I kept an impassive expression on my face, hoping that the fool would get on with whatever accusation that he was going to make.

“I do not like to get involved with people’s private matters, much less a man who is obviously watched over by the Goddess herself, but there are matters of propriety that must be observed,” fussed the Caravan matter.

“Your point being?” I almost barked in annoyance, breaking my stony facade. I had gotten what I wanted and now just wished to make an exit as soon as was feasibly possible.

“You may not know our ways outlander, but for a man to lie with a woman whose husband has passed this mortal coil is a statement that he is willing to take responsibility. It is a heavy honor and duty,” cut in Khalam, breaking his silence.

“I was not aware…” I began, only to be interrupted by the irate Guard Master.

“You were not aware!” seethed the older man, his hands clenching into fists.

“Indeed, I was not,” I half-shouted, the only way I could get a word in.

Did Catalina know all along, that I had no knowledge of this custom, this foisting of responsibility after a simple tumble? Paranoid thoughts rushed through a mind that was searching for past hints. Had she been in cahoots with Laes all along? Had Laes been whoring her out to keep a useful asset with the Ravens? My mind whipped through various tangents, even considering a strange plot with Gelgor, the master of the Crows. Had my dreams been prophetic in nature?

“Will you do the honorable thing Master Gilgamesh? She is a mother with a young child,” said Laes, his voice calm and level.

It was clear to me then what their goal was, they wanted me to marry the woman. For me, she was nothing more than a bedwarmer, something to keep the otherwise tiresome journey interesting. I justified it as a transactional relationship, after all, she did owe me her life. The least she could do was spread her legs every now and again, and it was not like she did not enjoy the experience herself. It takes two to tango, or perhaps she was just a better actress than I gave her credit for.

It would serve me well to remember that in this world, general attitudes were far more conservative, extremely so, than they had been in my more advanced and civilized society. So backward were these barbarians.

But even this small pleasure had been tempered somewhat by her incessant nagging that I had completely ignored. Nagging that had increased as we got closer to our destination.

“Let me make this clear to the pair of you, I have no intent of marrying the woman. Nor did I seduce the woman, I was invited,” I stated matter-of-factly.

Sighing to himself as if he had been expecting it, Laes steepled his fingers before giving out his secondary plan. “Then you will need to pay her bride price, is it the least you can do. Understand, that as Master here I must maintain my authority, even in the face of Divine providence.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Divine providence you say? That is rich coming from a man who would seek to shackle and control the Herald of the Goddess herself. Know your place,” voiced Cordelia with a saint’s patience and authority.

“You would dare!? You owe your life to Laes’ grace, temple witch,” spat out Khalam, the old man’s face heating with emotion.

“A temple witch, you say? Perhaps, if a Knight of the Penitent Heart can be one. But you would do well to remember that I am also the daughter of Duke Everard de Aserac. Your words could be taken not only as a direct insult to myself, but as an insult to my house and the Duke himself, ” she replied quietly, like a teacher dealing with a fractious child.

As far as I was concerned, this was all theater. The Ravens could not force my hand. They lacked the power to back up their demands. Still, a part of me wished to salvage the situation. We had, in the end, been traveling companions and it would do me no good if we ended up on bad terms. I sensed that Khalam was being overly emotional for some reason, there was more to this than met the eye. Laes, on the other hand, might be more sympathetic to my predicament.

Cordelia however decided to go on the offensive.

“You speak of bride price?” she snorted, giving out a weak derisive laugh. “I speak often with the women of the Ravens. It is a well-known fact that she boasts of receiving a good deal of money from the Herald, in his charity,” she paused for a moment, before delivering the final blow. “I daresay, I was not raised in rough company, but what is it that you call a woman who receives money from a man who visits her at night? And what would the bride price be of such a woman?” she finished lightly with a provocative smile.

Until that moment, I did not believe the human face could reach such heights of barely repressed confusion, outrage, and outright anger. It was quite the picture painted on the old warrior’s expression, and I saw his hand reach for the weapon at his hip. If he wanted violence, he was more than welcome to come at me. I would end him as I had ended all that had attacked me.

Laes, on the other hand, looked completely nonplussed, an expression that he quickly covered in the next two breaths. He was a professional, this one. A merchant through and through. The man probably thought this not as an insult, but instead a negotiation and bargaining tactic.

He took a deep breath to calm himself down, before looking me straight in the eye. “Then what would you have me do, Master Gilgamesh?” he inquired with a forlorn sigh.

“Laes, you can’t possibly…” started Khalam again childishly, his words and immature action throughout this whole exchange belying his advancing years.

“What would you have me do?” he asked again softly, completely ignoring his second.

“I will not let it be said that I am an unkind man. True, it is partly my fault that I was ignorant of your ways. Still, it could also be said that she seduced me,” I paused for a beat, trying to search their faces for clues. Laes gave away nothing.

“I will give the poor lady, in my charity, some money. Let me make this clear, however, this will not be the bride price,” I suggested, hoping that I did not sound overly pompous.

This option afforded me a way out of this mess. A mess that my innocent ignorance had birthed. For in my world, in my culture, who would expect a young man like myself to burden himself with an older woman with a child? It was preposterous. If she had half a brain, she should have known what our relationship was.

My suggestion allowed for Laes to save face. It also meant that I could keep relationships with the Ravens neutral at least, at the cost of some coin.

In all choices it seemed, however, there was a price.