The High King: A Tale of Alus

by Wigboldy, Donald

  He couldn't help himself. A burst of laughter rolled out of him nearly bringing tears to his eyes. "Mistress, why would you want me? I am only a slave. We don't even know each other. This shouldn't happen and we both know it."

  The girl was taken aback at his rebuff. "You don't want me?" Catiya half whispered before she could recover her composure. In sudden anger, she retorted, "You don't have a choice. We own you. Do it or I'll have you punished!" The beauty was half pouting despite her anger.

  With a shake of his head, he returned, "If I knew you enough to love you, I wouldn't hesitate, my lady, but your threats are nothing compared to what your father would do to me should I do this or heaven forbid I get you pregnant as well. A slave getting his youngest daughter pregnant? My life would be over quickly, don't you think? Your punishments would be preferable, I think."

  She screamed incoherently with her rage. "This isn't fair! I am the Mistress Holtein! You should do what I say!"

  Gerid moved aside and sat down on a hay bale that he would have to use later to feed the horses. The young man set aside the pitchfork that he had been using earlier as he did so. "Your offer is truly appreciated, my lady, but why would you want to waste such a sacred thing this way? Are you truly so bored with the suitors that are surely beating at your door? One so lovely and blessed with such charms should have no reason to waste herself on such as I, a mere slave," he stated sincerely enough as he praised her.

  The girl blinked her green eyes in confusion. Standing bare and bronzed before him with such a look of perplexity on her face, Gerid almost laughed again. "You think that I have charm and beauty?" Catiya came and sat beside him on the hay bale. She made a face at the ricks’ roughness, but crossed her legs and turned slightly towards him despite the discomfort. "Do you truly believe so?" her voice deepened with a seriousness of emotion that surprised him.

  "Of course, my lady," he answered. Gerid nearly choked as the sweetness of her perfume as it suddenly hit him and threatened to overwhelm his senses with her sensuality. The young woman was so comfortable in her nudity that she became all that much more intriguing.

  Catiya sighed deeply. The new movement of her breasts drew his eyes unwillingly again. The tease noticed and gave a confident smile. "Your attentions flatter me, Gerid. You are wrong, however. I have no suitors. My older sister, Sama, has that opportunity alone. My father refuses to show me forth until Sama is married. Other than those in my household, I am unable to truly meet anyone else. I may as well be imprisoned here!" she exclaimed in renewed aggravation and throwing out her hands.

  "Truly?" he asked in surprise. "I can't believe that no man has found some way to find you."

  The pretty girl shrugged. Catiya watched his attention falter from her face again with a smile. The girl placed her arm upon his shoulder and leaned against him. Her left breast tickled against his arm with its warmth. The man was sweating now as he sat stiff backed. "Of course, I've never found one that I was ever interested in, especially with as few men as I have met, Gerid," she breathed like the flutter of silk across his skin. "You are the closest that I have ever found to being what I want."

  He looked directly at her green eyes and hoped that his panic did not show. "Is this the way that you get to know them, Catiya? It's not without its merits, but how can you fall in love this way? You should talk with them and learn about them, if you want to find love."

  The girl stood up though he doubted that his words had affected her. Turning to face him again, she placed a knee on either side of his legs and draping her arms atop his shoulders, Catiya sat into his lap. Gerid leaned back slightly as he tried futilely to draw away. She leaned into him and he became painfully aware of her bare body as she rested on him. The beautiful girl stretched slowly like a cat and kissed his lips tenderly even as her breasts slid along his chest. "All right, talk," she said huskily. "But hold me, please?" Catiya half cried as the temptress slid against him trying to soften his resolve.

  Unable to resist her fully, Gerid sat forward. Catiya moved back into his lap as he did so and the young man hugged her gently. A shiver ran through him as a new fear moved into him. He couldn't believe that he could feelings for this woman. The panic of realizing that he could potentially fall for someone like Catiya, when Gerid had never loved before Tabitha, nearly

  overwhelmed him with panic. "Could you, please, put your clothes back on, mistress?" he asked weakly through his gritted teeth.

  Leaning back slowly, she easily broke free of his numbed grasp. Catiya bent down and retrieved her dress even as she kept her eyes on his face. The girl tilted her head at him in confusion. "You do want me, don't you?" the temptress whispered with that silkiness she could bring forth so well. "Why do you resist your own feelings? You don't have some lover from your days before you were sold to us that you are trying to honor, do you?"

  Gerid was unable to answer.

  Catiya slipped her dress back on somewhat reluctantly. Brushing off the hay, she stood up straight to look back at him. "I don't understand you, Gerid, but I think that I just may wish to. Maybe you are right, after all. Forcing you isn't what I really want. Maybe what I really need is a friend," she decided though her eyes still betrayed a longing. "I will see you later though," the girl added and Gerid knew that it was a promise. She bent forward then to kiss his lips and turned to leave him staring after her.

  Chapter 13- Rendevue

  The summer passed quickly for Gerid in service to the Holtein's. There always seemed to be work to do somewhere on their vast holdings. For Gerid, that meant all the usual chores of a farmer, working the fields, tending flocks of sheep or one of the herds of cattle, maintaining buildings and keeping irrigation channels open. All the countless duties provided happily by Leoltus to occupy most of his time.

  It seemed as if he rarely had any real spare time in his day. There was also Catiya after all. The young woman and he had indeed become close friends. Often Gerid found the girl would come to watch him work and talk with him about almost anything that they could think of. The amount of time spent together was quickly noticed by the entire household and soon Gerid found that he was being assigned jobs that would leave him free to be with her alone. What little free time the young man found as he worked seemed to find Catiya there invariably to share it with him. This attention did not sit well with Tabitha.

  His lover rarely made mention of Catiya, but a few times her anger overwhelmed her as they spent a night together. She knew that, as slaves, they could do little to stop the whims of their mistress, but that didn’t matter. He also reminded her that Catiya had not tried to force herself on him since that first day and Gerid had never hidden that awkward moment from the woman he loved. Catiya had truly become a friend despite the start of their relationship. He could see the loneliness that their time together alleviated for the young woman and Gerid hated to tell Tabitha, but he was glad to help her also.

  Near the end of the summer things suddenly changed for them. Tabitha was noticed by Sama, the eldest daughter of the Holteins, and called to be a handmaiden for her at the house. Her beauty and the poise with which she carried herself had made her a natural choice. Still if Gerid had believed that Catiya actually knew of his relationship with Tabitha, he would have accused the girl of trying to separate the lovers out of spite. Being in the main house under the watchful eyes of all those there, easily stood in their way now.

  Catiya had noticed Gerid's uneasiness the very next day after the assignment as she joined him in the fields. He was there to care for one of the flocks of sheep that Holtein possessed that day. "Is something wrong with you, Gerid?" the young woman asked as she crossed the hill to sit beside him on a fallen log that the shepherd had taken for his seat. "You seem uncharacteristically quiet this afternoon."

  He shook his head and forced himself to tear his brooding stare away from the sheep below them. Looking at the woman wearing the tunic and breeches that were customary of a commoner, Gerid wondered if she was trying to hide her true knowle
dge of his misfortune behind a face covered in innocence. "I am sorry, Catiya. I am a bit distracted today, I'm afraid."

  The girl stood again and strolled slowly behind him. She leaned forward to rest her arms upon his shoulders as he sat upon the log. Moving her head forward over her arms, the girl tilted her head to look at him with concern from the side of his face as she began to massage his shoulders. Her auburn hair swept forward to brush his neck with a tickle, as she sighed sadly, "What is bothering you so, my friend? Please, tell me that I might help you."

  He turned to find her sparkling green eyes questioning him silently with the concern showing sincerely there. As her breaths caressed his cheek in steady waves of warmth, Gerid wondered how he could possibly worry that she would seek to cause him such trouble. "I am not sure that I can tell you about this. It is kind of a difficult matter to discuss."

  "But, Gerid, we are friends, aren't we? I can only help you if you tell me what troubles you." Taking a deep breath, Gerid decided to carefully try and tell her the truth, "There is no easy way to talk about this, but I'll try. There is someone that I love and I am separated from her."

  A mixture of feelings flashed across her face as she tried to decipher the exact meaning of what he had said. "Are you speaking of your family or is there someone else that maybe you love even deeper than blood?" the beauty asked worriedly and drew back slowly from him.

  As Catiya moved to sit on a large rock in front of him, the worry showing in her face, he replied carefully, "Though the loss of my family worries my heart greatly, it is a more recent love of the latter kind that now seeks to sadden me."

  "A slave woman, I would guess?" she asked turning to gaze at the sheep below them to hide her feelings from him.

  He nodded silently though she could not see the act and Gerid answered determinedly, "There is a woman that I have come to love here on the holdings. Maybe one of the servants has even told you? We have tried to keep our love as quiet as possible, but I know that many know and others can guess."

  The beautiful young woman shook her head and sighed, "No, I had not known. I have not heard of any deaths recently, so what has happened? Where is the girl now?"

  "She has been taken to the main house. She has to sleep there rather than with the other slave women now."

  "So she is the reason that you would not make love to me that day?" Catiya asked and turned back with pouting lips. Suddenly she broke into a smile and sighed, "Ah, well. So who is this woman that has stolen my friend's heart so fully? Perhaps I can even find a way to get you back together."

  "I am surprised that you are so willing to give me back to her, since she is the only one keeping us separated," he said still looking to see if the young woman was telling the truth, "that and my current status of being your father’s slave, of course."

  The girl stood from her seat. Catiya strolled slowly over and took a seat on his lap. Lightly, she brushed her lips in a kiss upon his cheek. He was used to her flirting ways by now. Not passing that unspoken line was one of the qualities that she was most consistent with during the past months, however. But the girl was good at it, as a number of trips to the cold water hole at the farm proved her charms. "By those words, I take heart that you must love me almost as much as this other woman?" She did not wait for an answer. Neither of them needed his words to know that it was true and the young woman's face seemed to brighten even more as the knowledge of that fact came to them both strongly. "Well this is why I must help you, my friend, since I also love you. You are also my best friend, and as such I would hate to have to try and replace you. If keeping you as a friend means giving you to another woman, then I guess that is how it must be.

  "Besides if I get tired of waiting for you, I can find a way to send her away," she stated seriously. At his horrified look, she was forced to giggle, "I am only kidding. Please, calm down. I was just trying to make a joke. Now tell me who she is, so that I can try to find a way to help you."

  Looking at the woman warily after her joke, Gerid stated quietly, "Tabitha, she has become one of your sister's new handmaidens."

  Leaning her arm upon his shoulder and bracing her chin on her hand, she mused aloud, "I haven't met her as yet, though I do tend to try and avoid my sister and her maids as much as possible. I do know where they usually sleep though. In fact, the rooms are only a few doors away from my own." She hummed thoughtfully, "Maybe that is how I can get you both back together. I can leave my balcony doors open with a rope for you to climb up. The girl can simply sneak into my room to meet you." She jumped up smiling and clapped her hands happily. "Yes, that is how we will do it. I am sure that it will work. Oh, this will be the most fun that I have had since that day I tried to seduce you!"

  Gerid simply shook his head in amusement. Catiya's immaturity came out at the oddest times. The girl was sheltered by her parents and seemed to almost relish it at times, though she was also old enough to be less so. The man also considered her earlier question of who separated them and knew that, if he had known her first, Gerid would never have had the strength to resist her tempting advances by now. Catiya was a beautiful young woman, as much as he loved and adored Tabitha, it was still true. It was a problem he saw in himself, but couldn’t completely overcome that knowledge.

  "Yes, I've got it," she declared with a decisive nod of her head drawing his attention from his own thoughts. "You will come to my room around the mid of night when Epsilon is leaving the sky and Turas begins to wane. It should leave you enough light to find your way without being so bright as to let others see you. I'll go find my sister's maidens and let Tabitha know of our plans."

  Filled with the exuberance from her plans, Catiya swung away quickly towards the main house with a wave to Gerid leaving him to watch her go. The man just shook his head at the whimsical girl and returned to watching the flock. Thoughts of what he would need to do tonight slipped in and out of his mind as the boredom of watching the animals down below left him time to think.

  Krulir sat upon his mount atop a hill overlooking a plain filled with smoke and piles of slain men. In front of him were three of Marshalla's five generals, and with them King Merrick, whose eyes sparkled with the vision of Caldor's men fleeing before Kar'esh and the Mar'goyn'lya. They could already see the object of their lord's desires standing pristinely against the dark haze of the smoke. A small hill on the far side of the battlefield was all that separated them from the full view of the capitol city of Caldor called Teleste.

  Three winged forms lifted determinedly from the mass of Marshalla's warriors below them. Kar'esh and his two guardsmen landed before the assembled leaders shortly afterward and nodded their bows of allegiance to Merrick. "My liege, the Caldorians flee before us now. Should we pursue them or regroup first?"

  The generals all looked to Merrick. Krulir could see each man's eyes showing their decisions, but knowing better than to speak before Merrick asked for their input so each held his tongue. A general had already made such a mistake earlier in the campaign not more than a week ago. Merrick had the man's tongue cut off and then placed him at the very front of the lines in the next battle. The man had been left where he had died and no one was allowed to bury him. The crows could have him for all the lord cared. His replacement, General Mairgar, sat his mount equally silent before the vizier knowing the consequences of such a mistake as well.

  Merrick shook his head in decision. His bronze helmet and chest plate glinted in the hazy sun light as he said, "We regroup first. Let the enemy gather any man daft enough to stand against us. There are few enough that will dare to after this battle anyway. No, for now, let us set up camp upon the surrounding hills outside of Teleste. Generals Bragus and Komus should arrive here with the siege weapons this evening. We can let the city awaken to the knowledge that we will crush their walls in the morning."

  Kar'esh nodded. "Yes, my liege." The huge, gray skinned gargoyle was the only one capable of answering unbidden. Even Krulir, who had known the king as child, dared Merrick's temper ra
rely. The creatures quickly leapt away and took to the air to spread the word to the army below.

  Krulir marveled at the gargoyles. He still distrusted them though they had honored their word so far. In battle, they had been unstoppable. Fewer than a dozen of the Mar'goyn'lya had fallen in the campaign and they had been replaced with another score brought from the wizards' gate. The legions had done well also and had suffered only minimal losses as the simple presence of the gargoyles served to bolster them while the enemy faltered demoralized in the face of such demons.

  The war had lasted less than two weeks, and only that long because it took time to march so far with an army. Teleste would certainly fall in only a matter of days now. Who could stand against such forces for long? The vizier thought about that fact and wondered whether he was joyous or sad.

  The clean, painted walls of the Holtein home reflected crimson against the dark purple of the night sky. Looking upwards, Gerid found the scarlet orb of the war god, Turas. The moon seemed to stare down at him watching his every move. As he found the rope that had been dutifully left for him by Catiya, Gerid began climbing. The man hoped that the god would ask his wife, the goddess Danaer, whose brilliant star was

  encountered by Turas each night, to give him her blessing.

  Quickly and with little effort, the young man pulled himself up and over the terrace railing and stood upon the teak wood surface. The intruder stood listening quietly for signs that he had been noticed. Though it was quite dark, Gerid ventured to take a look at the view afforded him from Catiya's lookout. The glimmerings of the blue stars of the dream goddess, Matae, were noticed peeking just above the dark shadow of a cedoak tree only a hundred feet from the terrace. The four stars were said to form a cross in the heavens, but Gerid's imagination had yet to see them as more than a clump in the night sky. Perhaps the dream goddess only showed the cross to true visionaries, he mused.