by M. Gregg Roe
She wasn’t really surprised when they ended up in front of Lucien’s. She stopped at the base of the stairs and said, “This place is expensive. I’m not sure I have enough money with me. I just spent most of my money replacing my old worn out boots.” The last part was true, but she actually did have sufficient money with her.
“I’ll pay for the meal, Audrey,” he offered, looking somewhat puzzled.
Audrey nodded, and the two of them walked up the stairs and went inside. She was surprised to see that it wasn’t crowded at all. They removed their cloaks and left them at the front. Saxloc instantly smiled when he saw what she was wearing. She sighed because he was staring at her chest instead of her face. They were soon seated across from each other at a small table, and he was still staring at her chest. She sighed again, but he didn’t appear to notice.
A waiter brought over two menus. Audrey waved her hand and said, “I’d like the beef and rice, and warm rice wine.”
“That sounds good,” said Saxloc quickly. “I’ll have the same.” The waiter nodded and left.
“I see that you have been here before,” he commented, finally looking at her face.
“Yes, I’ve been here with your mother.” And Erwin, but she wasn’t going to mention that. She still missed him.
“That’s a beautiful dress,” he commented. “Where did you buy it?”
Audrey narrowed her eyes and glared at him. “I didn’t buy it in a shop,” she said through clenched teeth. “I designed it. I bought the fabric. I sewed it. It took ages.”
He was taken aback. “I … uh … sorry. I’m very impressed. The dress is beautiful and you look amazing in it.” She smiled happily at him. “Have you lost weight?” he continued, and she went right back to glaring at him.
Audrey rolled her eyes. “And you’re only now noticing?”
“Yes. You hardly ever wear a dress.”
She sighed again and waved her hand. “Fine,” she said as she looked away and frowned.
“Why are you so upset?” he asked. “Is it Cinda?”
Audrey was amazed to see real concern on his face. “No,” she replied. “I got a note from her today. She’s fine.”
“But no longer a virgin.”
She was surprised again; he appeared completely serious. She smiled slightly, replying, “No. Not after doing it three times.”
“Three times?” he asked in surprise. “With one man?”
“Yes. Is that unusual?” she asked before she could stop herself.
Audrey knew that a single client had paid for the privilege, and she was suddenly worried. Could Erwin and I have done it more than once? she wondered. Was he mad because we didn’t?
Saxloc smiled smugly. “I don’t know if it’s unusual, but it’s certainly impressive.”
Audrey was feeling very uncomfortable. She realized that she had no idea of how quickly a male could recover and have sex again. And what if it were different for elves and half-elves? Cinda might be able to tell her eventually. She decided to change the subject and go on the offensive.
Audrey smiled sweetly as she said, “Please explain to me why I don’t have to worry about your house suddenly deciding to kill me. You know, that would be a good way to dispose of an unwanted fiancé.”
Saxloc pretended to be thinking hard about it. “It is tempting,” he said while smiling. “But I’m not sure how I would explain it to my parents.”
He then turned serious as he launched into a detailed description of how the mansion’s magical defenses functioned. Audrey could hardly understand any of it, and she was annoyed that he didn’t notice her puzzled looks. The system seemed to involve spells that triggered other spells and invisible magical creatures that were somehow bound into the structure of the mansion.
“So the mansion really is alive in a sense?” she asked when he completed his cryptic explanation.
“Yes, and it’s loyal to our family. We tell it who is allowed to come inside, but it won’t just immediately attack if we forget. It will alert us first.”
“Okay. I … well I don’t really understand, but I do feel reassured.”
“Good. I told you there was nothing to worry about.”
Audrey sighed and gestured. “I was kind of hoping you would say that the house turned into a dragon and then breathed fire on the intruders.”
Saxloc burst out laughing. “That would be amazing! My father would love it. I’ll tell him what you said. When did you figure out that the house was modeled on a dragon?”
“Fairly quickly. The two round windows puzzled me, and there are pictures of dragons everywhere.”
The food and drink arrived and they both began to eat. Audrey was hungry, and it wasn’t long before they had both finished. Saxloc ordered more rice wine for both of them. While they sat and drank their wine, she asked him for more details about the strange adventure he had gone on, and he willingly provided them. As usual, she didn’t understand much of it, and he failed to notice her lack of comprehension. But she didn’t really mind. It was just nice to be having a real conversation with him. He really could be quite pleasant when he wanted to be.
It was still lightly snowing when they left the restaurant. She nearly tripped going down the stairs, realizing to her shame that she was once again drunk. I really should have refused that second cup of wine. Why don’t I ever learn?
Saxloc suddenly took her left arm, and she nearly hit him out of reflex. Fortunately, he didn’t notice. He had probably only done it because of her inebriation, but it was still thoughtful and felt nice.
They were nearly halfway back to the mansion when he asked her a completely unexpected question. They hadn’t been talking at all as they walked along arm-in-arm. “Audrey, did I hurt you when we … you know … in Farmerton.” He looked both serious and earnest.
She felt ambivalent. It was late to be asking, but his concern was touching. It took her a moment to formulate her reply. “Losing my virginity hurt, but that’s normal. You did leave me with some deep bruises, though. You’re very strong.”
He looked away briefly. Then he turned back and gazed directly at her face. “Audrey, I apologize,” he stated formally. “I saw that you were bleeding and I should have healed you. If I had known about the bruises, I would have healed them.”
Audrey shook her head. “It wasn’t necessary. And it certainly wasn’t going to happen after my father announced our engagement.”
Saxloc’s smile was wistful. “That’s true. Well, I’m still sorry. I will have to be more careful in the future.”
Audrey was intrigued. “With who?” she promptly asked.
He looked stricken. “Uh …”
Audrey brought the two of them to a stop and stared at him intently. “Me? Okay. Your room or mine?” She was getting excited.
Saxloc stared at her in disbelief and began to turn red. He shook his head and said, “Audrey, you’re drunk. That’s why I took your arm. You don’t really mean that.”
“Yes, I do! Take me home and ravage me! I need to catch Cin—” She stopped in horror; she really was drunk.
“Are you and Cinda having a competition?” he asked, smirking.
Audrey wanted to just die on the spot. “Please don’t tell anyone about this,” she begged. “Especially Cinda.”
“All right. I won’t say anything, but it sounds like Cinda really is ahead now.”
She sighed and concentrated on speaking clearly. “Yes. Now shut up and take me home. I want to die of shame in the privacy of my own room.”
Back in her room, Audrey cursed her stupidity. If she hadn’t had that second cup, she might have ended up in Saxloc’s bed tonight. It had been so close! She would have preferred Erwin, but Saxloc would do. He really could be a nice person when he tried. It had been a fun evening despite her inebriation. If only he hadn’t been such a gentleman!
When Audrey finally climbed into her bed, she looked up at the ceiling and said, “Thank you for protecting me, house. I really appreciate it.�
� She half-expected a response, but it never came.
23
‡ Birthday ‡
The sight of the three of them seated at the kitchen table wearing the robes that she had made for them absolutely delighted her. Almera and Draymund were still eating, but Saxloc had already finished and was staring intently at a piece of paper. Audrey had overslept and her head still ached. It had finally occurred to her that her lower weight might have actually decreased her tolerance for alcohol.
Draymund looked up and said, “Thank you for the robe, Audrey. I really like it.”
Saxloc looked up briefly. “Yes, Audrey. Thank you.” Then he went back to reading.
Audrey went to get food and then sat down at the table. Saxloc handed the letter to his father saying, “We will be going to Kaldir tomorrow. It’s important. I’m going to start preparing.”
She watched in disbelief as he walked out of the kitchen. She had been so close last night and now he was leaving? It was happening so fast that there was no real possibility of persuading him to take her along. And she wasn’t really ready. She needed to buy a number of things first.
Audrey waited until Draymund had left and they were cleaning up to question Almera. “Where is Kaldir?” she asked. “Is it a city?”
Almera turned to face her. “No. Have you read about the Great Exodus in your book yet?”
“Yes. People fled to other continents to escape Andoran.”
“Very good, Audrey. Kaldir is one of those continents. The farthest one from here, in fact. If you like, I can show you where it is located on a map in the library.”
“Okay, but I don’t understand. If it’s so far, then how are Saxloc and his friends going to get there?”
“Magic, Audrey. Extremely powerful magic.”
♦ ♦ ♦
Afterward, Audrey went back to her room and laid down. She felt very depressed. She had planned to start speaking with Saxloc regularly to move things along. That would lead to another dinner, more conversation, and then copulation! It was simple and unlikely to fail. But as always, her plan had gone awry. Although they usually didn’t go awry so quickly or so thoroughly.
Almera had shown her the map in the library. Saxloc was going to be thousands of miles away! On the other side of the world! Then Almera had told her that it was much warmer on Kaldir, which meant that he might stay even longer, maybe even until Spring. Audrey couldn’t even understand how that could be possible. Wasn’t it Winter everywhere now?
She really wasn’t sure what to do. She wanted to continue her pursuit of Saxloc and see where that led. She wanted to go to Rohoville to see Erwin. With Cinda gone, she found herself missing Violet more than ever. She even missed her parents and knew that she should at least have sent them another letter. She thought maybe she could go to Rohoville and then take a caravan to Farmerton, but she didn’t know how much that might cost. And did they even run caravans this time of year? Could she persuade Saxloc and his friends to take her to Farmerton? That was appealing because she would be able to talk to Saxloc on the way.
There were too many unknowns, but she could address some of them. She could investigate ships and caravans, as to cost and schedule. She could try to find out when Erwin was next coming to the Witch’s City. When Saxloc returned, she could be ready, both to persuade him and to travel. And once they were away from the city, she was going to just end their engagement. The ridiculous charade had gone on for far too long. If she ended up being kicked out, then there was always Desires. Her offer was still good for almost two more months.
Audrey got up and began making a list of what she would need to buy if she ended up accompanying Saxloc and the others. It was going to be expensive, and she might even have to borrow money from someone, but even that wasn’t going to stop her.
♦ ♦ ♦
Audrey went to school that afternoon and spoke privately with Grasapa. She first gave her the news about Cinda. Then she told her about Saxloc leaving on an adventure. She finished by saying, “Grasapa, do you know anything about Kaldir?”
Grasapa was very amused. “Audrey, I am from Kaldir. So is my husband and our daughter. And Xlee, for that matter. But I would not have expected you to know that.”
Audrey still felt a bit embarrassed. “Okay. Is it really warmer there right now?”
“Yes. It’s warm there most of the time. It’s much farther south, and the seasons are milder.”
“I don’t understand.” It just didn’t make any sense to her.
Grasapa smiled and waved her hands. “Do not worry about it. Today we start on joint locks and bone-breaking techniques. How does that sound?”
“Really dangerous, but I’m ready to learn.”
“Good. Since you asked, I will tell you more about Xlee during your lesson.”
“Okay. I’d like to hear about him.”
She ended up hearing numerous stories about Xlee, the school’s namesake. Xlee had also run a martial arts school on Kaldir, although Grasapa referred to it as a monastery. The practitioners there were known as monks. Audrey was surprised when Grasapa told her that Xlee had gone back to Kaldir after he retired. She was also disappointed because now she wanted to meet him.
When Audrey arrived home, she went to look for Saxloc only to be told that he had gone to meet with Gabriel. She ate a quiet dinner with Draymund and Almera and then went to read in the parlor. Saxloc came home before long, and they spoke briefly.
He looked preoccupied as he told her, “I enjoyed our dinner last night. I really wanted to discuss some things with you, but I just don’t have time. I have to leave early tomorrow morning and I’m still not done preparing and packing. Sorry.”
“I had a nice time too,” she replied. “I just need to learn to control my drinking. We need to discuss a lot of things, but now clearly isn’t the time. Do you have any idea of when you will be back?”
“Unfortunately, no. I don’t know how long our mission will take, and our transportation is very unreliable.”
“What does that mean?” Unreliable magic sounded very dangerous.
“Our transportation is an old, grouchy, and unreliable wizard. Even if we all want to return, we have to wait until he wants to take us.”
“I see. Well, I wish you and your companions the best of luck. Take care, Saxloc.”
Audrey stood up and hugged him. He smiled and said, “Thank you, Audrey. We will speak when I return. I promise.”
♦ ♦ ♦
Ships were constantly traveling back and forth between the Witch’s City and Rohoville on a regular schedule. They all carried at least a few passengers, and the usual charge was three silver each way—more if you wanted a cabin or food. It wasn’t that expensive, but Audrey couldn’t afford to just casually go there. The Winter caravan schedules weren’t at all regular, and they told her they might cease altogether if there was a significant amount of snow. Traveling with one was expensive—ten silver each way with no discount for getting off earlier.
Almera knew Erwin’s parents, and she volunteered to investigate his schedule. The news that he wouldn’t be returning to the Witch’s City soon was disappointing. Audrey still couldn’t decide how she felt about him. She was angry that he had taken up with another woman, but she also longed for him. He had never ignored her or treated her rudely as Saxloc had done all too often.
There was one bright spot: Cinda began to come over regularly. Audrey had thought that she would be too busy with her courtesan training, but her teachers at Desires insisted that she spend time away in order to stay connected with friends and family. Cinda had no interest in her family anymore—or they in her—so she visited with Audrey instead.
Courtesan training proved to be more involved than Audrey had suspected. Sexual techniques were only a portion of it. The training was diverse, including seduction, makeup, hairstyling, massage, costumes, dance, singing, acting, and more. Cinda would have been trained in etiquette and self-defense as well if she hadn’t already been well-versed in
them.
Even more surprising was finding out that Desires had hardly any staff; the courtesans took care of themselves. They bought the food and cooked their own meals. They cleaned their rooms and the common areas. They even did their own laundry. Audrey realized that those were the very skills that Cinda needed to acquire in order to achieve her goal of living on her own. Cinda really had made a good choice of employment in that respect.
♦ ♦ ♦
Audrey quickly settled into a new routine. On odd-numbered days, she read in the morning, went for her Shorinken training in the afternoon, and spent the evening with Cinda. On even-numbered days, she helped Almera in the morning, shopped in the afternoon, and sewed in the evening. The days were always cold, but there was little snow.
She was finding the book about Andoran increasingly dull and repetitive. She found a book on the gods and another on flowers in the library, and she often read those instead. There were a large number of gods beyond the three primary ones. There seemed to be gods for everything, and they had complex relationships and interactions. Her own goddess Lasrina was indeed Arwon’s consort, and Audrey enjoyed learning more about her.
Audrey still enjoyed training at Xlee’s Martial Arts Academy, but she rarely interacted with the other students anymore. Grasapa had begun to teach her knee and elbow strikes, and she had forbidden her from sparring with the other students until she had perfect control of them. Grasapa was turning her into someone who could maim or kill with a single blow, but that was what was required to become an adventurer.
With it now being Winter, Almera was working exclusively in her greenhouse. She was still producing spices and herbs and selling them in the market. She even grew and sold some flowers, which people greatly valued being able to purchase in the Winter. Audrey was glad because she needed the money.
Audrey bought everything she thought necessary for traveling on foot through the wilderness. She bought a warm cloak with a hood, fur-lined black leather boots, leather gloves, a light wool blanket, a sturdy leather belt with attached pouch, two water-tight leather flasks, and a water-resistant canvas backpack. Grasapa had given her a nice set of throwing knives, and she bought wrist sheathes to hold them.
