Part 1.
When she woke up, she found herself sleeping next to the bed, rather than on it. Her neck and back were stiff. Her eyes were sore, and her stomach was churning like the wheels of a cart attempting to escape the mud that was her emotions. At some point in the night, she passed out while crying. She had heard steps disappear into the distance; it was then that she knew the choice had been made. It was a bittersweet reality, but it was reality, one that no spell could change. She knew she was cared for, but she wanted more, causing her to question if she was just being selfish.
There were different kinds of love, she knew that. Just because she loved one way didn’t mean that it would be returned the same way. She thought that maybe with her new body, she would stand a chance, but it obviously hadn’t panned out that way. With all the thoughts coming back to her in her conscious state, she slumped onto the mattress. His smell was still on the pillow next to her. She could feel water attempting to build up in her eyes, and the ducts, sore from extended use, caused her eyes to burn.
Preoccupied in her world, she didn’t notice the sound of footsteps stopping at the door, and barely noticed the knocking sound that followed. She hesitated to respond, she instinctively knew who it was, and while she wanted to see that person more than anything, she was also terrified at the fact that she wouldn’t be able to hold herself back if she did.
“Com…Come in.”
The door opened, and Alex stepped inside the room. He looked the same as ever, but there was a slight change in the air around him. She could also smell a different scent about him, one that permeated all over him.
“How can one night change someone so much?”
The man came over to her and sat down near the foot of the bed. He was being courteous, but not cautious around her. He moved without hesitation but left space. It felt strained and foreign, she wanted nothing more than for him to wrap his arms around her and tell her that she was safe, that she was wanted, and that she was loved more than anyone else.
“Does that mean we can’t be together anymore? He will send me away. I am intruding now!”
“Hey, little… I guess that isn’t right now. Lili.”
Simply calling her by her name sent a chill down her spine. She was regretting haven released her seal, regretting growing up. Part of her wanted to return to being the small child she was before, she may never receive the love she wanted that way, but at least she would be able to stay by his side, to be called “Little one” again, with all the love and compassion in his voice he once had. She could feel sweat dripping on her back and her brow. Terrified that the next words would be, “I need you to leave.”, “Evona and I need our space.”, or “Get out.”
“Are you okay?”
She looked up at him, surfacing from her suffocating thoughts. His face was so close to hers, and his eyes were so sincere. They were full of genuine worry. She hadn’t even noticed when he had put his hand on her head, a gentle pat. The weight felt comforting. Those tears started to form back again, this time there was no stopping them.
“PLEASE! I DON’T WANT TO LEAVE!”
She was screaming through her tears. She slammed her face into his chest, gripping tightly to the collar of his shirt. He didn’t have a clue as to what was going on. He hesitated for only a moment, but that was all it took for her crying to intensify. To her, it was the same as him confirming her fears. She was far from being rational. He wondered if this was what all girls went through when the boys that they loved did something. He thought back to Hina, wondering if his little tomboy would have done the same at some point.
Now wasn’t the time for him to wonder about that though, there was someone else that needed his attention. He placed a gentle hand on her head, wrapped his left arm around her, and held her close. They stayed like that for a minute, saying anything right now would be pointless. Instead, it was better for her to let out her worries through her tears, then they could talk about things.
“Are you feeling calmer now?”
“Un.”
“What is this about you leaving?”
“Well…” she hesitated, worrying about what the next words would entail. “You chose. So, I thought… maybe…. I would be in the way here.”
He didn’t respond. He simply sat there staring in her direction for a long while. Her nervousness grew. Maybe she had brought up something that he hadn’t even considered. All she could do was sit there and hear out the verdict once he finally chose to speak up.
“Come with me.”
That was all he said before he got up from the bed and walked to the door.
“Bu-“
“Come. With. Me.” His voice was strict. He wasn’t yelling, but it was obvious from his aura, his tenseness, and his voice, he was serious about it.
She got up and followed him out of the room. They walked through the house towards the front door. As they passed the dining area, she could see Evona in the kitchen. When their eyes met, she flashed Lili a smile, not one of malice or conceit, like she was gloating over her victory. It was one of a kind, genuine and loving nature, like one a big sister would give to an upset little sister. It was a smile that said, everything will be all right. While it did bring some relief to her, it still left a bitter feeling in the pit of her stomach.
She tried to speed up, and run towards the door, but she miss-stepped and nearly fell over. A strong arm had reached out, wrapping itself around her waist and catching her fall. She wanted to say thanks, but he never even looked her way, he simply kept walking forward toward the door.
When they reached the door Lili partially expected the words, “Get out”, to come from his lips. Instead, she looked down, he was already wearing his shoes, and the words she did hear were, “Let’s go for a walk outside.”
The world outside the house was warm. Just enough life was percolating through the tree branches to make everything visible. It had a calming effect, the air outside was fresh, and that helped too. Alex didn’t say anything, he simply started walking down the steps. She followed him, quietly. She didn’t know their destination and was too afraid to ask about it, relegating her to worry about that too.
They walked on, eventually leaving the village altogether and into the forest. They were still within the barrier, so they hadn’t gone too far, but it also didn’t seem like they were going to be slowing down anytime soon either.
When they had first set out, they had made their way south, but then had turned towards the east, then finally north after a while. She was beginning to wonder why they were walking around aimlessly, going around near the border of the barrier.
“Where are we going?” she cried, stopping in place.
He stopped and look back toward her. His face was gentle but sad. There were no tears in his eyes, but a bitter look of disappointment covered them. She was beginning to feel sick for a whole new reason now. He took an audible breath and closed his eyes, and when he opened them the face, he had been wearing vanished. In a clear and gentle tone, he asked her, “Are you feeling better?”
She was surprised at the question, she had been so busy thinking about where they had been going, wondering, trying to guess the destination, she had completely forgotten about the worries she had when they set out. She looked over herself as if she was trying to make sure that she was the same person in the same body. She looked back up at him in bewilderment.
“Sometimes all you need is a breath of fresh air to clear out all those nasty internal thoughts.”
He walked back over to her, giving her a warm embrace. The embrace that she missed, the one that screamed she was safe, safer than anywhere else she could be. It honestly wasn’t fair that any one person could make another person feel like that, but happy he did at the same time.
“Un.” She grunted back in acknowledgment.
“Come with me, there is a place I want to take you.”
They walked for a little bit, this time back to the southeast. It was a place that they had skirted around in their walk. It was a surprise he had left for her, close enough that the mood wouldn’t have been spoiled by the time they got there. It was almost like he knew exactly when she was going to be feeling better like he had planned and measured it all out already.
The space he had taken her to was an open grove with a beautiful pond, like the one she had seen that night when she ran away. That one, unbeknownst to her, had been a terrifying monster that had nearly caused Alex to kill himself from mana deficiency. This pond, on the other hand, was a real spring, with real flowers growing around it. He motioned for the two of them to sit at the water’s edge.
“Talk to me.” The words were short and direct, and there was a calmness about his voice that meshed with the atmosphere of the setting they were in. One that told her, much like Evona’s smile, maybe everything was going to be okay.
She sat down next to him, removing her shoes and placing her feet in the clear, cool water. “Chilly!”
“I guess I was being stupid.” She sounded apologetic, maybe even apathetic, like she was trying to simply gloss over what had occurred, cover it up like it never happened.
“Your feelings aren’t stupid. If you need more time, we can sit here till your ready.” He wasn’t even looking at her when he talked, instead his attention was off in the distance. The forest... the mountains? She couldn’t determine what he was looking at, and all of a sudden, she really wanted to know.
“What are you looking at?”
“The mountains. Remember my own harsh truth.”
“Last night?”
“Un.”
“What did you do when you found out?”
“Same thing you did. I cried. I screamed. I got angry. I blew a hole in the side of the mountain.”
“I think you went beyond me with that one.”
“True. We’d be in trouble if you did that to the house.”
“You mean I’d be in trouble.”
“No. We. We’re a team. You and me. No one can come between that. No one. Where you go, I go. Where I go, I want you to come.”
He finally looked back down at her. He was wearing the kind smile she loved more than anything. She felt her heart skip a beat. She wanted to wrap her arms around him and hug him close, but she held back. She looked him in his eyes, matching his gaze.
“I want to go wherever you are. Even if you tell me I can’t. Where you are is where I want to be, and I hope you will always want to be where I am.”
“Then what was that earlier?”
“I was just, concerned. Concerned that, that now that you and Evona are something, you won’t want me around anymore.”
“That will never be the case. Evona cares about you. You know that. She loves you like a little sister. She would never want you to leave.”
“And you?”
“I thought we already established that if I had it my way, we’d be attached at the hip? Not to mention I just flattened an entire city’s military to come to find you. No one is getting in between us.”
The truth made her want to laugh. It isn’t that she had forgotten what he did, more like her worries were causing her to overlook it. If he had gone that far for her, why would he all of a sudden want to remove her? She felt dumb and couldn’t help but smile at her own ridiculousness.
“You have a point,” she said with a giggle.
“I usually do. And if I don’t, I can always make them.” He said, producing a blade from thin air.
“That was terrible!” she said while laughing.
“I never claimed to be able to make any good joke. Only bad jokes, dad jokes, and bad dad jokes!” he said adamantly.
The air around them was relaxed, and Lili was wearing a genuine smile again. For the first time since they had set out from Faustus, everything felt right in the world. He relaxed his shoulders, and put his arms behind him, supporting his weight as he leaned back. The relief was blissful.
“There is one other thing,” she said, cutting into his make-believe reality.
“What is that?”
“I love you.”
“I know.”
“No, Alex. Ever since the day you saved me from that cage. The day you took me to your room, cleaned me, fed me, gave me new clothes, a warm soft bed. I loved you.”
“I know.”
“Then why- “
“I can’t though. When I look at you I see as -“
“I am not your daughter Alex! I have never once seen you as my father, not an older brother, nor any other kind of clanmate. I can’t say exactly what it is that drives these feelings honestly. To me, you are my hero, my savior. I am… was a princess, and you are a hero, what princess wouldn’t fall in love with the hero who comes to her rescue?”
He had nothing to come back with. He didn’t want to squash her feelings, but at the same time, he would feel like a creep who had conditioned a child to fall in love with him. Someone he had, up to last night, simply looked at like a daughter, his replacement for the one he lost. He was beginning to question himself even more now. Did that make Evona his replacement for Sumire? It would make all his feeling incredibly disingenuous. It would turn last night into something else entirely.
“I am sorry.”
There was a long pause where no one spoke after that. Then he spoke back up.
“This is, honestly, something I didn’t want to hear. I knew, to a degree, that it would come. But it doesn’t change how I feel about it. I love you, Lili. More than I love anyone else in this whole world, but I can’t love you in that way. If I did… it would be like kidnapping you, and…” he paused as he looked around his head for a thought. “There is this condition back home, it is called Stockholm syndrome. You kidnap someone and keep them from the world till the point that the only person that they can show their affection to is the person keeping them. The person ends up believing that they are really in love with the person. So-“
“You didn’t kidnap me! Those men did when they butchered the only people I had left in the world and raped the villagers before slaughtering everyone and burning the village to the ground. No, Alex, you saved me that day. I also can’t imagine your… Stalkhem thing, whatever it is called, could take place as fast as my feeling did. I am not Hina Alex, no matter how much you want me to be, I am Li… I am Inari. I am also Lili, but if that name is too much for you, then Lili is dead, and I will return to being Inari. I am not so weak anymore that I would need to hide myself as I once had.”
Hearing the sound of Lili’s real name made things crystal clear for him. For both of them, Lili had been more than just a name, it was the person she was, the time they had spent together. She was willing to through all of that away, just so that she could be true to her feelings. Reality sucked, and the feeling of having all that time together simply brushed aside hurt worse than any hit or blade he had taken before.
“I hear you. I need some time then. Li… Inari.”
He replaced his shoes and stood up.
“Let’s go back.” His voice was completely dejected, and the thoughts running around his head were abysmal. They left the grove, opposite of how they had come in, walking quietly back towards the house.
----------------------------------------
Part 2.
“What happened!?”
Those were the first words out of Evona’s mouth when they entered the house. She had assumed they would go for a walk; they would talk things out, and they would come back, happy and chipper like always. Instead, what had come back from their hours in the forest was a depressed Alex and a grumpy Lili. For all of Evona’s immense wisdom, she couldn’t figure out what had happened, all she thought was, “Alex messed this up somehow.”
She didn’t bother asking any questions, she simply looked at Alex, her face was stiff and her annoyance at the situation was evident. She pointed at the room they shared, and no one bothered to question her. While Alex may be the most powerful Hume in the world, inside this house it was the unspoken truth that she reigned supreme.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
She walked over to Lili, who had taken a seat at the table. Her face was a mix of anger and sadness. In reality, her emotions were more annoyance, not like Evona’s, in her case she was upset with herself. She had put her foot down, and it had only caused trouble. She felt that it was only the right thing, the fair thing, to do. It may not have been fair for Alex, but she had to do it for herself, she wanted him to see her for her, not for whom he wanted her to be.
“Tell me, what happened out there? You two were supposed to come back happy.”
Lili told her about their walk through the woods, the grove he had taken her to, and the argument that they had gotten into after she had shared with him her feelings. Evona listened intently, not saying a word until Lili had finished. Once she was done, Evona asked her a few questions to clarify certain things. When all was said and done, Evona stood up with a kind smile across her face, well, for Lili it was a kind smile, but there was something ominous hidden behind it.
“I understand everything now dear. I’ll go have a word with him, everything will be all right.”
Lili felt a chill run down her spine. She knew she had gotten Alex in trouble now and hoped that Evona would be as kind and understanding with him as he had been with her. “Sorry, not sorry.” Were her thoughts as she watched Evona walk into the room.
Alex had been waiting at the foot of the bed, near one of the posts holding up the canopy. His right hand was tightly wrapped around it like he was trying desperately to keep it in place. If it moved too far to either side, then the whole canopy would collapse. His other hand, firmly grasping his kneecap on that side, his knuckles were white. The sight would cause anyone to question why someone would do that to themselves, why they would want to put themselves in such discomfort. His face, however, showed no sign of physical discomfort and instead gave a clear view of the mental anguish he was currently in.
Evona secretly felt pity for him, she understood that this couldn’t be a difficult position for someone to be in, but she didn’t show it. She didn’t want him to know that. She was playing cards close to her chest and would only reveal them when she believed it was proper.
She went up to him, her face was stern, and her arms folded in front of her as if they were supporting her bountiful bosom. She looked down at the slump of a man sitting in front of her, carefully watching him as his eyes registered her presence, and slowly made their way up till they met hers. When they did meet, she analyzed them.
“What happened?”
She asked the question for the third time, but this time it was the most forceful. There was a quiet rage behind her words. Like the breath before a storm or the receding tide before a tsunami, take your pick, both were bad. He stayed silent, a futile attempt to think about his words. She noticed his pause and asked him again, only with more force in her voice.
“What Happened!?”
“Lil… Inari. She told me she was in love with me. I told her that I can’t. That it would be wrong.”
“Why would it be wrong?”
“She is… was, she was like a…”
“That was only your one-sided wishful thinking, wasn’t it?”
“I…”
“So, what does that make me? Am I some replacement for your long-lost wife?”
“I… no.”
“You say you want her to always be by your side. That you love her more than anything, but when she tells you that she loves you, you want to dictate what kind of love she is allowed to feel. I could understand this if she was your real daughter, which she isn’t, but to force this kind of restriction on her is unfair.”
There was silence in the room. Alex was trying to look at it from different perspectives, but anytime he thought about it, Lili’s little face came flashing into his mind. He wanted to scream about how unfair to him this was, but that would only be an immature response that would add more fuel to the fire that was underneath him. He let go of the beam to his right and loosened the vice-grip on his knee. His voice was still hollow, and his eyes were in a thousand-yard stare.
“What do I do then?”
“There are only two options. You can either accept her feelings, which would be the best choice in my opinion. The other being, let her go. You will only suffocate her like this. That would also mean you would have to do so by force, it isn’t like she would willingly want to leave you. Then she would be able to at some point, hopefully, find someone of her own. How does that sound, Lili with another man’s arms wrapped around her?“
A visible distaste flashed across his face. His right hand gripped the pole tightly, squeezing the wood into a narrower shape, a high-pitched cry could be heard as he did so as if the grains were begging him for his mercy. Evona, watching this, thought to herself, “Does he not see how selfish he is?”
“If you don’t want that, then you need to address her feelings. If you don’t, and you are always around, she will never find anyone else to love. She will always compare them to you, and no one will ever beat you in her eyes. Not that I think anyone really could regardless. You also need to remember something, ALEX.”
She bent down, her face was right in front of his. He could feel her breath when she spoke, had he been brave enough to pucker his lips, they would have kissed. Now wasn’t the time for that though, and he could only assume that if he tried to do so at the moment, she would like to cast some kind of ancient curse on him or something.
“This is not your world Alex. The rules and beliefs that you know, aren’t the same here. You’re a smart man, I am sure you know this. Maybe you needed a reminder of that though. This isn’t Earth, this is Uvovia. You are a Hume, I am an Elf, and Lili is a member of the Beastmen species, specifically, she is Kitsune. What that should mean to you, DEAR, it means that more than anyone else in this house, in this little village, in the entirety of the forest, probably on this continent, her instincts are the strongest. She instinctively craves you as much as she does emotionally. You are her alpha. Luckily, they don’t have mating seasons, because if they were really like animals, we would need a steel cage to keep her away. Do you understand now why your logic and reasoning from your old world don’t work in this scenario? You will drive her crazy by keeping her next to you and rejecting her like this.”
Alex sat up, straightening his back perfectly, his hand came up to his face, covering his mouth while his eyes grew wide. It was a startling realization for him. Of course, he knew that he was in a different world, and it made sense that their customs and rationales would be completely different, he had just never thought about it. He hadn’t even considered it, which was a major failing on his part. It hadn’t been the first time he had to adjust, moving from the US to Japan, he had to change the way he did many things, it had been an interesting transition for him, one that never completely took place, as he kept some of his old habits, like his directness.
While he didn’t necessarily feel he needed to go about as dramatic of a change in this world as he had when he moved from America to Japan, he did understand the importance of knowing about the differences. He thought back to the year he spent with Vathsvala, he had spent time learning about the language and culture of the countries in this world, but when it came to the Beastmen species, it was more of an overview. Like learning about Chinese history in an American class, where they cut up 800 years, combine it with Korean and Japanese of around the same time period, and then call it a chapter. They had never taken an in-depth look at the people themselves, even the Elves and Dwarves, he knew so little about the people themselves. As far as Humes went, he knew what he knew because he had seen a bit of how they lived firsthand and through discussions with the people in Faustus, but as far as any traditions went, he was completely ignorant of that. Maybe it was because he had thought he had a chance to go back, that he wouldn’t really be here long enough to matter, so he never bothered to care too much about it. That had changed now though, and what’s more, there were people here whom he was invested in now, he couldn’t abandon them too.
“Then that means I conditioned her to love me?”
“No more than you conditioned me.”
She sat down next to him and wrapped an arm around his back, stopping halfway when she realized how far she would need to reach. She placed her hand on the center of his upper back, gently rubbing it up and down in an attempt to comfort him.
“Girls… we fall in love with our heroes. Whether that is the biggest strongest man, the kindest gentleman, sometimes it is the most unlikely person, and we honestly can’t explain why. I think that is probably the same for anyone. Tell me though, just because fell for you, and you two stayed together, does that not make that love any less real? She firmly believes it, and I do too. I don’t believe you had any cruel intentions when you picked her up, I do not believe you had any when you cared for her when you saved her, and I know you don’t have any right now. What would be the harm in returning her love? It doesn’t have to be right this moment, but an answer other than no would be better for her. Give the girl something to hope for, otherwise, you should have just left her in that cage.”
Her last words stung. He was stuck in a position he didn’t want to be in. By his standards, it seemed wrong, but by the logic of this world, what he was doing right now was even worse. Back in his teaching role, he had once had a female student openly confess to him. He immediately rejected her, almost cruelly so, but it was a statement to the other students and staff. He drew a clear line that he vehemently refused to allow to be crossed. He didn’t want to be another statistic like some other teachers who had gotten too close to their students.
This scenario wasn’t the same though, part of him felt like a father taking advantage of his daughter, scum. The other part of him, the part of him that was part of this world, understood that this kind of rejection was no good for her either. If it is her instinct driving her, no amount of talking or rationalizing would cover that up. So now, it would come down to whether he would send her away or keep her by his side. The thought of abandoning her hurt him worse than any other, he knew the feeling, he had experienced it, many times over. He couldn’t fathom doing that to someone he cared about.
“I understand. I will discuss it with her.” He fidgeted in his spot before saying, “I am assuming that polygamy isn’t a big deal in this world?”
“It depends on the person. Most Hume households are monogamous, but that is because of finances. Too many wives or too many kids will put a strain on them financially. There were a few cases where there were women with multiple husbands, but that isn’t the norm, that usually requires a special set of people to work. For the most part in Hume society, the nobility would have multiple lovers, but it grew out of fashion with Hordin’s father. Father and son each only took one wife, and most nobles followed that precedent. In the Empire it is different, there was one emperor who had 86 wives, and you can imagine the mayhem when it came to succession after that. No emperor since has come close to that number, but even Taishi had six of his own, the emperor’s eldest daughter, his youngest daughter, and the daughters of imperial nobles.
“As for Elves, we don’t normally make long last attachments, and our different sexes usually live separately. Dwarves have a limit of only three wives, any more would be more than their founding fathers. I don’t know anything regarding Dark Elves, their nation is secret about everything, and with their allegiance to the Demon Lords of the past, no one has cared to open up to them. Then there are the Beastmen, depending on the race, they may fight for their mates, but once the mate is chosen, it is for life. I believe Homura had to fight against a Leoman and a Toraman for the princess’ hand.”
“He had to fight a lion and a tiger… impressive even if he was the hero.”
“Oh. There are also the Sandsea people, they are in the deserts north of Beastmen’s lands, I don’t know if they have a limit.”
All the pondering back and forth in the discussion of the different numbers of spouses a culture allows, and the known marriage rituals of each one that Evona knew about, really lightened the heavy mood that had filled the room. It also helped him digest everything that they had discussed and come to an idea of what he was going to do.
“Oh, one more thing, Da-r-li-ng. Those two other girls from Faustus. What are they to you?”
He stopped and thought carefully about his next words. The last thing he wanted to do was to reopen the previous discussion. Evona was scary, as much as he didn’t want to compare them, she reminded him tremendously of Sumire.
“Well, according to one of them, I am her fiancé.”
“The one that you gave the ring to?”
“Ah. That one, yeah. You know a lot.”
“Lili and I had time to talk about things last night while you were away.” She flashed a scary smile. ”The other girl?”
“Giazel is her personal attendant. I am not sure why considering her background, but I didn’t question it.”
“Her background?”
“Yeah, she is the daughter of the head of Methloda’s Merchant Council.”
She stared at him, shocked at what he said. The blank look on his face told her that he hadn’t realized what he had managed to do.
“Are you some kind of princess collector!?” she blasted at him.
“What?”
“Lili is the rightful Beastmen princess, Eveline is the princess of Faustus, Giazel the princess of the largest trading power in the world, and I… I would have been the closest thing to a princess in Elvendom, the recognized daughter of one of the most powerful men in the Elven kingdom.”
He blinked a few times and scratched his head. He hadn’t even realized it. He again questioned if there had been any hidden skills he was given. Then he thought about something that would have shattered her reality.
“I probably shouldn’t bring up my relationship with Vathsvala.”
----------------------------------------
Part 3.
Lili had been waiting on the front porch. The thought that some fresh air would do her some good had led her to venture there. She was curled up on one of the wooden chairs there. Her knees were tucked up below her chin, and her eyes were on a point in the distance. She could feel her stomach, it was beginning to be a real problem, partly because of all the nonsense that had occurred today, and partly because no one had taken a moment to sit down and eat yet. She felt guilty, that had been her fault too.
She heard the front door crack behind her, it caused her to jump. She snuck a look back in that direction. Alex had just come out of the house, he was alone, and he looked to be in a better mood than before, if only just. It felt like they had already gone full circle today, and it was only midday. She looked back off in the direction she had been looking in, choosing not to acknowledge his presence.
“Hey.” He said, taking a seat next to her.
“Hmph.” She grunted.
“Ah. Well, I did some thinking, and…” he paused for a second, going on his words one last time before speaking. “The answer is, I love you, but I am not ready for that yet. It is not because of you, well… it has everything to do with you, but…. Shit. I guess what I am trying to say is that I need time. I need time to get to a point where I don’t see you in the same way.”
“So, what does that mean?”
“I guess it means I am a selfish man who wants his cake and to eat it too. Maybe that is a bad analogy. The point is, I accept your feelings for what they are. I am just not ready to return them yet. I want you by my side, and I can’t imagine you anywhere else. So…” He held out a hand and placed it on her shoulder, “at least for now, we are partners, instead of whatever we were earlier.”
“We weren’t ever anything more than partners to begin with, at least that is how I saw it.”
“You’re right, I guess that was just me being selfish again. The point is, I can’t have you by my side like this and reject your feelings, it isn’t fair. My only options are to either accept you wholly or let you go and do whatever makes you happy, away from me. Which I can only assume neither of us wants.”
“I want to be by your side.”
“My point. So, my only request is time.”
“How long?”
“Why do girls always ask that question? I am not sure exactly. I don’t know, give me a month.”
“A month?”
“I think that is fair. God knows I spent the last month thinking of you as a daughter, realistically I should need more time than that to change things. A month.”
“Fine.”
“Good.”
They both then sat there in uncomfortable silence. Neither one wanted to be the first to move or to say anything. Instead, they both picked spots in the distance to stare at, lost in their own heads. As comfortable as he could be in the awkwardness of life, this was painful, and Alex finally gave in.
“You know, Evona can be pretty scary when she is angry.”
“She lay give it to you?”
“Not the way I would put it.”
“GROSS!”
“Ha-ha-ha!”
“Are we… are we going to be all right?”
“Of course we are. We just need a little time is all.”
“You mean you need time.”
“Yeah… Ah, I know one thing we can do to pass the time!”
“What?”
“Get you ready for our trip! Training time! I also know just the guinea pig to help us.”
“What is a guinea pig?”
“Don’t worry about that. Let’s go eat.”
With that, they got up and went back inside the house.
----------------------------------------
Part 4.
The sounds of bare feet could be heard echoing throughout the magnificent chamber. The chamber was a grand wide-open space. There were enormous columns in two separate rows along the room. While the bases were bare, the tops were elaborately decorated with sculptures of men, some were created as if they were holding up the heavy stone roof, others were made to look like they were giving orders, and some looked like they were striking out with a short sword and across from them were men holding up a shield and blocking the blow.
The space between the columns was open to the world, and the light would have shown through brightly had it not been interrupted by a never-ending waterfall that came down along both sides of the entire length of the chamber. Causing a dimming effect on the light that entered the room.
Straight down the center of the room, ran a long, wide purple rug, embroidered with gold silk in sharp square loops. On each side of the rug was a great company of men. Some wore dashing white robes, with different colored belts. Other men wore armor, well-polished and oiled, so as not to make a sound when they moved. There was a small portion of men who wore purple robes with gold sashes and gold embroidery. They were closest to the dais, but all of them were down on one knee with their heads bowed.
Finally, the owner of the feet that were making the echoing sound that filled the incredibly silent room revealed himself. If anyone had asked about his looks, the only answer that they could honestly give was, average, incredibly average. He wasn’t tall, nor short for that matter. He had short cropped black hair, a button nose, and dark eyes. He wore a purple sheer robe, with a gold belt of his own. Golden tassels hung from the hem, and he wore a small cap on his head.
He chose not to wear any shoes, which had he been anyone else, would have meant that he would have had them removed. He walked oddly, slowly, with his legs swinging high, high enough to reveal more of himself than anyone wanted to see, before coming back down quickly with a splatting sound against the marble floor. Behind him, he pulled long leashes, at the other end of them was a group of young men and women. They had been stripped naked and were covered in red marks like they had been whipped over and over, but carefully enough to avoid breaking skin.
He made his way slowly up the stairs, climbing each step in the same awkward manner he had used to walk into the room. When he finally climbed to the top he was greeted by a tall, blond buxom woman. Had anyone asked about her, the only honest answer that they would be able to give would be, incredibly gorgeous, or the most beautiful woman in the entire empire. She wore a sheer white robe, with a purple belt. She had golden earrings, set with amethysts. Her hair was done up, and a golden crown took purchase on the center.
When she knelt down at his feet when he came to the top, the man stretched out his hand and caressed the woman’s face in a gentle loving manner. He kissed her on the cheek and looked into her eyes.
“Hello, mother.”
After his greeting, he turned to his audience looking over all the people under him, and smiled. There was something that caught his eye, he played like he was surprised. It was the group of young men and women who were attached on the leash, without any way to resist, they had followed him up the steps and were halfway up the high dais. The man smiled, took a few steps down, placed his foot against the face of the man in front, and pushed while letting go of the leashes. They tumbled down the steps together in a ball of bodies. When they crashed to the floor one of the men and one of the women had their heads smashed open against the marble floor. One of the men broke an arm, and another woman broke her neck. The other three were cushioned by the bodies of the others that had fallen under them.
The young man squealed with laughter at the sight. None of the men in attendance moved a muscle nor made a sound. The only other sound that could be heard was the sound of clapping coming from the top of the dais. The Empress Dowager was happily clapping at the stunt that her son had played. Feeling joy at the ovation from his mother, he ran back up the stairs and wrapped his arms around her, nuzzling his face into her ample breasts.
“I love you the most, mother.”
After this scene had lasted too long, the emperor turned around and back toward his audience. He gave a quick look back, checking behind him before taking a seat on his large stone throne. It was powerfully sculpted from a block or marble. It had hard straight lines and tight angles. It was wide enough to sit three of him, and the arms themselves served as a perfect seat for his beautiful young mother. After a quick scan over the people below him, he smiled a devilish grin.
“Can someone please take that group of people out of here? Let the arena champion have them, he can use them how he pleases. Oh, and clean up the mess.” he said with a passive wave of his hand. “Now then, my people.” He lifted his hands up.
On cue, all the men in the room rose from their kneeling position in sync with one another. All the military men were perfectly at attention, shoulder to shoulder, not an extra unneeded sound coming from their perfectly oiled armor. The purple-robed men, the senators, stood, their gowns flowing beautifully with their movement. The white-robed men, members of his internal staff, stood and bowed before rising fully with their arms in front of them, their locked hands clasped on their right wrists. All of them were looking up, hyper-focused on the man atop the throne.
“What is the report from the barbarians to the west? Will they send their little princess to become my bride?”
A slimly, snaky, grungy bald man stepped forward. He kneeled before the dais on both knees. Looking up at his master, like he was a god, the man gave his answer in a shaky voice.
“No mi lor’. Da lor’ over der say he won’ give ‘er away. He say he will fight ya.”
The emperor sat there quietly for only a second.
“Well. That is upsetting. General, kill that man.”
Before the bald man could let out a sound, a large blade had sliced through his neck. The owner was a large man, with olive-colored skin. He had a full beard of a red almost purple color. He wore armor with dark red accenting. It was filled out with his hulking build, and his wide neck looked as if it was being squeezed by his collar. He had dark brown eyes that looked nearly black and medium-length straight brown hair, which hung down both sides of his head. He was the strongest man in the empire, The Empire’s great general, Rufus Tiberia.
“Prepare the men for war general.”
“As you command!” He roared back while saluting.
“Oh! And there is one other matter I want to talk to you about. It regards your daughter.”