I laid there in silence and let Sylvana's words wash over me. Nothing was at the address and she couldn't find my contact. I let my mind wander over the problem and after only a few moments of contemplation, I understood what had happened.
It's only for me. I thought. I have to be the one to go see her. “Thank you for trying.”
Sylvana's head quickly turned to me and I saw her shocked expression. The queen, likewise, had a similar shocked expression. I gave her hand a little squeeze and then the muscles in my hand started to seize up. It was the same hand that I had used to take off and store my blast shield, which meant that I had just overused the taxed muscles.
“Ugh.” I grunted and the queen's expression changed to that of concern. She pulled her hand out of my stiff one and gently held it with both of hers as she stroked the back of my hand.
“Don't exert yourself.” The queen said. “You will cause yourself damage if you persist in moving.”
“This would be a lot easier if I didn't have such a headache.” I grumbled.
“It's not just the body that needs to recover.” The head healer said. “With magical wounds, the strain on your mind can be just as wearing as the toll on your body.”
I didn't even try to hold in my sigh this time and a long stream of breath left me. I saw the expressions on the queen, her three daughters, and the head healer soften in sympathy. Even the guards by the door seemed to relax and be more at ease.
“Can anyone cast a sleep spell?” I asked. “That won't hurt me in my current state, will it?”
“We can't take the risk that the mana will interact poorly with what you have already been infused with.” The head healer said. “I'm afraid you just have to live with the headache until it goes away.”
“It looks like I'll be here in misery for the next six hours or so then.” I said and looked at the queen.
“I will stay here if you wish.” The queen said.
“I appreciate the offer, your highness.” I said and let it show in my voice and on my face. “Although, it's very unreasonable for me to expect the Queen of the Elves to stay here at my bedside for hours.” I smiled despite my throbbing head. “I am only one person. You have an entire kingdom to rule over.”
It was the queen's turn to sigh openly this time. She knew I was right and we all watched as she struggled with the dilemma.
“The kingdom can wait.” Queen Orella proclaimed and her daughters gasped. “If anything pressing happens, my daughters can handle it, or they can come here to speak to me.”
I raised my eyebrows at her, and she smiled.
“I am usually in my workspace during this time, anyway.” The queen said. “A change of venue will be welcome.”
“Mother.” The queen's eldest daughter, Braya said. “You have a meeting in an hour with...”
“Bring her here.” The queen said without looking away from me. “Negotiating for her resource allotment should only take a few minutes.”
“But...”
“She's going to know about him sooner or later.” The queen said. “Assuming she doesn't already.”
“I was wondering why she pushed so hard for an appointment so soon.” The second eldest daughter, Bryanna said and glanced at me. “She wants confirmation of the rumors.”
“I'm not much of a specimen to show off at the moment.” I said with a crooked smile. “I think she's going to be sorely disappointed.”
The head healer and Bryanna shook their heads in disagreement, then they blushed and turned away.
“I sincerely doubt that.” Queen Orella said. “Just relax, Hunter. I won't impose on you.”
I blinked my eyes at her. She does realize that she's the queen, right? I thought, slightly amused. She can pretty much do whatever she wants!
The queen was either a telepath or could read facial expressions like a master, because she gave me a quick wink and her hand holding mine, unseen by the others, changed from gentle strokes to light caresses. I kept my face impassive as her fingertips reached the underside of my wrist and the softer skin there. My hand twitched at the touch and she let a small smile touch her lips and didn't stop. Her three daughters looked like they didn't know what to do, now that their mother and queen had decided to pretty much put everything on hold while she tended to a man.
“Well, there's no need for everyone to be here.” The head healer said out of the blue and motioned for the daughters to leave. “The guards can stay, since they guard the queen.”
Braya, Bryanna, and Sylvana looked at the head healer like she had gravely insulted them. The head healer chuckled and touched each of them on the shoulder and gave them a little push towards the door.
“I'm leaving, too. I have work to take care of, just like you.” The head healer said to them.
The three daughters were easily ushered out of the room and the guards closed the door behind them and resumed their positions as statues. After the footsteps faded, the queen leaned over me. Since her fancy dress had presented her cleavage quite prominently while standing up, when she leaned over, her breasts almost completely spilled out of her dress. My eyes widened and were drawn against my will to their very nicely shaped milky softness. It took me a moment to pry my gaze away from such a wonderful sight and looked at her face to see a very smug and satisfied smile.
“Hunter, when we last saw each other, you did something very...” Queen Orella stopped speaking for a moment, then chose her next word carefully. “...unexpected. It was also against proper social protocol.”
“Your highness, I can explain.” I said and winced from a particularly painful throb in my head. “It was quite innocent...” I began to tell her about how she reminded me of my mother at the time, with her long flowing golden hair and similarly colored eyes, and I took the only chance that I had to say goodbye to her. I then told the queen about how much I had loved my mother, how she had been my first word, and then how I had tragically lost her. The queen's eyes were brimming with tears by the time I was done.
“Allow me to return the gesture.” Queen Orella said as she let my hand go and used a handkerchief to dab at her eyes, then she leaned way down to put her mouth by my ear. “Your mother loves you, too.” She whispered and tenderly kissed my cheek.
In that moment, my mana reserve rippled like a huge stone had been thrown into a small lake, and her lips quivered as she felt it respond to her touch. I felt a thrill and a wellspring of emotion as everything I felt for my mother came rushing back. When the queen leaned back slightly to look at my surprised face that matched her own surprise, she saw that my eyes were filling with tears.
“Shh.” Queen Orella took her handkerchief and dabbed at my left eye. “It's all right.” She said and dabbed my right eye. “You can let it out.”
I struggled not to openly cry in front of her, and with my muscles becoming stiffer from all of the little movements and fidgets I had to do while trying to stay still, I couldn't lift my arms to hug her like I wanted to. Almost as if she saw the need on my face, she leaned back down and gave me as much of a hug as she could without lifting me up. She tucked her head over my shoulder and rested it on my pillow. I let the tears flow and took several shallow breaths to try and calm down.
I wasn't sure why I was so emotional or why my emotions decided to overwhelm me when I was at my most vulnerable. Maybe that's why. I thought and tried to use a mental technique to calm down. It's probably because I am so vulnerable.
My calming effort was met with a particularly strong throb of pain in my head and I groaned. The queen held me for a moment more and then she sat up and dabbed at my eyes again to wipe off my face. My eyes caught sight of something and I didn't debate with myself about if I should tell her or not, despite enjoying the sight a lot more than I should have.
Stolen story; please report.
“Y-your h-highness.” I said shakily before I regained control of my voice. “I need to whisper something to you.”
Queen Orella leaned back down to put her ear near my mouth.
“Your highness, forgive my brashness for telling you this.” I whispered. “A bit more than your wonderful cleavage has escaped the confines of your dress.”
The queen stiffened for a second and then she slowly sat back up. She looked down at herself and saw the same thing that I had seen. One of her bright pink nipples had popped out of her dress and was pointed right at me. Her face flushed to a deep red when she realized that it was very exited to be free of its confinement. As deftly as a master swordsman performing their well-practised technique, both of her hands flashed over her bosom and the nipple was immediately tucked back inside and disappeared from sight.
“Thank you for comforting me in my time of need, your highness.” I said in a subdued voice to try and ease her embarrassment. “I really appreciate it.”
The queen's blush started to fade at my words and she tried to think of how to respond. “I'm... glad I could help?” She said, as if she was unsure and was asking a question.
“You've helped me more than I can say.” I said with confidence. Now I know that I'm also emotionally vulnerable when I'm physically or magically damaged. I thought. No more reminiscing for me while I'm in this state!
The queen's blush faded completely and she nodded just in time for our little personal meeting and emotional exchange came to an end. A loud knock on the door interrupted us and the guard opened the door after the queen stood and nodded. Braya, the queen's oldest daughter, and another woman dressed in a fancy white dress with a robe tucked over her shoulders strode into the room.
The woman looked around as if she owned the place and wasn't fussy on the decor. The dress she wore was comparable to the queen's, except the new woman's cleavage wasn't as prominent nor as large. Of course, her breasts could be larger and all that was wrong was that they had the wrong support underneath for that type of dress. They were quite bouncy, however.
Now I know I'm mentally impaired. I thought as my eyes followed the woman's jiggling mounds. I can usually ignore women's bodies quite easily, even when they are completely naked.
“Your highness.” The woman said as she came to a stop five feet away and gave the queen a bow. “Thank you for seeing me.”
“Our business shouldn't take long.” The queen said and motioned over to a small desk at the side of the room. “Have a seat.”
“Thank you.” The woman said and glanced at me, then walked over to the desk.
Huh. No reaction. I thought and watched the queen and the woman sat, then they started talking in animated tones and hand gestures.
“By the ancestors, I hate trade negotiations.” Braya said and I looked up at her. She had been watching her mother as well. “Administration affairs should be handled by underlings, not personally by the ruler.”
“The queen would have final say anyway, wouldn't she?” I asked and Braya looked down at me. “This way, she knows all the ins and outs and doesn't have to sit through being briefed and then making a decision.”
“What would you know about it?” Braya asked, a little confrontationally.
“Not much.” I said with a smile. “I let one of my best friends handle all of my business dealings.” I chuckled. “I pretty much dumped it all on her and she just tells me what I need to do and I go do it.”
Braya gave me a glare that was full of appraisal and doubt. I had intentionally phrased my words the way I did, so that it would fit better into her culture's accepted bias against men. I had noticed the queen glace at her a couple of times and I saw Braya give her nods of confirmation, which I assumed meant that she could tell when people were lying. She didn't say anything to me now, because I hadn't lied. I really did let Luxea run everything in both the transshipment business and the bounty hunting business. She vetted the customers and told me who we could take on and who we needed to leave alone. She was much better at handling the businesses than I was.
Neither of us said anything else and remained quiet while the queen and the woman discussed different things. Their meeting lasted for about half an hour and not the few minutes it was supposed to take. At the end, the woman graciously extended a hand and shook the queen's, then they both stood and the woman bowed. They both came over to my bed and the woman's lascivious eyes rolled over me. If she had been a man, it would have been a lecherous look, and that's when I realized that the cultural difference with the elves was almost a direct opposite of male chauvinism back on Earth.
It wasn't even a loosely held belief by the elves, either. They knew, from their own experiences, that their men were worthless as fighters and hunters, and they couldn't even do household chores or difficult manual labour without strict supervision. The women had statistical proof that they were superior to the men of their race in all aspects of their lives. Men were not worth their time, except in the use of creating more children to perpetuate their race's existence.
“So, this is the outsider I have heard so much about.” The woman said and couldn't stop herself from licking her lips. Unlike the other elves that I had seen so far, her face had sharp angles and hawk-like features, making a sharp contrast to her well-styled hair and her attempt at dressing fancily. It was not a good look for her and I could see that I was wrong about her breasts possibly being larger. As she bent over to get a closer look at me, I could see that they hung way off to the sides normally and had been bunched up to produce the jiggles I had seen. Her breasts slid out of their precarious holders inside the dress and flopped around like half-filled water balloons.
It was not a flattering sight.
I laid still in bed and couldn't move to try and counter her attempt to loom over me, so I kept my face blank and gave a quick glance to the queen and slightly raised my eyebrows at her.
“Don't crowd the poor man.” Queen Orella said and touched the woman's shoulder.
“His ears are too short.” The woman said and stood up straight, much to my relief. “He also needs a bath.”
“He's been bedridden for three days.” Braya said in my defense. “He is restricted from moving until tonight.”
“You should have the servants clean him up anyway.” The woman said. “Dirt can fester if left unwashed.”
It had been three days since the last time I had a bath when I entered the land of the elves. I've been in bed for three days since then, so I had to agree. Almost a week without washing myself was getting close to pushing the limits of personal hygiene.
“A few more hours won't matter.” The queen said. “He needs rest, first and foremost.”
The woman gave me one last look from head to foot and I could see her imagining me naked, then she gave a little huff of disappointment. “Your highness, thank you for the concessions and I look forward to speaking to you again soon.”
The queen gave her a nod and Braya motioned towards the door. She escorted the woman across the room and the guard on the right opened the door for them and shut it behind them. The queen sat down on the edge of my bed and took my hand as naturally as if she had always done it. She used both of her hands to hold it on her lap and resumed gently stroking the underside of my wrist.
“I really hate that woman.” The queen admitted, then she caught her breath and looked at me.
“I don't like her very much, either.” I said with a frown. “She made me lose the erection you gave me.”
The two guards gasped and I heard their swords rattle from their scabbards. The queen on the other hand, had a look of consternation on her face for a moment, bit her lip, then she laughed and laughed. I glanced over at the guards and saw that they were just as startled to hear the queen laugh uproariously as they had been about what I said. Now they looked unsure of what to do.
“Oh... oh, Hunter.” Queen Orella said when she calmed down and I looked at her happy face. “Please be careful when you speak crassly.” She said and gave an absent wave to the two guards and I heard their swords return to their scabbards. “Not everyone would appreciate your efforts to diffuse tense situations as much as I do.”
“I would rather be an object of people's ire than have you feel embarrassed, your highness.” I said. “That's why I didn't speak with that woman here.”
The queen gave me a knowing look, as if she knew that if I had spoken, things would have only become worse for everyone involved. “Your silence let the meeting end amicably.”
I nodded. “Even if I had just said hello, I think things could have spiralled out of control.”
Queen Orella nodded. “If she knew you could talk, that would be all she would want to do.” She said. “She is tenacious, to say the least.”
“I assumed as much, considering her attire. She's trying too hard to ingratiate herself into your good graces and is unconcerned about how blatant it is and that others can see it.”
The queen looked at me with a blank face and didn't say anything for several minutes. I didn't say anything either and we stayed there and looked at each other while she kept stroking the underside of my wrist. It was actually quite relaxing and I felt the throb in my head lessen somewhat and closed my eyes. No one else came into the room and no one bothered us, so it was quiet and all I could hear was my own occasional breath for every three of the queen's. She must have noticed the difference, because one of her hands touched my chest as it rose and fell. After a couple of minutes, she stopped stroking my wrist and I felt the bed move a little.
“Sleep well.” The queen's voice whispered barely above a breath into my ear, then her lips touched my cheek. My mana reserve rippled for her again and she let out a shaky breath as she moved away. A few seconds later, I felt her lips touch mine briefly and I fought my urge to kiss her back. She thought I was asleep, so I didn't want to ruin the moment for her. Once again, I was tempted to claim that she was taking advantage of me, then remembered that she didn't believe that she was.
When I thought about everything Maylia had told me about elves and their society and how nothing like affection was given to a man, because of his worthlessness, the queen's current actions could be considered... well, taboo.
A woman voluntarily taking a man's hand? Showing concern? Sitting by his bedside while he's hurt? Giving him a kiss? I thought in amusement. What a scandal it would be!
So, I remained perfectly relaxed as I let her indulge herself. Her feather-light kisses were spaced nearly ten seconds apart as she moved from my lips to my cheeks, to my forehead, then back again. Each time her lips touched me, my mana rippled for her and I could feel her shaky breath as she moved on to the next spot. I wasn't sure if she was testing to see how many times she could kiss me before waking me up, or if she was just caught up in the motions and the responses from my mana.
After ten minutes of her 'testing', the kisses slowed down and stopped, then she took my hand again. I wanted to open my eyes and see if she was blushing or embarrassed by her very intimate and sensual display. I didn't though, mainly because if I did look, it would precipitate the very embarrassment and blush that I was looking for.
Before I knew it, I drifted off to sleep.