Part Thirteen

I awoke a few hours later, immediately realizing I wasn’t holding Zeera. I sat up straight and looked around. I spotted my clothes, neatly folded and placed beside me, but I did not see Zeera anywhere. Durdrin was sitting next to Mother, where Matron Vasiira had been sitting earlier, and Matron Celia was still seated on the side opposite Durdrin.

I got dressed and stood up. I was a little wobbly for a moment, and my mouth was incredibly dry. I walked over to the table and looked for something to drink but all I could find were various types of alcohol. My body was telling me it needed water, and as I looked around the table, the vase with the beautiful flowers was just calling my name. I grabbed the flowers out of the vase and then lifted the crystal container to my lips, drinking the water that had been sitting there for the flowers. “Unbelievable…” I heard Mother mutter from across the room.

Once my thirst was quenched, I set the empty vase back on the table and, with a smile, walked over to where my parents and Matron Celia were sitting. I was about to ask where Zeera was, but Mother raised a hand. “She’s discussing a business proposition with Matron Vasiira,” she said with a wide smile.

I narrowed my eyes suspiciously.

“Jhule is with her to ensure that any deals go in her favor and to make sure she can turn down any deal she wants to turn down. We know she’s easily intimidated, but she’s ours, so your sister is looking after her,” Mother said. I smiled wide. She had just claimed Zeera as one of hers, accepting her into our family in front of everyone.

Jhule was my favorite of my sisters. She, like Vielyn and I, believed in loyalty to the family first and foremost. “Though, with the business they’re discussing... perhaps you should be there...” Mother added. I raised an eyebrow and looked over to Durdrin, who was smiling wider than I had ever seen him smile before. He seemed to be beaming with pride.

Genuine confusion spread across my face. “What are they discussing?” I asked. Durdrin began to chuckle.

Mother smirked and looked at me. “Go to your chambers, son, and find out.” She said, and I nodded my head, turned, and headed for the door.

Moving through the halls slowly, I eventually found myself at my door. As I went to go through it, I found it to be locked. “Who the hell locked my door?” I said out loud.

I knocked on the door and waited. Inside, I heard Matron Vasiira’s voice. “He can stay out there until we finish discussing our business,” she told Zeera and Jhule.

I opened the line to Durdrin through our comm implants. “Tell Mother I’ll need a new door…” I said quietly before activating the first charge for the day of my iron hand ring. With a solid punch right beside the lock, I put my fist through the wood of the door, reached through, and opened the lock.

“I told you that was a bad idea…” I heard Zeera say as I pushed the door open.

With a smile, I looked around the room. “I’m sorry, ladies, I couldn’t find my key,” I said as I held my hands up and shrugged. “How are we doing?” I asked as I walked over to stand next to Zeera.

Matron Vasiira smiled at me. “Oh, we’re doing just fine,” she replied.

I looked down at Zeera. “What is going on here?” I asked curiously.

Zeera looked from Matron Vasiira to me and smirked. “She wishes to borrow something of mine. Mother told her she had to speak to me about it...” she said softly.

I nodded my head and smiled. “Okay, so what does she want to borrow?”

Zeera was smirking at me. “You,” she replied.

With a shrug, I turned to face Matron Vasiira. “Alright, how much are you paying and what do you need?” I asked.

Matron Vasiira was looking at me and grinning from ear to ear. “Your performance earlier got my attention,” she explained.

“Oh? When I knocked out Vielyn with one punch?” I asked with a smile as I raised my fists and playfully bobbed back and forth like a pugilist.

“That was… impressive… but not as impressive as your other performance...” she purred. I thought for a moment, pretty sure she was talking about me and Zeera. I looked down at my woman, who was still smirking, and she subtly nodded her head.

“Oh, so Zeera is the House De’Endar rake now, is she? Pimping out her man?” I asked incredulously. In truth, I was flattered, but I had no desire to bed any other woman.

“Well...” Zeera said hesitantly. “She says she’ll pay… a lot...” she said as she looked down, an indication that she had planned to make a deal.

I sighed and walked over to my bed and laid back on it. “Alright, well continue your business. Let’s see how this goes,” I said as I rolled my eyes.

Jhule looked to Zeera and then to me. “Zeera, do you still need me here?” she asked, wanting to return to the party to keep an eye on things.

Zeera nodded. “Yes, I’d like to have a real Drow here to make sure I don’t make a mistake,” she replied.

I sat up and shot her an angry glare. “What?” I demanded.

“Drow woman,” she corrected quickly as she smiled up at Jhule.

I grumbled, “This isn’t my fucking day...” to myself, under my breath, as I laid back down.

“So, what do you offer for the chance to bed my man?” I heard Zeera ask Matron Vasiira. I rolled onto my side and rested my head on my hand, propped up on my elbow, and listened to the exchange. “He’s a unique man, at least among the men I’ve met,” Zeera added. “Highly skilled in everything he does.” She was only slightly exaggerating.

Hearing my woman speak so highly of me was certainly boosting my ego, and I lay there flashing my crooked grin and bright smile.

“He’s arrogant and hard to control,” Matron Vasiira shot back.

Zeera shrugged her shoulders and nodded her agreement. “Yep, warranted. I’ve seen only one man who can best him in a fight. I haven’t seen anyone, ever, outperform him in bed. He’s arrogant because he’s simply the best. He has a problem with authority because where we’re from, he is the authority,” she said boldly, and I smirked at her. Again, she was only slightly exaggerating. “If you want to bed my man, it’s going to cost you. But he’s worth the price, as you’ve seen,” Zeera purred confidently before turning back to face me with a smile.

Matron Vasiira frowned. She figured she’d be able to intimidate the young, timid dark elf. Jhule’s presence, in Zeera’s corner, emboldened Zeera and prevented Vasiira from trying to be intimidating. This would be a business meeting, just like they promised Matron Larynda. For the first time since I’d known her, Zeera was acting like a Drow.

“You seem to know what you have and the value. You’re not as incompetent as you let on...” Matron Vasiira said as her frown turned to a wry smile. “I will give you ten pounds of gold coins,” she said, and I scoffed audibly.

Zeera shook her head. “We have all the riches we’ll ever need, Matron Vasiira,” she said politely.

I sat up and inhaled deeply. “Matron Vasiira, you clearly underestimate the value of what you seek. Why, just this morning… or was it yesterday morning...” I said, not quite knowing how much time had passed. “Anyways, a very short time ago… we were paid fifty pounds of coins and jewels for simply killing a few men. Durdrin used her as bait and me as the trap,” I said as I walked over to stand next to Zeera. “If you’d like for me to make you moan my name, you’ll have to pay her enough to make me happy,” I said arrogantly.

Matron Vasiira’s face sank. Zeera had come from a peasant house of no importance, so what seemed like a lot to her was, to a noble like me, an insult. “So, are you here to make a deal with my woman, or aren’t you?” I asked.

Matron Vasiira thought for a moment. Then her face lit up as she unbuttoned the top button on her blouse and pulled out an exquisitely crafted gold chain with intricate links woven together and ending in a large jewel-encrusted pendant. She set it on the table between her and Zeera. “That,” she said with a confident smile.

“What is so special about it?” Zeera asked. To her, it looked simply like a fancy gold chain. Jhule and I could detect the magic in it, though, so we waited for an explanation.

Stolen story; please report.

“The magic in this amulet will tell you whether someone is speaking the truth to you or not. It’s a passive enchantment that you don’t even have to activate,” Matron Vasiira explained. “Very useful for a pair of mercenaries like yourselves,” she said confidently.

“I’m an accountant...” Zeera corrected quietly, though her eyes were locked on the pendant. She seemed to like it, and it looked relatively valuable.

“Well, it’ll tell you when this one lies to you,” Matron Vasiira said quickly.

“He doesn’t lie to me,” Zeera replied.

“Are you sure? You can be,” Matron Vasiira stated with a wide smile. “Or… you can tell him when others, like his father, are lying to him. Oooh, imagine the intrigue you could figure out then!” she said as she looked up at me.

Zeera looked at the pendant. “It’s very pretty...” she said quietly.

I looked down at the pendant and then to Zeera and suppressed a sigh. “You like it, huh?” I asked. She nodded her head and smiled.

“Then I think you’d better tell Matron Vasiira what I think she wants to hear...” I said as I walked over to my bed and lay back down.

“Okay, Matron Vasiira, you may borrow him,” Zeera said as she scooped the necklace and pendant up from the table and dropped it into a small pouch of holding stitched inside the sleeve of her dress. “For one night,” she added.

“Of course, my dear, he is your man after all,” Matron Vasiira said with a wide grin.

“But not tonight. He’s been through a lot recently. Give him a couple of days to recover and then return here. Sound good?” Zeera said firmly. She knew I did indeed have a long day, but she also knew I had used a magical item with charges that needed to be recharged as well. Matron Vasiira nodded her head and extended her hand across the table. Zeera shook her hand with a smile before the Matron Mother stood up and nodded politely to Jhule and made her way to the door.

“See you in a few days, handsome...” she said before exiting my chambers and heading back to the party.

Jhule went out the door behind her. “Thank you!” Zeera called after her, to which Jhule just waved.

“You like your necklace?” I asked Zeera as she stood up and turned to face me, a look of guilt splashed across her face that she tried to hide with a forced smile. “What’s the matter?” I asked her as I lay comfortably in our bed.

“You’re not happy about this, are you?” she asked while walking towards me.

“Do you like your new necklace?” I asked once again.

Zeera nodded her head as she lay down next to me. “It’s beautiful,” she said quietly. “Are you angry with me?” she asked.

I shook my head. “No,” I replied.

I knew none of this would have happened without Mother’s okay. That’s why Jhule was there, to make sure it went in Zeera’s favor, no matter what. “This is Drow machinations. Matron Vasiira, Matron Mother of a higher house than ours, wants me. I ‘belong’ to you and Mother. I bet it was Mother who approached you initially, wasn’t it?” I asked.

Zeera nodded her head. “She said Matron Vasiira had a business proposition for me and that Jhule would oversee everything to make sure it ended favorably for me. Then she called me ‘her beautiful girl’ and smiled at me. Then Jhule brought us here,” she said quietly.

I nodded my head. “Mother had already given her permission. Talking to you was just for show. Jhule was here to make sure you accepted any deal that was favorable… to the family,” I said before wrapping my arm around her and holding her tight against my chest.

“So, what was all this then? Why didn’t Matron Larynda just make the deal herself?” she asked.

I smirked, though she couldn’t see it. “Because Mother knew I’d never go along with it unless you were okay with it. So, if you made the deal, if you got paid, then I was more likely to cooperate,” I answered.

“Mother is smart,” Zeera said.

“I guess,” I replied with a shrug.

We lay there for a long while, neither of us wanting to return to the party just yet. Peace and quiet were nice; not having to perform was nice.

“Are you sure you’re not mad at me?” she asked after a while, obviously feeling bad for accepting any deal now.

“No, it is a mission like any other. We’ve received payment. I’ll do my job. You just do your job and ‘accountant’ that necklace of yours,” I said casually.

“Thank you, I really like my new necklace,” she said quietly. I kissed the back of her neck and gave her a squeeze. In truth, I wasn’t happy about being prostituted out, but I knew Zeera’s involvement in the whole deal was simply to placate me.

About an hour later, there was a knock at the door. As I lifted my head, I noticed Mother peeking through the hole I had punched into the door.

“I thought you were kidding about needing a new door…” she muttered as she pushed my door open.

“Hello, Mother. How are you this evening?” I asked.

“Why did you break my door?” she replied sternly.

“Because I couldn’t find my key,” I replied.

“Because he overheard Matron Vasiira say that he could wait outside, and he didn’t like it,” Zeera said with a knowing smirk.

“Preposterous! How could I hear such a delicate woman through such a thick wood door?” I asked with mock seriousness.

Ignoring me, Mother smiled at Zeera. “Vasiira says you two made a deal? What did she give you?” Mother asked. Zeera pulled the necklace and amulet from her sleeve and handed it to Mother, who inspected it and then smiled and handed it back to her.

“Good girl. This deal you’ve made, it has strengthened our family. Do you understand, Zeera?” Mother asked.

Zeera shook her head from side to side.

“Matron Vasiira is Matron Mother of the fourth house. We are the fifth house. With the boy there in her bed, she’ll be more inclined to side with us in any disputes we have,” Mother explained.

Zeera immediately began to look nervous. “Uh… Matron Larynda… I wasn’t aware you wanted it to be ongoing… We made a different deal...” She said, fearing Mother would be upset with her.

“Oh? What deal did you make?” Mother asked curiously.

“The necklace. For one night with him,” Zeera replied meekly.

Mother looked surprised and smiled wide. “She paid that necklace for just one night?” she asked. Mother couldn’t believe Vasiira would give up such a useful tool just for one night with me. To be honest, neither could I. It was a simple enchantment, but in the world of Drow, a world of deceit and knives in the dark, something to tell you that you were being lied to is a great tool indeed.

Mother stopped and looked straight ahead for a moment as she brought her finger up to her lip in thought. After a long moment, she turned her head and looked at me. “You make sure she wants more of you.” I saw a look of disgust appear on her face as she was about to admit something to me. “Like your father and I…” she said distastefully. She didn’t like to admit her attraction and desire for Durdrin.

Mother immediately looked at Zeera. “You do not have an issue with this, do you?”

Zeera shrugged and shook her head. “I don’t mind… I guess… but he’d be with me most… right?” she asked.

Mother smiled wide. “Of course, my dear. It would be a couple of times a month. The rest of the time you’d have your Masdrin.” She said, bringing a smile to Zeera’s face.

“Do I emasculate her patron like Durdrin does to Viezere?” I asked.

Mother smirked at me. “If you can handle him, then you do as you please, son. Be careful, though. He’s not a weak man like Viezere. He’s patron and weapon master,” she warned.

I nodded my head with a smile. I’d play that one by ear.

Mother sat there for a moment, smiling at Zeera, though I didn’t know why. “My dear, the sacrifice you’re making will do great things for our family. I am happy to have you as a part of my family.” Mother said, drawing my attention.

She pulled something remarkably familiar from under the folds of her dress. A House De’Endar dagger, in its sheath. Drawing the blade from the sheath, Mother smiled at it before turning it over in her hand and passing it to Zeera.

“You are Zeera De’Endar, the adopted daughter of Matron Mother Larynda De’Endar of the fifth house of Felynafay,” she said as Zeera gently took the blade from Mother and inspected it closely.

Her name, Zeera De’Endar, was engraved on the blade, and Zeera smiled wide as a tear ran down her cheek. She reached up and wrapped her arms around Mother’s neck in a tight hug. “Thank you, Mother, I am honored!” she said happily. “I’ll cherish this gift for the rest of my life,” Zeera added before releasing Mother and immediately backing up. “My apologies, Matron Mother...” she said quickly.

Mother just smiled at her and reached out to gently hold Zeera’s face. “Jhule told me you handled Vasiira like a true Drow. You were not afraid; you did not let Vasiira intimidate you. You handled her just as I hoped you would, and you forced her to reveal how much she wants him,” she said as she let go of Zeera’s face and poked a finger my way.

I sat up and put an arm around Zeera’s chest and waist, pulling her close, tight against me. “That’s my girl,” I said before resting my chin on her shoulder. “Mother, you honor me and Zeera by accepting her into our family.”

I kissed Zeera’s cheek as Mother looked from me to her. “Do you like him being all over you like this?” Mother asked.

“Of course, she does,” I replied as I kissed her again.

Zeera smiled wide at Mother. “I crave it, Mother. Masdrin is my protector, and I am his rock. He likes nothing more than holding me, and there’s nothing I like more than the feeling of his hands on my body,” she said happily, relieved that Mother wasn’t angry with her.

I smiled at Mother, who rolled her eyes at me. “You see, Mother, when you treat the person you like the most with kindness and passion, they return that kindness and passion,” I said flatly. “Of all my things I’ve ever had, Zeera is my favorite, and I am her favorite. I am surprised she was willing to even share me... because I’ll kill any man who puts his hands on my woman. In fact... I already have... isn’t that right, my dear?” I asked.

Mother looked at Zeera and raised her eyebrow. “Apparently Durdrin used me as bait. Masdrin did not like that. He killed three men in about a second and a half. Durdrin showed up at our door about half an hour later, and Masdrin hit him and then shook him, apparently,” Zeera explained.

Mother smirked. “Durdrin never mentioned that,” she said as she looked from Zeera to me.

“I gave him a warning, is all. Now he won’t come near me without his battle attire and Shadow One,” I said with a chuckle. Mother shook her head and chuckled.

“Well, you two come back to the party when you’re ready. You’ve both done enough today, so take your time. When you come back, I don’t expect anything from you. Just enjoy the party and relax,” Mother said before standing up.

With a nod of my head, I released Zeera and lay back down in our bed. “I am going back to sleep,” I said quietly. Zeera smiled and lay down beside me as Mother made her way out of our room and back to the party.

I drifted off to sleep with a content smile and awoke a few hours later with Zeera still sleeping next to me. I kissed her shoulder, like I did every time I woke up before her, and I smiled as I looked down at her. Even after being together for three years and spending nearly every night of those three years together, I could still sit there all night and watch her sleep.