chapter 9
Wine is Divine
The sun beamed down into the gardens of the castle grounds. smells of spice, cooking meat and perfumed beauties filled the fresh warm air.
Zanzo De La Cruz took a deep sniff of these heady aromas, savouring the perfection of the moment. Today would indeed be a grand day.
True there had been many feasts at the castle in the days since he arrived, one of them even in his honour. Many excellent dishes were eaten and already many gorgeous women had made excuses to visit him in the nights that had followed. But today would be the cream on the nipple.
He let out a long self satisfied breath as he sat in the shade of a sleepy palm tree and looked out at the bright colours of the garden's flowers. It was thirsty business lounging outdoors however so he reached for his glass on the table beside him and was disappointed to see it was empty, devoid of wine.
“Have you drank all my wine, girl!”
He shouted with mock severity at Mercy who was lounging in a swinging chair on the other side of the table. She looked over, regarding him with green, tired eyes from beneath a curious wide brimmed, white wicker hat. She also wore a yellow cotton dress, a sturdy looking leather belt that was attached to another leather strap which crossed her chest and held a shoulder Pauldron in place.
A strange ensemble to be sure. Zanzo had always heard that the aeth were the most elegant of races that wore clothing woven of magic and nature itself. This one seemed to be the exception, probably from having been raised by an orak, which was also odd. Oraks by all accounts kept to themselves in the wilderness or were out causing trouble in small towns.
In any case Zanzo was not one to judge a lady by her attire, no not he, it was after all what was under the clothes of a lady that really mattered.
He saw that she’d been wearing wooden sandals as well, but they lay discarded by her feet now so she could rock her chair with the balls of her feet, Zanzo wouldn’t have minded if she had discarded more of those troublesome clothes to the ground I bet she’s naked under all of them He mused, then smiled at his own joke.
“It wasn’t even your wine!” She shouted suddenly breaking his sordid reverie.
“Errh?” He croaked, wrong footed by her sudden accusation.
“But?.. The wine?… and me drinking it?”
was the best argument for ownership he could come up with on the spot. What more evidence did she need? It was wine and he had been drinking it, why wouldn’t it be his?
She looked back at him, her brows furrowed with displeasure. Beautiful he thought.
“Yes the wine… and you drinking my wine”
she sneered in a ludicrous imitation of his accent.
“I came out here to enjoy that wine before the wedding gets started. I’d been sitting here for no more than a minute before you appeared on the balcony over there, naked ‘to let the sun drink you in’ - apparently.”
Zanzo laughed at this as the memory came flooding back through his inebriated mind.
“Yes, yes go on girl” he replied waving a hand, he was warming to the funny story about his own antics now. Mercy smiled.
“Well, then you started flexing wildly so the sun could envelop every part of your ‘chiseled physique’ “
“Why, Mercy... you’re making me blush”
“They’re not my words! I’m just repeating what you were telling someone back in your bed chamber as you did your strange flex dance. And when did you move rooms anyway?”
Zanzo smiled now.
“I haven’t, that was Lady Ishrok I was conversing with and those are her rooms, she had a desire to paint me this morning”
“She wanted to paint you naked?”
“What?.. no?.. Why do you ask?
Mercy sighed.
“Anyway you remember now so no need to go over it again”
Zanzo gasped and slammed his empty glass down on the wooden table startling Mercy in her swaying seat.
“Lady Aeth I will not hear of this, you simply must finish your enchanting tale of this naked rogue and his quest for wine”
she continued to look shocked for a moment but regained her composure and burst into pleasing giggles. You have her now Zanzo boy he thought to himself, if you can make them laugh you’re never too far from their bed. Zanzo had never bedded down with an aeth before, sure he had been with many human women and was confident everything was in the same places anatomically, the only difference seemed to be her long pointy ears.
But aeths lived forever as far as anyone knew. Imagine if he was her first, he’d live forever in her memory.
He could already envision her telling the tales of his bedroom prowess thousands of years after he was nothing but dust ‘A handsome, sun drenched Librestan hero took my virtue’
‘Oooh’ the other aeth girls would coo.
‘Was he just amazing lady Mercy?’
‘Oh yes, yes he was the best as well’ maybe then she’d look off into a beautiful middle distance and remember the ferocity of their coupling and a small tear would trickle down her perfect cheek because she would know that she would never experience such love making ever again. Yes that would be fine, he thought smiling.
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
Mercy’s giggling subsided and she returned to her story.
“Ok I’ll finish but stop interrupting, so midway through your flexing you spotted me and asked if I liked what I saw and if I’d ever seen a real man's physique.” She glared at him as she recalled this point. He raised his hands in supplication.
“I was just trying to get to know you, asking interesting questions is part of that” he said waving her anger away with a dismissive gesture. “You obviously did since you invited me down here”
“I didn’t! I ignored your question and told you to put some pants on!”
“Yes you wanted me to put some pants on so I could come down here and drink wine with you, wine is divine after all and a religion really should be shared. Really Mercy it was plain as day, you’re dealing with a man here, I see through the subtext of a young ladies words.”
Mercy sighed heavily.
“Well there’s no wine now, so I guess you can go back to being painted or whatever. I only had a glass of it as well” she sulked.
“Mercy, Mercy, Mercy”
Zanzo said, shaking his head with what he hoped looked like profound disappointment.
“There is always wine if one only knows where to look” he stood up sharply and shouted.
“Eli!! Jax!! Wine!!”
He flopped back into his chair and grinned at her. She looked back at him unimpressed.
“Wine will be with you momentarily my dear. Anyway I came down here and was teaching you about the great beasts of Libresta, one in particular is mightier than others and is often wrongly overlooked by scholars who study such things, the creature I speak of ofcourse is the Babasta, master of beaches.”
Mercy rolled her eyes.
“Oh fires cleanse please no more” she pleaded.
There was the sound of crunching gravel drawing closer and Zanzo saw his squires approach, each of them clutching a bottle of Libresta’s finest he smacked his lips together in anticipation.
“Great work my boys” he said standing to meet them, he grabbed them both and folded them in a warm embrace, taking the bottles as he pulled away.
“Is there anything else we can get you, sir?”
Jax asked eagerly, ever the pleaser he was.
“Why, yes there is in fact, good of you to ask lad” he replied addressing Eli as if it was him who asked, he was keeping them on a balancing scale for his praise, a game he had been playing with them since he had picked them out of the gutters up in Eard. Two dirty looking brown boys wearing rags, not even shod, running through the crowds that had come to gawk at himself and Roxanne as they moved through the busy thoroughfares. They’d been cutting purses from the onlookers and had avoided detection. But Zanzo had noticed.They reminded Zanzo of himself at that age. Zanzo had been born of noble librestan stock and had been brought up in an expansive manor on a huge estate, but that hardly mattered when you considered the rest of their similarities, they were all male and enjoyed money and that’s all that matters to any reasonable man of quality.
“Sir?” Eli asked
“Yes? Oh, I wish for you and your brother to join me and the lady Mercy”
The boys grinned at him and then each other “of course sir” Eli started “we’ll go get some more glasses then and w—“
“What?!” Zanzo snapped
“No, no my boys… my men!” He corrected as he handed mercy a bottle.
“You two will need clear heads today if you’re to guard me at today’s events”
Mercy snorted as she uncorked the bottle and began to pour.
“Does the great Zanzo need the protection of others? Surely no man could best you?” She had a nasty grin on her face as she raised the glass to her lips, nice full lips he noticed.
“Well of course that is true Mercy, but even the great king of Urungeald has knights and those knights wear armour and often use shields. The boys..err hem.. the men will act in such a capacity this evening”
“You’re going to wrap one of them around yourself and hold the other on your arm then? Lady Ishrok will have her work cut out for her with painting that, maybe they’ll hang it in the buggery”
the boys laughed nervously to each other seemingly not pleased with that notion, nor was he to be honest.
“Don’t be facetious my lady, it does not become you. Anyway”
he said turning back to the boys before she could lower them into a worse metaphorical gutter.
“You two will perform your forms for me and Mercy, then have a bout or two to show your skills”
“Oh, we were just doing that for Sen Greeves” said Jax.
“But then you called for wine and here we are”
“Sen Greeves?!” He exclaimed looking back to Mercy.
“When was your father knighted? He’s never mentioned it in any of our many conversations”
She only stared at him with one raised brow and drank some more.
“Fine then, keep your secrets, but I’ll find out. Jax, Eli, why are you calling Greeves a Sen?”
He asked, turning back.
“Ah well it’s just.. he—“
“Because they have big ears and even bigger mouths” came a gruff voice that Zanzo had been hoping not to hear this morning.
“Only speak of an Orak and he shall appear '' he greeted Greeves as he strode towards them heedless of the rounded, cobbled path around the flowerbeds he trampled the flowers beneath his heavy leather boots.
Greeves had his usual look of unmasked disdain on his grey, scarred face. But then Zanzo didn’t think he’d seen many other expressions on that great ugly head anyway. Once again it was not his place to judge on looks alone.
Greeves was a useful fellow.
“Would you care for a morning tipple.. Sen Greeves?” He asked. Greeves looked at him, ignoring the question in the way he’d said Sen, then he looked at the wine, and finally at Mercy who swayed in her chair and slurped wine noisily. “No I’ll pass, thank you. I just came to see if Mercy was ready to take a walk before the ceremony” Mercy set down her glass and put on her wooden sandals.
“You know, I think I am ready to leave. Thank you Zanzo for the wine and the company and the odd conversation.”
Zanzo’s heart sank, he felt he had been so close. “Likewise, Well I wish you both a pleasant morning, we’ll see you at the wedding!” They walked away together stopping to say their goodbyes to the boys as they left. Zanzo watched after them, drinking his wine from the bottle and admiring Mercy’s figure, she looked back at him and smiled mischievously. Oh, you’re back in the game. Tonight will be the cream on the nipple alright.
“Sir?” Jax asked, interrupting his chain of thought.
“Which forms do you want us to go through first?”
“What are you talking about!” He asked angrily.
“Go get me some breakfast from the kitchens, something to wash this breakfast wine down with” Jax looked at him with a pout and Eli looked hurt.
“Just get me some food then we’ll get on with that, go on now” he snapped at them. They scampered off muttering to each other leaving him alone in the beautiful gardens. Zanzo sank back into his seat and glanced over at the crushed flowers Greeves had left behind. A man that cares nothing for beauty, how did he even come by that girl?
“Lord Zanzo!” A well spoken voice called from above, lady Ishrok stood at the balcony, a blanket wrapped tightly to her midriff not leaving much to the imagination, her long Black hair blowing gently about her fine, oval, perfectly ordinary, human face “I need you to do some more poses for the painting!”
“I will be with you in a moment my dear!” He called back up to her. She smirked at him, a not dissimilar mischievous grin to the one Mercy had just left him with, he felt himself stiffen slightly at the thought. Another roll in the paint won’t hurt anyone he smiled and drank some more wine.