Storiesonline.net ------- Quest For Knowledge by colt45 Copyright© 2007 by colt45 ------- Description: Dent's (Sea King) oldest children are grown up now. While in Salas with a few of his sisters, Nilsen acquires a seven foot tall giantess with a secret that can open up the mysteries of the Old Technology. Whoever has that knowledge could quite possibly rule the world, but is it worth the price? Codes: MF fant ScFi harem rom cons inc bro sis het oral preg ------- ------- Chapter 1: Lavender "What are we doing here, Demeter?" Nilsen asked as he looked around at the dark, dank and dismal walls of the slave pens. "You know I really don't like what goes on here and I really don't like who does it. I thought we were going out to look for a gift for your sister?" "We are," the small, dark haired man replied, brushing off his friend's concern. "I just forgot to tell you the present was going to be a new servant for her upstairs rooms." "Well, have fun," Nilsen huffed. "I'm going back. My father wiped this shit off Jeevel's ass years ago. Just because it plopped down here doesn't mean I have to look at it." "I can see why you were chosen to lead a diplomatic mission," Demeter grinned. "I suppose I should take offense; after all it is my father's policies you're maligning." Nilsen shrugged. "You know as well as I that I'm not in charge of any diplomatic mission; Makro would be if we were really here for diplomacy, which we aren't. I'm here to study at my father's old school; Makro's here to talk about trade with some of your merchant houses and Jarrah's here to study with your healers. As for the twins," he just shrugged, "who knows why they do anything? I find everything works out much better if I don't look into their business too closely." "Right. The heir apparent to Jeevel and four of his sisters just happen to be visiting and you say it isn't a diplomatic mission." Demeter gave a theatrical sigh. "However it happens that I agree with you about slavery for all the good that does. Being the Putram's son does have some privilege; but being the sixth son out of ten ensures it's a very small privilege. Besides, Pru needs someone to help her and isn't it better that I rescue someone from this hellhole than not?" "For her, yes," Nilsen answered, peering into the dark gloom. "But you just reward the slavers and perpetuate their practice. Better for one person, worse for untold others. Where in the hell are we anyway?" "Ah, I think we're next to the gladiator pens," Demeter answered. "Domestic staff is just over there, I think. This is a shortcut." "Why is it your shortcuts always seem to take us twice as long as the long way would?" Nilsen quipped. "Let's just get your business done and get out of here." "Yes, I'm sure it's just through here," Demeter said cheerfully. "Here" turned out to be a long passageway somewhat better lighted then the rest of the slave pens. Cells separated only by stout iron bars were visible on either side of the corridor. As they walked they could see their human occupants staring at them, most cowering back in the rear of their cages. "Gods, this makes me sick," Nilsen muttered as he tightly gripped the hilt of the short sword still sheathed at his side. His eye caught something remarkably different and he stopped, openly staring at the sight in the last cell. "What the hell is this?" he asked in wonder. What caught his eye was a woman, but a woman unlike any he had ever seen before. To begin with, sitting on the floor, her head came up to nearly mid-chest level on him. She would have to be at least a head taller than he was, and at six feet two he wasn't considered short by any means. He could only guess at her height since she was sitting down on the ground with her back against the far panel of bars. He figured that's pretty much where she would be staying since both her arms were shackled to the bars outstretched away from her body. There wasn't much else he could tell about her other than she was big and a woman. The woman part was easy since remarkably large breasts — even given the overall size of their owner, they were large — could be seen through the rips in a dirty leather vest. He felt somewhat juvenile for how difficult it was to tear his eyes away from the sight. It wasn't like he'd never seen large breasts before; after all two of his mothers were very well endowed and body modesty wasn't of much concern in his household. So it wasn't that he had never seen the like before, but he swore he'd never seen any that big, or, from what he could see of them, that perfectly shaped. He placated himself musing that his father always told him that it was all right for a man to look ― most women expected and wanted to be looked at ― but there was a difference between looking and gawking. Hoping he wasn't sliding into the "gawking" side, he finally tore his eyes away from those magnificent orbs and guided his eyes firmly up to look at her face. She was absolutely filthy. Hair was unkempt and greasy as it hung down her back; it was in such a state it was almost impossible to determine its natural color other than it wasn't extremely dark. The face was just as dirty, with abundant mud and grime, and it would appear she had been hand fed, and not particularly carefully at that since bits of food and gruel stuck to her chin and had dripped down onto her vest and ... Again he had to forcibly tear himself away and bring his eyes back up to meet hers. As soon as their eyes met he immediately knew two things: first, this was a soul that could be beaten but never broken; second, that he had never seen anyone hate with as much intensity as he saw in those eyes. Aside from the animosity that blazed out of those eyes, they were remarkably lovely. Pale lavender rather that the ice blue Nilsen himself sported, they were large, wide and remarkably clear. Tired, yes. He could see the exhaustion trying to settle in, and the enormous willpower being expended trying to force it away. "Hello there," he said without thinking, "Who are you?" If he really expected an answer he was disappointed. The owner of those amazing violet eyes merely worked her mouth for a moment and then spit at him. Fortunately for him she was dehydrated enough she couldn't work up enough saliva to make the distance, the little token of her esteem falling short and landing in front of his feet rather than in his face. "Hey! No need for that!" Demeter admonished, taking a step backward. "Oh, come now, Demeter," Nilsen said, nodding his head in salute to the bound woman. "I hope we would do the same if found in the same situation. At least I hope I would still have the guts to do it." The eyes just glared at him. "What do you two think you're doing in here?" someone shouted from behind them. Nilsen and Demeter both turned to be confronted by a squat fat man flanked by two burly guards. "I asked what you two shitheads are doing here?" he asked again. "Nobody is allowed down here before the fight. You want to see the meat; you see them at roll call with all the rest of your gambling buddies." "Gambling?" Nilsen asked with a puzzled look on his face. Demeter looked somewhat pale when he answered. "Ah, yes, well, there are some people that like to place a wager or two on the outcome of the contests. I guess they think they can get a better idea of who might win if they were able to see the contestants before the match." "Let me get this straight," Nilsen continued, oblivious to the rising temper of the slaver. "These aren't prisoners, these are slaves you force to fight each other, and others bet on that?" "That's exactly what happens," the slaver replied. "And it's more than a few coins, let me tell you. This is one of the biggest shows in town." "That's..." Nilsen paused for a moment trying to come up with the precise word he was looking for, "Sick." It was the best he could do to express the utter contempt and disgust he felt. "Well, lucky for me nobody gives a shit what the fuck you think," the slaver grinned. "Not only are the games legal, but fully supported and sanctioned by our enlightened and benevolent government. I don't care if you're one of the bettors or not, get the hell out of here!" Not particularly concerned with the slaver or his escort, Nilsen turned back to the woman in the cell. For the first time he actually looked somewhere other than her eyes or her chest and he was amazed at what he saw. Quickly he turned back to the slaver. "You actually force women to fight?" he asked, incredulously. "Not normally," the slaver admitted. "But when this one was taken last week she ended up killing two of our guards with her bare hands. I thought it would be an interesting way to get rid of the bitch and recoup some of my investment, but the stupid skag has lasted through four fights now! This afternoon's will be her last." "How do you know that?" Nilsen asked. "If she lasted four, why not five? Or even six?" "You obviously don't know how the games are played here, do you? The first fight is one-on-one. Whoever wins has to go against two in the next bout. Win that one and it's against three, then four. No one has ever won against five; never will." "Well, one against five is pretty steep odds I will admit," Nilsen nodded. "But certainly doable. But regardless, I have no desire to see a woman fight to the death. I'm willing to pay you thirty gold for her, right now." Nilsen patted the large leather purse tucked into his belt. He could see the slaver lick his lips while considering the offer. Ten gold would buy one a high-priced pleasure slave; one, an ordinary worker like a gardener or maid. For this unique woman, Nilsen doubted there was another around that could match her in height; he probably paid three, at the most. He was looking at a ten-fold profit just for the taking. After a minute of thought the slaver sighed and shook his head. "I can't. There is already too much bet on this match. As much as I'd like to, I can't sell her before the fight." "Fine," Nilsen said. "Then agree to sell her to me after she wins." "I already told you, nobody wins against five; never have and never will." "All right, then I'll make a bet with you," Nilsen said. "She loses, I give you the thirty gold; she wins, you give her to me." "That's a sucker's bet," the slaver laughed. "I tell you, nobody wins against five." "Let me talk to her," Nilsen said with a thoughtful look. "I think she can do it, but I want to hear it from her." "Sure," the slaver grinned, he could almost count the thirty gold coins already. "But I can't be held responsible for you if you go in that cage. I'm telling you she's dangerous." "You have her arms chained to the bars," Nilsen said with a grunt. "I think I can handle her that way." "On your head be it." With a wave of his hand one of his companions walked over and unlocked the cage door. "Ah, no swords in the cage." With a shrug Nilsen took off his sword and accompanying sword breaker handing them to his friend. As he passed through and into the cell the door was closed and locked behind him. Unconcerned, he made his way over to the chained woman. Crouching down he was nearly level with her head. If anything the hate within her eyes was even more intense. He was amazed at the courage and determination this warrior demonstrated. That she was a warrior wasn't even a question as far a Nilsen was concerned. Even if he hadn't known she had defeated at least ten other opponents, he could tell she had the heart of a warrior just sitting next to her. "If you wanted to spit on me, now would be a good time. I don't think you could miss," he said casually. This seemed to take her by surprise and she swallowed what was in her mouth. "Do you want to get out of here?" he continued. "You are a fool," she said in a low rasping voice. "You must have been talking to my sisters," he answered. "I don't think my being a fool is in much doubt, but that wasn't what I asked. Do you want to get out of here?" "I will never get out of here," she answered. "They will never let me win against five. I heard them talk: they're going to drug me before the match. Not enough so I can't move, but enough so I can't fight well. He say he can't afford to have me fight six, or maybe seven. Too many slaves in pit at same time; too many dead at same time. You see, you fool to bet on me." "I thought it might be something like that," Nilsen said softly. "That bastard was just too sure of your losing. Do you have your hands free anytime before the match?" She nodded slowly. "Good. Take this," his hand produced a small hunk of what looked like mashed together rabbit pellets. Using his body as a shield he leaned over and tucked the pellet into one of the rents in her vest. It nestled there next to her breast, visible only as a small lump, and then only if one was looking for it. "Take that and start chewing it just before you go in for the match," he told her. "I don't care how much of any drug they give you; this will wake you up for a little while anyway. After that you may have to sleep for a week, but while you're awake, you will be wide awake." She had been looking down at his hand as he placed the pellet next to her tit. Normally any man reaching anywhere near to her breasts would at least lose the hand, if not his life, but since both her arms were bound, there wasn't much she could do about it yet. She was surprised when he didn't grab and fondle her like so many of the guards had done. She in no way trusted him, but what else did she have going for her at the moment? She looked back up and him and asked, "Why?" "Just helping a fellow warrior," he said lightly. When she continued to stare at him he finally relented and said, "Fine. I can't stand to see a woman locked up like this, especially one who is a warrior. That make you happy?" "Fool," she said with a grin. "Get you killed someday." "I've always said women will be the death of me yet," he straightened up and slapped the dirt from his trousers. "Fight and win; we can decide what happens after that." With a nod he turned and walked back to the cell door and out into the passageway. "She'll win," he said to the slaver. "I just know it. Do we have a deal? Thirty gold to you if she doesn't win; she's mine if she does." "Fine, I'll take that bet," the slaver growled. "But there ain't no fucking way she's coming out of there alive. Nilsen turned to walk away, but briefly turned back to say, "I hope there won't be any cheating. I really don't like it when someone tries to cheat." With that he turned and walked quickly away with Demeter trailing behind him. ------- Lavender Mist Bwejeri: warrior; daughter of Xolan Bwejeri, he who is Chief of the Zagwci Clan and First Speaker for the Havila nation of the Kushitic people, sat in her dirty, stinking cell pondering the events of the past few minutes. She knew exactly what was going to happen in the next hour or so, or at least what was supposed to happen. Digmar, or Dagmer, or some other stupid name for the short fat slaver ― the name wasn't important since either she was going to die very shortly or she would kill him ― had told her what was going to happen. About half an hour before the scheduled match he was going to have his guards force a potion containing the extract of poppies down her throat. This would, as he delighted in telling her, slow down her reaction times and speed to just barely above functional, after which it would be almost certainly guaranteed that one of the five of her opponents would kill her. Lav ― she hated being called Lavender, almost as much as she hated being called Misty ― wasn't afraid of dying. After all, it was the fate of warriors. Well, it was everybody's fate, but it had a tendency to come a little bit earlier for warriors. Having chosen the path of the warrior at eight summers, she had been trained to show no fear of death, in fact to embrace it when it finally came to claim her soul. Of course her training also paradoxically taught her to fight death with her last breath. Warriors are a strange lot. While she hadn't thought much about her own fate over the past one and a half ten-days she had spent in captivity, she did wonder how Cerberus was doing. True, the couple who had rented her the rooms had been kind enough to help with his feeding while she had been away before; this time she had not had any warning and therefore hadn't told them about her absence. Sighing, she tried to push all thoughts of Cerberus from her mind and concentrate on the puzzle handed her today in the form of a well-muscled shorty with light, almost white, hair and eyes as pale blue as winter ice. What was his game? she wondered. Maybe he was the fool she had named him. Who bet thirty gold on a battle between one warrior and five men? Even if that one warrior was one of the Kushitic and the five, untrained shorty men, the odds were with a lucky strike by one of the five. He didn't act like he had seen any of her earlier bouts, so how could he judge her prowess? The instincts of a warrior? That he was also a warrior there was no doubt. One look into his eyes confirmed that. But how good was he? He was young, younger than she for sure, although not by more than four or five summers. So, what did he want? Her body? She grunted at that. Long ago she had promised herself that no man would ever come to know her as a woman; besides, she had been told for most of her life that she was quite undesirable. "Your face is too sharp, Lav, too narrow," her brothers would tell her. "Of course you're too skinny and short. Who would want you? Even if we could bribe someone with a dowry, you're going to be culled anyway. Too ugly and too short." Her father wasn't any more help than they were. "You have much more to offer than just physical beauty, Misty girl," grinding her ugliness in with just a dash of her most hated nickname. "Not all pass the cull you know, and if you do, remember, you are the daughter of a chief and a skilled warrior in your own right. There will be plenty of men who will mate with you; don't you worry." But she knew what was going to happen. She was going to be culled; it was a foregone conclusion. As much as it hurt, her brothers were right: she was ugly, and although beauty may be a judgment call, height wasn't. At seven feet three inches she was four to six inches shorter than the average Kushitic woman. In a culture where height is beauty, the only place she could be beautiful would be in a land of midgets! Maybe that was what really motivated her to run away or as she like to try to convince herself, taking an unauthorized wandering. The funny thing was, here in the land of the short she still wasn't beautiful! True, most of the women, the ones considered to be fair by the shorties, had the narrow, angular face like hers, so opposite to the broad, flat, faces with large hooked noses so much favored by her tribe. For the most part the shorty women also had the narrow waist fanning out to broad hips, just like hers, quite unlike the average Kushitic woman whose body held to the more perfect cylindrical shape. Of course having these huge tits didn't help either! Not only did they add to the unsightly curves, but they got in the way while fighting and practicing! Although shorty men did seem to find them fascinating for some reason; even the blue-eyed one could barely keep his eyes off them! Her tits were not the question here; the real question was what had the blue-eyed shorty stuck in her vest, and did she have the courage to take it as he told her? Did she have a choice? The guards had been very explicit about what she could expect, no doubt taking pleasure at telling her of her fate. She would be fed the drug in plenty of time for it to work and then sent out to die. She was well aware of the effect the poppy extract would have on her since it had been used a number of times already to subdue her prior to moving her around. She was sure they would take no chances and give her an extra dose. It is unlikely she would be able to fight off a young tot with a butter knife let alone five full-grown men with swords. Unhappily she came to the conclusion she didn't have much choice. If blue-eyes gave her a poison, then what was the difference? If it wasn't poison and worked ... They would just have to see then, wouldn't they? The Kushitic chief's daughter sat sprawled in her cage for the next few minutes mulling over this puzzle. Awhile later three guards walked up to her cage. One went around the back and confirmed that her wrists were still shackled to the bars. After nodding to his companions they entered the cage and walked over to her grinning. "Your turn in a little while, bitch," he said. "We're here to give you your medicine, so you'll be at your best for the match." Laughing he took out a small metal funnel with a long spout and forced it past her teeth and partly down her throat. Pulling the stopper out of a small brown bottle, he poured the milky-white contents into the funnel. Seconds later Lav could feel the substance as it dripped down her throat. Then it was either swallow it or breathe it. Swallow she did. She kept swallowing until it finally stopped. "That's quite a lot," the other guard mused. "Aren't you afraid of her falling asleep before she even gets out there?" "Naw," the first replied. "They measured it against her weight pretty carefully. Besides, if she stumbles or something like that we can just say she's tired from the other bouts." "They better hope anybody betting on her doesn't catch on to what we're doing. They're liable to be not too pleased." "Ain't nobody going to be betting on her," the first said with a shake of his head. "Everybody knows nobody wins against five; it's really just an exhibition match. Hell, they have her five opponents already scheduled for matches afterwards." "That's not what I heard," the second said. "I heard there were a number of pretty heavy bets on her winning being laid with a number of the bookies." "Suckers," the first said with a shrug. "Let that work for a while. She should be good and ready in a half-hour or so." With that they left, taking their funnel and empty bottle. ------- "Where do we go to see this?" Nilsen asked his friend. "One way or another I suppose I have to watch it." "Not really," Demeter said hopefully. "They don't know who you are. You could just take your gold and head back to the palace. No one would be the wiser." He continued in a whisper, "It's said they drug them if they don't want them to win. I don't think she has a chance." "I'm sure you're right ― about the drugging anyway," Nilsen replied in his normal voice. "Let's just say, even if they do drug her, I think she still has a pretty good chance of living through this." "You'd better, Demeter muttered. "You've got thirty gold riding on it. You really that sure?" Nilsen just shrugged and patted the pouch on his belt holding his gold. "Isn't that the gold you picked up from the ship this morning?" Demeter asked. "Won't your sisters be pissed at you if you lose it?" "I don't know why," Nilsen answered. "It's mine; I had it sent to me. I was going to use it for a new set of weapons and armor, and I still think I'll be doing that." "Hmm..." Demeter narrowed his eyes and looked at his companion. He could sense that Nil wasn't going to tell him everything he knew, but Demeter could also tell there was more to the story. "Tell you what," Demeter said slowly "just to make it interesting, maybe I should put a little money on it also." He paid the barker the two bronze coins and showed Nilsen where to sit. For an extra two coins they got seats fairly close to the front. Nilsen sat down on the low wooden bench while Demeter hurried away. The arena was pretty much like all the practice arenas he had seen in the past: about thirty yards in diameter with a thick layer of sand/sawdust mixture on the floor. The only difference was the wall around the arena was at least ten feet high and there were tiered benches completely surrounding it. Nilsen estimated when filled it could hold almost a thousand viewers. There were nowhere near that many there then. It was early in the afternoon and the real matches didn't start until much later. Nilsen guessed there were probably no more than 150 all told. A few minutes later Demeter sat down beside him and dropped a stack of differently shaped wooden markers in his hand. Some were circles, other squares, stars, etc. They were all different, but they all had the same color designs on them. "What's this?" Nilsen demanded. "They're your markers," Demeter replied. "I had trouble convincing a number of the books that I really wanted to bet on your girl, so I had to spread it around over a number of them. It seems nobody is fool enough to bet on one against five, let me tell you; with the odds they gave me if she wins you'll be able to buy a couple of sets of armor." "But I didn't bet..." Nilsen started. "No, but I did," Demeter interrupted. "Don't worry about it, Nil. If she wins you can pay me back. If she doesn't, it's not enough to worry about. Look, I think they're about to start." ------- Lav could feel the drug working on her. Her tongue felt numb and too large for her mouth. It was difficult to keep her head up and she was sure if her arms were released and she tried to stand she would be wobbly, almost like she was drunk. Minutes later a guard came up on the outside of her cage and unshackled her. For the moment she could do little more than groan and shake her arms. They felt like lead, the effect of the drug and the prolonged binding making her lethargic and stiff. At least it didn't hurt. She struggled to her feet and surreptitiously checked to see if the small pellet of "stuff" was still in her vest. Lav thought about holding it in her mouth to make sure it wouldn't get lost, but remembered blue-eyes had told her to chew it just before going out into the arena. She had no idea if it really made a difference when she took it, but right then it was a lot easier to do as she was told and not think overly much so she tucked it into the belt holding up her breechclout. Another guard stood at the cage door, unlocking it. "Come on, bitch," he said with a grin. "Time for your last show." He pulled it open and swung it out to lock into place forming a barrier across the hallway. Two more guards came in behind her cage with long spears, ready to prod her out if needed. Other than pausing to spit at them, she didn't waste time being obstinate. They all seemed very confident that she wasn't going to survive her time in the ring but it was better to die fighting than cringing in a cage. Still flexing her arms and stumbling just a little she strode out into the hallway. She couldn't turn right, that being where the door formed a new cage wall, so she turned left after growling at the guard laughing behind the door. It was only a short walk to the end of the hallway where two doors stood. One led to the outside and the rest of the slave pens; it was closed and she was sure locked tight. The second was open. This one she knew well: it led to a small chamber where she was to pick up her weapon. When it was time an iron gate would be lifted and she would be in the fighting pit itself. Groggily, she shuffled along the hallway toward the open door. "Put on a good show, bitch," one of the guards shouted behind her. "Some dumbass has been betting on you so we've been able to put a little against you. Be happy; at least someone will profit from your death!" She ignored the taunt and moved through the open door. When she was fully in the small chamber the door closed behind her and she heard the snap of the lock. Looking around she made her way over to the rough table which had four times before held the sword she was to use. This time something was different. There was a sword there all right, but it didn't look right. Picking it up she knew right away what was wrong: it wasn't a real sword. It was a wooden practice sword painted to look like a real one! One strike from a real weapon and it would be nothing but kindling! Sighing she picked it up and gave it a couple of tentative swings. She could hear the sounds of the crowd through the grate, not particularly loud, but a constant hum. Suddenly the crowd noise increased a bit and she knew her five opponents had been sent into the ring. Her arms felt so tired she briefly wondered if it was worth even going out there. Maybe she should just lie down here and let them come get her. That thought didn't last long; shaking her head to clear it as best she could she moved over to stand in front of the grate. If today was her day to die, at least she was going to take as many with her as she could! Then she remembered the blue-eyed shorty and his little pellet of whatever. Taking it out, she frowned as she looked at it more closely. It still looked like nothing more than a hunk of compressed grass; thinking about it for a moment she shrugged and popped it into her mouth and started chewing. If it was poison, she hoped it was fast-acting and painless. If it was a drug to dull her wits and slow her speed, well, what more could it do? Who knows? Maybe it would actually help. It tasted awful! Just like she would imagine cow dung would taste! However, she continued to swallow and even choked down a mouthful of the juice just as the high-pitched squeal of metal-on-metal announced her grate was starting to lift. Later she would swear that as soon as the one mouthful hit her stomach something came alive somewhere in her gut and tried its damnedest to claw its way out. First, her heart started beating faster and harder than she had ever felt it before; she was almost afraid it would burst within her breast. Next, her vision blurred momentarily to suddenly become crystal clear, the colors fading slightly into various shades of gray, but the definition of everything becoming incredibly sharp. She was also immediately aware that the sound of the crowd had become a loud, constant buzzing in her ears. She had never felt so awake or aware of her surroundings, ever! Even that didn't prepare her for the surge of energy that seemed to radiate from her stomach and spread out and into her limbs. Her muscles contracted, arms and legs bunched in close to her body ready for the fight. Her body was actually vibrating with the need for action! She was invincible! Five men, ten men ... It didn't matter! Bring them all to her! She knew without any doubt that she could take any number single-handedly, even with this toy sword! With a roar she dashed out into the ring. ------- The stands weren't even half full when a gong sounded announcing that the first match was about to start. Nilsen and Demeter turned toward the ring and saw one gate being drawn up on one side. Out of the opening and onto the sand walked five men. Nil could tell they weren't experienced fighters by the way they carried themselves and their weapons, but it appeared they weren't novices, either. "I don't think these are virgins," Demeter muttered just loudly enough for Nilsen to hear him. "Virgins?" Nilsen asked. "You know," Demeter answered, "someone who's never fought before. They don't look like scared little rabbits." "Ah," Nilsen muttered noncommittally. They still looked pretty scared to him, but he had to agree: They looked like men who had at least seen a fight before. "You still think your girl has a chance?" Demeter continued. "Yes, I do," Nilsen said nodding. "Why do you keep calling her 'my girl'? She's not mine or anybody else's for that matter. My guess is she is the kind you can chain but never own..." Just as he was finishing, the object of their discussion burst out of another aperture and loped to the center of the ring. Nilsen could tell immediately that she had taken the stimulant chew he had given her. From experience he knew the effects it was having on her and he could see the evidence from the way she was holding herself and carefully advancing on her unsuspecting foes. Nilsen didn't know exactly what was in the little ball of vegetable matter. His father had introduced him to it and called it the "berserker pill". It was one of the most closely held secrets of the Warriors Guild. It gave the user about thirty minutes of incredible strength and endurance. It made the person taking the concoction "young, dumb and full of cum", was how his father put it. While the high was with you there was a sense of heightened strength, sight, hearing and even taste. You were infallible and indestructible as the juice flowed through your veins. Unfortunately the price you paid for your few minutes of godhood was even more dramatic and devastating. Afterwards the body began shutting down; muscles refused to work. Starving for fuel after expending such a tremendous amount of energy in so short a period of time the body would begin to literally eat itself alive. Having used it once Nilsen knew it took about half a ten-day to fully recover; and the pain during that time was nothing to laugh about. But right then she was just reaching the peak of its effect. Moving like a lioness on the prowl, Lav moved to the very center of the ring. Her five opponents fanned out to fully encircle her as she hissed at them, teeth bared in a truly hideous grimace. As soon as they were in place she suddenly wheeled and streaked toward the one who had placed himself at her back. She moved faster than a human had any right to as the crowd ― excepting Nilsen, of course ― gasped. It took her only three steps until she was in range to smack him alongside the head with the wooden sword in her hand. The sword may have had no edge and was reasonably harmless under ordinary circumstances, but in the hands of someone who is naturally strong ― and juiced on top of it ― it was like being hit with a war club. It didn't cut, or knock his head off, but that didn't matter since it did cave in the side of his skull; snapping the neck was just a bonus. "One," Nilsen said with a smile, his voice as audible as a shout in the near total silence that followed her attack. Lav was already moving even as her dead opponent was toppling to the sandy floor of the arena. She moved quickly to her left confronting the next fighter trying to encircle her. Frozen momentarily at her inhuman speed and the ferocity of her attack he didn't realize he was her next target until she was almost upon him. He suddenly awoke to his situation just in time to prevent the exact same fate as his fellow prisoner. With almost no time to spare he brought his sword up to block her roundhouse swing. It wasn't much of a defense but it was enough that the force of Lav's swing shattered her toy sword on his steel one, breaking hers into long splinters of wood. But before the crowd could even utter a gasp at the sudden turn of events she was already twirling, one long leg sweeping out to catch her unsuspecting opponent by the legs and knocking him down to the ground. Again demonstrating incredible speed she pounced like a lioness and shoved the remaining splinters of her near-useless weapon up under his chin and on into his brain pan. Chest heaving, quite fetchingly Nil thought, she stood up holding her now-dead opponent's sword, licking her lips and eying the remaining three not unlike a cat eying three mice, just trying to decide which one to eat next. "Two," Nilsen said unnecessarily. This time his remark was drowned out by the roar of the now frenzied crowd. "By the gods!" Demeter gasped. "Did you see that? It's like she's possessed! Like she's drugged!" "She is," Nilsen answered with a smirk. "What?" Demeter stared at his friend. "You're joking, right?" "Not at all," Nilsen said looking down at the arena as Lav made up her mind and started to stalk the next one to her left. "They drugged her to slow her down. I thought it only fair that someone should drug her to speed her up, so I did." "Son of a bitch," Demeter whispered. "And you say you are the stupid one. You must be the craftiest idiot I've ever met." "Oh, I am the stupid one," Nilsen said with a smile. "When you compare me to my brothers and sisters, that is." "Crap! Remind me to never set myself up against your family," Demeter said in awe. "You've already met my sisters," Nilsen said with a smile. "If you haven't figured that out by now, you deserve what you get." He paused for a moment and looked almost contemplative, "I dare say though, Makro would probably have figured out a more elegant solution ... more diplomatic." Then he shrugged, "My sisters are all about finding the best tool for the job. Me, I just get a bigger hammer. I have yet to find a situation where the judicious use of excessive force doesn't solve the problem one way or another." ------- Even if she hadn't already had her full attention focused on staying alive, Lav probably wouldn't have been particularly interested in their byplay. Other people's business rarely interested her, unless it directly impacted her, that is, but now even less than usual. Two of the five were down and she had no doubt she could take the other three with little or no problem, under normal circumstances that is. Unfortunately she could feel the strength pumping through her body begin to fade ever so slightly. Nilsen had estimated it should last about half an hour, but he couldn't know her larger body mass and the effect of the other narcotic decreased its usefulness much sooner. Even as she began to move toward her remaining opponents she could feel its effect decrease. She knew this had to be over soon. She started moving towards the next one to her left but immediately saw this wouldn't work. As she moved forward he started to move back and away from her. She could tell he was about as frightened as any man she had ever seen before. The dark spot on the front of his breechclout showed he had already pissed himself and her super-sensitive sense of smell told her he had probably soiled himself as well. Still, she had to engage them quickly and moving forward was the only plan she had at the moment. Moving slowly at first she circled left as he retreated. She was getting no closer to her obvious target; however it did bring her closer to the other two. Suddenly she jumped sideways; Nilsen would swear later that it had been a standing broad jump of at least ten feet, and quickly closed the gap on the man who was the centermost of the three. A roundhouse swing smashed against his upheld sword numbing his arm with the shock. Continuing the motion of the swing Lav jabbed forward with the pummel of her own borrowed weapon catching him in the jaw, shattering it with the force of the blow. Stepping back slightly her right foot came up in a vicious kick that crushed his windpipe and he toppled back, still alive, but only because one doesn't die instantly from asphyxiation. Whether or not his heart was still pumping, he was dead as he hit the sand. "Three." The chant now came from the crowd and not just Nilsen. The man to her right may have been frightened, but he also saw this as his one chance to catch the giantess while she was occupied. As his compatriot fell, he charged, sword raised high and readying for the killing stroke. It would have been a good idea against most other opponents, but not with one having been trained in the warrior arts for well over half her life. Lav caught the movement out of the corner of her eye. Instinctively she let him get closer before whirling to one side, sword moving out to catch him under the arm as he stumbled past her. It wasn't an immediately mortal wound, but the shock of the deep cut caused him to drop his sword and fall face down into the arena's sandy floor. "Four! Four! Four!" The arena reverberated with the sound of the now ecstatic crowd. Whatever drug the blue-eyed shorty had given her was definitely wearing off, Lav thought, as wavy lines superimposed themselves on her vision. It was getting difficult to get enough breath as her chest heaved and sweat poured out of her body and dripped to the sand at her feet. The last man wanted no part of this fight and was doing his best to stay away from her. Lav snorted, wondering how she was going to corner her last prey in a circular arena. She walked slowly towards him, both to conserve energy and to keep him from running from one side to the other. She knew she didn't have enough left to chase him down. If she could close with him she knew she could finish it, but closing with him was going to be difficult. Life is a game of chance, she thought to herself. She was about fifteen feet away from him when she suddenly let the sword point drop. It scraped the sand slightly as it continued behind her and up over her shoulder. With as much strength as she had left she snapped it forward and threw it at him. She was extremely tired, and the sword wasn't balanced for throwing, but the cast was good enough to catch him in the thigh. He let a high-pitched scream, dropped his own weapon and fell to the ground. Mewling, he tried to drag himself away from his killer. Stumbling forward, Lav came up behind him, put her foot on the back of his neck and reached down grabbing him by the hair. Yanking back as hard as she could the sound of his snapping neck was heard even over the sounds of the cheering crowd. Shaking as she stood, Lav lurched away from the corpse for a few steps until the world around her started to spin. Suddenly standing was just too much of an effort and she found herself on her knees. The spinning stopped and blackness rolled in as she pitched forward into the comforting oblivion. ------- "By the gods!" Demeter whispered with awe. "That was amazing." "She's good," Nilsen nodded as he watched a number of guards drag her off towards the pens and the bodies of her opponents towards another exit. Already slaves were in the arena raking smooth the disturbed areas in preparation for the next bout. Shaking his head Demeter said, "We'd better go see that your girl is all right. My guess is they aren't going to be particularly happy with her right about now." "I suspect you're probably right," Nilsen agreed as they both stood up to go. Unhappy would be one way of putting it; livid would be more accurate. It didn't take them but a few minutes to make their way down to the slave pens. When they got there Lav was being held upright on her knees by two guards as the slavemaster was getting ready to spit her on the end of his sword. "Excuse me," Nil said loudly enough to cause the slavemaster to turn his head sharply towards the sound. "If I remember we had a wager and I do believe I won. So that women you are about to run through is now mine and not yours. I would very much appreciate your not harming her." "You son-of-a-bitch!" the slaver spat. "What the fuck are you going to do if I kill this whore?" "Why, I suppose I'd have to kill you," Nilsen said with a disconcerting calmness. "What are you going to do?" he said pointing his sword around at the three guards in the passageway with them. "They're four of us, and we ain't no bunch of fucking slaves. What do you think you can do against four?" "There are two of us," Demeter said from behind Nilsen's shoulder. Everyone looked over at him where he stood leaning up against the wall appearing completely unconcerned. "Although I dare say I doubt he'd need any help from me." "Two or one," sputtered the slaver. "It doesn't matter; the bitch is mine and I'll do what I want with her." "I don't think so," Nilsen said shaking his head. "Our wager was if she won I would have her. She won, so she's mine." "We had no wager, asshole," the slave said with a grin. "My word against yours." "My guess," Demeter said, also grinning, "that as the son of the king of Jeevel his word is going to carry considerable weight here." Suddenly he stopped grinning and stood upright. "If it doesn't I'm sure mine, the son of your own Putram, will." Even in the limited light coming from the lamps burning along the walls the slaver's face had become noticeably paler. Although his face still held its sneer it was considerably more forced and the point of his sword dropped toward the ground. "Even if you are his son, the Putram would never interfere with us," the slaver blustered. "We're under his personal protection." "Maybe," Demeter said with a wave of his hand. "But since the only thing left here would be your corpse, I doubt he would take much interest. And yes, I'm sure that is what will happen. You may think this lovely lass here is dangerous, and she indeed is, but not half so much as this man standing in front of you." He paused for a moment in what could be thoughtful contemplation. "You know, I doubt it would disturb Father greatly if the four of you suddenly ceased to exist, but I'm afraid Nilsen here just might take it into his head to do away with the whole staff. Now that may indeed bother him ... Loss of revenue and all that, you know. "So," he continued with a sigh. "I really must insist you uphold your end of the wager and hand her over." "Fuck this," the slaver spat. "Fine, take your whore! I don't want to see the bitch anymore!" At his gesture the guards holding Lav let go and she slid bonelessly to the floor. Snorting contemptuously the slaver, followed by his guards, walked out of the passageway. "Well," Demeter said with a bemused expression, "you have your lady; now what are you going to do with her?" "Beats the hell out of me," Nilsen mumbled. Then he sighed, "I suppose the first thing I should do is take her home and clean her up." "Well, you get to carry her," Demeter grumped. "I can tell you from here she's too damned heavy for me. Plus she stinks like a midden heap." "I guess I could use the exercise anyway," Nilsen grinned as he bent down intending to drag her up and over his shoulder. As he came close her eyes opened momentarily and she looked at him pleadingly, repeating over and over... "Cerberus, Cerberus, Cerberus..." Edited by Morgan ------- Chapter 2 "Cerberus?" Demeter said walking up behind Nilsen. "Any idea what she's talking about?" "No," Nil shook his head. "The name I've heard before. It's from an ancient legend, something about a guard with multiple heads. Other than that I have no idea." "Maybe when she wakes up we can ask her?" Demeter answered with a shrug. "She may not wake up for days," Nilsen said. "Didn't that bastard say something about her being taken just last week? Maybe we can find out where she was taken and how they brought her into the city. That might give us an idea of who or what this Cerberus is. Do they keep records of that kind of thing here? I know in Jeevel they used to." Demeter looked decidedly uncomfortable as he answered. "Yes, they do keep records of that sort of thing here. Look, I'll help you get her back to your quarters; then I'll head out and try to find out what I can. I know a few people that should be able to get me the information you want." "You," Nilsen grunted as he hauled her up by her arms and draped her over his shoulder, "don't have to wait. I can get her back. Damn, she's solid!" He staggered toward the door. "Are you sure you can carry her back by yourself?" Demeter asked as he tagged along behind. "Yep. It may look a bit strange, but I can make it back to the quarters at least," He groaned. It was like carrying a huge sack of sand! She was so tall her arms almost dragged the ground behind him as he walked. "Maybe we should get a cart or a wagon," Demeter added helpfully. "I can't waste any time," Nilsen said already panting under his load. "What I gave her is going to continue to make her weaker until it's completely out of her system. Gods only know what they gave her will do. I need to get her back and get fluids and maybe even some food in her. Besides, I want to have Jarrah look at her as soon as possible." "Well, if you think you can do it..." Demeter said, looking skeptical. "Oh, I can do it," grunted Nil. "Besides, this beats hauling a pack full of rocks for twenty miles." With the hand he had wrapped around her waist holding her onto his shoulder he reached out and patted her bottom, which was positioned right next to his head. "Good thing she's out," Demeter chuckled. "You do that when she's awake and you might not get your hand back." "I'd probably be lucky to get my whole arm back," Nilsen agreed with a smile. "Now, why don't you go try to find out what you can about her? I don't know why, but I have the feeling we need to find out about this Cerberus fellow quickly. "I thought only the Demons could foretell the future," Demeter barked a laugh. "If I'd known you could also, I'd of had you down at the horsetrack by now." "I would appreciate it if you wouldn't call my sisters 'the Demons'," Nilsen huffed as he jogged along. "Deimie and Fobie have a special gift. I don't pretend to understand it, but I believe in it." Nilsen thought about his two younger sisters. The oldest of three sets of twins by their mother, Shasta, they were just under a season younger than Nilsen himself. All his life they had had the knack for knowing what was going to happen before it did. Sometimes right before, sometimes well into the future. They didn't see everything, or at least they didn't tell him everything they saw, but what they did tell him invariably came to pass one way or another. He knew it scared others, like Demeter, who hadn't grown up with them, but to Nilsen it was as normal as breathing. "Sorry," Demeter said sheepishly. "I didn't mean anything bad by it. It's just ... well ... that's what everybody calls them. I'll try to be more careful about what I say from now on." "Thanks," Nilsen said with a nod. "Actually it doesn't seem to bother them at all. They just laugh when they hear it. I don't care if it bothers them or not; it bothers me." "Well, I'd rather have your Demons for sisters than the flat-out bitches I have," Demeter responded. "But I understand what you're saying and I'll watch myself." "You'd better," Nilsen said with a grin. "It just bothers me, but it makes Makro angrywhen somebody else calls them that. You don't want Makro angry at you." "Gods, no!" Demeter muttered with an exaggerated shiver. Then he brightened up a bit. "Speaking of her, what do you think she'll say about your new pet?" "Thanks," Nilsen grumbled back. "I was trying not to think about that." "Oh, sorry." Demeter didn't sound very remorseful, and didn't look it at all. "Well, on that happy note I think I'll take off and see what I can find out about your girlfriend. I'll be back as soon as I find out anything. Till then..." With a wave and a whistle he strode off quickly. Nilsen grunted after his friend but kept plodding along towards their assigned quarters. He was getting strange looks from everyone he passed on the street, almost like they didn't see a man carrying a seven-foot woman over his shoulder every day! That and his shoulder was really beginning to hurt. It felt like she weighed a ton and he briefly debated whether to stop and move her to the other shoulder. Ultimately he decided not to. The potential for dropping her was too great, and he might not be able to get her back up if he set her down! Besides, the quarters were only a few blocks away. After what seemed an eternity he stumbled up the steps to the front door of their assigned quarters. As guests of Salas's Putram or ruler, they had been given the use of a very spacious townhouse close to the Warrior Guild's Academy and the Putram's palace. He waved and grunted at the two guards standing next to the doors. They looked on in wonder as their master's son marched in with this ... thing ... draped over his shoulder. One shook his head and quickly moved to open the door. "Your Highness!" he said saluting. It was a strange salutation for them, but it was how the new nobility of Jeevel wanted to be addressed. "Your Majesty" for Dent and his wives, "Your Highness," for their sons and daughters. It was still different, but after eighteen seasons it was beginning to feel right. "Your Highness," he said again as they entered the atrium. "Should I call for a healer?" "Not if Jarrah is available," he groaned. "I'm taking her up to my rooms. Would you send some of the girls up to get a bath ready?" Nilsen noticed one of the maids peeking around the corner. When she saw him looking at her she squeaked and drew her head quickly out of sight. Great, he thought, if any of my sisters are home they're going to know about this in about two seconds. He sighed and trudged towards his rooms. Entering his own set of rooms he headed straight for the bathing arbor. As gently as possible he lowered his burden to the tile floor and moved his arm and shoulder around trying to get feeling back into his numbed limbs. Moments later Katern tordeSiso, their head housekeeper, hurriedly entered his room followed by four younger maids who had the look of either curiosity or terror in their eyes; it was difficult to determine which. There was none of that in Katern's eyes; she barely glanced at the giant woman lying on her master's floor but quietly looked to him with a questioning gaze. Nilsen had always liked Katern; no, he loved her like another mother. She had been bonded to one or another of his mothers since before he was born and was a fixture in his life from his earliest memories. Even in her early forties she remained petite and slim, although the years had added some nicely rounded padding. Her brown hair, with only a slight touch of gray, was still worn long and as was the usual case during the working day, braided and hanging down to the small of her back. Nilsen waited for her to ask the inevitable question, but it never came. She just stood there looking at him with just a hint of a smile on her lips. "Will 'she followed me home, ' work this time?" he finally asked with a sigh. "It seems to have already," Katern said with barely repressed amusement. "Anything I should know about right now? Like the city Proctors pounding on the door demanding we return a missing female giant?" "No, I don't think that will happen," he said, relieved she was taking it so well. "What I do need — actually she needs — is water or juice. She's had a dose of one of father's berserker pills and is going to need something soon. Is Jarrah home now?" "No," she answered still smiling. "Actually none of them are. Mistress Jarrah is at the Healers Guild Hall this afternoon; Mistress Makro is at the palace and Mistresses Deimie and Fobie..." She just shrugged. "I expect they should return in the next few hours or so." Turning slightly, she snapped her fingers and pointed at one of the maids. "You heard the Master: juice, water, now!" The maid unlucky enough to be singled out took off at a run. "Still terrifying the young ladies, Katern?" he said with a grin. "They don't know you like I do. You might give them the impression you're something other than the big pussycat who purrs when her tummy is rubbed." "Oh, you devil!" she laughed. "I never could bring myself to swat your butt when you deserved it; spoiled you is what I did." Then she stopped smiling and turned back towards the remaining three maids. "One of them should have run immediately for your juice and water as soon as you mentioned it. We'll see if we can't find a way to instill this in their memory so they won't forget it again." The helpless girls actually cringed under her gaze. Turning back to Nilsen the smile returned as she said, "Is there something else you need immediately? You brought her in here; can I assume either you intend to get a bath or give her one?" "Yes," he said. "She's going to need bathing as soon as possible. She won't be able to assist us, unfortunately. You'd better have two of the guards up here to help us out." This time one of the maids tore off at a frantic pace almost running down the one bring back a tray with two pitchers and cups. "Trainable," he heard Katern mumble. "Barely trainable." A few minutes later, with the help of two burly guards, he had her stripped and in the tub. The water was warm having come from the roof cistern. Not that Lavender felt it; she was still unconscious. Luckily she was able to swallow a few mouthfuls of juice he dribbled into her mouth. With the guards holding her head out of the water, the maids soaped and washed her body while Nilsen did the same with her hair. He was somewhat peeved when he caught the two guards staring at her rather curvy body. He decided he couldn't chastise them directly since he had caught himself doing the same a number of times. "I haven't had time to tell you the whole story, Momma Kat," he said without looking up at her, "but it is quite interesting. Why, did you know that not more than an hour ago I watched this very woman kill five men in the arena in the span of little more than the same number of minutes?" "Why, no, I didn't know that," Katern answered. He went on to describe in detail her fight in the ring. "Yep," he said lathering up her hair for the third time. "Gods only knows what she would do if someone was foolish enough to try to take advantage of her while she was in this state." "Perish the thought," Katern replied with a hint of amusement. "Certainly we wouldn't have that problem here, My Lord." "I would hope not," Nilsen said. "I'd have to let her discuss it in her own way with anyone who took such liberties." The guards' eyes suddenly came up and fastened on anything except the woman they were holding. "It would not do..." he started, but was interrupted by footsteps at his back. "Our brother seems to have found a new pet, Fobie," a voice as musical as a tinkling bell came from behind him. "It would seem so, sister," another voice answered, equally musical and almost identical to the first. "I thought you two were out," Nilsen grunted without turning. It wouldn't have mattered since they moved to the front of the tub and gazed down at the occupant. That they were twins was obvious at first sight, alike as a reflection in a mirror. Of middling height with long flowing hair the color of freshly burnished copper; sea-green eyes, wide and doe-like, with skin as clear and unblemished as porcelain. They had slim builds as they moved from the last of childhood into the full bloom of womanhood. Their breasts were prominent, but only average when compared to Makro's more than generous attributes. They were wearing full-length linen shifts, cinched tight at the waist. Even to a brother's eyes they were extraordinarily beautiful. They were the Demons. "We were," The one to his right answered. Nilsen instinctively knew that one was Deimie. As far as he knew, he was the only one, other than Deimie and Fobie themselves, who could instantly differentiate between the two of them. He always knew which was which, even if they didn't speak. How he knew, he couldn't say; he just knew. "And now we're back," said the other without a perceptible break in the sentence. She continued, "We knew you would be back and that something would require our attention." Together they bent down to peer at the dripping wet giantess. "Fobie, her..." "... Salidin. Yes I see it." The twins turned to look at each other. "It..." " ... begins." "Her salidin is only partially activated," Fobie said looking at Nilsen. "I know that," Nilsen sighed. "I'm not a complete idiot, you know." Katern had been listening to their conversation. Listening to the twins talk had a tendency to make one dizzy until you learned to listen to them as if they were one person, not two. Frowning, she looked at the metal band around the giantess's neck and her eyes widened in surprise as her own hand instinctively came up to touch the band around her own neck. It was certainly a salidin, of that there was no doubt, but it was a dull pewter gray, not the rich golden color like the one around her own neck or the necks of the other servants in the room. The color meant she was not presently bonded. Suddenly the meaning of that occurred to her. "Sara!" she barked to one of the maids kneeling next to the tub. "Run to the Captain of the Guard! Tell him we need two, maybe three more guardsmen up here, right now!" Sara flinched, jumped up and bolted out of the room at a dead run. "Katern," Nilsen said, sounding rather exasperated, "what in the world was that all about?" "You have an unbonded warrior slave in this house, next to three of the heirs of Jeevel," she practically screamed. "You ask me what this is all about? Are you insane? Are you so enamored of her tits that you can't see the danger? What kind of fool are you?" "You know," he sighed, "that's the second time today I've been called a fool. Not that it's a record, but it does get tiring. Katern," he looked up into her angry eyes, "I just finished telling you I gave her one of father's berserker pills. You know what that does to whoever takes it. You should anyway; you were the one to nurse me after I tried it. She probably won't wake for another day or two and even then she'll be weak as a kitten for double that. She's no danger to anyone for a while. When she is, we'll take the proper precautions, I promise." "Maybe," Katern sniffed. "But you don't know how it affects her. For all you know she could be feigning sleep right now." "I doubt that very much," he chuckled. "But, if it makes you feel better, I have been properly chastised." Pounding feet out in the hallway interrupted him as two additional guards and the Captain of the Guard ran into the room. "Where's the threat?" the captain wheezed. "There isn't any..." Nilsen started when Katern interrupted him. "She is," Katern said, pointing to Lavender. "Our master's son"― Nilsen knew he was in trouble when she called him that ― "has brought an unbound warrior into the household. She should be shackled immediately!" "She won't be shackled at all," Nilsen said loudly. "I forbid it." Katern hissed in frustration. "Be at ease, Momma Kat," Fobie laughed. "She is of no danger to anyone in this household," Deimie continued. "At least no physical danger." Saying that, the twins looked at each other and laughed again. Katern harrumphed at them but held her tongue. She was a firm believer in the twins' powers, so as much as she didn't like it, when they said the woman was no danger, then the woman was no danger. It didn't mean Katern had to like it. "Would it make you feel better if she were watched at all times?" Nilsen interjected to mollify the still-angry servant. "Better she is manacled to a wall," Katern sniffed again. "But being watched is better than nothing. I still think you are a fool." Nilsen was about to say something once again to placate the irate matron when he was interrupted once again, this time from the source of the consternation herself. "Fool," Lavender mumbled, not opening her eyes. "Blue-eyed fool." "Well," Katern said with a triumphant look in her eye. "She doesn't seem to be quite as affected as you believed. Hmm, I will say, from what I've heard so far, she sounds intelligent, or at least insightful." The twins twittered in amusement as did one of the remaining maids. This earned her a sharp look from Katern, causing her to quiet quickly. Katern felt it perfectly within her rights to trade jibes with the young master, and of course she had no control over his sisters, but a mere bonded maid? Not while she was in charge here! "You are probably correct on both counts," Nilsen grinned. "Leave that poor girl alone, Momma Kat. She was just laughing the same as everyone else. As for this one, I doubt she's really conscious. In fact, I'd practically guarantee it. She may be strong, but she isn't that strong. She'll be out for another day, maybe two. I'd guess she's clean enough. Let's get her out of this tub and dried off." With the help of two of the guards Nilsen was able to hold her up while the maids toweled her dry. "Where shall we put her now, Lord?" one of the guards helping him asked. "Well," Nilsen said slowly, "since I did promise we'd keep her under observation, I suppose the easiest would be to put her here in my bed. Besides, it's probably the only one around big enough to hold her." Struggling they moved her nude body through the doorway and into his bedchamber. Nilsen was right about his bed: It was the largest in the household at almost eight feet in length and almost three times the width of a normal bed. The villa was fully furnished when they were given leave to live there so Nilsen always wondered why such a large bed had been installed. Makro had insisted he be the one to have it. Partly he assumed due to his own size, but then he overheard his sister grumbling to Katern that maybe now he had room for all his playmates. He blushed when he heard that, although he wisely kept his mouth shut since her quip held more truth than not. Since his fifteenth birthday, young master Nilsen had been the target of almost every female servant in the deSiso household. He may not have been the most handsome of young men — unfortunately he took after his father in that respect — but he was big, strong, well-built and pleasant to be around. The fact that he was the king's son didn't hurt, although not necessarily in the way one might expect. ------- Every single servant in the royal household was bonded to the family with salidin — almost all to the queens — to ensure their unquestioned loyalty. Anyone bonded by the salidin around her neck cannot act against her master, or his wishes. But the bonding goes even further than that. They had discovered long ago that a bonded slave, one who was emotionally tied to their master in addition to physically by the collar, was able to sense their master's feelings and emotions in a form of empathy. One of the advantages of being a bonded slave is when having sex with their master the slave feels both the master's and her own pleasure. This results in an amplification of that pleasure often leading to an orgasm so intense that loss of consciousness is common. This happened most intensely to those directly bonded to the one they were having sex with, but even a secondary or tertiary bond yielded considerable satisfaction. Consequently, at least in the deSiso household, the attention of the master was not something to dread but something to be pursued. Unfortunately for the bonded females in the royal house the ultimate bondholder, King Dent, was completely faithful to his four bonded wives. Considering the wives were also faithful to their husband, it left the other bonded females little chance to experience this unique sensation. Since Dent didn't require celibacy from his bonded servants, they in no way lacked for sexual diversion. Still, they seemed to have resigned themselves to a life somewhat less than it possibly could be. That is until Nilsen reached his fifteenth season. One sporting young lass decided to try the master's son on for fun one night and in a phrase: All hell broke loose. There was certainly nothing malicious in her intent; after all Nilsen was a well-liked and certainly well-built young man. Not particularly handsome in the traditional sense, but that doesn't seem to be as important to women as men. Under the circumstances it wasn't totally unexpected, and the queen mothers hadn't forbidden it, so a very experienced young woman introduced an inexperienced manlet into the joys of sex. By the next morning he was exhausted and she was ready, willing and — unless physically restrained — able, to fuck him close to his or her death. The uproar lasted for months and finally took the actual use of commands through the salidins to keep the female population from mobbing the young prince. Since the first young woman had never experienced the "real" thing with Dent there was no basis to compare how close the experiences really were. The only thing the bonded women knew was, it was close enough! Don teNeigho the head O'Tech Technician for Harv'el, and all of Jeevel, in addition to being an old friend of the family, proclaimed it was impossible. The salidin connection was very specific and locked in through the liege's DNA. It was impossible and unheard of for bonded to experience this well-know phenomenon with anyone other than their bond liege, or someone directly in that chain. He was laughed at by the women being driven deliriously happy by the impossible. Nilsen didn't even bother to think about it. He was fifteen seasons old and being fucked to within an inch of his life nearly every night, and sometimes during the day! Life was good! Nesho, one of the queen/wives, and one of Nilsen's mothers, speculated that his DNA structure must be close enough to his father's to fool the salidin into believing they were one and the same. Don teNeigho vehemently disagreed, but couldn't explain what was happening other than to say the women involved were delusional. The delusional women in question couldn't give a crap if he thought they were all completely insane so long as they had the chance at some amazing sex every once in a while. After the initial pandemonium, life settled down somewhat. Based on a schedule that Nilsen neither knew nor cared to know, the household women regularly rotated into the young lord's bed. In fact he was almost never without a bed companion unless he specifically requested the night alone. Needless to say, a woman or two in Nilsen's bed was not a novel occurrence. ------- That done, one guard was detailed to watch their sleeping guest while Nilsen retired to the bathing room to take care of his own needs. The tub was being refilled as he started stripping off his own clothes. The twins followed him in and sat down on a settee along the wall. The fact that he was completely naked didn't bother him in the least. He was a Guild Warrior in all but name and as such had very little body modesty to begin with; additionally he reasoned if it bothered his sisters they could leave and the two maids remaining behind to draw his bath had both sampled his wares so to speak many times, often at the same time. "So, brother dear," Deimie began, "it would seem you've had an interesting day so far. Care to tell us about it?" "Sure," he said, scrubbing an arm while one of the maids worked on his back. "Just as soon as you tell me why you said, 'It begins'. What begins?" "Not yet, we think," Fobie responded. "If you don't want to tell us now we can wait until Makro returns. We're sure you will tell her then and we can listen in. Maybe that would be better anyway since Marisa playing with your cock is probably distracting you." The maid whose hand was busy under the soapy water pulled it back and at least had the good grace to look embarrassed. Nilsen sighed and shook his head at her, receiving a pout in return. "Fine," he said with another exaggerated sigh. "It's not like you two don't already know what happened." "You know we don't see everything exactly as it happens," Fobie admonished. "Yeah, okay," he said. "It started when Demeter asked me to go with him to look for a gift for his sister, Prudence." He went on to tell the tale in detail eliciting oohs and ahs at the proper times. "And here we are," he finished. "Before you ask, no I don't know where to go from here or what to do with her. I couldn't just let her die there; it didn't seem right. I was hoping I could set her free or something like that." "You did what needed to be done," one of the twins began. "But, there is no setting her free," the other finished. "Not with an inactive salidin. Someone would have her bonded, willing or not, within a ten-day. You will bond her; it is the only way to protect her." "Me? Bond her?" he said sharply as he stood up and reached for the towel being handed to him. He continued as he stepped out of the tub and began to dry himself. "I don't think so. I never wanted someone bonded to me, and I still don't want it." "What you want and what will happen are not always the same things, brother dear. It is unlikely your position will allow you such discretion." "True," Nilsen admitted. "But even if that is the case, I will bond no one against her will and it is extremely unlikely our lady warrior will agree to anything like that." The twins just smiled at him and said nothing. This unnerved him much more than any disagreement would have. "Anyway," he said trying to change the subject, "she is going to need some care over the next few days. At the very least she's going to need fluids and food. Care to help?" he asked as he wrapped a robe around himself. As one, the twins unfolded, gracefully stood and followed him into the bedroom. ------- "My lord?" Sara asked, knocking softly on the doorframe to his room. "Lord Demeter is here to see you. Shall I send him in?" Nilsen nodded and moments later Demeter strode in through the doorway. Nilsen was in the process of wiping the remnants of ground seed paste off Lavender's chin. He had been feeding her this high-energy concoction for the past hour or so. Luckily even though she wasn't fully awake she was able to swallow the thin paste. "She certainly cleans up well," Demeter said, peering down at the huge woman. "Not what I would call beautiful, but certainly not ugly. Lying down like that you'd hardly even know she's twice your size." "She isn't twice my size, you idiot," Nilsen retorted. "Besides, I think she's very pretty. There's nothing wrong with a woman with some muscle on her. As for her face, I think it's quite attractive." "Well, to each his own," Demeter said with a shrug. "Me, I'd much prefer this pretty little thing here," he wagged his eyebrows at Sara, who had followed him in. Sara just giggled and wiggled her ass at him as she walked across the room to the bed. "Oh, I agree," Nilsen said standing up and handing the bowl of seed paste to the maid. Then he lightly smacked Sara on the butt. "Sara is as beautiful as she is flirty." Sara stuck her tongue out at him and grinned, and then she sat down and began feeding the prone woman as Nilsen had been doing. "So, did you find out anything?" he asked his friend. "Yeah," Demeter grimaced. "More than I wanted to, in fact." "What do you mean by that?" Nilsen asked. "Did you find out where she was taken from?" "Oh yes," Demeter sighed. "That's what's bothering me. She was taken right here in Salas." "What?" Nilsen exclaimed. "You mean you have slavers taking people right here is Salas? That's impossible!" "So I would have said just yesterday," Demeter agreed. "But it's true, and it's officially condoned. If you're a foreigner and not under someone's protection, it seems you're fair game. I about puked when I heard it. In fact, I didn't believe it at first, so I checked around. Not only is it true, it's something they're not trying to hide. Get this: The person I got the information from blamed it on your father. That's right; he said if Jeevel hadn't been squeezing off the slave trade and making it difficult to bring new ones in, they wouldn't be doing it." "Right here in the capital," Nilsen just shook his head. "That's amazing. I'm surprised you have anyone coming into the city at all." "We probably won't once it becomes common knowledge," Demeter shrugged. "I can't imagine what Father is thinking. It's almost like he's trying to destroy Salas." "I'd like you to tell Makro what you learned as soon as she returns." "What? She isn't back yet?" Demeter said with a raised eyebrow. "So she doesn't know about your little friend?" "Not yet," Nilsen admitted. "But that's neither here nor there. This information is much more important than a rescued warrior." "Hmm, maybe," Demeter replied with a smirk. "However I think I'd like to be around when she finds out. I wonder if the books would take wagers on the outcome. "Anyway," he continued, "she was taken down by the docks. She had been working part-time as a guard at some of the warehouses. They seem to think she has an apartment down around there." "Sara?" Nilsen asked the maid sitting beside Lavender. "Can you stay with her for a while? Rolf will be here in case you need him so you don't need to be afraid." He indicated the guard sitting next to the wall. "I'm not worried, My Lord," Sara said as she scooped another tiny spoonful into the giantess's mouth. "Mistress Deimie said she would not harm me; I believe her." "Fine," Nilsen said. "If Makro or Jarrah return before I get back, tell them I'll return as soon as I can." Sara nodded. "You want to go now?" Demeter asked. "Yes," Nilsen nodded. "I can't tell you why, but I have this feeling that we must find out about this Cerberus as soon as possible." "Are you able to read the future now?" Demeter demanded. "Not that I know of," Nilsen said as he waved at the guard and strode out the door. "I get these feelings every once in a while and I've learned to trust them." "Okay," Demeter said with a shrug. "Let's go find this mysterious three-headed guardian." ------- Tracking down her old living quarters was easier than Nilsen had expected. Of course a seven-foot-plus woman didn't go unnoticed even in a crowded city like Salas. After a few questions backed up with a few coins they found themselves in front of a crumbling apartment building. Knocking on the door they were greeted by a wrinkled little old man who peered out at them in suspicion. "What do you want?" he wheezed. "We're looking for the living quarters of a woman," Nilsen said. "Lots of women around," the man growled, "but none here for the likes of you. Down and around the corner, go to the red door. They'll take care of you." "We're looking for a particular woman," Nilsen continued. "Very striking and easy to remember: She's over seven feet tall. Actually I'm not looking for her — I already know where she is — I'm looking for someone she might have been with, a Cerberus. Do you know who I'm talking about?" "You know where Lav is?" the man said, suddenly much more courteous. "The last we heard she had died in the arena." "She didn't die," Nilsen said shaking his head. "In fact she's at my house now, ill, but she'll recover soon enough. So, do you know this Cerberus and where we can find him?" "I know where you can find him," the man nodded. "I don't know if he's still alive, but I know where he is. Is it just you two? I'm not sure if just the two of you want to meet Cerberus, but on your head be it. He's probably dead by now anyway." The little man stepped outside and closed the door. Without even looking back he started walking around the corner of the building and down a small alley. Nilsen looked at Demeter who just shrugged; they turned and began to follow their strange guide. A short ways down the alley they came to a door. There was a padlock on the outside and the man retrieved a key from his pocket. After unlocking it the man backed away and gestured to the door. "If you want to go in, go ahead," he said starting to walk away. "Just let me get a little bit farther away, if you don't mind." Given the strange little man's actions, Nilsen and Demeter loosened their swords and kept a hand on the pommel as they pushed the door open. The interior was cool and dark and the scent of animal feces wafted up at them as a gust of wind blew the door open even further. They advanced slowly noticing the devastation evident in each room. It looked like a group of vandals had ransacked the place; there didn't appear to be a single stick of unbroken furniture in the place. Shortly they came to the main room, which wasn't much larger than the hallway. There in the middle of the room was a lump, a very large lump, of something black and hairy. As they slowly approached the object Demeter exclaimed, "What was she doing with a pony in her apartment?" "That's not a pony, Dem," Nilsen said in an awed voice. "It's a dog." Edited by Morgan ------- Chapter 3 "It can't be a dog," Demeter said quietly as he froze in place. "No dog could be that big." "That may be," Nilsen said, "but nonetheless that thing is a dog, or at least something very dog-like." Nilsen moved cautiously over to the huge lump. "Is it dead?" Demeter asked nervously. "I'm not sure," Nilsen whispered. "Wait, I can see its breathing. Still alive, but just barely, I think." "Then by the gods, leave it alone," Demeter hissed. "It must be what tore up this place. Armed or not, I don't want to be around when it wakes up." "I don't think we have to worry about that," Nilsen said, looking at the swollen, almost black tongue hanging out of the huge jaws. "I'll guess it hasn't had much water or food for the past week or so. In fact, if we want to save it, we'd better get some water into it soon." "Why would you want to save it?" Demeter demanded. "Even if it was gentle as a kitten something that big is going to be dangerous. Just a guess, but I'm thinking it isn't all that gentle. We should just cut its throat now and be done with it." "Hmm, you're probably right," Nilsen sighed, "but I'm betting it belongs to my guest. It was the last thing she thought of before passing out. I think we should bring it back to her." "Another one of your feelings?" "Sort of," Nilsen said with a shrug. "It just seems the right thing to do." So, you're going to carry it back like you did your girlfriend?" Demeter teased. "Give me a fucking break!" Nilsen laughed. "I'm not even sure I could pick it up let alone carry it. There should be a good number of carters down here at the docks. Why don't you go see if you can find one and rent a wagon? I'm going to see if I can find some water. Maybe I can get some information out of the landlord while I'm at it." "You just going to leave it here, like this?" "It isn't going anywhere," Nilsen answered. "Well, I think you're crazy," Demeter snorted. "That thing is going to tear you apart when it wakes up. Oh well, best to get it done." The landlord was waiting outside a comfortable distance away from the door. He was able to tell Demeter where the nearest carter was located, luckily right around the corner. He seemed a little nervous when Nilsen said he wanted to ask some questions, but seemed reasonably disposed to answer them. "So, is the animal dead?" the landlord asked hopefully. "Not yet," Nilsen said. "It needs water. I'd guess it hasn't had any for a while. What do you know about it and about her for that matter?" "Can't tell you much," the old man admitted. "Lavender is her name, goes by Lav. The beast is hers. She calls him Cerberus; I just call him a devil. Oh, he's tame enough when she's around I'll admit, but when she isn't ... Look out! I'd be worth your life just to try and touch him! Damn shame he wasn't with her when she was taken; it wouldn't have turned out the same, I'll tell you!" "What do you know about that?" Nilsen asked. "Not much," the landlord sighed. "Look, I don't get mixed up in my tenant's business you see. Lavender — she was a strange one, no doubt — came in on some ship or other about a quarter-season ago. Kept to herself; real quiet and all. Willing to work when such was available and paid for a quarter-season on the rooms. "About a ten-day or so ago I'd heard she was taken by the Proctors. Don't know what that was all about, and don't want to know either. Anyway, last I heard she was in the arena; I'd assumed she died. Nobody gets out of the arena alive." "She did," was all Nilsen answered. "She's staying with me for now, at least until she recovers. I'm going to bring her the dog and whatever else she may have. I assume nobody has been in there since she's been here?" "You're right about that! Nobody's going in there with that beast around, even if they knew he was dead! "Not dead yet," Nilsen admitted. "Not well, but not dead. Can I get some water from you? He's going to need quite a bit and I should start giving it to him as soon as possible. It would be best if I didn't wait until I get him home." The landlord nodded and dashed inside. Moments later he was out with a pitcher and a cup. "Thanks," Nilsen said. "You've been very helpful. I'm sure Mistress Lavender would be very grateful." "She's a good girl," he said uncomfortably. "She weren't the kind you got close to, not that I would. But I don't want to see nothing bad happen to her either." "I told you, she'll be fine," Nilsen assured him. "She's had a hard time of it, but from what I've seen she's strong and will be back to normal soon. You said it was the Proctors that took her? Is that normal?" "That's what I heard," he said nervously. "I won't say it's normal, but it seems to be happening more often lately. I'll say no more about it!" Nilsen thanked him, took the water and reentered Lavender's apartment. Momentarily he puzzled over how he was going to get an unconscious dog to take water; it wasn't like he could dribble it into his mouth and he was in no shape to drink by himself. Finally, Nil took a scrap of cloth, wetted it and held it in the huge mouth. For a while he was afraid the animal was too far gone when it started to suck on the saturated rag. By repeatedly wetting the rag he was able to get a good portion of the water into the beast. The dog was still unconscious when Demeter arrived with the cart but seemed to be breathing easier; Nilsen took that as a good sign. With the help of a very reluctant carter, the three of them were able to drag the huge animal to the cart and place him in the back. Luckily, the trip back to the townhouse was uneventful. "So," Demeter said affably as they pulled up to the townhouse, "your menagerie grows. Maybe you're going to start keeping poisonous snakes now? It might be safer, actually." "What are you babbling about?" Nilsen asked with a frown. "I don't have a menagerie or anything remotely like it. I have a guest and her dog, nothing more. Now stop that and get your head out of your ass." "I have my head up my ass?" Demeter snorted. "At least I can see what's happening, unlike other people I could mention, but won't." "Just what do you think is happening?" Nilsen started to ask. "Never mind. I'm sure whatever you think is going on has no relation to reality. Now, how about helping me get this thing inside?" "Inside where?" "Hmm, good question," Nilsen paused for a moment. "I suppose it should be somewhere secure. It's only an animal; we can't be sure how it'll react when it wakes up." "Oh, I think I have a pretty good idea how it'll react all right," Demeter quipped. "You saw that apartment the same as I did. If there was anything left together I would be surprised. If it did that to its mistress's place, just think what it'll do if it wakes up somewhere strange. Maybe you'll get lucky and it'll die." "He's not going to die," Nilsen retorted, and then paused again as he thought. "But you do have a point: an animal this size could be dangerous ... probably is dangerous. There's a storeroom on the lower level. If I remember, it's pretty much empty. Even if he recovers quicker than I think he will, he should be safe there." "It's your funeral," Demeter shrugged. "That it is," Nilsen agreed. Seeing the door guards as they pulled up in front of the villa, Nilsen whistled and waved to get their attention. With the help of the guards they were able to drag their furry visitor into his new domicile. As they exited the storeroom they were met by Nilsen's sister, Makro. She stood still and utterly quiet as she glared at them, hands on her hips. Nilsen could swear he could hear her foot tapping as she waited for an answer to her unasked question. Of medium height, coal-black hair framed her heart-shaped face and cascaded over her shoulders and down to the middle of her back. Her build would have been considered slim except for her extremely large chest, not quite as large as Lavender's, but then she gave up almost two feet in height to go with it. Impressive as that was, Nilsen considered her face and legs to be even better features, when she wasn't glaring at him or ready to kick him. Both had the tendency to occur far too often as far as he was concerned. In spite of that, as with all the women in his family, he considered her to be extraordinarily beautiful. He both envied and pitied the man who ended up with her as his wife. His life would be constantly heaven and hell, probably both at the same time! "Hello, Makro," he said cheerfully. "How did everything go at the palace? Well, I hope. Didn't think you'd be back quite so soon." She just stood there, her eyes, black as her hair, boring holes into him. If anything, her frown deepened, something Nilsen would have wagered couldn't have happened. Neither of them said anything for a moment or two. Demeter coughed softly and said to nobody in particular, "I think I'll go see what Sara's up to, if you don't mind. Mistress Makro, it's good to see you. Nil, later." With that he turned and without actually running, beat a hasty retreat. "You know," Nilsen mused, "I think he just may be sweet on our Sara. What do you think?" Nilsen could feel the pressure build as she continued to glare at him. They were what some called "cradle twins." Born within a ten-day of each other they naturally grew up very close to each other, although for some reason Makro seemed to think that since she had been firstborn Nilsen should naturally defer to her. Nilsen didn't agree. Over the years he had developed many methods of dealing with his — assertive is what he called her when feeling kind, bitchy when not — sibling. After eighteen seasons he even found one or two that worked, sometimes. Ignoring her was generally effective in the short term, but not particularly prudent in the long term. Arguing was little more than an exercise in futility. One might as well argue with a stone. Caving in and agreeing to everything she said usually worked. Unfortunately Nilsen had a fair streak of stubbornness himself that refused to allow him the refuge of capitulation. Especially if he thought what he was doing was right. No, this was one of those times when he had to suck it up and just talk to her. If he could do it rationally and maybe even with a little humor, it could keep the situation somewhat civilized, or at least below the throwing-things stage. Makro had a tendency to throw whatever was at hand if she was really pissed off, including sharp objects. Luckily, she had terrible aim. Besides, if he could maintain reasonable tones it would drive her crazy ― always a bonus! "I couldn't care less if he's chasing one of the maids," Makro hissed. "That's her problem, not mine." "Well I think it's good for both of them," Nilsen said with a smile. "Certainly if she's willing I can't see..." "Nilsen deSiso!" Makro said firmly, and loudly. "Well, I think it's kind of sweet..." "Nilsen!" this time she shouted. "What is that thing you brought into this house?" "Ah, well," Nilsen paused, "I'm afraid you're going to have to be a little more specific than that. Do you mean our guest in my bedroom or the one down here in the storeroom? By the way, we probably need to tell everyone not to go in there; it might not be safe. Anyway our guest recuperating in my bed is a woman, not a thing." Makro growled and started glancing around the hallway. Nilsen realized he had once again misjudged how far to push her ... Oh, well. "Settle down, I surrender," he said raising his hands in the universal peace sign. "I can, and will, explain everything. I'm sure you've heard at least some of her story by now, probably as much as I know if the truth be told. As for the animal ... Well, that's hers and when we found him he was near death, probably still is. I don't know how badly off he really is, but he's not well, that much I know. I was hoping that I could get everyone together and tell the story once. "I assume she's still sleeping?" he asked. "It's not my job to track the whores you stuff in your bed," Makro snapped. "Makro," he rebuked her softly, "that's neither true, nor fair. None of the women I've been with have been whores, and certainly not this one. Curse me if you will, but leave the innocent alone, please." "Fine!" Makro huffed, then her shoulders relaxed and she actually blushed, just a little. "You're right; I apologize. But you could have told me about it first!" "I would have if I could," he said with a shake of his head. "It all happened too quickly. I know you hate surprises, but this was the right thing to do; it had to be done." He walked up to her and wrapped her in his arms, bringing her into a hug. She protested softly as he buried his face in the hair hanging down on her shoulder, giving him one or two ineffective shoves before sighing and relaxing in his arms. "Hmm, you smell good," he said as he breathed in her scent. "Almost good enough to eat!" he said, taking a little nip at her neck. She started laughing and this time did push him away. "Get on with you," she said holding his hands and smiling up at him. "You think I'm one of your fawning harem girls? I think not. You can't nibble on my neck and get out of it that easily." "That's too bad," he said with a chuckle. "I thought I'd found a great new way out of one of your scoldings." "You wish!" she snorted. "Seriously, we all need to sit down and talk about this." "I know," he sighed. "Not only about our guests. A few things have come to light that have me worried. Lavender — that's the women's name — has a salidin but is unbound." "Yes ... so?" Makro cocked her head in question. "So, her master died. It happens — not very often — but it does happen." "Maybe," Nilsen admitted. "But I get the feeling there's something more to it ... a lot more. It's not just that, though; the way she was captured is rather worrisome. We'll talk it all out tonight. Maybe I'm being paranoid, but it has me concerned." "Hmm, okay. Tell us tonight after evening meal." Makro let go of his hands and started walking back down the hallway. "I will," he called to her retreating back. "Right now I've got to take care of my guest." With the help of one of their guards he was able to get the dog to drink another two buckets of water. The animal seemed to be resting comfortably so they secured it with a heavy chain and left it with a plate of ground meat in case it would wake while he was gone. Admonishing the staff not to enter the room without him, he left to check on his other guest. ------- After the evening meal Nilsen, his four sisters and Katern gathered in the large study off the main living area. "As you are all aware," he began, "I have had an interesting day to say the least. Jarrah, you've had a chance to look in on Lady Lavender. How is she doing?" Jarrah, younger than he and Makro by just less than a season, sat upright in her chair. Tall, slight of build, with long, honey-blond hair and deep blue eyes, she studied her half-brother with a cool, detached look. She almost never smiled, which Nilsen thought was a shame since she was easily the loveliest of the many beautiful women in his family. At an early age she had demonstrated a knack for healing and since then had pursued that discipline with a passion. It was about the only thing she ever displayed a passion for. She appeared to be completely indifferent to men as a sex and dallied with other women only on occasion. Nilsen couldn't care less which sex she was attracted to — most if not all of the women in his family seemed to be attracted to both — he just wished she was happier in life, not that there was much he could do about it. "As would be expected," she began in her usual, almost expressionless voice, "the subject is dehydrated, undernourished and still battling the effects of both the stimulant and depressant. She has not regained consciousness yet, and I would not expect her to for at least another day. She has been bruised and battered as you might imagine, although she appears to be healing well. She is taking liquids and small amounts of mashed field rations. She is young and strong; the prognosis is good." "Thank you, Jarrah," Nilsen nodded with a smile. "She couldn't be in better hands, of that I'm sure." Jarrah acknowledged his compliment with a slight nod of her own. "Our other guest appears to be doing well also. He couldn't move much, but he did growl at me when I looked in on him just awhile ago." "That beast is dangerous," Makro said. "I don't care if it does belong to this woman; you should put it down before it regains its strength and hurts someone." "Yes," Nilsen replied, "you're right; he could be very dangerous, I'm well aware of that. However, I'm confident I can handle him well enough for now. In a few days Mistress Lavender will be well enough to take over those duties. Anyway, what I really wanted to do is tell all of you the whole story of what happened today..." He went on to tell the story from the first time he walked into the slave pens. "That Demeter is a bad influence," Makro said after his tale was done. "So you now own a rather unique slave," Jarrah commented, looking almost amused. "And her dog." "I don't own anyone," Nilsen protested. "Anyway, that's not the point. When she's well enough we can send her to wherever she wants to go. That's not the problem. What I find very troubling is the fact that slavers have been operating here in Salas, apparently with the Putram's support. I'm not the politico here, but that seems to be a rather substantial change in how Salas operates and that may be of serious concern to Jeevel." "It very well could be," Makro said slowly. She was staring off into nothing as she thought about these revelations. "I'll put together something for Mother tonight; it'll go out tomorrow morning. One of our couriers was about to leave soon anyway." "I think you're wrong about the woman." Jarrah said. This time there was no doubt she was amused; she even had the ghost of a smile on her lips. "You won her; maybe not fairly, but then you didn't get caught so that doesn't really matter. But there is the little problem of her having a salidin. What do you plan on doing about that? You know as well as we do that she will snapped up by the first one along that has the ability to bond her. Did you ever find out what happened to her former liege?" "Ah, yes, well..." he stammered for a minute. "I haven't forgotten that, but I'm not really sure what to do about it. No, I hadn't heard what happened, which is kind of strange. She was only taken within the past ten-day or so, so it's hard to believe her previous ... bondholder, died in so short a period of time. There's something not quite right about the whole thing. I'm pretty sure she wasn't bonded before they took her; I would have heard if that were the case, I think. I still think there should be somewhere safe for her; I'm going to do my best to find it." "She will be safe..." Deimie broke in. " ... because she will not leave," Fobie finished. The twins were lounging on a settee looking almost bored with what was going on. "More of your voodoo?" Jarrah quipped. All the siblings knew the twins had a gift even if they didn't understand it. Most, like Nilsen, just accepted it as another force of nature, somewhat like the wind; Jarrah did her best to make herself believe she didn't. To Jarrah the world was a place of absolutes: something existed or it didn't. If it did, then she should be able to see, smell, touch or otherwise measure it. Glimpses of the future didn't fit into her paradigm. "Oh, yes," they twittered, "voodoo." "What have you seen, sisters?" Makro said, giving Jarrah a stern look. "If it's anything helpful, now's the time to speak up." "Much..." " ... and little," they said with a shrug. "You know we don't see everything, and this is no exception. What we do know is something important has begun. To tell too much stirs the possibilities and makes it difficult to see." Nilsen's most recent theory about the twin's gift — he had had many of them over the years — was that they didn't really see the future but somehow were incredibly good at calculating the possibilities of what might happen based on what they perceived around them. They didn't dispute this theory, but then they rarely did. The closest they ever came was to laugh at some of his wilder ideas. The more he thought about it the more he became convinced this was at least in part what was happening. Otherwise why would prior knowledge affect what would happen? If the future was fixed and indelibly written, then how could knowing what would happen change it? It couldn't. However, if what they saw were the probabilities, or possibilities, then certainly knowledge could, and would affect what might happen. How they for all practical purposes shared one mind in two bodies, he tried not to think about. "Yes, well," he said breaking in, "I don't know about this being the start of something important, but it is at least interesting. I'm sure Momma Nesho would like to hear all about it, Makro. But wouldn't it be better if you waited a day or two? We should be able to get Mistress Lavender's side of the story by then. What we have here is certainly news, maybe even critical, but not time-critical, I think. It would probably be best to wait and get a better picture of exactly what is going on. Do you agree?" "I suppose you're right," Makro admitted grudgingly. "It's important, but a day or so wouldn't hurt, and more information would be even better. All right, we'll wait until your new toy wakes up." "Now, now," Nilsen chided as he stood up, "be nice. She's no more a toy than my sword is; besides she's not mine. She's just a guest and will be leaving soon no matter what the Demons say." He stretched and yawned, mostly for dramatic purpose. "It's been a long day. I'm going to look in on both of our guests and then I'm turning in." "Oh, and wherever will you sleep?" Jarrah asked snidely. "Your bed seems to be occupied. Are you planning to share it with her?" "No I'm not," he said grinning. "As it happens, someone else seems to have plenty of spare room and I've been invited to share it. Pull your claws back in, dear heart. Nobody said you had to sleep alone every night." "I don't, not that it's any of your business, slut!" "Slut?" Nilsen mused. "Slut. Man-slut! I like it! Yes I do!" He pranced around the room and batted his eyes at the girls. "Do I beguile you?" "You make me want to sick-up," Jarrah said, trying hard not to laugh. "On your way..." Deimie started. " ... while you can," Fobie laughed. "Soon enough your bedmates won't be yours to choose." "Bah," he waved a hand dismissively, "I'm far too young to even think about settling down. I still have the world to see, places to go, people to meet. So, your threat is an idle one, I pooh-pooh it." Still prancing, he left the room. "Off to play night games again," Jarrah sighed. "It would be nice if he were a little more discreet about it." "Slut?" Makro raised her eyebrow to her sister. "That's a bit harsh, don't you think?" "You saw how much it bothered him," Jarrah responded. "I suppose, with all the practice he been getting, at least he'll make some woman very happy when he does settle down." "Many women," Deimie giggled. "He is destined to be the husband of many women, whether he wants to or not." "By then he will want it," Fobie piped in. "Your jealousy is unnecessary, dear sister; he never goes far, and he will always come back." "Jealousy?" Jarrah scoffed. "You are insane. For one thing he's our brother, and another he's a man. Either one of those facts is enough to make me ill. I may not display my love life on my shirt like he does, but you are well aware I have no interest in men. None whatsoever." The twins merely shrugged and settled back into their seat. "Enough of that," Makro said firmly. Looking at the twins sharply, she continued, "Your love of the dramatic is cute at times, but this isn't one of them. What can you tell us now that he's not here? What exactly is going on here? Does it involve our new guests? What about Salas and this information about the apparent expansion of slavery here? You two play at being the empty-headed mystics, but we all know it's far from the truth. I'm in no mood for the games; out with it!" The twins glanced at each other and must have come to some silent agreement because Deimie sighed while Fobie leaned back with a well-practiced pout on her face. "Fine," Deimie said with another smaller sigh. "The truth is we don't know exactly what is going to happen. Does it involve the female warrior? Yes. How, we don't know yet. By the way, you might as well start calling her Lav or Lavender; she's going to be around for a long time. "We don't think it has anything to do with Salas, or the slave issue," she continued. "Lavender is the focus of what is coming. She's important, or something she knows is important. That much is clear; the 'why' isn't. "I know you think we're a tease," she smirked, "and you're right of course. That's half the fun. But we have learned not to tell everything we know or suspect. However we can tell you some things." She paused momentarily as if gathering her thoughts. "Lavender will become bonded to Nilsen. Both of them will fight it at first, but it will happen. She will also become one of his women, and I don't mean like one of the playmates he has now. I mean like our mothers are to our father." "You mean his wife?" Jarrah asked incredulously. "That monster is going to be his wife?" Suddenly she started laughing so hard she actually started crying. "Oh, that's rich! How wonderful! He's going to be married to someone big enough to thrash him when he needs it. How delightful!" "Stop it," Makro snapped. "The way you go on one would suspect they're right: you are jealous." Jarrah grimaced, settled back and fumed. While it was safe to yell at the seeming unflappable twins, the same couldn't be said for Makro. "Besides if she does bond to him she isn't going to be thrashing him any which way." "You don't really believe any of this nonsense is true, do you?" Jarrah asked. "I don't know," Makro shrugged. "Especially about her becoming his wife. Now about him bonding her ... Well, she has to bond to someone. Who would be better? I'll reserve judgment until we can actually talk to our sleeping beauty." "These two are insane," Jarrah said as she stood up, "and you're no better. I've heard enough nonsense for one evening, thank you very much. I'm going to bed." With that she quickly left the room. "You shouldn't tease her so much," Makro said still looking at the retreating form of her sister. "She makes it too easy," Fobie replied guiltily. "She fights everything we say, no matter what." "It's true," Deimie nodded. "If we said the sun rose in the east she'd get angry and disagree. It's fun to needle her. You evaluate what we say, and Nil, well, he mostly just accepts. What's the fun in that?" "She's our sister and you shouldn't go out of your way to tease her like that," Makro admonished. "Understand?" The twins nodded in agreement, although not enthusiastically. "Now, unless there's something else you can tell me maybe we should follow the rest and be off to bed ourselves. I don't know about you two but I'm tired." ------- Not much later Nilsen was feeling a bit tired himself; tired but not yet ready for sleep. His head rested between the soft, silky thighs of Sara as he gently licked and nibbled at the glistening lips of her cunt. Fusia, another maid, was snoring softly next to them having already been fucked through three shattering orgasms. Sara was close to her second as his tongue traveled up to caress her exposed clit. Suddenly she gasped, her legs closing around his head as her body shuddered in release. Still vibrating slightly she reached down and grabbed him by the ears, straining to drag him up and onto her body. "In me now, my stallion," she whispered as he slowly moved to position himself to mount her. "Fuck me, my lord, my master." Bending slightly he roughly pressed his lips to hers as the swollen head of his cock parted the lips guarding her pleasure portal and eased inside her. "Oh!" she groaned into his mouth. "Gods yes!" As wet as she was he slipped right in and was soon fully seated inside her, the spongy head of his cock rubbing against the hard surface of her cervix. She began to whimper as he began the slow, deep thrusts that brought them both so much pleasure. As the pleasant pressure of another orgasm began to build within her she broke their liplock, panting as she raised her hips in time with his thrusts, trying to embed him inside her as deeply as possible. "Yes, yes, yes!" she shouted as he plunged harder, deeper and faster. "Fuck me! Take me! Use me!" she babbled as he drove deep one final time and held it. She felt his cock, already stretching her wonderfully, expand just slightly as he readied himself to release his seed within her. She could almost feel the semen racing through his fleshy tube and exploding against the mouth of her womb. Sara felt the sudden, overwhelming need to have him impregnate her. She knew, if she had any thoughts at all other than lust, that it was unlikely since Jarrah and Katern made sure all the household women took their contraceptive tonic regularly, but that wasn't a concept even remotely in her mind right then. All she wanted was her master to fuck a baby into her belly, to irrevocably make her one of his women, to give him what only one of his women could give him. The thought of his seed taking root inside her finally sent Sara over the edge and she felt the intense pleasure of a massive orgasm for an eternity/instant before her eyes rolled up in her head and a dark oblivion wrapped itself warmly around her conscious mind. Edited by Morgan ------- Chapter 4 Lavender's return to consciousness was slow and incredibly painful. Waking up to a bruised and battered body was nothing new to her; she had experienced it many times before as a matter of fact, but the level of pain this time was new in its intensity and totality. As she tried to open sand-filled eyes she could swear that even her hair hurt! But it wasn't so much the pain, although it was sharp and intense, it was the absolute exhaustion that catapulted this to a whole other level. She had been tired before, pushed to the very end of physical limits, but never this soul-draining, bone-shaking weariness! She blinked her eyes a couple of times trying to clear them, too tired to lift her hand to rub, and ran her tongue along parched lips. The hunger in her middle was like a small badger trying to claw its way out, but even worse was her thirst. Moving her head to one side she tried to summon what little willpower she had to force her body to move. This body is dying, she thought. Maybe I should just lay back and let it. "You're not dying," a melodious voice said from somewhere around her head. Turning back to the other side Lavender saw a doll sitting next to her. This is interesting; I've always wondered what a hallucination would look like. The doll had deep red hair, tiny fair features and looked back at her with the biggest green eyes she had ever seen. The vision cocked its head and pursed her lips into a stern pout before speaking again. "I said you're not dying," it said. "Although from what Nilsen told us about the aftereffects of the drug he gave you it probably feels like you are, or maybe you just wish you were." "He said you would be hungry and thirsty when you awoke. Would you like some water? Wine?" The voice came from a little farther away although it sounded almost identical to the first. Straining her neck Lavender saw another doll, a duplicate in every way of the first. Well, why not? she thought to herself. If you can dream of one talking doll, why not two? The second doll was holding a jug and suddenly the thirst she had been feeling became overwhelming. "Water," she croaked, barely able to make a sound. The talking doll obliged by pouring a clear liquid into a cup and bending down, held it to her lips. Lavender gulped at the sweet tasting liquid although after four or five swallows the cup was pulled back. "Not so much all at once," Doll Number One admonished. "Let that settle and then you can have more. You can have as much as you want, just not all at once." "Where?" Lavender groaned. "Who?" Lavender had pretty much figured out she was either seriously injured and in a hospital, or dead and in an afterlife she had never before professed to believe in. "Succinct and to the point," Doll Number Two added. "Admirable." "As to where you are ... Well, to be precise you are in our brother's bed in his rooms within the deSiso household in Salas." She paused for a moment and continued, "I suppose it's as close as Jeevel has to an embassy here for now. "As for who, I am Deimie deSiso and this one is my sister, Fobie. It may be hard to tell us apart at first, but really it's quite simple. I'm the intelligent one and she's the pretty one." The second, identical in every way Lav could tell, giggled and held the cup out to her again. Lav drank it down quickly but then laid back knowing there wouldn't be another for a little while anyway. "Cerberus?" she asked, knowing full well in the pit of her stomach what the answer would be. She didn't know exactly how long she had been unconscious, but given how long she had been held captive in the gladiator pits she knew her shiakye couldn't have survived. "Your puppy?" Deimie asked. At least she thought it was Deimie; they hadn't moved that she could tell, but she couldn't have told the difference between them if her life depended on it. "He's in the storeroom growling at anyone who comes close. Nilsen, the big bully, won't let us in to see him, but he told us he'll be fine. Still weak, but getting better. When you feel up to it we'll take you down there to see him." "Now," Lavender demanded weakly, the relief flooding her soul battling the weakness of her body. "Oh, we don't think so," Deimie said seriously. "You need to regain your strength a little before you can even try to get up." As if to put lie to the doll's words Lavender struggled to lift herself up from the bed. Casually Deimie reached over and pushed against Lavender's chest causing her to fall back into the bed with a loud grunt. Too exhausted to even move, Lavender glared up at her diminutive jailers. "See," the doll said. "You're too weak. If you were to fall — and you would — we wouldn't be able to help you. Not even with that big hunk of meat over there." Lavender glanced over to where the doll was looking and saw what was obviously a guard standing at the ready. He didn't look happy and Lav surmised it was due to the proximity of the dolls to their captive. She almost smiled thinking that as weak as she felt she wasn't a danger to a kitten let alone a person. "When you're ready you can go and see him, or maybe if he's better before you, he can be brought here." "Not dead?" she asked. "'Fraid not," the second doll, Fobie, said with a giggle. "It's not paradise and we're not angels. You may feel like you're dead, but Jarrah has assured us you'll be fine in a few days. That hideous potion of Nilsen's takes a lot out of you, but you'll recover." One of the twins — she'd figured that much out — lifted Lav's head while the other helped her drink until she'd had almost enough. By then the weariness began to drag at her and staying awake was like trying to swim while wearing a winter coat. Too soon the darkness again covered her like a blanket and she remembered nothing. ------- "How is she?" Nilsen asked as he entered the room. Deimie and Fobie were reclining in separate chairs each reading one of their seemingly infinite number of books. Nilsen was himself a voracious reader but nothing compared to the twins. He glanced at the huge form in his bed, apparently sleeping peacefully. "Quite well," Fobie answered without looking up. "She was awake for a bit a little while ago," Deimie continued. "She took sweetened water and then went back to sleep. She asked about her doggie and we let her know he was still alive. Tried to get up to see him, but she's still too weak." "Probably will be for another day, I'd say," he grunted. "Her animal is doing fine also. Still as weak as she is, but I'd hardly expect anything else. Snapping and fussing, but eating and drinking anyway. As soon as she's able I'll take her down to see him." "Maybe you should bring him up to see her," Deimie suggested. "We believe the effects of the drugs were harder on her than you might think," Fobie continued. "Jarrah agrees, combining both the stimulant and the depressant together were bad enough; add to that the ten-day in the arena ... she may be recovering for longer than you had hoped. We think it would help if she saw her puppy when she woke up next time." "Puppy!" Nilsen snorted. "That thing is a trained war hound if there ever was one. It's dangerous enough where it's locked up. Makro would cut my liver out if I brought it in here, and then make me eat it if anyone got hurt!" "No one will get hurt, Nil," Deimie said looking up at him. "Are you sure?" he asked. They both nodded to him and he shrugged and sighed. "All right, I'll bring him in here after I've fed him again. Maybe if I had something to show him that had her scent it might help control him, or maybe it would just drive him crazy. I suppose there's only one way to tell. Do you think there's any of her clothing left from when we brought her in?" "Those nasty things?" Deimie said wrinkling up her nose. "I doubt it, but look in your bathroom. If they're still around it would be in there." Nilsen nodded and walked into the bathing area. It looked like Deimie was right; there didn't seem to be anything left of either hers or his until he saw a scrap of leather poking out from under one of the benches. Bending over he pulled out what was left of her leather jerkin. He smiled; Katern would have flayed the skin off whoever was supposed to clean in here if she found out it had been missed, but Nil was glad for the oversight. It was nasty, greasy, smelly, and sweat-stained but if it didn't carry her scent, nothing did. Carrying it gingerly he went back to the sleeping area. "I've got this," he said holding up his foul prize. "I'm going to feed the beast and then see if I can entice him down here. Just to be safe, you two shouldn't be here." "We will be quite safe with you here," Deimie said solemnly. "Makro's going to have my hide," he muttered as he shook his head. "I don't know why I trust everything you tell me; I must be daft." "You trust us because you love and understand us," Fobie said coming up out of her chair to give him a hug. "I don't understand anything about you two," he said sighing as he returned her hug. "But for whatever reason I do trust you. I just hope it doesn't get you hurt someday; I'd never forgive myself if that happened." "We will be fine," she admonished. "Now, go play with your puppy and bring him back here." "Oh, I'll bring the dog back here, but he certainly isn't mine," he protested. "Of course he is," Deimie chimed in. "He belongs to Lavender and she belongs to you, therefore he belongs to you. You are so stupid sometimes." "Warrior Lavender. Does. Not. Belong. To. Me!" he said with exasperation. "I wish you would stop saying that." "She most certainly does," Fobie continued. "Or will; it's the same thing. Now, will ... It's just a matter of semantics. It's really the same, you know." "No, I don't know," he said. "But one thing I do know is arguing with you two is an exercise in futility. That being the case I'm going to stop it and be on my way. Rolf, you be ready when I get back." "I will be, Your Highness," the guard on duty nodded. "I don't suppose I'd be able to talk you out of this, would I?" "No," Nilsen shook his head. "What my sisters say is true: it's probably a good idea for our guest to see her dog when she wakes up. It's still weak enough for us to control, for now anyway. If he sees her it might be easier to control him when he does regain his strength, which won't be long now, I fear. Good idea or bad, we'll give it a try. I'll be back soon." Carrying the ratty vest, he left the room. He could hear the low growls as he approached the storeroom. Opening the door cautiously he poked his head in, ready to close the door quickly if needed. The animal was lying on the floor, muzzle on its front paws, eyes glaring at him. It still had the chain around its neck, he was glad to see, and the chain was still attached to the barrel of flour which Nilsen hoped would be heavy enough to hold it if it decided to attack. Nilsen did note that there was slack in the chain, enough to allow the dog a short span to attack if it decided to. He wondered if this was an accident or by design. He would have done the same if the situation was reversed. Nilsen had no idea how intelligent the animal was, but the safest course was to assume it had at least some rudimentary cunning; just because it was an animal didn't mean it couldn't understand what was going on. Besides, he strongly believed it was a trained war dog, or at least a guard animal and although he had no experience with their kind he had heard stories about their capabilities, which were considerable. "You're looking better, big fellow," he said in a calm, measured tone. "If you're good, I think I've got something you want." Coming only as close as he thought the dog could reach with the chain extended he stopped and held out the vest. The growling stopped when the dog saw the vest and a low whimper started up. "That's right," Nilsen said crouching down and extending the vest as far as he could. "You smell her, don't you? Be a good boy and I'll take you to see her." Cerberus whimpered some more and inched forward on his haunches. Seeing the man wasn't going to come any closer he slowly rose to his feet still looking at the vest in Nilsen's hand. Moving forward in jerky movement, as if his legs still weren't completely under his control yet, he came close enough to stick his nose into the folds of the vest and took a deep breath. Suddenly he sat back on his haunches and swiped with a paw at the vest, moving more like a cat batting at a toy then a dog. Nilsen dropped the vest to the ground between them and stood up. The dog lowered his head and started nuzzling the vest immediately. "Well," Nilsen said, talking to the dog as if it were another person, "do you want to see her or not?" Cerberus looked up at Nilsen and then over at the door. The whimpering stopped and he lay back down with his head on the vest. Nilsen wondered if he was as crazy as the twins; he had the same feeling that he was reasonably safe with this animal. There was absolutely nothing to justify that feeling, but again he had learned to trust both the feelings and the twins, nonetheless. Just in case, though, he loosened the swordbreaker/dirk he always carried and held it in his left hand. Cautiously he walked around the prone animal to the chain bolted to the cask. Glancing down as he reached for the shackle, he heard a sudden rattling of the chain. As he turned he felt two great weights thumping down on his shoulders with enough force to almost drop him to his knees. He was confronted by two very large eyes and a mouthful of very large white teeth. Later he would laugh at himself for being so stupid, but at the time he could only think about the dog's eyes: they were pale lavender, the exact same shade as the woman's! Amazing! he thought. What are the chances of that? "So, what do we do now?" he said, looking the dog directly in the eyes. He knew he was in danger, but not as much as one might think. As he turned, his dirk had come up and was now resting just under the breastbone of the animal as it stood on its hind legs. He knew if it really was attacking it would have bitten first. It still might, he reasoned, but a quick thrust would drive the dirk, designed as it was to pierce anything up to plate armor, under the ribs and into the beast's heart. For a moment they stood there staring at each other. Finally the dog dropped to the ground and turned back to the vest lying on the floor. Nilsen took a deep breath — he hadn't realized he'd stopped breathing during the confrontation — and turned back to the bolted chain. Detaching it, he wrapped it around his right wrist and turned back to the dog. "Well, Lord Cerberus, shall we go see your mistress?" The dog huffed, picked up the vest in his mouth and looked back at Nilsen expectantly. "You, I and your mistress are going to have a long talk about you, my furry friend," Nilsen said shaking his head. "You understand far too much." Cerberus turned and started walking towards the door pulling Nilsen along behind him. Out in the hall he stopped and turned back to Nilsen with what Nilsen could swear was a questioning look. "What? You don't know where to go from here?" Nilsen grinned. "I guess you don't know everything, now do you? This way." He pulled the dog along behind him as he headed for his rooms. The moment they hit the door, Cerberus took off towards the bed dragging Nilsen helplessly behind him. Nilsen saw Deimie standing next to the bed and he was suddenly terrified she would be hurt by the running animal, either by accident or by the dog thinking she was preventing him from getting to his mistress. "Get out of the way!" he yelled. Deimie turned and cocked her head slightly at the sight of the running dog. Frowning she took a small step to the side and towards them pointing her finger at the dog's nose. Suddenly Cerberus realized someone was in front of him and growled, then to Nilsen's utter amazement, he stopped, or at least he tried to stop. All four paws were moving, sliding on the slick stone floor as he tried to avoid Deimie's outstretched finger like it was a burning ember! He might have been able to do it if he hadn't been dragging Nilsen along behind him. As it was Nilsen was off balance and Cerberus's sudden stop caused them both to crash together and fall in a heap at Deimie's feet. Shaking her head and tapping her foot she looked down at the jumbled mass of man and dog. Shoving the dog's rump off his leg, Nilsen stood sheepishly. He could swear the dog had that same look as he sat up on his haunches; he hadn't even known that was possible! Deimie stepped closer and shook her finger in the dog's face. "You!" she said sternly. "You will behave yourself, do you understand? Your mistress is still too sick for you to be jumping all over her. Now, if you'll be good you can walk over here and see her." He looked down at her, his head being slightly above hers even when he was sitting, and then whimpered as he looked over at the bed. "Fine," she relented. "You can go to her, but gently, you hear!" Tongue flopping out of his mouth Cerberus trotted over to the bed dragging the chain. When he got there he laid down on the floor, resting his head on the bed and staring at his mistress. "Are you insane?" Nilsen hissed as he stood next to her. "You had no idea what he was going to do. I had no idea what he was going to do! Hell, I'll bet he didn't know what he was going to do!" "Paugh!" Deimie said, waving her hand at him dismissively. She turned back towards the bed in time to see Lavender's shaking hand move over to gently caress the dog's huge head. "Ah, you're awake, that's good! Do you think you can eat something now? I'm sure you're famished." Lavender nodded slowly and licked her lips. The sounds of soft footsteps behind him caused Nilsen to turn just as Fobie entered the room carrying a large covered platter. "I thought someone might be awake and hungry; everything precisely as ordered by your own personal healer," she said as she gracefully swayed over to them. When she got to the bedside she shoved the platter into Nilsen's hands, saying, "Here. Make yourself useful for a change. She's your guest; you feed her." Nilsen grunted as he took the food and looking around, he hooked the leg of a chair with his foot and dragged it over to the side of the bed. Setting the platter on the side of the bed he uncovered it revealing a large bowl of cooked cereal, steamed vegetables and small amount of chopped meat. "Yuck," Nilsen said wrinkling his nose. "Oatmeal. Glad it's you and not me, my dear warrior. I can remember having to eat this crap when I did this. Yeah, it'll help you, which makes it almost worth it..." "Hush, you," Fobie said, smacking him lightly on the back of the head. "Maybe she's not as spoiled as you are. It's good wholesome food. You should try it sometime." He glanced up at her darkly as he picked up a spoon and dipped it into the cereal and held it up for Lavender to eat. "Can, feed, myself," Lavender muttered hoarsely, turning her head away from the spoon. "You hush also," Deimie said sternly, shaking her finger at the supine women this time. "You are perfectly welcome to feed yourself when you regain your strength; until then you do as you're told." Lavender's mouth popped open in surprise and Nilsen shoved a spoonful in quickly. Reacting rather than thinking Lavender closed her mouth and swallowed the porridge; it was bland but other than being a bit salty it tasted fine. "It's easiest just to do as you're told," Nilsen commiserated. "They almost always get their way so it's just easier to go ahead and do it right up front." "Besides," Fobie interjected, "how many women can say they had breakfast in bed served to them personally by the Crown Prince of Jeevel?" "Quite a few actually," Rolf muttered behind them. All three royal siblings gave him a dirty look. He just hummed softly and turned to stare out the window. "Prince? Jeevel?" Lavender said between mouthfuls. "What is this, prince?" "It's a term we use for the male offspring of the ruling monarch, or king," Deimie said helpfully. "Female offspring are normally referred to as princesses." "Unless they're being pushy and irritating, then they're referred to as ... Ouch!" Nilsen frowned and looked up at Fobie as he rubbed the back of his head. She just smiled and shook-out her hand. "Never heard of this, prince? King?" Lavender said, sounding very puzzled. "What is this?" "Well," Deimie began, "it's a term most often used in the far south. King is the ruler of a particular country. The equivalent around here would be the Putram. I'm not sure what they call it where you come from. Anyway, the king is the ruler and his offspring are princes or princesses. The one designated to rule after the king is called the crown prince." "Putram?" Lavender looked thoughtful for a moment and then almost gleefully said, "Chieftain! Ah, this king is your chieftain and you are his children." "If that is what your leader is called, then yes, our father is our chieftain," Fobie said with a nod. "I chieftain's daughter also," Lavender said weakly pointing to herself. "Well then, you are also a princess," Deimie said clapping her hands gleefully. "I am very pleased to meet you, Princess Lavender," Nilsen said shoving another spoonful of vegetables into her mouth. "Now be quiet and chew." "We know your name is Lavender and I think you have met my sisters, Deimie and Fobie," he continued. "I am Nilsen, Nilsen deSiso if you want to be formal. That brute sitting over there is Rolf and this of course is Cerberus." He looked at the dog who was eyeing the food as it was being feed to his mistress. Nil noticed Lavender was fading fast so he stood and picked up the tray. "You've had enough for now," he said. "What you need is sleep. We'll save the formal introductions for later. I'm sure you have many questions for us and I can guarantee that we have even more for you. Will your dog be all right here? Do I need to chain him up to keep him from wandering?" Lavender shook her head and said, "Cerberus stays with me. He not ... wander." "I didn't think so," Nilsen said with a nod. Moving around the bed he handed the platter to Deimie and bent down to unshackle the chain from around the dog's neck. "Ah, Your Highness?" Rolf spoke up. "Is that such a good idea?" "Don't worry, Rolf, it will be fine," Fobie assured him. Rolf nodded curtly and settled back into his chair. "We'll talk more after you've had some sleep," Nilsen said to Lavender, but he wasn't sure if she heard him since her eyes were closed and her chest — which caused very interesting mounds under the sheets — was rising and falling slowly. Turning back to Deimie and Fobie he held out a crooked arm to each and said, "Well princesses, shall we go find the other princesses and let them know what's going on?" Giggling, they both took an arm and all three of them strolled out the door leaving the sleeping giantess and her two wary watchers behind. ------- Lavender's rise out the darkness was much less onerous this time. Before opening her eyes she flexed her muscles tentatively, feeling their sluggish response and diminished strength, but at least it didn't hurt quite as much as before. The pain was only an annoyance, but its absence indicated healing was occurring. Deep inside she could feel the warmth of her shiakye's presence nearby. The massive animal was close and seemingly completely at ease, a rare occurrence. Normally he was at least wary of their surroundings and for the past half season or so almost continuously skirting that edge between full control and combat. She had worried about that; it was unhealthy to be so constantly on that high alert, but there had been little she could do about it. Now he was relaxed, probably more so than she could ever remember him being. Taking a deep breath she opened her eyes. The sun streaming through the open window indicated it was close to midday, possibly a little before, and she was ravenous. Slowly eyes half lidded, she twisted her head around to survey her surroundings. On the one side she noted a warrior or guard sitting alongside the wall in the same place the one before had been. It was a different man, but it was obvious he fulfilled the same function. Slowly, trying not to bring attention to the fact she was awake, she moved her head back to the other side until she found two bright green eyes staring directly at her. It was one of the dolls she had been sure she had dreamed about on her first awakening, and it was obvious she knew Lavender was awake. Sighing, Lavender opened her eyes fully. "I told you she would wake up soon," the doll said with a smirk. "Yes, yes. All seeing, all knowing," someone responded. This came from a tall, for a shorty, young woman standing next to the doll. Hair the color of summer gold flax and slim as a reed, Lav estimated she would be considered quite beautiful in the shorty manner of things, although the frown on her lips didn't help. "Princess Lavender," the doll said. Lav tried to remember her name. It was either Deimie or Fobie, but how she could tell the difference was beyond her. "I'm sure it's nice to join the living again. This is my sister, Jarrah. Jarrah is your healer." "Service, mistress," Lavender said, bringing her arm up in salute. "Yes," Jarrah said curtly, "that's all very well, but right now I want to have a look at you." Jarrah bent over and peered into Lavender's eyes, poked her under the chin and pinched the loose skin on her arm all the while muttering under her breath. At last she stood up straight and gave a small harrumph. "Well," she grudgingly admitted. "Despite my brother's best efforts it would appear you are going to survive." "Thank you, Princess Jarrah," Lavender enunciated slowly. "Bah," Jarrah said with a wave of her hand. "You were obviously healthy, strong, and lucky. The effect of that damn stimulant is over and the depressant seems to have been flushed out of you also. You've lost a good bit of muscle mass, but I'm confident you can regain that fairly quickly if you eat right and exercise. I don't know what that idiot was thinking when he gave it to you." "He saved my life," Lav said, defending her savior, although she still wasn't yet sure if that was a good thing. "Yes," Jarrah sniffed. "Well, even a blind squirrel finds an acorn now and then. Enough of this. I'm sure you're starving. You need to eat if you're going to regain your strength." Turning she beckoned to another young woman waiting behind them holding a tray of food. "Fusia here has your midday meal, or if you insist, your first meal. Make sure you eat it all and later we'll get you up and walking. Now, if there isn't anything else, I have other places I need to be. Good day." Not waiting for a reply Jarrah turned and walked out of the room. "Don't let that bother you," Deimie said placidly. "She's like that with everybody. Fusia, hand me that tray. I'll take care of our guest." Deimie took the tray from the maid and nodded her dismissal as she settled it across Lavender's lap. It barely fit as Lav's hips were considerably wider than the tray was meant to accommodate. As Lav struggled to sit up in the bed the covering sheet fell down to her waist and she realized she was completely naked. Frowning she looked over at the guard who was very deliberately looking elsewhere. "Don't worry about that," Deimie said. "Nils already said anyone who even thinks of taking advantage of you will have to deal with you personally when you get better." Then she giggled, "If that includes looking, though, I suppose you'll have to be smacking him around some here in the near future. He doesn't seem able to keep his eyes off your rather prominent features. Ah well, boys will be boys as our mommas often say." "Don't care if they look," Lav shrugged as she shoveled another spoonful of mush into her mouth and followed it up with a bite of bread. "Just can't touch." "Oh, that he would never do," Deimie said, "unless you asked him to, that is." Lav frowned. "Why he think I ask?" "I didn't say he would," Deimie assured her. "I'm merely saying he wouldn't unless you did ask." Lavender grunted and went back to eating. About that time Cerberus stood up, stretched and then shook himself like he was drying off from a dunking. Happily he padded over to the side of the bed, tongue hanging out from the side of his mouth. Lavender grinned as she picked a piece of meat then popped it into his mouth; it disappeared like he had inhaled it. "None of that," Deimie scolded. "Your dog has been given more than enough to eat. You need it much more than he does right now. It's not as if everybody hasn't been sneaking him treats all day. Now, you leave her alone, you hear!" Lavender gasped as the diminutive girl reached across and smacked the huge canine on the nose. Instead of the expected growl and bone-crushing snap, Lavender was amazed to see Cerberus give the tiny girl a sorrowful look as he backed away from the bed. "Yes, I know you need to go," Deimie said, seemingly oblivious to the fact the animal could have bitten her in half with one snap of his jaws. "You know where. Do your business and come right back. Can't have you disrupting the entire household by wandering the halls, now can we?" "Ah, Mistress Deimie?" the guard asked. "Do you think that's a good idea, having the animal walking around by itself? I mean, how could it know where..." He stopped when he noticed her looking at him like he was the village idiot, something the Demons did very well, and often. However, his sense of duty kept him going forward even in the face of such adversity. "I'm pretty sure Lord Nilsen wanted it watched, and I'd bet Lady Makro expects it," he said stubbornly. "Banar," Deimie said as if speaking to a child, "Cerberus won't be 'walking around by himself'. Fobie will be here shortly to escort him to the courtyard. Certainly it would be too much to ask of our household not to overreact upon meeting him, at least until they get to know him." "But mistress," he continued. "Lady Fobie isn't ... I mean ... Well, she couldn't ... It's so big..." By this time the wind was definitely out of his sail and he slowly sputtered to a halt. As if on cue Fobie poked her head into the room and beckoned to the dog. "Come along, you," she said. "We haven't got all day." Cerberus looked over at Lavender expectantly and when she nodded he trotted out of the room following the diminutive redhead. "How did she know?" Lavender asked, dumbfounded. "How did she know to be here?" "Ah, why don't you talk to Nilsen about that?" Deimie chuckled. "He loves to talk about his theories. Who knows? Some of them may even be correct." Suddenly she turned solemn. "You have many decisions to make very soon. Also, my brother and sisters have many questions for you, just as I'm sure you have many questions for us. The next few ten-days are going to be very interesting for all of us. I'll leave you to your own thoughts for now. Tonight we will all gather and then we will talk." Standing up and taking the empty tray she began walking towards the door. On its threshold she stopped and turned back, facing Lavender. "One thing you must do very soon," she said, "is to choose to whom you will be bound for the rest of your life. Very few have that privilege, so think hard on it." Without waiting for a reply she turned and left. Edited by Morgan ------- Chapter 5 Lavender fretted about Deimie's parting words as she lay there in the bed. She had resolved to ask the other twin, Fobie, about it when she brought Cerberus back but never had the chance. A short time later when Cerberus trotted in through the door Fobie had stuck her head in, glanced around and then immediately left without a word. One thing she was certain of, she had no intention of being "bound" to anyone; better to be dead! But still, she wanted to know what it all meant. There was another person available to ask so she decided to take advantage of the situation. "You are Banar?" she tentatively asked the guard. "Eh?" Banar roused himself to look over at her. He hadn't been sleeping; he was just in that relaxed state of readiness soldiers were able to assume when they were on post but not really active. "Oh, ya sure, Banar. You need something?" "No," she answered. "I am asking what she meant by this 'bound' word?" "Ah, well that's both easy to explain, and then again not so easy," he said settling back in his seat again. "Not much of an answer, I know, but let me try. Serfs wearing the salidin are bound to their liege." He frowned slightly and stopped to think for a moment. "It ain't like a normal slave/master type of thing, so it's kind of hard to explain to someone who hasn't experienced it." "She thinks me a slave?" Lavender said aghast. "I a freeborn warrior, not a slave!" "Now, now," he said soothingly. "You're yelling at the wrong person here. You asked me a question and I'm trying to answer you. "As for Lady Deimie — at least I think it was Lady Deimie, it's hard to tell exactly — she was telling you what it is and that's a fact. See this?" he pointed to the salidin around his own neck. "Most places around here this means you are a slave. Ain't no maybe about it." Lavender reached up to finger the band around her own neck. "If you got one you're a slave. You got one; I got one; that means we're slaves. Now let me go on," he said when he saw Lavender about to say something. "Now I was born a slave back in Jeevel; both my mam and da were slaves also. Ain't much to be said about it, just the way it is. "Now," he continued. "I didn't get my salidin until I was brought into the king's household and bound to Mistress, I mean, Queen Nesho. Best day of my life that was." Lavender could actually hear the worship in his voice; it somewhat nauseated her. "Does not it sicken you to be called a slave?" she asked. "It's what I been all my life," he said with a shrug. "Back in Jeevel most everyone I knew were slaves so I don't know no different. Might as well ask a man blind from birth if he misses seeing the sky." "She said..." "Lady Deimie," Banar interrupted. "What?" Lavender said. "Its Lady Deimie or Princess Deimie," he said calmly. "She is a child of the royal family and should be addressed as such by the likes of us." "I bow to no one," she replied haughtily. "Besides, she never told me different." "She wouldn't," Banar nodded. "None of our ladies, or His Lordship, would. But that don't mean we shouldn't treat them with the respect they deserve." He furrowed his brow and thought for a moment more. "Though it's true, you ain't bound to anyone yet. Well, just leave that up to Mistress Katern. She'll deal with it as she sees fit. Speaking to that though, how come you ain't bound? Your master die? How'd that happen?" "I know not what you are asking," Lavender replied. "This," he again pointed to his salidin. "See that color? That means I'm bound to someone. If it were the color yours is, it would mean I'm not presently bound." "Mine is different from yours?" Lavender was suddenly hopeful that maybe hers was different in some way. "What? You never seen it?" When she shook her head he got up and moved over to the dressing table. Rooting around in one of the drawers he finally pulled out a hand-held mirror and tossed it to her on the bed. Lavender noticed immediately that she looked as gaunt and pale as she had ever seen herself, although she cared little for that. Then she saw the pewter colored band around her neck. It looked identical to Banar's except his was a rich golden color. "This mean I have no master?" she asked hopefully. "No," he said, dashing her hope. "It means you aren't bound to anyone right now. Under the law you're still a slave; just the ownership may be in dispute. "But that won't last long," he continued. "The first person who comes along with the proper equipment can do the ritual and you'll be theirs till they get rid of you. That's what Lady Deimie was talking about; you get to choose who to be bound to. Kind of silly if you think about it, the slave choosing her master, but I've seen some silly things in this household and to tell the truth I wouldn't have it any other way." "I'd rather be dead!" she hissed. "Might happen anyway," Banar shrugged. "But if you're going to do it you'd better do it quick, before someone binds you, 'cause if they do, you won't be able to off yourself unless they say it's okay. Not likely if they go to the trouble of binding you." Then he looked over at her with a frown, "But you ain't going to do it on my watch, or Rolf's either." "I cannot live as a slave," she whispered. "That ain't the question," Banar said, again with a shrug. "You're already living like one; question is how long you're going to live as one." ------- For the next few hours Lavender sat in the bed contemplating and mulling over what she had learned. Some might have called it pouting, but who's going to say that to a seven-and-a-half-foot giantess who could probably take your head off quicker than just looking at you. But whatever you called it she sat quietly, petting Cerberus's huge head, until her introspection was interrupted by a virtual crowd descending upon her. In all, six of them came through the door and without asking permission, pulled up chairs or stood back against the wall. She recognized most of them: the twins, Jarrah the healer and Nilsen (the blue-eyed fool, she allowed herself to think.) The other two she didn't recognize. One was dark-haired, of middling height, for a shorty, and well curved in the manner of quite a few shorty women. The other was smaller, shorter and slimmer than the twins. Lavender noted she wore a gold band around her neck and stood directly behind the dark-haired one. The dark-haired one didn't say anything at first, but sat in a chair that Nilsen dragged over for her. Lav assumed she was his mate or concubine from the way he treated her, but then he seemed to treat the other four women equally and she knew they were either his sisters or slaves. An interesting puzzle, but one for another time since it was apparent this group had something on their minds. "Good afternoon, Warrior Lavender," Nilsen said as he was moving the chairs around. "I hope you're feeling better. We wanted to wait for this, but if you feel up to it there are a number of things we need to ask you. "I think you know most everyone here," he continued before she could answer. "Deimie, Fobie and Jarrah you've met already. This," he pointed to the dark-haired woman, "is my older sister, Makro." He emphasized the word older and the woman frowned slightly when he did. Lavender was beginning to think that this Nilsen not only enjoyed teasing his sisters, but was good at it too. Somehow she didn't get the impression it included the beatings and degrading names that had been a constant part of her childhood — actually all her life — until she finally left. "And this," he said, now pointing to the tiny woman standing behind Makro, "is Katern. Katern runs this household so if you need anything, ask her. But try not to anger her," he warned, "she's a mean little thing. Will have you for breakfast one bite at a time." Lavender saw Katern's eyes roll up in exasperation and her hand twitch. Lav wondered if they weren't in front of outsiders if maybe Lord Nilsen would be receiving another thump on the head. Well deserved, she thought. "Nil," Makro spoke up, sounding as exasperated as Katern looked, "stop acting the ass. We have a lot to go over and limited time to do so." Nilsen actually looked a little contrite, but Lav had a feeling that wouldn't last very long. "Warrior Lavender," Makro said turning back to Lav. "My idiot brother has declared you a warrior and in this one area I must recognize his superior knowledge. We are all glad he was able to rescue you from the arena, although from the sound of it you ended up doing all the work. That's not all that unusual, I might add. Everybody else does the work and he gets all the credit." "Somebody has to be the leader, stand back and delegate," he protested. "Would you two shut up?" Jarrah snapped. "Stop playing around long enough to get this business over with, will you? Gods, you'd think you two were squabbling toddlers." "Jarrah," Nilsen said quietly, "we're just trying to keep this from becoming too dire. It's already serious enough as it is." He turned back to Lavender and she could feel the power of command radiate from him. Very few people gave her the feeling that doing what they said was the right thing to do. Very few were that type of natural leader. Her father was one; here apparently was another. "Warrior Lavender, I apologize," he said. "I do not mean to make light of your situation. You find yourself in a tough position and I do not envy you. Hopefully we will be able to help you, at least a little. All we ask in return is that you tell us your story. It would aid us considerably in understanding what exactly is going on around here. Will you help us?" Lavender's head began to nod even before she thought about her answer. It irked her somewhat, but then she did owe them something and if all they asked was for her tale, how could she refuse them? Makro directed the questioning starting from when she arrived in Salas. She asked how and why she got here, but didn't pursue the questioning when she refused to answer. What happened to her while in Salas she was very willing to talk about. They were particularly interested in the band around her neck and who placed it there. "I not entirely sure," she admitted. "They hit me hard when taking me and when I woke up it was there." "But was it ever activated?" Jarrah mused. "It's hardly conceivable that someone would place a salidin and then not activate it." "Even more to the point," Makro said, "why collar someone you intend to send to their death in the arena? They're somewhat more available these days, but not inexpensive. It doesn't make sense." "I'd be willing to bet it was never activated," Nilsen interjected. "Which makes me think it's probably someone who doesn't really understand how to use them. Maybe they thought just putting it on enabled them to control their captive. If that were the case I'll bet they had a nasty surprise when the lady here woke up." Lav remembered the satisfying crunch of the skulls of the two guards who had mistakenly come within arm's reach of her that first day. Like overripe melons they had split open and spread their contents over the cell floor. After that her arms had never been free until it was time to fight. "You're right, Nil," Makro finally said with a sigh. "Something isn't right here. This is a huge change and I for one can't foresee just how it's going to affect Jeevel. I can't imagine it would be anything good. One thing I do know is that Mamma Nesho needs this information as quickly as possible. Please excuse me; I'll go to take care of that now." "Before you leave, sister," Deimie spoke up, "there is the matter of what to do about our not-so-gentle giant here." "Now wait a minute," Nilsen protested. "It's not up to us to make any decisions for her. Any decision is for her to make, not us!" Makro calmly held up her hand just as everyone started trying to talk at once. The conversation dwindled to nothing as everybody turned to look at her expectantly. "Nilsen," she said, "your intentions are admirable, as usual, but unfortunately they don't meld well with reality, also as usual." Nilsen grunted at her, but didn't say anything. Turning to Lavender, Makro continued, "Do you know anything about the band you have around your neck?" "Just what he told me," she admitted, pointing her chin at Banar. "He says it means I am a slave." "In the basest sense, that's true," Makro sighed. "But in reality it means a great deal more. "It's called a salidin," she continued in her lecturing tone. "They are very common in the south and in fact whole societies are built around its use. In the south it denotes a sort of belonging, a binding if you will, of one person to another. Here in the north it also signifies a belonging, but usually in the slave/master type of relationship. "I won't lie to you: that is where you find yourself now. Once the salidin is in place it cannot be removed except by the death of the wearer. The attempt will cause excruciating pain and if it is removed you will die. I am sorry, but that is how it is. It's one of the properties of the device. Yes, I call it a device. It's Old Technology and to be honest we have no idea how it works, but we do have a good idea of what it does. "Your case is somewhat different. Normally when it's installed, it's activated. This takes a drop of blood from the person to whom you are to be bonded and a special device, and you are bound to that person until he or she transfers that bond to someone else. The bond can also be broken by either your death or your bondholder's. Unfortunately for you, if your bondholder dies your salidin merely becomes inactive, like it is now, until someone else activates it. You will always be in danger of being bonded against your will while the salidin is inactive. While you are bonded and your bondholder lives, nobody else can change that bond without his or her permission. "Now, the question is how to protect you? Or do you even want protection? For whatever reason — a reason I assure you we desperately want to learn — you are not presently bonded. This gives you a choice: You can bond to someone of your choosing, or you can take your chances remaining unbonded and try to remain free. "Our brother here," she indicated Nilsen, "has made it quite clear to us that he thinks you should try to remain unbonded. Personally, I think the chances are good someone will force you into a bond fairly soon if this is what you choose." "This is not a chance," Deimie spoke up suddenly. "This is a certainty. If you choose to remain unbonded and leave this household, you will be bonded within a ten-day." "Maybe," Nilsen interrupted, "but that should be her choice." "It will be your choice," Makro added. "Nobody is going to force you to do anything here. But if that is what you decide then you will have to leave this household. Nothing personal, Lavender, but our father has made it very clear that he will abide no unbound members in our fold. He is not only our father but our king and we will follow his wishes in this matter. "Do you understand what I have said so far?" "Yes," Lavender answered. "I cannot say I believe everything you have told me, but I understand." "Good," Makro said standing up. "You do not have to make your decision right at this moment. It can wait until you are well enough to leave on your own. But at that time you must decide. Nilsen has said he will help you get to wherever it is you might want to go and we will support that. We will have plenty of time to talk about this further over the next few days; until then I think we will leave you alone. You have a lot to think about." With that all five siblings stood up and started toward the door. "Wait," Lavender said. The party stopped and everyone turned to look at her. Lavender pointed at Deimie and than at Nilsen. "I want to talk to you. Please." Nilsen shrugged and walked back to his chair while Deimie and Fobie sat down flanking him. Makro just waved and left with Jarrah in tow. "Thank you," she said finally. "No problem," Nilsen again shrugged. "I know this has to be extremely hard on you. But I assume that as a fellow warrior you'd want me to tell you the truth. If nothing else I promise to do that." "I believe you," Lavender nodded. "You say you will help me to someplace safe?" "I will help you to get to wherever you want to go if I can," Nilsen said squirming slightly in his seat. "But I can't promise you it will be safe." "You think I have no chance alone," she said as a statement not a question. Nilsen glanced over at Deimie and than at Fobie and slowly answered. "I can't say what will happen. But I think your chances of remaining free are probably less than optimal. However, if that is what you decide than I will fully support you." "Nilsen is afraid to tell you the whole truth," Fobie suddenly spoke up. "Afraid?" Lavender asked. "What he have to be afraid about?" "I am not afraid!" Nilsen said heatedly. "He's afraid you will pick him to be bonded with," Deimie said, completely ignoring his sputtering beside her. "He has never had someone bonded to him," Fobie explained. "He avoids it almost as much as Father does. He feels it a heavy responsibility, and a little shame, in having someone bound to him that tightly." "I do not!" Nilsen protested. "And what do you mean Father avoids it? He has hundreds of people bonded to him." "He has only four bonded directly to him," Fobie said tolerantly. "Everybody else is bonded through them. It's not the same thing and you know it." "Yeah, but still..." he began. "Why he not have slaves bonded to him?" Lavender interrupted. Nilsen huffed silently, somewhat irritated that this large woman was very quickly getting to be just like his sisters in her ability to ignore his presence. "You are from Jeevel. All know that everyone in Jeevel is either slave or master. Jeevel controls slave trade." "It seems to be a trait that runs in the males in our family," Deimie answered. "Your information about Jeevel is somewhat dated. Yes, it used to be the slave-trading hub around here, but not for the past eighteen seasons or so. Father has done what he can to eliminate it, but it's easier said than done. If for no other reason than those with salidin are bonded for life and there is nothing that can be done about that." "You," Lavender said, looking at Deimie, "say I have no choice. You say I'm to be bound to him. Better I should die maybe?" "Don't be silly," Fobie scoffed as Nilsen sputtered in the background. "You have many choices. It's just that there is only one good choice." "I would rather be dead than a slave!" Lavender protested. "That's stupid," Deimie sneered. "If you really want to be as free as you can be, bind yourself to Nilsen and ask for him to let you go. You'll be free to go as you wish and still not be in danger of someone binding you against your will." "Are you crazy?" he said looking at his sisters. "She doesn't even know me. How could she trust me in something like that?" "Why wouldn't she?" Fobie said with a shrug. "You could have bound her anytime you wanted while she slept here. You could do so now if you wanted; there is no one who would stop you and everyone that would help you. It's not like you have to trick her into being bound and if you haven't done so by now why wouldn't she trust you? Would you keep her if she wanted to leave?" "Of course not," he protested. "But..." "But nothing," Deimie said as if it were settled. "It would be the perfect solution." Turning to Lavender she continued, "There are many who wear the salidin that hardly ever see their liege. We prefer 'liege' to 'master' by the way. But that's neither here nor there. The important thing is if you wanted to be relatively free it would be the only way to do it." "You would let me go if I wished?" Lavender asked Nilsen. "Certainly," he quickly replied. "But you really don't have to do this..." "Why?" Lavender interrupted. "Huh?" Nilsen was slightly sidetracked by her question. "Why would I let you go? As opposed to what? Keeping you with me? Why would I do that?" He quickly added, "I mean I don't not want you around. To be honest the idea of a tall, good-looking female warrior has a certain appeal, if for no other reason than for the novelty. Besides, I've seen you fight; you would be an asset anywhere you went. But back to your original question: No, I wouldn't keep you here against your will. "But," he continued, "you don't have to bond with me. You could do it with anyone here in our household; one of my sisters, Katern ... anybody for that matter." "How can I trust you?" Lavender asked bluntly. "Well..." Nilsen started. "I don't know of any way for me to prove what I say is true so..." he just shrugged. "He has saved your life and your dog's," Fobie said. "That should mean something. Then there is the fact he could have bound you to him any time since you arrived here. We have an O'Tech technician traveling with us; it would have taken him less than a minute to do it. Actually it probably would have made Makro and Katern much happier if he had. Bound, you are safe; as you are now you represent a danger. Yes, we know you have no intention of bringing harm to anyone here, but some of the others do not like to rely on our perceptions, especially when it comes to family safety. The truth is you have already benefited from his reluctance and not even known it." "True?" Lavender said looking at Nilsen. "Not how I would have put it," he admitted, "but essentially true." "What about Cerberus?" she asked. "What about him?" Nilsen replied. "He's your dog and as far as I'm concerned always will be." "You would not kill him or send him away?" "No," Nilsen shook his head. "If he were to become too much of a danger in the household I would send both of you away. "Hey, wait a minute!" he exclaimed, suddenly sitting up straight. "We're talking like the decision has already been made. I haven't agreed to anything and neither has Warrior Lavender. I don't want anyone bound to me, now or ever!" "Don't be such a ninny," Deimie scolded him. "Of course the decision has been made. There isn't another logical answer." "Well, I won't do it!" he said adamantly. "You have no choice," Fobie said as a matter of fact. "It's the best for Lavender and her dog." "Maybe, but I don't want..." he started again. "Where I come from," Lavender interrupted, not looking directly at him. "We believe if you save a person's life you are responsible for what he does for the rest of his life." "Yeah, I've heard of that," Nilsen said, uncomfortably. "But we don't necessarily follow that..." "I am not afraid to die," Lavender broke in again. "But if I die then so dies my shiakye. To die in battle is glorious and the desired end of a warrior. But if I become someone else's slave, what would become of Cerberus? If what the little ones say is truth, then what else can I do? What else can you do? If I am to be someone's slave, then I must be the slave of a warrior. "It is not what I want," she continued with a slight pause. "But if I must choose, than you are the best choice." "There's no need to make a decision now," Nilsen exclaimed, almost in a panic. "There's no need to rush into this. You don't know anything about me. Crap, I don't know anything about you except you're big, beautiful and can fight like a pack of demons." "I know you are either kind, blind or a bigger fool than I first thought," Lavender said with a laugh. "No one think I am anything but ugly. I have that from those who know." "His eyesight is more than adequate," Fobie said. "But everything else is fairly accurate." She paused for a moment tapping her finger alongside her cheek. "As for being beautiful — maybe not in the traditional sense of our culture, but you certainly aren't ugly. Yes, I can see where a man would find you attractive. Your face is fair, you're in good shape, and of course you have huge tits. That's always a plus when it come to men, no matter what they say." "Fobie!" Nilsen admonished, blushing and not looking at Lavender. Deimie continued where Fobie left off, completely ignoring Nilsen as he sputtered ineffectually next to them. "Whether he finds you attractive or not is immaterial at this time. He is the best choice you can make. Now that that's decided, there are a few other things we wanted to ask about. "You said Cerberus would die if you did, and you called him your shiakye. What exactly does that mean? Why would he die if you did? Does it work the other way also? If he died, would you?" "Deimie, nothing has been decided..." Nilsen tried to break in. "I not certain I can explain," Lavender admitted. "A person's shiakye is her guardian spirit. They choose who they are with and stay with them for life. Cerberus chose me when I committed to becoming a warrior. He is mine; I am his; we are together. I cannot say it better." She looked at the girls and threw up her hands in helplessness. "Hmm..." Fobie sounded thoughtful. "A bonding without a salidin maybe? Interesting, and something new to us." "Yes," Lavender nodded. "I see no one here has shiakye. That is very strange to me." "Do all of your people have a shiakye?" Nilsen asked. He wasn't happy the direction the conversation was going, but his natural curiosity won out over his peevishness for the time being. "No," Lavender shook her head. "Not so many shiakye. Maybe one in ten, maybe fewer. Most they choose are warriors, but sometimes not. No one knows how or why they choose." "What do they do?" Deimie asked. "They our protectors, companions," Lavender said with a smile. "They guide and guard while we here on earth." She reached out and grabbed one of Cerberus's ears and gave it a gentle tug. He grunted and barely opened one eye. The conversation didn't seem to interest him overly much since he yawned and closed his eye again all the while keeping his head down on the bed. "Well then, you will be Nilsen's shiakye," Fobie said with a grin. "He will need a shield companion and I think you two are perfectly suited." "I, a shiakye?" Lavender sounded appalled and intrigued both at once. "Hmm..." she muttered, looking at Nilsen again, this time as if seeing him for the first time. "Me? Shiakye?" then she shrugged. "Better than being a slave." "Lavender," Nilsen said, seeing what little control of the situation he might of had slipping completely from his grasp, "don't let these two bully you into something you will regret. Even if you do decide to bond to someone here," he still held out hope it wouldn't be him, "you will be free to go where you wish." "You have shieldman now?" Lavender asked him. When he shook his head she continued before he could say anything, "Then the little ones are probably right; you will need one, I think. I have trained as shieldman. I think that would be good place to start." "But... !" Nilsen protested. "It's settled then," Fobie and Deimie said as one as they stood up. "Best we do it tonight," Fobie continued. "The bonding will make you disoriented for a few hours," Deimie continued. "If we do it tonight then you will be over it by morning. Come along sister. Nil, we will take care of setting it up. You should take Princess Lavender out for a walk. She should be strong enough for that and it will work her muscles out. She'll want to start training with you tomorrow, although that may be too soon. We'll ask Jarrah. Be ready tonight, right after eve meal." "But, wait..." Nilsen started to protest again, but by the time he was able to say anything coherent they had already left. Edited by Morgan ------- Chapter 6 "Shit," Nilsen muttered as he watched the retreating backs of his twin sisters. Turning back he sighed and looked at the woman sitting up in his bed. She had the hint of a smile on her lips and had allowed the sheet to fall down uncovering her very large, and from the looks of them, firm, breasts. "Damn," he said crossly, "you can at least cover yourself up. If you don't want men to stare at your breasts then you shouldn't flaunt them." Rather than the expected angry response, or at least a self-conscious blush, he was greeted by a beaming and very toothy smile. But at least she did pick up the sheet and drape it over her chest only to have it fall down again. "Argh," he groaned, looking up at the ceiling. Letting out another exasperated sigh he looked back down at her, carefully keeping his eyes locked on hers. "They were right about at least one thing: You do need to get out of bed and start moving. We'll get you up if you feel strong enough and at least walk around the house. Do you think you can do that?" "I can," she said still smiling at him. "I have something to wear? Maybe you want me naked?" "Yes, no, I don't think that would be a very good idea," he said. "Wait here for a moment and I'll see what I can find." As he finished speaking Fusia entered the room with a pile of clothing in her arms. "Lady Deimie told me to bring these in here," she said. "We didn't have any women's clothing that could possibly fit her so we did the best we could. We'll have something appropriate made as soon as we can, but this will have to do for now." It turned out she was carrying a very large man's shirt and britches with a pair of military sandals. Nilsen took them and thanked her. Turning back to Lavender he placed them on the bed and turned his back. "Sorry, this is all we have for now," he apologized over his shoulder. "Hopefully this will fit well enough for now, anyway." "Why you turn away?" she asked as she dropped the sheet and grunted while moving her legs over to the side of the bed. "Ah, well," he stammered. "I didn't think you wanted to be stared at while dressing. "I care not," she said, pulling the britches up as best she could. They were a bit tight around the hips and loose around the waist, but serviceable. "Are all shorty warriors so bashful?" "Well, no. But then very few of our women are warriors," he admitted. "Are a lot of the women of your people warriors?" "Not so many," she said, pulling the shirt over her head. It was very tight across the chest, luckily it was a pullover and not one buttoned on the front. "But warriors are treated as warriors be they men or not." "Admirable," he said as she laced up her sandals. "But I'm afraid you'll have to forgive me for being a bit backward when it comes to that. I know that you're a warrior; hell, I saw you fight! But still, it's going to take some getting used to." She tried to push herself up off the bed but her legs wouldn't cooperate. Reaching up she grabbed hold of his shoulder and pulled herself upright. She was surprised at how solid he felt. It was like holding onto a rock; she didn't think he moved even when she put a considerable portion of her weight onto his shoulder. "That okay," she said as he turned back towards her. She was about a full foot taller than he was and looked down as he was looking up. "We can beat that out of you, I think." "Well, you can try," he grinned. "It's certainly been tried before; although the results have been varied, I'll admit. Good, standing is good. I don't think I was able to stand this quickly afterwards. Here, lean your arm on me for now, I'll help support you." Lavender bit back a scathing reply as she tried to take a step forward. The spirit was willing, but the body was still weak as her wobbly legs seemed to want to collapse under her. She draped her arm around his neck and let one of his arms slide around her waist holding her firmly to his side. He held her firmly, like an iron band, although it didn't seem to strain him that much. She wasn't entirely sure he couldn't support her completely if needed. She didn't know that he had single-handedly carried her back to the house from the arena, or how far it had been. Cautiously she tried a few steps forward as he mirrored her every move. Seemingly unperturbed, Cerberus stood up, yawned, and then followed them as they walked slowly out into the hall; he was followed by the guard. "You say you not able to walk this quickly after," she said, puffing slightly. "You take this drug before?" "Once," he answered, loosening his grip ever so slightly and allowing her legs to take more of her weight. He was ready to grab and hold her up in an instant if it was needed, though. "It was part of my training. It's one of the weapons we have, but having taken it I — and I'm sure you do, also — understand why it's not used very often." "Yes," she said, trying to grin although he couldn't see it. "Feel wonderful during the fight, but even worse after." "Yep, not something you want to do on a regular basis." She grunted in agreement. "So you bond me tonight, little man?" she asked after a while. "I told you that we didn't have to do it that way," he protested. "I think yes we do," she disagreed. "Dolls right. Only way it make sense." "What happened to the 'death before slavery?'" he asked with a frown. "Eh," he could feel her shrug. "Warriors must deal with what is, no? This is what is. Not like it, but wasn't asked. If this must be done then you best choice, I think." "But I don't want to..." it started to sound like he was whining; at least he thought so, so he shut up. "I know you don't," she said. "That one reason I think it best choice. Plus I think we don't want dolls angry with us." There was a hint of amusement in her voice now. "Ha!" he retorted. "I wouldn't worry about them; Makro is the one you have to look out for. Deimie and Fobie are pussycats; Makro ... Well, not so much." "Good," Lavender said and he could swear he could actually hear the smile in her voice. "Then as your shiakye you will protect me from her. I just worry about protecting you from less dangerous things, like swords and war clubs." "At least you have a sense of humor," he muttered. "You're going to need it." ------- By the end of their walk Lavender was tired, but nowhere near as wobbly as she had been before. They even stopped by the kitchen where she "snacked" on half a cold roast and a loaf of bread. Full to almost being stupefied she allowed herself to be led back to the room and put to bed like a child. Waking up she felt almost normal. Still feeling some pain as she stretched and definitely still feeling weak, she crawled out of bed and did some limbering-up exercises. She noticed Banar had been replace by Rolf. "You my caretaker now?" she asked with a hint of amusement. "For now," he admitted. "But not for long. Just until Lord Nilsen binds you." "Why that make a difference?" she asked. "Because once you're bound you won't be a danger to anyone in this household," he answered with a shrug. He continued when he saw her puzzled look. "Part of the magic of the collar: Once you're bound you won't — can't actually — do anything that might hurt your liege. That includes doing something you know he wouldn't want you to do." "Right," she said with skepticism. "This thing," she grabbed her salidin, "knows what he wants me to do." "Actually I think it's more along the lines of it knowing what you think he wants you to do, or not do," he shrugged again. "But you don't have to believe me; you'll find out for yourself shortly. They're eating right now. Lord Nilsen told us to let you sleep, that you needed it, but to feed you when you woke up. It's over there by the table if you're hungry." True enough there was more cold meat, bread and even some raw vegetables under a cloth on the small table beside the bed. She quickly finished what was there and had taken a necessary stop in the toilet before a whole crowd of people trooped into the room. The twins looked amused, Jarrah bothered, Makro was unreadable and Nilsen looked like a prisoner stoically facing the executioner's noose on the gibbet. She snorted and almost laughed. Although she did her best to keep it in, Makro must have heard and looked at her with a twinkle in her eye, seemingly out of place on her otherwise expressionless face. "That's right, he's acting like a baby," she said. "You are perfectly welcome to laugh at him; he certainly deserves it." "I am not," Nilsen protested with a grimace. Then he sighed and looked at Lavender, "Are you sure you want to do this?" "Want?" Lavender replied with a shrug. "No, but what choice have I? Fates deem I be a servant to someone and I think you be better than most, certainly no worse than others." "Enough of this," Makro said with a wave of her hand. "If it makes you feel any better I think you're making a wise choice. My brother is an idiot and a pain in the ass, but for the most part he is a good man and will treat you as you deserve, if nothing else. Sit here so we can reach your neck if you please. Mihi, if you would?" The chair Lavender sat down on creaked under her weight as a short, thin man of middle age pushed through the crowd to stand by her. "Mistress Lavender I presume," he said with a smile and short bow. "I will attempt to make this as quick and painless — for you anyway — as I can." From a leather bag slung over his shoulder he pulled a box, opened it and withdrew a metal square. It was the same color as the band around her neck. Drawing a large, sharp pin out, he turned towards Nilsen and beckoned him over. Over his shoulder he spoke with Lavender again. "Has anyone explained what will be happening here?" When she shook her head he continued, "It's very simple; we take a bit of Lord Nilsen's blood," he jabbed the needle into the fleshy pad of Nilsen's thumb and squeezed a drop out, "and apply it to your salidin." Guiding Nilsen's hand under Lavender's chin he smeared the droplet onto the metal band. For a moment nothing happened then the blood disappeared as if being soaked into a sponge and the band turned a rich golden hue, colors faintly shimmering over the surface. "Then we activate it," he said. Taking the metal box he placed one thumb in a depression on the top and held it next to her salidin. The box turned an identical golden hue and after a moment returned to its original pewter-gray color. "All done," he said straightening up. "You may feel disoriented for awhile, but that's normal. Unless you fight it you should feel just fine by morning." "That's it?" she asked incredulously. She felt slightly dizzy, and her vision seemed just a bit odd, but other than that, nothing. "That's it," he said. "You are now bonded to Lord Nilsen. I'd also like to say just how lucky I think you are. It's an honor as well as a privilege to be bonded to such a fine liege." "Hmm," Lavender grunted noncommittally. Looking over at her new liege — that was going to be tough to get used to — she saw him staring at his thumb and grimacing like he'd bitten into a sour apple. "He doesn't think it much a privilege," she said almost laughing. "Yes, well, that doesn't surprise me," Mihi said frowning slightly as he followed her gaze. "Too much like his father, if you ask me. Never could get him to accept what was his due. Used to drive old Don crazy, it did. Well, nothing for it, I suppose. Anyway, if you should start to feel a bit strange, think something is wrong, or maybe just have a question, feel free to ask me about it." "Don't feel much different," Lavender said with a shrug. "That's good," Mihi replied. "You're not fighting it either consciously or subconsciously; that will make for an easy transition. I understand you're going to be his shieldman? Maybe I should say shieldwoman? I'm not familiar with that term. What does it mean?" "Just say his shield," she said with a nod. "Where I come from a shield is one who protects those in their care from all harm. In battle you are the armor at their back, protection where they can't see. Everywhere else you are the eyes behind them, the body between them and the assassin's blade, the taster of their food. A shield's life is to protect her charge. Only high nobles ever have shields." "Sounds like what we would call a bodyguard," Mihi nodded. "Body, guard?" Lavender rolled the sounds over her tongue. "Yes, the guard of your charge's body. Yes, that sounds right." "I wonder if Lord Nilsen knows what he's gotten into," Mihi said with a chuckle. "From what he was saying he only expected you to be his support during battle and to tell the truth he hasn't seen much of that yet." "He's still young," Lavender said knowingly. "But I can tell he will be a great warrior. He wears the mantle of leadership loosely now, but someday it will be different." "Don't doubt it for a moment," Mihi agreed. "And it's probably a good idea he has a bodyguard, or shield, now. Actually it wouldn't be a bad idea if all the royal children started taking an escort with them wherever they go. Nothing personal, but I really don't like the idea of gangs of slavers roaming the streets slapping salidin on whomever they feel like. Who's to say they wouldn't do that to Lady Makro or Jarrah, or, gods forbid, Lord Nilsen himself." "Hmm," Lavender mused. "I'm thinking maybe these children are more noble than I had thought. Where I come from it not usual for high nobles to travel without their shields. Here it is different?" "Well, to tell the truth there hasn't been a real need for it up till now," Mihi answered. "And if I understand you, then yes, these children are about as noble as you can get in Jeevel. The king and the queens would be considered higher I suppose, but few else other than their siblings. "When we first came on this trip I know Salas was considered reasonably safe," he continued. "Now, the princesses usually travel with a guard or two, although I think it's been mostly to have someone do the carrying for them more than protection. As for Lord Nilsen..." he just shrugged. "He pretty much goes where and when he wants, usually alone, or maybe with that friend of his. Since he spends most of his time at the Academy, I don't think anybody has even thought of it. For the most part he's able to pretty much take care of himself." "Now he has a shield and he won't be alone," Lavender said, the situation settled as far as she was concerned. "It won't be that easy," Mihi cautioned. "He has a tendency to be ... How shall I say this... ? Well, a bit..." "Rock-headed?" Lavender supplied. "Pig-brained? Donkey-stubborn?" "Well, I'm not sure I would have put it quite that way," Mihi said, trying not to grin. "But essentially, yes. You seemed to have grasped one of his more irritating characteristics rather quickly. The problem is if he tells you to leave him alone you won't have any option but to do it. I'm sure they told you about that aspect of the bond, didn't they?" "It's okay," Lavender waved it off and grinned. "If he be the fool I know he will be, I just tell his sister." "Well," Mihi was slightly taken back, "that might work. In fact I'm sure it would. Hmm, this could be rather interesting." "My ears are burning," Nilsen said as he walked over to them. "You must be talking about me." "Of course, My Lord," Lavender said unselfconsciously. "He say you are probably going to be rock-headed and stupid about taking your shield with you when you go out; I say you won't." "My shield," he said, puzzled. "I don't use a shield, and if I did I certainly wouldn't carry it around, not unless I'm on campaign or something like that." "I'm your shield now," Lavender said looking down at him. "I go where you go, do what you do." "That's all very nice," he said, "but really not necessary. I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself. If you want to train to be my shieldmate in combat I don't have any problem with that, although the thought of a woman in combat still seems a little strange to me. Yes, I know you're capable — I have seen you fight, after all — but it's still going to take some getting used to. But as far as following me around everywhere ... I don't think so. I don't need a nanny." "You don't need a nanny, brother dear," Deimie said. She and Fobie had come up behind him unobserved. " ... but you do need a protector," Fobie added. "A partner watching your backside if you prefer. Lavender will be that protector and companion." Lavender expected him to argue with the twins, but to her surprise he merely asked, "Are you sure?" When they nodded he shrugged and turned back to Lavender. "Okay, fine, you can be my shield, or bodyguard, or whatever else you want to call it. My guess is you'll be bored to death before a ten-day is out, but on your head be it. "Now," he said turning back to survey the room, "we need to find you somewhere to stay so I can get my own bed back." ------- Much to Nilsen's consternation Lavender announced she would take the small alcove just inside the entrance to his rooms. Originally a sitting room or maybe a secretary's office, it was just big enough for her to lie down on the floor without scrunching up. There wasn't another bed large enough to hold her in the house so they put two mattresses on the floor until a new, larger bed could be built. "Look," he said to her when everyone else had left, "I know you take this seriously, and believe me I'm glad you do. It may not seem like it at times, but I do. But, well, I don't know if you're going to be comfortable in there." "I will be fine," she said with a shrug. "I used to sleeping on the floor. With these mattresses I will be fine. Plenty of room for Cerberus and me." "Yes, well, you should be getting a new bed in a day or two, but that's not what I was talking about," he said, trying not to look her in the eyes. "What you mean then?" she asked. "Well, I mean, it could be noisy sometimes," he stuttered. When she just raised an eyebrow he tried again. "Look, I don't always sleep alone you see, and, well, sometimes..." He stopped talking trying to judge her reaction. She just stood there impassively as if waiting for him to continue until he started blushing and stammering again. Suddenly she burst out laughing loudly, looking down at him with her pale purple eyes dancing merrily. "You are so funny sometimes," she said, still chuckling. "You think I don't know about sex and pillow companions? You are such a boy still!" She shook her head and chuckled again. "You think I don't know where you've been while I slept in your bed? Give me a little credit, Lord Nilsen. I am a warrior; I know what goes on. So long as you play with the nice and safe collared ladies I stay in my room and you not even know I am here." "This is going to take some getting used to," Nilsen muttered. ------- When Lavender awoke it was still dark and quiet in their rooms. Contrary to his earlier inference Nilsen had gone to bed early and alone. She was somewhat amused that he would think she could care less who he went to bed with; she just hoped that whoever was warming his bed was there of her own volition. Her own interest in such matters had never been particularly strong and even less so now. She had far more important things to think about at the moment. The foremost being the question of how she found herself in this situation in the first place. Not so much the how or why — that was the past and not changeable — to cry about what is was nothing more than a waste of time, not something inherent in Lav's nature. She was a practical person from a practical people. That's not to say if given the chance she wouldn't kill everyone who was involved in her enslavement by the slowest and most painful means possible, but that was not probable anytime in the near future that she could see. No, what bothered her wasn't where she found herself but her own reaction to it. When she said earlier she would rather be dead than a slave she had meant it wholeheartedly. So what had happened? She certainly didn't feel any great desire to plunge a dagger into her throat now; in fact she hadn't at any time since that blue-eyed idiot had "rescued" her from the arena. Before he stopped outside her cage she had been entirely consumed with only one thought: to kill as many people as she could reach, be they other slaves in the pit or the slavers and their guards in the cells. Rage and hate had sustained her; where had it gone? She felt the same as she always had, but looking at it objectively something had changed. Would the old Lav have so meekly submitted to the bonding as she had? Not likely! So what changed? What was the cause of this acceptance of a life of servitude? Did this collar do something to her? Change her? And what about her shiakye? Cerberus was also acting strangely, or more to the point he wasn't acting strangely at all, which was very strange! If she had been given this scenario in the past she would have bet he would have been in a totally uncontrollable berserker mode by now. Why was he acting like everything that had happened over the past few days was completely normal? He acted like Nilsen was her lawful chief, not really obsequious, but certainly deferential; and the twins, by the gods! He practically groveled and whimpered at their feet! How utterly strange and bizarre! It was all very strange. Emotionally she felt as if everything was correct and in its ordered place, and yet intellectually she knew the two of them were not acting like she would have expected. She tried to muster some of the resentment and resistance she was sure should be there, but couldn't. Sighing she rolled over and started to get up off the mattresses. "You finally going to get up?" came an amused voice from behind her. Glancing over her shoulder she saw Nilsen leaning against the doorframe looking at her with raised eyebrows. He was already dressed in a leather tunic, breaches and heavyweight sandals. "With all the time you've spent in bed over the past few days I'd have thought you would want to get up and get active for once." "I been awake and waiting for you," she said over her shoulder. She hadn't heard him moving about which meant he could move very quietly indeed. Looking down at Cerberus she caught him looking back with one eye open. Without a doubt he had heard Nilsen moving about and hadn't bothered to let her know. "Some shiakye you are," she muttered and toed him in the side. Huffing slightly, the big hound finally stood up, stretched and yawned. Reconciled to being up he padded out the door while barely giving Nilsen a sniff and out into the hall, the point man for their little posse. "You feel up to getting some exercise today?" Nil asked, backing out of the doorway allowing Lav room to exit. "Stiff," she said flexing her arms. "Not so sore. Yes, I'm ready." "Good," nodded Nilsen. "Let's break our fast and head over to the Academy. I usually spend most mornings and afternoons over there training. At the least you can tag along and see what's going on. If you feel up to it you can join in." "You go, I follow," she said simply. The kitchen was still mostly dark and unoccupied except for one apprentice baker who was kneading and forming the day's bread into loaves. With little more than a friendly wave Nilsen headed straight for a cabinet where he retrieved a covered platter of cold meat, bread and butter that had obviously been prepared for him either late the night before or early that morning. Grabbing a pitcher of water with his free hand and gesturing with his chin he led Lavender over to a rough-finished table. Setting his burden down, he picked up two cups from a nearby cupboard and plunked himself down on the bench. Lavender sat on the other bench across from him. "Serve yourself," he said as he placed a large slab of meat between two pieces of the bread and took a large bite. Silently Lavender followed his example. Finishing his first portion and reaching for another he answered her unasked question. "They let me get away with eating in here in the morning," he said between mouthfuls. "I'm up early enough that they don't make a fuss. If it were later they'd make me eat in the dining room with everybody else." "They?" Lavender asked. "My sisters, the staff and especially Katern," he said finishing his second helping. "I thought you are the prince," she said somewhat amused. "You can do what you wish." "One would think so," he said with a grimace. "It's actually a huge pain in the ass. I'd much rather just eat in here all the time if I could. But it seems that wouldn't be proper." "Still hungry?" he said as Lavender finished her fourth and eyed the empty platter. "We can scrounge up more, I'm sure." "No, is enough," she said with a sigh. "I usually eat most in the morning," she then admitted. "Good. It's the best time for it anyway," he nodded. "I'll make sure there is more for us from now on. So, ready to go?" It was still cool and the streets practically deserted as they walked the short distance to the Academy. Lavender felt naked without a weapon but having Cerberus padding along behind helped. "Didn't think you needed one right now," Nilsen answered her mutterings. "The first thing we'll do is get you properly fitted when we get there." Lavender asked where exactly they were going and admitted her ignorance when he explained it was the local Guild Academy. "I take it the Warrior Guild isn't active where you come from," he said. He continued when she grunted affirmation of his assumption. He went on to explain the role the Guild had and continued to play in their society, trying to be brief but thorough in his description of their more or less apolitical position as a provider of premier mercenaries in their region. "Very powerful," Lavender commented. "Very bad enemy." "Yes, a bad enemy, and not much better as an ally either," he confessed as they closed in on the front gates. "Father used to be a Guild member until he took the throne," Nilsen continued. "For the most part he still gets along with them, but I can't say they're completely happy with him all the time. He's been building Jeevel's army and navy and using a lot of what he learned from them to do it. We still have a number of Guild members under contract, but as the army gets better we need fewer. He still allows the Guild free rein within Jeevel and I suppose he always will. Still they're not happy with what he's been doing. "I suppose I understand their point; it may get to where we don't need the Guild at all and they are just a business when all is said and done. They're thinking about their future employment. "Personally," he said looking up at her, "I don't think they have much to worry about for a long time. Jeevel may be able to do without them sometime in the future, but I don't see anyone else taking the same road Father is. Either they're too lazy or stupid to follow his example, or maybe a little of both. Regardless, there is going to be a need for them for a long time. "So," he continued, "even though relations may be somewhat strained between the Guild and Jeevel at any one time, for the most part it's fairly good. It's one of the reasons I was invited to study here at my father's old school." He went on to explain the each academy had its own style of fighting and Salas's was unique even among that nonconforming group. "You'll see when we get started," he explained. "I've seen you fight so I know that you use a more traditional style, a good one, I might add. If you really want to be my shieldman I'm sure we can find some way to meld our two styles together. If anyone will know, the masters here will." Soon they came to a compound surrounded by a high stone wall. They passed through a gate guarded by two very young men standing stiffly at attention. When they noticed Nilsen they stood up even straighter, crisply saluted and passed them through. "I'm not really considered a student," he confessed. "More like a visiting instructor. Let's see if we can get you taken care of first." The instructors, or "masters" as Nil said, were at first incredulous at Nil's request to outfit Lavender, but as soon as he explained how they had met they seemed curious as to what this large female would be able to do. To Lav the masters were a very strange bunch, even for shorties. They were uniformly clean shaven, in fact a few of them looked like they couldn't grow a beard even if they wanted to. Additionally they spoke in high shrill voices, more like a boy or woman than like a man. But there was no doubt they knew their business as they took her to the armory and fitted her for battle. Naturally they didn't have anything specifically made for a woman and her large breasts caused more than one scowl as they adjusted the largest set of plate armor they had to her frame. The sword was easier; they had plenty that were approximately the same size and weight as the one she normally carried. After watching her take a couple of practice swings the chief armorer took back the weapon and told her he would have it modified and back to her by the time they left that afternoon. The shield took a bit more time. It was explained to her that the primary style of fighting taught at this school didn't utilize a shield but they did have a number of them available for instructional purposes. Lavender had mostly trained with the buckler, a small shield held by the hand, rather than the full shield normally strapped to the forearm. They had a few of those but they were woefully small and light for her. The solution was to modify one of their smallest infantry shields so that she could utilize it as a buckler. It was slightly heavier and wider than what she normally used, but she and the armorer both agreed it was a reasonably good fit and she would adjust to it quickly. Lavender was pleased since it was bronze clad and not just boiled leather like her old one. It would be much more durable in battle and much more deadly when its edge was used to strike. Taking her oversized buckler, plate armor and a weighted practice sword with her, she returned to the common area that served as their principal training ground. What she found caused her to stop dead in her tracks and simply stare. Nilsen was sparring at the time but not with just one or even two of the students. A full five of what looked to be the older students surrounded him and were attacking him simultaneously. Or at least they were trying to anyway. Moving with grace and without any seeming haste he was stopping each sword thrust, either with the dagger/swordbreaker in his left hand or the short, blunted practice sword in his right. He danced more than fought as he moved first towards one, engaged and then quickly on to another. Sometimes he was stopping one while thrusting into the ribs of another. Lavender knew at 24 seasons she was not the most experienced warrior in the Zagwic clan, but she also knew she had never seen anyone fight like this! After a moment or two she realized the truth was even more astounding than she had originally thought. Although his opponents remained at five, the individuals participating changed every few moments. She could see a good number already lying on the ground sweating and breathing deeply, or groaning and holding various parts of their body. After what seemed like an eternity Lavender could tell Nilsen was slowing down. At first he would block a swing, but just barely, and then one blow would land and then another until finally one of the watching instructors clapped his hands and everyone stopped their attacks and stepped back. Thanking each of the participants Nilsen wobbled over to Lav on unsteady legs. As he got close she could see he was covered in sweat and taking a small sniff, giving off a slight musky odor. She was used to that since she trained with males all the time. The difference here being he didn't smell rank like her training partners usually did; he just smelled male, and not unpleasantly, she had to admit. "I swear they're trying to kill me," he groaned as he stood next to her. "You're good," she said, trying to be offhanded about it. "There are better," he said with a shrug. "I have only seen one better," said the instructor who had followed Nil over. "Your father was quicker, although I would say you have more stamina then he did." He looked up at Lavender and cocked his head to one side. "You are to be his shieldman," he stated; it wasn't a question. Lavender nodded. "Then come out here and let us see what we have to work with." Edited by Morgan ------- Chapter 7 Lav groaned as she opened her eyes. It was still dark but she could hear Nilsen moving around in his room. He wasn't being overt about it but she guessed he was making just enough noise to wake her. He probably thought she might be having a difficult time of it this morning and he was too right! Although she didn't feel anywhere near as bad as she had when she awakened after taking the drug, it still felt like her body had been used as a practice target for half the student body at the Academy, which wasn't far wrong! The instructor, or master as Nilsen called him, had done an extremely thorough job of putting her through the paces. That wasn't so bad; in fact the exertion felt good after her enforced inactivity. What was bad was when he and another instructor sparred with both Nilsen and herself together. She had thought she knew something of how to fight in pairs but quickly found out she didn't know anywhere near enough. The first thing she learned was how incredibly fast these instructors really were. She ended up being hit with a blunted sword almost at will, and it seemed they didn't believe in light taps to demonstrate errors. She could swear he was hitting her at full speed or damn close to it! She had thought she was quick with a sword, but against these short men and their puny swords, most about half the length of hers, she had a difficult time blocking maybe one out of ten. It was embarrassing and painful. Needless to say she ended up with more than just a bruised ego! During one of the infrequent rest breaks it was theorized that part of her problem was the size of her weapon: It was just too large and heavy to move with the speed required for them to fight as an effective pair. Lav wasn't happy to give up her huge chopper; it felt like she was being told she didn't have either the skill or the strength to use it. However Nilsen didn't seem very concerned and told her to try to use the one they brought for her. Much to her consternation it worked much better. She was able to block and parry with greater accuracy, although she was still taking a good number of hits. The first hint that she didn't do as badly as she thought she had came at the end of the practice session when the instructor grunted and said she was trainable. Faint praise indeed, although she didn't really expect anything better. The wide grin on Nilsen's face seemed to indicate he was pleased with it, though. The training sessions continued on into the afternoon with just a short break for a midday meal and by the time Nilsen told her it was time to go home she felt like a well-tenderized piece of meat. The walk home was slow and tentative with every bruise making itself known to her. "I thought I was in shape," she groaned as she hobbled down the street. "I have not felt like this since I started my training many seasons ago." "They are a bit intense," Nil agreed happily. "Father told me what I could expect, but I thought he was trying to make it sound worse than it really was. I should have known if anything he would underplay just how bad it really was. If it makes you feel any better I couldn't even walk on my own the first day I was here." Lavender looked at him out of the corner of her eye and grunted. "Okay, so maybe it doesn't actually make you feel better, but at least I can say I do know how you feel. Take heart; in a few weeks you'll feel like a new woman." "I already feel like a new woman," she mumbled. "A dead one." "A hot bath, something to eat, a nice massage and you'll be wondering what you were complaining about," he said cheerfully. "You don't see Cerberus complaining, now do you?" "Cerberus sat on ass all day and watched!" she huffed. "True, but it must have been exhausting," Nil agreed. "It was so tiring he had to sleep all afternoon." ------- True to his word Nilsen hustled her up and into a steaming hot tub. Too exhausted to complain when he had two of the maids help her wash while he sat behind her outside the tub and soaped and lathered her hair. "Don't be silly," he said when she made noises about him doing that. Grinning he rinsed her with cool water. "I enjoy doing it. I even do it for my sisters when they want me to. Nothing feels better than running my fingers through long, soft tresses." Sara chuckled and Fusia just snorted. "Okay," he admitted, "maybe 'nothing' is a little much, but I do enjoy it. Lean back and take it like a warrior." "You always wash your warrior's hair?" Lavender chuckled as she leaned back as directed. "No," he said after a moment. "But then most of the warriors I deal with don't have beautiful long hair either. Hey, you're the one that insisted I take your bond; deal with it." "You can wash my hair, Nil," Sara said coyly. "I'm sure he would much rather wash mine," Fusia said, shaking her hair so it draped over her shoulder. "My dear ladies," Nilsen said with a smile, "I'm quite sure both of you have already bathed today. Certainly you wouldn't want to get wet all over again." "I wouldn't think so," Sara grinned right back at him. "But if I happen to trip and fall in with you while you're taking your bath..." "Well, we'll see," he said noncommittally. "Right now we have a very sore warrior here. Did you want to come down to dinner? I didn't think so. That's fine, I'm having yours sent up anyway. After dinner I asked Jarrah if she'd come up and give you a massage. If she does, let her. She has magic hands. You wouldn't believe how much better you'll feel after she gets done with you. Now, do you think you can stand?" Her muscles felt like limp noodles as he helped her stand and one of the girls toweled her dry and then draped her with a long linen sheet. She was still tired and sore but felt much better as he led her to a lounge chair and the table that had a covered platter on it. She didn't think she was that hungry until she started picking at the food. Nilsen had gone back into the bathing room for his own bath and moments later she heard splashing and the sounds of giggling followed moments later by moaning and cooing. At least one question of hers had been answered: If those two women were being forced to be with him they were two of the best actresses she had ever seen! To be honest she was too tired to worry about it for the moment anyway. She dozed in the chair and woke up only when Nilsen walked out of the bathing room already dressed and heading for dinner. As he came over and picked up the empty platter from the table she struggled to get up but he just put his hand on her shoulder and pushed down slightly. With a woof she sat down and looked at him through slitted eyelids. "I'm your shield," she mumbled. "I go where you go." "For what?" he said with a laugh. "For protection?" He stopped laughing when he saw her face cloud up. "Now, now. Let's be realistic. No matter what you think your duty is, the fact is you couldn't protect me against that butterfly flitting in through the window, right?" He grinned and continued, "You're still recovering from your time in the arena, the drugs and the loving attention of our benevolent instructors. Don't try to push it too fast or it will take you longer to heal. I promise the worst that could happen will be Makro chewing my ear off." "What you say is true," she admitted grumpily. "Nonetheless you should have your shield with you wherever you go, if not for protection then to get used to it." She paused for a moment and continued, "It is true I would be useless, but Cerberus would not be. It is time he found something useful to do today." "I really don't think..." he started only to be interrupted. "Cerberus," she called and the dog lifted its massive head. "Go with Lord Nilsen and be his shield while I cannot." Cerberus looked over at Nilsen and snorted softly. "Lavender," Nilsen shook his head, "while I'm sure Cerberus is a fine fellow, I seriously doubt he'll know what you're asking..." He stopped talking as the dog stood up, stretched and sauntered over to his side. Cerberus sniffed his hand and gave what Nilsen could swear was a resigned sigh. Trotting over to the door he stopped and looked back at Nilsen as if to say, "Well, you got me up, so let's go." "Ah," Nilsen looked at the dog and then back at Lavender. "Okay, never mind. By the way, you and I are going to have a very serious and very long talk about your dog here in the near future. But until then I guess my escort to dinner is waiting, so I'll be off." Lavender grinned to herself as the pair left. She was beginning to really enjoy perplexing her blue-eyed fool and could understand his sisters a little better as they dabbled in the sport. Satisfied, she settled back in the chair letting her abused body rest. ------- She must have dozed off because the next thing she knew someone was entering the room. Looking up she saw Nilsen's sister Jarrah carrying a small basket and wearing her perpetual frown. "Nil said those sadists gave you a good working over today," she said without any preamble. "He asked if I would give you a massage and work on your muscles." "You need not bother, Lady," Lavender said as she struggled to sit upright in the chair. "Oh, anything for the glorious one," she said with a sneer. "Anything the golden child wants we gladly provide..." She stopped suddenly and sighed, her frown becoming more of a sad half-smile. "I'm sorry, you don't deserve that. He asked nicely and given what they did to him the first couple of weeks I can imagine you're feeling like a piece of well-chewed, raw meat." "Yes," Lav grunted, "that's almost correct. Maybe better would be a piece of meat already passed through. But truly lady, you need not bother yourself. I have felt this way before and it will pass after a few days." "It's good to see you have a sense of humor. You're probably right," Jarrah agreed. "But this will help the healing and lessen the time you spend feeling like ... excrement. Just because I'm mad at him doesn't mean I should take it out on you. By the way, call me Jarrah; I answer to that better than I do 'Lady.' Now where would be the best place to do it? I need you to lie down so I can get to your back." Lavender started to slowly move down to the floor when Jarrah made a rude noise and told her to stop. "Not on this hard floor you don't!" and silenced any potential protest from Lavender with a scowl. "It's hard, cold and extremely uncomfortable; besides, I don't want to be down there on my knees. Now let me see; I suppose we could do it in your bed, but there isn't much room to work in there. What did he think he was doing putting you in there?" "I chose it for myself, La – Jarrah," Lavender muttered as she stood up. "Really?" Jarrah looked surprised. "Why?" "I am his shield. I need to be near him at all times," Lav replied with a shrug. "You warrior types are all crazy," Jarrah said shaking her head. "Well, maybe it's better to keep you lunatics close together. Still, where should we do this? We need someplace where you can stay when you fall..." her voice trailed off and then she got a mischievous look in her eye. Lavender could almost swear Jarrah was smiling. "Oh, yes, that would be perfect. Over there, on his bed. Go ahead, on your stomach near the edge here where I can reach you. Come now, off with that sheet, no need for that. Now, have you ever had a massage? No? I'm surprised; it's a standard part of a warrior's, or an athlete's, training around here. It helps soothe the bruises, loosens the muscles and relaxes them, which help healing." "It sounds like coddling to me," Lavender said as she positioned herself on Nilsen's bed. "Warriors must learn to endure if they are to be strong." "Nonsense!" Jarrah scoffed as she dribbled scented oil over Lav's back. "Pain for pain's sake is silly. Work your body hard, yes. Work it until it fails, yes, that will make it stronger. Given that you allow it to recuperate that is. But to be in pain while it's healing, that improves nothing; in fact it slows down the process. Even Nil isn't that stupid. Believe me, he begged for my ministrations almost every day there for a while. While I will admit he certainly has the ability to ignore pain when he needs to, he certainly doesn't embrace it when he doesn't. Do you think he's a weakling?" "Uh, no." The oil felt like little drops of ice at first but as Jarrah smoothed them over Lav's abused muscles it began to warm. Jarrah had strong fingers and wherever she rubbed the tension and soreness seemed to ooze out of her. Jarrah talked the whole time she was working on her but for the life of her Lav couldn't have told what she said. After the first few minutes she felt like her body was turning to jelly. She did remember one thing just before gliding off into oblivion; it was Jarrah talking about Nilsen. "You should get him to do this for you," Jarrah said. "For an idiot, he's actually very good at this. Plus he's stronger and, well, to tell the truth you're muscled more like a man than any woman I've ever seen. Not that you aren't feminine," she said hastily, thinking maybe Lav cared one whit about being feminine. "You are. In fact I'm surprised at how well-proportioned you are, just on a really large scale." Lav just grunted back at her. "Now, most big women are thick all the way through, but not you. Sure, you have wide shoulders and certainly a lot more muscle than any other woman I know, but you still have the narrow waist and broad hips. There's no mistaking you for a man, even in the dark." Lavender was almost amused; the very same features that made her so undesirable to her own people were considered attractive to the shorties. It was a delightful irony. "Anyway," Jarrah continued. "Have him do it tomorrow night. I'm sure you'll still need it and after all, he's the one putting you through this; he should be the one mending you." Lav was just about to tell Jarrah that Nilsen had actually tried to dissuade her from this path, but she fell asleep before she could utter a word. ------- She awoke quickly and fully as a warrior was trained to do. Tentatively she moved her arms and legs, anticipating the soreness and pain that invariably accompanied the kind of workout she had endured the day before. Surprised, she moved a little, then a little more. There was some soreness, but nothing like what she had expected. She hadn't realized just what a miracle the laying on of the hands could be. She didn't feel fully effective yet, but certainly one hell of a lot better than she thought she should feel! Rolling over she felt the slight breeze from the open window. It was still very dark but she knew it was about time to get up. Suddenly she realized she shouldn't be able to feel the breeze; her room didn't have a window, and she sat upright quickly. Glancing around she realized she was in Nilsen's bed, alone. Slipping out from under the sheets she stepped over the prone Cerberus, shivering slightly realizing she was naked, she peeked into the alcove she called a room. As she suspected Nilsen was curled up on her mattress still asleep. As she was wondering how she would sneak in and retrieve her clothes without waking him it became a moot point when he opened his eyes and looked up at her, fighting back a yawn. "This mattress is abominable," he said as he stood and stretched. He was wearing a very brief pair of small clothes that displayed his rock-solid body as well as could be in the early morning darkness. She thought about covering herself up, but the closest thing available was the sheet on the bed; it would be quicker to pick up and put one her own clothes. Besides, she thought, if he was disgusted by her ugliness, that was his problem! "How are you feeling this morning?" he asked, seemingly unaffected by her nakedness. Well, he did raise an eyebrow and maybe, just maybe, there was a hint of a smile on his lips. "Better," she admitted. "Much better. This massage thing: it sounds like something you would do for a spoiled woman. The warriors in my clan would never allow it, but it does make you feel better." "Well, I will admit, it is a great way to spoil women from what I've seen," Nilsen chuckled as he walked past her to retrieve his own clothes. "It may indeed sound a bit unmanly, but it makes you feel almost human after a good workout." "Is that what you call yesterday?" Lavender grumped as she quickly retrieved her own clothing which had either been washed and folded overnight, or replaced with a new, identical set. "I'd laugh," he said through the door, "but it was only a few ten-days ago I was feeling exactly what you are now. I thought I was in shape when I got here. They quickly dissuaded me of that little fantasy, let me tell you! That's why I know the massage helps. Oh, you'll still be sore for a few days, but nothing like you normally would have been. Jarrah has a magical touch when it comes to healing." "She said I was to get you to do it from now on," Lavender teased. "She say you are responsible so you should fix." "Hmm," he said as he walked back to the doorway of her room, fully dressed. "I suppose she's somewhat correct, although I did tell you you didn't have to do this. That's still the case, by the way. If you don't want to continue, you don't have to." "And have you say I couldn't take it?" she groused. "Not likely. If you can do it, little man, then so can I." "'Little man' is it?" Nilsen said with a laugh. "Well, I guess to you that's exactly what I am. Fine, big woman, let's see if you can keep up with this runt. Maybe you won't feel so tall once we get you trimmed down to size." ------- The next few days were a form of pure hell that Lavender had never experienced before. The instructors were exceptionally brutal in a very clinical and detached way. Later they would admit they did everything they could think of to break her. Having a woman claiming to be a warrior was a novelty in and of itself; to have one standing over seven feet tall just added to the uniqueness. They wanted to see just how far she could be pushed and after the fourth day they tacitly admitted she could take whatever they fed her by suddenly reverting to a more normal, instructive style session. Each day Nilsen would drag them home, get them cleaned and ready for the evening meal. Afterwards he would prove Jarrah correct in her estimation of his ability to give a massage. He had gentle, but strong hands that soothed her aches and mellowed her soul. After the first five seconds she didn't give a damn whether he saw her naked butt or not. In fact he was perfectly welcome to look at, grab or fondle anything he wanted to, so long as he made her feel like he did! The bed ordered for her had come in and she thought it was almost decadent in its softness, not that she wouldn't have fought anyone trying to take it away from her! She was quickly becoming a convert to Nilsen's school of thought: Just because you could tolerate hardship didn't mean you had to embrace it. He insisted on giving her the massage on her bed saying there was no damn way he was going to have her fall asleep in his bed again. He joked he couldn't move her and was scared that she'd roll over at night and crush him. She was pretty sure Jarrah was coming in and giving him one after he was done with her; she'd have bet all the money she didn't have that neither of them moved after falling asleep. Nilsen was in better shape than she had been, but it was obvious, despite his protests to the contrary, that the new training régime was wearing him down also. Something he finally admitted after the training had returned to what he called normal. "Damn," he groaned as they walked back that night. "Couldn't you have given up a couple days ago? We wouldn't have had to go through this crap. Sometimes I think you're just too stubborn for your own good." "No less stubborn than you," she said, feeling tired but not beaten like she had for the past few days. "I am not stubborn," he protested. "I am focused and deliberate in my thoughts and actions, not stubborn." He fumed in silence when she laughed the rest of the way home. When the instructors finished trying to beat them both into the ground the training — real training — took place at an amazing pace. Lavender was used to training that essentially involved being hacked at by older warriors until you learned how not to get hit. Their philosophy that pain was the best teacher had its merits, or so she had thought at the time. That was until she learned what having a real instructor was like. She had to admit that she probably learned more in a single ten-day then she had in a whole season with her old clan. Not only were they more knowledgeable in the arts of war than anyone else she had ever met, they had the uncommon ability to impart that knowledge to their students. Within two ten-days Nilsen and Lavender were fighting as a unit with such "tightness" it was like they were one person. The interesting part was when Cerberus finally decided to join they became a unity of three with Lavender backing up Nilsen and Cerberus protecting them both. The instructors were both amused and elated. Lavender had long since come to the conclusion that the Salas instructors looked at their training as just another theoretical exercise of combining two disparate fighting styles into one coherent unit. A successful one in their opinion, if one could read them correctly. ------- Slowly she was becoming used to living in the deSiso household. Being Nilsen's shield turned out to be a reasonably easy task, sometimes too easy. She had never actually acted as a shield; nobles in her clan would rather be dead than have a woman as a shield even if she had been accepted as a warrior, but she knew what was expected. When she left the clan she had tried her best to forget everything and everyone that was associated with it, but that was not as easily done as said. In fact the casual affability between the deSisos and the staff and the siblings themselves seemed to only underscore how awful her childhood and life with the clan had really been. For the first two ten-days she really had little time for anything other than training, eating and sleeping. Once the training became more of a routine there was considerably more free time for other pursuits. For Nilsen to pursue other things anyway. As his shield she was there at his back no matter where he went. At first he chafed at the idea like she would have at a collar, except she hardly seemed to notice hers most of the time. That was until the day she learned the true power behind the salidin. Nilsen had been in a particularly foul mood for most of the day. No particular reason for it that Lavender could see; it was just a bad mood day; everyone has them, even the easygoing Nilsen. That Makro was in an even fouler mood didn't help. Hers was mostly from the lack of expected correspondence from their mother. Makro had expected something over half a ten-day ago and had yet to hear anything. In fact there hadn't been any Jeevelian shipping entering the Salas port since the courier ship had been dispatched ― unusual to say the least. Lavender also suspected Lady Makro was entering that time of the moon cycle where her flow started. This seemed to affect some women more than others. Makro appeared to be one of those it made cranky and irritable. Lavender was mostly unaffected by her own cycle. In fact it often skipped from one month to the next and was highly irregular at best. She had been told this was not uncommon in women who were involved in massive amounts of heavy physical exertion, something that pretty much described Lav's life since she was eight seasons old. Regardless of the reason Nilsen was not in the best mood when they returned that evening from a stroll down by the docks. His friend Demeter had sent word that he wanted to meet in a particular out-of-the-mainstream tavern in the docks area but had never shown up. "If you hadn't been following me around like a gods damned dog he would have been there," he complained as they entered his rooms. "That makes no sense," she scoffed. "Why would my being there have anything to do with whether or not Lord Demeter met you? You are being stupid." "I'm getting a little bit tired of being called stupid," he groused. "You're too visible. I just know he wanted to meet unobserved and with you there he couldn't." "Bah," she answered. "You have no reason to believe that. You're just as noticeable as I am in that crowd." His mood seemed to be rubbing off on her. Normally she would enjoy keeping calm as those around her lost theirs; it seemed to irritate them to no end, but today for some reason she was feeling as irritable as he sounded. "One of your feelings, maybe? Superstitious nonsense!" "Oh, go soak your head!" he said as he turned with his back to her. "Superstition, my ass!" he muttered. As the words came out of his mouth Lavender suddenly felt something the likes of which she had never felt before in her life. At first she felt the band around her neck tighten ever so slightly, then a numbness seem to spread throughout her body. Without conscious thought she stood up and walked directly towards the bathing room as Nilsen muttered and mumbled behind her. She felt like screaming, stopping, grabbing something, but was no longer in control of her own body. It was like she was outside looking in; she knew what was happening but had no control over what was going on. Silently her body moved to the dry sink where a large urn of water was kept for use between baths. It was a large urn, large enough to easily stick one's head into she observed with horror. With numb resignation she watched as her body knelt down and plunged her head into the water. Never in her life would she have guessed her death would come from the off-handed comment of someone she had grown to ... like ... a lot. The feeling of suffocation was awful, the body wanting to breathe but still automatically keeping the water out. As the darkness closed in she knew soon her body would take that breath and it would finally be over. Before she completely blacked out she felt a tugging on her hair and suddenly her face was free of the liquid. But was it too late? Her body wouldn't breathe. She knew it should, that it safely could, but for some reason it didn't. The room began to spin dizzily, or maybe it was her losing consciousness. But no, it was her spinning. Suddenly she was on her back and someone was kneeling over her forcing her mouth open. Her nose was pinched shut and another mouth covered hers and soon hot breath was being forced into her as she felt her chest expand without any effort on her part. Once, twice, and then a third time. From afar she heard someone shout, "Breathe gods damn you, breathe!" It was her master, she thought idly. Telling her to breathe, how nice. Well, he must be obeyed after all... With a huge cough her tortured lungs finally drew in life sustaining air as she gasped and shook. Chest heaving she thought about nothing else for a while except taking deep breaths and forcing them out as quickly as she could. Sometime later ― just how long she didn't really know ― she was finally able to pay attention to what was going on around her. Surprisingly she found herself cradled in Nilsen's lap, well, not all of her, she was too big for that, but enough that her head was resting against his chest as they gently rocked back and forth. With her ear pressed against him she could easily hear the great sobs wracking his body and hear him muttering to himself. "Damn me, damn me, damn me!" he was saying to himself. "Don't you dare die!" he whispered. "You are forbidden to, do you understand? I forbid it!" Tilting her head back Lavender could see his face. Tears were streaming down his cheeks and his eyes were screwed shut as tightly as hers as he muttered this mantra over and over again. Why she did what she did then she couldn't have said, but she knew he needed comforting and she was the only one who could provide it. Reaching up she caressed his cheek and as his eyes popped opened in surprise her hand snaked around to the back of his neck and in equal parts dragged him down while pulling herself up. Their lips met and she savored the first taste of her man. Her first and only man. The sensation sent delicious shivers down her spine and pooled as a warm glow in the pit of her stomach. At first he seemed surprised, holding back but shortly he returned her kiss, holding onto her even more tightly than before. Suddenly her eyes flew open and she pushed him away. Scrambling to her feet she glowered down at him as he sat on the floor staring up at her with a puzzled look on his face. "What did you do to me?" she shouted, fists clenched at her sides. Edited by Morgan ------- Chapter 8 "So, just what is going on with you two?" Demeter asked as they strolled on the street next to the wharfs. "What do you mean?" Nilsen responded innocently. "You know exactly what I mean," Demeter scolded. "You and that too-tall woman walking along behind us. She hasn't said half a dozen words to you all day and from the looks she's given you she'd rather slit your throat than listen to the words coming out of it. What'd you do? Jump in her bed when she wasn't expecting it? Maybe you threw her out when she jumped into yours? The only thing that's for sure is you did something to piss her off. That's one angry woman there, and that's a lot of woman to have mad at you. If it weren't for that band around her neck I wouldn't want to be within a mile of you; it wouldn't be safe." "Yeah, well, neither of those if you must know," Nilsen sighed. "Yes, she's angry with me, and with very good reason, I'll admit." Looking back over his shoulder he spoke up just to make sure Lavender heard him, although he was sure she had heard every word they said even if she did give the impression neither of the two men existed. Cerberus trotted along beside her ignoring them both as if to say, "You're both acting like idiots; I have no time for this." "I said I was sorry until I was blue in the face but she's just being pig-headed about it. Yeah, I fucked up, and no I don't want to tell you what I did. Let's just say it was stupid and thoughtless." "So, tell her to get over it," Demeter said with a shrug. "It's not like her feelings are all that important. Tell her to get her attitude adjusted or you'll sell her big butt to someone else." "It doesn't work that way in my family, Dem," Nilsen said, shaking his head. "She may never talk to me for the rest of our lives but I'm not going to sell her bond, although I did offer to transfer it to anyone else she wanted. By the way, I'd watch out whose butt you were calling big. She may not be able to touch me, but she can still beat the crap out of you if she wants." "You wouldn't let her do that, would you?" Demeter said looking back at Lavender with a worried look. "Well, I wouldn't want her to kill you, or maim you permanently, but other than that, sure, if you keep making rude remarks about her anatomy," Nilsen said with a grin. "Especially since her bottom is perfectly proportioned to the rest of her." "Well, er, if you say so," Demeter said still looking back. Just for a moment he could swear Lavender looked at him and smiled; it wasn't a comforting smile. "Anyway," Demeter continued after turning around, "she's your problem, thank goodness. So what are we doing down here anyway? I thought you two were still working out together at the Academy?" "We are," Nilsen answered. "Today Makro asked me to come down here and see if one of our courier ships has come in. We sent a packet back home with that information you gave us and we're expecting something back soon; in fact we expected it by now." "Yeah, about that," Demeter frowned. "While I don't like what's going on around here I don't feel real good about giving you that information. For better or worse, Salas is still my home and I don't feel comfortable supplying information to a foreign government." "Sorry about that," Nilsen said. "Don't want to make you uncomfortable but nothing you gave us is really secret, is it? I mean, for the most part it's all over the street. Everybody knows what's going on. Hell, your dad doesn't even try to refute it. I mean, if it's something they don't want anyone to know about maybe they shouldn't be doing it. "Besides," he shrugged, "as distasteful as what is happening here, so long as it doesn't impact Jeevel it's not like we're going to interfere with it." "Be that as it may I still feel..." Demeter's words petered out as three thugs in dark cloaks with hoods drawn up materialized out of a side street in front of them. One in front, obviously the leader pointed at them and shouted, "There he is! Get 'em!" With that all three pulled swords from beneath their cloaks and started forward. Glancing back Nilsen noted that Lavender had closed up next to him with Cerberus taking the other side. More importantly he saw there were at least three more thugs behind them, also with swords drawn. "'Ware behind!" he shouted to Lavender just as she twirled to engage the ones attacking their rear. "You mind the front, little man," she grunted. "We'll take care of this scum." Soon he was too busy to worry about what was happening behind him. Trusting his shield to guard his back, he concentrated on the three hoodlums in front of him. Normally he wouldn't have worried all that much with only three opponents in front of him, but the street was busy and the crowd around them panicked the moment swords were brought out into the open. He found his sword and sword-breaker in his hands and his body at a ready position but he didn't remember how either came to be there. A quick glance to his side confirmed what he had already thought: Demeter had his long knife out but no sword. His friend almost never carried it around town and was now at a serious disadvantage. "Just stay out of my way, you candy-assed poof," he teased as his friend backed up a step clearing Nilsen's side for action. "Looks like I'll have to save your butt again!" "What do you mean 'again', you stone-brained barbarian?" Demeter huffed. "You haven't done it once yet! I can't help it if that damn thing is too fucking heavy to carry around everywhere. Now, where do you want me?" "Back home and out of my way," Nilsen snorted. "Other than that just stay outside of where I'm swinging." Demeter took another step back as Nilsen squared to face his three opponents. The first thing he noticed was that these three didn't have the nervous shifty-eyed look one would expect from common street thieves. Each one looked determined and even anxious, more like a warrior before battle than a thug during a robbery. So it's not just a common mugging, he thought. He wasn't surprised; six jumping three in the middle of the day would be almost unheard of. Assassination or maybe kidnapping, then. Seconds later he could be sure of only one thing: If it was a kidnapping he wasn't the intended target. Simultaneously, the three charged forward with swords raised. Coming up on the balls of his feet Nilsen kept still until they were almost upon him. When they were close to slashing range he moved suddenly to the side and engaged the one furthest to his left. Using his sword-breaker he lifted the thug's sword point up slightly as his own sword slashed in at belt level. Almost too quickly to be seen he was suddenly down to two opponents as an arm and the hand holding a sword thudded to the ground, severed at the elbow. The man stared dumbly at the spurting stump but Nilsen paid him no mind. He may have remained standing a second or two longer but shock and blood loss quickly rendered him unconscious and shortly afterwards, dead. It happened too quickly for the other two to react, not that they would, of course; they were professionals after all. Well, maybe a glance or two anyway; it wasn't every day you saw a seasoned assassin get cut down by little more than a boy. Not much of a glance though, as Nilsen continued moving around the still standing assassin, using him as a shield until he toppled to the ground. This position gave Nilsen a one-on-one with the nearest attacker who hesitated slightly, possibly to allow his comrade time to come around so they could confront him simultaneously. It would have been a good plan, probably not successful, but then they didn't know that at the time, but in theory it would have been the best thing to do. What it didn't take into account was the extremely large dog standing silently to one side, pink froth already running down his jowls. In fact he stood so quietly and still the assassin only glanced at him in passing as he stepped around to flank Nilsen. What he didn't expect was Cerberus moving just as he passed by. Head moving deceptively slowly Cerberus almost casually leaned forward and clamped his jaws around the forearm of the would-be slayer, the teeth cutting through flesh like a sharp knife through warm bread. The bone offered only slight resistance as the huge animal continued to exert force on the doomed appendage. The grisly sounds of snapping bone could be heard above his high-pitched shriek as the pain blasted into the hapless man's consciousness. Releasing the arm with a small snort Cerberus stepped back as the assassin dropped to his knees cradling his partially severed limb. It could be that the quick elimination of two of his cohorts unnerved the final thug, but it wouldn't have made much difference either way. Nilsen took a step forward and feinted toward the man's groin with his sword. When the sword dropped to cover the point, the sword-breaker quickly struck and thrust through the eye and into the brain behind it; death was for all intents and purposes instantaneous. Barely breathing hard Nilsen, still in a fighter's crouch, looked around. Besides the two dead men before him and the one kneeling, whimpering and holding his arm Nilsen could see the others had been busy. Well, Lavender and Cerberus anyway. Two were laying at Lav's feet and another on his back, his crushed neck making it obvious who, or what, had killed him. Lavender stepped over the bodies in front of her on her way over to Nil. She had almost reached him when the kneeling assassin howled and pulled a long slim dagger from beneath his cloak rearing back and striking at Lavender's unprotected back. Without thinking Nilsen leapt forward and collided with his shield-maiden, which felt pretty close to what it must feel like hitting a stone wall, causing her to stumble. It was enough that the assassin's knife didn't find its original mark, instead plunging into Nilsen's exposed side. The pain blossomed in Nilsen's abdomen and then he felt no more. ------- Lavender felt someone pushing her and then as she started to regain her balance a piercing pain erupted in her side. I'm struck, she thought, slapping her hand against her side. As quickly as the pain started it ended and a bit puzzled she looked at her hand, expecting to see it covered with blood. It wasn't and she looked around trying to figure out what had happened. What she saw horrified her. Nilsen was laying face down in the street, the hilt of a dagger sticking out of the left side of his body. Yowling like a wounded mountain cat her eyes fixated on the still kneeling assassin as a wash of red-hot heat flushed through her body. Without thinking she brought her sword around in a backhanded swipe as the assassin futilely tried to ward off the blow by raising his remaining good arm in front of his face. The sword didn't even slow as it sliced through the meaty part of the forearm and continued on into his skull at about eye level, topping his head like a melon. Dropping her sword she fell to her knees next to Nilsen's prone body and began wailing, "Please no, gods, no!" as she gently caressed his hair with a shaking hand. All she could think about were her last angry words to him and how she would give her own life just to take them back. Wallowing in self-pity she almost didn't feel the rough shaking of her shoulder. Looking up through tear-stained eyes she recognized Demeter and after a few moments realized what he was saying. "We have to get him home, Lavender," Demeter said, almost shouting at her. Somehow he had obtained a sword, probably from one of the assassins, and was standing over her in a guard position. "Too late," she sobbed. "He's dead!" "Don't be stupid," Demeter said crossly. "Even I know your salidin will change color if he dies. He's still very much alive. Try feeling for him. I've been told people who are bonded can feel where their master is. Try it." Lavender shook herself just a little and then tried to concentrate on feeling for Nilsen. Surprisingly in just a second or two she could feel him. Very warm, very close, and not particularly feeling all that seriously injured, not that she was an expert in what being seriously injured felt like. "Yes," she said her heart all most bursting with relief. "He lives." "We need to get him home, and quickly," Demeter said with a snarl. "Jarrah needs to see him right away. I wouldn't trust him to any of the butchers around here." Lavender declined to mention that Jarrah had come to Salas to study under these "butchers," but let it pass since she agreed he needed to get home as quickly as possible. "How?" was all she grunted. "I see a carriage over there. Let me go grab it before it can get away," he said rushing off. Moments later he returned leading the horse by the bridle, a very angry and scared-looking driver behind them. "Can you carry him?" Demeter asked. Without answering, Lav scooped Nilsen up in her arms, careful to avoid the protruding dagger hilt, and stepped into the carriage. Nilsen was a big, solid man as far as shorties go, but he felt like feathers in her arms. Demeter let loose the bridle and bending down picked up Lavender's sword and Nilsen's sword and sword-breaker before leaping into the carriage himself as Cerberus jumped in and curled up on the floor. Giving the driver instructions on where to go, the carriage took off down the street leaving the bodies of the would-be assassins behind them. Looking down at the ash-gray face of her charge, Lavender felt tears welling up in her eyes. She hadn't cried since she was a baby, she reminded herself, as she tried to blink them away. Leaning down she whispered in his ear, "I am so sorry; I failed you, my Lord." "You didn't fail me," he answered back faintly. "It's my fault; I should have finished the stupid bastard. Not your fault." "What did you think you were doing, you fool!" she railed after the first shock of hearing his voice passed through her. "He saved your life," Demeter said gently from across the carriage. If he thought that was going to lessen her pique he was sadly mistaken. "Saved my life?" she bellowed. "Saved my life? You idiot! You moron! You blue-eyed fool! I am there to save your life! You arrogant ass..." the diatribe continuing the entire way back to the house as Demeter cringed against his cushion, trying to make himself as small as possible. It wasn't until they pulled up in front of the townhouse that Lavender began repeating herself. Demeter was alternately horrified, impressed, and ultimately just plain damned happy he wasn't on the receiving end of that scolding. Seconds later he looked up and saw what awaited them on the steps of the townhouse: all four of Nilsen's sisters, and a number of servants and a few guards. One look at Makro's face made him think it might have been easier if he had been the one with the knife in his ribs. Makro was a study in barely-contained fury; Jarrah wore her normal frown that looked little different than it usually did, until you looked in her eyes which Demeter would have described as the eyes of a cold-blooded killer. Avoiding that look, he glanced over at the twins and almost decided to run for his life. He had seen Makro angry before; he was used to Jarrah's imperturbable and aloof nature, but he had never seen the twins angry before, really angry. He did now and quite frankly it scared him. Cerberus jumped down and looped over to where the twins stood. Fobie glanced down, lifted his head and studied the blood-crusted fur around his mouth. "You did well," she said with a nod. "Now go clean yourself. Your duty is done here for now." The huge hound nodded and trotted off to disappear through the door into the house. "Where is he hurt?" Jarrah demanded as they approached the carriage. "He got stabbed in the side," Demeter said; Lavender was still discussing his many shortcomings with Nilsen even as she stood and started carrying him toward the door. "We were attacked down by the docks and..." Makro waved him silent before he could finish. "Not now," she snapped, but then softened her voice somewhat as she continued, "We can get the full story later, after we take care of Nil. Was anybody else hurt? Are you hurt? Do we have enemies coming?" "I'm fine," he said with a shake of his head. "Nobody else was touched. There were six of them and so far as I know they're all dead. I didn't see any others, but that doesn't mean there weren't any." Makro nodded curtly and said as she turned to follow Lavender and Jarrah into the house, "Thank you, and come in. Captain!" she called, looking to the guard next to her. "Aye, Lady," he said, bowing his head. Lifting it up he began bellowing orders even before he began moving. "Everybody up! I want every swinging dick in kit and on post now! Arm the rest of the staff and be prepared to repel invaders!" Suddenly the guard and the rest of the servants began running around like ants in a kicked-over anthill. Turning back to the carriage Demeter dug out a gold coin and tossed it at the driver. "But," he complained, "the blood..." "Here," Demeter said tossing another coin. "Buy a new fucking carriage." ------- "Take him into the kitchen, clear off the table and set him down there," Jarrah said to Lavender as they strode into the interior of the house. "Place him on his side," she said as they entered the kitchen. Gently Lavender lowered her burden and he briefly grunted in pain as she lay him down. "Let's see what we have," Jarrah muttered as she tried to rip his shirt away from the wound. Lavender grabbed the shirt on both sides of the knife hilt and pulled it apart. The shirt ripped like it was a piece of cheesecloth. In moments she had the shirt completely off and in shreds. "Hmm, nasty," Jarrah said looking at the hilt and the angle it was protruding from her brother's side. Placing her ear against his chest she listened intently, nodded, and then straightened up. "I don't think it nicked a lung," she said. "Also, from the angle of entry I don't think it hit anything else vital." Tentatively she grasped the hilt and tugged on it. Nilsen whimpered as she did it to which she replied, "Stop it, you big baby. I think I need someone to pull this out for me; I think it's stuck in his rib." Under her direction Lavender took hold of the hilt and firmly pulled it out. It resisted a bit at first but quickly yielded to her pull. At first the blood flowed freely but quickly dried up to a slow seeping. "Good," Jarrah, said with a nod, a half-smile on her lips. "It doesn't look like we have an arterial flow; it's a clean cut and only dug into the bone. I'm going to go get my medical bag. We'll have this cleaned out, stitched up and bandaged in no time. It's not that serious." The last she said with an obvious sigh of relief. "What do you mean it's not that serious?" came Nilsen's muffled voice from the table. "I've been practically eviscerated! Cut open! Gutted! Besides ... it hurts like hell." "Good!" Lavender said, leaning in towards him. "Maybe you won't be so stupid next time! You idiot, you pig-headed fool..." All Nilsen could get in, occasionally, was a weak, "But..." or "I didn't..." although every time he opened his mouth it merely served to increase her ire, and volume. Makro watched with amusement for a few moments but then turned to look for Demeter. Seeing him standing along the back wall doing his best to look as small as possible, she frowned slightly and crooked a finger at him. When he gave her a round-eyed, innocent look and mouthed, "Who, me?" she pointed to the doorway and without confirming he followed, leaving the kitchen. "All right," she said when they were away from the din of a still-ranting Lavender. "What happened?" "Hehe," Demeter chuckled nervously. "She sure isn't shy about telling him her opinion, is she?" "He scared her and she's letting it out," Makro shrugged. "Now, out with it: What happened?" "But he saved her life!" Demeter said as if she hadn't been talking. "Good. I'm sure she'll thank him properly later on, when she's calmed down a bit. Now tell me what happened or you'll get more than a piece of my tongue!" "Fine, fine," Demeter said holding up his hands. "It wasn't our fault, really! Look, we were just walking down by the docks like you asked Nil to do and..." He quickly told her exactly what had happened. " ... so you see, he really did save her life." He paused for a moment then continued, "Mine too, I guess." "So you don't know who those thugs were?" she asked. "Not the faintest idea," he said shaking his head. "To tell the truth I couldn't even be sure who it was they were after. All I heard was one of them saying something like 'There he is.' Was it me or Nil? I don't know." "Hmm, that could make things interesting," Makro mused. "We'll have to see what we can dig up. Well, it you're not hurt, I'm sure you'll want to get home. I'll have the captain detail a couple of guards to escort you back to the palace. If it was you they were after they might try again. If it was Nil, then they may still go after you out of spite if for no other reason. No matter who they are, they aren't going to be happy about losing six men." "If it's all the same to you, maybe I could stay here?" Demeter asked. "As bad as it sounds, I feel safer here than I would surrounded by my father's staff." "That's fine with me," she said with a shrug. "Just so you realize you may be painting a target on your back by doing so." "Bigger than the one I already have?" he responded with a shrug of his own. "I doubt that. By the way, you were all waiting for us when we brought him back. How in the world did you know we were coming? I mean, we came straight here. You couldn't possibly know ... Oh, the twins." Makro just raised one eyebrow. "That's just plain scary." "Only if you let it be," she answered, already turning away. Over her shoulder she had one parting comment, "It's not so bad if they're on your side. Just make sure you keep them on your side." "Just like the proverbial tiger by the tail," he muttered to himself. ------- Nilsen woke up with a sharp pain in his side. Jarrah had given him some poppy-milk extract before stitching his side and he couldn't remember a thing after that. He tried moving around a little. He could do it, but it did hurt and there wasn't anywhere he really needed to go anyway, so he just settled down to rest. Opening his eyes he could see, or more appropriately he couldn't see; it was dark ― sometime in the middle of the night. There was enough light he could see Lavender's big form slumped down in a chair next to his bed. She was gently snoring and if she didn't move soon she would be sliding down to the floor. Tentatively he reached out to pat her leg. "What... ? Who... ?" she grunted as she woke up. "You need to go to bed," he whispered. "I'm perfectly safe here and it won't do anyone any good if you fall to the floor and crack open your head." "No," she said yawning. "I failed you once, not again. I stand watch." "You didn't fail," he said sounding exasperated. "It was my own carelessness. I was half thinking of keeping one for questioning; I didn't think he was still a danger. Because of that I put you in danger, and for that I am profoundly sorry." "Not thinking is right," she grunted. "You should have let him stab me, then deal with him." "I couldn't do that," he said grumpily. "It's my job," she answered quickly. "Well, you can yell and scream at me all you want," he said. "I wouldn't change what I did; I'd do it again if I had to." Raising his hand before she could start another tirade he continued, "For now we will have to agree to disagree. But if I can't convince you to go to your bed at least lie down here." He patted the mattress next to him. "At least then you won't be sliding to the floor." "It wouldn't be proper," she mumbled. "I'm glad you think I'm still a danger to your virtue in this condition," he chuckled. "But I can assure you that I wouldn't ― let alone couldn't ― try anything tonight. Besides, unless I'm mistaken, Cerberus is probably wandering around here somewhere. I don't doubt he'll give us plenty of warning if there's something that needs your attention." A soft woof wafted up from the floor and Nilsen muttered, "You and I are going to talk about that dog, real soon." "Well," Lavender looked at the mattress longingly, "I suppose..." Stiffly she laid down on her back, her sword by her side, staring up at the ceiling. "See?" Nil said sleepily. "Plenty of room. G'night." ------- Lavender woke up to the light streaming in through the window, although she hadn't opened her eyes yet. Her back was cold but her front was toasty warm. Snuggling up to Cerberus had always been a pleasure; it was nice to be able to hold someone warm during the sometimes chilly nights. She would never know what it was like to have another person sleeping with her, but at least she had her shiakye. "Move over, Cerberus," she muttered trying to drag him slightly closer. "Father said I may grow hair on my back when I get older," a voice said right next to her. "But I didn't think it was that bad yet." Lavender's eyes shot open and looking down she realized she was spooned up against Nilsen's back, her arm draped over his shoulder, his head tucked under her chin. "Ack!" she squeaked, scrambling to get out of the bed. "I didn't think it was that bad, waking up next to me," he said rolling over on his back with a grunt. "Oof, this is sure a pain in the ass." "Ack!" Lavender squeaked again, looking down at him in horror. "Oh go take a bath and wash off the contamination if you must," he said with a frown. "I'm sorry, Lord," she stuttered. "I didn't mean to be familiar. I mean, I didn't..." "I know, Lav," he sighed and waved at her dismissively. "You didn't mean to do it. But could you at least have a little pity on my poor male ego? I mean, couldn't you at least pretend that you might have done it on purpose? Having a beautiful woman wake up in bed with you and then screaming in horror ... Well, it does things to a man's self-image and not good things, I might add." "I ... I..." Lavender took a breath and tried to center herself. "I did not scream in horror. I was surprised that is all." She paused for a moment, pursed her lips and continued, "I know you can do as you please, but I wish you would not tease me by calling me beautiful." "What do you mean, 'tease'?" he asked, looking puzzled. "I know I am ugly," she said straining to keep her voice flat. "It was one of the reasons I was to be cu ... One of the reasons I left my people. I know I should ignore it, not let it hurt me, but it does. I know I shouldn't say anything, but you do not seem like the type of person that would hurt another knowingly so I tell you now: it does hurt." "Lav, I have to admit I'm a bit at a loss for words," he said trying to maneuver his way up the bed so he could sit up against the wall. "Let me start out by saying that I wouldn't intentionally hurt you for anything. I may try to be funny sometimes, although I usually fail at it, and I may tease as you put it, but never to hurt. I will admit I'm also not above using flattery a time or two, but I never lie about it. "I say to you that you are beautiful and I mean just that. Now I'm not going to say you are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen, nor that you would be attractive to everyone else for that matter. Who could say? But I will tell you I find you attractive. Your face is nicely shaped, a little strong in the chin for some, but not for me. Your eyes are a color I have never seen before and I find them simply enchanting. As for the rest of you, well, you are perfectly proportioned for your size, except maybe, if you'll pardon me, your chest. It is large ― very large even for your frame ― and to tell the truth and I find it difficult not to ... well, not to stare. "I don't know what your people find beautiful," he continued. "Beauty is a function of culture as much as biology. As a male I can't help but see you as a healthy, sexually enticing female. As a man in my culture I look at your features and what I see pleases me and, after all, isn't that what really defines beauty? That which pleases you? "So where you came from what you look like is considered ugly. I would say they were fools, but who am I to say what pleases and doesn't please someone else. That they were cruel about it, I find deplorable. I have always been taught not to make judgments of others based on my experiences, but I still do. I don't like people who are mean, who enjoy being mean. I never have and I hope I never will. "You look at yourself through the eyes of your culture. You have been told you don't meet their standard of beauty and therefore consider yourself ugly. No disrespect, but don't try to foster that crap on me. Whether you can accept that someone like me ― a shorty I think you call me ― can consider you attractive really doesn't matter, and won't change what I think one tiny bit. Do you understand?" "No," she said after thinking about it for a moment. "But I will think about it. I will take you at your word that you are speaking from our feelings and not from malice." "That's all I can ask for," he said. "So, what do your people find attractive in your men?" "Tall," she said. "They need to be tall." "So I would be considered..." "Ugly as a toad," she said with a grin. "Well," he said sighing again, "it certainly wouldn't be the first time." Edited by Morgan ------- Chapter 9 For the next ten-day Nilsen mended and bitched, while being restricted to the confines of the townhouse. It wasn't so bad the first three days; he didn't feel like doing much except sitting around, resting and reading. Lavender was fairly bored with the inactivity also. She sparred with the guards and Demeter but other than as a form of exercise it didn't occupy her overly much. Unsurprisingly, nobody there was anywhere near Nilsen's ability and without him to test her limits, her strength and capabilities pretty much devastated anyone she worked out with, even if they did it two or three on one. One day sitting in his room while he read another book she asked if she could borrow one if he was finished. "I promise I won't let it interfere with my watching you," she said. "But this being a shield can be boring, if you know what I mean." "Lav, you can read whatever you can get hold of," he said. "I didn't know you were much of a reader. Hell, if you want books, talk to Fobie or Deimie; that's where I get all mine." After that it wasn't unusual to find the three of them ― if Cerberus wasn't out somewhere doing whatever it was he did when not with them ― sitting in the courtyard under a tree Lavender leaning back against the tree and Nilsen leaning back against her, for all the world looking like a big sister with her little brother. A rather pastoral scene it seemed, until one noticed that big sister had her naked sword lying next to her and at any movement or sound her hand grabbed the hilt and had it ready for action in an instant. "They look so cute together," Fobie said as she gracefully seated herself on the grass in front of them. "Very cute," Deimie agreed as she sat down next to her. Cerberus had been lying under another tree not far away but when the twins sat down he got up and came over to place his head in Fobie's lap and began whimpering like a puppy as she absently stroked his head. Cerberus's reaction to the twins still amazed Lavender but since he completely ignored her when she asked him about it she had just learned to accept it with a shake of her head. Of course she knew he couldn't really answer her, but he could usually make his responses known. In this case he didn't even try. "Call it what you will," he said snuggling back even further against Lav. He had found that in this position his head and neck were perfectly supported by one of her massive, firm and yet delightfully soft breasts. "I take it as the coddling due a conquering hero." "It's the punishment an idiot deserves," Lav said reaching up to pat him on the top of his head. "This way I know exactly where he is." "You call it punishment, I call it reward and we're both happy," he smirked. "Works for me. Not to change the subject but when can I get the hell out of here? As nice as this all is there are things I need to be doing. Did they ever find out who set us up? Did we ever get word from Dad or our moms?" "When Jarrah says you can..." Fobie started. " ... no..." continued Deimie continued, " ... and yes. Makro did receive a message, but she'll want to tell us about it when we are all together," Fobie finished. Lavender was starting to get used to the way the twins talked but it still spun her cross-eyed every once in a while. She was getting to where she thought she could tell the two apart, although she didn't know how. To the best of her knowledge Nilsen was the only one who could unerringly tell which was which every time. Lav wondered if it had something to do with this supposed bond that was established by the band around her neck. Ever since that one disastrous night she had avoided even thinking about it, but after the fight and almost losing him she did think about it. Not only did she think about it, she talked about it, mostly with the other bonded servants like Sara, Fusia and especially Katern. Fusia and Sara treated her like ... well ... she wasn't sure what they treated her like. Sisters, maybe? Not having any, Lav really didn't know, but they joked, talked nonsense and although Lav considered them for the most part to be empty-headed little twits she was able to glean some information from them. "Oh yes, the bond," Sara related one day as they were talking during one of Nil's rest periods. "I've always been told you really know the bond is growing when you first tell where your liege is when you're not able to see him." She continued when Lav gave her a puzzled look, "Where is he now?" "In bed resting," she said. "At least he'd better be." She growled the last as Sara and Fusia giggled. "Point to where he is," Sara demanded, "quickly, without thinking." "There," Lav said, pointing in the general direction of Nil's bedroom. "You're sure?" "Yes." "Okay, now how does he feel?" "He's all right, I suppose," Lav said hesitantly. "Try," Sara pressed. "Demeter said you did it when he was injured so we already know you can do it; it's just a matter of if you can do it when you want to and not just when you have to. Think about him. Think about reaching out and touching him, but don't actually do it." Tentatively Lavender closed her eyes and thought about her liege. It was getting to be easier all the time. As ugly as the little shorty was, he had something about him that almost made you like him. True, he was strong as an ox, quick as a snake and faithful as her shiakye, but he was so damn short! If he could even look her in the eye she could see where someone might ― just might ― consider him mildly attractive. But certainly not her! This of course made the dreams she had been having lately even more disturbing. "So, has he bedded you yet?" Sara asked, seemingly changing the subject at random. "What?" Lavender asked, shaking her head to clear it. "No! Of course not!" "Well when he does you're in for a really special treat," Sara said smugly. "I mean Fusia and I think he's pretty damned special right now, but to be directly bonded to him ... Ooh, that would be heavenly!" "He's not bedding me and he's not going to," Lav answered curtly. "He promised he would never take me against my will." "Yeah, so?" Sara said with a shrug. "So when are you going to will it?" "Ah, never," Lav said, but she didn't sound all that convincing. "Well I've heard that you've been seen climbing out of his bed in the morning. What about that?" "Ah, well, that's just for his protection," Lavender mumbled. The truth was she had found herself in his bed the past few mornings but she wasn't sure how she got there. She had dragged her mattress off her bed and placed it next to his, over his mild protests. He hadn't ordered her to take it back, although to be fair he hadn't ordered her to do anything since that night; he even hesitated to ask or recommend that she do something. It was plain that he was as terrified of what had happened as she was. Whatever the cause, the fact was she still woke up every morning in his bed, with either her arms wrapped around him or his around her. It was disconcerting to say the least, but she couldn't decide what bothered her more, not knowing how she got there, or knowing she really enjoyed the feeling when she did. "It's, ah, just, ah, in case he's attacked at night," Lav muttered again. "Oh I think there's a good chance he'll be attacked at night all right," Sara laughed. "But I doubt he's going to complain about it to awfully much! But, if you really aren't planning to bed him then can I assume you wouldn't mind if we do? It's been too long." "Ah, well, hmm ... I have nothing to say about who he beds at night." For some reason she wanted to say yes, she did mind. In fact the thought of these two trollops bedding her― She stopped herself before the thought could go any further. "Anyway," she continued, "I don't think he would appreciate us talking about him like this." Lav could actually feel her face getting warm. Suddenly she stopped thinking about it. "Oh! Oh! He's moving!" "So?" Sara asked. "He's moving," Lavender hissed. "The little twerp is supposed to be resting, not moving! He's supposed to tell me where he's going. Later ... I need to go find him." "Ah," Sara breathed out after Lavender raced out of the room. "I am so jealous. Is it just me or did her 'no' sound a lot like a 'yes?'" "No, you're not," Fusia said to her friend. "Envious maybe, but not jealous. If you meant would it bother her if we tried for a little fun at night, I believe you are correct. I think it would be best if we didn't push it for now. Besides, maybe she'll share after they finally get down to it." "You think?" "We can hope." ------- "So, were you ever able to figure out whom it was that attacked us?" They had finished their evening meal earlier and were taking some time enjoying the cool air in the courtyard, just Nilsen, his four sisters, Demeter and the ever-present Lavender standing behind Nil. For the most part everyone had given up trying to get her to sit down or relax around them. It would have taken a direct order from Nil to do so and it was pretty well understood that that wasn't going to happen. She seemed perfectly happy standing there, eyes continually scanning their surroundings, although at times the hand not occupied with holding the hilt of her sword would casually drift down to touch his shoulder or maybe caress his hair. She did it seemingly without thinking and although everybody noticed it, nobody wanted to say anything. It didn't bother Nil, his sisters thought it was "cute" and Demeter didn't think she would hit him for embarrassing her, but why take the chance? "No," Demeter sighed. After a day or two he had finally gone back to the palace if for no other reason than to see if he could find out anything about the attack. "Absolutely nothing. There wasn't even an official report from the watch on it." "That's somewhat telling in and of itself, wouldn't you say?" Makro mused. "It's unlikely six bodies on a busy city street would be ignored unless someone officially wanted it ignored." "True," Demeter admitted. "And nobody will talk to me at all. Even my old supposed friends. If it were just that I'd say it was someone after me because I'd been poking around." "Unfortunately that wasn't the only thing that happened that particular day," Makro continued. The much anticipated courier from Jeevel had arrived in port with messages and disturbing news. The first came from the courier's captain: Jeevelian shipping, including the courier, had been experiencing harassment and sometimes downright attack in the waters surrounding Salas. "There was no way to identify the ship or ships that are doing this, but they appear to be fairly well-armed and maintained," Makro said. "Momma said two or three patrol ships are going to be plying the shipping routes, just to see if there is any other information to be gleaned. Nothing has been lost yet, but it's starting to worry them back home a bit. Father was just about to order us home but Momma Nesho talked him out of it, for now. Of course that was before this latest attack. Gods alone know what she's going to say when she hears about that!" "So we might as well start getting ready to leave," Jarrah mused. "That would be my guess," Makro agreed. "But until we're ordered to leave I feel we should remain and get all the information we can. I haven't been able to find out who's behind the attack, either. But everything seems to point somewhere in the Putram's government." Makro had long ago decided Nilsen et al had been attacked by professional assassins; disturbing yes, but secondary to the "who" and "why" behind it. "Ah," Demeter cleared his throat to get attention. "Don't you feel it a little strange talking like this in front of someone from Salas ― one of the Putram's sons to be precise?" "No," said Deimie/Fobie. "We know you are still loyal to Salas, but to Salas itself, not to your father's government. You know we have no intentions detrimental to your country, and we know that so long as you do, you will keep what you hear to yourself." "Thank you, I think," Demeter said quietly. "I don't like the idea of running away," Nilsen said, interrupting the short silence with a frown. "It's not like we're running away," Fobie chimed in. "We're not supposed to be spies," Deimie added. "You have to look at it from the perspective of whether it is better for Jeevel to have us exposed like this or home safe." "I know," he grumbled. "But I still don't have to like it. But whatever you say, I'll do." "I know, dear," Makro said, leaning over to pat him condescendingly on the knee. "You are not too big to be hauled over my knee and spanked, woman," he said with a grin. "Oh, kinky," Fobie said raising her eyebrow. "A little hanky-spanky?" Deimie asked as if it was a legitimate question. "I didn't know you had been learning that at night!" "Will you do it bare-bottomed or just a pat through her shift?" Fobie quickly added. "You two are definitely not too big to spank!" he said, shaking his finger at them. "So unless you want to find out firsthand whether or not your pretty little bottoms are going to be bare to the air, I would suggest you leave it be." "Hmm..." Fobie seemed to be seriously considering it for a moment. "Maybe not yet; but later ... Who knows?" "What's the matter, Demeter?" Deimie asked the uncomfortable-looking Salas noble. "I don't know." he said squirming just a little. "I mean it's all well and good to joke around and all, but, well, you are his sisters!" "Half-sisters at best," she responded, with a flutter of her fingers. "Besides, in our family it doesn't—" "Fobie! That will be quite enough of that!" Makro demanded. "Ah, actually that's Deimie," Nilsen interjected. "So?" she snapped. "What you say to one, you say to the other. No matter; whichever one you are, please be civilized; he is a guest." "Sorry, Demeter," they both said at the same time, neither one sounding the least bit repentant. Nilsen wasn't surprised. "You'll have to forgive them," Makro said still giving the two an icy glare which failed to do anything except to initiate giggles from its intended targets. Turning back to Demeter she smiled and said, "In our family sexuality isn't a joking matter, but neither is it considered taboo or hidden away. Comes from having four mothers, I think. Four mothers that have no qualms about expressing their love, or lust, for our father I might add." "I remember Momma Sosho saying she'd take him in the middle of the plaza at noon if he'd let her—" "That's enough," Nilsen said quietly and the mouth of the talking twin snapped shut. "Now you're trying to embarrass Demeter. Tease as you like in private, but this is unladylike." "Yes, Nil," they again said in unison. "We're sorry, Demeter." This time they actually did sound sorry. "I think we've had enough for tonight," he said decisively to the room in general. "Makro has her eyes and ears out on the street. If they can find out anything, fine; if not then we let the true professionals deal with it. I still haven't seen anything here that directly impacts Jeevel and until we do, it is best we remember that Salas is still a friendly nation and until proven otherwise we will respect them as such. "But..." he cautioned, "we will also prepare to leave at a moment's notice. Makro, are you sending a packet back with the courier? Do so if you feel you must, but the next merchant or courier that arrives we will hold in case we need to leave. My guess is when you tell Mom, we'll probably have one dedicated to the task in short order. Any questions?" "No, Nil," came the answer from four sets of lips. "Good. Then we'd best be off to bed. I'm hoping the next ten-day or so is going to be boring, but you can never tell." ------- "May I ask a question, My Lord," Lavender asked when they had retired to their rooms. "Lav," he said sounding exasperated, "you may think you're too big to be spanked, but that doesn't mean I can't try. Enough of the 'My Lord' crap and out with it. You can ask me anything you want. If it's something I don't want to answer, I won't." "Hmm, yes, my― Nilsen," then she paused. "Your sisters, especially the dolls, sometimes sound more like suitors for your hand than ... well ... sisters." "Suitors for my hand you say?" Nilsen chuckled. "How very old-fashioned and formal. Not likely. But..." then he paused for a moment. "But, there is something to what you say, especially when it comes to the twins. Those two have something in mind and I'm not sure exactly what it is. I've never been able to get it or anything else for that matter, out of them. To tell the truth, I try not to think or worry about it." "But..." Lavender stuttered, "to bed your sisters?" "That shocks you, I see. Well, I haven't done it and don't plan on doing it," he said while throwing his clothes into the hamper provided for them. "But do I ever think about it? To be honest, sure. Each and every one of them is extremely beautiful, to us shorties anyway, and you'd have to be a better man than I not to have them affect you. Besides, I already love them. It's an interesting fantasy but it's just a fantasy. "I take it the thought bothers you?" he said looking back at her. "Hmm," she nodded. "I suppose so. When I think of my own brothers ... It makes my skin crawl. Although looking at it genetically the dangers would be slight." "You sound like you know quite a bit about the subject," he said with a raised eyebrow. "You might say my people have more than a slight interest in it," she chuckled. She mused almost to herself, "You and your sisters are actually half-siblings if I understand it correctly. True, this would increase the probability that the two copies of any given gene will be identical and derived from the same parental line and any offspring would be homozygous for that gene/trait. But that would not be inherently good or bad; it would depend on the specific trait..." "Lavender, what in the hell are you talking about?" Nilsen asked, staring at her. "Oh, sorry," she said, "just talking to myself. It would be an interesting question. Breeding between closely related groups has always been one of our problems. Luckily there seem to be very few actual genetically transmitted defects remaining; of course there is genetic drift and the possibility of new mutations. But given the diversity in your sibling group ― all of you hardly look to be related at all ― that shouldn't be a problem. Or would it?" "Lavender!" Nilsen sounded exasperated. "My sisters and I are not breeding and where did you come up with all of this?" "What, My Lord Prince? A dumb ol' giantess shouldn't know about anything except how to fight?" "Damn it, maybe we will find out if you can fit over my lap!" He took a deep breath and looked up at her sheepishly. "Well, maybe I did make some assumptions. To be honest, I haven't met many warriors with your skill that are interested in much else except fighting. I'll admit it: you surprise me, pleasantly, I might add. I knew you were smart, but not that you were educated also. Besides, you haven't exactly showed us you knew much more than how to swing a sword." "Plus I talk slowly and don't use as many words as you do, therefore I must be stupid," she said giving him a small smile. "Yeah," he said grinning back. "You caught me on that one. Although you have been speaking much better lately. Maybe I shouldn't say better; I should say more like us." "My people don't use as many words as you do," she chided. "It does not mean we are stupid." "You are absolutely correct, my very tall, beautiful and brilliant warrior," he said with a shake of his head. "Maybe you should take me over your knee; that might help me to remember not to make assumptions about people." "We all do," Lavender shrugged. "When I first saw you I thought you were short, ugly and a fool." "So?" he asked. "Now I don't think you are quite so ugly," she replied. ------- Lav woke up again that night. Sighing, she realized that she had again moved from her own mattress to his bed. This was becoming something of a regular event anymore and as such didn't surprise her. Nilsen was wrapped around her, or more precisely she was wrapped around him, her arms holding him tightly against her body, his head resting on her breast. She stroked his back softly, not wanting to wake him as she nuzzled the top of his head. She took a deep breath, delighting in his scent. Something was different about this night though; she could feel it but didn't know exactly what it was. She felt different, inside, and he felt different somehow. Moving slowly she rolled onto her back bringing Nilsen over with her until he lay on top of her, a heavy but very comforting burden. Somehow his hand had worked its way up under her tunic and was gently caressing her breast sending an interesting tingling sensation from her chest to her brain, or maybe it was to her groin. Somehow that was tingling too. As he nestled on top of her, her legs parted slightly allowing his groin to press against hers. She could feel the hard lump of his penis as it inflated under the loose confines of the smallclothes he always wore to bed. Her body actually shook and her breaths came in short, shallow gulps as she felt him press against her. Suddenly she felt him stiffen and after a moment of stillness he started to slowly draw away. Whimpering slightly she reached around him with one arm to squash him into her chest, the other hand grabbing one of his buttocks and pressing as firmly as possible into the now burning vee between her legs. "Lavender," he whispered. "Lavender?" "Yes," she moaned. "You didn't want this," he reminded her. "I. Do. Now," she stammered through clenched teeth. "I don't want to do anything you will regret in the morning," he said starting to shake himself. "I want you," she moaned. "I need you." "Lavender, I..." "Am I so ugly then?" she asked. "Gods no!" he hissed. "Then you do desire me?" "You know I do, but that's not the point..." "Please, I beg of you," she whimpered again. "Lavender," he sounded almost cross. "You should never have to beg for love." "Then love me," she whispered. "Love me here, now." Hesitating for a moment he was silent and Lavender felt like her heart was going to break her ribs, it was beating so hard. Then he pushed away from her and she had no choice except to let him go but she sobbed as she did. Backing slightly he stood at the end of the bed and pulled off his smallclothes. His cock stuck out from his body and Lavender whimpered again softly as she saw it in the little bit of moonlight seeping in through the window. Without speaking he reached down and grasped the top of her own smallclothes; she usually wore what he did to bed with the addition of a light tunic top, and gently tugged them down and over her hips. She hadn't had anyone help her out of her clothing since she was seven or eight seasons old and she felt awkward as he pulled them over her flared hips and down her muscular legs. Once they were off, he held out his hand to her and pulled her into a sitting position. As he tugged on her tunic she raised her arms over her head and let him remove the last of her meager amount of clothing. On her own she lay back down, the only thing remaining on her entire body was the band around her neck, shimmering like liquid gold in the moonlight. "You are so beautiful," he whispered. "No matter what you say tonight, you may still kill me in the morning. But damn it, it'll be worth it!" Crawling up and over her he brought his mouth near her ear. "Are you sure, Lavender?" She shivered but nodded at the same time. "Very well, I am only a man and cannot refuse. In that case let's do this correctly." Moving back down between her legs he firmly grasped her behind the knees and gently lifted them up and outward until her sex was full exposed to him. He could see only dimly in the low light but he could certainly smell her! He was well acquainted with the scent of an aroused woman and this one was about as aroused as he had ever seen, or smelled! Slowly he leaned forward and let his tongue glide along the moist lips of her sex. "Wha ... What are you doing?" she gasped. She had never heard of anyone doing this and the thought shocked her. Her hands went for his head to push him away, but helplessly fluttered next to him as the waves of feelings his ministering tongue caused washed up and through her body. "Oh, oh," she moaned. "That feels gooood. Please, don't stop!" He grinned to himself but said nothing as he kept his tongue going. First he would dip in deep, then just lightly caress the outside, next up to the top of her slit to tease the small nubbin located there Lavender had never felt the like; even the times she had guiltily rubbed herself down there, this was so much better, so much more intense. It was the most she could do just to keep breathing. "Let yourself go, Lav," Nil whispered up to her. "Let yourself go." Go? Go where? she wondered. She had no idea what he meant but with that small distraction any control she had over her feelings shattered. It started as a little spark of pleasure centered deep in her sex and burned quickly through her entire body. Shaking, almost in convulsions, she writhed and wiggled under him until, gasping for breath, she lay back on the bed. With a silly grin on his face Nil climbed back up until he could look into her eyes. "Are you ready for me?" he asked. Unable to form a coherent response Lavender nodded slightly. Moving back down her body until the head of his cock was poised at the entrance of her now thoroughly soaked cunt he found his face was almost perfectly centered on her magnificent tits. Perfect fit, he thought as he leaned down to nibble on one plump nipple while slowly pushing his way into her body. "Oh, Lord," she gasped as she felt him slowly began to fill her heretofore untouched space. She had tried never to think about what this would feel like, knowing it was not to be her destiny, but now that it had come, her purpose in life now became blindly clear. "Oh, My Lord! Take me, please! I am yours!" "You are mine," he grunted as he bottomed out inside her, the spongy head of his cock resting up against the hard, boney surface of her cervix. "You are mine and I will never let you go, my big, beautiful warrior." Slowly he began to withdraw and thrust into her. He tried to keep it as slow as possible to extend both of their pleasure but the feeling of her under him, the feeling of her around him, was simply too much and soon he was thrusting forcefully into her, readying himself for release. Lavender couldn't describe the feeling of having him on top of her, crushing her to the mattress, filling her, driving into her. She could feel the beginnings of her own flash of pleasure, but this time it seemed to be longer in coming, not as sharp but just as intense. She waited for it with anticipation, but suddenly a new feeling intruded, not pushing away her own pleasure, but adding to it, compounding it. She was confused for a moment but suddenly realized, it was him! He was about to release his pleasure inside her! Groaning she clamped her arms around him and lifted her legs, spreading them even further apart wanting him as deep inside her as he could possibly get. With little or no other warning Nilsen moaned and held himself deep within her and Lavender could feel his semen as it splashed into the entrance to her womb. Her own release came upon her at the same time and she screamed at the blinding white light of joy, quickly followed by a blanket of darkness. Edited by Morgan ------- Chapter 10 Nilsen awoke very early the next morning feeling refreshed and very good, that was until he rolled over and saw Lavender huddled in a chair next to the bed. As impossible as it seemed she actually looked small as she hunched down, looking at him through hair that hung lankly over her face and around her face. The good feeling evaporated immediately and he sighed. Closing his eyes momentarily he wondered if he could possibly make this go away by ignoring it? He couldn't. Opening his eyes again he looked back at his obviously troubled bodyguard. "I think we need to talk," he said patting the bed next to him. "Why don't you come over here so we can at least be comfortable?" She hesitated, looked at him then at the bed, then back at him again. "Don't worry, I'm not going to attack you; I just want to talk." Nodding slightly she uncurled from the chair ― the long length of bare leg not making his resolution and promise any easier ― and sat down on the edge of the bed. He looked up into her eyes and didn't find what he had expected. He expected her to be angry, or disgusted, or maybe even disappointed, but he saw none of that. What he did see was sadness and maybe a little bit of fear and that puzzled him. "Okay," he started, taking a deep breath. "What we did obviously is bothering you; for that I am sorry. I won't say I'm sorry we did it, that was ... wonderful, but I'm sorry it made you feel bad. It's all my fault and I know that. What I need to know is what can I do to make it right for you? I promise I'll never touch you again if that's what you want. I can pass your bond to someone else if that will help or, like I told you before, I can set you up somewhere else, anywhere you want to go. Just tell me Lav, what can I do?" "What are you apologizing for?" she asked with a small frown. "You did nothing but make me feel something I don't deserve to feel." "What?" he exclaimed, now completely lost. "Ah, you're not mad at me?" "No," she frowned again. "Why would I be?" "I don't know," he stuttered. "Taking advantage of you maybe? Taking from you what you didn't want to give?" "That's silly," she said shaking the hair out of her face. "You gave me a gift that I never thought I would have, one that I didn't even know I wanted. No, I'm not mad at you. I'm sad because I must tell you something and I know you will not want me again once you have heard it." "Okay, now I'm not only lost and puzzled but also intrigued," he said struggling to sit up. He sat cross-legged across from her and pulled part of the blanket over himself. Not so much because of modesty, more because he didn't think having his cock flopping around would aid in the conversation. "I can't imagine what you could say that would stop me from wanting you again. Quite frankly I enjoyed last night far too much to not want to do it again. Besides I really enjoy being with you; you are without a doubt the strangest woman I have ever been with and that makes things even more interesting. "So what's this big secret? You're a mass murderer? Child molester? Remember I'm no longer a child so that doesn't count. A thief? Stole the crown jewels from your father? Are you married? That's it! You're married or you have a boyfriend and you're just now telling me." "No, no, no and no," she said sounding exasperated. "Would you be quiet for a moment? I will tell you if you will let me speak." "Fine!" he said nodding. "Out with it." "I was to be culled," she said and held her breath while looking at him. When it finally became evident that she wasn't going to continue he leaned forward and said, "So... ? And this is supposed to mean something to me? Culled? I know what it means to cull a herd, but that can't be what you mean. Is it?" "Exactly," she said and turned her head so she couldn't see him looking at her. "I was too short, too ugly; everybody knew I would be one of those culled. That's why I ran away." "What exactly does it mean to be 'culled'?" he asked. "It means I would not be allowed to mate," she whispered. "What do you mean, allowed? How could they stop you?" "No man would lower himself to mate with me," she said, feeling tears in her eyes for the first time in many seasons. "But to ensure the cull I would be either put down or stilled." "They would kill you just to keep you from having babies?" he practically screamed. "That or be stilled," she said. "What does that mean?" "They would cut my womb," she drew a finger across her stomach. "I would rather be dead. Once a woman is stilled she is available for pleasure for any man who wants her. I was weak and didn't want to die, so I ran away." "Well hell yes you did!" he said jumping up and grabbing her around the shoulders. "That's monstrous! Your people do this all the time?" "Yes," she said nodding into his neck. He was kneeling upright and she was still sitting and that put their heads at about the same level. She hadn't tried to push him away when he grabbed and held her, just leaned her head down into the crook of his neck. What he said about her people shocked her; in fact it started to make her defensive. But that was silly; after all, hadn't she run away from them for the same reason? "Yes," her voice only slightly muffled. "It is how we improve ourselves. Only the tallest and best looking get to mate." "So if you aren't tall enough or what they think is good looking enough then they kill or sterilize you. How nice." He shook his head and stroked her hair. "Don't take this wrong, Lav, but I think your people are fucked up!" "Well, it's hard to take that wrong," she said choking back a small laugh. "Yeah," he said. "It's the diplomat in me. What can I say?" He lifted her head up by cupping her chin and looked down into her eyes. "Is that all that was bothering you?" She nodded back up at him. "So, ah, us together doesn't bother you?" "Yes, it bothers me," she said and almost laughed again when she saw his face fall. "It bothers me because I never thought I'd ever feel like a real woman and now I do. The problem is now I want to feel like that all the time. That's no way for a shield to be: wanting to jump on your charge all the time." "It's only fair," he said with a shrug. "I've wanted to do that to my shield-maid for days now. We're adults; I think we can figure how to make this work without disrupting our entire lives." "So you don't despise me for being a cull and running away?" she asked warily. "Just means you're smart as well as beautiful," he said with a shake of his head. "So, you would mount me again?" she asked tentatively. "I prefer to call it making love but the answer is of course, whenever you let me," he laughed. "Whenever you say 'yes'." "Yes," she said as she lay back down, dragging him over and on top of her. "Yes, yes, yes!" ------- They tried to act as normally as possible when they came down for the morning meal. Nil still wasn't up to a workout at the Academy so they were eating with the rest of the household. Nil came in saying good morning to everyone and sat down while Lavender took up her accustomed position behind his chair. He tried some inconsequential small talk while waiting to be served but quit trying after it became evident that nobody was going to talk to him. Grumpily he huffed and put his head down to start on his food when it came, doing his best to ignore them as they stared at him. Suddenly Fobie started laughing and he looked up in surprise. "What is wrong with you people?" he asked. "You, you rock-head," Deimie said with a giggle. "Actually both of you." "What do you mean?" he said, pretending he had no idea what she was talking about. "You two, last night," Fobie added helpfully. "I can't imagine what you are talking about," he said not meeting their gaze. "Don't play stupid, Nil," Makro sounded exasperated. "You two had sex last night and these busybodies want to know all about it." "How would you know what we did?" he asked. "And even if we did, it's none of your business." "He's not playing stupid," Jarrah broke in. "He is stupid. How do you think we know, you idiot? Gods know they probably heard you halfway to the palace from here. If that wasn't enough, just look at Lavender: That would tell us if nothing else did. What we want to know is what happened to your big talk of not wanting to bed your shield-maid and did you force her?" "That's ridiculous!" he sputtered. "I would never..." "Jarrah! That is unkind and untrue," Fobie said crossly. Looking up at Lavender she continued, "Nobody thinks you forced anyone. Not even Jarrah; she's just being nasty." "Master Nilsen did not force himself on me," Lavender said, breaking her silence and placing a hand almost possessively on his shoulder. She had spoken out loud and firmly but Nil could feel her shaking and he reached up to pat her hand comfortingly. "If anything, I forced myself on him." "That will be quite enough," Makro said just as Nilsen was about to offer his own stinging rebuttal. "Warrior Lavender, I apologize for these three children. As long as it is consensual, what you and our brother do is strictly between the two of you. Am I understood?" She glared at her three sisters. "Don't give us the high and mighty act, Makro," Fobie said, totally uncowed. "You were just as curious as we were." Then she did look up at Lavender, "But we are sorry if we made you feel uncomfortable. In many ways I suppose we do still act like children. Will you forgive us?" "Forgiveness is for the master to decide," Lavender said suddenly sounding, and as Nil could sense through their contact, feeling much calmer. "I am his to command." "Hmm," Makro muttered, her eyes closed slightly as if in concentration. "Yes, maybe if your 'master' would allow, we would like to speak to you afterwards." Nilsen looked up at Lavender in puzzlement, "Ah, she can do whatever she wants. If she wants to meet with you, fine; if she doesn't then she doesn't have to." "That's settled then," Makro said with the air of finality. "Sit down, Lavender. Get something to eat. There is no need for you to be standing there. Please join us." "Thank you, Lady, but no," Lavender answered firmly. "It is my duty to watch over my charge. This is where I must be." "Nil, would you tell her it's all right to sit down?" Makro said looking at Nil. "No, I won't," he said looking up at his huge bodyguard. "I would rather she sat and ate with us also, but I will not tell her to do something against what she feels she must do." "Then maybe you and I need to have a little talk later on," Makro said ominously. Nilsen shrugged and dug back into his food, "Sure, we can talk; in fact you can talk until you're blue in the face but it won't change anything. But you can scream at me all you want if it makes you feel better." Makro growled but didn't reply and the remainder of the meal was eaten in silence. After everyone was done the four sisters stood and beckoned Lavender to follow them. She looked at Nil for permission and his shrug told her to do what she wanted. The exchange garnered him nasty looks from his sisters, two nasty looks anyway. Deimie and Fobie looked like they were about to break out laughing any minute. Lav looked over at Cerberus who had been sleeping on the floor behind her, and with a glance told him to watch over their charge. Nilsen was somewhat bemused when the monster canine yawned and padded over to stand behind him. "I guess it's your turn to follow me around," Nil said to the dog. "Better let the hens do their cackling without the interference of mere males." Looking over at his sisters he said before leaving the dining area, "You play nice with her or I will have all four of you over my knee." Before they could respond he left with Cerberus trailing behind. "Over his knee, will he?" Jarrah muttered. "I'll show him over his knee! He wouldn't dare!" "He would, he could and he will, if you push him," Fobie said lightly. "Hush, both of you," Makro said, leading them all into the study. "Lavender, please sit down. I assure you we won't bite." Lavender sat stiffly on the oversized chair that had been brought into the room for that purpose. "Now," Makro started as she sat down in another chair and folded her hands in her lap, "one of the things we would like to talk to about is last night..." "I know you think I am not suitable as a bedmate for your brother," Lavender blurted out, cutting Makro off. "You must believe me, it was my fault; I seduced him. He did not force me." The four sisters looked at each other and suddenly all four of them burst out laughing. Lavender sat back bewildered. "Oh, Lavender!" Makro gasped, tears from her laughter running down her cheek. "We never thought that for an instant. Well, we didn't think that anyway. But we wanted to be sure." "You may indeed not be suitable for him," Jarrah said sniffing back her own tears. "You're probably much too good for him." "No, no, you don't understand!" Lavender broke in. She then went on to tell her tale to them as they hung on her every word in silence. When she was done she waited for the inevitable explosion of revulsion she knew was going to follow. She was not disappointed, just baffled. "That's disgusting!" "Grotesque!" "Inhuman!" "You poor thing!" "You ... you don't care that I am a cull?" Lavender stuttered, looking from one to the next. "Of course we care!" Makro said. "Thank the gods you had the intelligence to get away from there. Ghastly practice!" "Stupid," Jarrah said, shaking her head. "Just plain stupid!" "If that is all you were worried about, then forget it," Makro said with a wave of her hand. "Even given the short amount of time we have known you we all believe you to be a wonderful person. Maybe too good for that rat brother of ours, but that's your decision, just so long as it is your decision. "Actually, one of the things we would like to know about is this 'master' nonsense. Just when did that start? When did he have you start calling him that? Is his head getting so big he needs someone groveling to him now?" "He didn't, Lady," Lavender said quickly, then she paused and thought for a moment about her answer. She spoke again, but slower this time. "I don't know why I want to call him that. It just feels right. I suppose it really is the truth, though," she reached up and caressed the salidin around her neck and then she chuckled. "Not more than a season ago I would rather have been dead than call another 'master'. But under the law he does own me and..." her voice trailed off into silence. "Sisters," Fobie interrupted the calm, "you don't understand." "Understand what, weird one?" Jarrah snapped. Makro gave her a scathing look and she sat back fuming. Makro then turned toward the twins and looked at them questioningly. "She is not just Nilsen's shield-mate, or bedmate, or companion," Deimie said as if stating a fact as obvious as the sun rising in the east. "She is also his woman. The first of his women, the first of his wives." The clamor coming out of three mouths was loud and instantaneous. "What?" "You are insane!" "I would never..." After a few minutes Makro finally regained a little self-control and attempted to do the same with the other two. Deimie just sat there looking at them serenely while Fobie just looked bored. "Wait a minute!" Makro said putting her hands up. "Wait just a minute. Is this one of your little jokes?" she asked Deimie. "Because if it is, it is definitely not funny." "No joke," Deimie said. "It is what it is." "This is nonsense," Jarrah scoffed. "They may enjoy each other for pleasure at night, but that doesn't mean they're married. If that were the criteria then Nil-boy would have more wives than ... well, than anyone." "I swear before the gods," Lavender said quickly, sounding almost scared. "The mas—ah, Nil never said anything about marriage! Wait, is not that impossible? I was told slaves cannot marry! Besides, he is far too young..." and her voice trailed off as the other four looked at her. "Well of course he didn't say anything," Deimie said with a shake of her head. "He doesn't know anything about it yet, so how could he?" "And as for being too young, well, I do believe father was about this same age when he acquired four wives," Fobie mused. "Considering how many Nil's going to have, it's not such a bad idea to start earlier if he can," she said almost to herself. "Would you stop that?" Makro said crossly. "I have to agree with Jar: This is getting to be nonsense. Isn't it?" "Do you want me to say something that makes you feel better, or the truth?" Deimie asked with a shrug. "Maybe I will just say nothing instead. But what I would like to know is..." she looked at Lavender with laughter in her eyes, "is he really as good as everyone has said he is?" "I ... I don't know," Lav admitted. "It was my first time." The surprise was mirrored on Makro and Jarrah's faces. Then she threw back her shoulders and looked each one of them in the eye. "But if it is any of your business I will say that as little as I know, if it can get any better, then I am not sure I would survive it." "Good for you," Jarrah said with a snort. "Put the prying little brat in her place. It is none of her business. For that matter it's none of our business either, not that it will stop us from butting in," she admitted. "I'm afraid this isn't getting us anywhere," Makro huffed. "Lavender, this isn't an inquisition and I certainly never intended for our conversation to veer off in the direction it seems to be going. I wouldn't worry overly much as to what these two say. Nil may put a lot of stock in their pronouncements, but I can remember times when what they said didn't turn out to be exactly what happened." "So, you are not angry with me for bedding your brother?" Lav asked slowly. "Why should we be?" Makro answered, giving her a puzzled look. "We really just wanted to make sure he wasn't forcing you. He never has before, but then he never had someone bonded to him before, either. Honestly, you didn't seem like you would willingly go to his bed, so we wondered. So long as it is of your own accord ― and I believe we would know if it weren't even if he told you to say it was ― then you have our blessing." "Ah, thank you my La ... Makro," Lavender said hesitantly. "This is all new to me. I ... I really don't know what to think about it ... to do about it. Knowing I was to be culled I never expected, never imagined, that I would find myself with ... I just don't know ... it seems so strange." "I think the best thing you can do is talk to Nil," Jarrah said. "Whatever you say about the twerp, he's not afraid to sit down and talk about pretty much anything. Unless I'm misreading what's going on here completely, and unless these two lunatics are completely insane, your two lives are going to be intertwined for some time to come and I'm not just talking about the sex as I'm sure you well know." Lavender blushed hotly as the other three nodded their heads in agreement. "I'm just so, confused," Lav said with a sigh. Fobie leaned forward and patted her comfortingly on the knee. "So is he," she said confidently. "So is he. But don't worry, it will all work out better than you can now imagine." Deimie, sitting next to her, nodded in agreement. "I wish I could believe you," Lav said dryly. The twins laughed lightly. "Don't worry about that either; your belief isn't necessary. Just stand by your liege as we know you will and time will take care of the rest." With that they broke up and went their separate ways. ------- "I see you seemed to have survived the gauntlet," Nilsen said, pretending to study her carefully when she entered his ― their ― room. "No visible claw marks, stab wounds and they didn't cut you off at the knees." He paused momentarily and then with mock consternation continued, "Of course you might not have been their target at all. Should I start wearing my armor now? Sleeping with one eye open?" "You should be more gracious," she chided. "Your sisters are very nice. We had a very nice ― if maybe a little strange ― talk. In fact they suggested that I talk to you." "Anytime you want," he said setting himself on the bed. "Anytime and about anything. Is there anything in specific you wanted to talk about?" "Not ... just yet," she said slowly. "Whenever you are ready," he nodded. "If it is about us, being together in bed, remember that we can not do that if it bothers you." "What? So you can bring in your other playmates?" she tried to joke. Instead of laughing like she expected he frowned slightly and shook his head. "No, not that," now he sighed and looked up at her. "You know I'm certainly no virgin and I've had plenty of experience with other women, women living in this household as you well know. But," again he paused, "last night was different for me. I don't know how to explain it and I don't know if you believe me or even care, for that matter, but it was different. The truth be told, I'm not all that interested in anyone else right now. If you decide not to join me in bed, that would disappoint me, but I will live with it, but even if you don't I'm not interested in someone else taking your place." "So you don't want to play 'snake in the hole' with pretty little Sara?" she teased. His words made her feel warm inside for some reason. "Or maybe 'mountain goat and goatherd' with Fusia?" "'Mountain goat and goatherd'?" he said finally, laughing. "I'm not sure I even want to know where that came from. And to think, some people think my family is weird. But no I don't. I like Sara and Fusia ― I like them a lot ― but I don't have any great desire to bed either one of them now. I would consider it a kindness if you wouldn't tell them that, though. It could make them feel bad which would make me feel bad, or worse yet it might not make them feel bad which would make me feel really bad!" "I would not do that," Lavender promised. "I know you wouldn't," he said. "But I want you to realize that if it disturbs you, it is not something you are required to do, anytime." "I understand," she said. "It does confuse me and frightens me a little because I do not understand what is going on, but I also realize you own me and you can do what you want with me. It would please me to please you." Jumping up on the bed he was able to look down at her slightly. Cupping her face in his hands he said fiercely, "You do belong to me ... with me! With me you will stay so long as you wish it, but not as my bedmate if that isn't what you desire. You either come willingly or not at all. Is that understood?!" "Yes," she said moving closer to him until their faces were only inches apart. "I said I was confused and I am. About what is happening, not about what I want." "And what is it you want, my beautiful giantess," he whispered softly. "Oh, you are evil," she said, eyes glittering. "Fine, then I will tell you. I want you. On top of me, in me, next to me. I want your lips, your tongue, your hands, your cock! Yes, I want your cock! I want you to take me, use me, make me your woman. I never thought I would ever say that, but there it is: I want to be your woman, little man. I don't care how many more women you have just so there is enough left for me!" "So," he said breathlessly, "this is your way of saying yes. You still want to sleep with me?" "Your sisters are right," she said as she moved around and lay down on the bed pulling him down on top of her. "You are an idiot. Now do your job and mount me, or if you prefer, fuck me! I think that is the word you use here, isn't it?" "A master's work is never done," he mumbled ------- The next two ten-days went by without much incident. Nothing except inconsequential family matters was heard from Jeevel and nothing new came from the street. Nil finally felt completely healed and was ready to return to practice at the Academy so he and Lav spent at least half the day there most days. Although there was no word about their attack there were more rumors, and maybe more than just rumors, of more abductions from Salas's streets. The eyes and ears Makro had out on the street reported a perceptible increase in the number of slaves for sale at the slave market even though there weren't enough imports to account for the difference. At first the reports indicated a number of these new slaves had inactive salidin around their necks but lately the reports stated while the incidence of salidin-bound slaves increased, they were invariably fully activated. Obviously whoever was doing this had learned how to activate the control devices. As troubling as that was there was little the deSisos could do about it except continue to report back to their mother. One afternoon Nil and Lav walked into their room hot and sweaty from their daily workout. The twins were playing a game called Baduk that used obsolete colored data crystals on a large cross-hatched board. The object was for each player to alternately place her colored crystal on the board in hopes of "capturing" as much territory as possible. The twins were very, very good at it and invariably won whenever they played. Although they often also played against each other, he wondered if it was like playing against yourself for them. Their being in his room wasn't unusual at all. In fact it seemed like they spent as much time in his room as they did in their own. He didn't mind; he enjoyed their company even if they did scare the pants off most everyone else most of the time. He figured they spent as much time with him as they did for this very reason. It must be trying to be around people who were always looking sideways at you. Even the household staff that had grown up around them or who had watched them growing up still treated them as something strange and different, even if they tried not to. "I told you we didn't have to go today if you didn't feel well," he said to Lavender as he nodded to the twins and received their heads down, half-wave in return. "And I told you that I am fine," she snipped back as she continued to doff her garments and walk into the bathing room. "Your shieldmate not feeling well?" Fobie asked as Nil walked over to the table to watch them play. "No, she didn't feel well this morning and to be honest has been quite a pain about it all day." Pausing for a moment he continued, "I hope it isn't something serious. We have all been in such disgustingly good health I wouldn't know what to do if she really was sick. I suppose Jarrah would appreciate the practice though." "Oh, it's serious," Fobie looked up at him with her big green eyes. "But not permanent." The twins looked at each other and then started giggling. "What do you mean by..." he started. "Hush, Nil," Deimie said. "She will be just fine. You trust us, don't you? You're one of the only ones who does." "Well, yes," she started again. "Then believe me when I say she will be just fine." "All right," he said with a shrug of his shoulders. If he was going to say anything else it pushed its way out of his mind when Lav walked out of the bathing room wrapped in a towel using another towel to dry her hair. Walking over to him Lav sniffed and wrinkled up her nose. "You stink," she said. "I can take a hint," he said. Then he decided to tease her a bit. "Maybe I should call Sara or Fusia. I think I may need a little help with bathing." "Ha, those two would probably 'bathe' you to death," she snorted. "I think they have been without for too long." "I seriously doubt that they have been pining away for me," he said. "Didn't say they were smart," she grunted. "This a game?" she asked pointing to the board. "Yes," he started, "you each take a turn and place..." "You use memory stones for game pieces?" she sounded astonished. "Memory stones? Oh, yes, the data crystals. Sure, why not? They're not much good for anything else." Lavender reached down and picked up one that hadn't been played on the board yet and looked at the spidery script on the side. "' Math-e-matical Methods in Nano-pho-tonics'" she sounded out slowly. With a shrug she set it back down. "Means nothing to me, but you would think someone would find it interesting." There was a heavy silence and she glanced up to see three set of eyes staring at her and three mouths hung open in shock. "You, can, read, the, data crystals?" Fobie asked very slowly. "It is the first thing the Teacher teaches you," Lavender nodded. "Do they do something different here?" She reached out to indicate all the data crystals sitting on the table. "Maybe with so many you learn it differently. We have maybe only twice the number of these stones and many of them are the same." "Lavender," Nilsen said slowly, "do you mean to tell me your people have a teaching machine that stills works?" "Of course," she said sounding puzzled. "Three in fact. Don't you?" "By the gods, Nil!" Deimie hissed. "With a crystal reader we could access all the O'Tech knowledge. We would be able to unlock the secrets of the universe!" Edited by Morgan ------- Chapter 11 "I don't know about all the secrets of the universe," Nilsen said slowly, looking at his bodyguard with something akin to awe. "But it would certainly help us figure out a lot of what has been done already. Lav, you say your people have three of these readers, working?" "Three that I know of," she said uncomfortably. Fobie jumped up and without a word ran out of the room. "How is that possible?" Deimie demanded. "We have seen hundreds of these readers, but none of them work!" "I don't know," Lav answered with a shrug. "We have always had them. Every child must spend their time with the machines. They teach us how to read, some mathematics and of course the holy books of Genetics. Why do yours not work?" "No power," Nilsen answered her. "Are you familiar with what happened during the Time of Change?" "It is said the people of the earth were not perfect and the gods of the earth punished them by leveling the land and raising the seas." Again she shrugged. "It is my people's belief that they were spared this fate to carry on the work of perfecting the human race. It has been the one goal we have strived for as long as we have recorded our history." "Fascinating," Nil said. "One theory we've been taught is the earth's magnetic field did one of its periodic flips: the north pole becoming the south and the south becoming the north. That in and of itself doesn't seem like it would be that calamitous, but it seemed to trigger a massive disruption in the earth's crust. Or maybe it was the other way around; the disruption caused the poles to shift. Anyway land did indeed fall and most of it was covered by the sea. Most, if not all, of the big cities ― and those were bigger than we can even imagine ― were completely wiped out along with most of the human population. "The reason we can't find much of the old technology that still works is our ancestors powered almost everything they had using the earth's magnetic field. I don't know if that is true and I certainly don't understand it even if it is true, but the O'Tech Technicians have been studying it for a long, long time and that's what they tell us they believe. It would explain why nothing we have works, though. But why would yours work and not ours?" "I am not one of the elders," she said, shrugging again. "Maybe they know, but they don't tell the likes of me." Fobie came back into the room walking quickly followed closely by Makro and Jarrah. Makro had a stunned look on her face and Jarrah her ever-present frown. "Is this true?" Makro demanded. "You know where there are working chip readers? How could you not tell us? This is the most amazing discovery ever!" "I am sorry, My Lady," Lavender began. "I didn't think it was very important. They have always been there..." "Important? Important?" Makro raved. "Do you have any idea what we could learn with a working reader?" "May," Nilsen said sharply, "leave the poor girl alone! How could she possibly have known that we might be interested in something like this?" "But, Nil..." she whined. "But nothing," he interrupted. "Browbeating Lavender will benefit no one. If you can think of a question or two then you can ask her. Remember, though, we are talking about something that may be a secret of her people. Granted, she left them under less than ideal circumstances and because of that we don't have a particularly high opinion of them, but that doesn't mean she wants to blab to the whole outside world about what they may or may not have." "This is important!" she exclaimed, stomping her foot in a way that made her appear about five seasons old. "This is too important for that! You can order her to tell us!" "I can, but I won't," he said coolly. "But if you don't calm down and behave like an adult, this conversation is over, understand? I'm not even going to threaten to spank you; we'll just stop talking about it altogether." "You can't do that!" Makro was working herself up into a real rage by this time and Nil was about to do the unthinkable and wade right in there against her when he felt a soft tapping on his shoulder. He looked back, and then up into a pair of lovely violet eyes set in a worried face. "It's all right, Nil," she said. "The teachers aren't a secret; at least they never told us they were. I'll answer any question that I can, but I don't want you to fight about it." "Thank you, Lavender," he said suddenly calmer. "I appreciate that and you can be sure we have a bit more than just a few questions about your 'teachers' and your people in general. I can see we have been terribly remiss in learning about where and who you came from. But be easy, My Lady; this is only superficially about those readers." Turning back to a still-fuming Makro she started in on him right away. "Who do you think you are?" she started. "You have no right―" "You're wrong," he interrupted. "I not only have the right, but the obligation." Makro's mouth clamped shut but the expression on her face screamed mayhem. "You were willing for me to impose my will on Lavender through our bond to obtain this information, were you not?" Makro nodded curtly but didn't say anything. "Let me ask you this," he continued. "Is this information critical for the survival of our family, Jeevel or its people?" "Of course," she spat out. "This could be absolutely priceless!" "So, if we had never learned of this Jeevel and our family would have been in dire straits?" "Of course not," she admitted. "But with it we can..." "I'm not stupid," he snapped back. "I know what this could potentially mean. The medicine and advancement in agricultural alone would be phenomenal! But at what price? Do I force someone to give up what they don't want to because I need it, or just want it? "If it were a matter of life or death then yes I could not only understand doing it ― sorry Lavender ― but I would do it. But to violate a trust like that just because something would be nice to have? I don't think so." "But Nil..." Makro whined. "He's right," Jarrah broke in, Makro and Nilsen turned to stare at her. "Well, he is," she said defensively. Then she grumbled, "Even a blind squirrel finds a nut now and then. It wouldn't be right to torture someone for information like that." "I didn't say we would torture her for it," Makro recoiled a little at the attack. "I'm sure you didn't," Jarrah continued. "But think: how would you feel if you were forced to tell something about our family that you didn't want to, something that might hurt them? It might not be the breaking bones kind of pain, but it's still pain. It sounds like torture to me." "I don't..." Makro stopped abruptly before she could finish. She paused for a moment and then sighed. "I didn't think of that," she admitted. Looking up at Lav she apologized, "I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking of what it would mean for you." "No need for you to be sorry," Lavender shrugged. "I would have done the same in your place. In fact as much as I appreciate what Lord Nilsen is saying and has done, it is foolish to do so. You are my master and I must do what you wish of me. It is not ... normal ... for a master to worry about what his slave wants or doesn't want. It could make you seem weak to some." "Then I'll just look weak," he said with a shrug. "You know I don't consider you a slave, and I don't like hearing it." "I know," she said with a slight grin. "But this metal band around my neck binds me to you." "I'd rather have a band around your heart binding you to me," he said looking up at her. For a moment she stood silently, her face devoid of any expression. Suddenly she bent down and wrapped her arms around him, crushing him to her with such force he could barely breathe. "You have that already, little man," she choked out hoarsely. "You have my heart completely, you ugly little toad." "Yeah, well I love you too, you oversized doll," he said pulling her down to where he could reach her lips. The kiss was warm and heading toward downright passionate when Jarrah interrupted them. "Excuse me!" she exclaimed loudly. "But if you two are going to breed now, at least have the courtesy of letting us know so we can leave." Lav and Nil broke apart with decidedly sheepish looks. "Um, yeah, sorry," he mumbled, "Besides we aren't going to breed, you sanctimonious prude." "I'm surprised you can even use the word," Jarrah responded dryly. "Although I think it highly unlikely you know what it means." "It means at the ripe old age of eighteen seasons you are a shriveled up old..." "Please, Nil," Makro broke in. "Can we do without that for now?" "Besides," Fobie interjected. "They'd be doing it for fun; they have already 'bred' as our dear sister put it." It was silent enough to hear the crickets chirping outside the window and the looks of astonishment couldn't have been more pronounced if she had pulled a camel out of her coin purse. "What do you mean?" Jarrah asked slowly. "You know exactly what she means," Deimie smirked. "That is impossible!" Lavender gasped. "Why?" Fobie asked. "I would have thought that someone as well-versed in genetics as you are would know how it happens. Have you been taking the potion Jarrah has to prevent conception?" "Impossible!" Lav again exclaimed hoarsely. "I assure you, not only is it not impossible but it is a fact," Deimie said lightly. Teetering slightly Lavender fell to her knees and would have fallen over completely if Nilsen hadn't grabbed her quickly and held her upright. "Oh, My Lord," she wailed looking up at Nil. "I am so sorry! You must hate me; all of you must hate me!" "Don't be silly!" Fobie scolded. "Why would we hate you? You are the first to bear his child; that is a cause to rejoice, not hate! Nil, say something, you idiot, or she will think you're angry with her." "I'm stunned," he finally mumbled. "Lav, I don't hate you, how could I do that? This is all my fault. I've been a selfish fool. I should have asked if you had protection. I never even thought about it." "Damn right, it's your fault," Makro finally said. Stepping over to Lav's side she grabbed the big woman in a hug and gave her a kiss on the lips. "Welcome to the family, because if what these two little witches say is true, then you are definitely part of the family now." "But to bed a cull is bad enough, to actually breed with one..." Lavender sucked in a deep breath, her eyes taking on the haunted appearance of a condemned criminal. "Nil..." Makro's expression was one of aggravation this time. "Oh, of course," he said shaking himself. Turning back to Lav he cupped her chin and lifted it so he could be sure she was looking him in the eyes. "I may be surprised," he said softly. "But let me assure you Warrior Lavender what-ever-your-full-name-is, not only am I not mad at you I am so proud I'm almost giddy. I couldn't be happier right now. Maybe you aren't, and we'll have to deal with that, but I am." "Lavender Mist Bwejeri," Lavender said, talking almost like she was dreaming. "What?" Nilsen said, shaking his head again. "Lavender Mist Bwejeri," she said again a little stronger. "Daughter of Xolan Bwejeri, Chief of the Zagwci clan, First Speaker for the Havila nation of the Kushitic people. That is who I am ... who I was." "Very well, Lavender Mist Bwejeri," he said with a grin. "You are now Lavender Mist Bwejeri deSiso. I don't know what the custom is with your people, but with ours it is customary for the wife to take her husband's family name as her own. A bit chauvinistic I will admit, but I like it; it sounds right to me." "But I cannot be your wife," Lav insisted, regaining some of her composure and determination. The concept of being pregnant caused her mind to swirl around, making her dizzy. She was sure any moment now she would wake up and find this had been nothing but a dream or nightmare. "I am your slave; I can't be your wife." "I can assure you it's possible," he said. "What do you think my ... Wait, you don't know, do you?" Nilsen got a devilish look in his eye. "Oh, my, nobody told you, have they? Well, we'll make sure they don't; what a delicious surprise you have coming." "What do you mean?" Lavender frowned and stood up. She did so carefully since Nil's arm was around her and she had no desire to dislodge it. "Nothing," he said waving off the question. "Just believe me when I tell you it's not as much of a problem as you might think." Lav frowned again, but with everything else that was happening put it out of her mind for the moment. A baby! she thought to herself. Something she was sure would never happen to her. Conflicting emotions of joy, terror, bewilderment and again terror streamed through her mind as she strived to remain calm and nonchalant on the outside. Nilsen didn't even bother to try. Although his expression wasn't quite that of a pole-axed steer he did have a bit of a dazed look. "This is wonderful news," Makro broke in. "I certainly don't want to take anything away from the moment, but this matter of the crystal readers is something we do need to talk about. Lavender's condition is interesting, but to be honest, the only thing surprising about it is that it didn't happen before now, contraceptive potion or no. "Now don't get huffy," she chided when his face clouded up and it was obvious he was going to explode. "If you think about it, I'm sure you'll agree with me. For now, though, we need to decide what we're going to do about this extraordinary information." "Actually..." Nilsen said, settling down after initially becoming upset with Makro's caviler treatment of Lav's pregnancy. Although he wasn't quite ready to admit it, she had a point. He was well aware of human sexuality and what caused babies. He had gone ahead having his fun assuming the potion was always effective, or maybe turning a blind eye to the fact that it wasn't. Either way there wasn't much doubt as to which dog jumped the fence here. He didn't need it carved in stone to know that if you were man enough to do the deed you need to be man enough to own up to the responsibility for your actions. Not that the duty was particularly onerous in this case, just earlier than he'd expected. Oh well, what was that old saying? If you want to make the gods laugh, tell them your plans? Something like that. "Actually," he said again, "there isn't much we can do now. I would suggest that we gather as much information as we can, encode it and send it home as quickly as possible. I would also recommend we keep this on a need-to-know basis only. Let's make it clear to everyone here that we want this kept quiet." "Why?" asked a puzzled Lav. "A couple of reasons, wife," Nil said trying the word out as if tasting a new flavor. "First, it is for your protection, which had been important to me before but now is of paramount importance." "Ah, you think someone will steal a march on you to obtain one of our readers," Lav said knowingly. "That may not be as easy as you think. My people will not give up one of the teachers so readily." "Actually I wasn't thinking about that at all," Nilsen said. "Knowing that these readers exist wouldn't do anyone any good without knowing where they are. You are right about one thing though: If anyone found out you had this knowledge they would be trying to steal you from me without fail. No, I was thinking about your safety of course, but also that of your people. If anybody did know where they were and what they have they would be the target of every power-hungry idiot around. I'm afraid that just knowing about these readers could start wars that would be devastating." "I wouldn't worry overly much about my people ... my former people," Lav said with a smile. "They can protect themselves. Especially from a bunch of shorties." "I hope so, Lav," he said, not answering her smile. "If you're an example, I'm sure your people are great warriors. But there are an awful lot of us shorties ― an awful lot." Lav just grimaced and then nodded in agreement. "However," he said without pausing, "what they don't know about they can't try to steal. If we are quiet about this it should be safe around here. Sending it encoded should also be safe enough. Momma Nesho had those codes developed; I doubt anyone alive today will be able to break it anytime soon. "Unless someone has a different opinion," he continued, "I propose we send this information home a quickly as possible and then begin getting ready to leave ourselves. I know we're halfway ready now but unless I'm seriously mistaken I'm betting we will be recalled home very soon." "Why not leave now?" Jarrah asked. "Wouldn't it be safer just to take the courier that's here and leave now?" "Makro?" Nil nodded toward his older sister. "I don't know, Jar," Makro said slowly. "The captains have been reporting a continued increase in the amount of interference they've been experiencing in these waters. Would we be safe enough? Maybe, but then again, maybe not. I have to agree with Nil: Let's wait for Father and Momma to tell us what they want. I'm sure Nil is thinking that if they really want us home it won't be just a little courier ship coming to pick us up. The extra few days shouldn't matter." "Are we in agreement?" he asked, looking at each of his siblings in turn. Makro and Jarrah nodded; Fobie merely smiled and Deimie said, "You are the head of our family, Nil; you decide what we should do and we will do it." "Ah, well I don't know about that," Nil answered, his eyes opening up slightly in surprise. "I think maybe May and Jar would have a different opinion, but still, if we are agreed, then this is what we will do." "We don't think any of us are going to disagree, Nil," Fobie spoke up. "We will soon be heading into interesting times, and along with that, danger. May is our thinker; Jar is our healer and the loyal opposition you will need, but you ... You are the doer, our leader and the focus of our family. It is you who will say where to go and us who will follow." She said this with none of her normal mischievousness or the little-girl giggling that was so much a part of them. "Fob, we are equal here," Nilsen said quietly. "No one is going to tell anyone what to do. Besides Father and our mothers are our family's center; they always have been and always will be." "Not so," Deimie took up where Fobie left off. "Leaders must lead. We do not say that you are greater for that or that we are less; it is what it is. One must point the course to travel or all go astray. As for the other..." "It is time we stop with our playacting," Fobie started up again. "Yes, Father and our mothers will always be a part and parcel of our lives, but we also know that our lives grow apart from theirs just as all children must grow and leave. We leave, but we stay; it is the burden and responsibility of who and what we are." "You make it sound like we will all be staying together," Makro said slowly. "We are family yes, but not that kind of family." "You think not?" Fobie said arching her brow. "This is ridiculous," Jarrah exclaimed, but her voice seemed to lack conviction. "Not so..." one of the twins started before Nilsen cut her off. "Stop this now," he said firmly. "You two make it sound like we're something more than brother and sisters. I agree with Jar: That's ridiculous and I don't want to hear anything more about it. Understood?" He continued without waiting for assent. "I have always firmly supported you two, but this really does make you sound crazy. Now, Lav and I have some things to talk about. May, would you please write up a report for Momma Nesho? If we hurry we should be able to get it out on the next tide. Tonight we need to talk about getting everyone ready for our trip, but for now I want the four of you to scoot." Deimie and Fobie said, "Yes, Nil," together while Makro and Jarrah just nodded. The four sisters left the room silently as a group. Nilsen just snorted and shook his head at their retreating backs. When the last of them had left the room he turned back to Lavender, pursed his lips and cocked his head to one side. "Okay, my mountain lady," he said to a silent Lavender, "what are you thinking about?" "How did you know I was from the mountains?" Lav asked. "I never told you that." "Huh? I didn't know. I called you my mountain lady because you are a mountain of lady to me. While that information is interesting and we will pursue it later, right now I have more important questions to ask of you. I say again: what are you thinking about?" "I assume you are asking about this," she sighed and patted her still very flat stomach. "Well, I could be asking about the weather, but I'm much more interested in what you think about the, ah, baby," he shivered slightly when he pronounced the last word. "You do not want it," she said sadly. "I shall have it terminated then. I know of the herbs that will do this." "Don't you dare!" he roared. "Never, never again even hint to me you would do that!" She recoiled at the anger in his voice. "But..." she sputtered. "I can tell you do not want it. I understand; I am not fit to birth your child." "Argh!" Nilsen clenched his fists and tried counting backward from twenty, using odd numbers. "You are going to make me as crazy as the rest of the women in my life. Now, listen to this, I only want to say it once: I. Want. The. Baby. Is that clear enough for you?" "Yes, but―" "No if, ands or buts," he said cutting her off. "Yes, I was surprised. Although," he said with a sheepish smile, "I do know what causes this condition; I just didn't expect it would happen so soon. Don't take my surprise or the fact I'm scared shitless about now being responsible for another tiny, helpless human life, for me not wanting it, er, he, she. Because I do, it just takes some getting used to, that's all. "What I want to know is what do you want?" He paused and then continued. "I'm sorry, but termination is not an option. I know some believe it is the mother's decision what to do with an unborn baby, but I disagree and that is something both you and I will have to live with. I have the power to decide this issue and regardless of the consequences, I will, and have. Now, what happens after the birth will be up to you. You can either be a true mother, or we can have him or her taken care of and you will never have to see this burden I've imposed on you." "I don't know much about being a mother," Lavender muttered as she sat down on the bed. "I probably know even less about being a father," Nil answered as he sat down next to her and leaned his head against her shoulder. "Maybe together we can make one good parent." "You really want a child by me?" Lavender asked looking down and gently stroking his hair. "I do," he said simply, looking up at her. "It is very strange, but it is what I want also," then she stopped abruptly and look down at him with a crooked smile. "What will Cerberus think?" ------- The four sisters walked silently along the hallway for a time until Jarrah stopped suddenly and turned to face the twins. "All right," she said with a slight frown. Surprisingly she didn't sound particularly angry, or confrontational, just puzzled. "What was that all about back there? Don't give me that mystic voodoo crap you two always pass off. I'm tired of the hand-waving and innuendos. Talk, now!" "Do you want to talk out here in the open?" Fobie asked. Jarrah's frown deepened and she pointed to her room only steps away. The four of them entered the room and after confirming it was not occupied Deimie closed the door. "How much do you want to know?" she asked simply. "Everything! Nothing!" Jarrah snorted. Then she sighed and admitted, "I don't know." The twins nodded. "It's time you know what we know," Fobie said. "We know you are ― shall we say ― skeptical, of what you call our 'voodoo'. We understand that; we find it difficult to believe it at times ourselves. "Before we tell you what is happening with Nilsen we need to explain a little about ourselves. It's not a complete explanation, but then we don't understand how or why we are this way. Yes, we like to tease Nil when he guesses how we know things, but the truth is we don't really know. "You know we are different from you. Nil says we are one in two bodies, but that isn't true. We are individuals, each with our own personality, each with our own sense of ― me ― for a lack of a better term. Yes, we do share feelings and even thoughts, although it's not quite the same as us talking here together. It is difficult to explain, mostly because there aren't any words for what we are and what we do. We are different, but not unique, but we'll save that for later. "No, we can't read your mind. We are very good at inferring what others think, but that is mostly just using body language and context. You need not fear that we can delve into your innermost thoughts. We have other ... abilities ... but thought-reading isn't one of them. "Can we see the future? We don't know," she admitted. "We see patterns, and pathways. We see what will happen if things don't change. I'm not sure that would be called actually foretelling or just super-intuition, so maybe Nil is correct on that. But there are other times when we know things when there is no logical reason for knowing them. For instances, when we saw Lavender for the first time we knew she was important, knew she would be Nil's first wife and knew she would soon be carrying his child. How did we know that? That we don't know." "What a strange world you must live in," Makro muttered, not realizing she was saying it out loud. "Strange to you, dear sister," Deimie said with a chuckle. "But perfectly normal to us." "I'm ... stunned," Jarrah said, looking at the twins wide-eyed. "Why are you telling us this now? Usually you just giggle and make funny little remarks. You don't sound like yourselves at all." "True," Deimie admitted. "When we were younger and didn't know we were different, we would tell people what we saw happening. Instead of being grateful they feared and hated us. That scared us almost as much as it did them. But we found that nobody hated silly little girls, even if they are strange or different. The only one who saw through that was Nil, but he just ignored it ... for the most part, anyway. "But now it's time to put that aside. Nil is coming into his own now. He has his first woman and a child soon. Events will come quickly now and the rest of his family will coalesce around him soon. What you are really asking, Jarrah? Do we see the four of us being part of that 'family'? Yes, we do. "You asked, even though I know you don't want to hear this," she continued with sympathy. "The four of us will be a part of our brother's family. We will be his wives just as surely as our mothers are wives to our father." Edited by Morgan ------- Chapter 12 "Nonsense!" Jarrah gasped. ""I will be nobody's wife, let alone that blow-hard brother of ours! Do you hear this, May? Can you believe this?" All eyes turned to Makro who, while looking a little stunned, didn't appear to be particularly disturbed or outraged. "Jar," she said slowly. "You have always said you would be no man's servant, no one's sex toy and I don't remember anyone ever telling you that you had to. So why the vehemence? All you have to do is say no. It doesn't matter if it's Nil or someone else; it will still be up to you." "But, but..." Jarrah stuttered. "Nil?" How could you even think about it?" "I'm not saying I am," Makro responded with a shrug. "But I'm not terrified or repulsed by it, either. Nil and I have been attached at the hip since we were born ― not that you haven't been a part of us, Jar ― but for whatever reason Nil and I have been closer than the rest of you." The twins nodded without a hint of jealousy while Jarrah grunted her assent. "I can't say I've spent a whole lot of time thinking about it one way or another," Makro continued. "However I will admit I can't imagine a time when he wouldn't be around. You will have to admit as far as the sex goes, I haven't heard any complaints from his partners, other than they can't get enough. That doesn't sound like such a bad deal to me." "You'd let him fuck you?" Jarrah sounded incredulous. "Well, if I 'fuck' anybody I hope it will be a mutual thing," Makro laughed. "As for whether I would really do it? I don't know; I'd just have to see. All I know is the thought of having sex with Nil doesn't bother me half as much as thinking about having some other strange man climbing on top of me." "I suppose the two of you think the same way," Jarrah said, rounding on the twins. "Actually," Fobie answered, "we already know it will happen. In fact we can't wait. It won't be any time real soon, but soon enough that we are looking forward to it." "I suppose he's already been pushing you for that," Jarrah snapped. "Don't be silly, Jar," Deimie sighed. "He doesn't even know it yet, and wouldn't believe it if he was told. Our brother can be delightfully innocent about these things when he wants to be. For now he is concentrating on one woman and their child, as he should be. Soon enough it will be time for him to add more to his circle. But never fear, Jar, it will never be against their will. Never! If you do or do not go to him it will be by your choice and nobody else's." "Well I, for one, think it's nonsense," Jarrah said, somewhat mollified. "Then don't worry about it," Fobie continued. "It's not critical one way or another right now. We do think it's best if we concentrate on getting ready for our return home. Nil is right: It will come soon and we aren't out of danger here in Salas just yet." "What do you mean?" Makro asked. "What kind of danger?" "We don't know," Deimie answered with a small shake of the head. "Just that we ― the four of us and Nil ― are in some kind of danger. Nothing clearer than that, I'm afraid. We can't even tell from whence the danger arises." "That's not very helpful," Jarrah sniffed. "We agree," Fobie said with a shrug. "But it's the best we can do right now. If we see something clearer later on we'll tell you immediately." "Nothing to be done about it if that's the best you've got," Makro said nodding. "I'll let Nil and Lavender know what you said, but for now the rest of us need to get the household ready for a move at any time. You don't have to be a seer to know that with the information we have we'll be wanted back home as soon as possible." ------- The message was composed, encoded and dispatched that evening with explicit instructions to the courier's captain to make for Jeevel at the best possible speed. A duplicate copy was prepared with the intent of sending it on the next Jeevelian merchant making Salas's port. The household was made ready to move on a moment's notice and for the most part everyone lived out of trunks and bags, an inconvenience but a minor one at worst. Nobody moved outside the house unless in a group of at least three and none of the royal children did so without at least two guards as an escort. Even Nilsen and Lavender were escorted to and from their practice, which Lavender thought was funny and Nil thought ridiculous until Deimie told him it was necessary. He wasn't normally disposed to argue with his sisters, especially the twins, and as usual in this he capitulated. He had noticed the twins had been acting differently since the knowledge of the crystal readers came to light, more mature and less flighty. He had asked what was going on but had received only a sly smile and a kiss on the cheek as an answer. Sensing that was all he was going to get, he let it drop. Besides, he considered it a good thing; after all, they were getting to be adult women and should act like it. He would miss their silliness a bit, but all in all this was for the better. Demeter was in and out fairly often although he seemed to be more pensive and preoccupied than usual. He noticed they were packed and ready to go but all he was told was that they expected to be recalled home at any time. He was also somewhat reluctant to say what he had been up to lately, waving it off and saying "this and that." The only thing that seemed to cheer him up was Nilsen's impending fatherhood. "So master 'I'm too young to be tied down, '" he said with relish. "It would appear that you stuck something where it didn't belong. Or maybe I should say exactly where it did belong." Nilsen was about to tell his friend that the look in Lavender's eye wasn't one of amusement when he continued. "Well, if it's a girl, hopefully it will look like her mother." Pausing for a moment as if thinking he started up again in the same vein, "Actually if it's a boy it still would be better off looking like his mother. You seem to do all right, considering how ugly you are, but that's no reason to burden a baby with it." Nil chuckled when Lavender snorted and shook her head slightly. Demeter would probably never know how close he came to having his head pinched off and Nilsen didn't see any reason to point it out to him just yet. "And I thought you hung around me because of my beauty," Nil protested. "No, it's because sitting next to you I look really good," Demeter said lounging back in his chair. "But seriously, congratulations to the both of you." Just as he finished Makro entered the room wearing a frown. "What's wrong, May?" Nilsen asked. "Hmm? Oh, hi, Dem," she said absently. "Wrong? I don't know ... Maybe nothing. I just got back from talking with the merchants council; I had thought everything was going quite well until today. With everything that we had agreed upon, everything we had discussed, it all seems to be right back where we started. They didn't even send their higher-up representatives, just some low-level flunkies." "Hmm, that's a bit of a pain in the ass," Nilsen commiserated. "But not something we can really do anything about now." "No," she agreed. "It's just disconcerting. It's almost like everybody here has been told not to deal with us. Dem, do you have any idea what this is all about?" "No," he said with a shrug. Then he added bitterly, "It's not like anybody will tell me anything. All I can say for sure is that Jeevel and anything having to do with Jeevel is highly out of favor right now. I think that's why I'm considered to be somewhat of a pariah in my own house right now; being friends with you is considered tantamount to treason." "I'm sorry, Dem," Nilsen said with a start. "I didn't realize it was so bad. Is there anything we can do? Maybe you shouldn't associate with us if it puts you in such a bad spot." "Fuck 'em," Demeter answered with a frown and a wave of his hand. "I don't know what the hell is going on around here, but I don't like it. Here we are treating a neighboring power like an enemy. Jeevel may never have been an ally, but I can't see any reason for the hostility. It's almost like Father is trying to goad you into war, or at least some sort of action. It just doesn't make sense." Nilsen was about to answer when one of the maids entered the room and walked over to Nilsen's side. "Lord," she said with a saucy little curtsy. The household maids had accepted the fact that Nilsen was spending his time with his giant bodyguard, but that didn't stop them from trying to entice him into their beds, or them into his. "There is a messenger outside who says he is from the Putram. He says he would like to speak to you." "Thank you, Sara. Send him in." When she had left Nilsen looked over at his sister and friend. "I wonder what this is all about? All this time here and nothing, not a word from the Putram and now a messenger. I can't help but feeling this can't be good." "I agree," Demeter said. "I really don't know what is going on, but be careful. As much as I hate to say this, don't trust anything you're told." "I won't," Nilsen grunted while Makro nodded in agreement. "Do you think you ought to be here when this messenger arrives? I'm sure it'll be reported back to your father." "Believe me, he already knows," Demeter assured his friend. "I don't mind if you don't." Nilsen just raised his hand palm up as if to say, "On your head be it." Seconds later Sara reentered the room followed closely by a man wearing the Putram's colors. Lavender moved even closer to Nilsen's back and he could hear the slight scrape as a sword was loosened and moved in its scabbard. He wanted to tell her there was no need for that but hesitated and thought better of it. It would probably take a direct order to have her stand easy and he wasn't sure that having her at the ready might not be a good idea anyway. Cerberus, who had been lounging against the wall behind her slowly stood up and padded over to stand next to the door, putting him directly behind the messenger. It was nothing overtly hostile but the messenger knew damn well there was a huge animal behind him. He was fairly unobtrusive about it, but the sweat beading on his neck and his furtive glances told the story. "Lord Nilsen?" the messenger stated while bowing to Nilsen. "Prince Nilsen, yes," Nil answered coolly. He didn't really want to create a scene here with this flunky, but he couldn't help but be a bit perturbed by the shabby treatment his sister had been receiving and the implied slight to his family and nation. "Ah, yes, Prince Nilsen," the messenger quickly recovered. "His Excellency the Putram would like to extend an invitation to you and your present family for a formal dinner and gathering to be held this evening next. I have also been tasked with requesting the number, including retainers, that will be attending." "He is most gracious," Nilsen said with only a hint of sarcasm. "I'm not sure we will be able to make it tomorrow night; I'll have to check our calendars." "Lo— Prince," the messenger quickly continued. "His Excellency was most insistent." "Was he now?" Nil mused. "Yes sir," the messenger said with a bobbing head. "Most insistent." "Well he can..." Nilsen started until he looked over at Makro who was nodding her head very slightly. " ... expect eight or nine of us all told. May I ask, what is the auspicious occasion that precipitated this gracious invitation?" "The dinner is being held in honor of the arrival of the envoy from Durhorn, my lord." "Durhorn? Ah, how nice," Nil mused. "Well, you can tell his Excellency we will be there as requested." "Very good, My Lord," an obviously relieved messenger said. "Then if you would allow, I will return to inform His Excellency of your acceptance." Nilsen waited until the messenger was well out of the room and turned to his sister and friend. "What the hell was that all about?" he asked. "We've been here almost a half-season and not one word socially from His Excellency; now all of a sudden, this." "Don't trust it!" Demeter said. "You know, or heard something?" Nil replied. "No," Demeter answered with a shake of his head. "But something has been going on. This just doesn't feel right." "Not to malign your father, Demeter," Makro said, "but I agree. Something doesn't smell right here." "Malign all you want," he answered. "Right now you're looking at one total outcast from the ruling family. The last time I tried to enter the family quarters I was refused on orders of my father. I've moved out completely now, and to be honest, I feel better for it." "I'm sorry if I've caused this," Nilsen apologized to his friend. "You didn't cause this; they did. There is something going on, something nasty and underhanded and they don't trust me to know about it. Rightfully so, I might add." "Well, it seems we are going to a state dinner," Nilsen mused. "It should be interesting ... dangerous, but interesting." ------- "This is ridiculous!" Lavender said for about the hundredth time. "None of the other guards have to dress up like a damn peacock. Why can't I just wear a uniform like everybody else? I can't wear my sword with this silly little thing." The five siblings, Lavender and their guards were gathered in the foyer waiting for their carriage to arrive at the front door. The women, including Lavender, wore flowing silk gowns, while Nilsen and the four guards were in the dress uniforms of Jeevel. Only the guards were fully armed with polished swords and lacquered bucklers. Nilsen had his sword-breaker with him, but not his sword. Another messenger had been sent by the Putram to explain the appropriate dress and protocol for the occasion. "None of the other guards are as beautiful as you are," Nilsen explained. Lavender just sniffed. "She just feels uncomfortable being unarmed," Makro said to no one in particular. "She's not unarmed," Deimie said with a laugh. "She just doesn't have her sword." Lavender scowled while everybody else turned to look at Deimie. "Lavender, you heard the rules: no armed guards in the dining chamber. As Nil's escort you will able to sit with him and be his protection the whole night without anybody knowing. Besides, how many weapons are you carrying right now?" "Ah, well," Lavender stuttered a bit. "Seven ... well, maybe eight." Nil, Makro and Jarrah stared at her open-mouthed. Lavender's gown wasn't transparent, but it did hug her body snugly and created very interesting curves, especially around the chest area. While the gown was very definitely filled, it appeared to be all Lavender. "I'd sure like to see where you hid them," Nil said with a grin. Lavender harrumphed, sighed and then also grinned. Reaching over she patted him on the top of the head. "I'm sure you would," she said. "Maybe if you're a good boy you can help me look for them later." Makro snorted, the twins giggled and Jarrah rolled her eyes. "The carriage is here. Let's go." As they had been told they were escorted into the dining area while their honor guard was made to cool their heels outside in the vestibule with the other guards. They took their place in the receiving line and were soon presented to the Putram and two of his sons, one standing on each side of him. "It's a pleasure to finally meet, Your Excellency," Makro said dropping into a curtsy with her three sisters. Lavender tried clumsily but gave up and stood behind Nilsen. The Putram nodded toward her but reached out his hand to Nilsen. "Ah, Prince Nilsen! So good of you to come," he said oily. The smile on his face would have looked more genuine on a painting and the hand Nil grasped felt cold and slippery like a dead fish. "Our pleasure, Your Excellency," Nilsen said, doing his best to ignore what had to be a deliberate slight towards his sisters. "May I present my sisters: Princesses Makro, Jarrah, Deimie and Fobie. This is my companion, Lavender." "Yes, yes," the Putram said without really looking at any of the women. "Very pretty; I'm sure they will all marry well. Some fine alliances can be cemented with appropriate marriages. I had even corresponded with your father about the possibility of matching one or two of your sisters with some of my boys, but he didn't seem all that interested at the time. Some nonsense about letting them decide for themselves or some such. Well, who knows what the future may bring? "Maybe you would be interested in one or two of my daughters? I seem to have a surplus of them lying around the palace these days. Would you like to meet a few of them? Not just now? Well maybe later then." With that they were obviously dismissed as he turned to the next group in line. "Well, that was interesting," Nilsen said to no one in particular as they walked away towards the main room. Looking over he saw that Makro was almost turning purple and if the look in her eyes had been aimed at him he would have run and hid right then. Instead he moved up next to her and gently put an arm around her waist. "It doesn't matter, May," he said softly. "That arrogant ass..." she sputtered. "Yes, he is," Nilsen agreed. "But it still doesn't matter." "What do you mean, it doesn't matter?" she demanded. "He so much as made us out to be little more than ... property... ! fit only for marriage and probably birthing children! And if that wasn't a direct insult to Father..." "I'm sure it was," he said with a chuckle. "But it still doesn't matter. We are going to be gone soon and with us will go a secret the likes of which he could never expect. I will admit I am somewhat puzzled by his actions, though. Why ignore us, then invite ... well, demand that we come here and then insult us? Is he just trying to show his contempt for us? Goad us into doing something we normally wouldn't? It is very curious." "Hmm..." Makro muttered, calming down considerably. "Yes, just why are we here? I'll think on that for a while, but you are correct: What he thinks or does shouldn't matter to us right now. Yes, I'll just think on that..." Nilsen tried to pay attention to what she was saying but unfortunately he overheard the twins talking to Lavender behind them, talking in that brutally honest and incredibly embarrassing way only sisters or lovers could. "So, you heard His Excellency," Deimie said to Lavender. "He wants to palm off a couple of his unwanted daughters on Nil. Feel like sharing yet?" "Not particularly," Lavender said with a shrug. "Besides, if I did I know two panting women back at the villa that would be more than willing and probably more deserving than any of his pampered pets. I have to be careful when I get up to use the chamber pot or one or both of them would be in my place before I got back." "They have been very patient and have whined very little," Fobie remarked. "You might let them take a crack at him if he gets a bit too energetic for you. It might take the edge off." "That hasn't been a problem," Lavender chuckled. "But I'll keep it in mind." "You don't seem to have a problem with the concept of sharing him," Deimie remarked. "Is that usual with your people?" "Usual? No, not unheard of, but not usual," Lavender answered. "There have been cases when one man has been determined to have many of the desirable breeding qualities and he has been assigned more than one mate. But that doesn't happen very often since a man is still expected to take care of his wife or wives and children. Too many of either would be a great burden on everyone concerned. "So no, it isn't usual." Lavender paused for a moment in thought before continuing. "But now that you ask, it does seem curious that I don't find the idea repugnant." She grinned at the twin, "I do not know about being the jealous kind, but I have never been one to share my toys." "Well I'm not surprised," Deimie said with a laugh. "I asked Momma about it once ― she is one of four wives you know ― and she said it probably had something to do with the man involved and the women, but that the salidin also seemed to suppress the territorial instincts in the bonded. If that is the case then what you feel isn't a surprise. Which is good since you will have to share him sooner or later." "So you say," rumbled Lavender. "We shall see what comes." To which Deimie just nodded. Trying to ignore their discussion, Nilsen turned to Fobie and in a low voice asked, "Fobie, do the two of you have any kind of feeling or seeing about this thing tonight? For some reason it just doesn't feel right to me, almost like something is going to happen but I don't know what. Of course I've never had anything as clear as you two do. Anything?" Fobie scrunched up her brow, pursed her lips and looked up at him. "We've seen something, yes. In fact many things, too many to understand any of them. Sometimes there is nothing, other times great danger, then still others where wonderful things happen. I'm sorry Nil, but there is nothing we understand: it's all swirling colors and tiny fragments." "Well," Nilsen sighed, "the best we can do is keep our eyes open, heads down and get out of here as quickly as we can." The dinner itself was nice enough although boring as those things generally are. The envoy from the southern country of Durhorn and his staff were officially presented in the normal fashion. Nilsen knew nothing about Durhorn although he considered himself reasonably adept at political geography. When he had a chance, he quietly asked Makro what she knew and was surprised when it turned out she knew little more about the place than he did. After being ignored by their host Nil was surprised by the attention he and his group were receiving from the Durhorn contingent after the meal was finished. Each one of his sisters seemed to have acquired one or two admirers doing their best to keep them busy and entertained. He was about to interject himself into one of their conversations when he felt a light tap on the shoulder. Turning around he found himself face-to-face with one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen. She was tall for a woman ― although his concept of tall women had been radically altered lately ― standing probably just under six feet and that combined with her heeled sandals put her at very near eye level with him. That was good since she was well worth looking at. Shoulder length sunlit-blonde hair framing a heart shaped face with deep blue eyes, it was almost impossible to look at anything else which would have been a shame since her body was damned near perfect. She had an hour-glass figure, large breasts ― although his thoughts of what constituted large had also changed lately ― with a small waist flaring into wide hips. In terms of skin showing she was modestly dressed: the gown covered her from just below her chin with a high, frilly neckline, down over her body with the hem almost reaching the floor. It would have been considered modest except for the fact it was silky and almost skin-tight, enhancing every curve rather than concealing or deemphasizing her considerable charms. "Hello," she said in a low melodious voice. "I am Rabszolga, from Durhorn. You are Nilsen, from Jeevel, no?" "Ah," he said somewhat taken aback. "Nilsen, from Jeevel, yes. Hello to you, too." The cadence of her voice was somewhat odd, almost like Lavender's had been. It was like she wasn't used to speaking to someone else, or as had been Lavender's case, using the language the same way he did. "From Durhorn, you say? Well, far be it for me to welcome you to Salas, but I dare say you are certainly welcome. Another beautiful woman is always welcome." "Ah, beautiful," she said with a smile. "You are too kind." Even as young as he was and as beautiful as she was, Nilsen was no love-sick pup to fall over himself at her feet. He noticed that while the smile was warm and inviting on her lips it never seemed to be reflected in her eyes. They remained slightly unfocused, even vacant. It was rather disturbing to Nilsen and he quickly glanced over his shoulder at Lavender who was studying the newcomer through slightly lidded eyes and with a small frown on her lips. In any other circumstance it might have been construed as jealousy, but Nil was pretty sure it wasn't. He was reasonably comfortable believing she knew there was no reason for that. No, he was fairly sure she was feeling the same thing he did: unease, like there was a hint of a threat from this beautiful creature. "Oh, nothing but the truth I assure you," he said. His guard was up and covertly he scanned the crowd noting where his sisters were and what they were doing. "May I introduce my companion? This is Lavender; Lavender, Rabszolga." "Very nice to meet you, Mistress Lavender," again the smile appeared genuine, but the eyes belied the seeming. Lavender muttered some response, the smile on her lips every bit as disingenuous as the Durhorn's. One of his glances showed Makro being led away by two Durhorn men, maybe entreated away would be better since it seemed they were adamantly talking and gesturing to her as they moved toward one of the curtained alcoves that surrounded the periphery of the room. Deimie and Fobie with their own escorts were following while Jarrah, true to her nature, ignored the two suitors that flanked her. "Excuse me, please," he said to Rabszolga. "I must speak with my sister." As he turned Rabszolga reached out as if to grab his arm but instead met with Lavender's hand. Squeezing just hard enough to let it be known that if she wanted to she could crush the finger bones of the shorter woman, she pushed off and followed Nilsen who was walking quickly toward the curtain his three sisters had just disappeared behind. She was slowed somewhat by her fumbling with her hair and gown. Nilsen was still a few steps away from the curtain when he heard a high-pitched scream of sheer terror followed by two or more screams of obvious pain. Leaping forward while pulling the sword-breaker from his belt he flung the curtain aside. The first thing he saw was Makro being held down by two men, one on each arm while another struggled to place something around her neck. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the twins standing back to back, each with a small dagger, while two men moved around them, swords in their hand, just out of reach. Two more men lay on the ground, one not moving, the other holding his hands to his face the hilt of another dagger visible between them. It seemed to be coming out right about where his left eye should have been. Since he was already moving in that direction Nilsen decided to engage the three accosting Makro first. The one fumbling with her neck looked up in surprise, shouted and moved to grab the sword at his belt. He had gotten about three inches out of the scabbard when the point of Nilsen's sword-breaker plunged into his throat silencing him with a gurgle. The two that had been holding her arms jumped up and backed away bringing out their swords as quickly as possible. ------- Lavender followed her charge as quickly as she could. She had been uneasy about the woman who had begun to talk to Nilsen. Not so much for the fact she had been beautiful, at least to a shorty's way of thinking, but Nils is always surrounded by beautiful women and she knew what he felt for her wasn't affected by them. No, there was something that just wasn't right about her, something Lavender couldn't get hold of, but she didn't trust the woman. She could tell Nils felt the same way and when he started to follow his sisters she had a feeling she needed to be ready for action. There was one short, jeweled dagger hidden in her hair where it looked like a comb; that one was easily retrieved. Another was in the folded cloth of her bodice and she cursed silently as she struggled to free it as they walked along. She heard the scream and saw Makro as he shot forward and she again cursed the length of her gown as she ran to keep up. Luckily her gown had been surreptitiously slit up both sides and her long legs showed as she also leaped forward to cover her man's back in the upcoming fray. Ripping back the curtain that had fallen back following his passage, she was confronted by two surprised men, one on either side of her. They had taken a step towards Nilsen as he passed but then looked over and up at Lavender. Both had swords out but seemed to relax slightly when they saw it was a woman, albeit a very tall woman. Lavender loved it. The one to the left was right next to her, close enough that she didn't try to stab him but just smashed her elbow down into this face. He dropped like a stone, his face ruined. It wasn't a fatal injury, painful yes, but not fatal. Luckily he was spared that pain as she jammed one of her daggers up to the hilt in his ear. Not even bothering to try to retrieve it, she had been hurrying just a bit too much and had missed the ear-hole sticking it right through the skull instead ― she might as well try to pull it out of a rock ― she picked up the sword that had fallen from the dead man's hand. Without even standing up she slashed out at the second attacker, cutting low across his thighs. The slash should have cut through the bones of both his legs. However, she disgustedly noted, the sword wasn't sharp enough and glanced off the first leg bone lodging in the meat of the second. The femoral artery had been cut so the blow had been fatal; unfortunately the body wouldn't know for a few interesting seconds that it was dead ― a bothersome delay. Yanking the sword out of the thigh muscle didn't require much effort; it wasn't bone. She stood up in a fighter's crouch, moving around the walking corpse until she could get to her charge's flank where she belonged. Her victim stared down at the blood gushing out of his leg, dropped his sword and clamped his hands over the wound vainly trying to stem the flow of his life out of the gash. Glancing over at Nilsen she saw he was still upright ― so far so good ― and fending off two swordsmen using his sword-breaker and the body of their comrade as a sort of stumbling block they had to dance around. What he needed was a sword. She could give him hers but then she wouldn't have one and somehow she knew he would be a bit peeved at that, but then there was this perfectly good one lying on the floor next to the dying man. Swiftly her foot came up and her heel smashed into his chin. Thank the gods for the slits and damn these silly slippers, she thought. The blow should have broken his neck but just sent him crashing over backwards to lie on the floor. Broken neck or not, he never moved after that. Bending down she sheathed her small dagger and picked up the sword. Glancing over at Nil's twin sisters she saw they still had their attackers out beyond reach. Whoever it was that wanted this done must have given strict orders to take everyone alive since the two with their swords should have been able to end it fairly quickly if they had wanted to, although it seemed they were paying more attention to Nil and his two remaining opponents than the two girls. Since they seemed to be at least holding their own for the time being, Lavender turned her attention back to Nilsen. If there had been orders to take him alive they were being ignored now. The two swordsmen were aggressively attacking him and it was only by means of his incredible quickness and skill that he was still alive. Even with that it wouldn't be long until he was too tired to continue or would make a fatal mistake. But that was a moot point since Lavender quickly moved into position behind him making sure she was out of the arc of his sword-breaker's point; it would make him unhappy if he accidentally put a hole into her because she made a noise behind him. "I am behind you," she called over the din. "And I have something you might want." "You think?" he grunted without looking around. Stepping forward he delivered a vicious blow to one of the swords smashing it into the other one and tangling them up momentarily. Again without looking he retreated and held his hand up over his shoulder. Carefully Lavender placed the hilt of a sword into his waiting palm and quickly let go as it was in motion almost before his hand had completely clenched around it. It was over literally in seconds as Nilsen was in no mood to play around. Without even taking a practice swing, he charged to his left, the sword-breaker smashing into his opponent's weapon and nudging it out of the way just long enough for Nil to push the sword point into the hollow of his neck. Twisting it slightly Nil didn't even bother pulling the sword out as he suddenly moved, crashing into the hapless swordsman sending him reeling into his fellow who was pushed back stumbling over the corpse already on the ground. As both of the swordsmen fell to the ground, gravity pulled the body off Nilsen's sword. Stepping forward onto the chest of the corpse he plunged the sword-breaker down and through the eye of the still-living man on the floor and into his brain. He stopped fumbling for the sword that had fallen to the floor when he stumbled over his comrade. Straightening up he turned to engage the remaining two when he saw it wasn't necessary any longer. The two accosting the twins had seen what happened to their fellow assailants and rushed to help although it was all over before they really had a chance to move. Turning their backs on the twins proved to be a mistake as Fobie leaped and wrapped her legs around one's waist. He stumbled not only from her weight, as slight as it was, but also from her grabbing his hair with one hand and yanking back as hard as she could. Naturally this exposed his neck which she quickly opened with one pass of her razor-sharp dagger. Nimbly she jumped off her victim before he even hit the floor. Deimie couldn't get to the other one in time, although she had the same idea as her sister, but that didn't matter because his path towards Nilsen took him directly past the waiting Lavender. Maybe it was because he wasn't used to seeing women as fighters; he ignored her. Maybe he was just plain crazed from watching Nilsen easily dispose of his brother, but for whatever reason he did ignore her. Almost casually Lavender's blade flicked out and took the running man under the chin. The body flopped on for a step or two as the head fell with a clunk to the floor at Lav's feet where she dismissively kicked it aside wondering if Katern was going to be upset with her, given that blood was almost impossible to get out of the silky material of the gown and her pretty beaded slippers were utterly ruined. Nilsen leaped over the bodies of his opponents and bent over the sobbing form of his sister. Tenderly he lifted her up looking for any obvious wounds. What he did see caused his heart to skip a beat. Around her neck, her fingers futilely tugging at it, was a pewter-gray band just like the one that had been on Lavender when they first met! They had banded his sister with a salidin! The blood began to pound in his head and his vision blurred with a slight tinge of red when someone intruded on his rage-in-the-making. "Nil," someone said, shaking his arm. "Where is Jarrah?" "What?" he said shaking his head. "Oh, damn it all to hell! Lav, stay here with the girls. I've got to see where Jarrah is." "I don't think anyone in here is going to bother us anytime soon," Deimie pointed out. "You can take Lav with you; you never know what help you're going to need." "Shit!" he hissed. "Okay, fine. Lav, come with me." Lavender just smiled and followed him out into the main room. What he saw both amazed and infuriated him. Jarrah was still there all right, surrounded by their four household guards, swords drawn and pointed outward. Beyond them were at least twenty of the Putram's guards, swords also drawn facing in towards the deSiso retainers. Standing just beyond them was the Putram himself with the envoy from Durhorn standing next to him. "What the hell is going on here?" Nilsen shouted as he walked quickly over to the group. The line of Salas guards parted allowing an aisle to his sister and her protectors. "What's the meaning of this?" the envoy demanded. "My nephew here was just talking to this crazy bitch sister of yours when she hit him over the head with a water pitcher." He was pointing to another Durhorn retainer sitting on the floor holding his head, broken pieces of crockery scattered about on the floor with him." "He wanted me to come with him," Jarrah said with a sniff. "When I didn't, he grabbed my arm. As far as I'm concerned he's lucky he's still alive." "Luckier than he'll ever know," Nilsen said. "Your other bully boys weren't so lucky. There may be one alive in there; I'm not entirely sure." He pointed with his sword in the general direction of the alcove but what really caught everyone's eye was the blood still dripping from the blade. "What do you mean?" the envoy gasped, suddenly turning white. "None left alive," came a voice from behind Nil. He turned slightly and saw Deimie, Fobie and Makro walking up behind him; Lav moved slightly to allow them to come up next to him. Deimie was very obviously wiping blood off her dagger with a silk cloth. "That is unless they've learned to live with a slit throat." "Surely you jest," was the barely heard reply from the envoy. "No," Nilsen continued. "So unless you have a lot of these bully-boys to waste, I'd suggest you get these two out of my reach right now." "This is outrageous!" the envoy screamed and then turned to the Putram. "I demand you do something now!" "I agree," Nilsen said before the Putram could say anything. "Your fucking bastards tried to collar my sisters, in fact did so to one. They deserved to die and I intend to see whoever was responsible for this follow them!" "Stop this now!" the Putram screamed. "You!" he exclaimed pointing at Nilsen, "put down that sword. In fact all of you Jeevelian rabble put down your weapons. I cannot have you murdering my guests!" "Guests? I thought we were your guests?" Nilsen spat. "Your hospitality isn't something I would recommend. You want my sword, feel free to try and take it. My guess is we'd be better off dead than in your hands anyway. Assuming any of you live through this, that is." The Putram turned red and was about to shout something at his guards when Makro interrupted him by stepping forward. "You would be best served to think about the next words coming out of your mouth," she said. The collar stood out distinctly on her pale neck and she did nothing to try and hide it. "Why should he listen to some slave bitch?" the envoy sneered. "Because this slave bitch's father will take this dung heap apart brick by brick if he doesn't," she said calmly. "By your actions you have already shown that you are a fool. Do you wish to add 'stupid' to the list?" "I'm not afraid of Jeevel," the Putram puffed. "Then you are stupid," Makro declared. "Insults roll off my father's back. Your silly little games inconvenience him and intrigues annoy him. But let me assure you, you have never seen him angry. Harm his children and he will not rest until you are dead and there is no more place called Salas. This is not a threat; it is a promise of what the future will bring." The Putram scowled for a second before the Durhorn envoy turned to him. "You can't seriously consider letting them go?" he said in shock. "By the gods, one of my sons was in there! If what this bastard says is true, then he's dead! I want justice!" "You should have thought of that before you let your pup hunt snakes," the Putram said idly. "Sometimes if you're not careful, the snake bites back. What she says is true. Now I'm not afraid of Jeevel or its silly 'king', or whatever it is that he calls himself, but if aroused in a blood feud he could be an annoyance at a time when I don't need an annoyance." "But my son... !" the envoy exclaimed. "He was just taking some unattached bitches, and for that he is killed? I want him dead!" "Do what you want on your own," the Putram said with a wave of his hand. "Right now I want these ... foreigners ... out of Salas, immediately! Captain! Escort this trash back to their lodging and have them removed. Get them down to the port and onto whatever ship will take them. I want them out by sunup tomorrow." With that he turned and without a backward glance strode away. The envoy looked at Nilsen with hate in his eyes and hands clenched hard enough to draw blood, hissed, and then hurried away toward the curtained alcove. The captain of the guard looked at the retreating back of his sovereign for a moment and then turned to Nilsen. "Well, sir, I suppose we should go now," he said looking at the blade of Nilsen's sword which had finally stopped dripping blood. Now it just covered the blade in a congealed mess. "I assure you," Nilsen said dropping his sword point for the first time since receiving it, "nothing would give me more pleasure." Edited by Morgan ------- Chapter 13 The trip back to their villa was almost anticlimactic. Their escort, especially the officer in charge, was cordial enough but there was no doubt the Salas troops surrounding them weren't an honor guard. Luckily he didn't quibble when Nilsen sent one of his own guards down to the docks to scout out potential transportation. "Out of here by sunup tomorrow was what I was told," the captain said with a shrug. "So long as he and the rest of you are gone by then I don't care where he goes, or you, for that matter." The carriage ride back seemed to take forever, more so since Makro steadfastly refused to cry out loud, instead huddling close to Nil's side, her face pressed against his shoulder. Inside he raged as he played the evening through his mind time after time. Logically he knew what happened to her wasn't his fault. There had been no reason to believe they would be attacked in the palace. If their capture had been on the Putram's mind for a long time it would have been easy to take any or all of them any time since they had arrived. Why do it now? Why in this clumsy manner? Why let them go after it did happen? By any measure Salas's present ruler was a poor leader. Since his "election" to the post, the country had experienced a perceptible decline in its economy and what could only be described as its soul. Steadily, the more prosperous merchants moved their base of operations elsewhere in response to increasing taxes and the uncertainty of the civil law. Corruption in the courts mirrored the corruption in the civil services to the point where who you knew and how much you paid not only counted for more than the written law, it was the only measure used to adjudicate matters. While the large merchant houses looked at a minor amount of graft as a cost of doing business, it had escalated to the point where it was uneconomical to do business in Salas and the traders reduced their potential exposure slowly and as quietly as possible. Smaller merchants, tradesmen and professionals just left if they were able. This slow disintegration of the country around him seemed to escape the Putram's notice completely, or maybe he just didn't care. His ambivalence toward the plight of Salas extended to the relations with its neighbors. Jeevel and Salas weren't that close distance-wise and had never been allies. Back when Jeevel had been the slave-trading center of that corner of the world, Salas had shunned it. Slavery in Salas had been more of a civil and criminal matter rather than one of private property and was considered more than a little unsavory and beneath a truly civilized person. After Nilsen's father assumed power in Jeevel there had been a time of thawing relations that were gradually approaching normalization. This ended when the present Putram came to power. Nothing was overtly done to cool the burgeoning relationship, but the administration of Salas made it clear that improving ties with its neighbors, especially Jeevel, was not one of its priorities. So, while there was trade there was no official presence or exchange of representatives. This being the case, Nil, his sisters and the remainder of his entourage had no formal diplomatic immunity from whatever the Putram desired. However formal immunity wasn't always needed. The Putram of Salas may have been an abominable governor and as corrupt as they come, but that didn't make him terminally stupid ― maybe a fool, but not stupid. He was well aware that Jeevel had one of the most powerful navies in the area and although its army was relatively small it had scored impressive victories against much larger opponents over the past eighteen seasons. He may have thought his own land forces to be the equal of, or possibly better than Jeevel's and while this was probably more than a little self-delusional, he wasn't fool enough to think his own small coastal force would last more than one ten-day against the superior Jeevelian ships and marines. Even if he could hold off the threatened retaliatory invasion, the ensuing blockade would decimate the remnants of Salas's economy and choke off the remainder of his income sources. Although he had been fool enough to give at least passive approval to the abduction of the royal children if not being its sponsor, it would appear he wasn't willing to go so far as to risk open warfare with Jeevel just yet. Nilsen thought the chances of avoiding that result, even if the children had been taken by a "third party", were little more than a drug-induced illusion. In fact he considered it still highly likely that his father's reaction to the collaring of his oldest daughter would still result in the city he was presently traveling through being reduced to ashes and rubble. Thinking about it, he wished ― even given the undoubtedly fatal results ― that he had sliced the bastard's head off when he had the chance! It would have saved a lot of innocent lives even if it did mean their deaths. So there he sat, his sister whom he loved more than life itself, collared and cowering, her face pressed into his side as he tried to think of what to do. Unfortunately his mind was essentially blank. He had no idea what they could do about it although the first order of business when they returned to the villa was to consult the O'Tech priest, Mihi. He had always been told that once a salidin was in place it could never be taken off without killing the bearer, but he refused to believe that; there had to be a way! Lavender was fidgeting next to him, her breathing fairly rapid and shallow, and when he turned to look at her she looked flush even in the evening darkness. "What's your problem?" he asked with a frown. "Just restless," she said not meeting his gaze. "Coming down from the excitement of the fight, I think." "I've heard that happens," he said, reaching over to pat her leg, carefully making sure he didn't touch the sword lying across her lap. For some reason she seemed to jump at his touch, not away from him, more like he had startled her. "I'm sure you'll settle down after we get back." She didn't say anything other than a soft grunt but her free hand drifted over to his and she let her fingertips lightly rest on the back of his hand. When they arrived back at the villa, he jumped from the carriage and turned to help Makro down. She took his hand but stepped down as if nothing was wrong, her eyes snapping around looking for the captain of the guard and the other household servants. "Ah, May," he started, "why don't you go in and sit down―" "Enough time for that later," she snapped. "This is something we will have to deal with, but not right now. Katern!" she called out when she saw the small woman running out the front door. "Mistress!" Katern screeched. "They just told me! What have they done to―" "Quiet!" Makro exclaimed sternly. "Everyone seems to think what is around my neck is of utmost importance; it isn't. It will be there later when we have everything ready to go. That's right, we have been ordered to leave Salas. In fact we are to be gone by sunup tomorrow. Make sure everyone is awake and start loading the carts." "It will be done, Mistress," Katern said. Then she got a stubborn look on her face and began to speak again, "But we must―" "Fine," Makro huffed and waved her hands. "Have Mihi meet with us in the study in one hour. That should give us time enough to have the loading well underway and then we can discuss this ... inconvenience. Now, go!" Katern curtsied and left but not before pursing her lips and looking back over her shoulder. "May, do you think... ?" Nilsen started. "Not you, too," she said as she rounded on him, her hands balled up into fists resting on her hips. "I have not been wounded, nor am I an invalid." "No, but―" he tried to get out before being interrupted again. "But nothing! Go do something useful, but in any case stay out of my way!" "Nil," Lavender said from behind his back, "I have something I need to talk to you about." "That's fine, but I'm sure it can wait," he responded only glancing back over his shoulder. "Ah, no, I do not think so." He could see she was highly agitated although she was doing her best to control it and give the outward appearance of calm. "Okay, fine, spit it out," he said with a shrug. "No, I need to see you in private," she said almost whispering. "But..." he started. "That's perfect," Makro said looking at the two of them. "Lav, you take him away and out of my hair. The last thing I need right now is him under foot." Having said that, she pointed towards the house with an expression that brooked no argument. Seeing the futility of further squabbling, he snorted and nodded to his large bodyguard. Without saying anything she grabbed his arm and pulled him towards the house. She moved quickly and although he didn't have to actually run to keep up he did have to jog a little to keep from being dragged along behind. She pulled him inside, paused and looked around for a moment and then drew him with her towards a storeroom he knew was empty. He was puzzled since he was pretty sure she also knew it was empty. What could she possibly have to say that is so secret? he wondered. Still puzzled and more than a bit intrigued, he followed along behind her like a puppy on a leash. He was even more intrigued when just as she opened the storeroom door Cerberus trotted up and gave her a low, almost pitiful whine. She barely gave him a second look as she told him to wait, pulled Nil through the door and closed it behind them, dropping the latch in place as she did. It was dawning on Nil that this was something she really considered important since she never greeted her shiakye with anything less than wholehearted joy. After latching the door she turned to face him. Nil could see she was shaking, almost shivering, clenching and unclenching her hands like she didn't know how to control them. "Okay, Lav," he started. "I can see this is important. What is it you want?" "You," she said, her voice husky and barely under control. "I want you!" With that she dropped to her knees and reached for the lacings on his trousers. "Lav!" he exclaimed, grabbing her hands to stop her. "What is going on? I assure you, I want you too, but now is not the time or the place." "I can't help it," she croaked and for the first time he saw actually tears running down her cheeks. "I am burning for you! I don't know what it is, I can't stop myself. I'm in pain, I need you so much!" "Lav, this has got to be―" "Pain, Nil!" she was almost sobbing and her hands shook uncontrollably as he held her. "I hurt like I've never hurt before. I need you, need you inside me!" "Lav..." "Do you want me to beg, Master? I will if I need to. Please! Please take me!" "Stop that!" he almost shouted. "I never want you to beg me for anything, ever. And I don't want you to call me master―" "Then help me, please," she looked up at him beseechingly. "I don't understand what's going on," he said mystified. "But when a beautiful woman begs me to make love to her to stop her pain, how can I not?" Lavender jumped up and looked down at him, relieved. Quickly she hiked up her dress to around her waist and reached down to grab the pair of simple cotton undergarments she had on. With one tug she ripped the flimsy garment from her body and tossed it onto the table that was the lone piece of furniture in the room. Pulling the dress up even further she turned and leaned onto the table, her delightfully bare ass and legs revealed to his view. Even as weird as the situation was, that sight and her aggressiveness were definitely turning him on and he started getting hard in spite of himself. "Don't make love to me," she growled back over her shoulder. "Fuck me! Fuck me hard. I need you in me and I need you taking me hard!" Fumbling with the lacings on his trousers Nil could hardly take his eyes off her incredibly long legs and shapely ass. She didn't help the situation any by shaking that ass at him and slowly moving her legs apart until he could see the glistening lips of her vagina even in the dim light of the storeroom. He could feel the blood starting to pound inside him as his trousers dropped and he pulled one leg out and free, his rock-hard cock also popping free and bobbing to the beat of his heart. Stepping forward he grabbed her hips and pulled himself in closer to her, the spongy head of his cock rubbing against the swollen lips of her sex. She groaned and reached underneath to guide him into her center. He took a small step forward and slid easily into her as she bowed her back, raising her rear up to facilitate his entry. "Yes!" she hissed as he slid in to the hilt, his flat stomach bumping against the muscular globes of her ass. "Yessss, that is what I need! Now fuck me!" she demanded. Obligingly he began to piston himself in and out of her. She was always a pleasure to be with but this time there was something extra that he couldn't explain. He could almost feel her need as it translated into her cunt grasping at his invading member. Each time he pulled out he could feel her interior muscles clamp down on him as if she never wanted to let him out of her body. She whimpered and groaned beneath him beating her fists on the table. If he was any judge at all he would have sworn she had begun orgasming when he first entered her and had continued ever since. "Harder!" she demanded. "Harder ... faster!" He obliged by speeding up his thrusts and ramming as deep into her as he could. He could just feel the soft head of his cock push against the hard surface of her cervix at the end of each thrust and somewhere in the back of his mind he hoped that their energetic sex wouldn't hurt the baby although he was pretty sure it wouldn't and anyway he was too far gone to hold back now. "That's it! Take this bitch!" she moaned as he again pushed into her. "Take this bitch and make her yours!" "You already are mine," he hissed and as he thrust firmly into her again. "You're mine and you'll always be mine!" he said as he began to speed up his thrusting even faster. "Mine! Mine! Mine!" Suddenly he felt his balls contract and he held himself as deep inside her as her could as he felt his seed gush out of his body and into his woman. Lavender screamed as he came in her and then suddenly went limp and silent. Nil just stood there pumping his essences deep into her body until finally he felt like his entire insides were going to be pumped out of own body and into hers. When he was finally done he felt a great weariness envelop him and he slumped down over her back as he struggled to keep to his feet and not put his weight on her any more than he had to. Gasping for breath he held himself up by his hands on either side of her as his cock softened slightly and finally plopped out of her. Cautiously he pushed himself up and backed away from his prostrate bodyguard/lover. Lavender groaned a little and finally turned her head back to look at him. "Gods that was good," she sighed, but then looked troubled and refused to meet his gaze. "You must think I am such a slut," she choked. "That's what it is, right? A slut, a harlot, a whore. You must hate me!" She started to push herself up and off the table. Quickly he moved into her, grasped her firmly and twisted her around to face him. Bringing one hand up to the back of her neck, he firmly brought her face down to his where he kissed her as tenderly as he could. At first she stiffened up, not resisting, but not returning his kiss. Undaunted he continued until she sighed again and seemed to flow against him, her body wrapping itself around him and pressing in as closely as she could. After a time he broke the clinch and moved back slightly so he could look up at her. "I love you," he said, "and there is nothing you can do that will change that. No, I don't consider you a slut or a whore. I don't know what the hell just happened ... Well, okay, I know what happened just not why. But for whatever reason I wanted it just as much as you did." "I didn't want it," she said with a shake of her head. "I needed it. Like I needed to breathe. It felt like I couldn't get enough air, I had to have you inside me, taking me, planting your seed in me. I've never felt that way before. What is wrong with me?" She looked down at him and he could tell she was miserable. "I couldn't control myself. I do not like not being in control, except for you, of course." "Right," he said even trying to smile. "Except for me." "Oh, that is true," she said looking almost surprised. "You cannot help but have control of me, but I wouldn't change that now even if I could." "I think if we found a way to take this off," he fingered the salidin around her neck, "you'd want it off quick enough." "Actually, no," she responded looking surprised. "I wouldn't change it. It sounds strange even to me, but I would not change it. As for what I just did―" "We did," Nil interjected. "We were both there together, I remember that quite clearly. It was a bit ― forgive me for saying it ― weird. Not that it wasn't incredibly exciting, in fact that was about the most intense, ah, experience I've ever had, but it was still very strange. I've heard of men coming out of battle horny, but never to that extent. The salidin must have had something to do with it. I'll ask around, very discreetly; maybe someone else has heard about this before. "I not think you need to be too discreet," Lavender said with a snort. "I doubt many do not know what we were doing." "Just blame it on me," he said looking up at her. "I was just taking my wicked pleasure from my bond servant, such an evil master I am." "Yes you are," she said, even smiling a little. "I am so embarrassed." "No need to be," he said with a sigh. "What we do is our business and no one else's." "I am not embarrassed about fucking you, silly man. Although now was not an appropriate time," now she really was smiling. Suddenly that changed to a slight frown. "I am embarrassed about not being in control of myself. Never before have I felt so out of control; I could not stop myself. Is this what a drug addict feels like? If so then I can understand a little of what they may go through. I hope this does not happen after each battle." "I don't know if it will or not," he said with a shrug. "I think it has something to do with the salidin and maybe the adrenalin rush from battle. If that's true then it's not something you can do anything about, so worrying or being embarrassed about it serves no purpose." "Easy for you to say," Lavender snorted. "It was not you bent over a table with your ass stuck up in the air panting like a bitch in heat. I never used to even think about such things. Now, well..." she shrugged. "I certainly liked that part!" Nilsen exclaimed. "That is one mighty fine ass, if I may say so. Appropriate timing or not, I won't lie and say I didn't like it." "Well, it is your ass to do with as you will," Lavender said again sighing. "What has become of me? A season ago if a man had said that to me I would have gutted him without a thought. Now when you say that, I feel warm and good inside. What next? Shall I take up knitting and needlepoint? You are turning me into some simpering female." "I doubt we have to worry about that," Nil answered with a laugh. "Not with what you did to those bastards tonight." "Was nothing," she mumbled. "Can we talk about something else?" "Thinking about it getting you riled up again?" he said with a smirk. "Yes," she answered curtly. He was about to continue teasing her but realized that not only did it make her uncomfortable, he wouldn't like not having control over his urges, but it also brought up the unpleasant fact that there was something that had to be addressed even if he did want to pretend it didn't happen. "You're right," he grunted. "We have other things that we must take care of, the least of which is getting changed and ready to get the hell out of here before all our clothes are packed away." "Then lead the way, oh powerful, magnificent and potent master," she said trying her best to give a courtly curtsy. "You really aren't too big to spank, you know," he said trying not to laugh. "I know more than a few that would dispute powerful, even more the magnificent nonsense, but as for potent, just let them try to quarrel about that!" He pulled her in for one more firm hug and pulled her head down for one more kiss before slapping her butt and pointing to the door. "We'd better be off before I drag you back to that table." Lavender cocked her head and looked at him in almost a dare but harrumphed and unlatched the door. Taking a deep breath she held her head up, opened the door and strode out into the hall as if nothing untoward had happened. If she had been expecting an audience to be waiting for them she was to be disappointed, unless one counted a very large dog snoozing in front of the door, his massive head resting on folded forepaws. As they entered the hall, Cerberus opened one eye, grunted, stood, stretched and yawned. Afterwards he eyed them, tongue hanging out of a half opened mouth. Nil could swear he was..." "He's laughing at us!" Nil exclaimed. Lav merely grunted and gave her shiakye a look that would have set any intelligent man to running with justifiable fear. However Cerberus was wholly unbowed and after one soft cough that Nilsen would once again have sworn was repressed laughter, turned and started down the hall only looking back once to ensure they were following. They made their way to their old rooms hoping to find a change of clothes. They were in luck; the bed had been stripped but there was a set of suitable clothing for each of them along with their weapons. Everything else had already been taken out and, Nil assumed, packed away. Lavender's dress and slippers were ruined and Nilsen's clothing was equally bloodstained so they left them in a pile next to the bed. "That feels better," Lav said as she finished buckling her sword belt. "This is much more comfortable." "I think you looked pretty," he said with a leer. "Then that would be the only redeeming value those silly rags had," she snorted. "I will wear that stuff when you want me to, but I am hoping that will not be very often." "I don't think we'll have a call for them any time soon," Nil admitted. "But enough of that for now. I think May should be in the study by now; we'd better go she what we can do. What a fucking mess! What am I going to tell Father?" ------- It appeared everybody had been waiting for them since a crowd of faces turned to them as they entered. Makro was there of course, still wearing her gown from the ill-fated dinner and sitting in a chair. Nilsen wondered if she had been crying but even looking closely at her face and eyes he couldn't be sure; besides his own gaze kept sliding down to her neck and the pewter-gray band in place there. Jarrah and the twins flanked her while Katern and Mihi teDelgo, the O'Tech technician, stood slightly to the side and out of the way. "Now that you're here, Nil, we can get this started," Makro said as she stood up. "May! How are you?" Nilsen walked quickly over to her with his arms outstretched intending to enfold her in his embrace. Before he could do so, she reached up and thumped him on the chest with her open palm, pushing him back firmly. "I'm fine, Nil," she said almost crossly. "I'm not injured, just ... encumbered. What we have to do is determine what to do about it." "But, May..." he started until he saw her frown start to turn to something else and her eyelids closed slightly as she zeroed in on him. From experience he knew he was about to witness, or more accurately be the recipient of, one of Makro's explosive tempers. Seeing no gain there he turned and looked at the obviously nervous O'Tech technician. "Fine. All right, Mihi, how do we get it off?" "Ah, well, you see Lord Nilsen―" he stammered. "Cut the crap," Nilsen barked. "Just tell me what I have to do." The man seemed to stiffen up at Nil's question and suddenly grow more confident. "You're right of course, Lord Nilsen," he said with only a slight pause. "The short of it is there is no known way to remove it, but you already knew that." "Come on," Nilsen practically begged. "There must be. Maybe some way you haven't told us about yet?" "Nothing. Of that I am positive," Mihi said with a shake of his head. "Once the salidin has been placed there is no way to remove it. Not without killing the wearer, that is." "But―" Nilsen started again only to be interrupted. "Nil, stop it!" Makro said sharply. "We all know it's permanent once it's there. No need to waste time on that." "We've already wasted enough time, haven't we?" Jarrah looked over at Lavender with a slight sneer. Lavender's face remained impassive but a slight blush colored her neck and worked its way up to her cheeks. Nilsen started to say something to defend his shield-mate when Makro rounded on her sister. "Stop that right now!" she hissed. "But, May," Jarrah whined. "While you were here with that thing around your neck, he was―" "I said stop it!" Makro shouted now. "We'll talk about that later if you really feel you must, but right now it ... isn't ... important!" Not waiting to see if her scolding had accomplished anything, she suddenly turned back to Nilsen. "We don't have time to waste on trivia right now," she said looking at her brother. "In fact we only have enough time for you to bind me and for us to get out of here." "What!" he shouted. "Are you insane? There is no way in hell I'm going to bind you!" "Then just who do you think is going to do it?" she asked almost sweetly. He knew when she started talking like that she already considered the conversation over and she was just waiting for his inevitable agreement. "Maybe we should invite some of those nice men from Durhorn in here to complete their abduction? Do you think I'm going to wait around for the first jackass who has the ability to bind me and turn me into his puppet?" "But, May..." Nilsen moaned. "Nil," Fobie broke in, "we found these on the ones who tried to take us." Nilsen looked over and saw that Fobie and Deimie were each holding up an inactive salidin. "It is pretty obvious they intended to take all of us tonight, possibly even you. I'd say we now have a good idea of where all these salidin are coming from and we can assume they now know how to activate them. The same argument that applied to Warrior Lavender also applies to Makro. If she is left unbound, she will be vulnerable to anyone who has the ability to bind. For her own safety she must be bound and the only logical choice is you." "No, I refuse to accept that," Nilsen said, shaking his head vigorously. "Come with me for a moment," Makro told him, grabbing his arm and dragging him towards the doorway. "The rest of you stay here." Once through the door she pulled him for a few more steps before releasing his arm. Lavender had stepped through the door also but was giving them some room to talk in private. "Do you mind leaving us alone?" Makro asked her, although it wasn't in a nasty tone of voice. "No," Lavender answered. "What you say is true; there is danger all around and I will not leave him out of my sight again." "Lav..." Nilsen started but stopped when Makro put her hand on his arm. "No, Nil. She's right," Makro said with a thoughtful look. "Besides I could have said this in front of everyone in there; I just didn't want to embarrass you. Do you love me?" "What," he reeled back in surprise. "A simple question: Do you love me?" "Of course I do!" he said adamantly. "And are you my protector?" she asked softly. "Well, yes, as much as you've ever needed one." Then he added with a frown, "Although I didn't do a very good job tonight." Makro waved her hand in dismissal. "We didn't expect such blatant treachery from Salas. A mistake, yes, but one that we will live with and learn from. But enough of that. Are you still my protector?" Nil nodded. "Then you will have to bind me; that is the best way you can protect me." "But, May," he argued, "you saw what my stupidity did to Lavender," he said referring to the time he almost had her drown herself with a thoughtless word. "Well," she said looking up at him with a sly grin. "We'll try not to put me in the family way quite so soon." "What?" he choked. "I ... I ... I never..." "Oh shut up," she said slapping his chest. "You are too easy. Be serious now. Can you think of a better way to keep me from being bound by someone neither one of us would want? I didn't think so. Besides this shouldn't be too big a change." Looking over at Lavender she said, "I'll still be able to smack him, right?" Lavender shook her head. "How about a kick when he gets out of line?" Another shake. "Fine, at least I can still yell at him, can't I?" Lavender looked thoughtful for a moment and then shrugged, admitting she didn't know. "Damn, this could be harder than I thought. How do you stand it?" "It has its benefits," Lav answered dryly. "So we heard," Makro responded just as dryly. This time Lavender didn't blush but just looked the shorter woman in the eye. "Actually this is sounding better and better all the time," Nilsen said trying to add a bit of levity. "No hitting, no kicking..." "You may think so now..." Makro added. "But enough of that. It is decided. Let us return and get this over with." "May, I still don't feel right..." Nil began. "I know dear," Makro patted him on the arm sympathetically. "Just look at it as a duty you have to perform. Come along." The three of them returned to the study. "You convinced him," Deimie said as they reentered. It wasn't a question. When Makro nodded Deimie continued, "Good. Then we might as well get this all done at once." "What are you talking about?" Nilsen asked sounding extremely puzzled. "What do you mean all done at once?" Neither of the twins answered but looked at each other, smiled and quickly, before anyone could stop them, looped the salidin in their hands around their own necks. Dropping their hands everyone could see the ends of the salidin had already melded together and each twin now had a pewter-gray band around her neck. "By the gods!" Nilsen screamed as he took a step towards them. "What in hell have you two done?" Edited by Morgan ------- Chapter 14 Slowly Nilsen dropped to his knees, a look of utter astonishment and horror on his face. "What have you done?" he rasped. "Why?" He wasn't the only one in that room shocked to near-silence. Everyone else was now looking at the twins in disbelief. As if a signal had been given, the room suddenly erupted into clamoring voices and shouting. The two responsible for the pandemonium simply stood there looking at Nilsen with bemused smiles on their faces. Hearing the ruckus two guards rushed in with swords drawn. "My Lord," one exclaimed, "where is the enemy?" "What? Oh, there is none," Nilsen grunted as he scrambled to his feet. "No enemy, just a couple of idiots. Thanks for your quick reaction, but there is no danger. If you would, please wait out in the hall for us?" The guards saluted and withdrew looking very confused. "All right, quiet!" he shouted. Then fixing his two aberrant sisters with a gaze almost dripping poison he stomped over to them. "What do you think you're doing?" he demanded. "We are protecting ourselves," Fobie stated as if pointing out the obvious to a child. "What?" he gasped. He had no idea what they were going to say for themselves, but this surprised even him. "Protecting ourselves, Nil," Deimie answered, cocking her head slightly to the side. "All right," he said, his curiosity momentarily overcoming his anger. "I have to admit I'm intrigued, so before I beat both of your backsides black and blue tell me how becoming slaves is protecting yourselves. You know Lav and I not too long ago killed a number of men trying to do this very same thing." "Of course, Nil," Fobie said. "That's why we had to do it." "Ouch, my head hurts," he said scrunching his eyes shut and rubbing his temples. "Would you mind explaining that so someone who isn't as obviously insane as you are can understand?" "Of course, Nil," Deimie said, reaching out to pat his arm. "It's very simple. Anybody not bound is going to be in terrible danger of being captured and bound by one of our enemies. By binding ourselves to you we cannot be used against you. As with May, you become our protection." "Oh? And what if I get captured and someone slaps one of those fucking things around my neck?" "Nil, language," Fobie admonished. "Besides, you will have all of us to prevent that, and ... something else." "What do you mean, 'something else'?" he asked cautiously. Then he shook his head and glared back at them. "Never mind that now. Don't try to change the subject. Think of what you're doing to me! How am I going to explain this to Father? Worse yet, to our mothers?" "Oh, they will understand," Deimie said with a wave of her hand. "Don't you think we should be getting on with this now? You can beat us later if you want." "Shit!" he hissed. "Maybe I should find some street rat outside and bind you two to them. How would you like that?" They just giggled and twittered at him and all he could do was close his eyes, count to ten, and keep telling himself that strangling them wasn't an option ... a viable option, anyway. "Nil," he opened his eyes as he felt someone putting a hand on his arm. He looked and Makro was standing beside him. He could tell she wasn't happy, but he was surprised she hadn't exploded in a truly monumental temper already. "They're right. For whatever reason they did this, it is done and cannot be undone. Let's get the binding finished and get out of here. We can talk about it later." He started to protest but she laid her hand against his mouth and shushed him. "Now is not the time to argue. You know as well as I that we are in much greater danger if we remain unbound. It's best if it be done quickly." "Fine!" Nilsen huffed. Then he looked over at the twins with a frown. "I think I know a couple of apprentice bilge cleaners for our trip back. You want to be bound to me? Well, we'll see how long that lasts!" Again he could only grumble as they openly laughed at him. "That reminds me: Do we even know if there is a ship willing to take us?" "Not yet," Makro said as she motioned for Mihi to approach with his equipment. "But I expect Banar back soon; then we'll know." A few minutes and one sore thumb later the three girls were bound to their brother as the pewter-gray bands around their necks turned a lustrous golden hue. Sucking his thumb and sulking, Nilsen looked over and saw his sister Jarrah looking at them with disdain. "You want to make it a full bag?" he asked crossly. "Not hardly," she said, now almost laughing. "You can have these two idiots, but it'll be a dry day at the bottom of the sea before you collar me and have me simpering at your feet." Fobie walked over and stood in front of Jarrah, peering at her. "Hmm, maybe not," she said thoughtfully and then looked over at Deimie. "Maybe it isn't her." Jarrah frowned and looked like she was going to say something. "Tall and blond," her sister added cryptically. "She fits, but as you say, maybe not. We will see." "Stop it, both of you," Nilsen said, sighing. "It's time we were gone." ------- The carts were packed and the company was just about to leave with their escort when Banar ran up and Makro motioned him over to her. He whispered in her ear and suddenly she smiled and nodded saying something back to him in the same low voice. Nilsen noticed but was distracted by the conversation going on between Mihi and the twins. "Now, you might be disoriented until the bond has a chance to develop," he was telling them. "Actually we feel nothing different," one of them told him. "I doubt that Makro does either. You see, we've been bonded to Nil since we were born; we just never had the physical manifestation of the bond before." "Well, that may be..." he continued but Nil stopped listening as Makro came over to him a triumphant smile lighting up her face. "Good news?" he asked. "Very good news," she said. "Guess what came in on this evening's tide? One of our merchant ships. It was sent here specifically to retrieve us and even now a detachment of marines is on its way to help escort us to the docks. You'd better tell the captain over there to expect some help or he might be foolish enough to try and cause trouble when they get here." "I'm surprised there isn't trouble already," he mused. "You'd think twenty of so Jeevelian marines walking around downtown Salas might cause a bit of a commotion." "I doubt they're in uniform," she answered with a grin. "So unless they cause trouble, the local constables will leave them alone and go prey on easier targets." The captain was concerned at first, but then shrugged his shoulders and again repeated that so long as they were gone before daylight it wasn't any of his business. With that they all took a last look around and started the carts moving. Nilsen decided to walk as that was at least as comfortable as riding in the sturdy but roughly-built carts. He wasn't the only one; in fact almost everyone except the drivers decided to leg it themselves. He was strolling next to the lead cart, Lavender watchfully behind him as Makro pulled up beside him. The twins were walking slightly behind Lavender with a love-sick Cerberus and four guards forming a semi-circle behind them. "May," he said looking over at her. "I'm so sorry this happened to you. You know that I won't―" "Oh, hush up," she said and then reached over and poked him in the arm. "Well at least I can do that. It's not like I can't do anything to you and at least so far I can say whatever I want." "You can say whatever you want, anytime you want," he quickly assured her. "And as for hitting ... I really shouldn't remind you I suppose, but Momma Shasta has been known to smack Father upside the head now and then. Her col— necklace doesn't seem to protect him all that much." "True," she said thoughtfully. "That is a hopeful sign; I think I'd explode if I had to refrain from giving you my rightful guidance. That must be the case with Momma Shasta; she knows Father needs a good whop every now and then just to get his attention." "Well, it's not like it really hurts him or anything," he said with a chuckle. "I'm glad to see you still have your sense of humor, May. I'm not sure I would if I were in your place." "At first I was horrified," she said with a shrug. "But once you saved me and I realized who I would be bound to it didn't seem to be that much of a hardship." "But, May," he protested. "You've lost your freedom, something you can never get back." "Have I?" she asked him pointedly. "What will you forbid to me that I couldn't have before?" "Well, nothing I suppose," he admitted. "Would you prevent me from living away from you? Taking a lover? Becoming anything I wanted? "I thought not. So what is the real difference?" "I don't know," he admitted. "It just doesn't seem right is all." "Don't worry, you'll get used to it," she said patting him on the arm. "Now, with the Demons..." "Don't remind me," he groaned and glanced back over his shoulder. "You I can at least explain away as my own stupidity, but them... ?" "They are a force of nature unto themselves," Makro said with a sigh. "If you want to explain what happened, just point to them and everyone will know it is not something that can be reasoned about. "Besides," she added with a grin, "don't you think you'll enjoy having your own little gaggle of women to order about as you see fit? Not that I need to put ideas into your head but you can order us to do anything you want." "And some things I don't want," he sighed and shook his head. Then he perked up and gave her a slightly-evil leer. "Of course I can tell you to show me your tits now," he said in his most lecherous voice. "You always could," she said nonchalantly. "Huh?" he grunted. "I can see I have a most witty and eloquent master," she quipped. Then she continued, "You could have asked anytime you wanted; I would have shown them to you. It's not like you haven't seen tits before, and certainly better ones than mine." "I doubt that," he muttered and she smiled back at him as if to say thank you. "Anyway, I was just kidding." Thinking fast to change the subject he said, "You know, I'm somewhat surprised that those assholes from Durhorn haven't attacked. As pissed off as the envoy was, I thought he would try something tonight." "Well, we do have our escort." "True, but I know that wouldn't have stopped me," he said. "I'm sure," she agreed. "But that doesn't matter now. If anybody is going to try anything it's going to take a lot more men now." She pointed to a group of men in civilian clothes coming towards them at a quick walk. The clothes may have been civilian but anyone except the blind could see the men in those clothes weren't civilians. Nil instinctively reached for his weapons and the rustle behind him told him Lavender was doing the same. At almost the same time Makro reached out and put her hand on his sword arm restraining him. "I recognize the group's leader," she said. "They're ours." The meeting between the two groups was short. After a brief salutation to the prince and the princesses, although he paused in surprise when he saw the salidin around three of the princesses' necks, the unit was spread out in a defensive pattern around the group. The Salas captain discreetly pulled back his troops so as not to interfere with the Jeevelian marines' deployment, a professional courtesy Nil was very appreciative of. That maneuver completed, they resumed their trek to the docks. Even with the reinforcements Nilsen was uneasy and kept a sharp lookout for trouble. Makro sensed his unease and stayed by his side, quietly. With a palpable sense of relief they arrived at the docks unmolested and made straight for the Jeevelian merchantman tied up against one of the further piers. Nilsen noted it was one of his father's special ships. Built to be both a merchant hauler or a warship, it wasn't the most efficient in either role, but was capable of doing a credible job in whichever function was needed. It wouldn't offend the delicate sensibilities of a foreign host like a warship might, but even a dedicated line warship would think twice before tangling with it. Waiting at the foot of the brow with two marines stood a figure Nilsen instantly recognized. He rushed ahead to meet him, Lavender trailing a step behind. "Demeter, old friend," he said taking his friends hand. "You here to see us off? I really wanted to see you before we left, but as you can see this was done in somewhat of a hurry." "No shit," Demeter said with a frown. "I heard all about it. What a fucking mess! I wish I could apologize for my father, but..." He just shrugged, and then he saw Makro and the twins walk up behind Nil. "I heard what happened to you, Makro. You don't know how sorry I am— "Wait, I didn't hear about you two," he said looking at the twins in surprise. "I heard they only collared one black-haired woman, but..." "You heard right," Nil said sourly. "This happened afterwards. Never mind, long story, or maybe a short stupid story. Anyway, I'm glad I could see you before we left; no telling when, if ever, we'll be back here." "I wouldn't think any of you would be particularly eager to return," Demeter grunted. "But that's not the only reason I came. I'm looking for a ride out of here and I was hoping I could get one with you." "Ah, sure," Nil said with surprise. "But we aren't exactly well-liked around here. If you came with us I'm not sure it would be safe for you to return." "It isn't safe for me to stay," Demeter said bluntly. "I've been told that if I'm still around in the morning my life isn't worth a copper, so I thought I'd come and see if I could beg a berth with you." "Absolutely!" Nil exclaimed. "Do you need to get anything?" "Have it here in a trunk already," Demeter answered. "If you hadn't said yes then I'd have found another ship sailing with the tide." "Well, welcome aboard!" ------- The ship rolled gently in the swells as Lavender leaned over the railing and puked up the remainder of her morning meal. She had been miserable for the past few days, especially in the mornings. Jarrah had been sympathetic but mostly unhelpful. There were herbs that could lessen the impact of seasickness, but their effect on the unborn was unknown and the way she said it made Lav think Jarrah didn't consider it safe. That eliminated that possibility. "You had better be worth it," she muttered to her stomach. She was still flat without any noticeable bulge although she checked several times every day. She was both anxious and dreading it at the same time. Having resigned herself to a life without children of her own, she almost automatically tried to smother and suppress any maternal feelings. It didn't work. She caught herself more and more putting her hand to her belly and wondering what the child would be like. A girl to take after her mother, or a boy to follow his father? She acted like she tolerated it when Nilsen did the same. Rubbing her belly and actually talking to it like it could understand him. As much as she pretended she was putting up with it for his sake she secretly enjoyed and craved the attention. She told him he was being ridiculous but then caught herself doing the very same thing! It didn't help that the Bitch was here either. It still made her angry to think Nilsen didn't gut the slut when she first showed up, or at least let Lavender gut the traitorous whore! Lav spit over the side, partly to clean her mouth, but partly because even thinking of the Bitch made her want to spit. It had been very early that next morning. The ship was loaded and they were waiting for the morning tide that would allow them to leave that forsaken hellhole. The docks were starting to come alive after the quiet of the night and there were sailors, merchants and others of even less repute beginning to move around the docks and the nested ships. Nilsen was up on the bridge talking to the ship's captain when one of the deck hands shouted up that someone wanted to see the prince. Instantly Lavender's hand went to her sword and it found its way half out its scabbard before she realized it. "Easy, my love," he said placing his hand on hers and gently but firmly pressing the pommel down and sliding the sword back into its resting place. "I think we're fairly safe here. If one person can get through the sailors, the marines and you then it's not someone it would do any good to worry about anyway. What could we do about it? Who knows? Maybe the Putram sent someone here to apologize." She just snorted at his comment. "Okay," he said with a grin. "But it may be someone from the Academy. We left in such a hurry we never had a chance to tell them we wouldn't be back or to thank them." She grunted this time indicating possible agreement. "So let's go see who it is, shall we?" They arrived at the head of the brow and looked down over the side. Standing next to the two guards was a lone figure covered head to foot in a heavy night cloak with the hood up and pulled down so that the face was invisible in the early dawn light. "Well, this is interesting," Nil muttered and started toward the brow. Lavender grabbed his arm and felt a twinge in her neck as he tried to pull away. The damn thing must not know what to do, she thought. By him pulling away he indicated he didn't want her to stop him, but she was doing it to protect him; which would win? His safety seemed to come out on top since she felt no compulsion to let go and the twinges in her neck stopped. She held on tighter and pulled him back just a little. "No," she said. "You must stay here. I will go down if needed." "Hell, no!" he said. "We don't know who that is or if they're even a danger. I can't have you down there— Oh, now I understand. Okay, I won't go down there. Tell you what: why don't we have whoever is down there come up here? With the whole marine contingent up here on deck, and you of course, I think we can handle whoever it is." Stiffly she nodded her assent and with a slight smile on his lips he told the guards and the watch at the top of the brow what he wanted. Orders were called down to the lower guard and the mysterious visitor was motioned to step up on the brow and board the ship. The figure was faintly familiar to Nil for some reason, although he couldn't tell why. Lavender was taking no chances as she pushed him slightly behind and grasped the hilt of her sword ready to draw in an instant. The figure stumbled slightly on the threshold but then stood still in front of Nil and Lavender. The other marines had taken Lavender's hint and also stood at the ready, hands gripping the pommels of their own swords. "I understand you wanted to see me," Nil said, vainly trying to gently push Lavender to one side. "Time is short. What is it you want?" "I wish asylum, Lord Nilsen of Jeevel," came a lilting voice from deep within the hood. The hands came up slowly and pushed back the hood to reveal Rabszolga, the Durhorn woman from the ill-fated party. "Bitch!" Lavender hissed as her sword leapt from its sheath. Her slash would have taken the woman's head off if Nilsen hadn't cried "Hold!" just in time. The blade came to within inches of her neck but the Durhorn woman stood there as if there were no danger at all. "I thank you for holding back your dog, Lord Nilsen," she said. "As you can see I am quite unarmed and harmless." Saying that she reached up and untied the knot holding the cloak together and it slid off her shoulders to pool around her feet on the deck. She was wearing the same skin-tight gown from the dinner party that, while covering her from neck to ankle, made it pretty obvious she wasn't carrying any concealed weapons. "She tried to trap you!" Lavender hissed again still straining complete the killing stroke. "She would have enslaved or killed you! I'll show you how this dog can bite, you whore!" "Lavender," Nil said firmly putting his hand on her arm, pushing it down and stepping around to face the woman. "That will be enough of that, please. I want to hear what she has to say." To say Nilsen was unhappy about anything or anyone from Durhorn was an understatement, but he also had no desire to have anyone, especially a woman, cut down in front of him without good cause. "What do you have to say? Speak now and leave," he said. "You heard my lady; I have no doubt that is exactly what you would have done if you had the chance. I am feeling charitable enough that I won't let her kill you, but that doesn't mean I won't change my mind." Lavender shivered a little and felt a slight thrill when he named her his lady. It wasn't the customary form of address between a master and his slave, no matter how close their relationship. He always treated her with the utmost respect and never let pass a chance to emphasize their close bonding. It never failed to make her feel funny inside. A right giddy fool you are, Lavender Mist Bwejeri, she thought. Lavender Mist Bwejeri deSiso, she corrected herself. But now she tried to put that aside and concentrate on eliminating the threat posed by this foreign bitch-whore-slut! For some reason she didn't even consider the fact that she was just as foreign to Nil as the Durhorn woman. "You are quite correct, My Lord," Rabszolga said calmly, ignoring Lavender as best she could. "I was commanded to lure you to a separate alcove. I can only assume the intent was to capture you. But I had no choice in the matter." "What do you mean?" Nilsen asked. "You've already admitted to treachery. Why should I believe you now? Why shouldn't I think this is just another trap?" "Because I can prove I had no choice, My Lord," she said. Lifting her hands to her neck she unhooked one, two, and then three of the fasteners holding the gown's high neckline together. Pulling it apart she displayed not only a slim and extremely attractive neck, but the pewter-gray salidin wrapped around it. "As you can see, I am nothing more than a slave, just like that ... large ... woman standing next to you. I was commanded to entice you, but I had no desire to do so." "I can see the salidin," he admitted. "But it doesn't look like you're bonded to anyone. As far as I know you were doing what you did of your own free will." "Salidin?" she said slowly while fingering the band. "This is what you call it? In Durhorn it is just called slave collar. This bonded? You mean do I have a controller? I did until you killed him last night. I was able to escape in the madness you created. But where to go? I would not last long here with this around my neck. Probably be returned to Nicinte. He would not look favorably on my failure. So I look for alternative. Who would be the one to never turn me over to Nicinte? You. So I come here to offer myself to you." She stopped talking and looked at him expectantly. "How the hell am I supposed to trust you?" he demanded. "Simple, brother dear," a voice came from behind him. He turned and saw Makro, Fobie, Deimie and even Cerberus standing behind him. "You bind her to you. She can't betray us then." Surprisingly it was Makro who had said it. "You seriously want to have her around?" he asked. "What the hell for? I would think she'd just be a reminder of what happened. A bad memory." "I don't need her to remind me of what happened," Makro said with a crooked smile. "But the fact is we know almost nothing about this Durhorn and from what I've seen so far they aren't going to be our friends, so it would behoove us to discover what we can. What better than a bonded servant who can't lie to you? I seem to recall the envoy's name was Nicinte or something quite like it. If that's the case then she has been close to some of the higher-ups and can tell us quite a bit." "How you can even think about something like that at a time like this baffles me," Nil said shaking his head. "But then you always were the devious one." "Why thank you, dear," she said with a grin. "If that's settled then let's get Mihi up here, bind her, and get out of here. I think the captain is anxious to leave." "Now wait a minute," he protested. "Why am I the only one doing the binding around here? Why not you? You're the one who wants her for information after all. Being ah, bound, yourself doesn't stop you from accepting someone else's bond; you know that as well as I." "True," she said. Then she tapped her finger against her cheek and looked at Rabszolga as if considering his words. "But I don't think so. Send her down when you get done, will you? That's a dear." With that she turned and without a backward glance headed toward the main hatch leading down to their quarters. Nilsen could do little more than bluster and sputter while Fobie and Deimie looked at each other and smiled. Then Fobie raised an eyebrow, cocked her head and walked over to stand in front of Rabszolga. "If you do not mind me saying, you do not seem to have much control over your slaves," Rabszolga noted, raising her own eyebrow. "That person you will refer to as Mistress Makro or Princess Makro depending on how she wishes to be addressed and for your information she is my sister," Nil snarled. "You might want to keep this in mind; I don't want you here; she does, and her being bound came from the actions of your countrymen and your liege. I'm still not too happy about that." "Liege?" Rabszolga sounded puzzled. "What is this liege?" "I think you would call them 'master.'" Fobie said. "Or maybe 'controller, ' if I heard you correctly," continued Deimie. "It all means the same thing; it's just that our bonded are treated a little differently than you're used to, would be my guess. This one is interesting, isn't she sister?" "Very much so," Fobie scrutinized the Durhorn slave closely. "Hmm. Pretty, blond, intelligent by the sounds. Maybe, maybe..." "Who are these creatures?" Rabszolga demanded. "More of your unruly slaves?" "Very much so," Nilsen answered, amused that someone finally got a rise out of the Durhorn temptress. "These are my sisters, Fobie and Deimie, and as you can see I have no more control over them than I do my sister, Makro." "How can this be? I had heard only one was actually captured last night!" "Very true," Nilsen answered. "Makro was briefly captured. These two ... Well, these two came about theirs in another way. You want to know how, you ask the fools yourself." The twins giggled at him for his trouble and he could only close his eyes and sigh. "Is it your custom then for brothers to have their sisters, how you say, bound to them?" she asked. "I assume then you will pick their new masters for them." "Hmm, not a bad idea really," Nilsen mused. "But no. It's not usual. Our case is a bit unique, and hopefully will stay as such. "Anyway, we better get this over with quickly or you will need to go ashore," he continued. "Someone better go tell Mihi— Oh, I see he is already coming. Makro must have told him. Figures. So, back to you, Mistress Rabszolga: Are you sure this is what you want? As far as I'm concerned you can walk off this ship right now." "And if I stay then you will become my controller?" she answered. "It would appear," he admitted. "Me or someone else. The fact is I couldn't trust you if you remained unbound. I won't take that chance." "Your sla— sister would be unhappy with you if you let me leave," she said with a hint of a smile. "If not for that then for something else," he shrugged. "I've lived with it before and undoubtedly will again. Your choice. Just make it now." "There is no choice," she said bitterly. "What is ashore is known; at least here I have a chance with the unknown. You do not seem an evil man; I would take my chances here if you allow." "Fine," he grumbled. "Let's get it over with." ------- Having purged her morning meal, a daily occurrence since they got underway, Lavender stumbled down to the cabin she shared with Nilsen. The mattresses they used as a bed were neatly stacked to one side with the bedding. There was a bunk, but it would have been far too short and narrow for her even if it had been hers alone. She tried to tell Nil he should use it himself while she slept on the floor but he wouldn't hear of it which made her happy. She was beginning to think she could only feel two things these days: either sick or horny. The sick usually only lasted for a short while in the morning while the horny lasted the rest of the day. It seemed to help her appetite also. One good fuck before the midday meal and another before evening meal and she felt like she could eat a horse, hooves and all. She was slowly getting used to the idea that she was indeed a woman since so far the good had outweighed the bad. Although as you were heaving up your morning meal it was difficult to think that was the case. On top of that, sea travel wasn't much fun. In fact it was boring. Other than puking and fucking there wasn't much to do. Nilsen seemed to enjoy being out on the deck or, even worse, up in the rigging; everything about sea travel just seemed to be uncomfortable to Lav. Everything was built for shorties and therefore too small for a normal person. The deck kept moving, back and forth, forward and back, up and down ... Thinking of that usually led to more lost meals. Lavender hoped he wouldn't take up the sea as a career, but if he did she would just have to be miserable. Already she couldn't imagine not being with him even if it meant walking into the mouth of hell. Although the truth was she was more than slightly annoyed with him at the moment. They were still a day or so out of Jeevel and it would be the perfect time to dump the Rabszolga-bitch over the side, but he wouldn't let her! Not that she hadn't tried to convince him: nagging is what he called it. "You are nagging me almost as much as Makro ever did," is what he actually said. Out of sheer self-preservation he actually ordered her not to mention it again! Oh, he apologized for doing it, time and time again, but he didn't rescind his order either. It didn't matter that he was more or less correct when he told her that Rabszolga was behaving herself and not bothering anybody, and in fact was being very helpful to Makro and because of her bonding her loyalty was beyond question. Actually it made her annoyance with him worse. Not that it stopped her from craving his touch and eliciting, almost demanding, sex as often as she could. After all, she reasoned, it was his fault she was feeling as poorly as she was and therefore it was his responsibility to make her feel better. Sex made her feel better, therefore despite the fact that he owned her he owed her as much sex as she could handle. The logic alone would have demonstrated that the female warrior was becoming a full-fledged woman warrior. Any other woman would have understood and agreed immediately with her; it would have made Nil's head hurt. So, she had been hoping for an early start to their mid-morning, medicinal mattress pounding, but unfortunately he wasn't there yet. Although she already knew he wouldn't be; she always knew where he was, at first in direction only but now she could tell about how far away he was. It was comforting if a little spooky. There was a knock on the door and she turned to find Makro standing there with Fobie and Deimie peeking around behind her. "May we come in?" Makro asked and did so when Lavender smiled and nodded. "Thanks, we have something we need to talk to you about." Edited by Morgan ------- Chapter 15 "Of course you may come in, Lady Makro," Lavender said, standing up carefully so as not to hit her head against the low overhead. "You and the Ladies Fobie and Deimie are always welcome, although if you wanted to speak with Lord Nilsen he is not here; I believe he is out on deck somewhere." "Oh, we know that," Makro said with a wave of her hand. "We didn't want to talk to him right now anyway. Also I think we can do without the 'Lady' crap between us. We're all in the same boat so to speak and it seems a little ridiculous, don't you think?" "Well, it just seems that I should address my lord's sisters with the respect they―" "Bullshit," one of the twins cackled as she wormed her way around Makro and threw herself down on the bed. Lavender was pretty sure it was Fobie, but she wasn't entirely sure. Whichever one it was looked up at her, grinned and continued, "Just us slave girls here now. A gathering of the harem, as it were. No need to be formal; we're all equal here." "Ah, I don't think―" Lavender started but was interrupted almost immediately by Makro. "While Fobie's language would certainly earn her a stern talking-to by our mothers," Makro frowned, "she is essentially correct." Lavender was slightly pleased she had guessed correctly as to the identity of the twin. "As little as we generally paid attention to that silliness in the past, it's of even less importance now." "That's not true, My Lady," Lavender protested. "Yes it is," Makro replied forcefully. "And that's part of the reason we wanted to talk to you alone. Nil can be a dear most of the times, but at others he can be a stuffy little prig, especially about some of the things we need to talk about. "Now, before you say anything, let's look at the facts of our situation," Makro said putting her hand up to stifle Lavender's impending protest. "Do you agree that you are bonded to our Nilsen?" "And the sun rises in the east," Lavender frowned at the obvious question. "Is there a point to this question, My Lady?" "Bear with me, Lav. May I call you Lav?" Makro asked and Lavender nodded. "Good, I hope you will call me May, or Makro, and you can call these two twits Foe and Dem, if you aren't calling them something entirely more appropriate that is, like Doom and Despair." The twins giggled and outright laughed at the resulting stern look they received. Makro gave up and shook her head. "Anyway, the fact is you are bonded to him, I am bonded to him, and these two are bonded to him. We three may be sisters by blood, but the four of us are sisters in spirit just the same. The fact of the matter is you are the eldest sister now and it's just plain silly for you to bow to any of us. Agreed?" "But―" "Good, I'm glad we've settled that part," Makro continued as if Lavender hadn't said a word. "Now, not only are you bonded to Nil but you are his lover," she paused momentarily as if to allow Lavender the time to protest. Lavender merely sighed and shrugged. Makro arched her eyebrows and smiled, "I'm glad to see you don't try to deny that. Although I admit it would be a bit of a stretch since you're carrying his child." "I agree, it would be silly to deny," Lavender responded and shrugged again. "I do not know why he sees fit to allow me into his bed, but I will never deny him anything, especially my body. I would give my life for him; to give him pleasure is the least I can do." "You poor thing," Fobie said in mock sympathy. "To sacrifice oneself for one's master is so noble. Of course you derive no pleasure from this vile deflowering." "Of course not!" Lavender responded trying to sound offended. "It is horrible! But duty is duty no matter how harsh." She was able to keep a straight face only until the other three started laughing and she had to join in until tears were streaming down her cheeks. "Very well," she said when she could finally talk. "I admit it is not only pleasurable but more pleasure than I had ever dreamed was possible. I do not understand why he would want me, but I give thanks each time he does." "Several times a day, loudly," Deimie quipped with a smile. She was rewarded with Lavender blushing, a bright pink glow that was prominent against her fair skin. "I am sorry if I disturbed anyone," Lav whispered, still blushing. "Don't be," Makro interjected. "I doubt that everybody in this part of the ocean heard, maybe. If anyone is disturbed by it that's just too damn bad. However, I will admit it certainly bothers a few of us, although maybe 'bothers' isn't the right word." "Excites!" "Enflames!" "Impassions!" Deimie and Fobie traded words until Makro finally silenced them with a gesture. "I think she sees the picture," Makro said dryly. Turning back to Lavender she continued, "The fact is your fevered fucking doesn't just leak through the bond, it gushes, making the three of us hornier than a mare in heat. I'm sure you know a little about what can pass through the bond. Now, before you get all defensive or start apologizing we want to tell you we don't want you to stop ― absolutely not ― but we do want to discuss when it will be our turn." "Ah, ah, ah" Lavender was caught at a loss for words until finally she was able to coherently form a sentence. "But he's your brother!" "Half-brother, that's true," Makro admitted. "And it's possible I would never have thought of it before having this little trinket wrapped around my neck. Well, that's not exactly true: I did think of it, but more as a fantasy than anything else. However, the more I've thought about it over the past few days I'm beginning to believe it would have happened anyway. Honestly, looking back now I have to say I've never imagined myself with anyone except Nil, not necessarily in a sexual way, but certainly never apart from him. "That's changed," she continued. "Now, not only do I see myself being with him sexually but I'm looking forward to it. Turns out it's something I've probably always wanted but would never admit even to myself. Of course, as I've discovered, these two minxes have had him targeted for as long as they can remember. He never stood a chance." "It's true," Deimie spoke up. "We've always known we were to be his and it is finally getting close to that time." "What about your parents?" Lavender asked. "What is, is," Fobie answered. "What will be, will be. We're sure they will have some concerns, but you will be surprised at how little they will really be. You see, there is some precedent for having close ties within our family." "If you haven't heard," Deimie continued. "May's mother is our father's mother's sister ― his aunt ― and Nil's mother is her daughter, the king's cousin. As they say, 'incest is only relative'. You could say we are only following tradition, not breaking it." "Oh my, that was bad, Foe," Makro said, wrinkling her nose. "But what she says is true. It's true our family tree doesn't exactly spread its branches widely. Of course, you know as well as we do that genetically there is little to worry about. Although we have seen some mutation creeping back into the gene pool, the chance of us having any problems are statistically insignificant. We feel the biggest problem is going to be overcoming Nil's natural reluctance to take advantage of us since we are bonded to him. The fact is we are going to have to seduce our way into his bed." "And you want my help?" Lavender asked. Curiously she felt no jealousy over the expressed intentions of these women to bed her lover. Moreover, she felt a warm glow of friendship between the four of them, as if sharing their man drew them closer together rather than dividing them. "Not overtly," Makro answered. "We have to do that ourselves, which to be honest shouldn't be very hard. We know him better than he knows himself. I anticipate he will put up token resistance, but I doubt it will be very strong and he will soon fall to our wicked desires. Mostly what we need from you is for you to ignore what we are doing ... pretend it isn't happening. Can you do that? It may be difficult but I hope you realize we are not planning to take your place; we wish to take our place by your side." "I don't know why," Lavender chuckled, "but this feels right. He is doomed, is he not?" "As a trussed up pig destined to be the guest of honor at dinner," Makro agreed with a grin. "But there is something else we need from you." "Anything," Lavender said. "It's Rabszolga. We want you to get to know her," Makro said, this time without smiling. "The only thing I want to know about that bitch is how far her body can run without its head," Lavender growled. Makro sighed, "We know you are having trouble forgiving her for what she did back in Salas, but the truth is she had no choice. If Nil had told anyone of us to do the same thing we would have done it. What our liege orders we must obey; you know that." "Maybe," Lavender grudgingly admitted. "But she didn't seem very sorry for doing it." "Probably not," Makro continued. "But then she didn't know us from any other stranger. She had been used that way before, and even worse. I've had a chance to get to know her and I believe she isn't as bad as you think. All I ask is that you try to get to know her, not to become her best friend. The fact is she is bound to Nil just like we are and we're going to have to learn to live with each other. It would be easier if you two weren't hissing and growling at each other all the time." "Because you ask, I will try," Lavender agreed reluctantly. "But don't expect me to like the traitorous whore." "Well, trying not to kill each other on sight will be a start," Makro said with resignation. ------- Rabszolga was standing next to the railing on deck looking queasy and even more pale than usual when Lavender walked up next to her. "Feeling sick?" Lavender asked hoping her inner joy at the other woman's discomfort wasn't obvious. "They say it goes away after a time. I wasn't too sick the first time I was out at sea, but this time it seems all I want to do is puke." "They told you to be nice to me, didn't they?" Rabszolga said looking up at the taller woman through narrowed eyes. "They asked me to get to know you without killing you," Lavender replied. The 'they' wasn't even a question between the two of them. "I promised I would try, but I never promised to be nice." Rabszolga looked around and noticed they were for the most part alone on deck, the majority of the crew being down below for the evening meal. There was the normal watch stationed, but for the moment were out of sight up on the quarterdeck and the foredeck. "So, what happens now?" Rabszolga asked without seeming to care. "You dump me over the side and let the water take me, or will you slit my throat first? Might want to be careful about that: might leave blood all over the deck here. Could be difficult to explain." "Hmm," Lavender grunted. "Don't I wish. Unfortunately Lord Nilsen has forbidden me to harm you; otherwise you would have been gone long before now. So consider yourself lucky; if you die it won't be by my hand." "Lucky?" the shorter woman responded bitterly. "You make it sound like it is a good thing." "Well, you are alive. That is something." "Alive, oh yes," Rabszolga sighed. "Alive to serve another master, another man to use me like a tool or for just another place to spend his seed. Why would you think death would be worse than that? You, of all, should know. It is well known by all that he uses you for his pleasure, sometimes several times a day, then forces you to be his personal guard. Does not that humiliation disturb you, eat at your soul? It has mine. And yet what can we do while we wear these collars? We are nothing more than animals now! To me, death would be better." "Hmm," Lavender paused thoughtfully for a moment. "Although he didn't put the collar around my neck I have never been bound to anyone other than my Lord Nilsen. I admit I resisted the thought that I was now no longer free as I had been, but I now think of it as the best thing that could have happened to me." Rabszolga looked up at Lavender in surprise. "You do not believe me; that is fine; it does not matter. It is true that I lie with him as his woman," Lav looked down with an almost evil glint in her eye, "but as for who receives the most pleasure, do not be so sure it is him. If you think he forced me into his bed then you are wrong; if any forcing was done it was me onto him." "Why?" Rabszolga asked, still slightly stupefied by Lavender's response. "Because he holds me in his heart, and mine belongs to him," Lavender said gazing out into the waves. "These collars we wear do many strange, wonderful and sometimes terrifying things. But they do allow us to see into the soul of our liege and what I have seen convinces me he is the man I am to be with for as long as he will allow. Why he does, I don't know, but he does and that is all I need." "Well, you may not be beautiful, but you are not exactly ugly," Rabszolga grudgingly admitted. "You certainly have the tits men like." "They do seem to make grown men act like children at times," Lavender chuckled. "Where I come from I am considered ugly because of them." "I have always considered mine a curse," Rabszolga responded with a nod. "With them and a pretty face the men will not leave you alone. If it's not being used by your ... master ... then you are passed to his friends as a reward." "Ah, yes, I can see where that would taint your feeling towards any man," Lavender said also nodding. "Well, there are many things to worry about in this world, but worrying about what Lord Nilsen will do with you is not one of them. I think you will find him to be a most benevolent, if not absurdly reluctant, master. If what I have been told is true, no man will be able to touch you while you are bound to him and the only way you would end up in his bed would be by fighting through one woman, well, maybe four, actually. If you do not wish company in your bed then you will not have it." "I wish I could believe you," Rabszolga muttered, and then she looked up at Lavender with curiosity. "You do not seem as stupid as I first thought you to be." "You shorties seem to think that intelligence is inversely proportional to size." Lavender chuckled as Rabszolga's eyes widened slightly. "Yes I can use big words too; I even know what they mean." "I apologize," Rabszolga said arching her brows. "I admit seeing a big, hulking brute of a warrior, even if she is a woman, makes me think they are something less than intellectually agile. It appears I was wrong. "Let me ask you something," she continued. "You are angry with me. At first I didn't understand why and then I thought it was because I would replace you in his bed. I think this is not the case, but why do you still hate me?" "Because you tried to trap him," Lavender replied, surprised at the question. "You really care about what happens to him? How curious," Rabszolga mused. Suddenly she changed the topic. "I have heard rumors that you carry his child. Is that true? Is he trying to breed taller guards?" "It is true I carry his child," Lavender said proudly. She wondered if Rabszolga was purposefully trying to anger her but then she realized she didn't care what this whore thought. Chuckling she continued, "Truth be known he ― we ― weren't trying to breed at all. We got carried away and didn't think about the fact I wasn't protected against pregnancy. Luckily, he seems pleased with the idea, though." "Hmm, interesting. Well, if it is true you aren't going to kill me today then I believe I shall find something to eat. Maybe it will settle my stomach." "Won't be killing you today," Lavender agreed amiably. "Maybe tomorrow if we are lucky and he changes his mind." ------- At that same time Nilsen and Makro were in his cabin reviewing the report Makro was assembling from the information she had gleaned from Rabszolga. "I have a feeling we haven't heard the last of Durhorn," Nilsen said as he placed the last page of the report on the substantial pile of other papers. "What do you think? You're the politician and apprentice spymaster." "Oh, I think you're right," Makro agreed. "Rabszolga has been an absolute treasure trove of information but unfortunately it's just enough to tantalize but not enough to tell us what they are really up to. I can't say that Jeevel is a target for them, but I have a feeling they are no friend." "You having feelings now May?" he chuckled. "You always said I was crazy when I mentioned that I had them." "You were," she responded. "This is pure intuition ... woman's intuition. That is a well-established fact and not some silly hand-waving magical nonsense." "Have it your way," he said. "Anyway this will certainly be enough for Mom and Father to start with. Great work, sister mine! "So, how are you doing?" he said with concern in his voice. "As well as could be expected," she said standing up. Suddenly she stepped over to him and plopped down in his lap. "How are you doing?" "Oof," he huffed. "You're too big to do that too much. Remember I'm not six anymore; there are more things there that could be damaged than before." "We certainly don't want that," she cooed as she began to slowly grind her bottom in his lap. "Ah, May," he said nervously. "What are you doing?" "What do you think I'm doing?" she answered with a grin as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "I'm every so subtly letting my liege and master know that his slave girl is receptive to his amorous advances." "What?" he gasped. "May, I would never do that to you! You're my sister! I love you!" "You tell Lavender you love her, don't you?" Makro responded with a glint in her eye and a smile on her lips. "You love her, yet you two fuck like rabbits every chance you get. From that I deduce that love would not stop you." "But, May..." he whined. "Maybe you need to see the merchandise before you sample it," she cooed. Taking her arms from around his neck she began to unfasten the toggles on her blouse. Flabbergasted Nil could only stare as his sister's pale mounds of flesh were slowly exposed. His throat was suddenly dry as he tried to swallow. He lifted his hands thinking to push her away but she moved swiftly, tearing open her blouse grabbing and pulling his hands up to her breasts. Suddenly his fingers were touching her warm, pliant flesh. Warm? Did he think warm? They were hot, almost blazing to the touch! His mind, overloaded with sensations and emotions running from fear, lust, terror, love, desire, and even more sheer terror, shut down for a moment. Sensing his momentary tractability Makro moved quickly. Keeping his hands firmly pressed against her breasts she raised up slightly, pulled up her skirt and shifted around until she was straddling his lap, their faces almost touching. "May, we can't..." he finally gasped out until she silenced him in the most practical way possible, slamming her mouth down on his. Her tongue snaked into his mouth and instinctively he responded by sucking on it, letting the two organs dance together. Releasing her breasts his arms found their way to her back as he crushed her body tightly to his. Moaning, she opened her mouth, retrieved her tongue and moved to bury her face in his neck, lightly biting the skin where it joined his shoulder. This time he moaned. Pushing back she straightened up until she could look him in the eyes. "May, we can't," he panted. "You're my sister." "And our father fucked his aunt and his cousin bringing us here," she whispered, the slow sultry smile spreading across her face showed she had won everything she had wanted, not that it had ever been in doubt as far as she was concerned. It wasn't completely as a tease but also for pure pleasure that she rubbed herself against the large bulge in his trousers. "Incest is no stranger to our family, and won't be, especially now. "Do you love me?" she asked suddenly as she stopped rubbing on him. "Of ... of course I do," he panted. "But you will find yourself a―" "Do you find me desirable as a woman?" she interrupted, cocking her head to one side. "Silly question: I know since I can feel your answer." "Of course I do," he said again, regaining his composure slightly. "I'm not dead after all. But, May..." "Nilsen DeSiso," she said sticking her nose right up against his and staring into his eyes with the same look that always spoke his doom. "I am your woman. Well, one of your women, anyway. This collar ties you to me just as much as it binds me to you. Now listen up and listen good: As much as I want you to flop me down on that bed and fuck my brains out right now I also want a real wedding night. Tonight you and I are going to go up on deck and we are going to speak our promises to each other and then you will take me down here and ravage me until I can't walk for two days. Father hasn't been able to rid Jeevel of that stupid law preventing slaves from being legally married, but that can't stop us from saying the words and for me that is enough. Do you understand?" "Of course, mistress," he said with a funny little grin of his own. "But I wonder what Lavender will have to say about this. I'll tell you this now: I love her also and as the mother of my child I have no intention of abandoning her in any way shape or form." "Of course not," Makro scoffed. "But if she hasn't already bound you with vows that's her problem. Tonight is my night; she can rectify her oversight later. And for your information, Mister High-and-Mighty, the four of us have already talked about this. Besides she is the mother of only one of your children so far. I fully expect to be counted in that number soon enough and I'm sure Foe and Dem don't intend to be far behind." "Foe and Dem?" he gasped. "Surely they don't ... What do you mean you will be the mother of my children?" "I think Lav has already established that you are very much the stallion and not the gelding," she smirked. "So when you fuck me with that beautiful cock unless something is wrong with me you will sow a fertile field. As for the Demons, are you stupid? What did you think were their intentions when they put those collars around their necks? Do you think you're big enough to keep them out of your bed? I don't think so." She grinned down at him triumphantly. "Oh, gods," he groaned. "I am so dead when we get home!" Edited by Morgan ------- Chapter 16 "You aren't going to be dead, you idiot," Makro chuckled as she leaned down to give him a light kiss on the forehead. Nilsen had dropped his hands to her waist and her breasts swayed gently toward him eliciting a slight groan. "That's what you think!" he grumped. "I can just hear the reactions now: 'Moms, Dad, sorry about letting my sister get collared and the twins doing it to themselves, but not to worry, everything's okay since I'm fucking all of them now.' Yeah, that'll go over real well! I'll be lucky if all they do is castrate me!" "Why, Nil, I didn't know you were taking up acting. Such drama!" May laughed lightly as she stood up and off his lap. "Not to worry, you big baby. If anyone even hints at taking your precious jewels I can guarantee there will be at least four very perturbed women standing in their way." Looking down she started chuckling again. "Nil, you'd better change; it looks like you wet yourself." Glancing down he saw there was a definite wet spot on his crotch, right where she had been sitting. "Whoa," he gulped. "Somebody wet themselves, but I don't think it was me." "Well, I'm just a woman," she said fluffing her hair and batting her eyelashes. "I can't help what you do to me." She hadn't yet fixed her blouse and her breasts wobbled as she moved; Nilsen found he couldn't tear his eyes away from the sight even if he tried. "Ah ... ah ... May?" he stuttered. "Don't you think you should, ah ... do something with ... them?" "Are you tired of looking at them already?" she pouted prettily. "I don't think any man would ever get tired of looking at them," he said breathlessly. "But they're driving me to distraction and I'd hate to think of what they would do to some poor sailor who just happened to walk past." "You don't think he would like them?" she asked, her eyes half lidded and a sultry smile on her lips. "Oh, I know he would, but I wouldn't!" "It would bother you if another man saw my tits?" Her smile grew bigger. "You know it would," he said a little more harshly than he meant to. "Well in that case I'll have to borrow one of your shirts to get back to my cabin," she grinned. "This one doesn't seem to want to fasten anymore." "You haven't even tried," Nil said dryly. Then, hesitantly, he said, "Ah, May? Are you sure about this? Really sure?" "Do you want me, Nil?" Makro said softly as she walked over to him again, stopping just inches away. "Damn it, yes I do!" he said forcefully. "You've been by my side for all my life. You're my sister, but more than that you're that part of me that makes me whole. Gods help me but yes, I do want you! There were times when the thought of your body ran around inside my head until I couldn't think straight. There were times..." his voice trailed off for a moment until he caught his breath and could speak again. "There were times when I was with ... with someone else and I dreamed she was you." He turned his head, not able to look her in the eyes. He felt her fingers gently stroke his cheek and then firmly grasp his chin to pull his head back around until he was once again looking at her. She was smiling again, this time it was a smile of triumph. "And I hated every time you bedded one of those women," she said hoarsely. "I hated that they had something I could never have. Well, now I can have it, and I will. You say I make you whole. Well, so it is for me, too. I am meant to be with you and that is where I will be. Do you understand?" "Yes, ma'am," he said with a grin. "Now do you think you can put those weapons away? I need to get changed and so do you. There's a shirt over there you can use." "Right away, master," she murmured. "But first..." Moving quickly she was suddenly pressed tightly against him and her lips covering his. She seemed to melt against him as their tongues tentatively touched and caressed each other and then Makro moaned into his mouth and attacked him, writhing, grasping and trying to push his shirt off his shoulders. Unexpectedly there was a knock on the door and they both froze, Makro's eyes opening up wide and then just as suddenly lowering to slits as she growled. With great difficulty, both on his part as well as hers, he pushed her away gently. "I'll kill them," she muttered. "Whoever it is is dead meat!" "May," Nil said gently, "now is not the best time." She grumbled but nodded curtly in agreement. Turning around she saw the shirt he was talking about and hastened to put it on, not bothering to fasten it since it was large enough she could easily wrap it around her body. Stomping over to the door she opened it to be greeted by the smiling faces of Fobie and Deimie. "You," she growled, glaring at them. "Oh good," Fobie said brightly, pushing past Makro into the cabin. "I see you're done talking to him. That's good; there are a few things we need to talk to him about too. We'll see you later." The twins then pushed a grumbling Makro gently, but firmly, out the door and shut it behind her. Turning they both looked at Nil with what he could only imagine was the look a pair of cats would give to a mouse they had cornered. "Foe, Dem," he said nervously clearing his throat. They watched him for a few moments longer until finally Deimie spoke up. "May told you how it is going to be?" It was in the form of a question but it sounded more like a statement to Nil. "Foe, Dem," he started again. "I'm not sure exactly what you expect, but I don't think..." He gasped as the two of them in unison reached behind their backs, did something and suddenly both their dresses dropped to the floor leaving them, with the exception of their salidin, gloriously naked. He stood stunned for a moment and then tried to speak although nothing seemed to come out of his mouth. "Foe, Dem!" he squeaked. "Yes, Nil?" Deimie purred as she and her sister stepped out of the mounded dresses at their feet and started slowly, sinuously, to advance on him. The allusion to two cats advancing on their prey now seemed far too apt and he actually felt a hint of panic as the hairs on the back of his neck pricked up. Panic might have caused him to unconsciously back up half a step but it didn't stop him from admiring the two women moving towards him. For his sisters they may be, but women they were of a certainty. Outwardly identical in all respects, they had their hair unbound and draped in all its auburn glory over their shoulders, partly down the back and partly resting to the front where it framed their breasts as if for display. Their bodies were neither lush like Makro's nor solid like Lavender's, but the bodies of newly blooming women just leaving their girlishness behind. Their breasts were smallish ― only slightly more than a handful each ― and so firm they barely moved at all as they walked and their waists were delightfully thin with hips that flared out in soft curves that tapered down to flawlessly perfect legs. They walked on the balls of their feet, heels not touching the ground and the interplay of toned muscle under the porcelain skin of their calves and thighs caused him to involuntarily groan. Bright green eyes danced and sparkled above the unmistakable smirk on their lips. As they came close enough he could feel their breath on his neck as each one slid to a side and wrapped herself around him, somehow ending up under his arms looking up at him as they plastered themselves against him. Feeling dizzy as he looked from one to the other and back again, they started talking to him. "We are your sisters, Nil..." "But no longer your little sisters..." "We are women grown, your women, Nil..." "Do you love us?" "Yes," he croaked. "But we can't..." One of the twins reached up to lightly place her fingers over his lips, effectively silencing him. His conversation with his siblings seemed to taking a very familiar tack, one he was dreadfully sure was going to end up with the same result, but at the moment he was too stunned to contemplate trying to change it. "Hush, my love," one cooed. "We know we are not as beautiful as May, nor as well built as Lav, but we are your women and we know we can please you." "We have known this is our destiny for all our lives and now it is almost within our reach..." "You are beautiful!" he exclaimed as he unconsciously pulled both in tightly to his side. He felt himself being pushed backwards until he hit the edge of the bed and suddenly he felt himself flat on his back with two nubile and squirming beauties climbing all over him. Closing his eyes he tried to catch his breath and when he opened them again there above him were two pair of bright green gems looking down at him. "You love us..." It wasn't a question this time. "You trust us?" A statement more than a question but he nodded his agreement anyway. "Then you know we speak the truth when we say this is what will be ... Must be! We are destined to be by your side." "Yes," he croaked feebly. "You are our man, our protector, our liege, our husband." "Yes," he said a little more firmly. Then with a wry smile he said, "How could I refuse an offer so ... enticingly ... given." Fobie looked over at her sister with a grin. "I told you: we get naked and we have him by the balls." As if to emphasize her point she reached down and gently cupped his crotch. "Like I thought you were wrong?" Deimie replied. "But you can keep them, I want this!" Also reaching down she gently stroked his rock hard cock through his trousers as he groaned. "Soon, very soon," Fobie cooed. "But not until he says his promises and makes honest women of us," she giggled and jumped up off the bed. "True," Deimie agreed and she too scrambled up leaving him still prone on the bed. This time he groaned in frustration. Levering himself up and off the bed he saw they were already pulling up their dresses and fastening them. "You two are terrible teases," he sighed shaking his head. "No, we are very good teases," Fobie said again with a giggle. Suddenly she looked somber and both of them walked over to him again entwining themselves around him and laying their heads against his chest. "You already own our souls and our bodies," Deimie said softly without looking up. "We know you desire us and that makes us happy, but tonight is Makro's night; tomorrow will be ours. We know it is terrible to leave you wanting like this, but we know you will forgive us our silly little game here and now. You do forgive us, don't you?" "As if I could ever stay mad at either of you," he said squeezing them tightly. "You are so easily trained," Fobie said as she looked up and drew his lips down to hers for a kiss. It was a gentle, tentative kiss for all her bluster and bravado but he felt the simmering heat lurking just beneath the surface. Breathlessly they separated but before he could do or say anything Deimie claimed her place and he felt his head swim until they too broke apart. They both stepped back and look up at him. "It is time we were elsewhere," Fobie said with a devilish grin. "There are things we need to attend to and besides there is someone else who needs to talk to you." "What?" he said with surprise. "You mean who, don't you?" Deimie answered just as there was a light tapping on the door. Moving to the door the twins opened it to reveal a surprised Lavender standing outside. "I ... I didn't know you were occupied, Lord Nilsen," she stuttered. "He's not," Deimie said grabbing her arm and pulling her into the cabin so quickly Lavender just had time to duck to avoid smacking her head on the frame. "We're done with him for now. He's all yours and believe me he is very ready for you. We'll leave you two to discuss what business you need to. Nil: later, love." With that the twins disappeared closing the door behind them. "Lav?" he asked her puzzled. Suddenly he knew something was very wrong. She stood there almost stooped over, head down looking at the deck and even though she wasn't looking him in the eyes he could see hers were puffy and red. She had been crying! Crying? Lavender? Never! "What's the matter? What's happened?" he cried and quickly moved over to her wrapping his arm around her large torso. For a moment he felt guilty because it felt so good to hold her and he was enjoying it even though he knew there was something terribly wrong. "Nothing, Master," she whispered. Now he knew there must be something very wrong. She often called him Lord or even Nilsen and sometimes even shithead when she was really pissed off at him, but very rarely master. "Talk to me, Lavender," he encouraged softly. He tried to look up into her eyes but she averted her head and shivered so hard he could feel it all the way down to his toes. "Talk to me." "I know a slave should never say this to her master," she was almost blubbering. "But I wanted to say I understand why you want to be with them," the "them" was understood. "I understand why you would no longer want me in your bed." "Is that what this is about?" he asked feeling relieved. "You think I no longer want you?" Grasping her chin he dragged her face around to look at him. "You are as rock-headed as any muscle-bound, brain-dead warrior I have ever met!" Her eyes widened in surprise but before she could say anything he had turned them around and started pushing her back towards the bed they had never used. Just as he had, she hit the frame with her lower legs and tumbled back over until she was lying on her back with her legs hanging over the edge. Climbing up, he sat astride her hips his hands holding her wrists up above her head, staring down into her eyes. "Lavender Xolan Bwejeri deSiso, you belong to me!" he said gruffly. She could only stare up at him her eyes still wide open in shock and nod. "Who am I!" he demanded. "Lord Nilsen, Prince of Jeevel." She gasped out. "What else?" he said moving closer. "My liege, my master!" she groaned. "And what are you?" he practically shouted. "Your slave!" she cried. "Wrong!" he growled as she looked up at him in surprise. "You are the mother of my child and a woman I love," he bellowed and releasing her wrists reached down, grabbed the front of her shirt and ripped it open, fasteners flying in all directions. Her bare breasts were heaving as she futilely tried to pump air in and out of her lungs as she shivered and shook beneath him. "You will not escape my bed, do you hear?" Moving back quickly he grasped the front of her trousers, pulled the fasteners apart and started tugging them down and over her hips. Without thinking ― it had to be without thinking since her brain seemed to be nonfunctional at the moment ― she lifted her hips as he pulled the trousers completely off and threw them to the deck. As quickly as he could his shirt and trousers followed hers and he climbed onto the bed and between her legs. Grabbing her behind the knees he lifted her legs and moved forward all the while looking her in the eyes and talking to her. "You. Are. Mine!" he grunted as he slid into her in one thrust. He was surprised and thrilled; she was as wet and ready for him as she had ever been. After pausing for only a moment he began to move into her, long, deep, hard. If his words couldn't convince her he was going to fuck this silliness out of her! "No one will take your place," he said in between plunges. "If there are others they will be beside you, with you, not in place of you. Do you understand?" "Yes," she hissed. "Yes, yes, yessss!" she screamed as an orgasm gripped her body and she convulsed beneath him. He continued to pound into her, moving down to lightly grasp a protruding nipple with his teeth as she writhed under him. Finally he could take it no longer as he pushed in deep and held it spewing his seed into her already occupied womb. After which he collapsed on top of her unable to move as her legs flopped over the edge of the bed. A little while later he realized he must be crushing her and he tried to roll to the side but her arms and legs immediately wrapped around him tightly, preventing him from moving. "I'm crushing you," he mumbled into her chest. "If the master will indulge his slave, this is exactly where she wants him," she whispered. For a while they lay there, breathing returning to normal, until it finally became uncomfortable for both of them and she allowed him to slide off to the side. "I am sorry," she said looking over at him, tears leaking from the corners of her eyes. "Warriors don't cry," he said with a smile as he gently wiped the tears away with one finger. "Or apologize." "This one does, it seems," she said, tentatively retuning his smile. "Especially one who has been as stupid as this one." "You weren't stupid, my love, just scared," he replied. Then he frowned. "Don't let it happen again, though, or I'll have to continue to discipline you harshly." "And this is supposed to encourage me not to do it again?" she mumbled breathlessly, looking at him with total adoration and love. ------- For all her bullying, taunting and teasing, Makro wasn't able to get her way completely. She and Nilsen weren't the only ones exchanging promises that evening as they stood on the focs'l as the sun dipped down in the west. She had been outvoted, out-shouted and out-massed by the other three women. Bullying didn't seem to work particularly effectively on someone who topped her by a full two feet, doubled her mass and appeared to be quite capable of staring a stone into blinking. Contending with the twins turned out to be just as futile as they argued, non-stop, in stereo with a stubbornness that would have had a mule crying foul in minutes. The three did grudgingly agree that she could be the one to sleep with him that evening, if for no other reason than there wasn't enough room in his tiny cabin for all five of them. It was also agreed that the twins should have the next night. Nothing was said of Lavender's daytime sessions since these were considered either medicinal or disciplinary, whichever she wanted to use as the excuse that day. One thing was made crystal clear: As soon as space allowed nobody was going to be left sleeping alone. Lavender and Makro blushed at the thought of everyone witnessing their lovemaking; the twins didn't seem to have any modesty to speak of and their desire to be with Nilsen outweighed any embarrassment. It wasn't like they didn't know what was going on already; their link through the salidin didn't leave much to the imagination. Somehow they neglected to ask Nilsen his opinion. So it came to be that Nil, his four women, one somewhat-bewildered Rabszolga, a grumpy and bitchy Jarrah, a sniffling Katern, one highly bemused captain of the guard, a smirking friend of the "groom" and one very large, bored, dozing dog, stood together as the five made their promises to each other. "Thank you, everyone, for being here with us today," Nilsen began. "Through circumstances beyond their control these four beautiful women have been bonded to me as their liege." Glancing over at the twins he cleared his throat and muttered, "Mostly beyond their control, anyway." Then he continued, "Three I have known and loved all my life as my sisters; the other I have met only recently but have grown to love just as deeply. "As we are all aware, the laws of our land consider them slaves and as such are not allowed to enter into formal marriage, at least as of now. That being said, the law may govern what is legally so but it cannot dictate what is in my heart or my actions. If I cannot bind them with paper I will do so with words. "Be it known that I, Nilsen deSiso, son of Dent and Sosho deSiso, Prince of Jeevel, take these four women, Lavender Mist Bwejeri deSiso, Makro deSiso, Fobie deSiso and Deimie deSiso, as my own. They will be my bondmates and wives in all but name only. As such I promise to love, cherish and protect each one more than my own life. Be it also known that any children resulting from this union will henceforth and forevermore be free citizens of Jeevel and members of my household and line. "So say I by my word and my honor." The four 'brides' could hardly have stood taller or smiled more, each one practically radiating a visible glow of pleasure. There was a sniffle or two from the audience, mostly from Katern, a harrumph from Jarrah, a snicker from Demeter, polite applause from the guard captain and Rabszolga and a toothy yawn from Cerberus. But before anyone could say anything Makro stepped forward and raised her hand. "By your leave, My Lord?" she said looking over at Nilsen. He nodded. "Prince Nilsen's bondmates have something we would like to say. "To some it will seem absurd that Prince Nilsen should make such promises to slaves: to those he already owns. In truth he does own our bodies, but now also our hearts and souls. We cannot be wives in the eyes of the law, but that is of little consequence to us. We have something much more important to us: his love, affection and fidelity. We who have no right to ask for anything cannot ask for anything more. Because of this we have our own promise to make. "As Princess Makro, my word meant more than law itself; as Makro the slave it means nothing except to one man. So to you My Lord, I say this for all of us: "We humbly thank you for your love and devotion and wish for you to know we promise that to you and to you alone we give our hearts, our souls and our bodies. You are our liege, our lord, our husband. We will do what is in our power to be good wives: to love and cherish you with all our hearts, to raise your children as you see fit and to protect you with our very lives. "So say I, Makro deSiso." "So say I, Fobie deSiso." " ... Deimie deSiso." " ... Lavender Mist Bwejeri deSiso." And with that the four rushed to envelop their new "husband" in a mass of female flesh he was only too happy to endure. Afterwards as they all stood around talking, Rabszolga approached Lavender as she was petting Cerberus the huge dog's tongue lolling out of the side of his mouth as she scratched the top of his head. "Why was I told to be here?" she asked the big woman. "I don't know," Lavender said with a shrug. "Ask those two," she replied, indicated the twins. "They said you should be here, probably since you are also bound to Lord Nilsen. That would make sense I suppose, but other than that, who knows?" "Why should that make a difference?" the slender blonde insisted. "I am not his concubine, nor has he made these silly, useless promises to me." "If you are trying to anger me, shortie, it will not work today," Lavender grinned looking down. "What? Could you not get your precious master to have me thrown over the side as a wedding gift?" Rabszolga taunted. "You must mean our precious master and I did not think of that," Lavender replied thoughtfully. "It might work ... but probably not. However he never said anything about Cerberus eating you..." "What, the pretty doggie?" Rabszolga laughed and reached out to scratch the monster on the side of his jaw. Cerberus whined, flopped down to the deck and onto his back inviting his belly to be rubbed. "Traitor," Lavender told him, although she had a difficult time not laughing herself as the Durhorn woman squatted down to rub the huge furry expanse exposed. "I'll deal with you later." "So," Rabszolga said as she stood up again, "did you really consent to being one of his four toys?" "Four or four hundred ... I care not," Lavender said starting to feel pity for the bitter woman in front of her. "So long as I am with him how many stand with us is not important." "Well," Rabszolga huffed, clearly annoyed she couldn't get a rise out of Lavender. "Maybe you should run along so you can lie on your back for him like a nice big whore." "Not my turn," Lavender returned amiably. "When it is you can be sure I will, though." "Try not to crush him," Rabszolga sniped. "Have not yet," Lav said dryly. "He is very sturdy; does not crush easily. In fact it is very difficult to get him down, if you know what I mean." "Bah!" Rabszolga exclaimed and stomped off. "This could end up being more fun than throwing her over the side," Lavender remarked to Cerberus. "And you are still a traitor." She could have sworn he laughed at her. ------- Alone together in his cabin finally, Makro looked at her brother-husband with a little trepidation. He noticed her sudden shyness and came over to give her a hug. "What's the matter, May?" he whispered in her ear. "We don't have to do anything if you don't want to. It won't change anything for me." "It's not that," she began. "I still want you more than anything ... But ... well ... you've been with so many women and I don't know how to please you." Her lip quivered as she tried to hold back the tears. "May, May, my beautiful sister, my love," he chuckled. "You please me just by being you." "But I don't know anything!" she complained. "So, when we were young and you didn't know how to swim, what did you do?" "I learned," she whispered huskily. "And when you didn't know how to ride a horse what did you do?" "I learned." "And when you..." "I get the picture" she growled grabbing him by the front of his shirt and pushing him towards the bed. "So learn me!" Suddenly he found himself flat on his back on the bed as Makro fumbled with the fastenings on his shirt. He chuckled as she cursed the reluctant closures in her almost frantic haste. She was almost in tears when he finally held her arms still and hushed her in a soothing voice. "No," he said as he gently but firmly rolled her over until she was now on her back and he above her. "Let me do this for you." "But I want to please you," she whined. "Nothing would please me more," he assured her as he released her arms and began to slowly undo the fastening of her dress. One by one they opened to his experienced fingers until he was able to spread it open and feast on her naked body beneath. "Somebody didn't wear anything under her dress," he grinned and she mumbled something about it taking too much time. "Ah, but that's half the fun." "What's the other half?" she sighed. "This," he said as he lowered his mouth to a exposed pink nipple and she gasped, arching her back trying to force as much of the sweet morsel into his mouth as she could. "Oh, May," he groaned. "I've dreamed of doing this for so long." He continued to suck and nibble as he pushed the dress down over her shoulders and down her body. Lifting her hips she helped him move it along until he had to release her nipple and stood up to pull it completely free. She lay beneath him, gloriously naked, her ink black hair spread out around her head like a halo. "So beautiful," he whispered. "You aren't disappointed?" she asked in a childishly small voice. "Never," he growled. Does this look like I'm disappointed?" he quickly shed he own clothes until he was also naked, his cock standing out proudly in front of him bobbing slightly with each beat of his heart. "Come to me," she sighed holding her arms out to him. "I want you inside me." "Soon my love, soon," he cooed. "First I want to taste you." Lifting her legs he began to kiss and nibble his way from the tips of her toes down her calves, across the tender, soft thighs until he reached the glistening lips of her sex. But instead of diving in he moved back and started to do the same to the other leg. "You bastard!" she hissed. Pausing for a moment, he lifted his head. "True ... Dad never did legally marry Mom." Then she returned to his slow, torturous journey up her leg. "Gods damn you, you son-of-a-bitch. Do me!" "Patience, little one, patience," he said pausing again before returning to his task. She whimpered and moaned as he worked his way up her leg until coming once again to her by now soaking sex. With only a slightly evil grin he stuck his tongue out and lap softly at the dew drops forming there. She stiffened and began shaking beneath him. "Oh, oh, oh, ooooh," she whimpered. "Yes, yes, yes, yessss!" He continued to lick and suck gently as she continued to shake and shimmy beneath him until finally she grabbed his hair with both hands and dragged him bodily up and on top of her. "Enough!" she gasped. "Get up here and fuck me now, you gods be damned, bastardly, son-of-a-fucking-bitch! Put it in me now!" "Now, May, I told you..." he started. "Shut up, damn you, and fuck me!" she screamed. She had pulled him up until his cock was just brushing the entrance to her cunt and he started moving it up and down to get it wet and then started to slowly push into her. She was having none of that though and lifted her legs until she could wrap them around him and using her heels drew him in at the same time lifting her hips impaling herself on him all at once. She had been able to get about three-quarters of his cock in her and for a moment she held still shivering and luxuriating in the feeling of the pier piling tearing her open. "Oh, yesssss," she sighed. "Are you all right, May?" he asked plaintively. "Oh yes," she sighed huskily. "This is where you belong, now and forever. "Do you hurt?" "Not even a little bit," she purred. "Damn! That thing must be bigger than the mainmast. Now start fucking me!" "Never, my love. I want to make love to you." "Love me later. Fuck me now!" she insisted breathlessly. Knowing that talking wasn't going to do him any good any longer he slowly withdrew a little bit before gently pushing his way back in. She moaned as he went just a little deeper than before. Again he pulled out and pushed in. Repeating this as gently as he could he soon found he was fully seated in her, the spongy head of his cock barely resting against the firmness of her cervix, a perfect fit! Confident he wasn't hurting her he began to withdraw and thrust with his full length. She writhed and moaned beneath him using her heels trying to draw him in even deeper. He felt himself coming close to climax and tried to hold off for as long as possible when suddenly Makro's eyes flew wide open. She screamed and he felt the muscles in her cunt clamp down on him. No longer able to hold back, he thrust deeply one final time and held it there while spewing his seed deep within her body. They lay there still entangled, gently kissing and nibbling on each other's lips until she relaxed enough for him to roll over to the side and off her. Two more times they came together before finally drifting off into a deep, exhausted sleep. Edited by Morgan ------- Chapter 17 The morning brought more strangeness. Nilsen was somewhat wary of how Makro would feel about their new sexual relationship given the light of day. He was afraid she would regret it and avoid him but nothing could be further from the truth. In fact if anything she almost smothered him for most of the day. They would have had trouble separating her from his arm with a crowbar if anyone had been foolish enough to try. That didn't bother him overly much, other than the time she tried to follow him into the head; that he didn't feel comfortable sharing just yet. What did bother him were the looks she gave him. It was like she couldn't keep her eyes off of him and the look ... Well, the only way he could describe it was total adoration, almost awe. That made him uncomfortable. He wasn't used to seeing Makro as a fawning, almost simpering arm fob; and after only an hour or two he began to miss his overbearing, bossy and belligerent older sister. It kind of surprised him. Even so when he looked in her eyes he knew he couldn't say anything about it; it would hurt her and he would rather have his right arm cut off than hurt her, so he sucked it up and said nothing hoping that she would return to normal soon. His unease must have leaked through the salidin's bond to the other women because around midday the twins were finally able to pry her away from him and drag her off for their own private chat. Lavender grinned at his obvious relief as they sparred for a couple of hours on deck and then went below for a nap. As was usual they washed the sweat from each other but this time Lav didn't initiate anything further telling him he would need all his strength for the twins that evening. Instead, they lay cuddled up together on the deck with their pads, Nil's head pillowed on Lavender's massive breast as she gently stroked his hair while he slept. For once she didn't feel the overwhelming need to have him inside her; the feel of his skin and the heat of his body were enough as he lay partly on top of her. Even after he woke she was content with his kisses, the cupping of her breasts and the caresses as his fingers traced the ever-so-slight bulge of her belly. She felt huge already but he just laughed at her and said it wasn't even noticeable and it was only because he knew she was pregnant; he even thought he could feel it. She could feel the bond was even stronger now than it had been before. She could actually feel the love he had for her as he leaned down to kiss her belly, resting his head there as if listening for a second heartbeat and she sighed. When he asked what that was about she told him, "I do not know how you can feel about me the way you do, husband, but I know you do." Snorting, she continued, "Husband ... Now there is something I never believed I would ever say. Yet here I am, mate to the finest man in the world, a much-married man now, it would seem." "Does that bother you?" he asked, leaving her stomach with a final kiss and crawling up to look her in the eyes. The color of her eyes still amazed him and he knew he could never get enough of just getting lost in their purple mist. "No," she answered without hesitation. "Not at all. So long as you love me I am content. Even if you would stop loving me and you were there I would be content." "That will never happen," he assured her. "I will always love you. I must admit though I don't really understand everything that is happening. I love you just as much as I ever did, yet I also love Makro, Fobie and Deimie. Sure, they are my sisters and I always did love them, but this is different; I now love them as women as well as family. I just hope we can all work it out." "We will," she stated unequivocally. "You may be hard pressed to keep up with our demands, but we will definitely work it out as you say. We four and any of the others you will collect as time passes." "I don't intent to collect any others," he said with a frown. "Maybe you do not intend to, but the Demons say you will," she said, pulling him over until he lay fully on top of her, his head again resting between her breasts. "I'm going to crush you," he complained. "Since when did you start sounding like a believer?" "You feel just fine right here," she assured him holding him tightly enough he couldn't move without a struggle. "I do not know if I am a real believer. A season ago I would have thought them insane but now ... I must believe what I see. I do not know how they do it but they have been right often enough that I must believe they know what will be. If they say you will have more women then you will have more women. We will deal with it and be stronger for it." "Well, I think you're all insane," he muttered as he rubbed his face in her tits. "I'm not going to argue about something as silly as this but I can tell you there have been plenty of times those two didn't get it exactly right. I can sure as Hell tell you I'm not looking for any more, that's for sure! Gods! The ones I have now are going to kill me!" "Oh hush," she admonished gently. "You are still young. What are you complaining about?" ------- After they got up from their nap Makro once again attached herself to his side and didn't leave it until she was informed, without rancor but firmly, that it was time for his other two wives to take him to bed. Makro acceded, grumpily, even conceding she was far too sore to do anything that evening anyway. Silently he worried that there could already be trouble brewing. If there was jealousy among the four women it would be unpleasant and he honestly didn't know what to do about it. "Don't worry, Nil," Fobie responded to his un-vocalized concern. "May is suffering from an overdose of your attention right now, but it will pass." "I hope so," he admitted, not bothering to ask how she knew what he was thinking. "This is difficult enough without having all of you fighting. I don't think I could handle that." "Trust us; it will be fine," Deimie said as she stroked his arm. The three of them were sitting on his bed, a girl on either side of him. Mats and bedding had already been spread out on the deck again, just like it always was when he was with Lavender. He assumed the twins had taken care of that earlier reasoning, correctly he agreed, that even with their diminutive stature three in his narrow bed would be uncomfortable. "She will be restless and clingy for a few days," she continued. "But she will get used to it soon, same as we will." "Now it's time for us to get restless and clingy," Fobie purred as she began to unfasten his shirt, Deimie had already started in on his trousers. Surprised by their aggressiveness, he tried to protest but each time he turned to one his lips were covered by the other's and he felt sure they were trying to taste his tonsils considering how far down his throat they were forcing their tongues. In less time then he could imagine he was naked and on his back on the mats looking up at the two red-headed fireballs as they again made their own clothing vanish. Making love with Makro had been equal parts passion, love and hesitation born of inexperience. The passion and love were certainly there with the twins, but if there was an ounce of reluctance or hesitation in either one of his bed partners it was small enough to be unnoticeable. They were like two mountain climbers exploring their targeted peak for the first time. Excited, inquisitive and completely without any preconceived notions of propriety or modesty they played as much as they loved and although he knew they were virgins it still took him by surprise when Fobie finally climbed astride his hips, grasped his cock in her small hand and dropped herself down on him, impaling herself on his shaft in one stroke eliciting a grimace and grunt echoed at the same instant by her sister. "So big!" Fobie hissed through clenched teeth. "So wonderful!" Deimie gasped as she threw her own leg over his face and plopped her pussy down on his mouth, wriggling for his attention. He tried to remain still as they held onto each other but the juices being rubbed into his lips taunted him beyond control and he just had to stick his tongue into the delicate flower poised directly above him. Deimie squealed as Fobie groaned and started to move on the invader threatening to split her in two. To Nilsen it felt like his cock had been caught in a red-hot vise squeezing the very life out of him. It wasn't more than a moment or two before Fobie was moving up and down on him the spongy head of his shaft bumping against her cervix on each stroke while Deimie shook and moaned as his talented tongue drove her to distraction. In no time at all both girls were screaming through their first male-generated orgasms while he pumped a load of his seed into Fobie's tightly clenched cunt. There was another moment or so as the three of them remained motionless reveling in their orgasmic bliss until Deimie suddenly dismounted and unceremoniously pushed Fobie off Nil and onto her back beside him. Quickly she moved between her sister's legs and began to suck his spend from her glistening slit. Nilsen could only look on in wonder as Deimie, mouth full of his spunk and Fobie's juices, crawled up her sister's body and kissed her full on the mouth, sharing the treasure she had just collected. Rather than feeling disgusted ― he had been with multiple partners many times before but this was the first time he had seen two women exercising the ultimate act of intimacy ― he was surprised that he was again/still rock hard and aching to continue. Having swapped his spend between the two of them until it disappeared, Deimie and Fobie turned toward him and grinned. Deimie's eyes widened as she noticed his throbbing shaft and growled as she scrambled over and onto the deck on his other side. Reaching over she pulled at him and whimpered until he was positioned between her legs, the head of his cock resting in her glistening cleft. He didn't need her pleading eyes to know what she wanted and he granted her desire by slowly moving his hips forward. She mewled beneath him and banged her heels against his ass trying to force him in even quicker, but he had no desire to cause her pain like Fobie had done to herself and he kept the pace of the insertion slow, working himself into her in short, easy thrusts, each one getting just a little deeper than the one before. Soon he bumped against her cervix, his balls resting on her ass. She closed her eyes and moaned while clutching him tightly as he began to slowly move inside her in deeper and faster strokes. Soon he was pounding into her and she was shrieking her pleasure. Again far too quickly she was convulsing in ecstasy beneath him while he planted a load of his seed into her womb. This time he was the one pushed out of the way while Fobie reciprocated Deimie's earlier ministrations. While Nil found the sight just as erotic and enticing it failed to elicit the same response; he was only human after all. It didn't stop them from continuing their play after a brief rest, though. In fact it wasn't until sometime early in the morning that the three of them finally collapsed into a heap of tangled arms and legs, sleeping the sleep of the exhausted. ------- "What have you been putting into my food?" Rabszolga demanded crossly as she approached Lavender. Lav had come up for a breath of fresh air after the morning meal, both to settle her stomach and because she couldn't get close to Nil. His three sisters were hanging onto him so tightly he might as well have been wearing them. She too desired that closeness, especially after the sexually charged visions she had been feeling the last two nights, but could only chuckle and feel sympathy as he looked at her beseechingly. She grinned and shrugged as if to say, It's your fault; deal with it. She could feel his love and affection through the bond and that was enough for now. "Since you are still alive we can surmise I haven't put anything in your food," Lavender answered raising her eyebrows. "You eat the same as the rest of us; what makes you think anyone put anything in your food? Have you been poisoned?" she asked hopefully. "I have been drugged," Rabszolga stated flatly. "Interesting," Lavender mused. "And I wonder why I or anyone would want to do such a thing, other than it seems to cause you discomfort which is somewhat amusing. Why would anybody do that to you?" "To make me pliable and willing to seek his bed," Rabszolga hissed. "Ah," Lavender nodded solemnly. "Now, aside from the fact I would rather see you sleeping on the seabed than anywhere close to Lord Nilsen's, what has convinced you someone is trying to entice you there? I mean, let us assume for a moment that he did want you in his bed, with a word he could have you there, flat on your back, legs spread wide, begging him to mount you. Why would we waste an aphrodisiac on you?" "I do not know," Rabszolga fumed. "But for the past two days, and especially nights, I have been having these, feelings. I see things ... feel things ... It makes me want to ... Argh!" Lavender stared at the shorter woman as she clenched her fists and growled. Suddenly she threw back her head and laughed out loud, laughing so hard in fact she felt if she didn't get it under control soon she would pee her pants. "What's so funny?" Lavender heard behind her and she was able to tone it down to a burbling chortle as she turned to see Makro and the twins, sans Nilsen, standing behind her. "She thinks we have been drugging her," Lavender snickered as she pointed at Rabszolga. Makro looked puzzled and Lav turned to Rabszolga and said, "Please, tell her what is happening to you." Frowning, the Durhornian woman complied and as the story unfolded Makro's puzzled expression suddenly lit up with understanding. "Oh! Oh my!" she exclaimed, bringing her hand to her mouth. "Goodness Zolga, that isn't what's happened at all. How long have you worn your collar?" "Ten seasons," Rabszolga answered now looking more puzzled than angry. "Surely you have felt this before?" Makro took the older woman's arm and led her off slightly to one side and began to talk to her in a low voice. Every so often Lavender could hear Rabszolga's insistent protests. "No! "Never! "It cannot be!" Each time it set Lavender to chuckling again and at times almost full laughter. "That isn't very kind, Lav," Fobie said standing next to her watching the two in heated discussions. Well one side was heated anyway. Makro was explaining something while Rabszolga sputtered and protested. "What do you mean?" Lavender answered looking as innocent as she could. "I have been sharing a humorous moment with our fellow bond-mate. I have been getting to know her. Is that not what you wanted me to do?" "Laughing at her is not sharing a humorous moment," Fobie chided. "One of us shared a humorous moment; I met her halfway," Lavender grunted as Fobie snorted. Then she changed the topic, "What are you three doing up here? I thought you would not let go of him even if he were made of hot coals." "Hmm," Fobie said dreamily, and then she sighed. "He had to relieve himself and then ran away to talk to the captain, the coward. We will be making Harv'el later this afternoon and he wanted to discuss the arrival. I don't know how you could ever let go of him." "It is difficult," Lavender agreed. "But it gets so you do not have to touch him all the time; you just want to." Fobie nodded and sighed again. "So we will be at your home by nightfall," Lavender remarked, a little shiver of apprehension running through her. "We will be meeting your chieftain and his mother. I do not think they will be so glad to see their grandchild being carried by a big, ugly cull." "It's your home too," Fobie said looking up at the obviously distraught warrior. "We call our leader a king, and yes you will meet him and all our mothers. You are being silly again. They will love you and will go crazy over our baby." She tugged at Lavender's arm until the tall blond looked down at her, "Our baby," she emphasized. "Besides," she continued ruefully, "if anyone has any cause to worry it would be Deimie and me, but after last night..." Fobie sighed again, "I just don't care!" Not long afterwards Nilsen joined them on deck and again the three sisters entwined themselves around him, one under each arm and the other pressed against his chest. Lavender snorted but moved until she was behind him, touching him wherever there wasn't already female flesh. She thought how silly it must look but didn't let it stop her; she craved his touch and didn't care what anyone thought of it. Rabszolga fumed and muttered to herself and stayed about ten feet away, but didn't leave the vicinity. Nil disentangled one arm and pointed out a bank of low clouds on the horizon informing them they were the mountains of Jeevel and that they should be making port late that afternoon. He may have felt a little smothered by his admirers but all Lavender could feel through the bond was a mild amusement. He felt their need and tolerated the attention with good humor. Later that afternoon Lavender really craved his attention, irrationally ― or so she was told ― afraid it might be the last time she would be allowed near him, but she also knew there was no time for that and clamped down on her discipline as they made ready for port. She dressed in her finest battle gear, including armor and weapons even though the other girls told her repeatedly it wasn't needed. Nil finally shushed and pulled them aside. "No matter what you think," he said quietly, "she thinks she will be going into battle, and maybe in a way she is. If it makes her feel more confident and calmer, then I'm inclined to let her wear anything she wants." Not completely mollified the girls grudgingly conceded the point. They wanted her dressed as befitted a lady and woman of a prince but Nil told them in no uncertain terms that she was a lady and woman of this prince no matter what she wore, or didn't wear! Makro pouted a little but Lavender, encased from head to toe in boiled leather, bronze, buckler and sword, never felt more like a woman then right at that moment. ------- All of them turned out on deck for their entry into port: Nilsen, his 'wives', his sister Jarrah, Demeter, Rabszolga and, of course, Cerberus. The deSiso siblings were excited and plainly relishing their return home while Lavender felt nothing but dread as they closed with the pier at a speed she feared was far too fast. Stoically, she stood upright wishing with all her being it was the far gentler embrace of an enemy army; sword and dagger would have been much easier to face then this. As they drew closer she could see there was a fair-sized crowd gathered on the pier. It was obvious their arrival had been anticipated and there had been more than enough time once they had been sighted on the horizon to inform those interested in meeting them. Curiosity was running even with dread as she scanned the crowd trying to pick out the ones she knew had to be there. It wasn't that difficult; there in front of the mass was a smaller group separated by a phalanx of heavily armed guards. There were four women surrounded by some eight to ten children and young adults. She tried to get an exact count but they kept moving around so much it was impossible. This had to be the royal family, Nilsen's mothers! She wondered if his father, the king, was in the line of soldiers, but couldn't pick one out that seemed to fit the description. In short order the lines were passed ashore, secured, and the brow eased across. It was time to meet her fate. Without a thought for ceremony or decorum the four sisters scrambled down the gangplank and ran into the group hug of their family. Nilsen paused and looked up at Lavender with a sigh. "Time to face the music, love," the grin on his face revealing not even a hint of real concern. "Let's go; it's our turn." "Yes, My Lord," she answered somberly. "I'll 'My Lord' my hand all over your pretty fanny," he muttered as he led her down to the waiting throng. "And don't think being pregnant will save you." "Of course not, My Lord," she couldn't help but grin a little herself. Damn, she thought, even in the face of worse-than-death he had a way of lifting her spirits. As they neared the crowd she could hear individual voices ringing out loud and clear. "What has happened to you, Makro?" came one, obviously distraught. "What in the name of the gods have you two done now?" another asked accusingly. As they came close Lavender saw one strikingly beautiful, older woman, holding Makro's hair back away from her neck staring at the salidin. Looking up she saw Nilsen approach and her eyes zeroed in on him like a hawk to her prey. "Nilsen," she said with the voice of a mother to a recalcitrant child, "what has been going on here?" "Quite a bit, Mother Nesho," he sighed. "But I think we'd be better off telling you in private." "Are you all right, daughter?" she asked turning back to Makro. "I am fine, Mother," Makro said with a nod. "In fact much better than fine, but Nil is right; we need to save this for when we're alone." The woman nodded grudgingly. "Mother Nesho, Mother Sosho, Mother Clarise, Mother Shasta," Nilsen announced loudly and clearly as he put his arm around Lavender and firmly pulled her around to stand beside him. "I am pleased to introduce you to Warrior Lavender Mist Bwejeri deSiso, my shieldmaid, my bondmate, my wife." All eyes were suddenly riveted on her and Lavender trembled wondering if she should bow, try that curtsey thing, or simply fall to her knees and beg forgiveness. Nilsen's arm tightened around her making it impossible for her to do any of those as it turned out. The four women stepped forward and looked up at the blond, armored giantess standing before them. "So you are the one making us grandmothers before our time," quipped one. It was the shorter, slightly plumper, but still just as beautiful dark-haired one. Although almost frozen with terror, part of Lavender's mind reasoned this must be Queen Sosho, Nilsen's birth mother. "Actually, great-grandmother," the older, raven-haired woman added. Lavender found that hard to believe. This woman looked slightly older than the other three, although looking closer she realized it wasn't that she looked much older, it was just that her bearing and comportment seemed more mature, but still nowhere near old enough to be a great-grandmother. Why there wasn't even a touch of gray in her hair, unless she dyed it and Lavender was willing to risk a considerable amount that she didn't. "She is certainly big enough," said a tall ― for a shorty ― woman. The thin blonde goddess continued with absolutely no malice, "And magnificent!" "That's good," the red-haired one with the green eyes ventured. "She's got the size to give him a good smack upside his head when he needs it. That one will need it, often." With a nod of approval she turned to Nilsen, "All right, Nilsen, what have these two gotten themselves into?" "Momma Shasta," he sighed, "we'll get to all that when we get home. It's a rather long and, confusing, story." He then introduced Rabszolga, Demeter and Cerberus, who was at that time surrounded by a gaggle of royal children, soaking up their amazed adoration. "Nil is right," the older one, Mother Nesho, said as she came over to take Lavender's arm and led her away from Nil's side. "I am dying to hear it, but it can wait until we get home." Lavender looked down at Nesho just as the afternoon sun hit her neck and she saw a slight golden glint. Her eyes opened wide and she quickly looked around at the other three mothers as a sudden realization hit her: All four of them were wearing salidin! Her eyes narrowed as she turned back to Nilsen. "Lord Nilsen," she growled, "you did not tell me..." "Tell you what, my dear?" he replied looking back at her in total innocence, even as he nonchalantly shuffled a half step back. "What didn't he tell you ... Lavender, isn't it? Or would you rather I called you something else?" Nesho said patting her arm as she looked up. "I am sorry, Lady Nesho, ah, Queen Nesho," Lavender stuttered. "I think as our son's wife you can call us mother; just call me Momma Nesho," she said with a smile. "Now what didn't he tell you, dear?" "He did not tell me you were, ah, that..." her mouth refused to say anything else for a moment. "He said his father had four wives, he had four mothers, but he never said ... I was worried..." "He never mentioned we were slaves?" Nesho said sweetly with just a hint of a smile. They all started walking towards the city, the crowd parting in front of them without the help of the guards that surrounded them. "Actually we tend to forget that most of the time ourselves. I'm sure it just slipped his mind. You must have been terrified of what we would think: the prince bringing home a pregnant slave girl for his mothers to meet. I think you can lay that worry to rest." Lavender looked down sharply. Can the woman hear my thoughts? How does she know what my deepest fear was? "No, I can't read your mind, dear," Nesho laughed. "That's exactly what I would have thought if I had been in your place." Lavender still couldn't dismiss the possibility her thoughts were an open book to this woman but mused that if she couldn't then she must be one of the most intuitive women she had ever met, and extremely dangerous! Fobie, Deimie and Makro surrounded Nilsen as they started walking and Lavender felt the need to be with them even though they were only a few paces away. Tentatively she tried moving closer to them but the arm entwined in hers didn't budge an inch. "I ... his shield..." she muttered but Nesho's hold just tightened. "What was that, dear? His shield?" "My bodyguard, Mother," Nilsen said looking over at them. "That's what she calls a shield." "Bodyguard?" said the redhead. Shasta? "Considering the results, my guess is you must have been guarding his body pretty closely. I'll bet it would have been difficult for an assassin to get between the two of you ... or a piece of paper, for that matter." Lavender blushed a bright pink as Shasta moved up next to her and took her other arm. "Shasta," admonished Sosho, the younger brunette. "Be nice! Remember, none of us had to meet Dent's mother and tell her we were with child." "That would have been interesting," Nesho gurgled. "I can just see that now: 'Hello sister dear, oh by the way your stud son has put me in the family way, but that's not all: He did the same to his cousin.' Yes, that would have been interesting." Shasta and Sosho laughed. Clarise just rolled her eyes. "You have to forgive them," she said shaking her head. "They are crude, rude and socially unrefined at the best of times and downright obscene for the rest. You three should be ashamed of yourselves! This poor girl will think she has fallen in with a family of strumpets and whores the way you talk." "We weren't the one spread out on the office table the other day screaming our lungs out while the maids wondered if they should come in to do the dusting or just bring a mop," Sosho chided, jabbing Clarise in the side with a finger. "Well, I never..." Clarise huffed, sticking her nose up in the air. "Never?" Sosho retorted. "Almost never..." Clarise answered but then started giggling. "As you can see we are fairly open about our sexuality," Nesho told Lavender as she again patted her arm. "It's one of the advantages of being a bonded slave: We don't have to give a damn what anyone else thinks about us; we live for our man, even if he does happen to be king." "Where is the king?" a bewildered Lavender asked. "Yes, where is Father?" Makro asked from her place by Nilsen's side. "He's on an inspection tour at the shipyards," Shasta answered. "He won't be back until late tonight or maybe tomorrow morning. If he had known you would be coming in today he would have stayed and met you." "Please, My Ladies," Lavender stammered. "You do not seem to be angered that Makro and the twins have been ... bonded?" "I suppose it does seem strange," Nesho answered with a sigh. "I have to admit my heart almost stopped when I first saw that, but they are alive and there is no doubt to whom they are bonded. You can tell just by looking at them, so I'll just bide until we can talk about it, then I'll decide whether or not to be angry." The sudden chill in Nesho's voice made Lavender hope fervently that she wasn't the one that anger would be directed towards. "Until then we have a nice little walk to the palace and I want to get to know my new daughter a little better, so why don't you tell how you and Nil met... ?" For the next half hour Lavender told the four queens her story, all of it, everything from her being a cull and running away to fighting in the arena. She didn't even think about trying to hide anything, not from these women; besides undoubtedly Makro had already described every detail in her reports. She finished just as they arrived at the huge whitewashed building that had to be the palace. Once inside they were all shooed off to their various rooms to freshen up for the evening meal. Nesho announced they would all meet afterwards and the four queen/mothers barely blinked when Makro and the twins told them their personal effects should be sent to Nilsen's room when they arrived. When they were alone in his rooms Nilsen felt Lavender's eyes boring into his back. He turned around with a mild, innocent smile to face her. "Yes, dear?" "I should kill you," she said with narrowed eyes. "Why, honey, I don't know what you could be talking about," he gasped, still feigning innocence. "You let me think..." she started as he suddenly burst out in laughter. "I know, I know," he gasped putting his hands up in surrender. "I deserve it and you can kill me later, but the expression on your face was absolutely priceless! It was worth my death!" "I. Will. Get. You. For. This," she growled through clenched teeth. "Undoubtedly you will," he said coming over to hold her, wrapping his arms around her tightly. She tried to remain still but her arms automatically pulled him in as he nibbled on her neck. She sighed; it was impossible to stay angry with him. Her sigh turned to moans as he nibbled more and his hands slid down to cup her ass through her leather trousers. Then he pushed back and looked at her with a gleam in his eye. "But until then we have to get ready for dinner," he teased. "The bath is through there. You use it first. By the time you're done they should have our luggage here and I'll have one of the maids brush out one of those wonderful gowns Katern had made for you." She groaned and he shook a finger at her. "Ah, ah! My mothers have seen my lady warrior, now I want them to see the beautiful woman I have brought home." She grumbled but acceded to his wishes as he pushed her towards the bathing room. Makro, Fobie and Deimie rushed in just as they finished dressing and they all headed down to eat. The meal was wonderful although Lavender felt self-conscious about eating in such elegance. Afterward they were led to a smaller sitting room and the doors were closed. The next few hours were spent recounting their time in Salas, Makro taking the lead with Lavender, Nilsen, Rabszolga and the twins filling in where needed. When they finished there was a moment of silence until Shasta finally spoke up. "You two are going to be the death of me yet," she said fixing them with a glare. "Of all the stone-headed, idiotic things to do..." She paused and then looked at Nilsen with a smile; it wasn't a particularly congenial smile. "Well, they're not my problem anymore, they're yours. May your life be interesting." The chuckle she gave caused Nilsen to grimace just a little. "Salas has much to answer for, as does this Durhorn," Nesho said grimly. "I will read your reports and we will talk more in the morning." Pausing for a moment she continued, "You have all done well, very well. Makro, I am saddened by what has happened to you, but rest assured this will be dealt with." "I understand your anger, Mother, but spend no time in revenge for my sake," Makro said suddenly standing up. Nilsen had been sitting on a couch with the twins on either side. Lavender was standing behind him, refusing a seat. Makro had been sitting in a chair next to the couch. She moved over to Nilsen, turned back to the room and sat down in his lap putting her arm around his neck. "We haven't told you everything yet," she continued. "You know we have been bonded to Nil. Well, we have also become his wives along with Lavender and before you ask, yes we did this of our own free will and his, mostly. He fought it but you know we will get what we want." There was dead silence in the room and Nil held his breath waiting for the explosion. Nesho set down the cup of tea she had been sipping and calmly looked at her daughter. "Then I suppose it is a good thing Nil has that large bed in his room; the five of you will take up a lot of space." "And thank the gods his room is far away from mine," Jarrah said dryly. "They make a lot of noise." ------- Still partially in shock, mostly for still being alive, Nil was led back to his room where the twins quickly stripped off their clothing and started removing his. Makro was somewhat more methodical but soon just as naked as the other two. Lavender was embarrassed and was slowly taking hers off when Makro walked over to help her out of the gown. "Get used to it, Lav," she grinned. "We're going to be spending a lot of time together, naked." "I just do not know..." Lav muttered blushing. Makro just huffed as the last garment came off and pushed the giantess toward the bed and next to Nilsen. He folded his arms around her as the other three snuggled next to his back or behind her. She was surrounded by naked flesh, the fact that some of them were women made it seem even more surreal. "Go ahead," Fobie whispered in her ear. "We can feel you need him. Let us see your love." She felt like she was going to die from embarrassment but her body didn't seem to care. She had been without him for almost three days and she ached for his touch. "Don't let them bully you," Nilsen whispered to her even as he pulled himself against her. It was not an overtly sexual embrace but that didn't matter. The feel of him next to her made her wet and panting with need, his hard shaft poking her in the thigh. "You don't have to do anything you don't feel comfortable with. Just tell them to go to hell." "Shut up!" she growled and pulled him roughly over and on top of her. "Just shut up and fuck me." ------- Lavender awoke with the feel of entangled limbs surrounding her body. She opened her eyes, lifted her head and looked around. Makro and the twins were still softly snoring, arms and legs draped over themselves and her. She didn't remember everything about the night before. Nil had brought her to a couple of shattering orgasms before she passed out in the throes of her final one. It seemed like she did briefly wake up later and she saw Nil mounting Makro while the twins pleasured each other. Seeing Nilsen on top of his sister as she screamed her pleasure beneath him was strangely exciting and even arousing, or it would have been if she weren't so exhausted and satiated from her own time with him. Watching the twins as they pleasured each other with their mouths between each other's legs was disturbing, and very arousing. Lavender shivered a little and wondered if she would be expected to do the same. The possibility both appalled and intrigued her. Rather than think about it she carefully crawled out of the huge but still crowded bed and looked around for her ― their ― husband. She was somewhat peeved that he had been able to extract himself without waking her and was even more peeved when she nearly stepped on the lounging form of Cerberus next to the bed. "Where is our charge, you useless beast?" she whispered as she bent down to scratch his massive head. He opened one eye and grunted at her. "You are getting fat and lazy with this soft life. I do not care if this is his home; I do not trust having him alone at any time. We do not know how secure this really is. I will not have him attacked just because we cannot stay awake to do our duty." Moving as quietly as she could, she moved into the bathing area and used one of the chamber pots to relieve herself. Not knowing where her clean clothes were stored, she grabbed her trousers and shirt from the day before and slipped them on along with her boots. Closing her eyes and standing still for a moment she reached out with her mind trying to feel for him. Instantly she knew where he was with respect to her and that he seemed pleased, or at least not unhappy. Probably eating, she mused. With a grumbling Cerberus in tow she set out to find her lost lamb. The palace was a bit of a maze and although she ran into a dead end once or twice and had to backtrack, she could feel she was getting closer to her beloved. She met a few people along the way ― a couple of maids and some palace guards standing post ― but was never challenged. She wasn't too impressed with security that would allow a stranger to walk the halls unimpeded until she realized there probably weren't that many seven-and-a-half-foot-tall blonde women running around, so it was a good bet she had been recognized. She had to chuckle at herself for that. Finally she could feel his presence very close and turned into the doorway of a large chamber. Nilsen was there surrounded by guards and kneeling in front of a man standing on a dais about two feet above him. Her heart stopped and terror gripped her body as she saw a beam of the early morning light just barely coming in through a window glint off the raised sword in the man's hand. "No!" she screamed, hand first going to the sword that wasn't there. Everyone in the chamber turned in surprise and froze as she tackled Nilsen, spreading her body over his. Crying, she looked up at the man with the sword. This had to be Nilsen's father, the king, who was looking down at her with a completely baffled expression on his face. "Do not kill him!" she cried. "It was not his fault, it was mine! Take me!" Edited by Morgan ------- Chapter 18 Earlier that morning, false dawn was bleeding just enough light into the room for Nilsen to see when he woke up. Momentarily confused by the bodies pressed up against him and the limbs seemingly intertwined in random fashion, he quickly remembered what it was all about. Damn, he smiled, I could really get used to this. Moving slowly he extricated himself without waking the four women and relieved his complaining bladder in the bathing room. Finished, he looked back to the bed with longing but duty ― and the fact that the empty space he had left was now filled ― caused him to sigh and grab a fresh set of clothes which he took back into the bathing room. Dressed, Nil decided he ought to find out if his father had returned and if he had then Nil needed to give the king a detailed account of what had happened. Momma Nesho had sent a runner with a summary of what occurred, but he knew his father would be anxious for details. The only one noting his departure was Cerberus who opened his eyes but otherwise seemed disinclined to follow. That made Nil feel better, not that he believed there was any danger but having someone watch over the girls ― his girls ― while they slept, helped. Silently he slipped out of the room and commenced his search. Finding his father was as easy as he expected. All he had to do was find one of the maids who told him where to go; as with most other households the servants knew everything that went on in the palace down to the last little bit of gossip. Luckily all the servants and most of the personal guards were salidin-bonded to or through one of the queens so that knowledge was as safe as if he kept it himself. As expected he found his father eating a light breakfast in the kitchen with his bodyguards as the morning kitchen staff scurried around preparing for the day. "Nilsen!" King Dent jumped up to embrace his son. "Father," Nil sighed, "it's really good to see you. When did you get in?" They broke apart and Dent motioned for Nilsen to have a seat beside him. "About half an hour ago," Dent admitted. "I almost came back last night after I got your mother's message but I figured a couple hours of sleep and getting here early would serve just as well. It sounds like you have had an ... interesting ... time of it." "If you consider catastrophes interesting," Nilsen grumped. He then proceeded to fill in all the details the short message by necessity had left out, even the part about him and his sisters. Dent silently listened only frowning occasionally and once or twice his eyes narrowed dangerously. Surprisingly, or maybe not surprisingly considering his mothers' reaction, the king took the fact that Nil had bonded and bedded his sisters without comment. "Hmm, Salas and Durhorn have much to answer for," he said when Nil had finished. "That's what Momma Nesho said," Nilsen agreed. "But as much as I'd like to agree, I think Makro was correct: That is secondary to what the crystal readers could mean to us. I think the first thing we have to do is find out if we can get one, or at least the use of one." "I agree. Salas and Durhorn will be dealt with in time," Dent said casually. Nil was damned glad he wasn't the one who was going to be "dealt with"; he'd seen the results of that and was fairly confident the Putram of Salas would at some time in the future be very sorry for his indiscretions. Counting that business as settled, Dent turned his attentions to other matters. "So, where is this fascinating woman that will soon make me a grandfather?" he asked. "When do I get to meet her?" "Soon, would be my guess," Nil replied. "She's still sleeping along with the others. It's been a difficult journey for her, both physically as well as emotionally. She has been terrified of what you and Mommas would think of her. Mommas did well to ease her fears last night, but I'm thinking she will still be anxious about meeting you. She is an amazing woman as I'm sure you will agree." "Bah, everything will be fine," the king said with a wave of his hand. "I trust your judgment; if you have vetted her then I'm sure we will get along wonderfully. "Speaking of that," Dent continued. "I have something for you. It was supposed to be your birthday gift when I commissioned it but it wasn't finished until after you left for Salas. I guess it can be your wedding gift now, although from what I hear maybe a bigger bed would be more appropriate," he said with a laugh. "I don't know how you lived through it," Nil quipped, then remembering who he was talking to, he clamped his mouth closed and blushed a deep red. Dent just leaned back and laughed until Nil thought he was going to fall off the bench. "What are you complaining about?" Dent howled. "You're still young! Wait till you get to be my age! Then you can complain, if you still have the breath for it." Standing up and smacking Nil on the shoulder he said, "Come on, I think it's in the small throne room. I want to give it to you before your mothers wake up and start telling us what we should be doing." Standing up Nil followed his still chuckling father out of the kitchen and down the hall to a large room with a dais bearing a chair. The "small" throne room was only small compared to the much larger formal audience room. Striding up and onto the dais Dent rummaged around behind the ornate chair. "I'm sure it was here," he muttered. "Ah, here it is." He held up a bronze-edged leather scabbard wrapped with a belt, the hilt of a sword sticking out. "This is the finest steel I could find, with an edge guaranteed to cut through iron like shit through a goose. Look at this edge." Pulling the sword out he held it up to catch the rays of early morning light just beginning to stream through the high windows. As he did, one of the toggles on the scabbard's safety strap popped off and rolled down the dais steps to land at Nilsen's feet. "Crap," Dent muttered with a frown. "Don't worry, I'll get it," Nilsen mused as he knelt to retrieve the offending bauble. Suddenly he heard someone scream "No!" and almost instantly he was tackled and buried under a ton of sobbing woman. At first he was trying to push out from under her ― he knew right away who it was ― to find out what was going on and then seconds later he was trying to get out so he could breathe! He then heard: "Do not kill him! It was not his fault, it was mine! Take me!" Struggling to his feet he tried to get around Lavender but she furiously continued to push him around and behind her. He knew he was strong but to overcome her hysterical strength right then would do nothing but get her hurt so he did the best thing he could: he stood there passively. "The babe is my fault," Lavender pleaded. "Please do not hurt him. Punish me!" Nil noted the bodyguards had their swords out but were looking just as confused as Dent, all those except the two faced off against a growling Cerberus who was crouched, teeth bared and appeared ready to charge. "Please hear me out!" Lavender sobbed. "I beg of you, don't hurt him. It is all my fault!" Dent looked down at Lavender as she stooped down, arms flung wide and back, preventing Nilsen from getting in front of her. Then he looked up at the sword in his hand, then down again at the terrified giantess protecting her man: Up again at the sword, down again at Lavender. Comprehension dawned on his face and he slowly lowered the sword. "Very well," he said his face a study in neutrality. "I will listen." Suddenly the king burst out laughing to the amazement of his bodyguards, his son and one very, very confused Lavender. The king was known to have a very dry sense of humor ― some claimed it to be desert dry ― and was rarely seen laughing out loud, let alone laughing so hard he had to hold his middle and sit down unceremoniously on the throne. "That's not funny, Father," Nilsen admonished, finally able to hold Lavender around the waist and gently move her to one side as he stepped around. She was too flabbergasted to try to stop him. Turning to Lavender he said, "Lav, honey, would you tell Cerberus to stand easy; we don't want anyone getting hurt." "What? Huh?" she babbled. Sighing Nilsen turned toward the dog and said calmly, "Cerberus, everything is fine. Stand easy, please." The huge animal looked over at him, grunted and sat back on his haunches, not exactly at ease but no longer ready to attack. "Father," he said looking back at Dent, "you've scared her close to death." Wrapping his arm around Lavender's waist he looked up at her and soothed her, "Lavender, my love, everything is fine; it was all a misunderstanding." "I'm sorry," Dent said, rubbing tears from his cheek. "I think I almost peed my pants." Standing up, he sheathed the sword and stepped down off the dais to stand before Lavender. "Warrior Lavender, I most heartily apologize! But what, pray tell, was I supposed to be so angry about that I was about to kill my own son?" "The babe," she muttered. "You did not — with me ― I thought..." "And this baby was all your fault?" he asked grinning. "Y ... yes," she stuttered. "Well, having helped with a great many children myself," he continued, "I can safely say you didn't do it alone." Then he looked up with a glint in his eye, "Unless you mean Nilsen isn't the father." "Of course he is the father—," then her eyes rolled back into her head and Nilsen barely had time to catch her as she slumped towards the floor. "Oh, my," Dent said looking down. "Father," Nil muttered, grunting under Lavender's weight, "you're not helping any." "Sorry, I just..." Suddenly there was the sound of bare feet running in the hallway outside the room and in through the door burst Makro, Fobie and Deimie. "What have you done to her?" Makro shouted accusingly, rushing over to the woman now cradled in Nilsen's arms. "Is she all right?" the twins cried together. "She'll be fine, daughters," Dent soothed. "Oh, by the way, do you realize you're naked?" ------- Three borrowed guard cloaks solved the modesty problem. Although the girls themselves didn't seem to be bothered, it did bother Nilsen, and Dent was more amused than anything else. Grunting, Nilsen stooped slightly and picked the unconscious Lavender up in his arms and proceeded to carry her back to their room. The fact that she fainted was somewhat worrying, but not significantly. He did ask if Jarrah could be sent for, or if she was still asleep, the healer on duty. Lavender was no light load; completely relaxed and given her height she had a tendency to flop around in his arms. Luckily the trip was short and soon she was lying on their bed groggily starting to move around. Before Lavender regained full consciousness Nesho and Shasta entered the room with Jarrah trailing right behind. Queen that she was, Nesho was still considered the most experienced healer in the palace and proceeded to give Lavender a quick but thorough examination as Nil recounted the circumstances leading up to this situation. "You will be fine, dear," she told Lavender as she patted the giantess' arm comfortingly. Almost immediately she had to push the embarrassed woman back down into the bed as Lavender tried to sit up. "You will be fine, but you do need to get some rest," she said firmly. "I should be up," Lavender protested. "No, you shouldn't be," Nesho corrected. "I'm sure you're a fine strong warrior and all that nonsense, but emotional stress can be just as hard on the body as physical stress; you need rest." Lavender started to protest and Nesho gave her a stern, mother-knows-best look and told her, "If I have to, I will tell your husband to order you to stay in bed. Do we need to do that?" Lavender glanced over at Nilsen but sighed and shook her head when he gave a helpless shrug. "That's better," Nesho said with a satisfied smile. "I can understand how this has all been overwhelming for you, but I can assure you it will be better now; nobody here bites ... much." "Thank you, My Lady," Lavender whispered. "I really wish you wouldn't call me that," Nesho said with a slight pout. "You can call me Mother, or if that doesn't suit you, just Nesho will do as well." "Thank you, Mother Nesho," Lavender smiled tentatively. "Much better," Nesho again patted her arm. "Now that this is settled," Shasta broke in, "I think I need to go have a few words with King Funnyman. Sometimes he can be such an idiot! Well, we'll just see what he has to say for himself." She leaned down and kissed a surprised Lavender on the forehead, harrumphed and marched out of the room. "Someone is going to get his ears boxed, or maybe he'll just wish he was getting off that easy," Nesho mused, looking at the retreating back of the determined redhead. "Not that he doesn't deserve it," she added before turning back to Lavender. "Dent really is a gentle and kind soul, but sometimes he just doesn't realize how intimidating he really is, especially to someone who doesn't know him. I have to admit there is a great deal of good-natured teasing that goes on in this family, but you will get used to it, I'm sure. We really are very informal when we're alone "Although maybe not quite as informal as you three seemed to be this morning," she said looking at Makro and the twins who by this time had dressed and were either sitting on the far side of the bed or standing right next to it. "Now, why were the three of you prancing around the palace naked?" "We were just starting to wake up when we felt a tremendous sense of danger or confusion from Nil," Makro answered with a shrug as the twins nodded in agreement. "The only thing we could think about was getting to him as quickly as possible. Getting dressed didn't even enter our minds. As for being naked, who cares? This body is Nil's now; who sees it makes no difference to me; that's up to him to decide." "Hmm, I understand," Nesho nodded thoughtfully as Nilsen sighed loudly in exasperation behind her. "You are far too much like me in that respect. Well, try not to offend the sensibilities of the staff as much as possible." "Certainly, Mother," Makro answered with a grin. "Certainly no more than you, anyway." "Harrumph! You're supposed to learn from your elders' mistakes, not emulate them," Nesho said with a shake of her head. "I don't remember seeing any 'mistakes'," Makro retorted. "Although I do remember some rather interesting combinations. Like that time I found you, Momma Shasta, Momma Clarise and Father in the bathing room; if I hadn't seen it myself I would have sworn that was physically impossible..." "Excuse me," Nilsen said loudly after clearing his throat. "I don't know if you two are embarrassing Lavender but you sure as hell are embarrassing me. Lavender, it seems like you are going to be fine so if you don't need me right now I still have a few things I need to talk to Father about. Plus, I'm thinking he'll be looking for a rescue right about now anyway. If it's all right with you I'll be back shortly to check up on you, and you will be resting when I return," he said sternly. "Yes, Nilsen," Lavender replied meekly. Then she added, "But I was not embarrassed. In fact, I would like to hear more about this combination..." "Ack!" Nilsen squawked, bent down to give her a kiss on the lips, and beat a hasty retreat as the twins burst into laughter. "Well played, daughter," Nesho looked down at Lavender with admiration. "But I assume you really don't want to hear about my sexual escapades." "No, My— Mother Nesho," Lavender answered, blushing a deep pink. "Good. I will tell you anything you want to hear, but half the fun is finding out for yourself," Nesho said with a chuckle. "The best part is there are no mistakes so long as nobody gets hurt. This works out perfectly since I wanted to have a little chat with the three of you," she nodded at Makro and the twins. "But Lavender, I can see you are as fully a part of this as they are so I hope you won't mind if we just talk here? Jarrah, would you mind giving us some privacy, please?" Lavender nodded respectfully as Jarrah reluctantly left and what followed was a brutally frank discussion between mother and daughters about husbands, brothers, sex and salidins. If Nil had known what they were talking about he would have turned an even brighter red and run all that much faster. ------- "We are here to talk about a number of issues," Dent started as he looked around the room at the gathering of his wives, eldest children and closest advisors. "The first topic is one that is probably the least important for right now: the matter of Salas and Durhorn's treacherous attack on my children and the subsequent, ah, binding of the Princess Makro. My first impulse was to attack as soon as possible and reduce that cesspool to smoke and ashes." Pausing, he glanced over to his four wives sitting near him. "I have been convinced this would be a rash decision, although I will admit my advisors were split on that recommendation." Nesho smiled faintly while Shasta grunted and folded her arms across her chest. "Considering the facts, I now have to agree," he continued. "The Putram of Salas's hold is tenuous at best and I have been assured there are other, less costly methods of ... helping ... this fragility even further. I never liked the cloak and dagger approach but it has its uses and now seems to be the time and place. "Durhorn is another matter. Unfortunately we know so little about them it would be foolish to confront them overtly at this time. Rest assured, they have now earned the full scrutiny of our intelligence forces. We will not be ignorant for long. Because of their belligerence and the fact they appear to be the source of a surprising number of new and unregulated salidin they have to be considered a danger, although probably not an immediate one. "The more immediate issue is the discovery that there are still operating crystal readers around. I don't have to tell any of you what this could mean to not only us but to the rest of the world. Knowledge is power and the knowledge we have just lying around being used as children's toys and decorations is beyond imagination. "This knowledge can cut both ways. It is power, security and potentially wonders beyond belief, but it is also an indescribable danger. The misuse of this knowledge has the potential to be even more devastating than the benefits from its proper use. I don't need to tell anyone here just how badly some of our less-than-friendly neighbors would like to get their hands on it, if they knew it existed. Secrecy is of the utmost importance. That's one of the reasons only we few here know about this and all of you, with the exception of my children, are bonded into service. It would be deadly for not only Jeevel but for the Havila if it became know operating readers exist. "Most of you know Lavender, my son's wife, bondmate and now my daughter. It is her people, the Havila, who are in possession of the crystal readers. From her descriptions I would classify them as reclusive, aggressive and somewhat xenophobic. They are a mountain people with very little intercourse with the outside world. I am not optimistic about opening a dialogue with them, but I ... we ... agree it is too important not to try. "I propose sending an envoy to the Havila under the guise of a trading delegation. This is primarily for secrecy as the delegation travels, since I anticipate full disclosure to the Havila once they arrive. Our goal is to beg, borrow or buy at least one of the readers from them, but not to steal. If this cannot be accomplished then at the very least they should know the true value of what they have so that they may safeguard the readers from anyone else who might want to take them by force. Until now their existence has been a secret but it would be naïve to think it will remain so forever. "Because secrecy is so vitally important, we believe the existence of these readers should not be divulged to anyone other than those who already know about them. That being the case, I would like to ask Nilsen to lead this delegation along with Makro as his chief negotiator. Should you accept, Nil, I leave the rest of your party up to you to choose with the recommendation it be kept as small as possible but still large enough to provide adequate protection for your travels. "I do not make this request easily; this will undoubtedly be dangerous and I am loath to send my own children into harm's way. Ideally I would have done this myself, but it has been pointed out to me, rather forcefully," he glanced over at his wife, Shasta, who smiled back in a thoroughly unconvincingly demure manner, "that I have other responsibilities to attend too. The question of Salas and Durhorn comes to mind primarily. While I would do almost anything to protect my children and shield them from any potential harm, it is also true that while you are my son and daughter you are no longer children, but adults who are ready for adult responsibilities. I know I haven't talked to you about this beforehand, Nil, but I doubt seriously that this comes as a surprise. Do you accept this assignment?" "Of course, Your Majesty," Nilsen answered solemnly, addressing Dent not as his father but as his king. "Of course we accept. You are correct: we did expect this and already have the core group picked out. "Makro and I will go, along with Lavender. I understand your feelings completely. I'm not happy about her going seeing she is with child, but her knowledge of the Havila and the crystal readers could be critical." He glanced over his shoulder at the giantess standing behind him. "Besides, I would feel naked without her there to guard my back." Lavender grinned and bent down to kiss him on the back of the head then reached up to pat him on that same head as if to say, "Good boy." This brought a number of giggles, guffaws and even some muted laughter, all of which he accepted amiably although he did roll his eyes a bit. "Fobie and Deimie will also come with us. They have convinced me that their ... unique talents ... will be needed on the journey and that being said I find it difficult to disagree." Then he smiled ruefully and added, "Plus, they told me unless I ordered them to stay behind or chained them to a wall they would follow. That being the case they will probably be as safe with us as anywhere. "The five of us and say, five of the household guard, should be adequate enough to handle whatever we may find." "Six," Rabszolga said suddenly. "I will also go." Everyone except the twins looked at her in surprise. She frowned and glared back at them. "The Lady Makro will need a lady's maid if she is to be a part of this delegation. It would not look right if she did not. I have been trained to do this." "I appreciate your offer, Rabszolga, but Mother Nesho will probably need you..." Nilsen stopped as Fobie pulled his ear down to where she could whisper in it. Surprised he looked down at his redheaded sister/wife as she nodded up at him. Shrugging he cleared his throat and continued, "If Mother Nesho says she doesn't need you then you can go if that is what you want." "We shall see," Nesho said arching her eyebrows. "This endeavor is vitally important, but not time-sensitive. It will be a few ten-days before you are ready to go at the least. If Makro's questioning and reports were as thorough as I'm sure they were, then it may be I will not need her." "I am going also," Jarrah spoke up firmly. "You will need a healer with you. If for no other reason, Nil, than you can't walk ten paces without tripping and hurting yourself." "No," Nilsen answered just as firmly. "I won't be taking anyone who doesn't have a salidin. This isn't something I would have thought of before Salas but I don't think we can take the chance that there aren't any others out there just waiting to slap one around an unprotected neck." Taking a deep breath he looked back at Dent. "In fact I think I should have one installed and be bound to you, Father." The reaction from the group was instant, loud and very negative. Everyone began protesting vigorously except Dent, who locked eyes with his son, smiled and nodded slightly. Then he raised his hand for silence. "Very noble of you, my boy," he said when the room had quieted down. "I acknowledge your sacrifice and the thought behind it. However I expressly reject your recommendation." There was a general sigh of relief throughout the room as he continued, "While tactically correct to do so, it would be strategically catastrophic. While it is generally assumed that you would be my successor to the throne if anything were to happen to me we have never made it official; now we will. You are the heir-apparent and as such you cannot be bound by salidin, ever. "The threat you bring up is a valid one though," he admitted. "I have already been talking with our local O'Tech representatives about it. Trust me; they are extremely concerned about what happened in Salas, extremely concerned. Although this is something new to them, they have some ideas on how you can be protected and we will be working on them vigorously over the next few ten-days. Rest assured, either we will find a way to adequately protect you before you leave or we will rethink this venture. "As far as it goes," he continued, "the company you have chosen is a good one. However, I will insist you take ten guardsmen at least instead of five. You will need wagons and drivers to transport your trade goods and each one of them will be a bonded armsman. Maybe fifteen would be better, but we can discuss that at length later. "I believe that is enough for tonight," he concluded. "Tomorrow we will begin planning in earnest. Until then, rest well. Edited by Morgan ------- Chapter 19 Time passes differently for the young and old. The preparations for the journey progressed but Nilsen was positive that nothing was getting done. His poise and maturity could fool most people but at the heart of it all Nil was still an eighteen-season young man and once something was decided he wanted it done now! Makro wasn't much better but at least she had this wonderful new toy to play with at night which had a tendency to keep her somewhat subdued during the day. In some respects it did the same with Nilsen, although his was due mostly to exhaustion more than anything else. The twins didn't seem to care one way or another when they left; they were just interested in playing all night and anytime during the day when they could get away with it. Then of course there was Lavender who insisted on her fair share ... Actually it was an amazing statement on youthful endurance that he could fume and complain as much as he did during the day. "Nil, honey," Nesho told him patiently one day, "this has to be done correctly. Everyone knows this is vital, but it isn't time-critical. It's getting done just as it should; fussing and looking over everyone's shoulder is just slowing it down. If you don't settle down I'm going to ask Lav to take you out to the practice field and beat the hell out of you again today." Ever since Lavender had begun to show her pregnancy ― not much but it was there if you knew to look ― Nilsen had demonstrated increasing reluctance to use any move that had even the remotest possibility of striking her. Given that, when he practiced with her, his sparring had become almost entirely defensive. A good defense is all well and good but you can't win with it as Lavender well knew. Not only did it anger her that he was slacking off in his practice but now he was treating her like some feeble, defenseless woman! Her ire took the form of redoubling her attacks and generally resulted in a bruised and battered Nilsen. For some reason the salidin found no problem with this and other than one slight twinge when she first started doing it, it allowed her to beat him black and blue. It wasn't entirely true that he wasn't getting enough offensive practice ― he did spar with a number of the household guards and some Guild Warriors hired specifically for that purpose ― but Lav didn't like being treated like an invalid and must have rationalized this to herself enough to satisfy the salidin. "Okay, okay," Nil protested, holding his hands up in protest. "I've had enough of that today." Giving the smiling giantess standing behind him a nose-wrinkling frown he turned back to Nesho and sighed. "I know, patience, patience. I just don't seem to have much of that virtue at hand." "Patience is learned, son," she said with a smile leaning over to pat his hand. "I know you are anxious to go, but we are not so ready to let our little birds leave the nest quite so soon." "You let us go to Salas by ourselves," he grumbled. "Yes, a nice safe jaunt to our homeland," Nesho laughed. "And see what that got us. Besides, you have things you still need to do." "Like what?" he asked. "Well, we are meeting with the O'Techs this afternoon, for one," she said. "They think they have a way to protect the unbound and they're going to show us today." "That's something," he said suddenly interested. "And another: you must make a decision about Jarrah," Nesho continued. "She won't even talk to me," he complained. "Besides, there's nothing to talk about. It isn't safe and the last thing I need is another sister with a collar around her neck." "Nonsense!" Nesho admonished. "She was talking to you just yesterday. Think of this: If it isn't safe for her to go then what makes you think it will be safe enough for us to let you go?" "She wasn't talking to me, she was screaming at me," Nilsen grumbled. Then he paused for a moment and considered Nesho's words. If he continued to insist it wasn't safe enough for his sister to go, there might be a real chance he wouldn't be allowed to go. "I suppose we will have to see what they have come up with," he grudgingly admitted. "But then I would be traveling with her without a collar. You don't suppose the 'protection' might include a gag, do you?" "Enough of that!" Nesho chided. "If you two want to be treated like adults then you need to start acting like ones. You two work it out. I know you were told you can pick who goes, within reason, but the fact is you will need a healer; I insist on that. You and Jarrah may get along like fire and water but the fact is even given her youth she is a very good healer. Add to that she already knows about the crystal readers, she has a very strong case for being included. Make sure your decision is based on what is best and not petty spite." Then she added to soften her scold, "Or for the protection of your ears." Laughing a little at that, Nil grinned and said, "You're right; I probably have no real choice. But think about that gag..." ------- Don teNeigho was old and at times he could even feel the age creeping into his body. The salidin around his neck under the high shirt collar helped keep his body in the best shape possible, but the aging process could only be slowed, not halted. He had been head of the O'Tech contingent in Harv'el for over twenty years. Seasons, he said to himself, they call them seasons here. He chuckled over the fact that although he had been here in the north for the last quarter of his life it hadn't changed the way he thought for the first three-quarters. His task, assigned by his own liege those many years ago had been twofold. First came the public reason: to search out any and all technology from before the Change, study it and send it back to his superiors down south if possible. The second, more private reason had been to spread the use and culture of the salidin where- and whenever possible. Theirs was a perfect society of serf bonded to liege, living peacefully for the betterment of all and the detriment of none. Well, he thought ruefully, maybe not perfect, but a damn sight better than the chaotic mix of poverty and barbaric slavery found here. For in the hypocritical manner that only a true believer can justify, Don abhorred the institution of slavery as practiced in these northern lands while embracing the image of a society where fewer than one in a hundred didn't wear the collar. A fact his friend the king pointed out on a frequent basis. The old O'Tech Technician ― most of the outsiders around here still called them priests although they worshiped no gods ― had met the king when Dent had first arrived in Harv'el some twenty seasons before. Then the king had been a new member of the Warrior's Guild on his first assignment looking for nothing but a way to protect his aunt and cousin from the abuse normally heaped on the captives of the ocean raiders common at that time. Dent had known nothing of salidins or what they could do, but it was either have them bound with the collar or tattooed on the forehead in the Jeevelian custom. Loath to having his beautiful charges disfigured as was his opinion of the practice, he chose what was at that time a relatively new alterative: He had them collared. Given the salidin enforced obedience and prevented any possibility of betrayal, King Dent now required all servants in the royal household to be so equipped even though he still publicly pushed for the abolition of slavery. A bit of hypocrisy that Don gleefully pointed out to the king, frequently. Integrating the salidin into the northern societies had been making slow but steady progress. Although with the exception of specific households, such as the king's, Dom could see little change in the underlying culture. For the most part they were simply replacing one symbol of slavery with another. While progress towards a more stable society was slow, at least it guaranteed the O'Techs a firmer foothold; without them the installation of salidin or the transfer of ownership would be impossible. At least it had been until now. The news about Durhorn was disturbing on many levels. Of primary concern was the inference that non-Technicians were now able to activate the salidins, something that Don had been taught to believe could never happen. Secondly, what was the source of these new salidins? Were his superiors in the south embarking on a new path for the conversion of the north without informing him? If not then where were they coming from? If in fact there was a new source of the devices, what potential danger did that portend for his own native land where the capture and binding of a mere handful of nobility could conceivably wrest the control of whole nations from their rightful rulers? Very troubling to say the least. Even as he arrived at the king's palace for the afternoon's meeting, extensive reports were being drafted, later to be encoded and sent south by the quickest method possible. This project to protect the unbound, unthinkable just a short time ago, now became a matter of their own national security and not just a favor for a friend. "Don, it's good to see you," the king greeted him warmly with a hug. "It seems like we never get to see you anymore." "Ah well, Your Majesty," Don said returning the embrace. "You've been busy, I've been busy, but I have missed all of you, especially you, my dears." He had a special leer for Dent's four wives as each one rushed to embrace their old friend. "When is this miser finally going to let you four out to play with the rest of the world?" "You old goat," Nesho laughed as she playfully slapped him on the arm. "As if we ever would. Besides, when would you ever be able to work us in, given that crowd of young acolytes you always seem to have fawning over you." "Ah, it is a burden we older and wiser must bear," he answered with an exaggerated sigh. "Instruction of the young is one of our tasks. Although I will admit from your evident efforts to repopulate the world all by yourselves maybe you wouldn't need much instruction in that respect." Dent's ever-increasing number of children was also a favorite topic of Don's when they got together. "It would appear you have slowed down a bit lately though, unless you think I might want to test each of you for pregnancy again." "We finally figured out what was causing these little devils and put a stop to that," Sosho said with a smirk. "At least for now." "How sad for the king," Don said looking at Dent with a sorrowful expression. "Oh, we didn't stop that," Sosho laughed. "We just put the baby factories on hold for a while." "They were just jealous it took them twice as long to produce the same number of babies," Shasta chimed in. Dent coughed behind them and when they turned to look at him he said, "Maybe we can talk about the royal sex-life at some other time. Or maybe, never." That got a laugh out of all of them. "Yes, yes, you are correct as usual," Don sighed. Looking around he noted that Dent's five eldest children were present along with a couple of women he wasn't familiar with. "Nilsen, good to see you, my boy," he said clasping the young man's hand. "And Makro, my dear I don't know what to say. To hear you were bound ... Well, I just don't know what to say." "How about congratulations?" Makro replied going up on her toes to kiss the old man on the cheek. "Believe me, it bothers Nil and my parents much more than it does me. In fact I've found it to be quite enjoyable." "May," Nilsen said with exasperation. She just giggled and moved over to put her arm around his waist. Moving on Don stopped in front of the twins. "You two!" he said shaking his head. "I'd like to say I expected better, but I'd be lying. At least you're not your parents' problem anymore. Although I can't think of what Nilsen did to deserve you." "That seems to be what a lot of people have been saying lately," Fobie said. "Maybe he was really good and we are his reward." Don snorted. "It's what we were born for," Deimie added solemnly. "Nil is our future as we are his. Even without these," she reached up to touch her collar, "we were destined to be together. These are merely a tool to further that destiny." Don bowed slightly, acknowledging her statement. He had never understood any of Shasta's twins' unique abilities but he respected them. He had seen stranger things. "Jarrah!" he said moving down the line. "What a beautiful young woman you have grown up to be, and such an accomplished healer I have heard. Congratulations!" "I'm glad somebody thinks so," she snapped, looking over at Nilsen coolly. Nil just rolled his eyes but didn't say anything having seen the frown Clarise was giving her eldest daughter. Let someone else take the brunt of that sharp-edged tongue for once. "Hmm ... yes, well, ah ... now who are these two lovely ladies?" he asked quickly moving back towards Nilsen where Lavender and Rabszolga stood a pace or two behind. Don looked up at the tall blonde giantess and then over at the more slender but equally well-formed Durhorn woman. "Please, allow me," Nil said stepping forward. "This is Lavender Mist Bwejeri deSiso, my shield-maid, bond-mate and mother of my child. Lavender, this is Don teNeigho, head of Jeevel's O'Tech mission and a very old friend of the family." "I am honored, sir," Lavender mumbled, pleased that again Nilsen seemed to feel no shame in acknowledging their child as his own. "The pleasure is all mine, I assure you," Don smiled, "and please call me Don; I insist. Now who is this other lovely creature?" "This is Rabszolga torSiso, late of Durhorn and now bonded to me," Nil introduced. "Her former ... liege ... was killed during the attack on us in Salas. She asked for protection and I granted it. She's been extremely helpful in gathering what little information we have on Durhorn. You've read the reports Mother sent over to you." Rabszolga preformed a flawless curtsy and Don wondered what magic kept her large and very firm breasts inside the low-cut gown as he watched in appreciation. He also noted the giantess rolling her eyes and Rabszolga glancing over to her taller neighbor with just a hint of a smile. Don barely contained his laughter thinking that Nilsen's women were going to make his life very interesting. "Yes I have," he said tearing himself away from the interesting but distracting interplay. "Which brings us to the reason for this visit: I think we have something that will meet your requirements." Snapping his finger, one of his assistants brought forward a wooden box similar to the ones they had seen holding salidin. Don placed it on a table in front of the crowd and opened it. Reaching inside he withdrew a band of woven metal about three times the width of a salidin and approximately seventeen to eighteen inches in length. "A new type of salidin for my son?" Dent asked mildly. "No more a salidin than a manikin is a man, Your Majesty," Don responded. "They may look similar but in fact are quite different. This is nothing more or less than what it appears to be: a band of woven metal. It is placed around the wearer's neck to protect it from being bound by a salidin. "To protect against undesirable binding we first must understand how a salidin works," he continued. "Now, I won't pretend to know exactly how the salidin does what it does but we do have a fairly good idea how it interfaces with its wearer. I'm sure you are all aware that when a salidin is emplaced it creates a continuous band, or collar around the wearer's neck. Why not around a wrist, or an ankle? It's because of the spinal cord. The salidin actually becomes a part of the bearer's skin and taps into their spinal cord in a fairly narrow region between the neck and the shoulders. The 'where' is fairly easy to see; just look at someone who has one. "The question is, can someone be protected from the salidin? Intuitively you would think if the salidin couldn't touch the skin it couldn't bind with the wearer. It turns out this is correct. If the salidin is kept from touching the skin above the spinal cord in this one narrow area the salidin will not bond with the intended bearer. Almost any obstruction that prevents skin contact over the spinal cord will suffice. This we obtained from the Warrior's Guild. It was an experimental flexible armor that turned out to be very flexible but not particularly protective. However it should serve adequately for the short term. You can see the little protrusions on each end; these are the teeth for the locking mechanism. I have two keys for this one." He held up very slim rods about three inches in length, or at least they appeared to be rods until you looked closer and could see they were flattened with several randomly placed bumps. "It is not perfect," he cautioned. "It can be cut off and the lock can, given time, be picked. It will not stop a concerted attack but it will hopefully prevent the grab-and-slap type of abduction that happened to Princess Makro." "This has been tested?" Dent asked. "Absolutely, Your Majesty," Don nodded vigorously. "Many times in fact. So long as the protective band ― let's call it armor ― is tight enough that a salidin can't be worked under it there is no problem." "I suppose it has to be fitted to the wearer?" "Within certain tolerances, yes," Don shrugged. "It is somewhat flexible, but doesn't stretch lengthwise to any great degree. Once cut to length any considerable change in the weight of the wearer will cause it to be either too loose or too tight. Also I will admit it's not the most attractive thing around, but it is a prototype; I have a feeling there will many more of these being made before long. If so, then the appearance will be improved, I'm sure. "I don't give a damn how it looks," Dent pronounced, "just so long as it works." "Oh, it works," teNeigho assured him. "You'll want to observe that for yourself, I assume." "Yes," Dent answered. "If that's possible." "No problem at all, dear boy," Don chuckled. "We're getting four to five a day at least that a liege would like converted to salidin serfs. Actually I think it's your fault. People hear that you require all your servants to wear salidin and ask why. When they find out about the obedience and no possibility of betrayal, well it becomes an easy sale, as a shopkeeper would say. "But here, let me show you how it is worn. Prince Nilsen, would you be so kind? This one was sized for you." Obviously curious, Nil stepped forward and sat in the chair indicated. The mesh band was placed around his neck ― it didn't feel bad at all since the inside was lined with a padded silk ― and locked. He couldn't see how they did it since it was under his chin but Lavender and his sisters were carefully positioned to see the operation. "Here are the keys," Don said handing him two of the little rods. "You might want to practice locking and unlocking it. Also try to wear it as often as possible just to get used to it. My guess is it will be like your regular armor: pretty soon you won't even know it's there." "Good," Dent announced. "I still want to see how it works, but until then we can assume it does. Well, old friend, would you like to stay for dinner? It's been a long time since we've been able to sit and talk." "It would be my pleasure!" The expression on teNeigho's face proclaimed the truth of that statement. "Father," Nilsen said as everybody stood up, "if you don't need us I have a few things to look into..." "Certainly, Nil," his father released him with a wave of the hand. "We'll expect you for dinner, though." "Of course," he responded. "We'll see you then." Taking their cue Nil, his wives, Jarrah and Rabszolga left the room quickly. "How does it feel?" Makro asked him as they walked down the corridor. "Not bad," he said trying to insert a finger under the band. "I definitely know it's there, but it's not uncomfortable. I think old Don is right: After wearing this for a few days I probably wouldn't remember it's there." "Now you have no excuse for not letting me go," Jarrah snipped. "I can wear one of those just as well as you can." They were close to Nil's apartment. He stopped and turned to his sister. "Come in here for a moment, please," he indicated the door to his rooms. "Ladies, may I please have some time alone with my sister?" "Hey, most of them are my sisters, too," Jarrah protested. "If you have something to say to me you can say it in front of them too." "Fine," Nil answered with a shrug. "Then all of you come in." When they were all in the room and the door shut he again turned back to Jarrah, looked at her for a moment and then sighed while shaking his head. "Jarrah," he started, "you are the second-best healer I know and probably will someday be the best. "You are also the biggest pain in the ass that I have ever met." Jarrah recoiled as if struck. "There is no easy way to say this so I'll just say it right out," he continued. "Your constant bickering, complaining, sniping, haranguing, and general overall bitchiness make you about as pleasant to be around as a bear with a sore tooth." "Ah, Nil," Makro said, trying to intercede gently. "No, May," he told her calmly. "Let me get this out. If what I say isn't true ― isn't what I perceive ― then I'll apologize profusely later. Have I been trying not to include you on this trip? Yes! For the simple reason that I have the feeling this is going to be difficult enough as it is and I don't need any extra aggravation, especially from a sister who continually second-guesses and opposes me at every opportunity. Aside from the personal aggravation I think you would be a detriment to the morale and discipline of the company. There, I've had my say." Jarrah looked back at him in shock, her already pale face even more ashen. Suddenly her lip quivered and her eyes filled with moisture as she did her best to blink back the tears. Without warning her mouth split into a feral grimace and she launched herself at him, pounding at his head and shoulders with her fists screaming, "I hate you! I hate you!" Surprised into inaction for a moment the other five women quickly recovered and moved to stop the female berserker. Nil could have grabbed her hands to stop her but didn't. Instead he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and drew her in tightly against his chest. Not only did this prevent her from striking him except for a few ineffective and weak hits against his back but it also allowed him to talk into her ear. "Well I don't hate you, Jar," he said calmly. "In fact I love you. You are my beautiful, intelligent and talented sister who I would protect and shield with my life if I had to. I don't know why you don't like me and that bothers me. Someday I want to put to rights whatever it is that you think I've done to you, but I don't know what it is and I don't know if we have time for that now. This mission is critical, Jar. I can't allow anything to jeopardize it." Instead of answering Jarrah began sobbing even louder and her flailing fists became grasping, clutching hands holding onto him as tightly as she could while burrowing her face into the crook of his neck. Bringing one hand up he began to gently stroke her hair while he cooed reassurance in her ear. "There, there, Jar," he whispered. "Everything will be fine; everything will be all right." To say he was flabbergasted would be an understatement. He had never seen his cool, calm and collected sister in such an emotional state, at least one that wasn't anger and directed at him. He lessened his grip slightly, enough so she could disentangle herself if she wanted to, but as she felt him releasing she held on even more tightly. Now completely at a loss for what to do, he swung both of them around as he searched the room for help. Curiously enough each of the five women he looked at imploringly simply stood there with a small mysterious smile on their faces. Snorting at the lack of help from that quarter he saw a couch along one wall and led Jarrah like he would lead a dance partner over to it. Backing into it he sat down and pulled Jarrah into his lap while still stroking her hair and back. Still muttering reassurances he looked up at Makro with widened eyes as if to say, "What the hell do I do now?" "You are doing fine," her lips answered although no sound came out. Still stroking he began to rock her like he would a little child and as time went by her sobbing stopped and he heard just sniffling now and then. Presently she lifted her face out of his neck but didn't draw it back, instead rubbing her cheek on his. "I really do love you, Jar, and I'm not a complete idiot," he said softly. "I know something's wrong, but I have to admit I don't understand it. Can you tell me what I've done to wrong you? What do I have to do to make it right?" "You know," she sniffed, seemingly ignoring what he said, "this thing around your neck is not comfortable to rub against. It's cold, hard and scratchy." "Well, it does come off," he chuckled. He thought about asking again but decided to let her guide the conversation. Keeping her arms around his neck she pulled back until he could see her eyes, both very puffy and red, and his heart went out to her. Reaching up he gently wiped a tear track from her cheek. She tried to smile at him and he could never remember when she had looked so vulnerable or feminine before. Suddenly she shattered the illusion with a huge sniff and he couldn't help himself, he started laughing. Looking hurt she jerked back until she realized what must have set him off. Beginning to grin she took one arm from around his neck and rubbed her eyes and cheek. "I am such a mess," she said and sniffed again. "Jar," he said sincerely, "even with red puffy eyes and snorting snot you are still one of the most beautiful girls I have ever seen." "Oh, you sweet talker," she said, thumping him lightly on the chest. Then she leaned in and rested her forehead against his. "I'm sorry, Nil. I've been such a bitch." "I said you were bitchy, not a bitch," he replied. "There is a difference. You may be abrasive and combative at times, but never a bitch." Then he spoke softly to her, "Can you tell me what this is all about?" "I don't think so, not now, not in front of everyone." Turning around she looked at the other women in the room. "Shit, they already know; I suppose I should just get it out now." "We can leave you two alone if you like," Makro said softly. "No," Jarrah said a little more determinedly. "I can tell you already know and you'll hear about it later anyway so you might as well hear it straight from the horse's ass." Nilsen looked like he was going to admonish her for what she said until she placed her fingers over his mouth. "Quiet," she said and then smiled. "I have been a horse's ass, and a bitch and everything else you said I was. Now stay quiet until I've finished talking. "You didn't do anything to me, Nil," she said taking a deep breath. It's me: I've been jealous." "Jealous?" Nil exclaimed, muffled by her fingers. To keep him quiet she pinched his lips lightly between her fingers "That's right, jealous," she nodded. "Jealous of you, jealous of those who are with you. Jealous of how you take command of a room just by being there and how everybody looks to you when they want or need something. I'm jealous of how close you've always been to May and how Fobie and Deimie seem to fit so perfectly by your side. And yes, damn it, I'm jealous of the women you've had in your bed and the ones you have there now! Especially when I found out one of them was going to be the mother of your child." She took another ragged breath and continued still keeping his mouth sealed with her fingers. "So there: laugh at me if you want. I've been a bitch but I thought if I could just keep away from all of you, make sure we were never too close, that I could keep from hurting. It didn't and I guess instead of letting you know I decided to hurt you if I could. I'm sorry." Slowly she took her hand away from his lips and looked at him. She looked frightened of what he might say but determined. She felt better now that she had told the truth and ready to take the consequences for having said it. "Jar," he said softly, "I'm such an idiot. I never thought, never in a million years would have known ... Well, thank you for telling me. I never wanted to push you away, to ignore you, to choose one of my beautiful sisters over another. I guess I never really tried to spend more time with you because I didn't think you wanted me too," he paused for a moment and looked at her in confusion. "Jar, you like girls, don't you?" "Yes, I like girls," she said tentatively smiling at him. "I like girls a lot and the thought of being with a man scares and well ... kind of disgusts me, except for you. I always dreamed of what it would be like being with you, in that way, even though it still scared me." "Well let me tell you, the thought of being with you certainly doesn't disgust me," he assured her. "But then I'm a man and a pig, or so I'm told, often. But, Jar, that's not a decision I can make alone even if it's something that both you and I wanted." He looked up to the other women surrounding them. Jarrah followed his look with some trepidation but relaxed when she saw their concerned smiles, even Rabszolga, who hung back away from the others a step or two had a bemused look on her face. Turning back to Nil she frowned slightly. "Would it bother you if we didn't do, ah, the sex thing?" she asked. "I love my sister much more than I desire her sexy body," he assured her. "That's not something that can be decided without a considerable amount of thought, and talk between all of us. I will say this: Anyone else that is accepted into our bed will also have to be accepted into our marriage. It's an all or nothing proposition: anyone that comes in comes to stay. If that is what we all decide later then that is fine, but even if it is decided that is not what you want it won't change the fact you are my sister and family." "Actually that is rather comforting," Jarrah said, relaxing even more as she looked around at everybody in the room. Suddenly she decided that was taken care of and changed subjects. "So, if I promise to be good, as good as I can be anyway, can I go with you?" Nilsen blinked at the abrupt shift and chuckled. "What? You think you can sit in my lap, cry on my shoulder and wrap me around your little finger? Well, I suppose you can no differently than any of these others. I'm still worried about you and these rogue salidin that seem to be popping up everywhere, but if you promise to be good and wear the neck protector then, yes, you can come. We would be very happy to have you with us." "Thank you, Nil, I promise to be good." Suddenly her smile disappeared and she leaned towards him placing her lips on his. The kiss was loving rather than passionate but both of them knew it was more than a sister kissing her brother in thanks. Pulling back slightly she closed her eyes, shivered slightly and licked her lips. "Umm, that was good," she murmured as she opened her eyes and grinned. "I can see how you seem to collect women like some men collect horses." "Yes," Makro interrupted, "and he hardly ever uses the crop on us, although maybe..." "Yes, well," Nilsen coughed, "enough of that I think. In fact if we are done here there are things we need to take care of. Besides, you had better get off my lap before we have other, more inappropriate things, popping up." "Oh, we could take care of that!" Fobie exclaimed, licking her own lips and looking at Nilsen hungrily. "I said enough of that," Nilsen groaned as he pushed Jarrah upright and onto her feet, swatting her playfully on the butt as he did. She yelped in surprise then smiled thoughtfully as she rubbed her abused posterior. Standing himself Nilsen bent down and kissed Jarrah on the forehead. "I'm glad we were able to talk about this, Jar," he said. "But I want to take a look at the crew Father recommended for us." "And I have some things to talk about with Momma Nesho," Makro announced. To Jarrah she said, "We will talk later, sister dear, all of us women." Jarrah nodded as Fobie and Deimie each grabbed her by an arm. "We will go with Jar. I'm sure she'll need help in gathering her supplies," Fobie said. "After all, she will be our healer." Pulling a bemused Jarrah along with them they left the room. "I am with you, My Lord," Lavender stated in a no-nonsense tone to Nil. Rolling his eyes at her he nodded. "I would like to come with you if I may, My Lord," Rabszolga asked. Lavender looked at the slender blonde and raised an eyebrow but said nothing. "I don't mind," Nil said with a shrug. "In fact the two of you will be distracting enough that I may be able to see what the men look like when they aren't performing for me. Of course they'll be strutting and puffing for you so maybe there won't be much of a difference." Lavender snorted and Rabszolga looked befuddled. "I will explain it to you as we go," Lavender told the shorter woman. Edited by Morgan ------- Chapter 20 "I was hoping I'd get to see more of you," Demeter said one day as he and Nilsen sat in the shade under a tree in the palace gardens. "I heard about this trip you're going on. What's that all about? Nobody will say much about it other than it's far away. Why so secret?" "It's a trade mission," Nil told his friend. He didn't like misleading Demeter but he understood why the real reason behind it had to be kept as quiet as possible. Besides, he was going on a trade mission; it's just that the trade goods had nothing to do with the knick-knacks and various sundries they were loading into the ship they were preparing. "It's to Lavender's people; we're hoping we find something new and interesting. Besides, they thought it might be a good idea to get us out from underfoot what with the situation in Salas and all that. Sorry. I didn't mean for it to sound that way." "Hey," Demeter protested, "I understand. Actually the king and the queens have been wonderful to me. I don't think I could have been as nice considering the son of the person that ... ah ... did that to my daughter was living under my roof." "It wasn't your fault and they know it," Nilsen offered. "Besides, you're helping Father out quite a bit from what I hear and that can't be easy." "Easier than you think," his friend responded. "Sure I'd be called a traitor if my family ever heard about this, but fuck 'em. I find it difficult to worry about what a bunch of assholes think of me when they plainly wanted me dead. "Even so," he continued, "I had to do a lot of thinking about it. I hope I'm not just fooling myself, but I don't really think I'm doing this for revenge. I wouldn't mind that, I admit, but I want to do it for Salas." Demeter paused for a moment, "And my sisters ... most of them, anyway. "The way I see it, dear old Father essentially declared war on Jeevel when he allowed, if not helped, one of his allies to attack all of you. Now, I'm as proud of my country as you are of yours, but I'm not stupid. If it came to open war Salas would be crushed in less than a season. Our navy wouldn't last more than a handful of ten-days and after that..." He shrugged and held up his hands, "it would be just a matter of time before your troops would be marching through the capital. "Unfortunately, my father is stupid," Demeter continued, "especially when it comes to something like this. He would fight to the bitter end and I'm afraid the only thing left would be smoking ruins. That's not something I really want to think about: my country in ruins, the people starving and dominated by a foreign power. Don't get me wrong; I think the world of your father but that doesn't mean I want him as our new Putram, or King, or whatever." Nilsen nodded his understanding. "So instead I'm going to do whatever I can to overthrow my father and replace him with someone better. It shouldn't be difficult to find someone better; almost anyone would do." "Maybe I'll be calling you King Demeter of Salas," Nil said with a grin. "Bite your tongue!" Demeter gasped with unfeigned horror. "I thought you liked me? Gods, I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy!" "Someone has to do it," Nil shrugged. "Who better than someone who really doesn't want it? Someone whose first thought is for his people and not himself?" "Let's both hope not!" Demeter exclaimed. "You know as well as I do I'd be a terrible Putram! I'm incompetent and totally useless when it comes to things like that! Shit, I'd just be a puppet for whoever put me there!" "I doubt that!" Nilsen snorted. "People always seem to be able to rise to the occasion when something is demanded of them. Besides, you'd have allies to rely on. I know Father: He looks for friends and allies, not puppets. But whatever happens, happens; no sense in worrying about that now. So anyway, tell me what all has been going on. Our trip is going to be easy and probably boring; I'm kind of sorry to be missing the excitement." They talked at length about this and that as Lavender stood to the side partly listening but mostly watching. She knew their trip would be anything but easy. At the very least it would be dangerous and possibly deadly, especially for her. He knew that as well as she did, yet necessity and duty drove them even more than the lust for forgotten knowledge. "If a prince of Jeevel and his consorts are lost," he said, "it would be sad. But if even one of those crystal readers were to fall into the wrong hands; that would be a tragedy." So she stood conflicted, just as she knew he was. Cursing the fates that made her a woman and carrying his child, but only because it pained her Lord, her master, her lover, her husband, because he had no choice but to take that child and its mother into grave danger. She cursed herself because of the pain she inadvertently caused him, and cursed her own weakness because she knew even if she had had the choice she would never give up what the fates had blessed her with. Then the other thought she had been having and pondering over bounded uninvited into her mind again. She would be returning home! Back to the mighty Chief Xolan Bwejeri, head of the Zagwci clan, First Speaker for the Havila nation, first among equals of the Kushitic people: her father. Just what would Chief Xolan do when his runaway cull of a daughter returned to him: a slave, wife and mother of his grandchild? He'll have a stroke, she thought. Her lips curled up into a little grin. ------- Suppressing his desire to speed them on their way as soon as possible, Nilsen dove into the preparation of the troops that would accompany them as guards. Actually very little of the preparation was for combat. Each and every one of the hand-picked men was a combat veteran, hard as nails and very good at what he did, maybe too good in fact. Looking at them together they could be instantly recognized as military. They may not be Guild Warriors but everything about them from their appearance down to the way they moved screamed fighter. The real trick was to teach them how to act like plain wagon teamsters, roustabouts and ordinary caravan guards. It was easier said than done but they had made acceptable progress. Jarrah still bothered him, not so much that she was going ― he had come to accept that ― but more from the wildly inconsistent behavior she displayed near him. At times she was as sweet as she could be followed instantly by a neck-jerking full turn back to the bitch she normally was. Well, that wasn't entirely true he had to admit to himself. She wasn't ever as bad as she had been in the past but the seemingly random swings from one extreme to the other made him dizzy. When he complained to the others he was generally just laughed at. He handled it like any true man would: He ignored it and avoided her as much as possible. The day finally came for their departure. The exact location of Lavender's homeland wasn't known; even Lavender had only an inkling. She knew from which direction she had run and was able to describe the original port from which she departed, but after that it all seemed pretty much the same. From her descriptions of the four subsequent ports-of-call prior to Salas they were able to narrow down the general area and one of the king's merchant captains was fairly confident he knew what the last port was. Consensus was it would be best to start there and work their way back along her escape route to its origin. The ship placed at their disposal was one of the newer merchant/warship hybrids with their company and a small detachment of marines in mufti. There had still been a considerable amount of discussion about the desirability of sending three or four true warships as escorts. The need for secrecy won out in the end although it almost caused a mini-rebellion in the king's own living quarters. There were hurt feelings and unless Nil was completely wrong some hurt backsides during these "discussions". The queens tended to lean towards the safety of their children. Even Nesho ― usually the most Machiavellian of the household ― had difficulty with sending them out so lightly protected. Shasta, of course, proposed a full invasion force with the idea that a trail of dead was better than any possible harm coming to their brood. Nobody was surprised. Secrecy won out in the end. It was beyond hope that their leaving wouldn't be observed by their enemies' spies but multiple false leads and rumors were salted throughout the city and dock area in hopes of confusing or delaying any potential pursuit. To strengthen the deception that this was just a high-profile trade mission to a potentially lucrative new trading partner ― information that would be of interest to their "allies" as well as enemies ― they would be escorted by two frigates of the Jeevelian Navy as they made their way towards the king's vacation home in Safehaven. During the first night at sea they would leave the company of their two escorts and strike out on their own. Even the escorts wouldn't know where they were bound. It was a tear-filled crowd on the pier as the last of their company boarded the Kelie's Pride. For a reason Lavender could never uncover, Queen Sosho seemed to have a problem with the name of their assigned vessel and frowned every time she heard it. She did discover it had been named for one of the wives of a high-ranking captain in the public arm of Queen Nesho's intelligence service, supposedly for service she provided during the rebellion that brought King Dent to power. Lav even went so far as to ask Queen Sosho about it directly but received little more than a blush and a mumbled explanation that they had "a history", whatever that meant. "Our thoughts and our love go with you, son," King Dent said as he roughly embraced Nilsen. Quietly in Nil's ear he added, "Be sure that your mother's army also has its attention in that direction." Dent privately referred to Nesho's network of spies, thugs and assassins as her "army". He jokingly said they spent as much on these night-skulkers as they did on the army and navy. Nil doubted if it was actually that much but his father insisted it was true. "Worth every copper too," he insisted. "We'll do you proud, Father," Nil replied, blinking back tears of his own. "We know you will," Dent grinned. "Try not to have too much fun." Nilsen knew his father's idea of "fun" generally led to pitched battles and numerous bruised, battered or dead bodies. Nil would be just as happy if they didn't have any "fun" on this trip. Dent moved on to stand in front of Lavender. He surprised her by grabbing her in a rough embrace before telling her, "And you, my beautiful mountain-maid of a daughter, have to keep my idiot son out of trouble; yourself too, for that matter. Remember that's my grandchild you carry; I would be sorely peeved to hear you allowed any of you to come to harm." She blushed and mumbled her assurances as she looked down at the powerful monarch holding her like she was indeed his own daughter. Briefly she wondered what it would be like to actually have a father like him but then thought it was better not to since she was sleeping with his son. Immediately she laughed at herself since this didn't seem to be much of a problem. The hugs, kisses and the tear-filled goodbyes completed, they were boarding the ship and soon the evening tide was pulling them away from the pier. They met up with their two escorts just outside the mouth of the harbor and soon they were on course towards Safehaven. Nilsen and Lavender stayed up as the night descended; Nil to observe the break-off that would come sometime just after midnight and Lavender because she didn't want to let him out of her sight. Cerberus padded around sniffing everything in sight all the while the crew, not being familiar with him, gave him surreptitious glances from the corners of their eyes. The large dog seemed to be taking to ocean travel much easier than his mistress although she didn't feel anywhere near as nauseous this time as last. Nil was talking quietly with the mate on watch while she felt quite content to stand back and rest against the bulwark. She was drifting in and out of that half-dozing state warriors can achieve where they're not really asleep and yet not really awake when she was suddenly brought to full consciousness by a voice speaking softly next to her. "A lovely night is it not?" Lavender turned her head and grunted when she saw Rabszolga squatting next to Cerberus and scratching his ear. "Could be worse," Lavender admitted. It was dark due to a new moon but the stars were blazing in a cloudless sky and the only other light was from the bright lanterns their two escorts were showing on their stern, something Nil called "in company" lights. "So our journey begins," the blonde said. "Are you nervous about going home?" "It will be interesting," Lavender shrugged. "Hmm, I know what I would feel like if we were pointed towards Durhorn. I do not think I would call it interesting. I never knew my mother or father," Zolga continued, "but I would think you would look forward to it. To have a home must be a good thing." "We are only going to where I was born," Lavender corrected. "My home is standing over there." "Yes," Rabszolga stood. "He does seem to grow on one. I never thought I could look at my ... master, without fear and hate, but he does seem to be different. It is a strange feeling." "I never had to go through what you have so I would not know," Lavender admitted. "But that does beg the question: Why did you come? You could have stayed behind and been welcomed by the queen. Your knowledge would have been valuable to her." "I am afraid not," she said with that tinkling laugh that men seemed to find so attractive. "She and Mistress Makro have squeezed me for anything I know that would be helpful to them. I have never seen a questioning so complete and thorough without knives or hot pokers being involved." "That is the truth," Lav grunted; she had been on the receiving end of that same questioning as they prepared for the trip. "But nonetheless, you could have stayed; I know Lord Nilsen offered that to you." "True," Rabszolga admitted and Lavender could see her nod in the darkness. "It is puzzling to me also. I thought of remaining behind, but this seemed right for some reason. Do you think the two witches have put a spell on me?" Lavender snorted. "I assume you are joking. The twins have a very particular talent, I will admit, but the ability to control others' thoughts and emotions is not part of that talent." She snorted again in repressed laughter. "I stand corrected; they do an enviable job of controlling, or maybe it is better said directing, one person. That person is not you." "Actually I have noticed that all four of you seem to do that extremely well." Lavender heard the amusement in the woman's voice. "We do nothing of the kind!" Lavender protested. "Stay steady, oh large one," Rabszolga chuckled. "I mean no harm in my observation. I have seen none of you do anything that I would think of as selfish or devious, but surely you will admit when the four of you make a decision it is only a matter of time before he abides by it." "We merely point out the obvious to our husband when required," Lavender sniffed. "He is not one to dismiss a reasonable idea simply because he was not the original author." "And so I understand women have been doing so for men since time began," Zolga smirked. "I admit, though, I still find this concept of 'wife' somewhat unusual. Where I come from marriage is for political or economic bindings alone. Of course I have seen many men take a number of women for their pleasure, but that is not what I see with you. "What is it you receive from this binding? It is more than the ties forced on us by our collars ― of that I am sure. What he receives is obvious; I feel that through this cursed collar every night. But what do you receive? All of you appear to be disgustingly happy; it puzzles me. The only time I can say I have ever been happy is when I saw the body of my former controller lying on the floor in a pool of his own blood." "I must say I was somewhat pleased with that myself," Lavender chortled. She paused for a moment before continuing, "I do not know if I can answer you completely. I am not familiar with this kind of relationship either. Where I come from matings are arranged for the improvement of the race and emotional bonding between the mated pairs can happen, but it is rare. Sex between mates is for procreation only. The males take pleasure with the culls; the females? Well, their pleasure is not a consideration. "At first I believed he derived his pleasure from me as would any man with a cull and honestly since I received pleasure also it was enough. Now I know it is more than that. You ask what we receive? I will tell you in my own poor words. Our man binds us together; with him we are one unit, one entity; together we are greater than the sum of us alone. My Lord and his sisters call this family and to them it is much more than a term to describe mated pairs and their children. I do not expect you will understand this; I am not sure I fully understand even now, but I learn more every day. It is something they have seen and experienced from birth; it is difficult for those of us who have not. How do you describe a color to someone blind from birth? It is a strange and marvelous thing." "I am not sure if I believe you," Rabszolga said and Lavender just shrugged. "But it is obvious that you have something and I feel somewhat jealous that I do not. Do you think he intends to bed me and bring me into this family?" "I do not think he intended any of this," Lavender replied with amusement. "I do not know if I can answer your question. I do not believe he has that intention if that is your worry. That he finds you attractive, I know; I can feel that through the bond, but nothing more, I think. He is a man and is attracted to many women, but I do not believe that is enough for him, not now anyway. "If it is you who desires a deeper bond, well, for that you would be best to talk to Makro or one of the twins. The twins are not those you should fear for all their strange abilities. You will find they are of surprising intelligence and intuition aside from their seeming ability to divine the future." "I desire no deeper bond with any man," Rabszolga scoffed, "and I do not fear them. I do find them strange and disturbing, though." "As Lord Nilsen would say, 'Welcome to my world'," Lavender laughed. "He makes no secret that he finds them the same." Then she added musingly, "Of course he says that about all of us so that may not mean as much as one might think. Be that as it may, for your own curiosity and understanding you should talk to them. We are all bonded to the same man so if for no other reason it would behoove you to understand him better; and to understand him you must understand all of them." "You are getting soft as your child grows," Rabszolga jabbed lightly. "When I mentioned joining him in his bed you did not threaten to throw me over the side of the ship." "Maybe I am," Lavender rumbled. "But in truth you would be joining us and not just him. I find I have no feelings of jealousy towards any who would do so. Makro says it is the collar that helps suppress these feelings and I suspect that may be true, but I find that to be of little concern. I expect that many more women will be joining us by his side and I believe those that do will only be those that will fit well with us all." Lavender sighed emphatically, "Additionally, I find my desire to see you fed to the crabs has decreased considerably of late. The thought of what was almost done to him in Salas still stirs my anger but I have more understanding of your choices in the matter and find it difficult to hold those feelings against you. If he were to decide you were to be one of his concubines, then I would accept it." "Well that is no fun," Rabszolga snorted. Lavender sighed almost sadly in agreement. ------- Just after midnight Kelei's Pride made the turn away from her escorts and settled on her predetermined course. Nilsen and Lavender remained on deck until the faint light of the decoy escorts disappeared below the horizon before making their way down to their cabin. As quietly as possible they entered and began to remove their clothing. It was the largest cabin on board and had been rendered even larger by the removal of both of the too-small bunks. Mattresses were laid on the deck allowing all five of the cabin's occupants to sleep together. Using only the faint glow of starlight coming through the small open porthole Nil picked out an open space between two blanket-covered bodies after Lavender found an opening on the edge. He had just plunked down and was thinking about reaching for a blanket when the two bodies surrounding him moved and pressed up against him. "We're glad you finally decided to come to bed," Makro whispered in his ear as she pressed her breasts against his arm. Fobie wasn't quite so subtle. She climbed right on top of him and began rubbing her crotch against his rapidly lengthening cock. "We're horny," Fobie said unnecessarily. He heard Lavender chuckling from somewhere to the side. "I thought you were tired..." he started to say as Makro pushed a fat, hard nipple into his mouth effectively silencing him. Fobie sat up and reached between them to grasp his now fully engorged cock. She rubbed its head once or twice on her wet slit then held it pointed upwards into her depths as she slowly impaled herself. Fobie moaned as Nil groaned around Makro's plump nubbin. He heard his sister sigh as he finally hit bottom and felt another pair of hands ― Deimie's he assumed ― roaming over his bare skin. One hand finally settled down to gently fondle his balls as Fobie rode him in ever quickening strokes up and down his pole. Sometime before he was ready to cum she stiffened above him and emitted a high-pitched wail as her body shook with its own release. Nil waited patiently until she finally relaxed and practically melted onto his chest, purring. She wasn't going to be allowed a second go at it as Makro pulled her nipple out of his mouth and unceremoniously pushed Fobie off and onto Deimie with a grunt. Grabbing his shoulders she pulled him over and on top of herself until he was nestled between her splayed legs. They kissed lightly and then with increased ardor as his primed cock found her very wet and willing cunt. Both groaned as he slid in easily filling her completely. Slowly at first he began to thrust into her as she panted into his mouth. "Argh, Nil, you feel so good!" she moaned. "You were made for me," he whispered as he moved to nibble her ear. "Yes!" she whimpered as her heels tried to drive him even deeper into her body. "I am yours, all yours! Fuck me, Master! Fuck your slave-bitch sister!" Makro's language had been getting progressively louder and more profanity-laden with each successive time they made love. At first it had bothered Nil but now he had to admit it added a bit more to their times together. "Does my slave-bitch want her brother-master to cum inside her?" he grunted as he thrust into her even harder. "Should I breed you like a cow? Make that little belly big and those tits even bigger? Is that what you want me to do?" "Damn you, yes!" she grunted. "Give me your baby, you bastard! I am so jealous of Lavender. I want to feel your son kicking inside of me, your daughter growing big until I can hardly move. Give it to me, you son-of-a-bitch! Breed me like I was your slut!" Her words pushed him over the edge and he felt his cum begin to shoot out and into May's belly. Feeling him starting to cum May's own orgasm crested and she began to thrash and shake beneath him screaming through clenched teeth. "Ohohohoh, yesyesyes!" Shortly afterwards he collapsed on top of her barely remembering to support the majority of his weight on his knees and elbows. They kissed and cuddled for a few minutes until he grew soft and slipped out of her at which time she pushed him off, grabbed a pillow and stuck it under her ass elevating her hips. She had been told this helped increase the probability of conception. He rolled over onto his back and looked over at her with amusement. It wasn't long before he felt another pair of hands start to caress his sweat glistened skin. Looking down he saw Deimie looking back at him with an impish grin on her face. "My turn," she said. "You may have to wait for awhile," he huffed, trying to get his breath and heartbeat back to normal. "Oh, I can wait," she said. "Besides I think I know how to hurry you up." Leaning down she took his limp member in her mouth and began to suck gently. After a minute or two he began to respond and she lifted up, looking over at her sister. "Mmm, you taste good, May." "Thanks," Makro replied. "But that's probably mostly him anyway." Deimie shrugged and went back to her ministrations. It wasn't long before he was hard again and she climbed on top like Fobie had and gently impaled herself. Instead of a wild hard ride, Deimie lay down on his chest and used her interior muscles to massage him while very slowly moving up and down his shaft. Nilsen just lay there and enjoyed the sensations all the while caressing her taut, lithe form from buttocks to back. Deimie was in no hurry and Nilsen knew he would last a long time since he had just cum, so both of them moved minimally just enjoying the feel of each other. It couldn't last forever and soon Deimie felt the need for more so she slowly increased the speed as she moved on his shaft. It took a little while but soon enough she pushed herself into a seated position and was grinding her clit into his pelvic bone each time she thrust down on him. Nilsen could feel her excitement grow and it helped him get that much closer to release. Before long both were groaning. "Cum for me," she whispered, her long auburn hair hanging down and lightly tickling his chest. "Cum for me, my husband. Cum inside me, let me feel your seed fill me up." Nilsen was absolutely amazed at how his women could get him to orgasm time and time again. It was true: he had no control when he was with any of them. He could be dead tired and yet knew anyone of them could have him hard and performing for them as if he'd had twelve hours sleep. "Gods, what you do to me," he grunted. "Here it comes, you little vixen!" With a final grunt his balls tightened and he began to pump what little he had left into Deimie's waiting womb. At the same time she sucked in her breath and clamped down on his invading cock, quivering from the waves of pleasure his spurting member was giving her. When both had finished, she again laid down on his chest and promptly fell asleep. Lavender crawled over Makro and snuggled up against one of his sides as Fobie pressed in on the other. Nil fell asleep surrounded by naked female flesh and thought to himself, It doesn't get any better than this! Edited by Morgan ------- Chapter 21 "Does it look familiar?" Nil asked Lavender as they stood side by side in the bow. "I think so," she shrugged noncommittally. Before them was a modest-sized port of low buildings stretched wide on both sides of the mouth of a river. "But it doesn't matter." "Why not?" "Because those are my mountains," she said pointing to the horizon beyond the port. "That was my home." It was a clear, bright day but the distance was great enough one could just barely make out the faint outline of rocky mountain peaks through the haze. They could be made out well enough if one knew what he was looking for, but only because of the white flashes that had to be sunlight reflecting off snow and ice on the upper peaks. Nil was intrigued; he had never seen snow before. "Ah, you said it took you about twenty days to get here from there?" he asked. "About," Lavender nodded looking down at him; she always enjoyed looking at him and was still constantly amazed he seemed to enjoy doing the same for her. "I was traveling mostly at night and hiding during the day for the first ten days or so." "Worried they would come after you?" he mused. "Some," she admitted, "but mostly..." her voice trailed off and when he looked up at her, she actually blushed and avoided his eyes. "Mostly I did not know what to expect down here," she said finally. "We do not know much about the lowlands and you shorties; I was ... apprehensive." "I would have been scared to death," Nil chuckled. "So, it might take anywhere from a couple of ten-days to maybe four or five ten-days since we will have wagons, and of course we don't know where we're going." "Assuming we can obtain draft animals," Lavender added. "There is that," he sighed. "But I don't expect that to be much of a problem. I'd be surprised if they didn't have plenty around this town, for the right price." Soon they were joined by Makro, the twins, Jarrah, Rabszolga and Marc, the captain of their guard and officially second in command. Fobie looked decidedly pale and almost a touch greenish as she stared longingly at the dry, unmoving land they were approaching. Halfway through their twenty-day journey she had started becoming violently ill at odd times and to nobody's surprise announced she was pregnant a couple of days later. Nil was ecstatic, Deimie and Lavender seemed happy for her; Jarrah annoyed, Rabszolga amused and for some reason Makro sullen. It didn't take long for Jarrah to get her older sister to admit she felt it was her right to be the first of the sisters to become pregnant. Not logical, but then feelings rarely are. "You still have the contraceptive in your system," Jarrah tried to explain. "It's going to take a few of your cycles to purge it out completely. I can't say it won't happen sooner, but I would be surprised if it did." "Then how did Fobie catch?" Makro demanded. "She's been taking it just like the rest of us!" "No, she hasn't," Jarrah snorted. "I know what you're going to say: All of us have been told to take it since we started our cycles. Well, those two stopped about a season ago." "Surely you have..." Makro started. "Of course I've been giving it to them right on schedule," Jarrah huffed. "But that doesn't mean they're been taking it or that I stood there and watched them. I'm a healer, not a nursemaid." It took a couple days of Makro's sulky sniping at everybody, especially Fobie, before Nil took matters into hand. He pulled her into their cabin for a private talk. Neither he nor May would ever discuss just what happened but nearby listeners were heard to gossip and told of considerable amounts of screaming, sounds remarkably like that of a hand smacking a bare bottom and afterwards moaning and an entirely different kind of screaming for more than an hour. The only thing known for sure was that when Makro left the cabin she immediately sought out those she had been short with, especially Fobie, and profusely apologized. With the leadership of their company assembled, Nil outlined their next step. "First; nobody goes anywhere alone, and I mean nobody!" Nil pointedly looked at Fobie and Deimie as they returned his look with feigned innocence. "Everybody is to be armed when off the ship and I want at least two guards with each group that leaves. Captain, that includes your men. If they are off by themselves I want them in groups of at least two but I'd feel safer with more. We're looking for three things: draft animals ― horses preferably ― maps and information. "May, I'd like you to look for draft animals for the wagons. I'm going to see if there is a Warriors Guild Hall in town; if not then I'll go to the local constabulary. If there is a Guild Hall it's my guess they will know whatever information we want, or at least know where we can go to find it." "Do you think they will even talk to you?" Makro asked. "Father was, or maybe still is, a Guild member, but you aren't. It's not like they're known to be free with information." "Maybe not," he shrugged, "but you don't know until you ask. If nothing else I can ask about contracting local Warriors for the trip. I assumed we'd have to pay for information and even though contracting Warriors is expensive it may be the best way to obtain the information. The extra sword or two couldn't hurt either way. Gold we have; information we don't." The closer they came to the pier the less Nilsen was impressed by the port of Ordu. It appeared to be shabby and vacant. When they were still half a mile from the piers the ship's captain ordered the sails furled and launched the small boats to tow them in. They were met by a boat from the port captain and directed to a berth; there were plenty to choose from. After mooring they were met by a single functionary with whom they negotiated port fees, taxes and bribes. It was evident this was a small backwater port with little in the way of commerce or government representation. He did tell them there was no Guild Hall in town but that there was a small army outpost that doubled as the local constabulary. For the most part he lost interest in them when they told him they had no slaves for sale and he just shook his head when they informed him they were planning to open a trade route to the interior mountains. "Ain't nothing there but giant cannibals," he said still shaking his head. He was, for a few extra silver coins, able to direct them to the local carter where they might be able to find horses. "The Kushitic are not cannibals!" Lavender grumbled after he'd left. Nil insisted she stay out of sight initially but she had overheard the disparaging comment. "Of course not," Nil scoffed. "But at least he knows your people are up there; that's something. I'll bet you caused quite a stir when you came through here the first time. It shouldn't be too difficult to find out if any of your people followed you, at least this far." "I do not think they would," she snorted. "But you can be sure they will not be glad to see me when I return." "We'll deal with that when we get there," Nilsen said decisively, and then he looked at her fiercely. "You may have belonged with them once, but you belong with me now. If they even think of doing something to you they have to go through me first. Your people may think they're big and tough but I guarantee they aren't anywhere near as mean and nasty as I can get." "Are not you the little tiger," she teased as she reached out and tweaked his nose. "Somebody thinks that baby is going to keep her butt from being paddled," he said as he ran his fingers along his nose as if to check its alignment. "I can tell you right now it won't." "Promises, promises," she chuckled. Nil just shook his head and sighed. ------- As it turned out, the draft animals were the easiest part of their preparation. Makro was able to secure the required number of animals plus a few extra for a very reasonable price. Trade and commerce had been slowly declining in Ordu for some time and there was a surplus to be had. Information on their proposed destination was another matter entirely. The army outpost was little more than one non-commissioned officer and a couple of privates whose disinterest in anything outside their wine jugs was evident. They weren't locals and had almost no knowledge of what lay more than five or six miles outside of town. The sight of a seven-and-a-half foot tall giantess almost piqued their curiosity, but not enough. The fact that they had never seen anyone as tall as she confirmed that Lavender's people hadn't followed her this far. They did recommend a bookseller that might ― if anybody did ― have maps. The bookseller ― if one could call someone who had a half-dozen moth-eaten old volumes in a shop otherwise filled with dubious home remedies a bookseller ― had plenty of information about the mountains and the monsters that inhabited them, but no maps. Nil was both disappointed and not. It would have been nice to have a reasonably reliable map of the region but from the way Lavender kept scrunching up her mouth ― he assumed to keep from laughing out loud ― he realized any map obtained there would be of the same dubious quality as the information the old man gleefully imparted. Nil thanked him profusely, gave him a sliver coin and left as quickly as he could. "How could you live in an area and not know anything about where you live?" He asked in bewilderment. "I will say I am astonished to learn your people sacrifice babies to the moon god and bathe in your enemies' blood. Do you really think he didn't know you were one of those 'savages' as he so delicately put it? I mean I love every inch of your beautiful hide but you do stand out in a crowd." Lavender just grinned down at him. "Okay, looks like we're going to have to do this the hard way," he sighed. "At least we can see where we want to go. The trick is to find a road heading generally in the right direction and stop and ask along the way. You said you can tell which peaks are in your people's territory so we just head that way and hope for the best." "There were times I traveled cross-country," Lavender informed him. "But mostly I followed along roads I found. The trick will be finding which road goes where we want to go." "Roads mean people," Nil nodded. "So at least there are some out there. Hopefully enough to keep us pointed in the right direction." It was going to take a few days to unship the wagons and get the gear and "trade goods" loaded. Instead of sticking around and interfering with the ones who knew what they were doing, Nil decided to take a trip to the farmers' market on the edge of town. Preserved provisions they had in abundance but having fresh for at least the beginning of the journey sounded like a good idea. Besides, if anyone knew the surrounding area it would be the local farmers. Nil, Lavender, two guards, and Deimie struck out for the market with a handcart and Rabszolga tagging along. The produce selection wasn't particularly impressive but they were able to glean from some of the stall-minders the approximate locations of roads and small villages further inland. The trouble came on the return trip. They were walking down what was laughingly called one of the port's main streets when they were suddenly surrounded by eleven raggedly-dressed but heavily-armed men. They must have thought the group an easy mark because a good number of them looked rather nervous when they were suddenly confronted by four gleaming swords held in obviously competent hands. It was unlikely they saw, or would have been worried about the extremely sharp knife Deimie held ready under her cloak. "Where are you going there, stranger?" the leader said while standing in front of Nil. "Back to our ship, friend," Nilsen replied casually. "We wish no trouble." "Why, no trouble at all," the leader chuckled. Like the rest he was carrying a sword but it looked as ill-cared-for as its owner. "Just hand over your coin and the women and we may let you live." "I don't think so," Nil replied affably. "Aren't you a bit worried the constables will frown on you accosting visitors to your fair city in the middle of the street in broad daylight?" "Those useless bastards?" the leader roared. "They don't run these streets; I do! Now hand over the coin and the bitches before I get angry." Nil paused for a moment as if to consider but finally sighed and shook his head. "No, I don't think so. The coin and the women are mine and I don't feel like sharing right now." "I don't know if you can count," the leader grinned. "But there are a fair number more of us then there are of you; it wouldn't be a very much of a fight." "True," Nil agreed raising an eyebrow, "but since you started it I'm not going to worry about the equity of the situation." "Tell you what, friend..." their leader started but a hand on Nilsen's arm interrupted his concentration and he missed the rest. Nil frowned and looked down at the small hand then up to Rabszolga's bright blue eyes. "I will go with them, Master," she said softly. Her face was an expressionless mask but her eyes were wide with fear. "No, Zolga, please step back," he said just as softly and he saw her fidget slightly as if something were pinching her neck. The bandits' leader must have overheard her. "The little slut wants to come with us," he leered. "Probably wants to feel a real man between her legs for once." Nil and Rabszolga ignored him. "If I go with them, Master, they will leave you alone," she said to Nil. "I would not see you hurt." "You won't," he assured her, "and I forbid it. Now, stand back and out of the way. I appreciate your offer but it is not what I wish. Do you understand?" Rabszolga stood still for a moment and began to cough lightly as if something were choking her. Lavender reached over and clamped one of her large hands on Rabszolga's shoulder and firmly pulled her away from Nilsen and pushed her back towards Deimie. Deimie put her arm around the tall blonde's waist and held her tightly while whispering in her ear. Seeing Rabszolga safely behind him and Lavender back in her accustomed position Nil again turned to the bandit. "I will ask you one last time to let us pass," he said calmly. "No..." the word was barely out of the bandit leader's mouth when Nilsen moved. There had been nothing to indicate his intention, no tensing of the muscles, no drop into a more suitable fighting position, nothing; one moment he was standing there and the next he was moving faster than a man had any right to, directly at the bandits. He started here and suddenly he was there; the sword-breaker whipped up and across to strike the bandit to the right of the leader along the side of his head, the meaty thunk as it hit indicated the probability of a broken skull. At the very least the bandit was out of the action as he slumped bonelessly to the ground. Nobody had a chance to watch this, though, as Nil's sword almost casually swept aside the leader's rusty blade and drove into his middle just below the sternum piercing him and severing the spinal cord. Wrenching it free Nil spun and engaged the next bandit to his left. A quick block, a stab with the breaker under the chin and into the brain and it was off to the next. ------- In a detached manner Lavender wished she had brought her buckler but it was a passing thought since wishing wouldn't bring it to her. Even before she realized there were men surrounding them, Lavender had moved to her covering position just behind and slightly to the right of Nilsen. One glance at their opponents and she knew exactly what was going to happen; she also knew it wouldn't last very long. The bandits were as motley a crew as she had ever seen and unless they were one hell of a lot better than they appeared, the fight would be short ... very short. The only problem was protecting the little witch and the slender bitch, but even that shouldn't pose much of a problem with the two guards flanking them. Even if the guards turned out to be worthless fighters ― and she believed that wasn't the case ― they would slow the ones behind them down enough for Lav and her man to take care of them. Slowly she moved her own body into battle position ready to attack the instant Nil did. Then the incredible happened! The bitch Rabszolga offered herself to the bandits, to protect them no less! It was almost amusing, as if Lord Nilsen would even contemplate such a thing! She even had the audacity to stand against his order! That has to be uncomfortable, she thought as she watched the slender woman choke and turn red as she struggled against the salidin's discipline. With an inaudible sigh Lav reached out and grasped Rabszolga's shoulder, pushing her back into Deimie's custody. She heard Nilsen ask for them to be left alone for the final time and just as the bandit began his answer she knew it was time to move. He would go left, so she went right protecting him from any possible flank attack. With her first slash she didn't even bother to knock aside the sword of the bandit standing to the leader's left. Instead her sword dipped slightly and her blade took the hand holding the weapon at the wrist passing through and cutting deeply into his chest. Hardly pausing she turned her attention to the next one in line. This one must have had some rudimentary training at some time since he was slightly better prepared for her attack, not that it slowed her in any meaningful manner. The sword he held protectively in front was smashed aside as she simply overpowered him and her left hand, held in a fist, impacted the point of his chin shattering his jaw and sending him tumbling over backwards to land heavily in the street. Shit, that's going to hurt, she cursed to herself. She had been aiming for his throat, trying to give it a crushing blow with relatively no possibility of damage to her hand but he had ducked slightly at the last second. Now her hand was going to be bruised at least and possibly a couple of bones cracked. The blow had been strong enough she was sure the bandit's neck had snapped along with his jaw but Nilsen was going to be pissed at her for letting her hand get hurt. Knowing he was going to be upset angered her, adding just enough to her next swing so it neatly decapitated the next bandit in line and continued on to lodge her sword in the upper-arm bone of the one standing next to him. Growling she kicked him in the chest to pull it free and turned to face the next one, except there wasn't one. Looking around all she could see were bodies and the backs of the two or three that had been lucky enough to run. Bending down, she wiped the blood off her sword on the body of the bandit at her feet. Standing up, she saw Nil walking towards her wiping his own blade with a rag he had picked from one of his own bodies; a quick glance told her there were five. Wincing as she flexed her hand, luckily there didn't seem to be anything broken; she guiltily tried to avoid his eyes as he approached. Hearing a groan from somewhere at her feet she looked down and saw the bandit whose arm she had slashed and then kicked struggling on the ground. Thankful for the temporary reprieve, she walked near his head, placed her boot on his throat and as his eyes looked up at her pleadingly, mashed it flat. Turning around she found Nil right in front of her. "Good job, Lav, my love," he said. "Now let me see it." "See what?" she asked innocently, she held her bruised hand slightly behind her back like a naughty child having been caught with her hand in the cookie jar. He didn't answer as he cocked his head and looked up at her holding his own hand out. Sighing, she brought her hand around and placed it in his. "You saw me," she stated with another sigh. "Of course," he answered looking at her hand and gently feeling each finger. "Nothing seems to be broken, but that was rather foolish." "He moved," she objected. "How inconsiderate of him," he said dryly and then grinned. "You know a glove would help if you plan to continue with these fisticuffs." "I plan to bring my buckler from now on," she informed him. "Won't always be convenient," he answered as he leaned down to gently kiss her knuckles. "But that's up to you." She shivered when he did and suddenly she was horny again, just like after the fight in Salas. He looked up when he felt her shiver and the grin turned to a knowing smile. "We'll talk about it when we get back to the ship." "Yesss," she answered doing her best not to jump on top of him right there and then. Taking her hand lightly in his he turned and drew her back towards the rest of their party. "Is everybody all right?" he asked as they approached. "No problem," one of the guards grunted. "Didn't even have a chance to mix it up. I was waiting for the ones behind us to attack but they ran when they saw what happened to their buddies." The other guard nodded in agreement. "You see?" Deimie said to Rabszolga. "I told you there wasn't anything to worry about. Now Nil, don't you go scolding her; she was just trying to protect you." "I know, Dem," he nodded. "But we are going to have to talk about it later," he said to Rabszolga. "I appreciate your intentions but you have to learn not to get in the way when something needs to be done. You could have been hurt." Rabszolga was looking at him, lower lip trembling and eyes wider than Lavender had ever seen on anyone. It wasn't fear she realized, it was awe. Lavender was afraid the woman was going to prostrate herself at Nil's feet any second. "It was stupid," Lavender interjected. "The little twit could have got us all killed." Rabszolga snapped at Lavender angrily and was about to retort when she noticed the slight smile on Lavender's lips and she grunted in agreement. "I am sorry, Master," she said turning back to Nil. "My ignorance put you in danger." "Actually it didn't," he smiled affably. "But you didn't know any better and that's my fault. We'll take care of that later; right now we need to get back to the ship. It'll be getting dark soon and if we don't get back they may start thinking we've run into trouble." Gathering up their things and leaving the bodies for the townspeople who were even then peeking around corners and out of shuttered windows they started back towards the pier. They moved smartly but not too quickly, watching warily up alleys and darkened corners. Everyone with a sword had a hand on the hilt as they strode towards the waterfront. Lavender was scanning in front and to the side when she felt someone come up next to her. "Thank you," she heard Rabszolga say softly. "I would have made a fool of myself if you had not said what you did." "It was nothing," Lavender shrugged. "Anytime you want me to call you a twit, I will be glad to oblige." Rabszolga snorted, "I guess it was stupid of me." She paused and then continued, "He is very good, is he not? I have never seen anyone who moves like he did. It was almost inhuman." "He is not good," Lavender chuckled. "He is incredible." "I meant his fighting," Rabszolga raised a hand as if to slap Lavender's arm. "That too," Lavender agreed. "You are right though: he is very good, maybe even the best; at the least he is the best I have ever seen and I have seen some very good warriors. I have been told the king is even better although I find that difficult to believe. But breeding will tell." "You are very good also," Rabszolga posed tentatively. Lavender glanced down to see if the smaller woman was making fun of her ― she wasn't ― and there was real admiration in her look. "I was good," Lavender admitted. "After being with him I am better, but I will never be as good as he is no matter how hard I work at it." "That may be an impossible standard to judge yourself by," Rabszolga stated. "But you are better than any other man I have ever seen." "Thank you," Lavender replied simply. "I need to be to protect him." "I understand that now," Rabszolga whispered. "My old controller would have thought nothing of throwing me to those dogs to save his skin." Lavender grunted in sympathy. "I begin to understand that I have been wrong about a great many things." They walked on in a comfortable silence until they reached the ship. They were greeted by Fobie and Makro demanding to know what was wrong but Nil had just enough time to assure them everyone was fine when he was dragged away by an insistent Lavender to their stateroom. It wasn't until nearly an hour later he could stumble up on deck, followed by a dreamy-eyed and thoroughly satiated Lavender, and tell his part of the tale to the waiting crowed. Edited by Morgan ------- Chapter 22 As much as Nil and even Lavender tried to downplay the incident ashore they were alternately berated and fussed over by Makro and Fobie with Jarrah hovering around in the background. Everything settled down considerably once it was confirmed that nobody, with the exception of Lavender's bruised knuckles, was hurt. "Why didn't you see this?" Jarrah demanded of the twins. They blinked back at her in surprise. "I thought you didn't believe in their foretelling," Nil grinned at his slender blonde sister. "It doesn't matter what I believe," she huffed. "They should have seen it coming." The contradictory logic of that statement seemed to completely escape their fair healer, but it didn't with everyone else. Makro hid her smile behind her hand while Nil coughed to cover a laugh. "The gift always comes and goes as it wills," Fobie answered. "But very recently it has barely come at all," Deimie admitted. "As if something is blurring our vision," Fobie nodded. "It may be that there was no real danger so it didn't come," Deimie offered. "But we cannot be sure." "Something blurring your vision?" a puzzled Nil asked. Both twins nodded in unison. "We think it is the baby," Deimie pointed to Fobie's flat stomach. "It is like we have to see around someone, like when you are in a crowd." "That's ... curious," Nil muttered. "A rather inconvenient time for that to happen." "It's not her fault!" Fobie said defensively. "She can't help it!" Deimie added. "Besides if anyone is to blame it's you." "Of course," Nil soothed. "She? You know it's a girl?" "Of course we know," the twins said. Then Deimie continued, "Makro will have your first son; all of our first born will be daughters." Hearing that Makro sobbed and rushed over to Fobie and threw her arms around her sister. "I am so sorry, Foe!" she sniffed. "There, there," the younger sister cooed as she rubbed Makro's back. "We knew what bothered you and we thought nothing of it; you shouldn't either. Your time will come soon; we saw that before. We're not exactly sure when, but it will be soon enough." Makro sniffed again, broke the embrace and smiled at the slender redhead, then locking eyes with Nil, sauntered over and plopped down in his lap. "You like that I will give you a son?" she cooed wrapping her arms around his neck. "Son or daughter matters not, just so long as they look like you and not me," he grinned. "That goes for all of you by the way." All four of the women laughed out loud; even Jarrah and Rabszolga smiled. "He will be handsome, just like you," May playfully slapped the back of Nil's head. "Only a mother, a woman in love or the blind would think I'm handsome," Nilsen responded dryly. "I look far too much like Father." This earned him another swat. "Your opinion is of no consequence," Makro sniffed as if in disdain. "He will be exceedingly handsome, and look just like you." The smiling twins nodded behind her. "Poor bugger," Nil said and picked Makro up and put her on her feet while deftly ducking another swat. "But that's neither here nor there. What I do know is we have work to do. Captain," he looked over at Marc, "it will be a day or two before we can move out so given we know there are some less than desirable elements in this town I would suggest we double the guard on both the ship and the wagons already unloaded." The guard captain nodded. "Already done, My Lord," he said. "In fact, from here on out we will assume we are in hostile territory." "I doubt it's that bad," Nil responded, "but it can't hurt to act accordingly. Better to be careful now than sorry later. Still, the quicker we get going, the better I'll feel. Let's get to it!" ------- The day after next they were ready to leave. Nil spent most of the morning reviewing their instructions with the ship's captain. "Wait about fifteen days," he began. "If we're gone that long my guess is we won't be coming back until we're finished. After that it would be a good idea to hit a few of the ports along this coast. We don't have much information about this area and, to be honest, if all the rest are like this one there probably isn't much we care to know, but that's information in and of itself. Any information is better than none. "We figure it will take two, maybe three ten-days to get there; once there another three to five to get done what we need and then another two to three to return. The earliest you should return is seven ten-days from now. Hopefully we won't make you wait overly long in this dump. "But if we aren't back after twelve ten-days, set sail and head home. The king will need to know what's happened." He left unsaid the assumption that a much larger force would probably be returning soon afterwards. "We will leave markers where and when we can," he continued. "Also we will be talking with the locals whenever we can. It should leave a reasonable trail to follow if needed." With that they bid farewell to the ship's crew and its contingent of marines and headed out of town on the one road that appeared to be going directly towards the mountains. The wagons were slow and the road was dusty and it was generally conceded that when it came to travel going by ship was definitely the preferred method. Mostly it was monotonous and boring but there were some things of interest along the way. Surprisingly the people were friendly and helpful, a complete change from their seaside brethren. Most thought this strange troop was crazy for trying to find the mountain giants, but at least the closer they got to those imposing peaks the wild stories about their denizens faded and were replaced by ones that held more than just a shred of truth. The Kushitic ― at least the correct name of Lavender's people was known ― were universally considered reclusive, aggressive, and standoffish, but there didn't seem to be any real fear of them. It was evident there was very little commerce between the two peoples. The locals were very interested in the "junk" they were carrying as trade goods and were willing to trade almost anything for just a few of the tinker's wares: some pots, pans and a kettle or two. It was obvious there wasn't much trade with the seacoast either. This wasn't all that surprising since for the most part they seemed to be a happy lot; they were also dirt poor and had very little to trade with. It amused and repelled Nil that at each village he was offered sometimes up to a half-dozen of the local village girls in trade for their wares. It wasn't until Rabszolga pointed it out that none of these girls seemed at all displeased with the prospect of being sold to the foreign traders. She surmised they were probably "surplus" to the local population with little prospects for a husband and home and were bored to tears with "rooting for rutabagas". Enough so that life as even a lowly concubine didn't seem all that bad. Nilsen vowed that this part of the trip would be a state secret if he could help it. It wasn't hard to imagine a slaver posing as a trader picking up hundreds of golds' worth of female flesh with just a couple of silvers worth of trinkets. Those girls might think their life boring but he was pretty sure they'd change their minds if they were forced to spread their legs for a copper a pop at some hellhole whorehouse. He had to admit most of them were more than just a little attractive and while he had no inclination to sample the local cuisine ― his needs being taken care of more than adequately ― their guard contingent was under no such restriction. He cringed to think that on their return trip they might very well be bombarded by justifiably irate fathers demanding husbands for their now-sullied daughters. He didn't feel it was his place to interfere with their dalliances, but he did remind them of the potential consequences. "What you beget, you take care of," he informed them. "But, Lord," one protested, "what if they aren't ours?" "Oh, if you can prove the child isn't yours, you'd be under no obligation," he replied. "Of course you'd have to prove it wasn't yours if you laid with the girl, and remember we can tell if you're lying." It was a veiled reference to the twins. Nil was pretty sure Deimie and Fobie couldn't actually tell if someone was lying, especially now that their talent seemed to be waning, but the soldiers didn't know that and probably wouldn't believe it if they were told. Most of these men had been in Jeevelian service for many seasons and the stories about the Demons had taken on a life of their own becoming a "truth" that was more real to them than the actual truth could ever be. Jarrah was treated as the member of the royal family she was. Makro also since she was still a princess and their lord's consort to boot, the fact that she was salidin-bound notwithstanding. Lavender would have been respected for her prowess as a warrior even aside from the fact she was both consort and mother to an heir. The twins were in a completely different category; they were of the royal blood ― that was true ― but there was a great deal of, if not fear then at least unease due to their supernatural talents. The soldiers were glad to have them along for the perceived advantage these talents might bring but they were also very glad that their lord had the two little witches bound and bedded to himself. True or not, they believed Nil had them under his control and therefore "safe." This amused the twins to no end. Considering the swath the guards were cutting through the local population as they traveled, Nil wouldn't be surprised if each guard had one or maybe two extra companions to take home on their return trip. He just hoped the ship was large enough to take all of them. Notwithstanding their guards' extracurricular activities, the journey from the plains into the foothills and eventually the mountains themselves went smoothly and without incident. Although not ostensibly so, military discipline was enforced even as the signs of human habitation became less frequent and no evidence of banditry was seen or heard of from the local populations. Nil didn't keep a set watch schedule for himself but it was apparent to the soldiers that he spent as much time up at night as they did, if not more. Even though this wasn't expected ― after all they wouldn't have given up the lush bodies he had to keep him warm at night ― it was noticed and appreciated. They were handpicked professionals and the possibility of any one of them actually sleeping while on guard duty was infinitesimally small. Add to that the fact that their lord and prince ― not to mention his seven-foot-tall shadow and her toothsome beast ― could show up at any time of the night brought that possibility to near zero. Nilsen was just doing what all natural leaders do: leading by example. The lowest trooper in any army may not understand it but every one of them would react instinctively to it. As a result as they drew closer to their mysterious objective, discipline was tight and morale was very good. The climb into the mountains themselves was much less arduous then Nil had at first feared. The roads petered out to become mere cattle paths and then to barely discernable swatches that were distinguishable from the surrounding countryside only by the lack of rock or vegetation. Still, the inclines were gentle if persistently upward and the wagons had little trouble as they progressed. It was perceptively cooler and everybody except Lavender had taken to wearing the fleece lined jackets they had brought. While they shivered, she strode around in just her linen shirt and trousers under her fish-scale armor. Normally she wore little more than a simple mail shirt for protection but it had been pointed out to her by a devilishly grinning King Dent that mail didn't stretch very well and by now that had become a necessity. It felt to her like her stomach grew bigger every day and she was becoming as big as a cow no matter that Nil reassured her every night she was getting more beautiful as every day passed. Although she still had almost half a season to go before she was due she confided to Jarrah that most Havila women rarely got much bigger than she was already; she was afraid if she kept expanding at this same rate she wouldn't be able to move by the time the baby was born. "Really?" Jarrah asked. "I'm surprised, to be quite honest. I would have thought your people would become quite large, given your stature and all. How big are your babies normally?" Lavender couldn't answer that exactly; birth was a very private thing among the Kushitic with only the parents, siblings and the clan geneticists seeing the baby for the first few ten-days of its life. She tried to show with her hands how large her brother had been when she saw him directly after birth. "That's a little on the small side for someone as large as you are," Jarrah mused. "But then you haven't seen many of them so it's not exactly what I would call a representative sample." Lavender could only shrug and say everyone seemed to think he had been normal. "You don't know if your mother carried him for the full twenty-seven ten-days would you?" Jarrah continued. "Twenty-seven?" Lavender asked, shocked. "Certainly you mean twenty-four, maybe twenty-five. Our healers would never allow a woman to go past twenty-six; the baby would be too large for proper birthing." "Twenty-five ten-days are normal for your people?" Jarrah sounded incredulous but she quickly recovered. "To answer your question we consider twenty-seven to be about normal. Certainly within ten or twenty days either way. Twenty-four would be highly unusual and the baby would be very premature. This is ... interesting. Would you mind if I examined you?" Lavender nodded with a frown. "Good. Let me wash up and we'll go into your tent. This shouldn't take very long." Later a worried-looking Nilsen tracked her down. "I can't tell you anything more than I told Lavender," Jarrah said. "Her pelvis is a little narrower than I would have expected, but that's not unusual for a first-time mother. That doesn't mean there will be any trouble with the baby but if what Lavender told me is correct, it is very curious." "How so?" a somewhat relived Nilsen asked. "As you know the normal gestation for a human is about twenty-seven ten-days." Nil nodded; he hadn't been the most attentive student in school but he knew the basics. "I wish Momma Nesho or one of the healers from the Guild was here but to the best of my knowledge that is pretty much standard everywhere and yet Lavender says the period for her people is only twenty-four to twenty-five ten-days." Nil looked puzzled and raised his hands in silent question. "It's different, you idiot," she snapped. "Why would it be different? Why would they be different from everybody else? It's like their abnormal height: different and puzzling." "We know why they're tall," Nil answered, ignoring her insult. "They purposely breed themselves for it. Could that have something to do with this difference also?" "I don't know," Jarrah admitted. "Maybe, but I don't see how." "Maybe you'll get your answers when we meet them," Nil continued. "But the only thing I care about now is if Lavender and the baby are going to be all right." "Oh, I'm sure both of them are going to be fine," Jarrah waved off his concern. "To be safe, I want her to be seen by one of the more experienced healers or midwives when we return home, but I wouldn't worry about that now," she replied as she shooed off her somewhat mollified brother. ------- "For not being used very much, this path is in fairly good shape," Nil remarked to Lavender as they ascended through one of the deep mountain passes on their sixteenth day of travel. "It is one of the old roads from before the Change," she replied. "Nothing big will grow on it." "Really?" he answered. "I didn't think there were any real roads left. I thought they were all destroyed." "According to our legends, our mountains were barely affected by the Change." "It was a genetics research facility, right?" he asked. "So we are told," she nodded. "Many of the old places are still around here. A lot of walls, even a building or two still standing and of course the roads. If we were to dig down here we would probably still find the original surface." "Are we getting close yet?" he asked. "Very soon," she assured him as the troop came around the corner of a steep mountainside and were confronted with a wall of stone with a solid wooden gate stretched across the path. "Now, in fact." Slowly they approached the structure and when they were about thirty paces away from the gate it began to open. Nilsen signaled a halt and watched as a man stepped out through the cracked-open gate. Nilsen heard gasps of astonishment from behind him and he wasn't so sure that one didn't come from his own mouth. Lavender was tall, the single tallest person he had ever seen, so he expected her people to be along the same lines, but the difference was astounding! Back when they first met, Lavender had told him she was considered short, too short to mate and produce children but subconsciously he had believed her to be exaggerating. She hadn't been. Nil guessed him to be well over eight feet tall, slim to the extent of being almost boney with bare arms covered in sinewy muscle. For some reason the Kushitic didn't look quite right to Nil but he couldn't put his finger on why until he had a chance to study him. Then he realized the man's chest was far too large to be proportionally correct and the legs and arms too long. It was like he was looking at a caricature of a man and not a real man. That merely added to his fearsome visage as if the sword he carried naked in his hand needed anything more; it was at least half again as long as the one Lavender normally carried. "You!" he shouted as he raised the imposing weapon. "Not welcome! Go!" "We are here to see Chief Xolan Bwejeri," Nilsen said loudly as he stepped forward followed by Lavender and Cerberus. "I have come on a mission of great importance to both him and your people." "Not welcome!" he reiterated before his eyes focused on Lavender and he hesitated. "Who you?" "Lavender Mist Bwejeri deSiso," Lavender said with her head held up and her chin jutting out in defiance. "Daughter of Chief Xolan. I demand see my father." "Cull bitch." The warrior grunted. "I know you. You run away, dead to the people." "My father decide, Bagosora of the Zagwci," she replied boldly, "not you.!" "You we take," he laughed as the gate opened wider behind him and three others, equally as tall, stepped out behind him. "These animals, go." "No," Nilsen said loudly but calmly. "She stays with me. I have business with your chief, not some gate-guarding flunky." Noise came from the men behind Bagosora but Nil couldn't be sure if it was angry muttering or muffled laughter. Anger clouded the face of the one Lavender identified as Bagosora as he raised his sword and snarled. "You deal with me, little maggot!" Nil heard the sound of metal on leather and without looking he could guess his troopers were lining up behind him with their swords drawn. Glancing back over his shoulder he saw he had been correct and he raised his fist holding them in place. "We're not an invading army here," he said to his men. "Hold where you are and let's see if we can talk this through." Turning back to the four guards he continued, "I have no intention of fighting you; we're here to see your chief. What we have to tell him is important." "I say we take the cull and kill rest of you!" Bagosora shouted and took a menacing step forward. Nil tensed up but carefully kept his hand away from his sword. There was a moment of silence as he thought about what to say next when the quiet was shattered by a deep booming laughter coming from beside him. Surprised he turned and saw Lavender laughing like he had never seen before. She had one arm across her stomach as if to hold her guts in and tears trickled down her cheek. Nilsen knew his warrior maid was a bit different but she never seemed stranger then she did right then. "Bagosora, the warrior," she whooped when she finally caught her breath. "Bagosora, the great! Bagosora, the idiot!" Nil glanced over at the Kushitic guards and noticed they were just as shocked as he was. "You think you four, big as you are, can stop us?" she continued with almost a sneer. "You a fool! My man," she possessively put a hand on Nilsen's shoulder, "can take all four of you, alone. No need for honor guard. Take us to my father; impede us no further." "What are you doing, my love?" Nil whispered to Lavender without taking his eyes off the Kushitic. "You could," she said looking down at him. "Trust me. This is the only way." "I hope you know what you're doing," he muttered back. "I challenge!" Bagosora shouted. "Bagosora," one of the other guards said finally. "Maybe you think..." "I challenge!" Bagosora snarled again. "My right!" "Is this what I think it is?" Nilsen asked Lavender. "Probably," she replied. "Any Kushitic warrior has the right to challenge another warrior to single combat if he thinks they have slighted him. It is a challenge that cannot be refused." "Let me guess," Nil said dryly. "It's to the death." "Normally no," Lavender responded. "But in this case I think Bagosora will not hold with that tradition. He has never been known for thinking overly much before doing. Try to defeat him without killing, My Lord. It would make everything easier." "Thanks," Nil muttered back. "No pressure." Bagosora took a step forward with a confident grin while the remaining three guards stood easy but clearly interested. Nil drew only his sword-breaker and stepped forward also as a clamor of "No, Nil!" "Nilsen, don't you dare!" and "Please, My Lord!" rose up behind him. + + + Rabszolga had come forward with everyone else when they were stopped at the gate and stood next to the four sisters. She gasped with the rest when the first ... thing ... appeared through the gate. It was so tall that at first she wasn't sure it was actually human! Then as if to prove it wasn't an aberration three more came out and stood behind the first and they were just as tall! At first she was so shocked she didn't catch what was being said but quickly gathered things weren't going well. There was a lot of shouting going back and forth and then the first apparition started waving a sword that was at least as big as she was! Her Lord ― she had a difficult time thinking of him as her controller ― seemed to be trying to keep things calm when the giantess started taunting the huge man in front of them. What the hell does she think she's doing? Rabszolga thought bringing her hand up to her mouth to stifle another gasp. She is going to get him killed, the stupid bitch! She almost ran forward thinking to stop her. For as long as she could remember Rabszolga had despised whoever controlled the hated collar that circled her neck. Her cursed beauty insured she had been used as a sexual plaything by whatever beast whose blood linked them, and by any other foul cretin his whims lent her out to. The decision to run away and bind herself to this young lordling she knew nothing about had been a spur-of-the-moment decision when she saw her controller dead on the floor in that Salas palace. It took little courage to run from something she knew into the unknown; after all even if it brought death, that would be preferable to the way she had been living. It had been the right decision and she never regretted it. At first she had assumed she would be warming the lordling's bed but surprisingly that never happened. For the first few ten-days she still expected it to happen which was confusing but not unpleasant. Gradually understanding came that it was unlikely that it would ever happen and she reveled in the absence of such onerous requirements. Those duties were amply filled by the other four women in his little harem, not only willingly fulfilled but enthusiastically fulfilled! Not only would she not be required to do this with him, it was clear she wasn't welcome to do it! Bliss! At first, anyway. Unfortunately as she came to know her new lord and bondholder she found to her dismay she actually started to like him, both him and his concubines (three of them being his sisters no less!). Even the giantess who had made it clear if it were her choice Rabszolga would have been fish bait in no time at all. Some may think it is strange to use the term "unfortunate" if one were to find oneself liking one's bondholder. Surely it is more pleasant that way they would say and they would be correct to a certain extent. Life without fear was not only novel, it was certainly more pleasant, except for the nights, and sometimes during the day, she grumped! One of the aspects of the salidin she had never experienced was the "leaking" that came through the bond when there was an emotional tie between the bonded. Hate didn't seem to activate this particular feature. Love certainly did and it seemed so did affection, admiration and concern. What it meant was that as she grew to appreciate the fine qualities of her new master her affection for him also grew. As the affection grew, the link between them strengthened and as the bond drew her closer to him she began to feel what he felt. Not necessarily a problem except that what he felt more often than not ― thanks to his sexually demanding harem of young women constantly in the throes of love-driven lust ― was just that: love and lust. He reciprocated both and Rabszolga began to feel every bit of both those powerful emotions every night! Never once had Rabszolga ever felt the stirrings of sexual desire within her. Sex was something that was done to you like a beating and usually just as painful. This was different. Now not only could she feel his excitement and adoration for the woman he was with but she could feel the echoes of that woman's excitement and desires which were often even more powerful than his. For the first time in her life Rabszolga could feel what it was like to actually desire sexual union with a man, to crave it, demand it! She started waking up at night wet between the legs with a feeling of emptiness and a hunger for fulfillment she fought against to no avail. The more she experienced the raw, unfettered emotion between this young man and his lovers, the more she came to understand his loving nature and the innate goodness he possessed bringing her even closer to him. The closer she got, the more she understood him and increased her appreciation and affection, the stronger her feelings the stronger the bond; the stronger the bond the more she felt ... It was a cycle that fed on itself increasing with each turn and even though Rabszolga had no prior experience with the emotion, by the time they entered the mountains on their journey the embittered ex-Durhorn slave was head over heels in love with her master and didn't even know it. Subconsciously that is. Consciously she still tried to think of him as just another controller in her life, admittedly a little more agreeable than any of her previous ones. Maybe if she had been thinking about it she would have rationalized her sudden and overwhelming fear for his safety as merely the fear of losing this pleasant interlude in her life. Regardless of the reason, it was fear that paralyzed her body holding it motionless while her mind screamed that she should be running after him, throwing herself in front of him to protect him from any possible harm. Or maybe it was the salidin holding her firm; after all he had told her to stay out of his way when something had to be done. Whatever held Rabszolga still obviously didn't hold Makro. As Nil stepped forward she called his name shrilly and made as if to follow until Lavender turned and held out her hand in a holding motion as she shook her head slowly. Amazingly this worked and Makro stopped but her trembling was still evident. Now along with everybody else in their group Rabszolga watched in horror as the two combatants approached each other slowly. Nil had just his short sword-breaker in his left gloved hand while his right was held loosely at his side. The huge mountain-man waited until they were only a pace or two apart then screamed and chopped down at Nilsen in a vicious two-handed stroke obviously trying to cleave his shorter opponent in half. Rabszolga watched the action take place in slow motion then she realized it really was happening slowly. The analytical part of her mind ― a very sharp and astute mind for all that her life as a sex-toy precluded its full utilization ― instantly understood what was happening. The mountain-man's weapon was huge and probably very heavy and no matter how strong one had to be to wield it, it could be moved only so fast. Having seen Nil fight she naturally assumed all fights would move at that same speed; she was wrong. The immense sword slashed down and crashed into the ground where Nil had been but didn't even come close to him. Almost lightly it seemed Nil reached out and swatted his opponent in the stomach with the flat side of his weapon and there was an audible grunt as the breath was knocked out of him. He doubled over bringing his head down near to Nil's shoulder. Cocking his arm Nil drove his right fist upward and into the point of the giant's chin. Immediately the giant mountain-man was straightened up, wobbled for a moment and then fell backward to lie motionless in the dirt. Nil looked down at his fallen opponent, grunted and then nodded once. Turning he walked back towards Lavender flexing his hand. "You see," Rabszolga heard him tell the blond giantess, "if you wear a glove it doesn't hurt your hand." "I am instructed," she replied with what sounded like a chuckle. Suddenly the paralysis holding Rabszolga still released and without a thought she flung herself forward to crash into him. Even surprised he probably could have remained upright given her slighter weight if it hadn't been for the other three bodies that hit him at exactly the same time. "How ironic," Rabszolga heard from somewhere above, "to survive a challenge only to be crushed to death by your own women." Nilsen tried to mutter something but it was impossible to understand given the four sets of female lips trying desperately to cover every inch of his face. Rabszolga didn't even think about the fact that one of those sets of lips was hers. All she could think about was pressing herself as tightly against him as she could, pressing in as close as she could and never, never, never, letting go. She mewled pitifully as strong hands gently lifted her up and set her upright. Looking up she saw Lavender looking down with a knowing smile. "He needs to get up now," she said. "I ... I only ... I mean I was..." Rabszolga stuttered. "I know," Lavender interrupted. "Talk later. Now other things must be taken care of." A flustered Rabszolga merely nodded as Lavender bent down and picked up first Fobie, then Deimie and finally Makro allowing a slightly bewildered Nilsen to scramble to his feet. "What were you thinking of?" demanded Makro angrily of Nilsen. "You too, for that matter?" she said rounding on Lavender. "Later, May," Nilsen sighed bending down to lightly kiss her cheek. He then gave each of the twins a peck and looked at Rabszolga with a puzzled expression. It was all she could do to keep from flinging herself on him again. Shaking his head he turned to see one of the three remaining guards striding over to them. He stopped a few paces away and nodded towards Lavender. "Lavender Mist," he said with a deep voice slightly nodding his head. "Deo," she responded with a nod of her own. The giant turned to look at Nilsen then glanced over his shoulder as his two comrades ministered to their still unconscious companion. With a grunt he turned back to look down at Nilsen again. "Little flatlander, you win chance to see Chief Xolan." Edited by Morgan ------- Chapter 23 Their journey continued after the caravan passed through the gate. Lavender estimated it would be another four hours to reach the village where her father generally held council. One of the gate guards had run ahead to warn of their approach while Bagosora and one other remained at the gate. Deo was their only escort as they plodded up the ascending road. "I hope he'll be all right," Nilsen said when Bagosora was finally helped to his feet. "Pride hurt," Deo guffawed looking back at his comrade. "This not be forgotten for long time. You hit hard, little man, but it take more than fist of stone to hurt Bagosora's head." "Good," Nilsen replied. "I'm Nilsen DeSiso by the way. It would appear you already know Lavender." "I Deo Mothusi," he said placing his fist over his chest and nodding slightly. "Yes, Misty known." "Misty?" Nilsen looked over at Lavender with raised eyebrow. "Deo, I promised gut you like rabbit you call me that," she answered. She said it rather placidly giving lie to the belligerence of the actual words. To Nilsen she said, "There was talk once that Deo and I would be mated, but his family refused when I grew no taller and stayed ugly." "His loss is my gain," Nilsen answered and then wondered if he was giving offense to the tall man before him. "You mated to little stone-fist?" Deo sounded surprised but not disgusted. "Mated and bred," She replied standing proudly upright with her head tilted so she could look him in the eye. Her hand briefly caressed the slight bulge of her stomach. "Interesting," the tall warrior said with a cocked eyebrow towards Nilsen. "Pity to be so short and mated to one so ... intractable." Nil was beginning to wonder if he should be feeling upset by the obvious insult when Lavender burst out laughing again. "He not find me so," she said still chuckling. "I am but one of four, no, five of his women, yet I have no complaint. He is a good man, my friend, a great man." "Happy for you I am," he said with a hint of a smile. "You not deserve the cull, be warrior bred if any." "Thank you I," she responded with an easy grin. "Happy I with my fate. Is separate from the Clan and the people now, wondrously so." "Mmm, what bring you back?" "That for Lord Nilsen to say," she replied. "Is important, Deo, very important." "Is so?" Deo asked turning to Nilsen. "It is so, Warrior Deo," Nilsen nodded. "What I have to say to your Chief is important to your people and beyond." "Then get you to Chief Xolan do," Deo nodded back. Turning lightly he motioned with his hand and two of the Kushitec began to open the gate wide enough to pull the wagons through. When it was open Nil ordered the troop to move. He led them through with the tall warrior and Lavender at his side. "True? You five women have?" Deo asked as they progressed. "Well, four anyway," Nil answered glancing back at his four sisters and Rabszolga trailing behind him by a few paces. "You great warrior must be," Deo said with a rueful shake of his head. "Surprised I that you walk so well let alone fight. Exhausted you must be." Nilsen laughed and they talked more as they walked along. The climb was steady but not particularly arduous with Nil often checking on his men, women and the animals but there seemed to be no great need for rest until late in the afternoon. Just as he was about to call for a halt the need was taken away as they crested a ridge and spread out before them was a medium-sized village nestled in a shallow valley. It looked rather ordinary, maybe a hundred stone-walled structures, some with wooden shingles and others with slate, laid out in concentric circles with smaller buildings to the outside and larger ones towards the center. As they began to descend towards the town Nil noticed a group of six men trotting on the road heading in their direction. They came to a halt just short of Nil's band and the leader held up his hand. It was obvious he wanted them to stop so Nil signaled and the wagons slowly creaked to a standstill. Nil, Deo and Lavender walked forward to meet them. "I bring visitors, wish to speak to Chief Xolan," Deo stated clearly. The leader grunted as he looked them over his lips curled slightly in obvious disdain. "You bring ugly shorties to our home," he barked. "Why they come?" "Do," Deo acknowledged. "Wish speak to Chief Xolan." "One defeat Bagosora in challenge?" he snorted again. "Did," Deo replied almost placidly. "This be one." He gestured toward Nilsen as the leader snorted in disbelief. "Believe not!" "Believe, believe not," Deo shrugged. "Did, see I. Xolan will see?" "Will see," the leader grunted. "Follow." Having said his piece, he turned around and marched back down the road toward the town without looking back. Deo glanced over at Nilsen and made a slight motion with his chin indicating they should follow; Nil couldn't be sure but he thought he saw the hint of a smile on the tall man's lips. Nilsen waved his arm and his troop followed their escort into town. They were met by quiet astonishment from the few people out on the streets. At any other time he might have considered the gapped-mouthed stares they received to be rude, but then his own people were equally dumbstruck and stared back just as openly as their hosts so he just shrugged it off. There were a few women out; at least he thought they were women. They were shaped somewhat differently than the men he had seen; if he had to use one word to describe them it would be flat. Flat of face and flat-chested; other than height they couldn't have been any more different from Lavender. If that was their idea of beauty he could understand why Lavender thought herself ugly; he could only shake his head in wonder. They continued on through the town until told to stop in front of a large circular building. The escort leader turned to Nil and said, "You come." When Lavender, Cerberus, the girls and Captain Marc made to follow him the leader snapped, "Alone!" "He is my charge, I go," Lavender said with finality and when the leader started to make a comment Cerberus growled causing him to shut his mouth quickly. "Captain," Nilsen said quietly, "why don't you stay and settle the troops? We'll go in and see what is up." "But, Lord..." "Captain, we'll be fine," Nil cut him off with a shake of the head. "Either we'll be safe or we won't. We're not here to fight the whole nation even if we had enough troops, which we don't. If we're not safe in there then we wouldn't be safe out here." "Yes, Lord," Marc conceded and Nil nodded and turned around to follow their escort inside. The escort leader looked angrily at the girls as they followed him but Nilsen merely said, "They will help me explain why we are here." With a grunt and a shrug the leader turned and walked into the building without saying a word. They followed him in and after passing through a short hallway were ushered into a large round room with a dais in its center. On the dais was a chair and seated in the chair was a very old man who looked at them curiously as they approached. Lying at his feet was a dog looking to be much the size of Cerberus but again much older. The old canine opened one eye to look at them, grunted and then seemingly went back to sleep. Nil strode forward until he was nearly at the bottom of the dais, stopped and made a bow of respect. "Chief Xolan Bwejeri, I presume?" he said. "I am Nilsen deSiso of Jeevel and I have traveled far to discuss with you a matter I feel is of great importance to both of us." "Welcome, Nilsen deSiso." Chief Xolan may have looked aged but his voice was still deep and firm. Looking at Lavender he raised an eyebrow and said simply, "Daughter." "Father," Lavender answered just as briefly. Her voice gave away nothing but she unconsciously moved half a step closer to Nil. "DeSiso, you bring daughter back?" he asked looking back at Nilsen. "No, that's not why we came," Nilsen answered. Realizing he might be a bit too curt for the situation he continued quickly. "We came because we believe there may be a great danger to you and your people." There were a number of men standing beside the dais; Nil assumed they were either his bodyguards or advisors, possibly both. Hearing what he said a few of them grumbled in disbelief. Xolan glanced over at this gaggle and frowned slightly but when he turned back to Nilsen his face was again emotionless. "Interested, I, to hear this danger," he said solemnly. "Immediate?" "Is the danger immediate?" Nil responded. "No. At least I don't think so." "Good," Xolan grunted. "Guests you be; time to rest, eat, then talk. These your women?" "Oh, yes, my pardon Your Excellency," Nil said hurriedly. "How ill-mannered of me; these are my wives; Makro, Fobie, Deimie and of course you know Lavender. Jarrah is my sister and our healer and Rabszolga ... Well, Rabszolga is with us," he ended lamely. "Pleased I am," Xolan nodded. "But simple chief I am, not excellent. My honor you call me Xolan, Nilsen deSiso." "It would be my honor, Xolan," Nil answered. "And it would honor me if you would call me Nil." "Very well, Nil. Few visitors we receive. Please to be shown your quarters? We will talk later." Xolan paused for a moment and then continued, "Pleased I be to talk to my daughter, alone?" Nil could sense Lavender tensing and he took a step back and casually put his arm around her waist. "That is for Lavender to decide, Xolan," Nil answered, trying to make it sound relaxed. "I am aware of the circumstances that brought her to be with me. She had..." he didn't want to say "fears", "misgivings about returning. Had I a choice I would have left her at my home but this mission was far too important. I have no desire to offend, Chief, but I also have no desire to lose her, now or ever." "Outrage!" screamed one of the advisors suddenly as he took a step towards Nil and Lavender brandishing a short thrusting spear. "This cull put down should be! Abomination! Heretic! Cowardly bitch deserves to die!" To Nil the room suddenly became a little dimmer and a lot more focused as he slipped into battle mode. With great effort he was able to keep his hands away from his weapons while trying to push Lavender even more behind him. This was a little difficult since she was trying at the same time to step around to his front while reaching for her own sword. She wasn't able to do either since his arm was still around her waist gripping as tightly as an iron band her sword conveniently between them as he pressed against her side. Cerberus wasn't so constrained and was immediately on his feet lips curled back exposing his bright white teeth as a low growl rumbled from his chest. Almost as quickly the old dog lying at Chief Xolan's feet was up and on guard in front of his partner. "Nil, please..." he heard Makro from behind. "Don't worry, May," he said loudly. "We are guests here; I will do nothing except protect us if needed." Breathing deeply he looked up at Lavender, "Lav, love, be still." "But, my Lord..." "Be still, please." She struggled slightly as their eyes locked but either his piercing blue eyes or her salidin won out as she stopped her struggle. Again pushing her behind, Nil turned to the chief studiously ignoring the raging advisor who had also stopped his forward movement himself studying the massive dog eyeing him like the prey in a hunt. "Chief Xolan, you see why my lady is somewhat anxious about being here. I hope you can understand why I cannot allow..." "You not allow!" the advisor bellowed. "My Chief, this cull and shortie pet..." "Silence, Kanelo!" Xolan hissed loudly without actually shouting or even looking at his advisor. "Back." "My Chief..." Kanelo pleaded again. "Back, now!" Kanelo shut-up and took a step backwards still looking daggers at both Lavender and Nilsen. "I understand, Nilsen deSiso, named mate to my daughter," Xolan began, emphasizing the term "daughter". "My word returned to you she will be, say I, Xolan, Chief, Zagwci clan." With his words Nil could feel Lavender relax and he in turn loosened his grip around her waist although he didn't actually release her. He looked up at her questioningly and she actually smiled down at him tentatively. "It is all right now, My Lord," she said. "The Chief of the Zagwci has given his word; he would die before breaking it. I will meet with him if you allow." "I will only allow it if you wish it," Nil responded. "I do," she answered. He continued to look up at her for a few moments and then turned back to Xolan. "She has agreed to meet with you, Chief Xolan. She trusts your word and I trust her; we are at your disposal." "Thanks to you," Xolan nodded. "I speak with her now if acceptable. You shown quarters where..." The chief was interrupted as another giant dog strode purposefully into the room from one of the side hallways. She ― Nil was pretty sure it was a she ― walked directly over to him without acknowledging any other being in the room whether man or dog. She was a light honey color with short well-groomed fur and had to be almost as large as Cerberus. He felt Lavender tense up again but when he glanced up her face seemed to be filled with anticipation and curiosity rather than fear. Looking around he noticed that everyone else in the room, including the old chief, had their eyes riveted on the animal although no few of them looked more dumbfounded than curious. The advisor, Kanelo, looked more dismayed than anything. Secretly this pleased Nil; he really tried not to form instant opinions of people, especially negative ones, but for some reason he just didn't like Kanelo and he was sure the feeling was reciprocated in kind. Seemingly without a care in the world the huge animal walked over to Nil and sat down on her haunches cocking her head as if examining him. Nil couldn't help but notice her eyes were also a golden color although just a tiny bit darker than her fur. Her head wasn't quite on the same level as his which caused her to look up at him slightly, but not by a whole lot. She was by far the most beautiful animal Nil could ever remember seeing and without thinking he said as much. "You are beautiful," he said letting go of Lavender and reaching out to stroke her head. There was a gasp from the onlookers as he did although the animal didn't react one way or the other until he gently stroked her massive head between the ears. Hearing that the audience was muttering Nil realized maybe he wasn't supposed to touch the dog; after all she probably belonged to someone else who wouldn't appreciate a stranger fondling his animal. "I guess I shouldn't do that, eh girl?" he said starting to withdraw his hand. As he did she moved and gently grasped his wrist in her powerful jaws between extremely sharp and solid teeth. For some reason he wasn't afraid, he knew she wouldn't hurt him; if anything there was a playful expression in her eyes as she gently tugged on his arm. "Can I have my arm back now, pretty lady?" Nil chuckled. "I'm sure if we ask nicely your, um, person, will allow us to play later." With a snort the dog released his arm and he would have sworn she was laughing at him. "Nil, Lord," Lavender whispered anxiously behind him. "Please be very careful." "What?" Nil asked absently. "Oh, sure, no problem. She's probably just curious, I'm perfectly safe. Aren't I girl?" he said reaching up to rub the dogs head again. He gave the dog a silly smile and withdrew his hand. It wasn't until he looked up he realized everybody in the room was staring at him. "What?" he asked puzzled. "I ... I will tell you later," Lavender said sounding almost shocked. "Well, okay," he said with a shrug. "Do you know what her name is? Who she belongs to?" "Ah, her name is Florien," Lavender stammered. "When I was here last she was still unattached." Lav looked up at her father questioningly; he was peering down at them intently with a bemused expression. "Is still," he confirmed. "Was," he added with a soft grunt that could almost be mistaken for a chuckle. "Florien?" Nilsen grinned. "Pretty name for a pretty lady." Florien gave a soft woof and leaned forward to butt her head against his chest knocking him back half a step. "Whoa there, sweet thing. You're going to knock me down if you're not careful." Just then Cerberus came over to sniff her hindquarters looking more like a love-sick pup than a war-hound. Quick as a striking snake Florien twirled around and her jaws snapped shut inches away from his snout with a force that could easily crush a man's thighbone or even shear through a decent-sized iron rod. Cerberus backed off with an almost hurt expression on his face. "I think the lady is not receptive to your suit," Nil laughed. "It would seem much safer to leave be; no means no and I wouldn't test it any further." Looking up at the chief he continued, "Chief Xolan, I'm not much of a diplomat ― that's left for the intelligent ones in the group ― but I understand you wish to speak with your daughter. With your permission we will retire and allow you to do so. That which we have to speak to you about is vitally important, but not critical; it can wait for later. If you could have someone show us where my people and animals are, I will see to them and await your pleasure." Xolan nodded, "Deo, show. Lavender return soon. Later we talk." Nilsen returned the nod and turned to Lavender. "Are you sure you want to stay, love?" "It will be well, My Lord," she said bending her head down in a short bow. Nilsen grabbed the back of her head and brought her down even further planting a short but very possessive kiss on her lips. In a normal voice he looked up at her and said, "Be back soon. If you aren't, there is nothing that will stop me from finding you. Just remember, you, are, mine!" "Yes, My Lord," she said, blushing furiously but smiling lightly. "I am all yours." "Damn right," he said nodding curtly and releasing her. Turning, he saw Deo standing back behind them a few paces his face an inscrutable mask but with eyes twinkling with delight. Nodding back towards the chief he turned again and swept up his gaggle of women with outstretched arms and bid Deo lead on. He was mildly surprised when Florien also fell in step with them as they left the chamber. Lavender watched as they disappeared through the doorway then took a deep breath and turned back to the dais. "Father," she said with a slow nod. "Daughter," he replied also with a slight nod. Standing up slowly, he hobbled down the dais steps and motioned for her to follow him. "Come, we talk. Alone." She followed him as he led her through another side entrance, down a short hall to a small but richly furnished room. Closing the door behind them he gestured to one of the chairs scattered around and limped over to another before sitting down heavily. Stiffly she sat in the chair indicated. "Talk, us, briefly," he started. "No desire anger your man." His face suddenly broke into a wide grin. "Daughter, good to see you again." "Thank you, Father," Lavender sighed in relief. "Prince Nilsen is not someone you would wish angry at you. You might not believe since he a short flatlander but he very, formidable, very dangerous to his enemies." "You not enemy," Xolan observed with a chuckle. "No, Father," Lavender blushed again. Pausing a moment she continued, "Father, I ... apologize for your disgrace, my running away." "Yes, much disgrace," he mused. "But whose? I believe whole life that cull is necessary, needed to improve race, further our purpose. Now, troubled, not sure. Accept apology, maybe in time you will mine. Know you welcome home with your ... interesting ... companions. Now, tell your story." For the next hour or so she told him everything that had happened to her, leaving out only the parts she suspected Nil might not want know as public knowledge and their reason for being there. She started with her running away, the subsequent sea voyage, life as a guard, her capture and time in the arena leading to her rescue and enslavement. When she explained the band around her neck what it stood for and the restrictions it placed on her he was visibly shaken and enraged. It wasn't until she told him about her master, her love and devotion for him that he was able to calm down. "So," he snorted. "This man, your master, he owns you?" "Body and soul," she nodded emphatically. "By this, thing," he said gesturing to the salidin. "Once" she actually grinned. "Now, even if it could be removed, I would not. Even if this gone I would still be his." "You truly mated?" "Truly," she nodded. Hesitating slightly she looked him in the eye before continuing, "Is more. Mated and bred. I carry his child." "Bred?" he exclaimed. "Between Kushitic and shortie? Hmm, interesting." "Horrified?" "Intrigued," he replied. "Grandchildren by sons I have. From you not expected. Officially: outraged; personally: proud. Hmm, will be problems from eugenicists. Much anger. Your man..." he sighed and shook his head. "Challenges may be, probably be." She surprised him by laughing at his dire prediction. "Father," she began still chuckling, "we Kushitic are a race of great warriors, no?" He gave her a puzzled nod. "Our best on his best day could not stand against him on his worst day. Truth." "He bested Bagosora, truth?" "Without thought and little effort," she bragged. "He could have killed him as easily as you or I swat a fly. He is ... unbelievable." "All flatlanders?" Xolan asked clearly taken aback. "No," she conceded. "But good, and Father, there are many, many, many of them. More in Prince Nilsen's nation alone then in all our mountains and I am told his is a small nation compared to others. They are short but they fight well, very well. Do not underestimate them and their danger." "Speak differently now, daughter," Xolan said changing the subject as he leaned back in his chair. "Heard before," she answered ruefully. "Habit now, hard to break. They use more words, same thoughts. Others thought me simple because I spoke differently; do not make same mistake they did." "Your man has many mates?" he said changing the subject again. "Yes, three, hmm, maybe four others." "Not bother?" he asked. "Is unusual?" "Even for flatlanders," she conceded with a laugh. "But fully acceptable to me even if I had a choice. They are more my sisters than your sons were ever brothers to me. Given a choice I would not change my fate. I have been blessed." "Strange," he mused. "Now, to your man you go before the mountains he brings down on top of us." ------- Nilsen was only just getting around to wondering when Lavender would be returning when she finally showed up. Since leaving Chief Xolan and Lavender in the audience room he had been busy with other matters. First had been settling his company into the roomy accommodations Deo had shown them a short distance away from the main building. It was set up like a barracks with a few semi-private rooms which he equated to officers accommodations. The regular troopers would do fine in the open-air bunk beds but he was having trouble figuring out how to fit enough beds in one room to hold him and all his women. Somehow that never seemed to come up in any teenage fantasy having to do with multiple women as bed partners, not that it was a bad problem to have. He had just about decided that the only way he was going to succeed was to remove the bedding from the frames and lay them on the floor when Lavender and Cerberus wandered in. Nil looked up at his tall lover searching for signs of distress but could find only mild amusement as she surveyed the wreckage of what had been a spotlessly clean and tidy room. "Is everything all right?" he asked just to make sure. "Better than I expected," she answered with a shrug. "May I ask what you are trying to do?" "I'm trying to fit five people in a room meant for one," he huffed with frustration. "Six!" came a loud retort from behind them. Everybody turned and looked at Rabszolga standing there with one hand over her mouth and a surprised and almost fearful look in her eyes. Quickly her eyes darted around the room to where Makro smiled, the twins smirked, Lavender huffed in amusement and Jarrah shook her head in resignation. Nil walked over to stand in front of her and said, "Zolga, you want to stay in here with us ... with me?" Timidly, her hand still covering her lips she nodded. "Rabszolga," Nil sighed in exasperation. "What am I going to do with you?" Edited by Morgan ------- Chapter 24 "We assume you'll fuck her until she can't sit comfortably for a week," came the jovial comment from behind them. Nil turned and frowned at Fobie who returned his gaze steadily without losing her smirk. Grumbling, Nil shook his head and turned back to Rabszolga. "Maybe we should find someplace where we can talk, alone," he said. "Why?" Rabszolga asked, obviously surprised. "Ah ... well ... we need to talk and I thought you might want to do it privately," he responded, a little flustered. "It might be a little embarrassing here in front of everyone." "Embarrassing? To talk about bedding a slave?" Rabszolga sounded incredulous. "My Lord, we will do as you wish of course, but surely nothing can be embarrassing to a slave. If you accept me, then they will certainly know; just as they will if you reject me." "It's not that simple―" Nilsen started until he was interrupted. "Nil," Makro interjected. "If you would allow, I think this is something all of us should talk about. Certainly it affects the whole family." "Well ... ah..." he hemmed and hawed for a moment then threw up his hands in resignation. "Fine. If you want to talk about it here then we'll talk about it here." "Thank you, My Lord," Rabszolga answered and soon all of them excepting Jarrah were seated in a circle on the mattresses, Rabszolga directly across from Nil. "I'll just stand back here and watch, if you don't mind," Jarrah said with a smirk leaning up against the wall behind Nil. Nil twisted around to look at her and just shrugged. "Okay," Nil began as he turned around to face his ladies. "I'll admit this has taken me a bit by surprise." "I will understand if you do not wish me in your bed, My Lord," Rabszolga said looking down at her hands folded in her lap. "You do not have to explain it to me." "Rab, it's not that simple," a frustrated Nil replied. "And would you please look at me while we're talking? This bowing and simpering is quite annoying." Rabszolga's snapped up like she'd been struck. The look on her face wasn't quite like fear, more like apprehension. "Whoa, calm down," he hastened to add when she began to apologize. "I'm not angry; it's just that I would rather not talk to the top of your head. Now what is this all about? These other four wenches didn't put you up to this, did they? Because if they did I want to assure you, you don't have to do anything you don't want to, and I mean anything." "Oh no, My Lord!" Rabszolga spoke quickly. "I never talked to them about this, at least not directly. They knew nothing about it." The other four women nodded but said nothing. "Well, that's good to hear," Nil said somewhat relived. "Then I guess I'm even more confused. Rab, I thought this was something you didn't want. I perfectly understand why, given what's happened to you in the past but now you say you want to, ah, go to bed with us ... me. "Now don't get me wrong, you are an incredibly beautiful woman and I, being a mere man, certainly wouldn't mind bedding you. Why now? If it's because you feel you owe me then I'm flattered but it's not necessary." Rabszolga remained silent as an array of conflicting emotions scrolled across her face. "It's because she's in love with you, idiot," a bemused Makro finally broke the stillness. "What?" Nil almost shouted. To say he was flabbergasted was an understatement. Quickly he glanced at the Durhorn woman, expecting to hear her vehement denial. Instead she simply sat there fidgeting, surreptitiously glancing up at him and then quickly down again to the folded hands in her lap. For a moment he stared at her, his mind churning with all the possible responses he could make to this surprising turn of events. "Rab," he said softly and reached out to gently touch her knee which he quickly snatched back when she began quivering. "Rab, is this true?" "I do not know," she almost wailed. "Zolga," Makro said firmly. "Now is the time to be honest ... for both your sakes. Just tell him what you want, what you feel." "But I do not know what I feel!" For the first time that he could remember Nil thought Rabszolga was going to cry. "Rab..." he started but was quickly interrupted by Makro placing a hand on his arm. "Would you let us do this, Nil?" she asked. He nodded and she turned back to the trembling woman. "Zolga, look at me. I'm going to ask you a few questions. Please answer them as truthfully as you can and not the way you think we want you to answer. Can you do that?" Rabszolga nodded and seemed to calm down considerably. "Good," Makro smiled. "Just remember that we understand what you feel, we know what you think; there is nothing you can't tell us, nothing you can say that will embarrass us, or you. Do you understand? No matter what each of us were before, we all have only one purpose now and you know what that is." Rabszolga nodded and relaxed just a tiny bit more. "Very good," Makro returned the nod. "Now we can start. What did you feel when you first met Nil, back in Salas?" "Truthfully, nothing," Rabszolga shrugged. "I was commanded to entice him into my master's trap." She looked over at Lavender quickly but the giantess merely looked back at her impassively. "He meant nothing to me." "And when you came aboard our ship?" Makro prodded. "Fearful," Rabszolga admitted. "I expected to be put to death or at best thrown back ashore. When he agreed to take me ― to bond me, as you say ― I was grateful, but still afraid. I expected to be treated as I always had been, although I hoped not as harshly." "That's understandable," Makro continued. "Hopefully you feel your treatment has been fair since you've been with us. Now tell me what you saw in Nil from then until ... oh say, until we landed here." "My treatment has not been fair," Rabszolga said firmly causing Makro to flinch back in surprise. "I could not have dreamed to be treated this well, Mistress. I have been treated better than any slave could ever hope to be treated. I live in fear that all of this is a dream and I will wake up back where I belong, back where I should have been. "What have I seen? I will tell you what I have seen," she said her voice gaining confidence with each word. She looked at Nil directly now, talking still to May but her gaze never leaving his face. "I have seen my new master as he is: a man greater than other men, wise beyond his years, a leader without arrogance, kind beyond reason. "I have seen him not as a man with his harem of women but a lover binding them into a family. I am no fool: I know that he may take of our bodies as he pleases and there is nothing we can do about it. I also know this collar ensures obedience but it cannot command affection. I have seen the devotion each one of you has for him and I know it is real and not a result of our captivity." She finally broke her gaze from Nil and look around at the other four women bearing his collar. "I do not know any of you as well as I should, or as well as I hope to in the future. I held myself back thinking I had no need to understand fellow slaves. For that I am sorry. "Some may say each of you has her own reason for loving him," she nodded to each woman in turn. "You three are his sisters and while I do not understand what normal relations are between siblings I know yours is more than that. That you are his women and not just his sisters is obvious and I puzzled about that until I grew to know him better. Now I understand. "You, too, beautiful giant warrior," Rabszolga nodded to Lavender and actually smiled. "Your affection would be reasonable given he saved you from certain death in the arena. You, I humbly say, I know best of the four of you and I believe your understandable gratitude would never have been more without compelling reason. I understand that reason. "I do not know what love is," she pronounced slowly. "I know the word. I see what I think it is in all of you, but I have never felt anything like that before so I do not know if that is what I feel." Quickly she turned back to Nilsen and moved until she was on her knees before him. "I do not know if this is love, but this is what I feel: Prince Nilsen, Master, I wish to serve you. No, that is not right. I wish to be yours. I am yours. My life and body are yours by right of this collar but what little I have that is truly mine I give to you without reservation. My heart, my soul, is yours." With that she slowly prostrated herself in front of Nil, face to the floor, arms outstretched and crossed at the wrists. "Do you wish to be his woman?" Makro asked softly. "Yes!" came the muffled hiss. "Why?" "My body burns to be with him!" she cried. "I have nothing to give him except my body! I want nothing more than his pleasure!" "So you would bed him because you feel grateful?" Makro mused. "Zolga, he doesn't want to just fuck you. He would know if you didn't really want to do it and that would not make him happy." "No!" Rabszolga gasped and looked up and May. "Not for gratitude!" "No?" May grinned. "Then why, Zolga? Why do you want to bed him?" Rabszolga shivered and shifted her gaze to Nil. "Beat me for my impertinence if you will, Master, but I want you for my own pleasure. A slave should not say this but I want to feel you next to me, to feel you touch me, to ... be in me! If you do not want me, then please kill me, for I know without your touch I will die anyway!" With that she lowered her head back to the floor and began sobbing quietly. Nil sat there mute for a second until Makro gently broke the silence, "Nil, hold her." "But, May..." he started. "Do it, Nil! She belongs with us," she answered a little more firmly. Shaking his head slightly he reached forward and caressed one cheek wet with tears before cupping Rabszolga's chin and lifted it up until she again looked him in the eyes. "Rab, if that is truly what you want then you are certainly welcome to be with us so long as everyone else agrees." He released her chin and opened his arms in invitation. She moved so fast he would later swear he had seen nothing more than a blur and suddenly his lap was filled with warm, soft woman with arms clenched so tightly around his neck he wondered if he was ever going to breathe again. Still sobbing, Rabszolga pressed her face into the crook of his neck rubbing like a cat trying to spread her scent and mark her territory. "It's okay. Everything is fine now," he crooned reaching around to rub her back as she squirmed to press even more tightly against him. Hearing a noise from behind, Nil twisted his head around as much as allowed given the constrictions. Jarrah was moving towards the door waggling her fingers at him, an almost evil grin on her face. "I think I'll leave you to your latest conquest," she said still grinning. "Remember, you're supposed to talk to Chief Xolan 'later', whenever that is. Try not to take too long, or exhaust yourself." Not waiting for his reply she walked out the door and pointedly shut it behind her. Ignoring Jarrah's parting barb, Nil turned back to the woman filling his lap. "Rab," he said pulling on her chin until she was looking at him. She looked so peaceful and contented he hesitated to say what he must, but to do otherwise wouldn't be fair to her. "Rab, before this goes any further I have to tell you something. I like you, I really do. You're smart, beautiful, and considering what you've been through, incredibly self-possessed. I doubt many of us would have been little more than raving lunatics. You are a strong person and I believe a good one, but..." he paused for just a moment, "I can't tell you that I love you. I know I have feelings for you but not the same as I do for the others. I don't want to hurt you, but I don't want to lie to you either." "You will allow me to be with you? To be one of your women?" she asked, seemingly unfazed by his admission. When he nodded she continued, "Then that is enough for me." With that she playfully nipped at his fingers and buried her face back into his neck. It wasn't quite the reaction he had expected. When the other four women saw the expression of bewilderment on his face they all broke out into quiet laughter. "Nil, you are an idiot," Makro chuckled as she crawled over to wrap her arms around the both of them. "She's right, but at least you're our idiot," Fobie said as she came over to do the same. Soon the two were wrapped in the arms of four giggling women. Well, three anyway; Lavender didn't giggle but she did smirk. "We'll explain it to you later, in small words," Makro promised. "Right now I think you need to lie down on this mattress and make sure in no uncertain terms that Zolga is your woman." "Thanks for keeping it simple for me," Nil answered sarcastically. "But don't you think Rab might feel a little more comfortable if our ... ah ... first time is a little more private." "Don't take that crap from him, Zolga," Deimie prodded. "Tell him what you want and need. You don't mind if we're here also, do you?" Suddenly Rabszolga looked up at Nilsen and the subservient hesitation seemed to vanish replaced with a fire in her eyes. "I do not care if it is here or in front of everyone in these gods-be-damned mountains! Help me, please!" Jumping up she began to strip off her clothing as quickly as she could. Again looking bewildered and stunned Nil just sat there for a moment until other hands pulled him erect and began to methodically rid him of his own garments, even his boots! Quicker than he thought possible he was naked and staring down at the equally nude Durhorn woman already on her back and reaching up to him with outstretched arms. Again he hesitated slightly until Makro gently pushed him down towards his waiting soon-to-be lover. "Go on, Nil," May whispered to him. "Make her happy." Nil looked down and was mesmerized by what he saw. Rabszolga's body was at least as beautiful as her face. She wasn't overly large in any one place but almost perfectly proportioned for her six-foot height from the swell of her full, firm breasts, taut belly, gently curved hips right down to her trim, perfectly tapering legs. He may have resisted forcing himself on any woman he believed really didn't want him, but right then it would have taken an army to keep him away from the delightfully wiggling nymph doing her best to entice him. Dropping to his knees between her widely-spread legs he continued falling forward to catch himself by his arms until he was directly above her. Reaching up, Rabszolga wrapped her arms around his neck and hungrily drew his head down while at the same time lifting herself slightly until their lips mashed together. Nil was used to hot-blooded, aggressive women demanding his attention ― none of his ladies could be called passive or reluctant when it came to loving ― but he would have never expected the single-minded ferocity he got from Rabszolga. She quickly forced her tongue into his mouth while simultaneously wrapping her legs around his waist and trying to drag him down on top of her. "Rab, we should go slower," he tried to mutter into her mouth. "I want it to be good for you." "I am no maiden to be gently used, my master," she said breathlessly as she pulled back slightly to look him in the eyes. He noticed a shadow of what could be regret pass across her eyes and he immediately felt sorrow for what she had been subjected to in the past. "I don't want to use you at all, my beautiful Rabszolga," he said holding himself back which took considerably more conscious effort then he had hoped it would. "If you are to be one of us ― one of my women ― then I want to make love to you, not just fuck you." The use of the coarse term didn't seem to faze her one bit. "I do not care what you call it," she groaned as she humped her hips up trying to press the head of his cock against her moist slit. "I just want you inside of me." Nil was surprised at how aggressive Rabszolga had become; he never would have expected it from the usually submissive Durhorn woman. In a tiny part of his mind, the part not now concentrating on sex, he was glad to realize she may have been beaten in the past but not broken. He may have wanted to say more but the initiative was taken out of his hands, so to speak. Suddenly he felt a hand wrap around his cock and place it against Rabszolga's opening and immediately another pair of hands pushed down hard on his ass and just that quickly he was two inches deep inside of her. With that any rational thought completely vanished. "Ahhhh, yessss!" she hissed and pulled hard with her legs dragging him even further inside her body. Nil felt his cock bottom out by hitting lightly against her cervix and he paused. He would like to think it was out of consideration for his partner but the truth was as soon as he had plunged her depths the muscles in her vagina clamped down and she began quivering, eyes wide open and staring up at him. She felt like a velvet-lined vise holding him tightly and there wasn't a chance he was going to move until she let him. Moments later she relaxed, her eyes closed to almost slits and there was a small, satisfied and somewhat predatory smile on her lips. Nil had his own needs to take care of now. Slowly at first he began to move in her, drawing out and steadily pushing back in. The speed of his thrusts increased as he closed on his own climax, slamming into her as she absorbed his almost brutal drives with grunts and groans of satisfaction and pleasure. It was then that the salidin bond truly opened up for Rabszolga, ex-sex slave of Durhorn. She had been able to feel the touch of his emotions for a while now, the briefest shadow of what he felt, what he desired. It had been disconcerting when it was pointed out to her she could point to where her bondholder was at any time; in all the seasons she had been a collared slave she had never felt its like before. But now the shadow became a tight, hot beam of light illuminating his feelings for her, his compassion, tenderness and desire to protect her. Suddenly she not only felt the incredible bliss as his manhood pierced her depths and filled her body but she also experienced what he felt. It was like being two places at once. First was the well know feeling of the female being mounted by a man, no, not a man, her man; and even that was different. She had been fucked countless times by countless men but it had never felt like this before! All those times before she had been little more than a receptacle for their lust, just a place to dump their load of cum. Now she was this man's woman, receiving his gift, giving her pleasure she had never really believed was possible, the mythical coital orgasm. That was strange enough to the formerly embittered slave and that would have been enough to overload her senses but that was only part of the experience. Not only could she feel him above her, in her, but she could also feel what he was feeling! She knew how she felt in his arms, her soft body beneath his, nails digging into his back, heels pounding against his ass. She had been made to have sex with other women before but this felt completely different. She tried to sort out the various conflicting sensations but it was too much, finally she just laid back and let the feeling roll through her like waves crashing on the beach. She was delirious as the sensations flooded her body but even so she began to feel Nil's climax as it began. She actually felt the burn in the groin, the tightening of the scrotal sack, the final thrust as he drove in the instinctive need to bury his seed as deeply in his female as possible, the need to impregnate his mate. She felt the white-hot burn as his spend leaped from his/her cock into her waiting body. She screamed as she had never screamed before and then remembered ... nothing. ------- "You back among the living yet?" Rabszolga's eyes fluttered and she looked up into the sparkling lavender eyes of their namesake. Rabszolga couldn't remember ever seeing the self-satisfied smirk on the giantess's face before but couldn't dredge up even a smattering of resentment. "I live," she muttered. "I think. Unless I have passed through the veil of life and am now in paradise." "The heaven of the old gods?" Lavender snorted. "Not likely. It just feels like it sometimes." Rabszolga looked around and saw Nil snoozing on his back beside her, Deimie also dozing, her head resting on his shoulder, arm flung protectively across his chest. "He is a god," Rabszolga stated in almost reverent tones. "Ha!" Lavender snorted again. "Well, maybe a minor one, but we like to keep that a secret lest it swell his head along with various other parts of his body. You ready to get up and get clean? We received word that we are expected at Chief Xolan's table within the hour." Rab nodded and tried to sit up. She winced at the unexpected soreness between her legs. "Is it this way every time?" she asked Lavender. "Ouch, I have not been this sore since ... well, for a long time." "I expect you will get used to it again," Lav shrugged. "All of us were virgin when we came to him, but it passed quick enough." "That is not what I meant," Rabszolga replied sitting up and looking around for her clothing or maybe a wrap. Seeing nothing she grunted and stood up ignoring her nudity. Modesty wasn't something highly prized in a slave. She looked down at her master and fellow concubine and it was all she could do to not fling herself down on him again. "Ah, yes, the end." Rabszolga could hear the suppressed laughter in Lav's voice. "Not always, but more often than not. It depends on if you are the first one for the night: then it almost always happens. I think it depends on how horny he is. But there have been nights when he has put all four of us out so maybe that is not all of it. Come, let us get you cleaned up and then we can wake the sleeping godlet for his own bath." "I ... he..." Rabszolga teetered slightly as Lavender put out a hand to steady her. "I know, sister, I know," Lav nodded solemnly. Rabszolga looked up at the huge woman standing next to her. "Sister?" "So the others call me and it feels so," Lav smiled. "And so now are you. Shall we make ourselves presentable for our lord?" With that they headed for the bathing room. Edited by Morgan ------- Chapter 25 "Thank you for inviting us to dine with you, Chief Xolan," Nilsen said nodding to his host. "Is nothing," Xolan said with a wave of his hand. "Is our custom to discuss matters over meal. Insult you?" "Not at all, Chief," Nil answered. He noticed a number of the chief's advisors were also dining with them which was probably unusual, but it did set the tone that this was indeed a working meal and not just a social gathering. The social part wasn't completely missing though; Lavender's mother was also present, a remarkably ugly woman Nil couldn't help but notice, sitting beside her husband. There were a couple of younger men sitting with them who Lavender introduced as her older brothers along with their mates. Nil almost chuckled at the cultural differences inherent in the perception of beauty. To Nil the brothers' wives, or mates as they called them, were also remarkably ugly. He looked over at Lavender and grinned thinking how lucky he had been that the first woman from this culture he had met was also the most beautiful. She answered his grin with a slight frown until she caught the meaning of his look through their bond; then she actually blushed, rather prettily he thought. "Xolan," the old chief corrected him. "Family now; no need for nonsense." "As you wish, Xolan," Nil answered with another nod. "It isn't normally our custom, but that isn't to say it's never done. It certainly doesn't bother me and after all we are your guests. "And speaking about custom," he continued. "I want to beg your pardon right up front for any indiscretion I might make. Makro here is the true diplomat and I'm sure would be the first to confirm that I am little more than a muscle-bound barbarian when it comes to matters of state. I usually do best when left in the background growling and grunting while the smart people do the talking and thinking." Makro just rolled her eyes and sighed. "True warrior," Xolan nodded solemnly, but he did have just the hint of a smile on his lips when he said it. "Our daughter welcome home always, but you come for another reason?" Nil actually felt refreshed to be talking to someone that didn't beat around the bush. "Yes we did, Xolan," he responded and for the next half hour he explained why they came and the fears they had if one of the teaching machines were to fall into the wrong hands. "Our Teachers?" Xolan sounded incredulous. "Just so: your Teachers," Nil nodded. "These Teachers of yours could unlock the knowledge of the ancients, which could be good, but also very bad. Knowledge is always a double-edged sword and the thought of some of that information in the wrong hands gives me nightmares." "You want our Teachers?" Xolan looked at him dubiously. "Honestly, yes," Nil sighed. "We would like to trade for one if we could. But even more important than that, we want to make sure they are safe." "Teachers safe!" one of the advisors shouted, pounding on the table. It was Kanelo, the advisor from earlier in the day who had been looking daggers at Nil throughout the meal. "Kushitic great warriors; Teachers stay!" "I agree," Nil answered softly not letting himself become caught up in the shouting. "I think they are safe, for now, and hopefully for a long time to come. "But," he continued, "as I'm sure you also know, a secret is difficult to keep forever. We found out about them and who's to say somebody else won't? Maybe not tomorrow, maybe not for many seasons, but for the security of my people ― for the world, even ― we have to assume it will come out eventually. And make no mistake about it: if ― when ― the knowledge that you have working crystal readers here gets out it would be more than enough to bring vast armies to your doorstep. There are nations that would gamble everything they have to obtain them." "Your nation?" Xolan asked with a frown. "Not while my father or myself lead it," Nil sighed. "But after that... ?" he shrugged. "I don't know. And I'll be honest with you: If I thought there was a chance someone might take one, I'd come with as much force as I could to prevent it. Again I'll be honest with you: I would rather see them destroyed than fall into the wrong hands." "What if we, 'wrong hands'?" Xolan grunted. "You 'wrong hands'?" "That possibility has been discussed," Nil nodded in agreement. "There were questions whether or not to even tell you about the potential danger, to see if we could trade for one without you knowing about the potential benefits or the dangers." There were angry mutterings from around the table and Nil put his hands up pleading for more time to explain. "It was discussed; that's all. My thoughts, and most everybody else's was that even if you could be persuaded to part with one you certainly wouldn't give up all of them and so long as one was unprotected the danger would be the same. "Our final decision was to tell you everything we know," he continued. "Our hope is we can work with you and be able to use the machines; but above that to make sure they are protected." "Teachers ours!" one of the advisors declared angrily. "Belong to the Kushitic; outsiders not allowed! No contamination!" "That may be your final decision," Nil answered calmly. "Although I doubt the question has come up before. I still hope we can work together to our mutual benefit. We have access to hundreds of thousands of the crystals and I know you have only a few on limited subjects. There is a great deal we can both learn by working together." There were a number of disbelieving snorts and even more angry mutterings as a number of the Kushitic looked at Lavender with open hostility. "You can stop that right now," Nil said firmly rapping on the table. "Yes, it's obvious that we learned this from Lavender, however she had no idea that any of this was or even should be secret and it wouldn't have mattered if she did. If I had asked she would have no choice but to give me the information. If you have a problem then it is with me, no one else." "Peace," Xolan held up his hand. "My table, my guest. "Much to hear still," he continued. "Ultimately is matter for all Kushitic, not just Clan Zagwci. No decision until all hear. Will call for meeting of the clans soonest. Until then we listen, learn, understand." "Chief," another of the advisors implored, "Zagwci cannot tolerate blasphemous shorty and his traitorous cull! Our Honor decreased!" Chief Xolan looked steadily at the speaker for a moment before answering. "Beware, Thaho, speak you of man's mate," he paused for another moment. "My daughter." Turning back to Nil he asked, "Aware Law of Challenge?" "I have some experience with it," Nil responded tersely. "Fear will have more before done," Xolan sighed. "It is your custom and I will abide by it," Nil shrugged. "But not agree with," Xolan stated, it wasn't a question. "It isn't my place to either agree or disagree with your customs in your country, Xolan," Nil answered with another shrug. "I will admit I prefer to settle differences with reason rather than force; but each culture has its own ways and who is to say which is better so long as it works for those peoples." "Yet trained for war you are," Xolan said with just a hint of a smile. "Well, I may be a reasonable man, but that doesn't mean everybody else is," Nil responded with a straight face. It would have been more believable if his sisters didn't snort and chuckle at him after he finished. "Just so," Xolan nodded, pretending to ignore the playful mockery along with Nil. "See you with shiakye," he said changing the subject. "Unusual, interesting. Fear not well received by some." "You mean Florien?" Nil asked surprised. "Yes, well, I don't know about my shiakye, at least as Lavender was able to explain it to me; but she does seem to have attached herself to us. I thought she was unbonded and free to go where she wishes. Did I misunderstand? I certainly don't have a problem with her hanging around with us if she wants." He looked back at the huge canine dozing behind his chair. The animals seemed to have the run of wherever they wanted to go; the chief's was laying down next to his chair as was Cerberus and one of the advisors had one sitting quietly behind his chair. "To whom they bond is mystery," Xolan shrugged. "Some never. Believed Florien never bond; appears wrong. The bond forms from them, you feel later. Is permanent." "Ah, so you're saying I'm bonded whether I want to be or not and there isn't much I can say about it?" Nil asked with a snort. "Is an honor to my people," Xolan chided gently. "Of course it is," Nil responded quickly. Then he continued with almost fatalistic acceptance, "I seem to find myself bound to all sorts of women lately without being involved in the decision. What's one more?" "Just so," Xolan nodded wisely. "Send for the meeting of clan chiefs," he continued. "Will take few days. Tomorrow will meet with Geneticists. They responsible for Teachers; must be involved." That signaled the end of the meal and of the discussion so Nil and his women took their leave and returned to their quarters. As they were heading to their room, Jarrah poked her head out of her room and gestured for Nil to join her. "What do you need, Jar?" he asked as he walked into her room. Without saying anything she pushed him down into the lone chair and sat on his lap. "You know I love you," she began. "Of course..." "But I don't want to be one of your women," she interjected before he could finish. "At least not now." "That's okay, Jar," he said with a grin. "That's certainly not something I'd want to force you into." "Well, you don't have to sound so relieved," she pouted. "I have to admit I didn't really think you were ready for something like that, maybe never," he said soothingly. Then he got a devilish little grin and started tickling her sides stopping just short of grasping her breasts. "That doesn't mean I'm not disappointed I won't have a chance to play with your delightful little body though." "Stop that, you idiot," she laughed and slapped at his hands. "Like you don't already have enough tits and ass to play with! I don't think you'll miss my boney body in the least." "Jar, you are an incredibly beautiful and sexy woman. Of course I'll pine away from wanting you," he tried to look woeful and hurt at the same time, but his acting was so pathetic she laughed at him again. "I want what's best for you, Jar. If that means you end up with another man, or another woman, that's okay by me. I just want you to be happy." "Well, there certainly isn't any other man I'd want to be with," she laughed again. "And I do want children some day so you may be pressed into stud service sometime in the future, but I'm not interested in any kind of commitment right now." "The sacrifices a brother has to make," Nil sighed dramatically. "But you have to take that up with the real bosses around here, not me." "Oh, I will, when the time is right," she smirked and then turned serious and looked him in the eye. "Are you really okay with this?" "Yes, I am really okay with this," he nodded solemnly. "Just so you know, I don't find you quite as repulsive and disgusting as the rest of your sex," she added. "I could ask for no higher praise." ------- The next morning they met with three of the Geneticists. Lavender led him to believe they were a class separate from the warriors and were a combination of priest and scientist. Their primary function was to ensure the Kushitic progressed on their designated path of becoming as tall as humanly possible; their secondary function was to care for the crystal readers and instruct the young. Nil was surprised when he first met them; he had expected them to be probably the tallest of the Kushitic, but that wasn't the case. In fact they were relatively short, very relative since they still towered over Nil by a good head and a half. He also expected them to be overtly hostile but again they surprised him. True, they were guarded and politely skeptical but seemed genuinely interested in their story and, given the looks they gave each other, concerned. Whether they were concerned about the potential ramifications of the uncontrolled release of the ancients' knowledge or of the possibility someone would try to steal their readers Nil wasn't quite sure; he assumed it was probably both. Little was decided during this first meeting; however Nil viewed it optimistically since nothing was actually denied and it was even implied that there would soon be an invitation to view and possibly even use one of the readers. Unfortunately Makro wasn't so sanguine. "You didn't even bring up the possibility of taking one back with us," she berated him later that evening in their quarters. "It didn't seem like the right time," he answered patiently. "And to be honest I'm not sure if that would be such a good idea." "Of course it would be!" she practically shouted. "It would be..." she paused trying to come up with the appropriate words. "Yes it would," he cut her off by placing a finger lightly on her lips. Luckily he drew it back quickly as her teeth snapped shut on the air where it had just rested eliciting a chuckle from him and a pouting frown from her. "Seriously, May," he continued the chuckle left behind. "We worry about the Kushitic being able to protect the readers they have here; shouldn't we be just as worried about how we would protect one of them? After all we would be far more exposed, especially on the trip back. True, it would be fairly well protected if we got it home, but for how long?" "Its secrecy would protect it," she answered. She wasn't wiling to concede the point yet but the slight hesitation before she answered told him she was beginning to have her own doubts. "Maybe," he conceded. "But how long could we keep it secret, especially if we used it? Sure, if we stuck it in a hole, surrounded by guards, it might be safe, but how long before curious people would start wondering what we're hiding. Of course if we use it and start coming up with wonders from the past they're really going to start wondering, and looking, and prying, and..." "Fine!" Makro huffed. "I get your point! But we can't just do nothing about this. Nil, the good we could do with that knowledge is incredible! The medical lore alone would make it worth the risk." "Hmm, maybe," he mused. "But at what risk? Now, before you get all riled up again I'm not saying we should ignore it completely, but I think we need to be very careful how we go about using it. "Look, May," he continued, "if we hadn't found out about this we would be no worse off than we are now. But if this should get out ... Well, you can imagine what could happen; I certainly can. What I'm saying is if it is a mistake not to dive into the old knowledge right now then it's a mistake we can remedy. But if it's a mistake to rush into it and it should get out ... That's not something that can be easily fixed, if at all." "I believe Nilsen is correct," Lavender interjected slowly. "Oh, you'd say that if he said the sun rose in west," Makro snapped, then blushed slightly as Lavender gave her a disappointed look. "All right, fine, maybe you wouldn't, but that doesn't mean he's right." "So, what do you think we ought to do?" she asked turning back to Nil. "I don't know exactly," he admitted. "Maybe we can form a trading partnership with the Kushitic and some of our 'traders' will be scholars using the readers for special research." He held up his hands in surrender. "I don't know, May. There are probably a lot of things we can do. The one thing I know we need to do, though, is be very careful." "Since when have you ever been careful?" she asked incredulously. "Since I've had wives and children to protect," he answered with a snort. "Hmm, I suppose..." she actually smiled just a little bit. "Very well, I agree, partly anyway. If it's a mistake not to try for one of the readers it's a mistake we can correct later. The important thing now is to get access to one. I know I want to get at one and Jarrah would practically kill to look at a few of the basic medical crystals Lavender identified." "I think we have a good chance at that," Nil nodded. "At least I got that impression. We'll just have to wait and see." ------- Their chance came quicker than expected when Deo showed up the next morning offering to take them to view the readers. Quickly they gathered up a sampling of the crystals they had brought with them for just such an occurrence. Disguised as game tokens they had chosen crystals using Lavender's ability to read the titles for their potential interest while thinking they were devoid of any really dangerous information. There were a few basic medical primers, an introduction to engineering principles and the rest identified as history or works of fiction. They were ready quickly and without further ado Nil, his women, Jarrah, two guards and the inevitable Florien followed Deo out of the village along a well-worn path up the side of one of the nearby mountains. They had been traveling for only about half an hour when they came upon the ruins of some ancient structure. Nil guessed that at one time it had been a fairly large building from the height of the remaining walls and the amount of debris lying undisturbed both inside and outside the weathered structure. The path led directly through the ruins and down into the mouth of a dark tunnel. "Dark for 20 meters," Deo cautioned in the cryptic speech they were becoming used to. "Hold hands." They did and after shuffling in the dark for 15 meters or so rounded a corner and saw the faint glow of a lamp hung on a sconce head-high ― head-high for a Kushitic anyway. They moved along the tunnel for about another 50 meters with the dim light of lamps every 10 meters or so until it finally ended in a large well-lit room. There were about ten of the Kushitic Geneticists/priests and six of the most amazing devices Nil had ever seen. He had no reference with which to describe them other than a chair attached ― or maybe part of would be a better description ― to tables with arms springing over the top of the chair holding what looked like over-sized battle helmets. It was obvious one was supposed to sit in the chair with one's head in the helmet; other than that he had no idea what it was supposed to do. They were met at the doorway by the group of Geneticists, two of whom Nil recognized from the day before. "Welcome, Hall of Learning," one he recognized said. Nil remembered his name was Paki. "Thank you, Paki," Nil responded, looking up at the man. "We are honored that you allow us to see and hopefully experience your learning machines." "Knowledge our goal," Paki answered with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Told we you have no Teachers, yet have the learning stones?" "That is true," Nil agreed. "We knew there were Teachers long ago and we have many of the learning crystals, but we were unaware any of them still worked. Do you know why these still function when all the others do not? I see you have six of them." "Six, yes, but three died, do not work," he said with a shake of his head. "No know why. Two not work for long, long time. Third die when great-grandfather live, forty seasons ago." "You have an amazing treasure here," Nil said and all ten Geneticists beamed. "An amazing and possibly dangerous treasure." "Yes," Paki nodded this time. "Heard what you tell Xolan. Agree. We follow ancient knowledge, but maybe not all be good." "Could we see a demonstration of how they work? Maybe even be allowed to use one?" Nil asked. "Yes, is agreed," Paki responded. "Will show on one. Who?" "I'll do it, Nil," Jarrah pushed her way to the front of their small group. "No, you won't," he answered forcibly. "I'll do it." "Nonsense; it's perfectly safe," she growled as she rounded on him. "Maybe it is, but I want to be sure first," he answered without heat but with solid resolve. "Nilsen deSiso, you can't order me..." "Yes I can," he said firmly. "It's either my way or not at all, Jar." "Bastard!" she spat. "No more so than you are," he said with a grin. "If nothing happens to me then you can try it, not until." "You are such an ass," she huffed and turned away trying to ignore him; Nil just shrugged to the others in his party and then turned back to Paki. "I would like to try it," he said. "Good. Is safe. What learn today?" "Lavender told us what she has learned," he said. "I'd like to try learning to read the labels on other crystals." Paki nodded and led him over to one of the machines where he was seated in the chair and the helmet lowered until it loosely covered his head. One of the other Geneticists reverently carried a small wooden box over and placed it gently on the table attached to the chair. Paki opened the box and Nil saw ten crystals snuggly held in protective wadding. The Geneticists chose one, picked it up and fed it into a hole next to the juncture of the table and chair. The machine began to hum. Suddenly the outside world disappeared and Nil's mind was filled with voices and illegible symbols crawled across his vision. Nil had no idea how long he sat there but gradually the symbols began to make sense and he was able to understand them. All too soon the helmet went dark and his learning session was over. Getting to his feet a little unsteadily, he felt like he'd had a glass of wine or two too many. He moved over to where his women were huddled with the Kushitic Geneticists. "Wow," he muttered as they look at him apprehensively. "Are you all right?" Fobie asked. "Hmm, yes, I think so," he said as the dizziness passed. "It's a little disorienting at first, but that seems to be passing. Give me one of those crystals, please. How long was I in there by the way?" "Less than half an hour," Jarrah answered as she passed him a crystal she grabbed randomly from a bag she carried. "'Introduction to ... Medical..." he muttered mostly to himself. "I can read most of this, but not all." "Each lesson you receive from the Teacher is divided into many parts," Lavender told him. "Only one part per day or your head will hurt and you cannot learn anything." The others gathered around him all asking what it felt like at the same time. "Have new learning stones?" Paki asked with feigned disinterest. He really tried to act casual about the question but was doing a lousy job of it. In fact he stared at the crystal in Nil's hand, practically salivating. "We brought a few, just in case," Nil answered barely hiding a grin. They had brought a selected few not only to satisfy their own curiosity but hopefully to entice the Kushitic into the possibility of a trade. It would appear the lure had worked. He held out the crystal to the tall Geneticists. "Would you like to look at it?" Again trying to look only mildly curious Paki took the crystal and read the encoded label, his hand began to shake perceptibly. "Would you like to try it out?" Nil asked. "Thanks," Paki replied and Nil almost laughed as the tall priest scurried over to confer with his fellows. A brief debate ensued until Paki obviously pulled rank and sat in the same machine Nil had recently vacated. The helmet was pulled down over his head and the crystal deposited into the receptacle of the machine. As Paki became motionless his fellow Geneticists gathered around to mutter over him. "I don't think we'll have any problem getting them interested," Nil said dryly. "Of course not," Lavender snorted. "That is the first new crystal any of them have ever seen. They would sell you their mother for the chance to learn from it no matter what it is about." "Well, I don't want their mother, or even their sister," Nil chuckled back at her. "But if these fellows are any indication I think we'll be able to come to an accommodation in sharing our knowledge." Edited by Morgan ------- Chapter 26 The next few days were busy even as they waited for the gathering of the clan chiefs. Each day was spent using the crystal readers absorbing the knowledge of the few crystals the Kushitic owned as well as the ones they had brought with them. Even given the very few crystals they had brought, it soon became obvious it would take many more days than they had to soak up everything that was available, so they each had to pick and choose what they thought was the most important. Jarrah and Makro concentrated on the biology and genetics texts while Nil tended to stick with more general knowledge and engineering. It kept them busy and out of trouble, at least that was Nil's hope. Unfortunately trouble had a tendency to find them anyway. The first hint of trouble appeared as more of the chiefs and their retinues filtered into the village and were briefed on the reason for the upcoming gathering. Nil was introduced to the clan chiefs as they arrived and for the most part they greeted him cordially although at times coolly. Their retainers were a different story. Where most mirrored their lords and avoided him and his people, there were others that were openly hostile if not downright rude. To these Nil feigned indifference and did his best to ignore them but it was obvious that wouldn't be a viable option for much longer. Xolan assured him the women were safe but still Nil forbade any of them from traveling alone, or even in small groups without some sort of escort. The second bit of trouble came to him in the form of his sister, Jarrah. "Nil, can I have a word with you?" she asked one night. Nil and his wives were enjoying a little bit of relaxing "do nothing" time before retiring for the night and were lounging in their room when she came in. "Of course, Jar," he said pulling up a chair for his sister. "What's on your mind?" She sat down looking decidedly uncomfortable, even fidgeting with her hands in a most uncharacteristic manner. Finally she took a deep breath and began. "I've finished with the basic medical crystals we brought and the few on genetics the Kushitic have remaining," she began. "I can't say there is a whole lot of shockingly new material in the basic ones we brought, but..." "Out with it, Jar," Nil prompted. "Nil, they're killing themselves!" she blurted. "What?" he and his wives gasped. "Who's killing themselves?" "The Kushitic," she said looking at Lavender apologetically. "Well, all right, maybe not exactly killing themselves, but ... Damn, this is difficult. All right, how old do you think Chief Xolan is?" "Chief Xolan?" Nil glanced over at Lavender puzzled. "I don't know; eighty, ninety seasons, maybe a hundred. I doubt it's much more than that." "Lavender, how old is your father?" Jarrah asked gently. "Fifty-two seasons," Lavender whispered back. Nil just stared at her. "Fifty-two seasons, Nil," Jarrah repeated. "But to us he appears to be almost double that." "That can't be right!" he protested. "Yes, it can," Jarrah reiterated. "The Kushitic age much more quickly than we do ― much more quickly than anyone we know. Lav, how many of your people live to be over a hundred seasons? Ninety? Eighty?" Each time Lavender just shook her head in disbelief. "Lav, unless someone dies from an accident or violence we fully expect to live to be well over a hundred seasons." "That cannot be!" Lavender protested. "It's the truth," Jarrah sighed. "You've met May's mother, Nesho. She is almost fifty seasons old now. Does she look it to you?" Again Lavender could only shake her head in disbelief. "But why, Jar? Do you know why?" Nil asked. "No, I can't tell you exactly why it's happening, only the results," Jarrah answered with a shake of her head. "I can only speculate but I'm sure it has something to do with their breeding program. Lavender, why do the Kushitic breed for height?" Lavender looked surprised but quickly answered, "Because The Proposal tells us to. It's one of the learning stones the ancients left us. It is our most sacred stone. But you knew that. I saw you learning from it." "Yes, I did," Jarrah sighed. "And I was able to talk to a couple of your Geneticists about it. I know your people consider it to be instructions left by the ancients and have based a good portion of your culture on following it." She paused for a moment before continuing, "Please don't get upset with me but I believe your people have misunderstood the meaning of The Proposal and that misunderstanding has caused a considerable amount of damage." "Damage? What damage?" Lavender demanded. "How could following the plan of the ancients have caused harm?" "Peace, please," Nil interjected before turning to Jarrah. "Jar, we need to be very careful when we speak ill of another culture's core beliefs; nothing I can think of will turn them against you any faster." "But, Nil, facts are facts!" Jarrah responded adamantly. "The fact is they don't live as long as we do. It's also a fact their gestation period is shorter than ours and their birth weight is much lower. Everything I see points to the fact that something is wrong. They should be told about this!" "I'm not doubting you in the least, little sister," he sighed. "But tell them what? That the whole basis for their culture is false, that it's adversely affecting their lives? I'm not sure that's a very good idea. To begin with we don't know exactly what is causing this. You suspect their breeding program; but is that because you have some information that actually connects the two, or is it because that is the only difference we see between us? Could it be something to do with their environment? Something in the air, or maybe the water? Maybe their diet? Can you rule any of those out?" "No," she answered slowly. "I don't suppose I could, not without a lot more study. But, Nil, I just get the feeling―" "And you may well be right, Jar," he interrupted. "But I don't think right now would be a particularly fortuitous time to bring it up. Lav, honey, what would be the reaction of your people if we were to speculate that the matings your Geneticists require were somehow responsible for shortening your lives?" "Disaster," Lavender gulped. She was still somewhat stunned by these revelations and was only barely conscious of his question. "At first they would want to tear you apart and then," she shrugged, "it would only get worse from there." "I thought as much," he mused. "Jar, think what would have happened if thirty seasons ago someone had come to Jeevel and preached that slavery was evil and needed to be destroyed." "Oh!" she sounded surprised. "Yes, that would have been bad, very bad. But what can we do? We can't just sit back and do nothing. That's not right." "Maybe not right, but prudent," he sighed again. "Whatever we do must be done very carefully. These people aren't stupid; they just don't have all the same information you do. Maybe some of the crystals we brought might enlighten them, or maybe ones we can bring in the future. Let them find out for themselves. That might be the safest way, and to be honest, may be the only way. Let them discover it for themselves. I don't know if that would work or not but I think it would be best if we did nothing right now. Maybe Father and our mothers will have better ideas. Just promise me you won't say anything outside this room. This is important, Jar." "Fine, I won't," she agreed with a frown. "I don't like it, but I'll agree to it." "Thank you." "What did you mean by saying The Proposal wasn't what we thought it was?" Lavender interrupted. "Everyone knows that The Proposal is instructions on how to improve the human race. You learned it; you know that now." "Yes, I did," Jarrah admitted. "And I have to admit I didn't understand very much of it either. There was so much background information that it assumed the learner already had which I didn't. The title itself caused me some doubt right at first: A Proposal for Eugenic Improvement of the Human Race Using Non-Intrusive Genetic Manipulation. "To begin with it didn't sound like any text I've ever read. In fact it felt like someone was putting forth a theory and was asking for permission to try it. Kind of like somebody who has a new design for a ship and wants to try it out. I noticed it used a lot of phrases like intend to show and will demonstrate. Not something I would expect if what it contained was a proven fact. Also it was created at something called the Kushitic Genetic Research Center. I'm sure I don't know exactly what that means but if research meant the same back then that it does now, could it be there was a village here dedicated to studying genetics?" "We are told our ancestors were here before the Change to guide and direct the improvement of life, including humans," Lavender agreed with a nod. "We believe many wonderful things were created from before but now we have only our shiakye and ourselves." She paused for a moment and then continued more slowly, "I understand what you are saying about The Proposal but I have difficulty believing. The Proposal is the most important thing in our lives; it is our reason for being, for doing what we do ... why we are here. Even if what you say is true it will not be well accepted." "I think 'not well accepted' is a masterpiece of understatement," Makro commented dryly. "To begin with, the best we could expect would be disbelief if not outright animosity. Nil, we aren't here to change their culture; we're here for the readers. I think this is something else we need to keep quiet about." "I agree, May," Nil nodded. "We can have our own opinions about whether or not they are right or wrong but now is not the time to voice them. Do you agree, Jar?" "But, Nil," Jarrah protested, "they have based their whole culture on a misunderstanding and it's hurting them!" "Maybe that's true, but maybe not," Nil responded. "Your interpretation indicates they may have misunderstood but can you say for certain you're correct? And even if you're right does that mean we have to tell them, or even should? I don't think so, certainly not without a lot more study. There's too much at stake here for 'might be'. We have at least the start of a decent relationship with the Kushitic; I don't want to jeopardize that with what would happen if even a hint of this got out. Jar, will you promise me you won't say anything about this either?" "I think it's wrong to keep this quiet," Jarrah fumed. "But I'll do this for you, for now, at least until we can talk to Mothers and Father," "That's all I ask, sister dear." ------- Over the next few days more of the clan chiefs trickled in. Nil was introduced, usually at a dinner hosted by Chief Xolan but other times it was wherever he happened to be during the day. To a man they were polite but where some greeted him with open curiosity others did so with thinly veiled disdain. Again the problems didn't come from the leaders themselves, overtly, but from their retainers. They were able to ignore it for the most part but it soon became evident they weren't going to be allowed to do so forever. It finally came to a head one day while Nil and Lavender were at practice. As had become their routine they were practicing with their guard contingent and a very few of the Zagwci clan members who were curious enough to join them when Chief Xolan introduced them to a newly arrived clan chief. Right away Nil could tell this wasn't one from the "curious" crowd. The chief barely hid a sneer and didn't even bother to offer the customary handshake in greeting. After a few perfunctory words the new chief turned his back and studiously ignored Nil and his group. With a shrug Nil turned back to practice when they were interrupted by an almost shrill scream. "Cull bitch!" Moving with a speed that surprised all but those Kushitic who were familiar with his fighting, Nil rounded, identified the belligerent one and interposed himself between Lavender and the advancing warrior. "Should be dead, cull!" the warrior growled looking at Lavender while barely glancing at Nil. "Resolve, now." "No, you won't," Nil said loudly enough that everybody in the area heard him without it having been shouted. ""Leave be, little man," the warrior growled again this time looking at Nil with a dismissive sneer. "Bitch is mine. I challenge!" "Actually, she is mine," Nil answered as he tossed the blunted practice sword to the side and slipped his battle sword from its sheath, his ever-present sword-breaker already in his other hand. "You challenge any of mine, you challenge me." "Not the law!" the warrior protested halting his advance. "I have great respect for your laws," Nil said almost amiably, his soft voice belying his stance and slight motions. Those told his own men and those others who could guess that death was only seconds and maybe two meters away from the confounded aggressor. "On this I will not yield: you come for one of mine you come through me first." The befuddled warrior looked to his own chief silently asking for direction. The visiting chief shrugged and motioned towards Xolan. "Zagwci clan land. Decision his." Xolan raised his eyebrows slightly, paused for a moment and then said, "Nilsen of Jeevel claim Lavender Mist as mate and property. People differ, customs differ. Acceptable for him accept challenge for his people." The visiting chief and the warrior both grunted in unison. Nil felt Lavender's large hand rest lightly on his shoulder. "Nilsen, Master," she said softly. "I can take him." "I'm sure you can," Nil answered back just as softly while his eyes never wavered from the challenger. "But I will not allow it. You carry our child and that is something I will not take a chance on." "But―" she started until he interrupted her. "This is how it will be, Lav. Do you understand? It is my command." "Yes, Master," she said tersely. "Say that tonight when I'm fucking you senseless," he muttered so only she could hear. Her grip tightened momentarily and then became almost a caress. "Ha, we will see who is left senseless." "Now that's a challenge I can really appreciate," he responded. "Be careful, husband." His only response was a terse nod as he stepped closer to the tall warrior. "Good," the challenger laughed. "Kill you first, then cull bitch." Without another word he swung at Nil trying to cleave him in half. "Mistake." Lavender turned to see Deo standing next to her. He looked down at her calmly and continued, "Your man kill stupid one now." Lavender just shrugged and turned back to the fight. To the untrained eye the action was fast and furious and it appeared the tall attacker was merely inches away from overwhelming his smaller opponent. He had the longer reach, a longer weapon and carried a buckler that could double for a full sized shield for a man Nil's size; from the hoots and cries from the watching Kushitic it was assumed the result was a foregone conclusion, and soon. Lavender saw it differently and after an initial rush of fear-induced adrenalin she settled down to watch what was actually going on. Regardless of what Deo said Nilsen was not trying to kill his opponent. She noticed he passed on at least two opportunities for a disabling slash to the Kushitic's thigh and a death stroke to the stomach; it was obvious he was trying for a disarming move and not one that would separate the limb from the body. Silence from a number of the Zagwci Kushitic indicated they understood what was going on. Finally Nil had enough. Dropping down to avoid a slash at his head he braced himself on the ground and swept out with one leg hooking the challenger by the ankle and tumbling him onto his back. Quick as a striking snake Nil was up and over the prone warrior. Pinning the hand holding the sword with one foot he placed the point of his sword against the warrior's throat. "This is over," he said loudly. Taking a deep breath he stepped back, turned and started walking back to Lavender. "Nil! Behind..." she was barely able to sound a warning to him as the fallen warrior leaped up and charged Nil's exposed back hoping to catch him off guard. Nil didn't need the warning. He had hoped the challenge was over by the defeat but had been waiting for just such an attack and was resigned to the fact it would really be over only when one of them was dead. Quickly he turned, parried the first slash with the sword-breaker trapping the sword in the down position and kicked the buckler guarding the warrior's middle. The buckler and the arm holding it slammed back into the warrior's stomach knocking his breath out and bending him over. Nil lashed out with his blade and... Thunk. The neatly severed head of his opponent rolled over to lay staring sightlessly up at his chief, eyes fluttering and jaw still moving in a soundless scream. Shocked, the chief stared at the gruesome object lying at his feet and slowly looked back at Nilsen. "Now it's over," Nilsen said with an air of finality. "Unless someone else wants to have a go at it?" ------- Nilsen would have liked to continue with the practice session if for no other reason than to demonstrate his disdain for those who would consider challenging him or his people, but he decided against it. Primarily he was so wired by the adrenaline surge that trying to hold back in a practice setting wasn't practical; it just wouldn't be safe. As a secondary consideration ― although whether it was truly less of a consideration than the first was debatable ― were his other four women lined up outside their barracks. He had a pretty fair idea that they wanted to talk to him and ignoring them by continuing practice would be ... uncomfortable. A dictatorial slavemaster could get away with it; he could not. He was correct in that assumption, but not in exactly the manner he thought it might. At first he steeled himself to justify the fight but surprisingly that didn't seem to concern them overly much. True, they were concerned and always would be whenever he was in any dangerous situation but as they pointed out, they could feel his emotions and understood he not only felt no fear or apprehension but was completely in control of the situation. They were angry it had to happen, but were pleased it ended the way it did. "Stupid bastard!" Makro grumbled. "He got what he deserved. I'm just glad nobody else tried to attack you while you were going at it." "That would not happen," Lavender said as she softly stroked Nilsen's hair. She was sitting in their bed leaning back against the wall with Nil laying between her out-splayed legs his head nestled between her impressive breasts. "It is against our law. The offender would be killed and his clan disgraced. Besides, our lord's shiakye would never allow it. If she thought that was happening she would tear them to pieces." "I noticed she didn't do much while he was fighting for his life," Makro snorted. The object of their discussion was at that time having her belly rubbed by the twins over in one corner as Cerberus looked on woefully. Seeing he wasn't going to get any attention from that quarter he flopped down on his back in front of Rabszolga who was sitting tailor-fashion on a pad. With a chuckle she reached out and began scratching his soft fur eliciting a groan of thanks. "They will not interfere with a lawful challenge," Lavender answered with a shake of her head. "How would they know?" Makro asked. "I'm not sure I would know in all cases, how would — pardon me for saying so — would an animal know it was a lawful challenge?" "I do not know how to answer that," Lavender responded after a pause. "I think it is because a shiakye is bound to her partner much the same way we are bound to Nilsen. "Do not mistake the shiakye for mere animals," Lavender chided. "They are much more than animals. They cannot speak as we do but they understand what we say. I believe they are even more intelligent than many people I know." She looked over at her shiakye whimpering on his back, rear legs kicking, looking little more than a puppy ― if you could overlook the fact that this puppy was the size of a small pony. "Contrary to how they may appear at times," she added with just a hint of scorn. Cerberus looked over at her, let his tongue roll out of his mouth and let out another loud groan as Rabszolga rubbed his belly a little bit harder. "If you say so," Makro laughed. "You really think they have a bond with their ... partner? Like we have with Nil? I wonder how? We know why we have the bond," she reached up to gently brush the salidin around her neck, "but how could that happen without this assistance?" "I do not know," Lavender answered with a shrug that caused her breasts to jiggle delightfully against Nil's ears. "Maybe some of my people know more, but if they do we were not told." "Do you think they were something left over from when the Ancients were here?" Another delightful shrug. "There is certainly something different about them," Nil said. "They're nothing like any other dog I've ever know except for general appearance." He snuggled back and yawned. "But whatever the case I'm tired, comfortable and want to sleep. I think we can all agree our two four-legged friends are unique and very special but we aren't going to be able to solve this mystery tonight. Besides, I can think of much better things to do now; sleep may even be one of them." He twisted his head and nuzzled Lavender's breast even more aggressively. "I bet you do," Lavender chuckled as she wrapped her arms around him and drew him in even tighter against herself. ------- The following few days were not uneventful. Nilsen was challenged no less than four times over the next three days. The first time he again held back until it became obvious the fight was going to be to the death before quickly dispatching his opponent. The next three he didn't even bother, especially the day that saw two separate challenges. After the latest challenge on the third day he was overheard by a number of the Kushitic onlookers to complain that this was getting boring and he wished they'd try it two or three at a time if for no other reason than to get it over with. "If I have to kill every one of these stupid bastards, doing it one at a time is going to take forever," he groused to Lavender. "What the hell is going on?" "I do not know," Lavender answered looking almost puzzled. "I did not think they hated me so much." "Not you," Deo interjected from his position next to them as they watched the latest corpse being dragged off. "Chiefs using them to get Prince Nilsen." "Cowards," Nil muttered. "Why would they want to attack me? We haven't done anything except point out a potential problem." He paused momentarily and then continued musingly, "I suppose it could be the old 'kill the messenger' reaction, but this is a bit extreme. I mean, by the gods, four brave men are dead! Isn't that enough?" "Change bad," Deo grunted. "You, change. They think if you gone, problem gone." "Stupid!" Nil spat. "The danger isn't going to go away no matter what happens to us." Whether Nil's comments had anything to do with the council beginning the next day was unknown but it did begin. Nil found it to be much like any gathering of politicians he had been forced to attend: long and boring. It began with Chief Xolan addressing the group to define the reason for the gathering followed by the chance for each of the other chiefs to talk briefly. Surprisingly, they were politicians after all: over half of them declined to say anything; a few admitted their lack of understanding and a few more, their utter disbelief at anything the foreign shorty said. "Stop fidgeting!" Makro hissed from over his shoulder. All of his women were seated behind him as he faced the semicircle of chiefs. "He always hated these kinds of things," she whispered to Lavender. "He has the attention span of a squirrel. If it doesn't have tits or a sword, you have to beat him to keep him still." "I know how to keep him in one place," Lavender whispered back. "True, but you have tits," Makro giggled, "and a sword." "Hush," Nil muttered without turning around. When all the chiefs had been given a chance to speak, Nil was asked to address the gathering. Starting slowly and somewhat hesitantly he began by telling how they first learned of the existence of the crystal readers and their fears of what could happen if one were to find its way into the hands of one of the more unscrupulous world leaders. He tried to be accurate and truthful in what he told them although he did minimize certain aspects such as the actual number of crystals still available in the outside world. When he had finished, there were many who wanted to question him but Xolan delayed that by having the lead Geneticist speak about the crystals Nil's group had brought. Again Nil was surprised by his enthusiasm concerning the potential new knowledge but also agreed with Nil's prediction of trouble. From their frowns and surly looks Nil guessed a good many of the chiefs didn't share their priest's enthusiasm. When he was done Xolan then allowed questions. "You want Teachers," one said to Nil. It wasn't a question. "At first that was one of our objectives," Nil admitted candidly. "But now I don't think it would be a good idea." He went on to explain his reasoning just as he had done with Jarrah. "You only know?" another asked. "Only my family," he responded before quickly adding, "That includes my father back in Jeevel." He wanted to make it clear doing away with their mission wouldn't eliminate the knowledge outside the mountains. The questioning continued for many hours and more than once Nil had to admit he didn't know the answer. The Geneticist was also questioned although somewhat less harshly. "It's not going very well," he whispered to Makro and Lavender during one of those questions. "Hard to know for sure," Makro replied. "Not well," Lavender admitted at the same time. The mood in the chamber was becoming if not ugly at least uncomfortable when the closed doors were thrown open followed by a warrior rushing in stopping only to whisper in Chief Xolan's ear. Standing up Xolan raised his arms for silence. "Flatlanders come," he said loudly. "Many warriors!" Edited by Morgan ------- Chapter 27 "Did he say what I think he said?" Nil demanded as he turned to Makro and Lavender. "Soldiers? Where could they be from and why are they here?" "You don't think Father sent some to support us, do you?" May asked. "It wasn't planned that way," Nil answered with a shrug. "I suppose it's possible, but I'd be surprised. I guess that makes more sense than somebody following us. Who else would even know we're here?" "Maybe they're not here because of us," Fobie interjected. "Maybe they're just ... I don't know ... exploring. Lav, does that happen often?" "Not for many, many seasons," Lav said shaking her head. "The flatlanders near the sea did so in the time of my great-great-grandfather, but not since." "I suppose it's possible though," Nil mused. "Lav, it looks like your father is mobilizing his warriors." Nil was looking back over his shoulder where Chief Xolan was hurriedly giving orders to men rushing in and out of the room. The other chiefs were huddled with their own retainers and whispering among themselves. One warrior walked over to them and asked Nil to attend on Xolan. Telling the others to wait where they were Nil and Lavender approached Lavender's father. "Know who these are?" Xolan asked Nil. "Yours?" "Not that I know of," Nil answered with a shrug. "I don't expect any of our people, but I can't tell for certain until I see them." "Come with us?" "Yes, of course," Nil responded. "Do I have time to get my battle armor? If it is my people it couldn't hurt; if it's not..." Xolan grunted his assent and said they would be forming up outside and leaving in a quarter-hour. Gathering his women Nil hustled them out the door and toward their rooms. "Get the captain; send him to me," Nil barked as he strode into their room and started donning his armor as quickly as possible. Lavender was doing the same. He briefly considered ordering her to stay behind but quickly cast the idea aside. Not only was she his shield-maid and he would feel uncomfortably bare without her at his back, the fact was she would be invaluable in working with the Kushitic. He didn't like it but she would be going with him. The others wouldn't and he quickly made that very clear over their vocal protests. "Marc," Nil acknowledged the guard captain as he entered the room. "I want four of your guards to go with Lavender and myself. You and the rest will stay here. Be ready to move and move fast. Your only concern is the safety of the women; everything else is expendable. Carry what you need but be prepared to abandon the rest." "Yes, My Lord," the captain replied. "If we need to retreat where should we meet with you?" "Here if possible but if not then try to meet with the ships when they're scheduled to return," Nil ordered. "If that's the case you'll have to be extremely careful; it could be the town is held by unfriendlies. Worst case, go to ground. Sooner or later Jeevel will come for us if we don't show up on time. My ladies will know where I am at all times but that is not your concern; yours is to protect them." He turned toward Makro, his other sisters and Rabszolga but still spoke to the captain. "They are under your command. I know Princesses Makro, Fobie and Deimie technically outrank you, but for now they are to take your orders. Is that clear?" The last being addressed to the women and as one they nodded in agreement. "Good. Are you ready, Lav? Fine, then we'll be off. Ladies, a kiss goodbye and we're gone." Nil and Lavender met with the Kushitic as they formed up ready to leave. There were about a hundred and fifty of them and Nil was pretty sure only half of them were from Xolan's clan. The Kushitic didn't wear uniforms per se but there were subtle differences between the various groups in the formation, mostly the predominant colors displayed. The Kushitic began to move and Nil, Lavender and their four guards fell in just behind Xolan who was deeply involved in a discussion with another chief. "I'm surprised your father isn't taking more men," Nil noted to Lavender walking by his side. "What do you mean?" she asked clearly puzzled. "This is every warrior available. There are a few remaining who are not well enough to travel, or too old, but all are going who can." "I suppose there are quite a few scouting and stationed other places," he grunted. "But I expected more to be available." "Ah, I think I understand," she said and then paused for a moment. "Nil, My Lord, there is something I do not think you understand. The Kushitic are a great people, a proud people, but not a numerous people. How many of us do you think there are?" "I don't know," he admitted. "You're spread out all over these mountains; there are what, twelve, thirteen clans? Maybe fifteen or twenty thousand? More?" "No, my Lord," Lavender shook her head. "About three thousand five hundred in total among all the clans. Of that maybe seven in ten are women and children. Then there are the aged and infirmed. Maybe two in ten are warriors capable of battle." "Shit!" Nil hissed and stopped so quickly one of his guards ran into his back with a grunt. Nodding his apology Nil started walking again as Lavender looked on with an amused expression. "You're telling me the Kushitic have only about six hundred, maybe seven hundred warriors altogether?" he asked Lavender incredulously. "You have got to be kidding me." "I would never do that to you, Nil." Lavender admonished. "It is true." "Damn!" Nil swore. "We'd better hope these visitors are ours because if they aren't it could get real ugly around here." "We have over a hundred and fifty warriors. How many would we need?" she protested. "Depends on how many of them there are, I would say," he mused. "From what I've seen, your father's warriors are good; but quantity has a quality all its own. I wouldn't hesitate matching up our own Jeevelian soldiers one-on-one with them and while I think we're some of the best, we can't assume everyone else is that much worse. If there are a lot of them, well..." "But they do not have us," Lavender responded with utter confidence. "That's true my dear blood-thirsty warrior," he chuckled. "But we're only good for fifty or sixty between us." "Besides," she continued as if he hadn't said anything. "You have not seen our shiakye in battle yet." Nil glanced over at the trailing Florien and Cerberus. In addition to their own two dogs there were another thirty or forty scattered throughout the formation. "I'll take you word for that," he said with a shrug. "I admit they are individually very formidable, but..." "But nothing," Lav assured him. "You would be surprised at just how formidable they can be; I know any enemy will be." "But you haven't had anybody attack you for years," Nil continued. "It's not like they've been battle-tested." "Neither have you," she countered. "But that does not matter. They are born with the knowledge they need. You will see, if it comes to that." "Let's hope it doesn't come to that," Nil sighed. ------- The Kushitic's long legs and ground-eating stride forced Nil and his guards to follow at a slow jog causing them to break out in a fine sheen of sweat even in the cool mountain air. The journey back down to where they first entered Kushitic country was much quicker than the initial trip, unencumbered by wagons as they were, and driven by a more immediate purpose. Still it surprised Nil when Xolan called a halt just below a gentle rise in the road. There had been numerous runners going back and forth from the main column as they traveled so it was unlikely what was on the other side was going to be much of a surprise. Nil guessed, correctly, that Xolan had no intention of letting the foreign forces, whoever they might be, know the Kushitic had a sizable contingent in the area. Xolan motioned for Nil to join him and Nil and Lavender did so letting the Jeevelian guards rest from their short run. "Chief Xolan," Nil nodded as he approached Lavender's father. "Two hundred fifty, maybe three hundred," Xolan started without any preliminary pleasantries. "Wear red with gold, all." "Doesn't sound like my people," Nil said with a shake of his head. Jeevel used mostly purple with yellow trim on their regular uniforms. "Red and gold: that seems familiar to me for some reason, but I can't seem to recall where I saw it," he admitted. "Durhorn," Lavender interjected from her accustomed place behind him. "What?" came Nil's startled response as he looked back at her. "Durhorn?" "The Durhorn guards in Salas wore red and gold," she reminded him. "Why, so they did. But what in the hell would Durhorn be doing here?" he asked. She just shrugged. "That could be ... unpleasant." "Know them?" Xolan demanded. "Maybe," Nil admitted. "Know of them, anyway. We had a small problem with an official from that country awhile ago and far away. But I don't see how they would know I'm here. It could be just a coincidence." "Argument?" Xolan inquired the hint of a smile on his lips. "Fatal argument," Nil admitted. "If it really is Durhorn and they've heard of me, I doubt they will be very happy if they knew I was here." Now Xolan's hint of a smile broke out into a wide grin and there were a number of grunts and coughs from the other chiefs who surrounded them, listening. Nil half expected a number of the other chiefs to suggest turning him over to the invaders if it did turn out to be his enemy but there was never even a hint of that from the onlookers. "We are a proud and stubborn people," Lavender whispered into his ear. "We would never turn over our worst enemy if it was demanded." "So that's where you got it," Nil whispered back. "I am not stubborn!" Lavender protested. Nil could only respond with a snort; it covered the laugh that almost came out. Xolan decided that their small group, the other clan chiefs, Nil and Lavender would walk up to the crest of the ridge to get a better view of what exactly was happening while the rest of the main body remained out of sight and prepared for battle if one was necessary. As they mounted the crest Nil saw the road stretch out below them running up to the wall delineating Kushitic territory. From his vantage point Nil could see the foreign troops standing at ease on the far side of the wall along with three wagons, undoubtedly their supply train. They milled about a bit so it was difficult to get an exact count of their numbers but Nil was comfortable with the Kushitic's estimate although he would have guessed at closer to three hundred. He also noticed there were at least a dozen Kushitic warriors on their side of the wall rather than the four that had been there when they passed through. The gate was closed and one of the Kushitic was standing on a box and speaking to one of the foreigners. Maybe speaking wasn't quite the right term. Although it was too far away to hear them, given the gesturing and waving of weapons, there seemed to be a lot more shouting going on than talking. One of the Kushitic looked up and saw the group standing on the ridge. He brought them to the attention of the one on the wall who, after a few hurried words, sent the guard running up the hill towards them. "This is no little scouting party," Nil commented on the obvious. "You're right, Lav: Those uniforms do look like the ones the Durhorn guards were wearing in Salas. What in the hell are they doing here?" The Durhorn commander arguing with the Kushitic on the wall ― at least that was who Nil assumed he was ― noticed them at about the same time and turned around suddenly to bellow orders to his troops. Suddenly the Durhorn troops stopped their lounging about and rushed to form up into ranks in a surprisingly short amount of time. "Huh," Nil grunted. "They're well trained at the least." Lavender merely nodded. The runner from the wall reached their group and began talking very quickly to Xolan and the other assembled chiefs. He was talking quickly enough that Nil was having trouble following what he was saying. He looked over at Lavender for help. "They are from Durhorn," Lavender repeated. "They say they are looking for dangerous criminals ― that would be us I assume ― and they demand that we be brought to them or they will come in and take us. Dumisani ― he is the one on the wall ― has naturally refused and called the Durhorn chief a tiny-cocked son of a mountain goat..." she paused for a moment and chuckled. "If I did not know any better I would say he has been taking diplomacy lessons from you." "Lav," Nil said trying to sound hurt, "I take exception to that. I think you've been talking to Makro too much. Besides, if you think my diplomatic expertise is somewhat lacking, you should see my father. He doesn't respond well to threats, insults or flattery particularly well, no matter how subtle. From what I've seen diplomacy is nothing more that saying the nastiest things with a smile. May is good at that; I'm not. I suppose I see Father's point though: It's a lot easier to come to an agreement with a particularly disagreeable person if he's dead." "Yes," Lav grinned. "I have to agree with you." "I know you do, my love," he said patting her arm. "That's why people like us need people like May around. Our way, the discussions are shorter but it's harder to get them to sign an agreement afterwards." "But our way is a lot more fun," she laughed. "I don't know. May seems to really enjoy her verbal battles," he said and then shrugged. "To each her own I guess." "Her tongue can be as sharp as a knife," Lav agreed. "It would appear we will not have to worry about being talked to death here." Nil looked to where she was pointing at the wall. The Durhorn troops had formed up and were advancing towards the wall under the urging of their officers. "This is going to be interesting," he grinned as he pulled his sword and sword-breaker from their sheaths; Lavender already had hers out and her buckler strapped on and ready. Nil nodded to his other guards and noted they were also quickly getting prepared. Xolan raised his arms and made a complicated gesture, immediately afterward about half of the warriors hidden behind the ridge rushed down to support the few remaining at the wall. They arrived at about the same time as the Durhorns and jumped up onto the low step running the length of the Kushitic side. About half of the Durhorn troops concentrated on the gate using their combined weight trying to force it open while the other half attempted to climb the wall at numerous points. The Kushitic were very effective at preventing the over-the-wall incursions but it soon became clear the relatively flimsy wooden gate wouldn't last much longer. "Father is waiting for them to break through the gate," Lavender noted. "When they break through, the ones on the wall will fall back to the far flank while we hit them from this side." Nil nodded, his experience in actual battle was negligible but he had had some of the best teachers in the world and this is what he would have done given the circumstance. It wasn't long before the gate began to crack and the Kushitic abandoned the wall and retreated just as Lavender had predicted. The hinges on the gate gave away before the gate itself and fell down with a mighty crash. The Durhorn soldiers rushing through the gate opening immediately turned towards the visible Kushitic and moved to engage them. Although heavily outnumbered the Kushitic fought like demons, giving ground only reluctantly and at a high price to their attackers and even though three Durhorns were falling for every two of the Kushitic, it was apparent this part of the battle would soon be over unless Xolan entered the fight quickly. He did so as soon as the last of the Durhorn troops cleared the gate and started to spread out in an effort to flank the defenders. This time Xolan simply lifted his sword and pointed down slope. Once he did the remaining Kushitic rushed over the ridge and began running down towards the enemy in an eerie silence. Nil, Lavender, the two dogs and their guards joined them. Nil immediately entered that weird battle mode where everything except his targets seemed to get dark and sounds became muted and muffled. It seemed like the rear ranks of the Durhorn troops were rushing towards him rather than the other way around. Time and distance dilated as he approached the exposed backs of the enemy. The Kushitic and Nil's group were still running in near silence, the clump of their boots and jangle of armor and weapons being the only sound they gave off and that was for all practical purposes drowned out by the clash of battle in front of them. Even with the din of battle, some of the rear ranks heard their approach and glanced back over their shoulder, eyes going wide with surprise, and shouted a warning to their fellows just before the Kushitic smashed into them. It was a testament to their professionalism that so many were able to turn around and meet their onrushing attackers. To Nil it mattered not at all; the Durhorn trooper directly in front of him happened to be one of those that was able to turn around but he died almost the same instant Nil closed with him. After that it was slash, block, stab and move on to the next. He was aware of Lavender to one side and Florien on the other but other than that vague awareness his total focus was on the red and gold uniforms in front of him. Lavender, on the other hand, felt like the whole world was crystal clear and moving in slow motion. Her man was to her right and slightly in front as he should be with her protecting his left flank, Cerberus on her own left and behind protecting her own flank. She was also aware, although not seen, that Florien was somewhere to Nil's right undoubtedly doing the same as her own shiakye. It was wild, confusing, frightening and utterly exhilarating! It was almost as exciting and pleasurable as sex! Almost. In fact the longer they fought the more excited and hornier she became; it was a foregone conclusion they'd better find some place private soon after the battle or she was going to be giving her man the ride of his life right there in front of her father and the rest of the Kushitic nation! When it all started, they had been pretty close to the end of the Kushitic left flank pressing the right flank of the Durhorn troop next to the wall. Red and gold uniforms fell before them like grass before a scythe. In fact there were so many Durhorn bodies in front of them it was becoming difficult to advance as quickly as they probably could have. At one point Nil stumbled over the outstretched arm of one corpse and only the quick intersession of Lavender's buckler saved him a vicious cut to his side. He briefly glanced back at her and winked as he neatly disarmed, at the elbow, the Durhorn whose shield the buckler had tangled with. They were both covered head to foot with splattered blood and gore and the returned grin from this tall, beautiful and utterly barbaric-looking woman almost caused him to laugh; only the ring of a sword on his steel turned his attention back to more mundane but pressing matters. They pushed parallel to the wall peeling the Durhorn troops away from it like the skin of an orange. The Kushitic were doing well and advancing, just not as quickly. It soon became apparent they would outpace their flank support and be vulnerable to attack regardless of their canine support if they didn't either slow down or the Kushitic didn't speed up. Instead Nilsen altered their advance slightly away from the wall and closed with the left flank of the Kushitic line. This could have caused a problem on their left flank except the enemy was constrained by the wall, Cerberus and the Jeevelian guards from moving around to their left. What it did was to push the Durhorns farther in front of the advancing Kushitic, bunching them up to the extent they were interfering with each other and their defense. This put a little more pressure on the Kushitic flank, but almost made the killing easier as each stroke seemed to find its mark in the milling mass of red and gold. At one point the Durhorns broke and moved away from Nil's small group like a flock of sheep from a wolf leaving Nil without anyone directly in front of him. Unfortunately they hadn't broken and run in panic but instead had turned on the Kushitic flank pressing them hard and grinding the advance to a halt. Absently, Nil noted the Kushitic being pressed the hardest was the clan chief whose follower had initially challenged him days ago. Without thinking, Nil again altered his course and closed with the chief until they were standing almost side by side. The chief may have been a great warrior at one time but his age was catching up to him now as his swings slowed and his buckler just barely caught the returning Durhorn blows. It was only a matter of time until one would get through to him. Reaching somewhere inside himself, Nil bellowed and redoubled his efforts, pressing forward into the mass of Durhorns in front of him and again the red and gold uniforms seemed to melt away like wax from a flame. Suddenly there was nobody there and he stumbled to a stop. Looking around almost curiously he saw the fighting had stopped everywhere. There was a small group of Durhorn troops still standing off to his right, their weapons on the ground and hands behind their heads, surrounded by Kushitic looking down at them. He started to pant and all of a sudden his sword seemed to become twice its size and four time its normal weight. Slowly he lowered the point down toward the ground. "It's over?" he asked nobody in particular. "It is, My Lord," Lavender answered as she moved to stand directly beside him. "Are you hurt?" "Hurt?" he said puzzled. Looking down he noticed a few minor nicks and cuts on his forearms but with the amount of blood covering him it was impossible to tell if anything else was wrong. Tentatively he wiggled and moved a little but other than an overwhelming fatigue felt nothing out of the ordinary. "I don't think so." Quickly he turned to look her over. "How about you?" "I am fine," she chuckled. Aside from the fact that she was no less covered in blood than he was, he couldn't discern any visible wounds. Quickly she moved next to him until his face was practically pressed between her mail-covered breasts. Looking up he saw her looking down at him, the look in her eyes almost as wild as the mane of dirty blonde hair surrounding her face. "But I need you," she hissed and just as quickly as that he didn't feel anywhere near as tired as he had just a moment before. "Ah, yes, well I need you also," he whispered and then backed up a step. "But I'd rather not be covered in blood when we do. Besides, I don't see anywhere around here where we can be ... ah ... by ourselves." "I. Do. Not. Care. I need you," She hissed again and took the step to close the distance between them again. Reaching up she casually flicked off a piece of something from his breast plate and reached around to roughly pull him in against her. "Ack!" was all he could say as his armor clanged against her mail shirt. Struggling he lifted his head to tell her to let go but found that impossible as her lips found his and he found himself being kissed harder than he ever had before. Finally he was able to break free and putting a hand on her chest was able to push her back slightly. "Lord, woman!" he exclaimed after catching his breath. "Settle down or I'll have survived the battle only to be killed by the victory! Control yourself for a little bit and I promise I'll ... ah ... take care of you shortly." "As you command, My Lord," her eyes were still smoldering. "But I do not know how long I will be able to wait even if this collar chokes the breath out of me." "We won't let that happen, my love. But I think we should make sure everything is under control here before we let our guard down, among other things." Grudgingly she nodded and they both turned and walked toward a group of the Kushitic chiefs watching the binding of the Durhorn prisoners. With a sense of relief Nil noticed Xolan was one of them; he appeared to be unhurt. As they approached the group Nil observed the eyes of the Kushitic warriors following him, intently watching him for some reason. Even more unsettling was the way the Durhorn prisoners recoiled away from him as he passed. "What the hell is that all about?" he asked out loud to nobody in particular. "You're kidding, right?" one of the guards snorted. When Nil looked over at him questioningly he quickly added, "My Lord." "What do you mean, am I kidding?" "My Lord, half the bodies on this field came from you and My Lady," the guard answered almost shocked. "I'd bet my ass nobody here has ever seen fighting like that before." He paused for a moment and then added, "Hell, I haven't seen the like since ... well ... since I followed your father into battle. It was beautiful; horribly, frighteningly, amazingly beautiful." "Nonsense!" Nil snapped as he looked around. "They must have lost over two hundred here. There's no way Lav and I accounted for over fifty..." "Listen to yourself, My Lord," the guard shook his head. "Two people and you say you couldn't have killed more than fifty of them. If that isn't something to be in awe of, or terrified of, I don't know what is." "But, you two were here, and the dogs..." Nil answered weakly. "It wasn't just me, or even me and Lav." "As you will it, My Lord," the oldest of the guards replied. "But I still say it was the stuff of legends and I can say I was here." He chuckled and then said, "Captain Marc is going to spit nails that he missed it." Nil sighed, shook his head and kept walking. Lavender was still beside him with her hand on his shoulder, not so much as on his shoulder but on the back of his neck trying to worm her hand down his back under the armor and into his under-padding. He thought about shrugging her off as they approached the chiefs but decided he kind of liked it and really didn't care what anyone else thought of it. Even more unsettling than the stares was what happened as they stopped in front of the group of chiefs. Almost as one they silently placed their sword arms over their chests and bowed slightly to him. Immediately afterwards every Kushitic in the area, regardless of what he was doing, stopped and did the same thing. It was eerie. "They are acknowledging a great warrior," Lavender whispered in his ear. He could hear the pride in her voice. "It is the highest honor they can bestow." "Chief Xolan," Nil said aloud returning their slight bow. "Great Clan Chiefs. It would appear we have carried the day." "Magnificent fight," Xolan bellowed. "A costly one though," Nil said as he looked around. "Many lost," Xolan shrugged. "Warriors end. Worthy opponent; they not forget loss. They be wary." "Wary, yes," Nil agreed. "But unless I am mistaken this is just a small portion of their army, really just a small patrol. They could probably muster ten times this number without much of a strain. Would you be able to do as well against two thousand? Four thousand?" "Hmm," Xolan looked thoughtful for a moment. "Need to talk, us, you." "Yes," Nil agreed. "We will talk, when we have time. Have all of them been rounded up? Good. If you don't mind Lavender and I would like to inspect their wagons." "Wagons?" Xolan looked surprised and then looked you into his daughter's eyes. Suddenly his eyebrows rose up and a slight smile eased across his lips. "Yes, wagons. We busy, can do alone?" They could. Edited by Morgan ------- Chapter 28 Nil expected things to go quickly given the general euphoria following the battle; unfortunately he hadn't taken into account the fact that politicians ― no matter their height or culture ― are still politicians. He was surprised because with even the few words the Kushitic chiefs used, they still seemed to enjoy the sound of their own voices. The only one who really seemed to enjoy the back and forth repartee between the various sides and factions was Makro. She was as much in her element as a fish in water; the long hours in conference with the whole group, side meetings with individuals and the inevitable deals and sub-deals between any or all of them. Frankly it bored the crap out of Nil. Early in the process ― the second day in fact ― he turned over the entire diplomatic responsibility to his sister/wife and made it clear she had his full authority and voice. This turned out to be fairly easy. Since the battle, Nil had been treated by the Kushitic in toto as the equivalent of another Kushitic chief. He, and by association any of his people, had obtained a position of complete acceptance with the populace. Gone were the cool, distant and entirely formal greetings; now it was smiles, waves and even small flocks of children surrounding them wherever they went. But time didn't stand still. It was getting close to when they had to return and Nil was concerned with what they would find when they returned to the seaport. Would their ship be there? It was almost a certainty the Durhorn ships would be. Would there be trouble? Nil had helped with the questioning of the Durhorn prisoners and the mystery of why they arrived there was finally resolved. Durhorn had sporadic contact with the country that nominally ruled the seaport and the surrounding country. In fact, Durhorn had a small military outpost within a couple days' sail of the area. They had a spy in that port who had noted the unusual arrival and sent a routine report to his handlers at that same outpost. The spy had no idea this was anything other than just an unusual occurrence but the military commander saw something potentially significant. He had been apprised of what had occurred in Salas in his latest political situation report and noted the similarities in the descriptions of the personnel involved, specifically that of an extremely tall woman who dressed and acted like a warrior. He immediately dispatched a small intelligence team back to the port to obtain more detailed information. Under the cover of a small trading delegation they re-interviewed their spy and spread out through the town gleaning what information they could from the local population. By that time Nil's ship had left; however they were able to quickly discern it had been Jeevelian. The sailors on Nil's ship had been under no restrictions and sailors will talk, especially in the taverns. It was also natural they would brag ― usually under the influence of copious amounts of wine ― that they had a very important personage on their ship. This was enough information for the military commander to send a substantial contingent of his troops to find who he believed to be the notorious Prince Nilsen wanted for the murder of the son of a Durhorn diplomat. There weren't that many visitors to that area so it wasn't particularly difficult to track Nil's group into the mountains where they met their disastrous defeat. It turned out their discovery was little more than colossal bad luck! This was both good news and bad. It heartened Nil to find that there had been no treachery involved in their detection, but it didn't change the fact they had been found and now, even if they left, attention would be turned towards the Kushitic and their mountains. The question now was how they, the Kushitic in particular, were going to deal with the new notoriety. Nil was sitting in a chair reading a history of the Kushitic clans, one of the few written documents they had found. The Kushitic were far from illiterate but ― other than the necessary documents they needed for government administration ― did not seem to have much interest in the printed word. The volume had been written over two hundred seasons earlier and appeared to be little more than a compilation of their myths and legends without much factual information. Still, Nil was bored and it was better than nothing. Deimie and Fobie were lounging on one of the mattresses in the warm afternoon. After Nil's morning practice session they had been in a playful mood and after having their wicked way with him were dozing and thinking about something to eat. Makro breezed into the room, brushed the book he was reading aside and plopped down in Nil's lap. "So, how is everything going?" he asked after they had kissed for a few minutes. "Fairly well, actually," she answered. "It looks like we may be able to set up some kind of partnership agreement with them; if not with all of them at least with Xolan's clan and the readers are in his clan's territory so he's the important one. Right now the basics have been set and everything else is just people talking just to prove they are important and have a say in the matter." "So what would this entail?" "We would send a limited number of scholars here on a semi-permanent basis along with selected crystals for research and learning. We would also provide a certain number of troops as protection for this group. Of course they will be here to help protect the readers, but that is an unsaid understanding; the Kushitic can't publicly admit they don't have the resources to do it on their own. "It turns out there was never really a possibility for us to take one of the readers with us; they're solidly attached to the floor of the reader room and can't be removed." "So what was everybody getting angry about?" Nil frowned. "It's just human nature, darling," she chuckled. "They had to protest just because we asked." "That's a waste of time," Nil shook his head. "What was the point?" "You are far too literal, my dear." She paused and looked over at the twins. "What are these two lazy lizards doing?" "We have been used and abused by our master for his sexual gratification and now need to rest and recuperate," Fobie answered without opening her eyes. "I'll just bet that's what happened," Makro snorted. "Well, there was a lot of gratification," Deimie protested as she opened her eyes and stretched. "You two are so bad," Makro sighed as she shook her head. "He didn't fight too hard." Fobie now opened her eyes. "What is going to happen now?" Nil asked, bringing the subject back to what he considered important matters. "Ah, well, we finish this up and head back home," Makro replied turning back to him. "I'd say another day or two." "Will they be able to protect themselves until we return?" he asked. "You would know that better than I, love," she said. "But I know they are having all the clans send as many of their warriors as can be spared here, strengthening the wall and increasing the contingent of guards posted there. They seem to think they will be fine. They are also making plans for hiding the reader's cave if that becomes necessary. But you already knew that." "Lavender's kept me updated on most of it," he admitted. "I suppose hiding the cave will do as well as anything else." "It's the best they can do for now," Makro mused. "Especially since the readers can't be moved." "Which makes your negotiations with the Kushitic so important, love," Nil smiled at her. "If it's that important then maybe you should be involved in it, love," Makro teased. "It's not that important," Nil gave an exaggerated shudder and she laughed. ------- "Signed, sealed and ready to be delivered!" announced Makro proudly. "Or at least it would be if the Kushitic dealt with paper documents. At least we're finally ready to go." "I suppose we are," Nil grumbled. "But I still don't like this, not one bit." "Oh, stop your whining," Jarrah said giving him a playful slap on the arm. "It's not like I'm going to be here forever." "Long enough," Nil responded. "I don't like the idea of leaving my sister here as a hostage." "I'm not a hostage, you idiot!" Jarrah snorted. "I'm staying to ensure we have a continuing presence here and hopefully get a chance to study the rest of the crystals we brought. Besides, it won't hurt to have someone other than Lavender get to know these people; if everything works out we will be dealing with them for a long time." "I know it makes sense," Nil sighed. "But that doesn't mean I have to like it. You're going to be here practically alone for up to a quarter of a season." "Going to miss me?" she asked impishly. "Of course." "Good. Then you'll send someone to retrieve me even sooner." "I don't think that will be a problem," he grumped. "Father and our mothers are probably going to kill me for leaving you here when they find out." "It's not like you could do anything about it," she said sweetly. "I'm not part of your little harem of slave girls. I can do what I want." "Somehow I doubt that will matter all that much." "You know this is the right thing to do, Nil," she said seriously. "Who else could we leave? All your 'wives' are pregnant and besides they couldn't be away from you for this long." She was right; in the last couple of days it became reasonably apparent that Makro, the other twin and Rabszolga were now expecting since they had missed their latest menstrual cycle. Rabszolga had been flabbergasted, breaking down and crying for a solid hour. Considering the years of near-constant sexual use by a multitude of different men without becoming pregnant she had reasonably assumed she was barren and had resigned herself to that fact. Add to that she really didn't want to have children, given the conditions and use they would be put to. At first he thought she was depressed at the prospect of having his child but his other wives told him he was an idiot so he did little more than flutter around uselessly while she cried. When her tears had finally dried she made it clear she wasn't in the least bit depressed by trying her best to fuck him to death. "I know it is, Jar," he said sighing again. "This is important and next to May, you are the best choice." Jarrah wasn't the least bit offended by the comparison to her sibling; she also knew it to be true. "But that doesn't mean I won't worry about you every second you're away." It was a tear-filled family that departed that day starting their long trek back down the mountain leaving behind their sister and two guards for company. They weren't short on escorts, though, as Chief Xolan sent twelve of his best to accompany them including Deo who would be traveling with them all the way back to Jeevel, and of course Florien who could no more be separated from Nil than one of his wives. The trip back was interesting but not particularly noteworthy. The tall Kushitic caused an equal amount of awe, curiosity and terror in the various villages they traveled through and as Nil had expected there were more than a few claims of paternity. For the most part the men involved readily owned up to their part in the population increase; there was still the assumption that the twins could ferret out any falsehoods. They couldn't, but that fact wasn't mentioned. Only one young guard had a complaint, or maybe it was just a plea for sympathy, when he found himself boarding the ship with three young lovelies in tow. If he thought his prince was going to provide any he was sorely mistaken. Any randy young man looking for pity about bedding and breeding three young women shouldn't ask it from another with five pregnant wives. Nil's only comment was, "If you'd kept your cock in your pants where it belonged you wouldn't have this problem. They're your children; you will take care of them." The young buck could either learn how to form a happy household with the three or he could hope for an early death in battle, but that was about the only way he was going to be relieved from his duty. He may have grumbled a bit at first but since there was no outward signs of discord it can only be assumed he, or more likely the three new co-concubines, were able to work out an agreeable solution. Boarding of their ship was accomplished in the dead of night out of sight of the Durhorn ships berthed a comfortable distance away on the other side of the port. The people and their belongings were quickly loaded with the wagons and draft animals being given to a very surprised dockside beggar. With first light and the change of the tide they left, making best speed for Jeevel. ------- The ship gently rocked, nicely made way in the early evening breeze as Nilsen moved up against the towering Lavender standing at the rail gazing out over the waves. Protectively he put his arm around her waist bringing her tightly against him as he felt the slight bulge of her stomach. She looked down and smiled as she draped her own arm over his shoulders snuggling him into her side. "Nice night," he said after a while. "Very nice," she agreed. "Sailing doesn't seem to bother you anymore," he stated. "Not so much," she shrugged. "Maybe because we are going home." "Yes, it is your home now also." "Your home," she corrected. "My home is wherever you are. Wherever all of us are." "True," he agreed. "Jeevel is just a place. Where the five of you are is where home really is." She just squeezed his shoulder at the same time he did the same to her waist. "There will be war with Durhorn," Lavender stated after a few minutes. "It would appear inevitable," he sighed. "As far as I know we are probably also at war with Salas. A two-front war will be difficult but if anyone can handle it, Father can." "He will have help," she said. "We will be joining the fight." "I must and you know it. What do you mean we? You're not going anywhere!" "Am I not your shield? Your shiakye? Where you go, I go." "We will discuss this later," he said eying her stomach. "We can discuss it as much as you like, My Lord," she shrugged. Her tone said he could talk until he was blue in the face but unless he gave her a direct order the only place she would be was by his side. Nil wondered how much support he could muster from the other girls and sighed. Maybe his mothers would be better allies; then again maybe not. It was going to be interesting. Edited by Morgan ------- The End ------- Posted: 2007-01-26 Last Modified: 2011-02-09 / 08:40:35 pm ------- http://storiesonline.net/ -------