by Randi Darren
“Cute little girl,” Felisa said softly. “Reminds me of my nieces.”
“Uh huh,” Steve said. “How long you been up?”
“Only a few hours,” Felisa said. “Siena had the early morning watch. I’m to wake everyone once the sun is a palm’s width from the horizon.”
“Great,” Steve said. “You can help me with your cabin then. Can’t have you sleeping in that lean-to.”
Steve walked toward where he stored his logs, wanting to see what he had to work with.
Camden better have kept it stocked, or I’m going to get pissy.
I told him to keep it stocked for me.
When he turned the corner around the back of his cabin, Steve found someone he didn’t know.
A woman was standing behind a table, diligently working at shoving a rather large wooden-handled spike through a thick piece of leather.
She looked up from her work, and Steve found himself staring at an extremely delicate and pretty woman with shining blue eyes and platinum-blond hair that came down to her elbows.
A single long white horn came up from the middle of her forehead and angled itself toward the sky.
In every way, she looked fragile. Made of beautifully spun glass that needed to be put upon a shelf and taken care of.
“Oh, hello,” said the woman with a gentle smile. “You must be Steve.”
Even her voice was light and gentle.
She set her work down on the table and held her hand out across it.
“Yeah, that’s me,” Steve said, taking her hand and shaking it once.
Ah, the leatherworker Nikki brought on. I wonder what kind of race she is to have a horn.
“Delighted to meet you,” said the woman with a wide, sweet smile. “I’m Airlea Korinna. I look forward to our wedding night, though I think it would be best if we got to know each other first.”
Ah! I get it now!
That’s why Nikki brought it up the way she did. She was happy with how accepting of the situation I was. Okay, I get it now.
I probably should have asked more questions when she mentioned it. I just… didn’t think about it.
Whatever. At least she’s pretty and has a useful skill.
Steve smiled and nodded at that.
“I’d prefer it that way,” he agreed. “I wouldn’t want to rush into it, not really understanding each other.”
“Oh, good. I’m so glad to hear that,” Airlea said. “You’re such an understanding and kind man. I never thought I’d be so lucky.”
Airlea stood up, and Steve found he was breathless.
Airlea wasn’t human.
From the waist down and backward, she was a horse.
The… fuck?
She’s a unicorn.
A unicorn. Wasn’t there a… Shit. Shit, shit.
She’s from Filch!
Airlea was rather small, however. Her height was only a little better than Jaina’s. Her hind quarters weren’t that large either.
He’d assumed she was a human because she’d been sitting behind a table and seemed normal sized. She’d just been lying down with her belly flat on the ground.
Walking up to Steve, the Unicorn wrapped her arms around him and gave him a tight hug.
“Thank you so much, Steve,” Airlea said. “You have no idea how many of my kind end up old and very much alone. Thank you for being so open-minded and willing to take me in. Nikki sang your praises up and down, but I still didn’t quite believe her.”
He looked across Airlea’s back and ended up staring down at her other “back,” which was that of a very tiny horse. She had short, soft-looking white fur that ran all the way down to her platinum-blond tail.
“Yup,” Steve said, settling his arms around Airlea in return. He didn’t have it in him to reject her or send her back. “Yup. Not a problem. We’ll make it work one way or another.”
Airlea’s tail swished back and forth at that, and she gave him a little bit tighter of a hug for a second. Then she released him and went back behind the table. Lying down on the grass, she continued to smile at him even as she picked up her tools.
“You’re a very kind man, Steve, my future husband,” Airlea said. “I’m truly grateful to you. It’s also rather nice to be out on a farm such as this. It’s lovely to be outside. Filch was truly starting to weigh on my heart.”
Even as she spoke, Airlea rapidly stitched the leather pieces together with only occasional glances downward. She seemed determined to keep her eyes on Steve.
“I definitely feel ya there,” Steve said, scratching at his shoulder. He felt really awkward right now, and like a scumbag. He didn’t want to have anything to do with Airlea, but he didn’t want to hurt the poor thing either. She seemed incredibly kind and pure hearted. “Cities and me don’t seem to get along.”
“Yes,” Airlea said, nodding her head at that and smiling all the while. “Oh! I made a set of leather armor for you. I stitched in a number of those little… plates… Ferrah had lying around. As well as those scales I found in a bag for the smaller areas, and to link it together. It took quite a bit to punch through the scales.
“Both the plates and scales seemed quite strong. I felt like it would give you good freedom of movement but much more protection than just leather. It’s in the chest at the foot of your bed.”
She… made me Lamia-scale and steel leather armor.
I… okay.
I’m… going to be banging a Unicorn. Okay.
I can do this. It’s just like Jaina, just… a bit more. Okay. Okay.
Yes. I can do this.
Easy.
I’m going to bed her and make her feel like the most well-loved Unicorn there ever was.
Sex her so hard she can’t even stand up.
I bet I can really pull at her, too.
Steve smiled at that, genuinely moved by her concern for him. Leaning across the table, he kissed her on the cheek.
“Thanks, Airlea. I’m going to get to work,” Steve said. “I’ll see you later.”
“Of course,” Airlea said, watching him as he walked away.
When he made it to his log pile, Steve had nearly forgotten why he’d come over here to begin with.
“You’re a very open-minded man,” Felisa said from beside him.
“Yep, that’s… that’s me,” Steve said. Apparently, he hadn’t been acting too strange. Which was a blessing in and of itself. He’d been almost positive he was probably acting like a nut-ball.
That or they don’t know me well enough yet.
Sighing, Steve grabbed a log off his stack and began dragging it off.
***
As he stared out at his fields, Steve felt far better than he had in a long while. Being able to work on his home, his farm, was considerably more enjoyable than wandering around.
He wasn’t made for that lifestyle, it would seem.
“You look like you’re feeling better.”
Smiling, Steve turned his head to find Nikki taking her small, hopping steps toward him.
“And then some,” Steve said. “There’s just something about our farm. Our home. It… makes me feel better just being here. More so being able to work on it. To build something for us.”
“I could certainly see that having an appeal for you, my brute.” Nikki came to a stop next to him.
They were in nearly the furthest corner of the fields. From here he could see almost the entire layout of his land.
While many more fields were planted and being worked since he’d last looked, there was still a considerable amount of open grass.
“Going to build that water tower tomorrow,” Steve said. “With the amount of water we’re using, we really should have a reservoir available for emergencies. That and I want my shower back. Cold or not.”
“Yes. That’d be a good goal to accomplish,” Nikki said. “Though I’m not so sure about the shower. The last one we took was long and cold.”
Laughing at that, Steve reached out to wrap an arm
around Nikki’s hips and drew her in close.
“Yes, but it was the same night a young Faun tempted me into her bed.” Steve leaned down to nuzzle the side of her face. “Haven’t left it since.”
Nikki laughed softly at that and then sighed, leaning into him.
“Truly? You haven’t left it?” Nikki asked.
“I was in it last night, wasn’t I?” Steve asked with a laugh. “I mean, admittedly Gwen came and stole me away, but you get my point.”
“Yeah,” Nikki said. “I guess… maybe I’m just being silly. Insecure, I suppose. We separated in such a poor way and… and you’re back now, and it feels right. But… Lucia is pregnant and I’m not, and… I feel like I made a mess of all this. Like my little temper tantrum put some distance between us. Like now you’re going to go to Lucia and not me.”
Truth be told, he’d almost gone to Lucia’s bed last night. He’d gotten so used to simply being with the Fae every night that he’d almost gone on autopilot alone.
In fact, he couldn’t even deny he’d had a moment of regret that he wasn’t going to Lucia’s bed. She always treated him to an evening of delights, no matter what had happened in the day.
She’d never send me away, would she?
Frowning, Steve realized a conflict would be coming from this. One he probably couldn’t stop unless he deliberately forced himself to push Lucia back a step.
Except he wasn’t sure he wanted to push Lucia a step back.
She spoiled me.
Figured out me and my wants. Then brought me close, lured me into her bed, and spoiled me rotten. Spoiled me rotten while bending Gennie, Ferrah, Xivin, Jaina, and Nancy into her game. They all happily did whatever she asked, especially if it came to me and the bedroom.
How often did she bring ‘entertainment,’ as she called it, for me and our bed? Jaina never complained. Nor did Gennie or Nancy.
Or even Ferrah.
And… do I even care that she did that to me? Or am I flattered that she worked out how to bring me in?
I liked everything she did.
Enjoyed all of it.
Want more of it.
The more he thought about it, the more it felt like his relationship with Nikki was far more traditional, or perhaps slightly in her favor.
When he didn’t get his way, he’d just let it go and get on with it.
Except the one time he’d disagreed with Nikki about their direction, she’d pushed away from him and sent him out into the wilds of the world with little more than a pat on the back.
What he had with Lucia was her working him over for her own gains and ends. Though the whole thing felt extremely in his favor and weighted towards his personal needs.
With that in mind, he unsurprisingly actually preferred Lucia.
She wound him up, put him on the path she wanted, and rewarded him for everything he did.
And when he didn’t do what she wanted, when he didn’t do as she asked, she’d simply let it go and start drowning him in attention again.
It’d only happened a few times that he hadn’t wanted to do what she’d wished, but every time it happened, she’d simply moved right past it as if it didn’t bother her at all.
And when I didn’t do what Nikki wanted me to, she ran off, avoided me.
Steve couldn’t help but feel like perhaps he was being petty. But he couldn’t change the fact that he did feel some hurt over the way Nikki had dismissed him previously.
Or at least, how he felt like she had.
“I really am sorry for avoiding you before you left,” Nikki murmured softly. “I just… I really didn’t like what you were doing. I disagreed with it, and I felt like I couldn’t support it.
“So I didn’t want to see you.”
Ah… so… she did avoid me.
She did distance me, to a degree.
Steve didn’t know how to respond to that. Realistically, he knew it wasn’t that big a deal. That there would likely be much larger hurdles to overcome in the future.
That this was nothing.
Yet, he still couldn’t quite get his mind past it.
He felt hurt.
And he wanted to see Lucia, if only to let her soothe it for him. Because he knew she’d be able to peel him apart, figure out what he needed, and give it to him.
Except that would just make everything so much worse.
“Don’t know what to say to that,” Steve murmured, coming to a semblance of a decision. “I can’t deny that it hurt me. That there’s a part of me that’s still hurt, even if I feel like I probably shouldn’t be. Like it’s nothing.
“But I do feel it.
“As far as Lucia goes… well, I went to your bed last night, you’ll remember, not hers.”
“I… okay,” Nikki said. “Okay. I can work with that. I guess it doesn’t help that she’s pregnant. And I’m… well, I’m not.”
Steve nodded at that. He’d wanted to impregnate her a while back, but he’d not felt the desire to do so since their last encounter.
“Geneva’s pregnant, too,” Steve said. He didn’t want that surprise to hit her later.
“I heard,” Nikki said, her tone growing flat. “Lucia, Gwendolin, and Geneva are all pregnant. It would seem everyone in Lucia’s sphere of influence is getting what they want, and no one from my circle is.”
“Really shouldn’t think of it like that,” Steve said. “There are no factions. We’re all part of the farm.”
Nikki didn’t respond to that, but she did push in closer to Steve.
“Let’s go have dinner. Privately,” Nikki said. “Maybe I can help to ease some of that hurt you’re feeling afterward.”
“Sure,” Steve said, all the while contemplating how he could get over to see Lucia tonight.
Twenty-Six
Steve tilted his head to the side. He couldn’t really figure out what he was looking at.
It looked a lot like a boat to him, but it didn’t really fit with anything his mind registered as a boat.
“I guess it’s more like… a boat that’s been merged with a raft,” he muttered, then sighed. “A raft with walls.”
“Or something of that nature,” Lucia said, standing next to him along the riverbank. “Clearly it was built for the purpose of running the river against the current. It’s no wonder it doesn’t exactly look like a boat.”
One of their hunting parties had spotted the vessel and immediately reported back, going straight to Lucia to let her know about it.
The Fae had found Steve, and the two had gone looking to find it.
From here, he could see a number of women all working on tasks and projects on the shore, and on the raft itself. They looked to be dressed as commoners, but there was a sharpness to their work.
Almost as if they’d at one point served in the military.
I wonder how the southeastern Lamals territories are doing. They probably got it just as bad as we did. Right? Or did my little river experiment change their fortunes that drastically?
“Obviously, it came from downriver,” Lucia said. “That should still be Lamals territory, but it’ll come up against our southern neighbors. Odistran.”
Steve nodded at that. He didn’t really know who their neighbors were.
He didn’t know much of anything.
“Oh! That’d actually be something worth checking,” Lucia said. “If they’re in contact with Odistran, they might be able to pass along a letter to the Fae courts. Odistran borders on the summer court’s spring lands. I really do have to report back on my current status.”
“Uh huh,” Steve said.
“Consort? Make it happen for me?” Lucia asked, her left hand sliding up along his waist toward the middle of his back. Her fingers lightly tickled over him.
He was about to agree out of hand and make it happen for her.
But then, he had a strange thought. This was something Lucia really wanted to happen. It was something she’d talked about repeatedly.
Getting in touch w
ith the courts.
His conversation with Nikki came back to him. How she’d handled it when he’d disagreed with her.
What would happen if I said no to Lucia?
Would she react the same way Nikki did?
“No,” Steve declared. “I don’t want you to report in to the courts.”
“Oh? Hmm,” Lucia said, her tone clearly moving in a disappointed direction. “Consort, I really would like to do that, though. I can’t even begin to express how important this is.”
“I don’t want you to,” Steve said, deciding to push. “Sorry, butterfly.”
Lucia sighed, then leaned over into him and kissed his cheek. This was followed by her hand continuing to stroke and pet his back.
“As you wish, my beloved consort,” Lucia said. “Though I do hope to change your mind in the future. It’s very important to me. Very, really, extremely important to me. I really do need to check in. And—”
“No,” Steve said, simply cutting her off. He really wanted to press her into a corner on this one.
“I understand,” Lucia said, sidling in closer to him and pressing her hip to his. “Well, shall we find their camp and figure out what they want with us? I’m not exactly keen on the idea of them wandering around in an area that could easily be described as our territory.”
And… that’s it?
She just lets it go and continues on? That’s… that’s it?
“Is it really that important to you?” Steve asked.
“Yes, Steve, my consort, it really is,” Lucia said. “I won’t deny I’m rather angry and frustrated with you right now. I can’t even begin to understand why you’d forbid such a thing… In fact, I’d almost say you’re doing it to spite me.”
There was no hiding the fact that she was angry with him. Upset, even.
But that hadn’t impacted the way she treated him at all.
“Okay, I’m sorry,” Steve said. He wanted to back up and immediately fix things. “If we have the possibility of reaching out, we will.”
“Wait, really?” Lucia said, turning her head to peer up at him.
“Yes, really.”
“Hmm,” Lucia said, then smiled at him, her nose wrinkling. “Maybe I should tell you more often when you annoy me.”
