“Yes, ma’am? How may I help you this evening?” the concierge at an inn in Zalevet, a short man with receding brown hair, asks the guest before him.

Whatever the answer, the concierge knows it will be something taxing. The woman, slightly older than him, is dressed in a nightgown with a jacket thrown over it. Her hair is a mess. A man sits behind her in a chair. He’s staying out of the conversation. All are sure signs of an ordeal the concierge will have to fix.

“The people in the room next door to us are making too much noise. We need you to make them quiet down,” the woman urges. Her eyes are bloodshot. It’s very, very early in the morning. Midnight has long since passed. They’ve had the patience to let this issue go for some time already.

“I’m so sorry to hear that. I will go check on the situation myself,” the man replies. “Could you tell me what kind of noises they’re making?”

The woman hesitates for a moment. She clears her throat. “They are…passionate noises if I must say something.”

The concierge flinches. “A-Ah.”

Internally, he realizes his job is about to get a lot more awkward than usual. The idea of breaking up a couple having sex does not appeal to him. His eyes glance at his guest book as he compares their current room with others in the building.

“I could always book you two in different rooms. We have another one available that is the same size as the one you’re currently in,” the concierge says after looking over his book.

“Let’s go with that,” the man, her husband, says immediately. It is the path of least resistance, so of course he’d take it when offered.

“No, Earl. Our room has a view of the river.” The woman turns to the concierge. “Does this other room have a view of the river?”

“It does not, ma’am,” regretfully informs the concierge. “But I can offer a discounted price for the remainder of your stay. How does that sound?”

“Doesn’t that sound nice, honey?” the husband speaks up again.

“This is our vacation. Being able to walk out onto our balcony in the mornings and stare at the valley and the water was part of why I picked this place,” the wife complains. “Please? Can you go make them stop? They’re so loud.”

Internally, the concierge pictures himself setting his entire body on fire. Instead, he merely complies saying, “Absolutely. We want all our guests to be pleased with their stay. This is unacceptable.”

The wife smiles at those words. The husband’s face deadens. He’s probably been dealing with the complaints long before the concierge. If the concierge had to guess, the man fell asleep right away while the wife kept waking him for minor noises. Alas, that matters not. This is all a part of the job.

The concierge looks into his guest book. After asking where the noises were coming from again, the concierge glances at that owner’s information. The supposed noisy room is rented by a ‘Landyn.’ No last name is given.

“You may return to your rooms,” the concierge says. “I’ll handle things.”

“We’ll wait here until you get back,” defies the woman. “It’s disturbingly loud.”

“As you wish,” the concierge allows. He moves away from his counter and heads upstairs.

“It’s probably not even that loud. She sounds like the type of person who bitches about everything. That poor man. Goes to show you should put more care into whom you marry,” considers the concierge as he reaches the top of the stairs. “I’m sure that—”

Loud cries of ecstasy soon boom in the distance.

The concierge freezes. The noise startles him. Even now, as he stands still and listens, thrashing furniture and yells swim through his ear canal.

His first thought is an apology.

His second is amazement, as he is astonished no one else has complained yet. If the concierge had to guess, he suspects embarrassment had a prominent role to play in that calculation.

As his feet lead him down the hallway to the corner room at the end, one of the better rooms at the inn, the noise gets louder. From the stairs, the sounds were muffled. Now everything is distinct. Just from that alone, the man can tell exactly what is going on, in what position, speed, and satisfaction levels. It renders the concierge’s body red with embarrassment.

At the room’s door, the concierge takes in a deep breath. He gulps. His hands move out before him as they rap upon the door. “Good evening, this is Tom from the front desk. I’d like to speak with the resident for a moment. There have been complaints about loud noises coming from this room.”

The loud, embarrassing noises continue.

“This is Tom from the front desk!” the concierge says much, much louder. “May I have a moment of your time?!”

The noises temporarily cease.

Tom relaxes. This means they’ll come forth all apologetic. They heard him. They probably didn’t even realize they were all that loud. Everything should be o—

The door opens. A naked woman leans against the frame. Sweat drips from her body. “What’s the problem?” she asks.

There are many parts of her Tom could have stared at. The split black and white hair on her head; her perfect breasts; her toned stomach; her long legs; the area between them. Any would have been justifiable given the situation.

Instead, all Tom can look at are her eyes.

Gold.

Pure gold.

Tom trembles with fear. “S-S-S-S-Sorry, ma’am. T-T-T-T-Theeeee other guests c-c-c-complained about a no-n-n-n-noise coming from your room,” he struggles to get out those words, still committed to his job of making everyone happy.

“I didn’t think we were that loud.” The Voiced glances into her room. “Did either of you?”

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Two men lay naked in the bed. One is thin with long blonde hair. The other is a larger, buffer man with a slightly long brown beard and short, cropped hair.

“Who can blame us?” The blonde man chuckles. His voice is somewhat feminine. “Making love should not be something done in quiet but rejoiced by all taking part!”

“I was almost finished,” complains the brown-haired man.

“We’ll be done in a bit. Everything will be quiet after that, okay?” The Voiced stares unblinkingly into Tom’s eyes.

“Th-Th-Th-That’s fine,” quickly agrees Tom.

“Sorry for bothering you.” The Voiced shuts the door as she turns back to her bed.

The noises continue as loudly as they did before.

Tom resists the urge to puke as he heads back to his desk downstairs. At least he’ll have an excellent excuse to give for failing to resolve the situation.

•

“Oh, Gods.” The brown-haired man moves to the side of the bed. He places his arm over his eyes. “Damn worker interrupted me. Had to start over from scratch.”

The Voiced tiptoes her fingertips across the man’s biceps. “You’re lucky I have a magical touch.”

“An understatement,” the man breathes. “Elijah, you coming up for air any time soon?”

Elijah pops his head up from under the sheets. He rests his cheek on the inner thigh of the Voiced. “But Astria deserved to finish as well, no?”

The Voiced, Astria, pats Elijah on his head. “Once is enough.”

“Once is never enough,” corrects Elijah.

“Depends how long it takes,” grunts the brown-haired man.

Astria flops her head onto the brown-haired man’s chest. “I like the faces you make when you’re struggling, Landyn. They’re cute.”

Landyn frowns. “You tease me too much.”

“It’s her thing; you know that.” Elijah flattens out across the bed on Astria’s other side. “She’s a sadistic bastard, but a lovable one.”

“Ahhh! Another lovely night in Zalevet!” Astria lifts her arms into the air.

“Starting it off with a bang,” jokes Elijah.

“Kidding aside, we need to plan our next steps,” says Landyn, ruining the fun with his logic.

“Then we shouldn’t have done this at all, now, should we?” Astria traces Landyn’s stomach with her fingernails.

“Big plans should only be formed with a clear mind,” reasons Landyn sheepishly.

“What a cop-out,” says Astria. She suddenly sits up. “Okay, agreed. Let’s get this out of the way. Then I need to sleep. We’ll head out when the first of us wake up, deal?”

Astria’s two companions nod.

“Wonderful.” Astria sprawls across her cohorts. Her head rests on Landyn’s stomach while her legs lay upon Elijah’s torso. “How far out is Water’s Bastion?”

“About two days given our pace,” says Landyn. “It’s good to know the information we stumbled upon in Respite is actually panning out to be true.”

“Right. The food’s cheap. Everything is fresh. Ever since we entered this part of the country, farms have decorated the landscape. And that massive lake. There are worse things to look at as you travel,” mentions Elijah with boyish wonder.

“Even if he’d been wrong, the trip wouldn’t have been a waste. Water’s Bastion is said to be one of the prettiest cities in the country. It’s a shame I’m not allowed to visit Zalevet unless there are issues that might affect the balance,” complains Astria.

Elijah rubs Astria’s legs. It soothes her skin. “Only recently has it been beautiful. You said so yourself.”

“Yes. It was a dull city some twenty years ago. Not even worth visiting. Hmm. That’s even more evidence that the baron running these lands has made significant strides these past few years. To turn an average country with nothing to give except trade into a beauty worth visiting, hell, he should probably be given a medal. Maybe he should be King instead,” deliberates Astria openly. “If I’m having those thoughts, the royalty in this country are probably debating that as well. All it means is more struggle for a country that doesn’t have a Voiced. Like they needed more reasons for war. How sad. The right person will come along sooner or later. I hope so for their sake.”

“Even more justification for why we shouldn’t wing it when we arrive,” Landyn decides after hearing that information. “It might serve us best to go in discreetly beforehand and then reveal you afterward.”

“Not a bad idea. It’s worked in the past. Yeah, we’ll go with that. We should try to get information on the current political scene in secret.”

“It’d also be nice to gauge how the locals feel about the ruling class as well. It’ll give better insight than the people in charge.”

“Politicians can’t see everything, even if they’re wonderful leaders,” concludes Elijah.

“Sounds like a good job for you two. I’ll need to do something more discrete,” Astria says as she points at her face.

“The castle is nearby. You can go there to get information,” suggests Landyn. “You’re good at moving around unseen.”

Elijah scoffs. “An understatement.”

“That’ll be phase one,” says Landyn. “Afterward, you’ll reveal yourself.”

Astria squeals. “Gah! I’m getting excited!”

“Aren’t we all?” Elijah joins her.

“We have our initial outline,” says Landyn. “We can iron out the more specific details when we make it to the city.”

“Agreed!” the other two say in unison.

“Then I must sleep.” Landyn yawns. His hands move Astria off him. He rolls over until his back is facing his mates. “I’ll wake you all once I’m rested.”

“Hmmm, goodnight,” coos Astria. She pouts a little. “No cuddling? Rude.”

“You know I can’t sleep while touching someone else.”

Elijah holds out his arms cheerfully. “I can.”

Smiling, Astria crashes into his chest. They snuggle together beneath the sheets as sleep sets in for both of them.

“Someone get the lights,” complains Landyn.

“Got it,” says Elijah. He takes a coaster from atop the nightstand. A set of candles flicker along the wall across the room. Cocking his wrist back, Elijah flashes the item forward. It curves as it moves towards the first candle, extinguishing the flames. It does the same to the second before sticking into the wall like a dagger.

Astria nuzzles herself into Elijah’s chest. “Sexy.”

Elijah pats her head. “Please, I don’t need to be riled up again.”

“No?” Astria asks with orb-like eyes. They tease the man.

“No,” Landyn answers for Elijah.

“Psh! No fun!”

“We had a few hours of fun. It’s time to sleep. There’s always tomorrow,” overrules Landyn.

“Promise?”

“Yes,” Landyn and Elijah agree at the same time.

“Haha! That’s why I love you two!”

“And we love you,” the men say at the same time.

Grinning, Astria further nuzzles her way into Elijah’s body.