Walking through the halls, Lord Driks d’Oxzen smiled. Despite the stone walls, the luxurious carpet and various tapestries helped trap the warmth to keep the rooms at a pleasant temperature. Though dim, the magical lights provided a comfortable level of illumination. As there were many rather amorous guests, the lighting had the additional benefit of maintaining a romantic atmosphere.

Tonight’s first stop would be the library. The newest guest was celebrating her freedom by reading through as many books as she could get her hands on. Such was her desire for knowledge, that the Lord felt compelled to make several trips to the larger cities to purchase more books.

He smirked as he considered how different his charges were. The new girl had thanked him and immediately began studying the world. The poor thing had only the barest amount of knowledge, as she’d been raised since birth to be a wife.

Every woman in his manor had different dreams. Some were studying the art of combat. They had to rely on his collection of manuscripts as Driks wasn't much of a fighter. Additionally, when he tried to participate in their training sessions, they frequently turned into a different sort of exercise. He really needed to find a swordswoman to train them, but unfortunately it was a male dominated career.

Then there was Fawn. When she first arrived she didn’t speak a word, she simply watched him constantly. She never asked for anything, nor interacted with any of the other women, until he disappeared for several days on a trip. When he returned, she embraced him in tears and wouldn’t let him out of her sight for the rest of the day. That was also the first time she spoke, begging him to not abandon her. After that day, she somehow always knew when he was approaching, it was as if she had a magic detection spell on at all times. While not impossible, he had tested her for magic and confirmed she wasn’t magically gifted.

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Once she broke her silence, he tried to learn her name, but apparently she had been silent so long she forgot it. For lack of a better idea, he simply called her “Fawn” because of her behavior towards him. It started as a joke, but she took to it and made it her name. Once she was named, she practically became another person. She started interacting regularly with the other women and started studying how she could be of service. She had a masterful knack for business and at times, when he wasn’t avoiding her clinginess, Driks felt that she had saved him, not the other way around.

As expected, once he reached the library, Fawn greeted him. She knew how distractible he could be, and that she had to find out how much he spent and what he purchased before it slipped his mind. She hoped he stayed at least marginally close to the budget for this trip. She wasn’t worried about him running out of money, he could literally create it from the earth, but she was concerned he might inadvertently destroy the local economies.

It was a comic, yet familiar, sight. Before Driks could even enter the door, Fawn walked out of the room towards him, her dark hair curled into a bun and held in place by a quill, a no nonsense look in her eyes, and fine masculine clothes which weren’t able to fully conceal her feminine traits. Recognizing the look in her eyes, Driks found himself backing towards the opposite wall. He was a solid head taller than her, had a lithe runner’s build, and easily outweighed her, yet he was the one who looked overwhelmed.

Fawn demanded a full accounting of how many coins spent, and crafted, as well as what he’d returned with. She didn’t relax until she was satisfied with his answer. Then, with a final stern glare, she proceeded to embrace him and tell him how much she missed him. She even tried to tempt him into some private discussion, yet to her surprise rather than complying, or promising a raincheck, he simply said that now was unfortunately not the time.

While Driks was respectful of each woman under his care, never forcing them or expecting them to do things that they didn’t want, everyone present knew he was a shameless flirt with an insatiable appetite. For him to abstain meant something major had happened.

His words carried an air of urgency when he next spoke, “Please gather the summoning materials. An uninvited guest is on the way.”