The Edge of Harmony: The Guardian Maidens Book 2

by Marilyn Foxworthy

  She said, “Hello elf boy. Hello elf children. It’s good to see you. What kind of a picnic did you bring? Is there enough to share? I hate to impose.”

  The woman parted her cloak and took it off completely. I shouldn’t have been surprised, but she was entirely naked underneath. What else would I have expected now. We were in the orchards, a very strong elf woman was there in an invisible cloak, so obviously she would take it off and be naked. We were always naked. Well, whenever we weren’t in public. It seemed that every time a pretty woman appeared, she was certain to be naked. I was naked. The girls were naked. Lucille was naked. Why wouldn’t this unknown elf princess be naked? I sighed to myself and just accepted it. I had five wives. Every one of them as beautiful as any woman could possibly be. This one, this slender, mature, large breasted elf woman was probably either going to pledge her undying love to me in the next minute, or she was going to go off with Lucy to be with Gerald and Jean and Anne, but first she’d kiss me and hold her body against me, piercing me with her nipples, feeding me from her breast, or shaking hands by feeling my cock, and telling me that there was a perfectly good reason for all of it and that I should never be shy around her because she was either my long lost grandmother, an impossible daughter I never knew I had, or that I was her one true husband, lover, master, and king.

  OK, maybe not. But she was beautiful. Um, I’ll come back to that later. No, to hell with it. She was stunning. She was stunning, in a crowd of other stunning women, all descended from elves. She had to be even taller than Val. Certainly as tall as I was. Her hips were narrower than any of the others. Certainly narrower than Brenda who had the most luscious butt of the bunch, in her own way. I hadn’t seen this woman from behind yet, but I was sure that she was as beautiful from that angle as from this one. Her breasts were large, but not as round as the other women. They were more teardrop shaped, and they stuck out a bit more conically, and the nipples were more pointed and stood out from areola that themselves stood out from the breasts. They were beautiful, but different. Her hair was pure blond, and very lightly colored. It was difficult to tell if it was white, or just barely tinged with yellow. But not her public hair. She didn’t have any. And I was somehow sure that it wasn’t because she was shaved. Unless I was wrong, she was naturally hairless. It was her skin that convinced me of it. Her skin was smoother than I had ever seen. I didn’t think that she had even the normal tiny hairs that cover every part of our bodies. It was as if her skin were polished. It didn’t exactly shine, but it was incredibly smooth. And white. She was very light skinned. The only coloring on her body was her lips, her areola, and nipples, which were pale pink, and a very slightly darker tint to her vulva and outer labia.

  I stared for several seconds. And she just stood there and smiled down at me. The woman dropped her cloak on the ground, where it essentially disappeared as it hit the ground. She stretched in the sunlight, giving us all an even better look at her body. Lucy was the first to speak.

  She said, “Shaheen! I thought you were dead!”

  The woman laughed and said, “No. I don’t think so. Harmony knew that I’m not dead. So does the boy, Jack.”

  Shaheen sat down across from Lucy and I, and she smiled and stretched her legs, saying, “That feels good. That feels so good. I think I’ve been a bit muffled up lately. It feels good to stretch. And to be seen again.”

  She winked at me and grinned. Just like I would have expected, if I had expected all of this to happen just the way it seemed to be happening now.

  Lucy said, “Ronin, this is Shaheen. She was the closest thing I had to a teacher.”

  Shaheen said, “Hello, elf boy.”

  Harmony said, “This is the raven. Raven, you look different than I expected. Younger. I guess you always wore a cloak and I thought you were shorter than you are. Um, I thought you were and old woman. How come I have never seen you like this before?”

  Shaheen laughed and said, “Well, we never had a need to get naked before. And, the rumors of how much of a hag I am are greatly exaggerated. Elf Boy, tell me what you had heard about me. The elf hag of Sturgil’s Mark.”

  I cleared my throat and said, “Well, I was told that there was another elven woman in town. But Jack said that she was three hundred years old. He said she was very nice and he liked her though. Obviously, if he was talking about you, he badly missed the mark when he estimated your age.”

  She laughed and said, “I should say so! Three hundred, indeed. I’ll have you know that I am three hundred eleven, and not a day younger.”

  After a pause she said, “No, really. Three hundred eleven. I won’t ever lie to you now. Believe me. From now on, everything I ever tell you is the truth. I may not tell all of it all at once, but what I do tell will be the truth.”

  I said, “Um, Lucy did tell me that we age differently than others. And April, Alice’s daughter, well, anyway,” and I let my voice trail off.

  Alice looked horrified that I had nearly let the secret out, but Shaheen said soothingly, “Alice, I know you and Brenda. And your wonderful children. We’re here because you need to know that you and Brenda, and April, and Brenda’s children are all descended from elves. All of you. I came for several reasons, but one of them was because this will be easier for you to believe from me than if Lucille and Elf Boy try to explain it. I’m not going to bother explaining much, but you will believe me. And Brenda, April isn’t actually Alice’s daughter. And she’s at least twenty five to thirty years old. She doesn’t know it, but she is. Brenda, look at me. It’s fine. Isn’t it all working out better than you could have ever dreamed? Just trust me. And trust your elf boy. And, I’m going to tell them your secret too.”

  Brenda gasped and said, “What secret?”

  Shaheen smiled and said, “Ladies, our elf sister Brenda has magic milk in those big fun bags of hers, and the elf boy, unless I’m very wrong, has been drinking it right from the tit. Isn’t that right?”

  Brenda looked very embarrassed and looked down at her lap.

  Shaheen said, “Oh Brenda, don’t be ashamed. It’s wonderful. Only one elf woman in a thousand can do what you do. And I have no idea how you were able to do it. It’s spectacular. Look at your hubby for a second. You see those new muscles and the bit of a shine to his skin? That’s what your milk does for him.”

  Brenda shot a mortified look at Alice and gasped.

  Shaheen laughed and said, “Oh! Oh my. I see it now that you give it away. Alice looks a bit healthier too, doesn’t she? Well, Alice, good for you. I have never tasted it myself, but they say it’s like honey and cream. Brenda, a woman who can do what you do usually feeds her whole family now and then. I won’t mind a bit of honey and cream myself when the time comes. But I’ve probably said enough for now. Look, you two pretty widows are elves. Accept it. Jack told me several times that you never believe him. But he knows what he’s talking about. Him, his sister, you two pretty widows, April, and the rest of us. Let’s let you talk for a second. No, wait. One more thing. No, never mind. You take a turn.”

  I said, “Shaheen, who are you? How do you know all of this?”

  Harmony said, “She’s the raven.”

  I said, “What do you mean?”

  Shaheen said, “My name. Shaheen. It means ‘White Raven’, or ‘Shining White Raven’. So, when we played games or had cookies, the children called me Raven. I’m an elf, obviously. I’m three hundred eleven. I had a mate once, but that was a long time ago. I could look at you and figure out the exact relationship if I tried, but it’s close enough to say that my first husband was your great grand uncle’s wife’s nephew thrice removed. Or something like that. We’ll talk about the sword and the other weapons that you have and how they came to you another time. As for how I know what I know, I have the same sight that you do. And Harmony and Lucille do. But I’m a bit more practiced at it. I’ve been watching you. And this morning, when every adult elf in the village, except for Jean, who doesn’t pay as much attention to these things, anyway,
when all of you, including the two dormants, Brenda and Alice, headed off to a secluded spot for a picnic, I knew it was time for a bit of an introduction and to see how I could help. Elf Boy may be our King now, but I’m kind of the grandmother of our little group, so I figured I better be here. By the way, Lucille, I understand why you chose the way you did, and I support you all the way, but my choice will be different.”

  Lucy looked in surprise at Shaheen, and Shaheen said, “Can you blame me?”

  Lucy said, “I suppose not. Not at all. Of course. That makes sense. Um, it’s just that, well …”

  Shaheen said, “It’s just that you have been the elder elf for a long time, you know, because you thought that I was dead, and all.”

  Lucy said, “Well, yes. I suppose so.”

  Shaheen said brightly, “And not that much will be different. Of course, I’ll move in with Elf Boy and the ladies, and from now on we will all learn a lot faster than before, but it won’t be so different.”

  Harmony said, “Raven, you’re going to live with us? That’s marvelous!”

  Shaheen said, “Well I have to. For several reason. But the most pressing one is that you took away my house and I have nowhere to sleep. You won’t make me sleep in the street. A poor widowed hag like me with nothing but my cloak to keep me warm? Huddling pitifully in a doorway, begging for bread crumbs? No. You tossed me out of my house and Elf Boy will get me a nice warm bed and a cozy place to live out my elder years.”

  I looked at her questioningly and she smiled and said, “Didn’t you know? One of the houses that is being rearranged so that you can have your castle was where I was living. But, since I was moving anyway, I gave it up to make things easy.”

  Val gasped and said, “Where are you moving to? You can’t leave us. Not now!”

  Shaheen looked at Val and said, “Valeera, haven’t you been listening? I’m moving in with you. I had to give up my home because I am moving...in with you and Elf Boy. Sweetie, are you getting enough sex? Or too much? As if there were such a thing. Your brain is foggy I think. You know what clears he cobwebs fast? Sure you do. Go on. Run off over there a little ways and get Elf Boy to clear your head. We’ll wait here. Oh, don’t blush. I’m teasing. Unless you really want to, of course,” and she winked at all of us.

  The she said, “But Val, you can see what is going on, can’t you? Look and see. Look at me.”

  Val looked into Shaheen’s eyes and after a minute said, “Oh. Yes. I do see. Elf Boy. The Raven. Oh, and April. Oh. Of course. Like we said before about Alice and Brenda. But Lucy is on a different road, but still part of us. But different than my mother. And you will move in with us today, won’t you? Am I thinking right now? I must be. It’s the only way. Oh, Ronin, Girls, this is amazing. Raven, this is wonderful. Of course. Do you and I need to talk?”

  Afterword

  We will end the second book here. If you read on, it’s up to you.

  The story continues in the next volume. I don’t really know what will happen next. Something is going on with the elf woman Shaheen, but Ronin doesn’t know what. Val seems to have figured it out. Maybe you did too. Ronin is making plans to explore the Kobold caverns. And what about the foundling, April? Our hero has a kingdom forming, now he needs to learn to govern it. Now he needs to learn to live with it.

  If you are still reading my story, again, that was your choice. It was a lot of reading when all that really needed to be said is summed up like this:

  1. Be a good hero when you need to.

  2. It is easiest to fight without fighting.

  3. Thinking through the possible outcomes leads to unexpected answers.

  4. Even unicorns have to poop somewhere.

  If you choose to read on, I hope you enjoy it. I’m going to keep writing the story, whether you read it or not.

  END OF BOOK TWO

  About The Author

  Marilyn Foxworthy lives a peaceful life studying classical mindfulness, practical philosophy, and martial arts. A prolific writer of fantasy and adventure in the style of the twentieth century pulp writers of the ‘Golden Age’ of fiction, she enjoys what she calls ‘Tom Swift for Adults’. Often blatantly and graphically erotic, her epic stories appeal to the adolescent parts of us that still enjoy a good vicarious adventure liberally sprinkled with interludes of boisterous romping in the hay.

  Ms. Foxworthy describes her writing process this way: “I never know what is going to happen. The characters tell me their stories and I write them down the way I hear them. A character comes to me and sits down for coffee and starts talking. I’m as surprised as anyone by what they tell me. If I like the story, I publish it. If you like the story, you read it.”

  Other Series by The Author

  Series by Marilyn Foxworthy (without giving away too many spoilers):

  • The Shrine Maidens of Barsoom. The “Red Planet” of John Carter’s stories is real, but not quite the way we were told. The Great White Apes are real, and the princesses really are naked, but a lot of the details a hundred years later are different.

  • The Guardian Maidens of Sturgil's Mark. Ronin is a novice Adventurer Monk out to kill some monsters and make a name for himself. The elven girls who join him don’t like wearing armor very much, but overall, they’re a great team. Monsters beware. We’re coming to kick down doors and take the loot.

  • The Girls on the Hill. They aren't really fairies. They're just the girls who work at the particular resort that Robby Jensen enjoys vacationing at. And this time he finds out that most of the female the staff have a crush on him. And the robots are terrible scamps. It starts with a drowning girl in the river; and Robby just happens to be there in a canoe to rescue her.

  • The Nogud Legacy. What if you wake up on a road with no idea who you are? The place seems medieval, but is it the future, or the past? The population is low and good men are at a premium. A smart guy like Joshua knows how to make a new life, even if he can’t figure out how he got here or what the rules are at first. And what's with these girls in the hoods and tunics?

  • The Sea Nymphs. Robby is established now and wants to share his good fortune with his older brother Tom. Tom adjusts to Robby’s lifestyle quickly. He has his own way of doing things, but he’s Robby’s brother for sure.

  If you don’t see all of these series in the store yet, they’re coming soon.

  If you would like to keep in touch, hear about new releases, or anything else, you can find the contact information on the Amazon author page for Marilyn Foxworthy.

  And if you enjoyed the book, please do leave a review on Amazon or GoodReads.com.