“Yoooouuu? You did this?”
“I am a farmer, after all.” I was enjoying this way too much to be put off by the insult. “Fresh from the farm, well, three days at sea, but close enough.” I handed her the inventory listing, save for the last page that held my personal effects. “Make something special or I will have to send it all back, would hate to waste such beauty on a mediocre chief.” I did not have to be offended when I could fire right back at her. She growled her challenge and shooed me from the kitchen, this dinner would be one for the history books.
It was, it truly was and the entire noble family was at the dinner table, moaning from the food-gasms they were having. All except my wife, who ate without emotion or comment. When dinner was over, I noticed that even though she tried to hide it, she was sore and walking with difficulty. Like any good hubby, I rubbed her down that night with a massage that lasted hours. I don’t know what I was trying to get out of it, a sound, a thank you, but in the end, it was just to make her life that much more enjoyable if I could eliminate some stress from her body. But then again, I did take advantage as any good husband would do, side boob touch, spending just a little too long on her butt. Not that her severely lean frame did a whole lot for me, but it was fun nonetheless.
Within two days, I had noticed a change in all those around me. Like crackheads who were forced into rehab, they were fed hearty meals that did wonders for their complexions, their moods and even in my status around the Lord Aerathrel’s house. No matter where I went, the Elves would wish Honors on my House, one older elf, even kissed my hand. It was a strange experience, but I took it with a grain of salt. For I too was affected, not only had my mind sharpened, but I had the energy of a four-year-old child. I had never felt this good, not on earth, not in the game. It was amazing and I used it to my advantage as I attacked the Library for knowledge on the trees, they built their cities from. For I could not shake the feeling that they were the cause of the dead soil.
One morning a few days later, after Aylana had left for training, I had a burst of energy so intense. I found myself in a dance party of one, I was the only one invited, I was the only one attending, and nothing made me happier. Like a teenager hyped up on the high of life, I sang with reckless abandon as I circumnavigated the room. Putting my all into the songs of Stone Sour, I did my best to make Cory Taylor proud. As I finished up Say You’ll Haunt Me, my mind seemed to calm as acoustic version of Song #3 played within my internal playlist.
It was like the field before the dream all over again, emotions poured out of me, but not like before. This was far different, a passion I never knew I had, a feeling of how true the words reverberated throughout my body. There was no volume control, no fucks were given if the Elves didn’t like my singing or the song. This was a primal urge for release, and when I got to the main chorus, I was so in the song, I hardly heard the giggles coming from the doorway.
“Yes, Jaeger, you saved me too.” Her voice made the playlist skip like it was a CD and I couldn’t help but notice the giggling now. Slowly I turned and saw Aylana standing behind me, she wore an amused expression on her face and the two handmaidens behind her giggled into their hands. She turned her head slightly to the side. “Leave us.” They both curtseyed and left quickly, both shot me an amused look before closing the door. “An interesting display, to be sure. May we speak, if you are not...” Now I really could see the amusement in her face. “Otherwise engaged?”
I swallowed, this wasn’t the robot wife I had known before. Not this female elf that stood before me with a gown of red and silver. She was regal, had the appearance of youth and patience, aside from the smile that tugged at the corners of her lips. “I’m ah, free. Sure.” I came down from the bed, with as much dignity as I had left. “What do you wish to speak of my lady?”
She arched an eyebrow at me, “so formal?”
“I ah, yeah, so, I am not used to you being…” I motioned at her, “not this way.”
“You disapprove?”
“No,nononono.” Why was I tripping over myself, she was my wife, I have seen her naked, been inside her. Damn it! What was wrong with me right now. But I knew the reason, she was no longer a robot and I didn’t have the first clue about the female before me. “Not at all, Aylana. You have… startled me is all. I was not expecting you, to ah, appear.”
She chuckled within a closed mouth, and the sound was joyous. “Apologies, I was under the impression you knew of the controlling device I was under. My father thought it imperative for my training. But I would never have guessed that he would control me into a marriage, with a human hybrid no less.”
“Oh.” My heart dropped. Everything clicked together, how she was able to focus so strongly for hours without a rest. Why she was like a robot, emotionless, she was being controlled. But that didn’t make that last statement hurt less. “I am sorry you are disappointed in being forced to marry me.” My voice was strong, as was my will to run from what I thought was coming next.
“You would be surprised what you learn about others say around you when you are being controlled. I still have ears, my eyes, I was merely unable to force my will of my body into motion.” She said as she glided past me to the divan. “How much gossip you are subjected to because they think you are without a mind. You, Jaeger, have been nothing but kind to me, if not a little perverse these last few nights.” Busted, she had me. “I suppose I can forgive you, since we are married after all.” She said the last part with a purr.
Wait, what the hell am I missing here? “Thank you?” I stated dumbly, I still didn’t have confidence when it comes to beautiful women, but what man really did?
She sprawled out on the divan with a half-smile, giving me an eye full of her lean body. “I am not disappointed in our marriage, Jaeger, far from it actually. Not that you are the husband I dreamed of as a young maiden, my father could have forced me to marry someone far worse. As a maiden and the daughter of a Lord, the idea of marrying for love was but a petty fantasy. I knew from early on what I am to my father, a tool, for glory, for fame, or uniting our two nations.”
So, does she like me or not? I am so damned confused. “What do you mean by glory?”
“The tournament of course, my father thinks I have a fair chance at winning. Though I do not share in his ideals.” I asked her why. “Why you may think I am talented, and I appreciate your cheering. It is a fact, that Dinhel or Autumnsday, will win. They always do. What is it that the humans say? A snowball's chance in hell, as it were.”
“That bad huh?”
“Worse. My father has been pushing my body to hard, and I do not know if I will be able to recover in time.” I was having a hard time deciding if she wanted to compete or not. “Though our nightly...time together has worked wonders. I do like the feel of your hands on my back.”
“Your welcome.” I blurted out as I knew she was purposely not mentioning the other places I had been touching. “So, if you don’t want to take part in the tournament, why do it at all?”
She sighed deeply, it was not dramatic like Hana’s, it was cute with the right amount of drama. “A female from each house must compete. My sister took part last year, and now it is my turn. If I do not place high enough this year, my father will lose face and influence. Which he has since my mother went to the Heavenly Halls. I fear this may be the end of our House.”
“I am sorry to hear that.” I said honestly. There wasn’t much to say about the topic, so when a thought occurred to me, I asked. “how does the MRA function if there is no food growing on the Isle? Does every house outsource to Atheria?”
“Yes, but not Atheria. Be it as it may, our lands have never seen eye to eye, on anything. There are humans here, but only as slaves as far as I know. It was my Father’s hope that you would be able to fix our soil problem. How is your quest going by the way?”
“Poorly, but I am optimistic, by all counts, the soil here is dead, yet seagrass, and certain shrubs thrive. I believe it has s
omething to do with the trees.”
She sat forward on the divan, “truly?”
“I ah, ran afoul of a certain kind of tree while on campaign, its roots secreted a toxin into the ground. Which held water close to the roots, but if you drank it, well, it has an interesting kind of poison.”
“Fascinating.”
“Not really, it made me mad, not like crazy, but I couldn’t control what I said. My mouth had a life of its own.” Now months later, it really did seem kind of funny, when I admitted it out loud. “It was fatal without the cure, but you could put off death if you continued to drink the toxic water.”
“And you think the same thing is happening here, I mean the trees poisoning the ground.”
“I do. Maybe not the trees themselves, some tree leaves are known to kill other plant life when they decay. It could be that, or something else. There is too much about this Isle I do not know about and I have read every book in the library about the Isle of Trees.”
“I have faith that you will find the answer.” She smiled and leaned back. I was glad she did, it really was a matter of time before I cracked this nut wide open and I could feel that I was on the right path to get it done. “If you have questions, I would be more than willing to answer any that I can.”
I sighed in relief. “That would be a great help...where to start?”
For days we walked the grounds. After her injury, she needed time to heal, though I think she was putting off training now that her father had removed the controlling device. Arm in arm, we walked from branch to branch, boulevard to boulevard. Aylana was well liked by the citizens in the tree city, but must just looked at us with curious expressions on their faces. Brandon was attached at my hip, for I just couldn’t let the little guy go back to the pins. He was like my shadow now and I felt naked without him, though I continuously teased him when Aylana wasn’t paying attention.
She seemed to know everything about the Isle of Trees, but the information she gave me lead me to more dead ends than ever before. But I kept on trucking, each failure was no failure to me, just a path that did not lead me to the answer. Then all too soon, her back was healed and I was left alone to solve the problem at hand, but like my life, excuses were made so I could watch her train. Then a week before the Tournament, she was forbidden to train with a bow, so that she was fresh for challenges that awaited her. It was on that last day of training, I snuck down to the yard and asked, “What will you do now with all your free time?”
She smirked when she said, “keep you busy.” There were a lot of ways that one statement could have been taken, though my lower appendage could think of only one. “Take these.” She commanded as she handed over her bow and quiver. “I want to show you something.” I followed her, happily caring her stuff for her. She led me to a door I had never seen before and inside was the armory.
The place was larger than both my bunkhouses put together, with row upon row of various weapons and armor. “My husband may want to retract his tongue before he steps on it.” She took her weapon and arrows from me and stored them away, “what do you think?”
“It’s big, a lot of things that bring death are in here.”
“True enough.” She said as she pulled a different bow from a whole wall of bows. “This was my mothers. It is called Wind’s Song. For when she was in her element, the string would sing. Or so my father says.” She placed the bow back and confessed, “I never knew her, she died just after I was born.” I gripped her hand and gave her a gentle, reassuring squeeze. She first looked down at my gesture, then at me. “There is no need for your comfort, death comes for us all. Even the gods.”
She was not fine, no matter what she said. For she pulled away from me to take her mind off it, pointing out different swords or spears, all with names. They didn’t matter to me, sharpened steel was sharpened steel, pointy end goes into the opponent. As we descended further into the armory, I noticed the signs of age, rust, dust, lack of care could be seen. We continued until we came to the back wall, and I saw something that baffled my mind. It looked like a tubular backpack, with what looked to be a valve on the underside of it.
“Oh, I see you found an old quiver.” She explained it’s use to me, how your arrow hand would reach behind you and you could grab an arrow by the nock. “It was an ancient design, back when archers didn’t carry their packs on their backs. Also, it takes more effort to draw a single arrow than a hip quiver.” She pointed to another quiver on the wall. “That’s a back quiver, to be worn so you may draw an arrow over your shoulder. Father says that you can jerk your body just so and only one arrow will fly from the quiver into your waiting hand. Still slower than a hip quiver, hence why no one uses them anymore, except some foolhardy adventurers.”
“Convenience and efficiency, can’t argue that.” I said the words as my eyes were drawn to my left. A black suit of armor was hanging on the wall, a bow and sword next to it. Aylana was explaining something about a five-arrow quiver but my mind went blank when I saw the armor. It was like it was calling to me, my feet shuffled the ten feet over to it and I looked upon it with reverence.
“Oh, I see you have found the armor of the Warden. I wouldn’t get to...” My hand reached out and when I was about six inches away and a bolt of green lightning zapped my hand. “...close.”
“Ouch, oh yeah,” I said as I started to jump up and down, like that could end the pain in my hand. “That was stupid...owww.”
“It’s enchanted. “Said with a chuckle, there was an undernote of pity in it. “All young elves make the same mistake, myself included. For it takes a sage, or a Dark Paladin to be able to touch it. You are lucky you only got a minor shock, one elf, was killed, supposedly.”
“Why does your father just have it hanging there, so any idiot can touch...and yes, I am referring to myself.” I didn’t know which hurt more, my hand or my pride, but they were both throbbing with a dull pain.
“A reminder, I am sure. Of a time long ago, when the Warden’s roamed the lands, keeping peace. Before the Paladin’s and the factions. This suit belonged to my ancestor, and I have seen him look upon it for hours sometimes. As if searching for answers to some unsolved question.” She had a far-off look, “that was the warning, if you reach for it again, it will be much worse. Believe me, it remembers.”
“So, you had a strong ancestor, that is pretty awesome. How come I haven’t seen a statue or a memorial for him...or her.” I quickly looked at the black breastplate. “Him.”
“His name was Valenis, and by all accounts, he was a better Warden than he was a leader. It was by his decree, that we Elves of Light leave the Lands of our Ancestors, he brought us to this Isle. And it was he, who decreed that one female from every house shall take part in the tournament.” She gazed at me out of the corner of her eye, “the winner would be made his wife, the losers were executed.”
“Harsh. I hope that still isn’t common practice?”
“No, it is not.” Her voice was full of humor, “for as a married female, I would not be able to take part. It is in homage to our past, a silly tradition for Lords to win and lose wealth as they may. Fighting over crumbs the major houses leave.” She turned on me, “like my father. He lost our wealth the cycle after my mother died. He made a sour bet and almost lost everything.”
I really couldn’t say anything, I had gambled on Hana and Bretta, I wouldn’t be standing next to her if I hadn’t won out.
“And he has not learned from his mistake.” Her deep blue eyes were hard as sapphires. “I have heard he placed a marginal wager on me to win. Coin we do not have, and expects me to perform a miracle. But I will not, I will give it my all, I will try my best, and I will lose, and so will he again.”
I bit my lip, there was a fire in her I had never seen before. “You never know, you might just win. I think you will do great.”
“I thank you for the confidence, however, it is more complicated than you know. While it is difficult to hit the center o
f the target, it is impossible to hit the very center. If I am off, the distance is measured, and the Elf with the lowest score at the end wins.” I could see her slender neck contract as she swallowed. “And at tournament, slaves are given practice weapons in which to make it more sporting. They are released from cages with the promise of freedom if they strike us. Two cycles ago, a maiden tripped and the slave beat her to death. This is not just a normal tournament, Jaeger.”
“Then why do it? It just a tradition, right? Why risk your life for your father’s sake.” I shook my head no. “If we have a daughter, I would never ask that of her. Ever.”
There was a sparkle in her eyes, and when she did speak, it was barely audible. “You want children, with me?”
“Why wouldn’t I?” My answer was a slow, and I was rewarded with a meaningful smile from her. “But that is beside the point, if you fear this tournament, then don’t take part. It hasn’t happened yet, your father can get back what he doesn’t have, right?”
“That would be dishonorable.” Her face lost its smile. “I must, as the Daughter of Aerathrel House.”
“But you are also the Lady of Persik.” My words seemed to stun her, had she not realized what it meant to be my wife? “I really do not understand your culture, but what are you first, your father’s daughter, or my wife? Not that I want to put you on the spot, I just don’t know your protocols, because if you are my wife first, then, I really don’t want you to take part in something that might get you hurt. Not that you will, I mean you are amazing to watch, and I wish I could be half as good as you with a bow. I guess I am trying to give you a way out, if you want it.”
She placed her hand to my cheek and I could see the tiniest bit of moisture from unshed tears in her eyes. “I am an Elf above all, and the daughter of my father, first. I am sorry, but I appreciate you trying to find me a way out.”
Noble Farmer Page 17
