History of Beauty

by Meraki P. Lyhne

  “I would like to go there one day,” Randr said.

  “You will,” Elakdon said.

  “How do you know?”

  “Because I will, and you will come with me.”

  Randr smiled. The cold wind to Randr’s face robbed Elakdon of the pleasure of knowing whether his lover actually blushed. As it were, the group traveled through the harsh weather. It was only slightly windy, though, allowing for conversation, but as they all began to freeze more and more, the conversation shimmered to a halt.

  “Ela, I’m getting hungry!” Foldon shouted.

  “Halt! Build a fire!” someone shouted.

  “My skin itches, too,” Randr said.

  Elakdon was not happy, yet he was relieved that they at least felt hunger at the same time.

  All the Royals convened in a makeshift lean-to, allowing for warmth from the flames. Pelts were spread out, and only enough clothes to get it out of the way was removed.

  Efficiently, everything was set up, seen through, and taken down in a little under an hour and a half. It was the same on the ships, except they were allowed to stay huddled up after feeding to stay warm, and they could take all the time they wanted. But Elakdon wasn’t allowed enough skin contact to be truly happy.

  Like the trip home to Ladby, Elakdon’s mood would turn sour as he felt robbed of intimacy. He really hoped the human King would allow them a day or two to recuperate where he could take Randr, Foldon, Styrk, and Trydon to his bed and just stay there, naked, and hump the day and night away.

  Elakdon wasn’t the only Royal not happy about being deprived intimacy, yet Nil-Savadin was the only one who said it out loud. It was the day they stepped back onto land and rode their separate ways, meaning Elakdon was on his own with his Guards.

  It struck him how dependent he’d grown on Nil-Savadin and her kind guidance, yet he had Father, now Lokil-Nol, with him, and he had all the confidence in the world that the wise and firm old purple-eye was the Incubus for the job.

  Once they had their target in line of sight, they stopped to feed so that they’d be clear-minded when approaching the human King.

  Surfacing from the orgasm that sucked the last of a dose from Randr’s body, Elakdon found Foldon and Styrk already getting dressed. Even Randr seemed in a hurry to get dressed.

  “Wait.” Elakdon pulled him close and kissed him. “Promise me,” he whispered. “Promise me that as soon as we have time, give me lots of time in bed?”

  Randr pulled back, looking puzzled. “Why wouldn’t I, My King.”

  “I need it differently from other Cubi. And I want it to be you.”

  Randr smiled and leaned in for a kiss so tender that the world stood still for those seconds. But then Father ruined it by using that impatient tone of his, and Elakdon grumbled as he found his clothes.

  Nope, he had to tell Father. Elakdon losing his temper was not an option.

  “Father, come here, please.”

  “We don’t have time.”

  “Make time!”

  Father looked surprised at the tone. “Yes, Nol.” Father continued straightening his clothes as he walked to Elakdon.

  “Intimacy is needed as much as sexual pleasure to a Royal, and I am in dire need, soon. I cannot lose my patience or temper with the human King, so it is needed.”

  Father stared at Elakdon a moment. “This is not about Randr, is it?”

  “No.”

  Father nodded, thinking. “Nil-Savadin’s outburst was the first warning,” he finally said, but more to himself.

  “Yes. I experienced it on my way to Ladby, too, but Styrk took pity on me.”

  “Do you need us to wait another hour or so?”

  “No, but I need a night undisturbed with those four.”

  Father nodded. “I shall do my best to see that you get that time.”

  “Thank you.” Elakdon was about to leave, yet Father stopped him and gently turned him by the shoulders to face him.

  “I’ve seen your mood change, yet I watched you grow up, so I’ve seen you mope in just about every way there is.” Father smiled, cupping Elakdon’s cheeks. “I’m glad you cut through my haste and told me the reason. I do care.”

  Elakdon managed a smile, but he could feel his body not being fully balanced. He went to his horse and checked the reins. Someone snuck their arms around him from the back, yet the feel of the skin touching his face quickly let him know that it was Randr.

  “Lokil-Nol has asked me to ride with you. Behind you. To hold you as we travel this last distance.”

  Elakdon smiled. He should have told Father earlier.

  “Does the outcome worry you that much?” Randr asked. “Do I have the insight to help you?”

  “Neither. Well, of course I worry, but this is about my need. A Royal’s need for intimacy. It leaves me hungry for touches I can’t have. We were not made for quick humps for longer periods of time.”

  “Ah.”

  Elakdon looked around, seeing everybody else mounting their horses. So he did, too, and helped Randr up to sit behind him. They began the final leg of their journey, and when Randr snuck his hands under Elakdon’s cape to caress his legs, Elakdon knew the rest of the trip would be more interesting. At some point, Randr’s hands managed to find their way under enough fabric to caress Elakdon’s naked torso, and the feeling of being held and caressed helped alleviate the constant irritation.

  “Is it working?” Father asked after a few hours.

  “Yes, but it’s far from enough.”

  Father smiled. “It will have to be for the day, though. I suspect the men riding to meet us are of the human King’s hird.”

  The Guards changed positions, and Elakdon, Foldon, and Father were suddenly in the middle. Fifty Guards had them surrounded, and Elakdon could barely hear what was being said as the humans arrived.

  Then one man walked through the ring and looked at the three of them. “By the gods…” the man mumbled and looked around. “I need a name to present to my King.”

  “Nol-Elakdon, sovereign ruler after Nol-Graydon, King of the North,” Father said.

  The guy stumbled as he hurried from the ring.

  Father looked at Elakdon. “And why did I speak on your behalf?”

  Elakdon smiled. “Because my eyes are red, and you have way more practice in looking like someone in charge?”

  Father chuckled. “I’m happy to hear your lover can rub the foul mood from your body. You are correct, of course. And I would like to present you to the human King, too.”

  Elakdon nodded. He liked that. He’d liked that he’d been someone unimportant at first Ting before he stepped forward to talk to Earl Trygve. Speaking of which, Elakdon looked around, not finding him anywhere near them.

  “Who are you looking for, Nol?” a Guard asked.

  “The Earls.”

  “In the back and to your sides. We have a smaller perimeter around them, too.”

  The cluster began moving, and Elakdon felt increasingly nervous as they closed in on the large walled structure.

  “Stay at my immediate right,” the Guard said. “The four of you have to keep this formation as everyone else shifts positions.”

  Elakdon glanced at Foldon and Father, who both acknowledged the order. Randr had no say as he sat on the same horse as Elakdon, and he merely continued to stroke Elakdon’s stomach and chest. It was quite soothing as Elakdon’s nerves rose.

  Foldon and Father rode closer to Elakdon, his horse getting a bit restless.

  “Stay on this path,” the Guard said, then rode away from Elakdon who was instead flanked by the Earls. Then the ring of Guards opened up, and only five continued ahead while the Earls pulled back, and Father took point as they rode through the gate of the structure.

  Randr’s one hand slipped out from under Elakdon’s clothes. “I am armed now and see everything to your left, My King.”

  “And I to your right,” Foldon said.

  Finally, they came to a stop, and a man of stature stood on
a deck and watched them.

  “Sons and daughters of Loke and Lofn,” the man said. “I fear I may wake up from this dream. Then again, if it was my dream, there would be more daughters among you.”

  “You will have to do with a King,” Father said, slipping off his horse, discreetly motioning for Elakdon to stay where he was. Guards hopped off their horses along with Father, and one followed him up the steps.

  “And what is your name, King?”

  “I am not King, are you?”

  A moment of silence as they stared at each other. “I am. King Harald.”

  Father bowed his head in recognition. “I am My King’s right hand.” Father stepped back and held out his arm. “May I present my King, Nol-Elakdon.”

  Randr moved first, sliding off the side of the horse, then held out his hand to assist Elakdon in a graceful descent. Everyone else got off their horse, too, and Foldon took over Elakdon’s horse as he made his way up the steps to greet the human King.

  “A King with red eyes?” Harald asked, stepping closer to inspect Elakdon.

  “Yes.”

  “I wonder why I hadn’t heard about you.”

  “The same reason humans stopped including us in Ting,” Elakdon said. “Had we still been included, this news would have been shared much earlier.”

  King Harald looked puzzled. “I wasn’t aware.”

  “With the recent death in your family, I can see how you had other things on your mind.”

  Harald smiled joylessly.

  “We come early to Ting so you would at least know of what happened in the societies of the sons and daughters that have not been shared at Ting.”

  “I appreciate that. Come. I feel it only fair that I invite you to stay with me.” Harald looked behind them. “But you are many.”

  “I travel with Earls from our area.” Elakdon stepped back and presented them one by one, beginning with Trygve.

  “I shall accommodate,” Harald said, then went inside.

  They all followed, and the sweet scent of meat on a hearth made Elakdon’s mouth water. And the warmth of the room was sorely welcomed by every part of his frostbitten body.

  “How long has your trip been?” Harald asked, pointing them to sit near the fire.

  “Almost a week. Snow and wind delayed us when crossing the water,” Elakdon said.

  “We fear allies are slowed down, too, since you seemed surprised at our arrival,” Father added.

  “Oh?” Harald said.

  “More Cubi are coming to Ting,” Father explained. “Had they arrived, you would have expected us.”

  A woman came in to join them.

  “My wife, Tove.” Harald turned to look at her. “The Sons and Daughters of the gods.”

  That tone made Elakdon’s blood turn to ice. He glanced at Father, and he definitely caught it, too.”

  “I met your father once,” Father said to Harald. “At Ting, actually.”

  Harald sat back. “I imagine that conversation being favorable.”

  “It was.”

  “He told me that the sons and daughters were equally opposed to Christianity coming to these lands,” Harald said.

  “We are,” Elakdon stated.

  “I am not my father. I am not as blindly enraged and naïve to Christianity as he was,” Harald said.

  “We are not blindly enraged, but we do recognize that that God’s look upon women will endanger the Succubi and Incubi’s ability to be with human women.”

  “And men,” Harald said.

  Another detail of the new god’s religion escaped Elakdon. “Men are not owned in this new religion, are they?”

  “We become one with our wife,” Harald stated.

  We? The human King was Christian. “And we starve,” Elakdon stated.

  Harald worried his bottom lip. “I do find that troublesome, I really do.” The human King looked sincere. “I remember the purple eyes of the gods showing up on a battlefield. But the numbers spreading from the south will mean a lot of sons and daughters will have to pick up arms.”

  Elakdon had feared that, and even Father looked worried. Well, he looked even more steadfast, but he remained quiet meaning worried as his silence then offered no solutions.

  “This is what you wish to bring to Ting?” Harald asked.

  “Yes, but also that our new King has risen.” Father pointed to Elakdon.

  “A King who doesn’t speak for himself?”

  Elakdon tried not to sneer at the hidden insult. “A King of lands much larger than yours, of people far numerous than yours, so a King who trusts in the abilities of those he appoints the tasks to carry out what’s necessary to keep my land plentiful and prosperous. And the man I have chosen as my right hand in all affairs pertaining to my Kingdom and its human friends and allies did not win that responsibility by catching piglets or winning any other children’s game.”

  Father bit his lip, smothering a grin.

  “More numerous?” Harald asked.

  “In the areas we live alongside humans, we are well known. In areas we don’t…” Elakdon looked at Randr.

  “The sons and daughters are myths merely hoped to be experienced just once,” Randr said.

  “You’re human?” Harald asked.

  “No, King. My eyes showed the magic of the gods less than half a moon ago. I am an Incubus willing to give all I have for My King.” Randr pointed to the still grotesque scar stretching half his face.

  “How many are you?” Harald asked, sitting back.

  “Not all live on land shared with you.”

  Elakdon knew greed for power. He’d seen it in the eyes of many men. Yet, he wondered if it wasn’t a necessary look in a King’s eyes. A human King, anyway. One who wasn’t born to take on a responsibility due to how his body was made differently, but one who bore the title by birth none the less. Or obtained it through a conquest. Was it the latter he saw? The willingness for conquest?

  “What I will reveal at Ting is what I learned since I married Tove,” Harald said.

  Randr leaned over to whisper in Elakdon’s ear. “Humans marry for power. The bond between families are like promise rings. He married to create allegiance and have peace.”

  Things began making sense. Especially since Harald laid out the political and religious movements.

  “You will mark your Kingdom Christian in the eyes of the new God?” Father asked. “Regardless of what that means to us?”

  “We must find a way to coexist.”

  “By starving us?” Father stood, his eyes glowing brightly.

  Elakdon feared the man as much as he admired him at that moment.

  “Humans will be killed if we don’t!” Harald stood to face Father, and the human King was definitely not a coward if he faced off against a purple-eye after having seen their strength on a battlefield. Converting his Kingdom had nothing to do with cowardice, then, but knowing he was in the corner.

  But wait a minute, Elakdon was the King, and he could stand up to Father now. So Elakdon stood, slowly. Harald looked at Elakdon who swept out his hand to offer the man a seat. He then sat. Father and Harald did too, both looking a bit surprised at the gesture.

  “You said you remember the purple eyes of the gods in battle,” Elakdon said.

  “Yes. My dad told of their arrival and how his army then succeeded. And then they left again. But this was after the death of the former King.”

  “Nol-Graydon,” Elakdon said.

  “Nol,” Dendon said. “We have secured your lands and people while waiting for your rise by securing the human Kings and Earls your people share land with. This is one such instance.”

  “And…if Christianity comes here?” Harald asked.

  The way he uttered if told Elakdon that there wasn’t much left to chance about it.

  “Our objective as King is to secure your people peace and prosperity,” Elakdon said. “Your way to obtain that is right now a threat to my people.”

  Harald glanced at the purple eyes, eve
n though there were only a few. “Are you enough to match my soldiers to stand to fight it?”

  “No,” Father said. “We are more than purple-eyes, we are a people with children, too. And we are spread out in a very big Kingdom.”

  “I have a suggestion,” Elakdon said. “I need to think and feed, and I will hope you feel the need to evaluate all you have just been told. May we retire here for the night and we can pick this conversation up tomorrow? Fresh eyes and words better chosen as our options and predicaments have been better contemplated.”

  Harald looked at Elakdon a moment, then stood and grabbed his sword, still sheathed. He hung it on a pole, then pointed to it. “The King I share lands with is of course first and foremost an ally that I will welcome in peace.”

  Elakdon stood, dislodged his own sheathed sword from his belt, and hung it next to Harald’s. He then offered his hand.

  “No more talk about Ting tonight,” Harald said. “We eat, we drink, we sleep.”

  “And anyone willing to stay with a son or daughter…”

  “You will not find many among my people, but…of course.” The human King didn’t look fond of the idea, and Elakdon began to understand how the mentality of the humans he’d grown up around could change with the coming of this King’s new God. But the human King was at least afraid of the purple-eyes, and Elakdon tried to gauge how many he had to place between his people and this King to make him fear the strength of the Cubi people and their Kingdom more than he feared the wrath of the people of his new God.

  But other things didn’t exactly mesh with all he’d heard or imagined about the new God. Harald was not what Elakdon pictured a follower of this new God to be like. He was…well, like everyone else if not for the snooty remarks. Was that just because he was a King? Snootiness like that was also often found among Earls. Among equals, really.

  Elakdon felt puzzled. Especially when Harald’s wife looked and acted like any other woman of society, yet she wore a cross around her neck, and her bosom was less bedazzled.

  Harald excused himself and went to talk to the Earls.

  Father came to kneel next to Elakdon. “The way you brought our anger down…very well done.” Father chuckled, shaking his head.

  “He confuses me.”

  “And me, yet…” Father shrugged.