Aylem, Foskan Army Camp

"Here, use this," I dug out a silk scarf for Kamagishi. At least it was one of the white ones instead of one of the purple ones I liked that matched my eyes. My eyes were one of the only things I liked about my looks.

"What?" Kamagishi was surprised as she belted the red overtunic over her white linen undertunic. It was one of the few times I had ever seen her out of long skirts. Somehow it made her look even more feminine.

"I thought you might want to cover the bald spot," I offered.

She felt the bare patch with the singed stubble of her once beautiful silver hair and blushed a deep red. "Thank you." She took the offered scarf and tied up her hair so the damage was completely hidden. "I keep forgetting that my hair burned away." She laughed at herself. It was always amazing to me how she was such a well-grounded person. She smiled up at me and I could feel a knot of happiness in her without meaning to.

It's usually a pain being able to read people so easily. But this time I was happy because Kamagishi was genuinely touched when I asked that the title get dropped. She usually ran all her thoughts very deep, deep enough I would need to dig if I ever wanted to read them; and I would never do so since that was just rude.

Her pleasure that I had asked her wasn't buried at all. It was a sincere feeling and it made me both happy and embarrassed. I should have done this years ago but never managed to get beyond my own reluctance and fear of rejection. But I managed to do it finally, which wasn't bad for the girl who grew up with just adult choir members as my only reliable social interactions. I never reached out to any of them because I thought they were only kind to me out of pity because they knew my mother the lush.

As we walked we could hear the whole camp stirring. Galt's moment of joy had been felt everywhere and had woken everyone. How could anyone go back to sleep after that? Half the world had been asleep and that monstrous purr had ended sleep. Well, on the upside, it gave me a few more hours to enjoy walking around before I had to face the task I needed to do today. I wasn't looking forward to it.

"That's a sour face if I ever saw one," Kamagishi remarked, one missing eyebrow floating toward her now non-existent hairline.

"Just thinking about what's on my agenda for today," I couldn't stop the sigh. "It's tragic just because so many will die. So many sons and daughters who will lose a parent and so many parents too old to have more children who will lose their sons and daughters. But..." I looked at the lights lit up inside the Impotuan barrier and realized they were fighting a fire on one end of their camp. Where were the mages in their camp who should be there to put it out?

"But...?" Kamagishi prompted me.

"I just have to remind myself of all 500 daughters in the Yant garrison, every one of them, who died defending the city walls from the Impotuan army who gave them no quarter, and of all their teachers at the shrine in Kas, and all their brothers and sisters and mothers and fathers who now grieve for them. They all died because the Impotuans thought it was safe to invade because I abandoned my realm because of my own stupidity." My voice broke into a swallowed sob. I asserted my will to hide my anguish and my rage, which was partly at myself.

Kamagishi hugged me from behind. "It's alright to feel angry at an unprovoked attack, Great One. The gods would not have given you the power to defend Foskos if you were not up to the task." She spun me around and caught my face between her hands.

* Everyone is awake and you're too tall to miss, Aylem. You've got an audience. Let's use this as an opportunity. *

I took in a ragged breath. "You're right. I just need to keep my eyes on ending this with as little damage to us and as much damage to them as possible. What's important is liberating the Crystal Shrine of Tiki so they can't spring another surprise invasion."

"That's my queen," she beamed at me in approval. "Let's see if we can finagle head baker Emoskos out of some bread, and maybe the Blessed Emily's egg rolls too since we know she won't be awake until this afternoon."

"Oh, yes, those are good. But Holy One, we do need to save her some. I can put them under stasis and keep them fresh for her."

"Oh, alright," Kamagishi hammed a great look of disappointment, playing to the soldier boys and garrison girls peeking out of the tents and around their cloth encampment walls.

"Look at all those ovens," I stopped and stared as the amazing operation of making bread coming into view.

"You've not seen this before?" Kamagishi was surprised.

"I've never been in an army camp before," I admitted. It was true. I had always avoided this part of ruling since the army wasn't my half of the rulership.

"Well," Kamagishi smiled, "let me introduce you to the art of conning bread out of your head baker, who Imstay King stole out of the Palace kitchens to bake for this recruited-on-the-road army." She checked the positioning of the scarf and then shamelessly, especially for a high priestess, adjusted her clothes so that certain items of anatomy had the most advantageous display. Lisaylos and Fassex both had warned me over the years that Kamagishi wasn't shy about certain matters between men and women. Her husband passed away young in an accident and her two children were grown and both enrolled at the Shrine of Mueb, so she had more freedom in that regard than most. She was one of those women who enjoyed everything that was involved with being a woman. I just had never seen her do anything like this before now.

She stopped and then turned around to look at me with a preplexed look. Then her eyebrows raked upwards and and she laughed with a sympthetic look, which confused me.

* Oh my! Aylem, that blush is so profound, it's bright red. Remind me never to take you around town drinking with me. *

"You go bar hopping?" I whispered so only she could hear me. I was outraged! What improper demeanor for a high priestess!

"I'm kidding you, you big goof!" She bite her finger and slapped her thigh to keep from breaking down laughing just yards from the camp bakery.

I really did not know what to think of this display. Did people really behave like this and get away with it? I guess I might have thought too loudly because Kamagishi was suddenly serious and studying me.

* Gods, woman! Didn't anyone ever let you have any fun when you were growing up? *

I tried to think of something to use as a counter. Somehow I didn't think that wholesome walks along the Yantes River with the three adepts who raised me, or going shopping incognito with Lisaykos were what Kamagishi had in mind.

"Surd Save us," Kamagishi said softly for my ears only, "they really didn't let you have any fun. No wonder you have a hard time knowing how to react when someone outrageous like Emily lets loose with her exurberance." Her look was half serious and half horrified. Then she surpised me again with a smile for the audience, as she caught my arm and dragged me into the baking area, "let's go steal some bread."

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"No, Holy One," a raspy man's voice stopped her, "the last time you snuck into one of my baking operations and spread your good cheer about, one of my bakers told my wife and I was in trouble with her for months!"

"Emoskos," she leaned provocatively over with her hands on her hips and, to my horror, batted her eyelashes at him, "you know I would never do anything untoward."

He stepped back, drew himself up straight and folded his arms. "And now, shameless forward woman, you are trying to corrupt our beautiful and noble queen with your wanton ways!" The working bakers were grinning and enjoying what I had just realized was some street theatre evolving under my nose. I had almost made the mistake of taking this seriously. As it was, I was part of the show. I took a small step back and did my best to look elegant and royal.

"Here," he held a hand out behind him and without even having to look, someone placed a warm cloth-wrapped round of bread in his hand. He smoothly held it out right in front of Kamagishi's nose.

She took it from him with a face that would have suited Galt in a dish a cream. "Why, thank you, Emoskos." She started to stroll slowly away. I was confused as to why and then I realized it was so Emoskos could time the next act in this little play.

He held his hand out behind him again and it was filled by whoever was ready and waiting with the bread. He approached me and reverently dropped to one knee, "Great One, lovely Queen, please accept this as a humble token of our esteem for you." His smile was perfect, both reverent and hopeful, full of pride in the craft of his bakers and expectant that I would acknowledge that. I saw the script unrolling in front of me and dared not deviate from it.

"Emoskos, you and your crew are truly the best of all bakers," I took the cloth-wrapped round from him and smiled with as much sincerity as I could muster on my face, which I knew could be substantial, having practiced for years in front of a mirror to get it right for royal audiences.

"Please," he produced a folded and tied cloth around several smaller things inside, "these are for the Blessed Emily." He leaned to the side to see around me and said in a quiet voice that guaranteed that everyone would hear it, "don't let that egg roll greedy high priestess of Galt get them."

I smiled beautifically, "be assured I wil cast stasis on them to keep them fresh for when Emily wakes up later today, and I won't let the Holy Kamagishi swipe them." I took them from him, then on impulse said, "thank you for thinking of Little Emily," and kissed him on the forehead. Then I beat a fast but graceful exit out of there.

Kamagishi and I got out of their earshot and she said, "you're a quick study."

"When I figured it out, it just seemed like a natural thing to do," I admitted, a little blown away by what I had done.

"Cad!" We both turned at the sound of Imstay's angry voice. I was about to run to wherever he was and Kamagishi restrained me. "Watch this, he's a master."

Imstay was looming over Emoskos, who he topped by a head and then some. Emoskos was a burly man but Imstay was giant compared to most men. He was a man's man, tall, strong, buff, and a great warrior.

"You little miserable ungrateful excuse of a bread slinger, who I had the mercy to employ in my home when you were a nothing," he waved his arms and stamped his foot. "How dare you steal a kiss from my queen! I never!"

Someone placed a cloth-wrapped round of bread in Emoskos' hand held behind his back. He whipped the round in front of him, "might I offer you some fresh bread, Mighty One, just out of the oven?"

Imstay smiled as if there were nothing more important in this life than fresh bread, "why, I thought you would never offer!" He took the bread, "thank you, Emoskos, you can stay employed for now." He looked at Emoskos and Emoskos looked back at him and then they both fell on each other and laughed and laughed and laughed. And all the bakers laughed with them.

"See you, soon, baker man," Imstay waved as he exited the baking area with a jaunty spring to his walk.

"Next time, stand in line like the rest of the army, king man!" Emoskos yelled after him. Everyone laughed more.

"And that's one of the reasons why our fighters love him," Kamagishi explained. "He's got the common touch despite being more noble than the highest noble. He talks to them, and drinks with them, and fights along side them, sharing their risks and burdens, and jokes with them like you just saw. That's why they will die for him."

Lord Fusso, who had been walking with Imstay, rejoined him. Then Imstay saw us and his face changed to an even brighter smile. He asked Fusso to hold his bread and then approached me, well aware that people were watching.

He knelt on one knee in front of me, took my hand and kissed, "and how is my beautiful Aylem Queen today?"

"I was doing fine until some attention hound accosted me just now in the middle of a public thoroughfare in the midst of an army camp." I put my hand on my cheek as if taken aback, "I never saw anyone so brazon." I rolled my eyes for effect, "Have you ever seen such shamless behavior, Holy One?"

"Why, never, Great One," Kamagishi rolled her eyes. "In all the history I have studied, I have never encountered such a thing happening in our fine realm of Foskos."

"Hold these," I handed Kamagishi my bread and Emily's egg rolls (statsis already cast). "You sir," I announced looking down my long aquiline nose at Imstay, "have propositioned the Queen of Foskos in the middle of a public thoroughfare."

"Why, yes, I have, lovely lady," he held his arms out as if to embrace me. "You gave that mean and lowly baker a kiss. Doesn't your king deserve the same?"

"I find, sir," I said in a lofty and dignified voice, as if bestowing the greatest of all accolades, "that there is only one thing to do, given that you have accosted my esteemed self."

"And that's a kiss?" He smiled hopefully then closed his eyes and puckered his lips.

"No," I picked him up and threw him over my shoulder, "that's taking you home and giving you a stiff talking-to followed by a meaningful time-out, or maybe a good spanking." At this point, there was quite an audience and they were all waiting for the punchline, which I had not delivered yet from the obvious lead-in I had just uttered.

I stopped in my step, looked thoughtful, then smiled and nodded my head theatrically, "no, you'd like the spanking too much."

They were a good audience. I was glad I had not disappointed them. They roared their laughter. Kamagishi told me later that the king was doing all the right helpless and horrified faces behind my back that I couldn't see.

Then Imstay started up the requisite protestations to accompany the exit from the stage. "Aylem! Aylem Queen, put me down! I'm the general of this army and I can't be treated like this!"

"That's nice dear," I smiled contentedly. "We'll get you home, and get you a nice warm cup of milk and tuck you in, and we'll have a meaningful talk about your behavior today, young man."

Then I started nodding and waving at the soldiers and guards watching and grinning and laughing from the sides of their encampments, watching their superiors put a show on for them: my carrying off the king over my shoulder, smiling and waving, and Imstay protesting every inch, all the way into the royal emcampment. The pair of grinning citadel guards doing door guard duty pulled the tent flaps to the side so I could enter with my husband slung with his head hanging down my back, still making a token amount of noise for the last of the audience watching us vanish inside.

I put Imstay down in one chair and fell into the one beside him. We looked at each other and started laughing so hard the tears were falling from both our eyes. Kamagishi and Fusso entered on the two of us and looked in disbelief at what they were seeing. I don't know why it was such a sight for the two of them, especially since Kamagishi instigated at least my part in this charade.

"Oh my," Imstay got a hold of himself, "I have only one regret and that's that the children couldn't see this." He sighed with genuine regret. Even when the two of us and our relationship was at its worst, he never dragged the children into it. He always tried to protect them from our fights. He had certainly done better than I had. I sighed with my own regrets over what I had done to our children.

I was surprised when he took my hand and kissed it, "we can make it better for our children, Aylem. I know you love them as much as I do." There was such sympathy and empathy in his eyes. If he had said right at that moment that we could start over and try to make it work this time, I would have thrown myself at him. Everything I once loved about him was looking me in the face for a second time. I felt like my heart was breaking just then because I wanted to try again with this man and not fail this time around.

"I'm afraid to ask you," he said with real fear and the sadest look of longing I ever saw on his face. I stood up and walked over to him and devoured him with a kiss which was many years of loneliness in the making. To my surprise he picked me up and carried me to his bed, which I noted in surprise was empty and Emily was not sleeping in her bedroll on the floor. No matter, it just meant we were camping with considerate people. It was daylight when we were done and I fell asleep in his arms.

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