"Rell … " he mused. "Is that near the mountains?"
"Yes," I replied. "Well, nearer than here."
Hale sighed, and admitted, "I've always wanted to travel. I read all about the country in my books. Someday I'd like to … " He paused, and then made a sort of tsk noise, as if berating himself.
"Well," he said after a moment, "you'd better get started on those. My customer is coming by this afternoon."
"Right," I said, and stood awkwardly. Then, without another word, I gathered the sheets up in my arms and left the room as quickly as possible.
I spent most of the rest of the day moping over a bowl of gruel in the kitchen and wandering around in the backyard, absentmindedly doing laundry. For some reason, I simply couldn't get Hale out of my head. Whenever I let my mind wander, it inevitably returned to Hale. I kept thinking about what he had said to me, or wondering about him, and his big blue eyes kept popping into my head whenever I closed my eyes. It was enough to drive one mad.
Around sundown, there was a commotion in the sitting room. I entered just in time to see a young, dark-haired gentleman rushing down the stairs and spinning as he reached the landing. He pulled off his hat (a new modern trend) and swept into a low bow.
"My dear princess," he said in a dramatic voice, "I shall return for you ere the sun sets by the next full moon. Or perhaps before the full moon after that."
I turned to see Hailey rushing down the stairs after him with a jovial gleam in her eye (his eye, I reminded myself. But he looked like a woman currently, even with his hair mussed and his robe slipping down around his shoulders).
"And I shall wait for you, my love," he returned in a very obviously fake woman's voice, reaching up to stroke his face. "You shall be sorely missed ere you return."
"Ha," said the man. "Or my money shall, you mean."
"It is the same thing," intoned Hailey, and then screamed and giggled when he grabbed her by the waist (him, I reminded myself again) and pulled him into a hard, sloppy kiss.
Hale laughed and pushed himself away, pulling a fan from his belt and lightly thwacking the gentleman on the head with it. "Did you pay for that kiss, sir?" he said, sounding highly offended. "No, you did not!" Thwack again.
"But surely," gasped the man, "surely one kiss between lovers … "
"No!" gasped Hale. "No, it can never be!"
They were feigning. A highly dramatized love affair which they both knew perfectly well did not exist. They went on this way for several minutes, until at last, with another hard, passionate kiss, the man descended the rest of the stairs and went out the door, calling, "I shall return, my love!"
"Aye!" shouted Hale, no longer feigning a woman's voice. "Ere the next full moon, or perhaps the one after that!"
"Hale!" shouted Titiana, waddling terrifyingly into the room. "Don't use that voice! And for goodness sake¸ pull your robe up!"
Hale looked down guiltily at his robe, which had slid down over his shoulders, exposing his slender, male body. "Oh dear. I'm sorry, Titiana."
"Yes, you had better be," Titiana snapped. "And don't let it happen again."
Hale leaned casually against the railing. "Well, I think he was pleased. He does pay a lot, doesn't he?" He frowned. "However, due to a lack of sheets on the bed, we had to conduct ourselves on the floor." He made eye contact with me, and I gasped. I had forgotten to replace Hale's sheets!
Blushing furiously, I ran into the backyard, the giggling of the girls following me all the way. I felt terrible. I had never before been so angry with myself. Why? Why did I have to be such a failure? I was ashamed to be seen by anyone—least of all Hale. And now I had to go to his bedroom and replace his sheets while he watched. I couldn't imagine how disgusted he must have been with me.
With my whole body full of dread, I went upstairs and knocked heavily on Hale's door. "It's Marcus." I was repulsed by how my voice sounded—hollow and liquid and, unfortunately, due to my stupid gift, horribly attractive. I shuddered. I didn't want to sound attractive; I wanted to sound remorseful.
"Come in," came Hale's voice, unaffected and male.
Slowly, I opened the door and shuffled inside, trying not to drop the mess of sheets in my arms as I did so.
Hale was sitting at his vanity again, this time wiping his makeup off with a damp cloth. He turned and smiled at me. "Ah, my sheets!" he exclaimed. "Thank you!"
"Hale … I'm so sorry."
"What?" He looked a bit confused, before realization dawned. "Oh, don't worry about it! We often do it on the floor, anyway."
"Er." I blinked rapidly. "Alright. Thank you?"
"As I said, don't mention it." Hale gestured at the bed and grabbed a pile of clothes next to him, disappearing behind a painted, folding screen.
I was still struggling with one of the corners when he emerged, dressed like he had been the first time I'd seen him as a man, in tight, soft pants that accented his slender legs, tall shiny boots, and a flowing silk shirt, open to the waist, of course. I couldn't help staring at him as he reached behind his head, tying his long, golden hair into a simple plait down his back and securing it with a length of ribbon. He looked at me in confusion.
"Marcus, what are you doing?"
"Ah." I looked sadly at the sheets beneath me. "Trying to get the sheets back on your bed."
He laughed, his blue eyes crinkling. "Well, you won't get it to reach if you're sitting on it. You have to get off and come around—oh dear … "
I had quite gracefully fallen directly off of the bed in a futile attempt to follow his suggestion.
"Oh dear, oh dear, Marcus," he giggled. "Oh, I shouldn't laugh." At the look on my face, he burst into giggles again. "I really shouldn't. I'm sorry, Marcus." He helped me up, his face still bright with a wicked grin. "You remind me of myself when I first came here."
"You did laundry?" I asked, as I helplessly watched him apply first the sheets, and then the covers, expertly tucking the corners under as if he had done so a thousand times.
"Yes," he said, folding back the tops and fluffing the pillows. "I used to be a servant here. They took me in when they found my wandering around on the streets." He finished and fell backward onto the bed, motioning for me to join him. "My family died in a fire, you see. I wasn't in the house at the time, and when I returned, well … " Hale sighed and was silent for a moment. "Anyway," he continued, "I was a serving boy here, until one of the customers noticed me. He asked Titiana if … if I was available. And … offered her a large sum of money."
"You didn't have a choice?" I asked him, aghast.
"No, I did," he replied. "I agreed. It was a lot of money, and I knew that the Parlour needed it. I thought it would just be a one-time thing, but … you know how word gets around."
"How old were you?" I asked.
"How old?" Hale thought for a moment. "Well, I suppose I am seventeen now, so … fourteen."
I sat up and looked at him. "You are seventeen?" I demanded. "Seventeen?"
"Do I look older?" He sat up as well. "I'm young. It's how I manage to pass as a woman." He held his slender hands out in front of him, examining the soft, smooth fingers. "One day, I shan't be able to anymore," he said sadly, and then turned to me. "Can I tell you a secret?"
"Of course."
He leaned back on his hands and sighed. "I look forward to that day. I know I shouldn't, and I do feel horrible about not being able to help out Titiana and the girls, but … " His face was serious. "One day, I will leave this place and take what little money I have, and … I want to travel the world." He smiled at me, his dark blue eyes narrowing as they did when he was happy. "You could come with me, Marcus. You could be my guide."
Before I realized it, I was saying, "I'd like that."
"Of course," he continued, his smile widening, "if it was just you and me … alone, travelling … we'd absolutely have to make love."
I blushed again and attempted to hide my face in my hands. "Hale … " I moaned. "Please."
"Ah, Marcus." He sh
ook his head. "You keep refusing me. It's absolutely terrible for my self-esteem. I thought I was handsome."
"You are handsome," I replied, glaring up at him through my fingers. "It's not that. I just … "
"You want your first time to be special," he finished. "I understand … sort of. I think my first time was special." He frowned, looking serious. "I can't really remember. Oh well. I shan't bother you about it again, then."
Hale leaned over and, before I could even realize what he was doing, gave me a quick peck on the cheek. "You'd better go," he said. "Lady Aram from the palace is coming to visit me tonight." He stuck his tongue out, making an absolutely disgusted face. "Please believe me when I say, Marcus, that I would much rather sleep with you."
"I do," I said, and left. For some reason, I was unable to keep the smile from my face all the way down the hallway and into my bedroom.
I flopped down onto my bed, thinking about my conversation with Hale—trying to pinpoint the exact moment when my heart had started to beat hard. Why was I breathing so quickly? Why couldn't I stop moving? I wanted to get up and run around. I wanted to burst into Hale's room and tell that old lady to leave him alone, and grab Hale and take him far away and …
I forced myself to calm down. I told myself that Hale didn't really like me that much. That he probably offered to have sex with every young man he met. He was so strange—he was probably just being friendly. I was definitely overreacting.
But … sex with Hale. What would it be like? It seemed a very large part of me had been set aside specifically for the purpose of wondering how it was that two men made love, and it was only getting larger as I became more and more curious.
I was actually glad to detect a presence by my window, something to distract me from the incessant voices in my head. "Hello, Draeden," I said, sitting up to look at him.
"Hello, Marcus." He smiled at me. "I notice you still haven't had sex."
"No," I agreed. "No, I haven't. And do you know why? Because I don't know how."
"Eh?" Draeden looked confused. "You don't … oh goodness."
"Yes." I shook my head. "I know you assume that I am a jaded pervert, but you will be sitting around forever waiting for it to happen unless you tell me how it is done."
"Ah." Draeden looked uncomfortable. "I did assume … Well, let's see. You, ah, know how it is done between a man and a woman?"
"Yes," I said, refusing to think about it.
"Well, it's ah … " began Draeden. He looked very uncomfortable indeed. "It's … rather similar."
"Ah. I fail to see how that is possible."
"Yes, I suppose you would," said Draeden desolately. He stood there for a moment, deep in thought. Finally, he said, "Well, I've decided that it would be much more educational for you to be shown, rather than have it explained to you."
"Shown?" I repeated warily. "How?"
Draeden held an arm out. "Come with me. If you dare."
I did dare. I wasn't sure why, but I did. Maybe it was the curiosity overwhelming me, or maybe it was that incessant energy I seemed to have taken from my visit with Hale, but I couldn't seem to stop myself from standing and walking over to Draeden. I clasped his arm tightly, and he smiled at me, and then it was as if we winked out of existence.
For a moment, my whole consciousness was roaring wind and white light and blue magic, and then I found myself existent again, standing with Draeden in a dimly-lit room. I felt very hot.
After a moment, I realized that it wasn't the travel with Draeden that had been hot, but rather the climate of the place we were now in. It was incredibly warm—like the warmest of midsummer days in Rell, only the air was thicker and wetter. I felt the desire to take off my shirt, but fought it and looked around.
We were in a bedroom, lavishly decorated in golds and deep reds. It was all strange, and exotic, including the two naked men on the bed.
I gasped and looked away, horribly embarrassed, but neither of them seemed too upset by our appearance. They both sat up from where they had been lying together, apparently in the midst of removing each other's clothing, and looked at Draeden.
"Hello, Draeden," greeted one of them cheerily. "What have you brought us?"
They spoke a different language than me, a strange, clipped and accented one, but I found I could still understand them. It was Draeden's doing, I realized; he was using magic to make it so I could understand what was said.
"Marcus, be polite," said Draeden, smiling. "This is Li and Saraman." They nodded at the mention of their names, and I forced myself to look at them, ignoring my embarrassment. Li was the larger of the two, a muscular man with a strong, masculine face and a wide smile. Saraman was smaller, thin, almost feminine, and he smiled at me also. They were both almost painfully beautiful. Their brown skin gleamed with oil, and they slid their hands easily over each other as they looked at me, dark eyes bright and curious.
"Li and Saraman are old protégés of mine," explained Draeden. "The story goes that Saraman was in love with Li, and of course, I personally think that Li was in love with Saraman also, although he didn't realize it."
Li nodded. "It's likely."
"Anyway, Saraman is shy," continued Draeden, still smiling. "He never would have had the courage to seduce Li if I hadn't appeared and helped him out."
"And we are eternally grateful to you, Draeden," said Saraman. "But, as you can see, we happened to be in the middle of something when you arrived. What was it you wanted?"
"Actually, it was something that Marcus wanted," explained Draeden.
"Ah!" I cried. "Um, never mind Draeden, I changed my mind!" I tugged at his arm. "We can go now."
"Another protégé?" laughed Saraman, getting up and walking over to me. "Hey," he said, "it's alright. We don't bite."
"Not unless you want us to," added Li, and Saraman shushed him.
"Come, play with us," he said, and pulled me onto the bed. "We don't mind." He leaned over me and began to unbutton my shirt. I started to protest, but stopped when I felt his hands on my skin, pulling my shirt open and sliding it off of me. Then he leaned down and slid his tongue along my abdomen.
I gasped and felt that warm, familiar heat slide downward and the resultant tightening between my legs.
"He likes it," Saraman informed Li, and Li crawled over and slid a hand around my waist, pulling me to him and pressing his lips to my neck, his tongue making little circles over my skin. I moaned.
"Ha." Saraman smiled and touched his mouth to me once again, sliding his lips and tongue down over my stomach, my hips, and lower. Then, as he began to struggle with the waistband of my pants, I heard Draeden's voice.
"Marcus," he reminded me. "Remember what I said about letting them see you. Are you ready for that?"
I did remember, and I wasn't sure I was ready, so I pushed them both off of me, although not harshly. I wasn't sure I wanted them to stop either.
They both looked at me curiously. "You don't want?" asked Saraman, his dark eyes flickering over my body hungrily.
"No, I do … " I began, running my fingers quickly through my hair. "But … I would like to watch." I couldn't believe what I was saying. "May I?"
They smiled at me. "Of course," said Li, and he reached for Saraman, pulling him into a tight embrace. They were kissing with more passion and intent than I had known was possible. I was unable to look away as Li slid a hand downward and began to touch Saraman, sliding a hand up and down his length, watching as Saraman threw his head back and moaned.
The sound of the moan brought me back to my head, and I realized that I could feel what they were feeling. My powers somehow gave me access to everything that they were experiencing—and not only access, but also control.
Slowly, I crawled forward, inching myself closer to them. I spread my hands out in front of me, tentatively testing their movements with my mind, feeling them ride out the waves of passion they felt, touching each other, feeling the other move. I felt inside them, felt the pleasure centres, felt exactly wha
t they lusted after.
"Li," I said, my voice hoarse, and he looked at me, his eyes dark and full of desire. "He wants you to put your mouth on him."
Li turned to look at Saraman, who smiled and leaned backward. Li's eyes narrowed, and then he threw himself down upon Saraman, sliding his tongue and lips over him, causing Saraman to shake and cry out as Li enveloped him hungrily.
I stared, paralyzed by what I was seeing. My whole body was pulsing, aching with desire, even as I felt every one of Saraman's sensations sweep through me. I forced it down, allowing myself to focus only on them. Was this it? Was this how men made love?
But I knew there was more. Li wanted it, and Saraman did, too, like a deep, empty ache inside of him. I moved closer still, holding my hands tense over their bodies, still testing, awakening the desires deep inside them, forcing their blood to flow even faster.
"Now," I whispered to Li, when I was sure Saraman was ready. "Take him."
Li did. Moving quickly and savagely, he slid up Saraman and pushed inside of him, the oil from their bodies making his entrance easy and sudden. Saraman cried out, but I swept away any pain he felt, replacing it with pleasure. They were moving now, a soft, pulsing rhythm that swept through both of them, and I knew that they were nearing a climax.
Not yet, I thought, somehow instinctively knowing that it would be better if they waited, and held my hands out again, attaching my mind to the rhythm of their pleasure and slowing it, making it stronger and more intense. They both gasped, and Saraman moaned, whispering Li's name.
I reached further inside them, further than I ever thought I would have dared, touching places I had never even known existed, making them more sensitive, making the pleasure even more than they had thought they could stand.
They were both crying out now, grasping at each other and moving faster again. I didn't stop them; instead, I forced them together, creating sweeping waves of pleasure every time the deep insatiable places inside of them met.
"Yes," I encouraged Saraman as he moaned, his nails raking slowly down Li's back. "Take him with you."
Li gasped when Saraman reached down and pulled him deeper inside of him. He grasped at Saraman's waist and pulled him closer, and their lips met in a deep, passionate kiss as they climaxed together.
The Fairy Gift Page 8
