Chapter 50 Paid The Same

That night the duo found themselves in familiar positions. Isaac in the bed and Lenna on her chair. “The bed is big enough for two.” Isaac commented with a grin. The ‘As we both found out.’ was left unspoken.

“You need your sleep.” She replied, fully knowing that he wouldn’t get any if she joined him.

Isaac chuckled and laid down to sleep. A few minutes later he was staring at the ceiling unable to keep his eyes closed. “Lenna?” He asked to get her attention.

“Yes.” She replied and cracked an eye open to look at him from across the room.

“Aren’t you worried?” He questioned.

Lenna’s other eye opened and she tilted her head in slight confusion. “About what?”

Isaac wasn’t sure how to respond with any more subtlety than one of Kahtesh’s lightning bolts so he just went with the V’Nova route of straight and to the point. “Getting pregnant.” Neither of them were exactly thinking that afternoon. At all.

“No.” She replied simply.

“Oh.” Isaac replied quietly. He was confused. Lenna seemed to be much more concerned with things like having children out of wedlock than her response implied. ‘Unless there was some other reason.’ He thought.

Lenna seemed to pick up on his confusion even if she wasn’t sure exactly what was confusing him so she just took a guess and started explaining. “Elves live for up to a thousand years.” She stated. “Do you know why we haven’t taken over the planet?”

Isaac shook his head. “No. I never really thought about it.” He confessed.

“We are all almost infertile.” She explained. “I would be the luckiest elf in the world if once was enough.”

Isaac thought about what she had just told him. It made sense. If a human woman could have up to a dozen or even more children in forty years but an elf aged at a tenth of the speed there should be an almost infinite amount of elves. “How many children do elves usually have?” He asked curiously.

Lenna shrugged. “Up to around six usually.” She guessed.

“In how many years?” Isaac continued his questions.

“Three, four hundred.” She replied.

Isaac was shocked. Those numbers were awful. If anything it was a wonder that there were any elves alive at all. Primatia was a dangerous place. Isaac shook his head to bring his mind back on track. “But if it did happen, wouldn’t having a child out of wedlock upset you?” He asked.

Lenna looked at him with nothing but confusion for a long few seconds before her eyes suddenly got a little wider in realization. “Isaac.” She spoke and he sat up to get a good look at her. “I am an elf.” She clarified. Isaac nodded slowly, unsure of where she was going with it. “We mate for life.”

Isaac still looked confused. “Yes.” He nodded slowly again. “But we aren’t married. There aren’t any rings or anything.” He assumed that she would want a ceremony and a matching set of rings at least.

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Lenna shook her head. She held up four fingers. “We are a mated pair now. That only requires four things.” She put said four fingers back down and then raised them one at a time while she counted off the requirements. “Two,” She raised one finger. “consenting,” She raised a second. “adults,” She raised a third. “mated.” She finished. She dropped her hand back down onto her lap. “You are already stuck with me.” She smirked at him.

Isaac was busy trying to process elven culture so he missed the opportunity that was written in her eyes. “So, there’s no ceremony or anything?” He questioned.

Lenna shrugged. “The ceremony is only there to get people, who want to suck up to you, to give you stuff.” She explained, obviously very disillusioned.

Isaac chuckled. “So we shouldn’t have one?” He asked. It was just now settling in how in his haste and horniness he went straight from single to married in the span of an afternoon. He really had no idea what he was getting himself into. He didn’t exactly have any plans to not be with Lenna until he died but it was still a bit shocking.

Lenna shrugged again. “I know humans need them. It’s up to you.” She replied. Lenna wasn’t a fan of formal events in general and being at the center of one did not sound like a good time to her but she wasn’t going to deny Isaac if it was something he wanted. Also she knew that in human lands there was a thing called a marriage registry or something that kept track of who married whom. ‘I guess it matters when they change so much.’ She thought. Humans didn’t live very long and they also were prone to remarrying which was something elves never did.

Isaac smirked mischievously. “A good excuse to get a bunch of people to give us stuff right?” He asked. The greed was written all across his face.

Lenna’s laughter filled the room with its warmth. She got up and walked over to sit next to him on the bed. “You are getting predictable.” She told him with a warm smile. She knew exactly what his reasoning would be for wanting a ceremony.

“When should we do it?” He asked.

Lenna chuckled and shook her head. “I think there is a process.” She replied and thought back on some of the romance novels she had read and the things that she had heard over the years. “Courtship, betrothal, then marriage.” She tried to think up a good timeline. “I think there is supposed to be a few months between them.”

Isaac nodded. “That sounds familiar.” He agreed. “So what? We tell someone we are courting, wait two months, make a show of a proposal, then two months later have a ceremony?”

“Three.” She corrected. “We don’t want anyone to think it rushed.”

Isaac nodded along. “Sounds like a plan.” Their eyes met and Isaac finally noticed the look in her eyes and how close she was to him. “Change your mind?” Isaac asked. Lenna’s smile told him all he needed to know.

—

Isaac had no idea how late into the morning he had slept but he was starving. He sat up and stretched. He rubbed his eyes with a yawn. “Good morning.” He heard Lenna’s voice from behind him.

“Is it still even morning?” He asked through a second yawn.

“Yes.” Lenna replied with clear amusement in her voice.

“Good. That means we didn’t miss breakfast.” Isaac stated and moved to stand.

Lenna’s hand caught his arm while he was trying to stand and yanked him back onto the bed. He fell onto his back and before he knew it she was looking down on him. “You may be in charge outside,” She began. “but the bedroom is the female’s territory.” She told him. “And I didn’t say you could leave.”

—

“It’s almost noon.” Celeste said by way of greeting the pair. She seemed to notice the slight smile on Lenna’s lips. It held a mix of smugness, satisfaction, genuine happiness, and apparent amusement at Isaac for some reason or another.

“Food?” Isaac asked like a traveler who had crossed a desert and lost his rations along the way.

Celeste chuckled and disappeared for a moment before returning with slightly cold sausages and breakfast rolls. “It’s the last of it from this morning.” She told them as she set the food down in front of the two bar stools they had claimed.

“Thanks.” Isaac replied and dug in with little regard for any supposed nobility that he may or may not have had.

“Thank you.” Lenna replied immediately after and started to eat her food at a normal and measured pace.

“Mhm.” Celeste hummed. “Now that you two love birds are here I have mail for you.” She told them and pulled a pair of letters out from under the bar. Where she stored all the things that seemed to just appear from behind there neither of the pair knew.

“Gom or bam mews?” Isaac asked while still stuffing his face.

Celeste just looked at him like he was some street kid her son had dragged in who hadn’t heard of a fork. It was a mix of motherly disappointment and amusement that only a parent could have. “Probably both.” She replied honestly. “The man you killed was a member of the duke’s personal guard.” She set one of the letters on the bar in between Lenna and Isaac. “This one is from him.”

Isaac actually swallowed his food before replying. “No one showed up to arrest me so that’s good news at least.” He commented.

Celeste shook her head. “How well would that have gone?” She asked him, clearly expecting an honest answer.

Isaac winced. “Not well.” He replied honestly.

Celeste nodded. “There has been a guard waiting outside for you all morning.” She motioned towards the door. “I took him a chair after it was clear you were… running late.”

Lenna just shrugged. “He gets paid the same regardless.” She commented. Sitting at Celeste’s front door was probably the easiest job he could ask for. Especially considering some of the alternatives like patrolling downtown or dealing with adventurers at the gates.

“What about the other letter?” Isaac asked.

“It’s from the duchess.” Celeste explained and set it on top of the first letter. It was beginning to look like a visit to the duke’s estate was in their near future.