History of Beauty

by Meraki P. Lyhne

  Coming back home to find his footing and be close to his mom and dad had been a good choice, but not only because he then had two people he knew and who loved him close by. All the people invited today, all the Cubi he’d met so far and been nostalgic with proved he had a lot broader foundation of support.

  And he had the chance to learn from his House Father, Harrodon.

  “Son?”

  Elakdon turned, finding his human dad there.

  The man smiled, then clutched Elakdon close. “I’m so happy you came back. I did not do well with the thought of never seeing you again.”

  “I missed you terribly, too.”

  “Prince or not, I’m glad you’re home, son.”

  Elakdon’s heart swelled, and he hugged his dad tightly.

  Elakdon’s body felt almost as tired and spent as after the three-day party at Mother’s House, yet this one had only lasted a day. Other than a Succubus he couldn’t keep his eyes off and finally decided to bring to bed, Elakdon had focused on talking to everybody. That left no time for drinking on his behalf, but the rest certainly found a reserve of mead somewhere.

  The sun was high in the sky, yet Elakdon had no inclinations of leaving his bed nor Styrk and the Succubus lying at his sides.

  But he had to pee, so he finally climbed over Styrk, grinning at the tired grunt that escaped the sleeping Incubus. Styrk turned onto his side and continued sleeping, emitting a light snore.

  Elakdon dashed from the room and found a place to relieve himself. Upon returning, he heard a commotion in the other end of the longhouse and tiptoed closer.

  “I would say welcome to my House, Earl Trygve, yet you did not allow me the opportunity to offer hospitality when barging in unannounced!” Harrodon said.

  That was Father’s pissed off tone, and Elakdon stayed where he was and out of sight.

  “My concerns outweigh the needs for pleasantries, Harrodon.”

  Elakdon would recognize that voice anywhere.

  “Malte came to inform me that you gathered the entirety of your people here and did not allow humans inside—even your thralls.”

  “Who I choose to entertain in my own house is no one’s business than my own, Earl Trygve. You do not find me disgracing your sovereignty in your own home when having parties with no Cubus attending, do you?”

  “I merely find it strange that even your own thralls were asked to leave the house. These times speak for themselves, and you are reputed to be a man of wisdom, so I’m sure you understand what pushed me to these actions.”

  Elakdon gaped. He’d never heard anyone speaking so disrespectfully to Father who did not earn a public punishment to be felt for weeks. It made him angry on behalf of his High Father’s honor.

  “Who listens in the corners to our conversation?” the Earl shouted.

  “Only I,” Elakdon said, stepping forward. “I went to relieve myself and could not help but overhear the insulting tone the Earl brought to our door, try as I may.”

  Harrodon blinked, and Elakdon would never have been allowed such lip before, yet Elakdon felt his own pride having been stomped upon by the Earl’s actions and innuendo.

  “You remember Elakdon? He has returned to us, which is what caused for our celebration. Now, do you have any more pressing matters of insults or have you satisfied your curiosity about what goes on in my House?”

  “Changes are coming, Harrodon, mark my words.”

  “That sounds like a threat, Earl.”

  “No. Ill winds whisper warnings, so mark my words merely as that. A warning.”

  “Consider them marked, Trygve. And I shall personally inform you of changes that can be of a threat to our lands as soon as I learn of any.”

  Earl Trygve looked surprised at the choice of words, yet Elakdon wanted the man humiliated for his disgrace.

  The Earl looked at Elakdon. “Welcome back,” he stated, nodded sharply, and strode from the house with Malte on his heels.

  “Please, My Prince, remember the place you held in this House before your rise,” Father said, walking to Elakdon. “It is a ruse we must uphold for a while still.”

  “I know, I’m sorry. I just got so angry.”

  “Really?” Harrodon looked mildly surprised.

  “Should I not be from the insults he came to your door with?”

  “Of course you should. I’m merely surprised at how well you kept such anger hidden.” Harrodon placed his hands on Elakdon’s shoulders. “But these are the changes we are seeing. This isn’t a first for Earl Trygve. Something among the humans is changing, and we are not included in that information.”

  Ideas tumbled through Elakdon’s head. “He has three children, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “The daughter is pretty, is she not?”

  “Very.” Harrodon looked worried. “What are you thinking, My Prince? Please, share with me, or I cannot advise you.”

  Harrodon guided Elakdon to sit in the high chair, then took a seat beside him.

  “I’m thinking that Ladby is a small village. It would be a good place for a King to hide. To grow. To…mark his territory, pride, and build his people.”

  Harrodon gaped. “Build his people?”

  Elakdon nodded. “I have no idea what made me say that, but I feel a…yearning to see…great numbers. To feel great numbers around me. I wonder…” He looked at Harrodon. “Is this what a man feels like when he acknowledges the need to procreate?”

  The baffled expression turned to one of amusement. “You wish to procreate? Is that what made you take a young Succubus to your bed last night? I do believe many Succubi would gladly mother a child with you.”

  Elakdon smiled because what man would not feel pride at being at the center of a fertile woman’s attention? So he gave it some thought before he answered, yet the answer wasn’t as fully formed as he would have liked.

  “It’s not to see her belly swell and feel the pride of pending fatherhood I yearn for. It’s to…I lack words to describe this, but that’s nothing new after my rise. It’s something deep within me trying to get through to my mind, and I’m often incapable of describing it until I follow the urge and see it through. Then it stands clear.”

  “Like with me, My Prince.”

  They both looked up, finding Foldon and his sword standing at the end of the longtable.

  “Like claiming you, yes.”

  “That, I know what is,” Father said. “But it is not for me to explain to you.”

  Elakdon nodded. “Mother said the same.” Yet, Elakdon wasn’t sure he possessed the patience to wait for the answer.

  “What did you mean about needing great numbers around you?” Father continued. “Do you wish to build your House here in Ladby?”

  “It is a place you know well,” Foldon said, taking a seat.

  “Cub, I don’t think you experienced enough to advise a Prince,” Harrodon said.

  Elakdon had to agree.

  “But Nandon and Lokdon are. Please find them, Foldon.”

  “Yes, My Prince.” Foldon left. He returned within minutes, or what felt like mere minutes, while Elakdon had fallen into deep thoughts. Foldon was about to leave as the two purple-eyes sat.

  “Stay, Foldon,” Elakdon said. “Learn from listening. I will one day need the wisdom you accumulate in life.”

  Foldon smiled and took a seat, remaining quiet.

  “You said that Ladby would be a good place because I know this area. In that, I agree. Yet, any foe arising out there will know it too, so it would be the place to strike.”

  “It would also be an easy target if all are here,” Lokdon said.

  Elakdon nodded to himself and stared off in thought. Above the door, Yggdrasil was carved into the wood, and the tale of how the House Mothers and Fathers had built their network made him smile.

  “Tell me, what exactly does this new God of the humans demand of them? What offerings threaten us?”

  “No offerings but their complete and utter submission to his w
ord.”

  Elakdon looked at Harrodon, shocked. “Submission? That’s it?”

  “Yes. Or He will send down wrath and punishment, as I understand it. He will burn them.”

  “And if they submit?”

  “He will give them everlasting life and let them know His love.”

  “What a…” Nothing there sounded pleasant in Elakdon’s ears. “If you merely submit to a god, how do you earn honor and pride for your kin?”

  “I don’t think that’s the point.”

  “So…humans will become thralls to a god and just do as told, and that will be their honor?”

  Harrodon shrugged. “I’m sorry, I don’t know more than that. I certainly do not understand it.”

  “I have heard that men are to subdue a woman and procreate, and neither she nor he may touch another after marriage,” Nandon said.

  Elakdon gaped. “That will allow us no one to feed upon but the unmarried.”

  “Well, no, because sex is forbidden before marriage. One must stay…clean.”

  “But the gods will not allow something like that!” Elakdon stated.

  “Many resists. I have been through areas to the south, and their resistance was not met favorably by the gods. Had it not been for the dose, I would have starved. It was…I fear that to be the future for your Kingdom.”

  Elakdon sat back. What he heard was even more frightening than what he’d thought it would be. “How many have submitted to that God?”

  “His followers are so far sporadic, yet there are men of a cloth who travel to spread the word about him.”

  “If any such man in cloth comes here, I will see him before he has the time to speak to anyone here,” Elakdon said.

  “Yes, My Prince,” they all answered. It dawned on Elakdon that, aside from claiming Foldon, he had just given a bunch of purple-eyes and his own House Father an order.

  Yggdrasil kept looming, and the sacred tree had planted an idea to be furthered at some point. Fertility. What was it that kept urging him into action? Urging him into fulfilling something he didn’t know what was yet?

  “Should I stay here? Make this my House?” Elakdon looked at all the purple-eyes at the table.

  “Yes,” they all answered.

  Father sat back a bit, smiling, yet he looked a bit surprised. “Then it is fortunate that I had already begun the expansion of the House to hold the exchanged Cubi.”

  “How far are you?” Nandon asked.

  “Timber is on its way back. If all purple-eyes pitch in and get our hands dirty, we can haul and split the logs in a matter of days.”

  “We need a blacksmith to forge bigger tools for us.”

  “I will see to that today,” Elakdon said, smiling. “I will even forge them myself.” And Elakdon was sure his dad would help him keep that promise.

  Chapter Eleven

  The new part of Harrodon’s House finally stood finished mere days before the cold weather arrived. The beautiful green landscape took on hues of golden yellow and red, and trees soon stood naked and waited for snow.

  It had, at first, been planned to house new Cubi to be empowered, yet Elakdon’s arrival changed those plans.

  Styrk had crafted a sturdy bed, and Elakdon looked forward to trying it the night when that part of the house stood ready for him to move into.

  Another day or so, and he would have a wing to call his own.

  While all purple-eyes had helped by brute strength, Elakdon had spent time educating himself by listening to the world-wise speak, and he’d kept busy by assisting his dad at the hearth and anvil. It had helped grow his muscles a bit, and he felt less gangly.

  Styrk plopped down on the longbench with an excited smile on his face. “My Prince, I have worked on more than the bed I promised you, which is also why it has taken so much time. But I’m too excited to keep it a secret any longer. I would like to present you with this present before it is shown to everyone else.”

  “No one has seen it yet?”

  “Yes, some have. I needed help with it. It is big!”

  Elakdon stood quickly. “Then let’s have a look.”

  Styrk sprang to his feet and led the way to what had affectionately been named the Nol quarters. They entered the hall, and Styrk turned Elakdon to look at the door. “Now!” Styrk said, and lights were turned on. Above the door, a big carving of Yggdrasil stepped forward in the tree. Styrk had even colored it, yet details did not fit the stem and roots and crown.

  Elakdon stepped closer, finding small squares here and there, and he recognized Bodin Borghild’s name. Then his High Father’s. The middle of the stem was adorned with his name.

  “I made room for your crest, and I shall finish it once I know what it looks like.”

  “It’s beautiful.”

  “And the network is true. Father Harrodon helped me. It is a map for you to always be able to see the areas of your Kingdom.”

  Elakdon smiled, gratitude for such a task welling up inside him. He turned to look at Styrk. “Thank you for this. It’s beautiful.”

  Styrk grinned goofily and kicked the ground, then gasped when Elakdon embraced him. The green-eye was not slow to return the hug, though.

  “You are a good friend.”

  “Thank you.” Styrk squeezed Elakdon a bit tighter.

  “I’m sorry to interrupt, My Prince, but you have a visitor that should not be left waiting,” Harrodon said.

  Elakdon let go of Styrk and looked at his House Father. “Thank you. And thank you for your hand in this.” Elakdon pointed to the big carving.

  Harrodon nodded ever so slightly, then gestured for the door.

  They returned to the halls of Father’s House where fifteen new Cubi waited. A Succubus stood by the hearth and warmed her hands, but she quickly turned golden eyes on Elakdon as he entered.

  Styrk and Harrodon knelt, and Elakdon deeply bowed like Mother had told him was customary. Then the three kisses, yet he didn’t remember who was supposed to take the initiative to do that.

  The Queen came close enough for Elakdon to see her feet, and she cupped his head, chuckling. “Don’t worry, young Prince. I was just as nervous. It is our secret.” She then kissed his forehead. He kissed hers, and they shared a kiss to the mouth.

  Finally, he stood.

  “Oh, my, you are tall,” she said.

  Elakdon grinned, nothing useful coming to his mind to say.

  “Please, Nil, may I offer yourself and your party water to wash the travel dust from your hands and faces,” Harrodon said. “I have food and drinks, none of you shall want.”

  Of course. That’s what Elakdon should have said.

  The Queen smiled at Father. “Thank you, Harrodon.” She then wove her arm through Elakdon’s, thus urging him to lead her to the table. “I am Nil-Savadin, and I remember from your letter that you are Nol-Elakdon.”

  “Yes. Mother Bodin spoke so well of you, I feel like I know you. But I’m still nervous.” He stopped them at the end of the long table.

  She chuckled. “Join us. I look forward to getting to know you at least as well as you feel like you know me, and then I hope we can further our allegiance and friendship from there.” The Queen took the seat next to the high chair, Father on the other side, leaving the high chair for Elakdon.

  He quickly sat. “How were your travels?”

  “Tedious. And a challenge. I see you, too, are born to trials of fire.”

  “I’m sorry?”

  “A Royal rise with a challenge. It has always been a forewarning about changes to come. It is when we are needed the most.”

  “Why?”

  She looked at the others. Then at Styrk. “Who are you to the young Prince?”

  “I was the Incubus to empower him fully.”

  She nodded slowly, thinking. Then shot Elakdon a glance.

  “He is a close friend.”

  That made her smile. “Close friend of Elakdon, I must speak with him alone for a moment. He may choose to tell you later.”
/>   “Yes, Nil.” Styrk left the table.

  “The rest of the people here are my Royal Guards and a Fountain. Well, two.” She looked at Harrodon. “But not mine.”

  “No, Nil, I was empowered in the East and asked to come here and secure the Kingdom at the fall of the former Nol.”

  “There is much you need to learn, Elakdon, but most importantly are Fountains,” the Queen continued. “They become House Fathers and Mothers as they hold great strength from their individual Royals. You see, we claim them to dose heavily so that they may spread our dose and keep our people powerful while we try to bed each and every one of our people, too.”

  Elakdon sat back. “Each and every one?”

  “Yes.” She smiled.

  “That would explain my ferocious and variating appetite.”

  “It will.” She had a naughty gleam in her eye that Elakdon enjoyed. “But sometimes, someone stands out, and you will want him or her more than anyone else. You will feel almost possessive.”

  “I do.”

  “You have found one?”

  “Yes. I wanted him from the moment I saw him. It was even before Styrk awoke me fully.”

  She looked positively surprised at that. “The Royal instincts are strong in you. Always listen to them.”

  “But why do I want him so? What makes him different?”

  “What is it about him that you enjoy so much?”

  “He’s strong and proud and worthy of the respect he enjoys. I see in his future great honor won in battles.”

  “A warrior, good. You will need your Royal Guard to be plentiful, and you must create your own warriors, test them, make them strong and capable, and then build them an army.”

  “Plentiful. You said you needed many in numbers around you,” Harrodon said.

  “Yes, but a people, not just warriors.”

  “Strong Royal instincts indeed. I had that urge, too. But we will discuss that one in private. For now, let us focus on Fountains as they are the blood of your Kingdom. Other than becoming House Fathers and Mothers, it is also among them that we choose those to become trained to be our Royal Guard. It is also among them that we find our Ilkil and Lokil-Nol.”