History of Beauty

by Meraki P. Lyhne

  She gasped. A smile of deep gratitude spread across her face, and Elakdon’s mind got lost in what that mouth could do to his body. He took that as a yes and grabbed her hand.

  She willingly followed, almost running ahead of him, stopping twice to let him show the way. He felt…young and adventurous as they dashed off together.

  Elakdon and Madin returned to the Hall now stock full of humans and Cubi, and, by the sound of it, his Hall was being initiated, too.

  Father was feeding on a woman from town. She looked like the one who’d blushed at his attention earlier. Windin, Bo, And Randi sat at the hnefatafl game.

  Foldon and a few other Younglings stayed by a table in the very back since doses were everywhere, and Elakdon suddenly got the urge to secure his new thrall. He grabbed the first thrall he could find, not recognizing her individually, yet the short hair gave her away. “The new thrall who arrived with the Earl, where is he?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Find him. He has dark blond hair and freckles and clear blue eyes. Take him to that table. Now.”

  “Yeah, sure.”

  “You’re not of this House?”

  “No. My master brought me.”

  “I’m the King of these lands, and this is my House.”

  She gaped.

  Elakdon tried for a smile. “Now find him and bring him to me.”

  “Yes, King…”

  “Elakdon.”

  She nodded vigorously and ran off.

  “My Prince!” Styrk swept Elakdon off his feet and into his arms, grinning drunkenly. “I have to thank you for losing that bet.”

  “I’m sure the color of your eyes will thank me soon.”

  “Oh, I think they will. She gives me three at a time. It’s maddening.” He looked appalled by the very thought and let Elakdon’s long legs slip from his grasp, yet he kept Elakdon clutched close.

  “Another matter is that I can’t wait for that week to be over.”

  “Oh?” Styrk looked positively surprised.

  “I want to hump you again,” Elakdon said, feeling hunger shimmer across his skin. “Soon.”

  Styrk smiled, then ran his hands down his beard to make sure it was presentable. He was adorable when tipsy. Elakdon couldn’t resist. He kissed him deeply, and Styrk held on, spilling something down Elakdon’s back as he pulled him close.

  Finally, Elakdon pulled back. “I will go sit with my mom and dad.”

  “You do that. Unless you want me to come.”

  Elakdon laughed. “Come sit with us, my friend.”

  “You look too sober to enjoy your own party. Here. Oh, wait, it’s…ruined.” Styrk looked into his empty horn, and Elakdon figured he could guess what had been poured down the back of his shirt a moment earlier. “I’ll find you in a moment!” Styrk staggered off, waving his horn and shouting for a thrall to fill it up.

  Elakdon shook his head at his friend, then turned to join his mom and dad. They’d been joined by Nil-Savadin and Nol-Plydon, Dendon, and a…Guard Lady? Was that where he’d seen her before? There were only three spots left, yet Elakdon wanted to be surrounded by family, so he scooted down between his mom and Randi. They both put an arm around him, both sporting rosy cheeks from the mead.

  “Did she feed you well?” his mom asked.

  “Oh yes, and I learned that I am definitely powerful enough to empower Foldon, so he will not be training tomorrow.” The mere thought made Elakdon’s dick rise again, and he glared at the persistent member. But even his stomach fluttered at the thought of finally feeling Foldon.

  “Shall we keep that a secret?” Dendon asked.

  “Please do.”

  Dendon nodded curtly.

  “That is wonderful news, my son,” Windin said, patting his hand. “We have news, too.”

  Elakdon perked up, looking around.

  Bo was grinning stupidly, and Randi looked eager.

  “But we might need your permission for this,” Windin continued.

  The stupid and eager grins grew worried.

  “What? What is it?” Elakdon pressed.

  “I can’t have children,” Randi said, a glow in her eyes dying out. She pulled up her dress, but it was not her feminine region that caught Elakdon’s eye, it was the star across her belly. “At least the bastards didn’t get the livestock.”

  “My shield maiden,” Bo said, looking at her with such admiration.

  “Well, I wield a sword and spear enough to protect my home. But they damaged me.”

  “I’m sorry,” Elakdon said.

  “And this is where we need you to say yes,” Windin said. “This is your House now.”

  “Well, what is it?” Elakdon felt eager, too.

  “I have asked Gorm-in to father you a sibling, but they only agree if they can live here, and Randi can be a shared mother. She wants to feel a baby of Gorm-in in her arms and love it.”

  Elakdon didn’t know what to say. “Of course they can stay here!” Well, that much he knew.

  “Splendid!” Nol-Plydon exclaimed. “May I offer my dose for the cup?”

  Windin gasped. “We would be very honored.”

  Elakdon smiled. That was going to be one powerful Cub. “May I, too?”

  Windin took his hand, the strength of the mead showing in her eyes. She became quite the hugger when drinking mead. She then hugged him tightly, and Elakdon laughed.

  “I’m sure we can collect a cup in short time,” Nol-Plydon said.

  “Will you join in the conception?” Windin asked Randi. “We will make a child of love the three of us and raise it like that, too.”

  Randi’s eyes filled with tears. Then she sobbed and nodded.

  “Here we go!” Styrk said, stopping at the table with a decent sized horn.

  Elakdon figured he was behind, so he stood on the bench, grabbed the horn, and raised it to the sky. “To my sibling, may he or she be a fiery little one.” He then downed the contents and shivered as the golden liquid warmed his inners.

  Styrk bellowed laughter.

  Elakdon plopped down on the bench and released two doses into the empty horn. He then passed it to his mother, who released enough for her tongue to cramp. As she massaged her sore chin, she handed the horn to the old King, who released two doses into it.

  “Me, too,” Nil-Savadin said.

  “This child will be of all Kingdoms,” Elakdon said. “This Cub will do great things, Mom.”

  “May I?” Styrk asked, looking at the horn.

  Windin looked up at the tipsy green-eye.

  “He protects my Fountain,” Elakdon said, the first kick of mead telling him that downing that horn had been a bad idea.

  Windin smiled. “You were my son’s second Empowerment?”

  “Yes. I would never impose if I didn’t love your son and feel so bonded to him,” Styrk said.

  Elakdon felt mellow.

  “Of course!” Windin sang, and Elakdon’s foggy brain placed him on the happy-drunk shelf.

  Styrk got the horn, and he dosed into it a few times, then handed it to Windin.

  She looked into it. “Needs a few more. And my tongue is empty. I shall ask my friends.”

  “May I suggest that I hold onto the horn while you collect those you find worthy of adding to your family’s future?” Nol-Plydon asked.

  “Thank you, Nol.” She handed it over and stood, her shrill tone ending in a laugh as she got stuck in the bench and landed on the floor.

  “Oh, no, up again!” Styrk said, helping her to her feet.

  “That King is smart.” With that, she left, and Elakdon facepalmed himself.

  “I can’t wait to meet that Cub.” Styrk took the seat Windin had just left.

  “What does it mean?” Randi asked. “That you spit in the cup?”

  “It’s not spit,” Elakdon said. “It’s the dose that causes uncontrollable lust in a human. It is needed for a Succubus to be able to have a child.”

  “With Royal doses in the cup, this child will be s
tronger from birth,” Nol-Plydon said. “A child conceived with a Royal dose in a cup is called a Naali Cub, child of Royal. In this case, I will suggest the child’s name be Dahli din or don depending on gender, but that means thrice for the three Royal’s doses the Cub will be born from. You have a son who grew up to be King. Expect something great from this child, too.”

  Bo looked at his wife. “With as warm a heart you have. You will do your part when raising our child.”

  Randi smiled and leaned in to kiss her husband passionately.

  Father stopped by their table. “I hear of a strong Cub to be born to my…the House of Nol-Elakdon.”

  “Oh, I will never see these halls as not being yours, too, Father,” Elakdon said.

  He bowed ever so slightly. “Then please, let me add to it.”

  The old King held up the horn, and Father released a few doses into it.

  Windin stood behind him with three more Cubi of different eye colors, the youngest being a blue-eye, and they all added to it. By the time it was given back to her, it was almost brimming.

  Her hands shivered as she reached for it, and Elakdon watched in wonderment as he watched his mother down the contents to become fertile. She handed the horn to Styrk who was closest, then placed her hand on her belly. She then took Bo’s and Randi’s hands. “We will raise a beautiful and strong Cub together. Stay with me for the next nights so that I may conceive it and carry it for us to love.”

  Randi stood and hugged Windin closely, and Elakdon leaned his head in his hand, admiring the sight of a family coming together. He admired his mother’s strength and kind heart to share with a barren woman a child to hold and love.

  “I don’t dare drink mead from this now,” Styrk said.

  Elakdon looked at his friend, staring into the horn. He laughed. “Just don’t bed a human woman.”

  “You’re right, problem solved! Plus, my member belongs to a Queen, and unless I am displeasing to her, she will take care of this.”

  Nil-Savadin snatched the horn from his hands. “With two from Nol-Plydon, we would not leave bed tonight, and I wish to enjoy the party before we retire.” She then left the table with the horn.

  Styrk snickered and flung his arm over Elakdon’s shoulder. “She might be right.”

  The thrall from before returned with Elakdon’s new thrall in tow. “Is this the one, King?”

  “Yes, thank you! And please, fetch me a plate of food.”

  “Yes, King.” She left immediately, leaving the young Halfling at the table.

  “That’s…” Nol-Plydon stared at the boy.

  “Yes, and I informed the Earl,” Elakdon said. “He has been given to me as a gift. I have to mark him an Untouchable, though. For all to see tonight, so not just a pendant.”

  “I have an idea.” Father left them.

  “Is he to be told?” the old King asked.

  “No. Our laws say that he is what he is until the dose reveals it, but he will only serve me.”

  “Mind your hunger then, young Prince,” Nol-Plydon warned.

  “Yes. I will Empower my Fountain, so no more giving doses from now until noon.”

  Nol-Plydon scooted closer and pulled Elakdon closer. His brain was getting foggier and foggier. “I say this because to strengthen your dose, it is not enough to not give doses from now on, you must also go without feeding at least twelve hours.”

  “That will make it stronger?” Elakdon asked, pulling back to look at the King, but he kinda went in and out of focus that close.

  “Very much so! And not just for Royals. It will be unpleasant for you, as you may not be dosed, either. You can hump someone to keep it manageable, starving a Royal is never good, but no doses given or received.”

  Elakdon tried to figure out who he should then feed on. “But they sometimes lose doses to me.”

  “Yes, it is a curse.” But the old King looked like he had fun thinking about it. He then leaned closer again. “Try your Royal Guard. They usually have a high degree of self-control.”

  Elakdon snorted. “Well, Dendon is out of the game then.”

  Nol-Plydon looked at him wide-eyed, the grin on his face making him seem more approachable than normal. “I will have to tease him with that.”

  Nil-Savadin laughed. “Oh, do hear the rest of that story first, then.”

  “I gladly will!” The old King leaned toward her, but then shifted his direction back to Elakdon. “As you grow stronger, you will notice a quality in yourself. It will help reveal Changelings. Do you remember when I came here? You felt aroused?”

  “That would be to put my reaction mildly, yes.”

  “I will not do it now as you must save your doses from now on, but if I willed that again, your thrall would become aroused, too. Humans do not.”

  “Are you sure it is not merely a trait of your gifts passed on?”

  The King sat back, thinking. “I do not know. We shall test that theory once you have Empowered your Fountain.” He then leaned toward Nil-Savadin, grinning as she whispered the story of Dendon thinking Elakdon any red-eye, not noticing until he had dosed Elakdon and shouted evil Queen at Nil-Savadin.

  The old King laughed so hard he almost slipped off the seat.

  Father returned before Elakdon was done snickering at the King’s reaction. He held out a small jar. “Sit, boy. What’s your name?”

  “Uhm, Earl said I didn’t have one anymore.”

  “Posh, you belong to a King now, and you will have a name.”

  The young man looked at Elakdon, looking lost.

  “Have you been without too long?” Elakdon asked, his happy buzz retreating.

  “I would be honored if you gave me one, King.”

  “Nol-Elakdon. Call me that.”

  “Yes, Nol-Elakdon.”

  “And you will be…” Elakdon reached across the table to cup the young man’s face. “Sune.”

  The boy blinked. “Son?”

  “One day, I will tell you why, but that day is not today.”

  Father was grinning as he looked at his little jar and jabbed a stick around in it. “Sit down, Sune, and face me. I will now mark you so that no one here will dare touch you without Nol’s permission. You will be marked as his property to be treated with kindness.”

  Sune fidgeted a bit, then sat. He then stood to sit on the tabletop, allowing Father a better height to mark his forehead.

  “Hmm,” Father mumbled. “I have to put down Nol since you do not yet have a crest.”

  “Nol North?” Elakdon suggested.

  “Nol North Untouchable. I think I can squeeze that onto there.” Father then began drawing the Cubi lettering, his tongue moving into the crook of his mouth as he proceeded, and Elakdon found that hilarious, grabbing Styrk’s arm as he chuckled his way through the marking of his thrall.

  “There we go.” Father put the pen back in the container. He then cupped the thrall’s face. “Now, this part is very important. If anyone, human or with glowing eyes, touches you, you must shout at the top of your lungs, I am Untouchable, I belong to Nol-Elakdon.”

  The boy repeated and nodded.

  “No one may touch you in a sexual manner, and if anyone with an eye color not of the human world begins to hump, you must leave. You may never touch the secretions from their bodies, being it from their mouth or sexual organs. If you do…well, that would be very, very bad. For you. Stay clear.”

  “In fact,” Elakdon said, standing up. The room spun, and he sat.

  Styrk laughed. “I think young Nol might be regretting emptying that horn for his mother to use.”

  “Yeah. Foldon. Sit him with Foldon and tell him to protect my Untouchable. He knows our laws.”

  “Excellent choice.” Father ushered the thrall to stand. They left together, and Elakdon tried to look to that end of the Hall. No luck, there were too many people dancing between him and them, even on the tables.

  So Elakdon settled in his tipsy state and looked around the table finding his mom, dad, and Rand
i missing.

  “Are the three Royals really sitting here alone? With your prize?” Elakdon motioned to Styrk.

  “We should mingle and feed, yes, we were waiting for you,” Nil-Savadin said.

  “To eat.” Styrk pushed the plate of food he’d ordered toward him.

  Elakdon waved an arm around drunkenly. “Mingle. I’ll figure this out. Hey, that’s rabbit.” He grabbed a hind leg and sank his teeth into the succulent meat.

  “Enjoy, young Prince.” Nol-Plydon patted his shoulder as he left the table.

  Having eaten something helped Elakdon feel a bit less drunk, yet he was kind of perturbed that he’d ended up at a table alone. Either that or people kept their distance to let him eat in peace.

  Either way, he was done, so he left the table, scouting the hall to find the corner that looked the most fun, not counting the Younglings’ since he, as a dosing Cubus, wasn’t allowed there.

  To his irritation, the Youngling corner looked the most fun. Or maybe it was just his hunger luring him. Seriously? He’s just left bed about…no—he had no sense of time. Red-eye…no—he wasn’t allowed to dose. He had to save those.

  Aw, no! Now he knew what the old King had meant about the time waiting being a personal trial.

  He needed to distract himself. Maybe he should just sit with the humans, since they did nothing for his hunger. In fact, he couldn’t even feed from them according to Nil-Savadin. Yes, he’d sit with the Earl. The Earl needed to feel special. Especially after what his dad had told him on the ride back.

  Elakdon plopped down next to Earl Trygve.

  “Oh, I see the King is enjoying his party.”

  “The mead is new to the King. No, that’s not right.”

  Earl Trygve laughed heartedly, slapped his arm around Elakdon’s shoulder, and pulled him close. “I will say, for a man who takes such an influence to the mead, I’m happy to learn that he takes as easily to kindness and wisdom.” He then held a horn full of mead up in front of Elakdon. “Skål, my ally.” He drank deeply, and Elakdon had to do the same.

  At least Odin advised a man to go to bed early when looking too deep into the horn of mead. No man would think badly of someone retiring before he sounded like…Malte. The sticky sweetness almost made Elakdon’s stomach turn before he’d gulped down at least as much as the Earl, but he managed and handed the horn back.