimed” Tiffany said. Glen could tell the woman never really used the word and seemed awkward when she said it.
“A whore?” Wallace said. “If you wanted some cock Mage Tiffany…”
“Do not use that language with me” Tiffany said. “Any of your men do something stupid I will punish them. You should let that be known, also let it be known that I am looking for someone to make an example of so the rest of you will remember your place.”
“Yes Mage Tiffany” Wallace said slowly.
“And why are you wrapping up all of that?” Tiffany asked. “Do you plan on carrying it all? My wagon is my wagon, my carriage is my carriage. You all split a wagon and I am sure it is almost filled to the brim. None of that is going to take up my space.”
“You are not using much of it though” Wallace said challengingly.
“Doesn’t matter” Tiffany said. “You work for me, not the other way around. You can leave my service at any time and go back to being on the front lines, I did not pick you for my guard detail after all.”
“Yes Mage Tiffany” Wallace said gritting his teeth.
“Glen follow me” Tiffany said as she walked up the stairs.
“Do you want me to make you something to eat?” Glen asked.
“Something to eat?” Tiffany said as she stopped walking.
“You have been with the army I am guessing for a few months” Glen said. “The cooks are probably real good at making large quantities of food that are good for filling you up but is low on taste. I am not the best cook but I know the basics and I have five or six dishes that I can create on the level of a master.”
“Uh, yeah” Tiffany said. “I do want something to eat. You don’t look like you would know how to cook. What else can you do besides uh.”
“Many things” Glen said. “I am a trained fighter, I know songs to play on two instruments, I am good at giving massages, I can read, write, do hair and make up and any emergency needle work you might need. I think that is the only skills I have I that you might be interested in. I have been at the job for less than year so I am not as good as the others but I am learning.”
“Too bad you don’t know magic” Tiffany said.
“I do know magic” Glen said. “Just not very well, my magic level is so low the mages in town refused to have me classified as one of them.”
“What do you mean you know magic?” Tiffany said looking Glen over. “Do something then.”
A small fireball appeared no bigger than a grape, it flew all around Glen at a high speed and whizzed above his head where it stopped then burned itself out. Tiffany’s eyes were wide as she watched the show, Glen thought she looked like someone who had never seen magic before. Tiffany looked like she was going to say something but stopped short and gestured to Glen with her hand to do it again. Glen did the same thing except this time it was with a light that he made dance all around him before winking out.
“You do know magic” Tiffany said sounding like she was out of breath. “How is this possible?”
“My father is a mage” Glen replied. “And my mother was not. When my father remarried his wife did not want me, my poor magic was a source of constant ridicule so I left to make things easier on my father and ended up where you found me.”
“Was that the biggest you could make it?” Tiffany asked.
“Only a bit bigger” Glen replied. “Nothing anyone would notice unless they were really paying attention.”
“Go make the food” Tiffany replied. “Make yourself some as well and come up stairs. The others are not allowed up here.”
“If I am attacked do you want me to defend myself or call for you” Glen asked. “The men seem to be a little upset at you for their own personal reasons.”
“Defend yourself and call for me” Tiffany replied.
Glen went down stairs and into the kitchen. The place had been ransacked but there were still raw cuts of what looked like lamb hanging about. Wallace and another man came into the kitchen and looked at Glen as he grabbed a knife and started cutting into the lamb quickly trying to get the cut of meat he wanted.
“Make me something whore” Wallace said. “Vix, this man is a whore that damn mage brought in here to service her like we aren't right here.”
“That’s bullshit and you know it Wallace” Vix said. “The rest of them get to fuck women til their hearts desire while that lady mage won't let us go have any fun. Least she could do is give us a little instead of fucking this nancy boy.”
“It’s serve her or go back out there” Wallace said.
“Well make our fucking food then” Vix said as Glen ignored them.
Glen found the pan he was looking for and soon had the lamb braising with a little wine, garlic, rosemary, thyme and butter. While that was being prepared Glen started on the vegetables that were there, he cut them into interesting shapes and cooked most of them just perfect. Desert was just a big apple he found, he baked it with honey and a little cinnamon until its natural juices crystallized a little and concentrated its sweetness. Glen put both slices of lamb on a plate along with the vegetables and apple and on his plate were just the leftover vegetables he had made and a empty goblet.
“I know that fucking food is for us” Wallace growled as he looked up at Glen.
“This food is for Mage Tiffany, however if you take it I will not fight you for it” Glen said. “Don’t know what she will do to you though.”
“I’ll make your ass make her another plate” Wallace said and crossed his arms.
“And if she asks me why I was so late I wil
l tell her you took her plate” Glen said. “Now let me pass or I will tell her what took me so long in getting upstairs or why her food is cold.”
“You little fucking knobber” Wallace said and yanked on Glen’s collar.
“If I drop this I am also going to tell her why” Glen said. “Now move along, I have a mage to please. If you really want to find relief I suggest you look to your man Vix. Perhaps you can tug each other to completion, if not then perhaps one of you can be the woman and then switch off.”
“You piece of shit” Wallace said as Glen had already stepped around him and stepped lightly up the stairs.
Wallace was a prisoner just like Glen was, if he acted up he would be sent back to the front lines. Glen thought he could use this to his advantage, Tiffany’s guard may feel they are missing out but none of them wanted to go out and die. Glen served Tiffany the food and watched her sniff it then she told him to sit down. At first she cut off little pieces and ate like she had an appearance to uphold but soon she was taking large bites of everything and reached for her cup.
“I could not find any water but I know a spell that allows you to draw water from the air” Glen replied. “I don’t know if I would trust the water anyway, whoever lived here might have poisoned it before they left.”
“I know the spell” Tiffany said with a mouth full of food as she tried to swallow.
Glen ate his food quickly and watched her finish off her plate. The apple she was confused about until Glen cut it into smaller pieces and fed her one of them, she quickly finished it off but made no effort to feed herself and instead enjoyed Glen doing it. Glen took the plates and stacked them up on a small table to the side then looked at Tiffany. Glen wasn’t sure but thought she looked nervous, Glen recognized the look. It was the same look his first time customers had, they were either unsure if they wanted something physical or unsure how to ask for it. Glen had a few tricks he could use to put them at ease and decided to bring all of them out. Glen went to his small suitcase and pulled out a bag filled with mint leaves.
“Would you like one?” Glen said as he started chewing his leaf. “It is to get rid of the food smell in your mouth.”
The Fae Mage Page 9