by A L Issett
Gaea nodded and disappeared as scenarios went playing through Arian’s head. There had not been an attack on Magus in centuries, there defenses utterly crushed the nations who tried. No earth mages had tried though and Arian didn’t have much knowledge on how to deal with their kind. With all the water surrounding Magus a decent water mage could defeat even the strongest water mage. An earth mage would be hard to guess at, a fire mage could stop the elves plants but would do nothing against the Orcs earth magic. A water mage could have great success against the Orcs but the elves plants would prosper under such an assault. Gaea hurried to tell the rest of the staff about the happenings when she realized the demon was still there staring at her.
“Was there something else demon?” Arian asked.
“I need nothing from you human” the demon said as it disappeared into thin air. Arian was grateful for the warning, in war sometimes victory is decided in only a few moments, she would start this off right.
~
Jon had been at the palace for a week now and things had been far more pleasant than he ever believed. For a woman looking at her husband’s bastard Jon thought she took it well, even reveled in someone to share her misery. Jon had healed many of the sick and injured in the poorer section of town curing breathing sicknesses as well as cosmetic defects that would go a long way in improving the life of the poor. Once Jon had started healing it didn’t take long for the word to get out, once Jon healed a couple of kids with burn scars covering their body and a woman who had a breast sliced off by an assailant long ago, the rich had tried barging their way in just as Jon finished for the day. Jon smiled as he could see their anger as they could not boss him around, not with the Royal Guards all around the area. Jon had healed in the name of the Queen and people chanted her name as they rode their carriage throughout the city. Jon had not spent any time at the palace at all, he rose early, left early, ate with the Queen in town then returned at dark and went straight to bed. He hadn’t really connected with any of the slaves in the palace he had grew up with, but he had left the money the Queen gave him to be distributed amongst the slaves, perhaps they could buy items to make their lives a little easier. Now with the healing all done, Jon woke up later than usual and prepared to go about his day, wondering how the war was going.
His demon Flit had told him about all the war and his message to Mage Arian. From the missive the Queen received yesterday things were going better than planned, there had been some heavy losses coming for the allied Ketian, Orcish and Elven forces but serious inroads had be made to conquer Magus, the lake was not as great an obstacle as it once seem to be. King Jafe thought in as little as six months the city would be taken, he saw no scenario in where Joff didn’t vanquish his foes. He had sent both Geoff and Gwendolyn back home, and told his wife to expect them shortly. The Queen seemed almost excited when talking about her daughter, not as much when discussing Geoff. Still they were not here yet so Jon might as well enjoy himself. Jon had just finished grooming himself when he heard a knock on the door. After his run in with Wren, his so called guards were a lot more respectful, probably having to do with the nasty headache he gave the man but Jon noticed they stayed in groups of four now with one of them always being a mage.
“Enter” Jon said as the door then opened slowly.
“One of the Pothers is here to see you” Wren said tensely.
“I don’t know anyone in the apothecary anymore” Jon replied. “I’m not taking personal visits and if it is of a medical matter they will have to speak with the king”. Jon watched his door closed and could hear tense words being spoken followed by a resounding slap. Jon opened the door to find Pother Nicks, head of the king’s apothecary holding his arm out and Wren red faced staring the man down.
“I will not be talked down to by you” Nicks said angrily. “All of you are just swords and magic, I speak with the voice of the king”.
“What do you want Nicks?” Jon said irritated by the man. Nicks had tolerated Jon helping out in the apothecary, gathering the plants he needed and bottling them up. Nicks was always a difficult snooty man, the only reason Jon even put up with him or his staff was because he generally was interested in medicine.
“Nicks?” the man said amazed. “You will address me by my proper title?”
“My apologies” Jon began. “What do you want asshole? My cock needs sucking today but I assumed it would be a young lady, not you”. Jon watched as Nicks closed the distance then lifted his hand up again, Jon beat him to the punch by giving him his own slap, right across the face with enough force to send the old man down on his ass and bleeding from his mouth.
“Are you going to sit there all day bleeding like a lady in her cycle or are you going to do something about it?” Jon said as he crossed his arms. Just like he was expecting, Nicks rose to his feet and charged as Jon moved out of his way leaving the older man striking at air, Jon moved behind him and gave him a nice kick in the ass which sent the old man tumbling face first onto the stone floor, knocking him unconscious.
“Fetch a rag to clean the blood up” Jon said as he had already begun working on Nicks injuries. “He didn’t bleed all over his clothes so that is a blessing, sit him in his office and leave him until he wakes up. There shouldn’t be anyone around except of other guards and it is unlikely they would say anything” Jon said as he walked towards the slave quarters. Jon could hear footsteps fall in behind him as he found the slaves eating their meal before the real work began.
“Look who it is” Delancey said jovially. “It is good old Jon, flanked by the King’s finest”.
“Good morning to you to Delancey” Jon replied. “I have been so busy I haven’t been able to get down here to see if any of you need me”.
“You shouldn’t be cavorting with slaves” Wren said loudly, apparently looking for someone to pick on.
“Well you certainly didn’t mind cavorting yourself with Matilda, you are just angry you can’t last more than two pumps” an older slave woman Nancy said as the slaves around her broke out into laughter.
“I’ll kill you for that disrespect” Wren said as he and Tern drew their steel.
“You will both do no such thing or I’ll never remove what I did to both of you” Jon replied calmly. “I had honestly forgotten about that, when I did it you both deserved it. Any harm comes to any of these folks and I’ll make it shrink down to the size of a new born babe”. Jon heard swords sheathe as both of his guards sat in the rear and sulked.
“Well now that you mentioned it” the aforementioned Matilda spoke up. “Can you give me green eyes like Queen Aubrey in the fairytales? Those eyes were so beautiful she had two men fight over her hand in an arena”.
“You’d be lucky if two dogs fought over you even if you had a ham strapped to your leg” Delancey said sending everyone including Jon into a fit of laughter. Before it died down Jon had already made the change, but Matilda looked too angry to notice.
“I’m pretty enough for men to fight over” Matilda said as she crossed her arms. “That is the problem with you people, you are unromantic”
“If you think King Xander is going to come out of the storybooks and sweep you off of your feet you are delusional” Delancey replied. “But Jon did do a good job on those eyes, green as the springtime grass they are”.
Jon watched Matilda’s face as she went silent and went over to the mirror. Before she could thank Jon, Jeebes entered the room and bellowed that the twin royals were almost home along with some guests. Slaves instantly forgot about their meals and went to their chores, Jon was somewhat happy he wasn’t a part of that. Water would have to be brought up to the rooms and heated by a fire mage, fresh clothes would have to be laid out on the bed and food would have to be brought up. Not only that it was a whole dog and pony show, Geoff would talk about his riches and power Gwendolyn would rattle on something about how there are no handsome eligible men left. Jon grabbed a discarded plate and started eating from it, it was no use to let good food go to spoil. Jo
n went back into his room and could see the Nicks had been cleaned up and was probably resting in his office now. Jon had erased any sign of trauma from the man and would just deny whatever he said if they ran into each other again. Jon closed his door and saw an outfit laid out on his bed with a note from the Queen. Jon read the note, all it said was play your part. Jon knew what she meant, she had a part to play and Jon knew she didn’t want any of her kids to know Jon was her confidant. Jon would keep the secret he thought as he looked at his new clothing. This outfit was similar to his healer robes except different in the fact this outfit was a tunic and trousers combo made from some type of soft material Jon had never worn before. It was all white, and trimmed in purple as the King’s coat of arms was on one lapel and the sign of a healer was on the opposite lapel. Jon put it on and to his surprise it fit nicely, the trousers were a little snug and a little too tight fitting when Jon had a dirty thought. He enlarged his manhood twofold, it gave him a significant bulge that anyone with decent vision could see it was not stuffed with cloth like other men were known to do. Jon figured why stop there and gave himself muscles, it was difficult and hurt like hell turning fat into muscle but by the time Jon finished he liked his new look. If he was a young girl he most definitely would look twice at someone like him. Jon thought his new outfit looked ridiculous with his boots but quickly found the Queen had matching boots made. They fit perfectly as Jon fancied himself in the mirror again. He would have to play nicer than he wanted while Geoff was present, but thought he could handle it.
“You are wanted healer” Jon heard a voice say on the other side of the door as he answered it. Before him was the Mage Amelia, who Jon could tell despite his young age, was very attracted to the way he looked. Jon nodded and followed the woman to the royal eating room, this room was only normally used for the royal family and a small number of guests. Jon could see the Queen was already seated, Jon curtsied to her and took a seat with her blessing. Jon recognized Geoff, he was cozied up to the merchant Edmonson’s daughter Simone. Jon had only recognized the girl because it was someone the king forbid on the account of her not being a noble. Jon knew many men had tried for her hand and were promptly refused, her father was richer than most of the noble houses. This gave her the ability to reject almost anyone, the slaves used to laugh about how noble after noble was rejected. The merchant Edmonson wasn’t a fool, as Simone was his only child, they were only interested in money, not a marriage. What the hell such a woman was doing in the company of a horse cock loving bastard like Geoff, Jon didn’t know. Gwendolyn was also at the table, sitting next to the most famous bard in all the land, Harry Chambers.
Chambers was older than Gwendolyn by ten or so summers but was so famous it was said women threw their small clothes at him in the street. Gwen was obviously love struck like the majority of the young girls were when faced with a young singer. Jon thought he looked like a dandy but in his current attire who was he to judge. Jon looked at the food placed before him when the merchant’s daughter spoke. “So you are the mage everyone is talking about” Simone said as looked at Jon with those big brown eyes. Jon was a little intimidated from being in the same room as her, she was pretty but not snobby, something that almost never happens.
“Who would talk about a healer?” Geoff spat trying to turn the conversation back towards himself.
“Lots of ladies do” Simone replied. “This is the owner of the Pretty Shop in Magus. It started becoming well known when the owner up and left. Now that he is in Ket, I wonder if he is going to open up something similar here, it would be nice to get a little work done”.
“You don’t need work done” Geoff replied dreamy eyed.
“So you are the healer that has the poor talking” Chambers said in a voice so silky Jon could instantly see why girls liked the guy, which made Jon hate him even more. “Tell me healer, would you be able to fix my voice, I cannot get the same pitch on some of my notes as of late”.
Jon looked at Chambers throat and could see the problem right away. His throat looked far worse than a normal person’s and it was most likely due to overuse. Jon coaxed his throat back to health, apparently the bard felt it instantly which made Jon believe he had been in pain but was trying to fight through it.
“You can all bother Jon later” the Queen said in a tone that was nothing the woman he had gotten to know. “Harry, you are here to sing a song of blessing. The King and I have finally agreed upon a match for Gwendolyn, you will spread this in every tavern in Ket. This announcement won’t be made until the King returns”.
“Yes your majesty” the bard said as Gwen suddenly looked nervous. I would need to know the lucky man’s name to take such a beautiful flower off of the market”.
“You will get it when the King arrives” the Queen retorted. “Now you child, why are you suddenly into my son, you haven’t shown him any favor in prior meetings and you know he is off the market unless you are a noble and have some secret magic ability I do not know about”.
Jon choked on his tea at the Queen’s line of questioning. Alone she seemed almost motherly, now that she had an audience she was the Queen of Ket. To her credit, the merchant took the direct assault with Grace.
“Your Majesty” Simone began. “Prince Geoff is certainly beautiful to look at, so much so that powerful people have made it their business to threaten my father with a boycott should he even attempt to make the match. It has been rumored that potential matches have been found for all your children, something you just confirmed a moment ago”.
“There are those that prefer my son marry a noble” the Queen began. “The fact that you were threatened does not surprise me, so you were sent here in the guise of finding out news about upcoming nuptials from your father. Gewery Edmonson is crafty, I will give him that. Tell him yes he has the contract, the first one happens in less than a month from now. You can start sending in your tailors to fit Gwendolyn immediately”.
“Me?” Gwendolyn said as she choked on a piece of food. “In less than a moon and I don’t know know who this person is?”
“I am certain you have met him at least once” The Queen replied.
“Your Majesty if I may” the Bard Chambers spoke in his smooth tone that made Jon start hating the man. “You will need entertainment for such an event, yes?”
“I don’t play guessing games bard” the Queen replied coolly.
“I would like to talk to you about what I can provide, as well as my company I am getting off the ground complete with the finest entertainers in Ket” Chambers spoke quickly.
“I am sure whatever you come up with will be fine” the Queen said as she then eyed Geoff. “We have things to talk about, all three of us after breakfast”.
The rest of breakfast went by easier than the first half Jon thought. Geoff when he wasn’t being a complete asshat looked to be infatuated. Gwendolyn for her part was no longer paying too much attention to the bard, her mind was someplace else. Jon for the most part was silent throughout the rest of the meal, the Queen seemed different not exactly cold but nowhere near the welcoming person she had been. Whatever missive she received this morning had put her in a bad mood Jon decided.The meal was soon ended as the Queen told the bard and the merchant not to leave yet, and that she would speak to them both at the noonday meal. Chambers for his part was instantly surrounded by the staff and slave women, all vying for the honor of helping him out. Jon shook his head at the spectacle and was on his way to his room when the merchant had caught up to him.
“We never finished our talk” the girl said with a sly smile. Jon knew he was getting played, she had given the same smile to Geoff.
“I do not know you and therefore we do not have anything to talk about” Jon replied, unsure of her actions.
“Well I was wondering if you could remove a mole for me” the merchant replied. “I am awfully shy about it and heard you could do it painlessly”.
“Where is this mole at?” Jon said annoyed.
“I am not comfortabl
e showing it off here, if you want we can go someplace private and you can see it there” Simone replied, something about her actions made Jon think she had an ulterior motive. She could have working for Geoff or maybe even the King, she most likely was trying to pressure information out of him. Another angle she could have was that she was trying to exploit his power somehow, she was a merchant and under the right circumstances Jon knew he could make a lot more money than what he was earning in Magus. Jon wondered what was her reasoning, for wanting to get him alone and decided there was only one way to find out.
“You can come to my room, I can check out this mole there” Jon replied as he walked towards his room, his guards falling in step behind him. Jon got to his room quickly, his guards looked a little apprehensive but he waved them off as the girl went into his room. Jon shut and latched the door as the merchant looked at him smiling a little. Jon wasn’t sure but it seemed like she just checked out his package, at least he knew the outfit worked. Simone for her part ignored the exchange and lifted her entire dress up and over her head, leaving her in nothing but the one piece under garment most women wore under their dresses to make them appear fluffy. Jon would be lying if he said he wasn’t excited when pulled off one shoulder strap and got her arm free, exposing her left breast. Jon could see she had three small moles near her nipple, but who in the hell would be self-conscious because of that? If anything they fit well with her dark nipples but the merchant kept a straight face and placed her finger over them.
“They all are not bad but I am worried about this one” Simone said is a voice that Jon thought was way too relaxed, like she showed off her breasts all the time.
