~*~*~
Alburet came back to his senses to find Stacia staring at him, “What?”
“Ya memory, ya know it be ya memory,” Stacia replied.
“I’d forgotten that. I can see it so sharply now. I had forgotten it,” Alburet murmured as he replayed the memory in his mind, savoring the happy time.
“Aye, it be one of the many fragments ya lost,” Stacia replied softly. “Did I hurt ya?”
“No,” he shook his head then pulled her to him, holding her. “Thank you,” he swallowed hard as tears started to fall from his eyes. “I can see him so vividly now. His face was starting to blur on me before.” He shook as he let his tears fall, “I miss him.”
“Aye,” Stacia held him, soothing him as she stroked his hair. “I can help ya iffin ya will let me. I only ask ya to follow his words, me dear Asthore. Follow ya heart, do nay let the shackles of ya old world bind ya here.”
It took Alburet a minute to control himself, but he did in time stop crying. He pulled back to meet her loving eyes. “I can’t promise anything, Kitten, but I’ll try.”
“Tha’ be all tha’ I can ask,” she stood up, giving him another kiss. “Now ya need to get ready, and I need to be seein’ tha’ breakfast does nay burn. Take ya time, take a proper shower before ya come join us.”
He watched her go before he got out of bed, his mind churning with the memory she’d summoned for him. He could still hear the earnestness of his father’s words, just as he had all those years ago. Would his father want him to walk this path? Would he have approved, Alburet wondered as he went into the bathroom.
He took his seat, the bowl of frumenty and cup of coffee waiting for him both steaming. “We have a few things to take care of today,” he told them. “We have a party of guildies who are not playing nice. I wanted to talk to them while Gerald’s at his meeting. I also need to send out an announcement about the raffle to the guild, and I was thinking maybe we could go hit one of the other continents for the lower level zones today as well.”
“That’s fine,” Karen replied, her words a little clipped. “Who’s acting up?”
Alburet filled them in on the problems between Ironhand and Bloodmoon’s groups. “We need to get her side of the story, and see what needs to be done to solve the issue.”
“Bloodmoon,” Karen tasted the name. “She was at the meeting at Mindblown. She wanted Gerald to take over the guild from you.”
“Great, so she will probably not respond well to me,” Alburet shrugged. “We’ll see what happens.”
Stacia and Karen finished eating first, and Stacia asked Karen to help her with something in another room. Alburet looked at Fluff once they were alone, “Fluff, about this morning, I’m sorry.”
Fluff shook her head as she turned away from him, “It’s fine.”
“I’m still sorry. I shouldn’t have stared at you like I did. I just wasn’t prepared to see you like that, and you are beautiful, which made it hard to look away. It was still wrong of me to stare at you like that.”
She hunched in on herself, mumbling, “I didn’t mind. I feel safe with you. I know you wouldn’t hurt me. It…” She paused, swallowing hard, before she continued, “It felt nice to be looked at like that, by you.”
Alburet was stunned into silence by what he’d just heard. “I thought you liked Karen?” he asked after a minute.
“I do,” Fluffball’s voice was barely audible. “She is strong and protective of me. Dad always said that being with another girl was bad, though, so I can’t…”
“It’s hard to think of her like that even though you want to,” Alburet finished for her, seeing her small nod in agreement. “You won’t be considered a bad girl for liking Karen. I like Karen, and Stacia likes Karen, too. Stacia isn’t bad, is she?”
“No,” Fluff whispered, “she’s nice. She makes you happy… I wish I could.”
He sipped his coffee in a bit of a rush to cover his sudden nervousness. “You do, Fluff,” he finally managed. “I’m happy you’re my friend and we can have this time together.”
Fluff looked down,” Okay.”
He didn’t think as he pulled her over to him, putting her on his lap and starting to rub one of her ears. “I mean it, Fluff, you do make me happy. One day maybe I can explain it better, but right now I ask that you trust me, okay?”
Fluff started purring as she relaxed in his arms, “Okay.” The single word exuded happiness as she leaned against his chest, her arms going loosely around him. It was a minute before she spoke again, “I haven’t been held by a person in years. People only ever hurt me and make me feel bad. You’ve never hurt me and only shown that you care for me. Thank you, for not hurting me or scaring me.”
He didn’t know what to say to that so he just kissed the top of her head. He didn’t see Stacia and Karen came out of the bedroom. Karen stopped with a frown on her face as she looked at them. Stacia gently touched her shoulder, then moved up behind Alburet. “Will ya be offerin’ us all a turn on ya lap?”
Alburet jolted slightly at Stacia’s words, not having heard her approach. “I don’t see why I can’t give you all a cuddle before we leave. Fluff, are you okay now?”
Fluff’s arms tightened around him before she let go and stood up, “Okay.” She went into the guest bedroom, not looking at anyone as she left.
“Karen, ya take the next hug, I be right back,” Stacia followed Fluff, leaving Karen and Alburet alone.
Karen looked at Alburet then away, “I’m fine.”
Alburet snagged her wrist and pulled her onto his lap. “Karen, I’m sorry.” He had the words out before she could react to being pulled onto his lap.
She looked at him from a few inches away, “For what?” Her words were chilly as she met his eyes, hers full of hurt.
“I didn’t mean to hurt you, to push you away like I did. I was just trying to do what my father had always told me. In doing so, I hurt you, someone I do care for. I never meant to cause you any pain, and I have. For that I am sorry. You are such a vibrant and outgoing woman that I didn’t consider what me getting married and seeming to spurn you would be like for you. I’m asking for you to forgive me for what I did.” His tone was calm, but she could see the remorse in his eyes.
Karen’s gaze softened some before she looked away, “I was just looking for a fun time. I never meant to actually care for you, or Stacia. But you both got to me. I care about both of you and when you got married I was jealous of both of you in a way. I had thought though that it would be okay, that we could still have fun together, but then you crushed that hope. I know what it’s like to want to do what your father taught you, so I’ve tried not to be mad about it. But I am. Even more so when I see you looking at Fluff like you just did.”
“Stacia is going to start helping me with some issues I have. She just reminded me of a memory of my father. He urged me to follow my heart. I’m still a little unsure of what it is I want, but things might change. Give me time to think things over, okay?” He asked as he put his arms around her.
There was a glimmer of hope in her eyes, “Okay, but I want a kiss to make up for it.”
Alburet snorted once, “Yeah, that sounds more like the Karen I know.” He pulled her forward and their lips met gently, tenderly. After a second he pulled back to meet her eyes again. “Good now?”
Her eyes were dancing with mischief as she shifted her weight on his lap slightly, “Now I am, yes.”
He was aware that another part of him was apparently very aware of the willing woman on his lap. “And we’re done.”
Laughing, Karen got off of his lap, “At least I know that was for me.”
The door behind them opened and Stacia and Fluff came into the front room, “We be ready now, Asthore?”
“Nope,” Alburet said. As she came closer he pulled her into his lap and squeezed her tight. “I still had a wife to snuggle.”
Stacia giggled, “Aye, tha’ ya did.” She kissed his nose before he let her go. “Now we be rea
dy to go.”
“Alright. Let me send out this guild announcement and get hold of Bloodmoon,” he told them, opening his interface.
They went to the guild hall to wait for Bloodmoon and her group. When they entered, Vanessa was talking to a gentleman. Alburet frowned, vaguely recalling having seen the man before. The name came to him, “Sir Carter?”
Cody Carter turned at his name, interrupting the conversation he’d been having with Vanessa. The smile vanished as Cody took in Alburet’s appearance. “May I help you?”
“That’s my question, actually,” Alburet replied simply. “I still have your card. So, why the visit?”
Squinting for a moment, Cody looked taken aback, “In the name of Justice, what happened to you?”
“A gift from the Dark Lord. I’m waiting for an answer about why you came back to my guild hall.”
“I have heard that the upper houses are failing, some of them spectacularly, to achieve any of their goals where your second is concerned. I feared that my original visit might seem to be prompted by the same motives they have. I wished to alleviate those concerns if you were having them.”
“What is it you want?” Alburet’s tone was abrupt, as he wasn’t in the mood to deal with a noble.
“I just hope for a simple favor, to be notified when your guild reaches the Dead Lands. Once you get there, you might need additional support to really push into the interior and I would like you to consider my House should you seek out allies.” Sir Carter’s tone made it clear that he believed his offer to be of significant importance.
“Noted,” Alburet replied simply. “I will keep your request in mind, sir. Now, if you don’t mind, I have other pressing business to attend to.”
“Of course,” With a small bow Sir Carter left the guild hall.
Vanessa arched a brow, “Thanks. I was about to have him ejected. He kept insisting on speaking with you, and wouldn’t accept that you weren’t here.”
“Where’s Kim?” Alburet asked.
“She was picking up some breakfast for us, should be back in a minute.”
“Bloodmoon and her group will be here shortly. Direct them to the meeting room, please.”
“I will,” Vanessa replied, and they went to the meeting room to wait.
About ten minutes later Bloodmoon and her group came in. Bloodmoon was a tall, statuesque Lunari with red fur. DrBone and the three other members of the group followed her in. Alburet noted the male Lunari, who was probably the Druid, with a lion’s mane.
“Please have a seat,” Alburet told them. Once they were seated he explained why they’d been called in. “I’ve had reports of some issues between your group and another group in the guild. Would you like to tell me what happened?”
Bloodmoon snorted, “We were hunting and they got in our way. It wasn’t an issue for us.”
“Twice?” Alburet asked, focusing on Bloodmoon, who was staring at him challengingly.
“They can’t understand a basic rule of life, the strong make the rules,” Bloodmoon’s lips curled into a vicious little smile. “We didn’t call them any names or hurt them, so what’s their problem?”
Alburet looked to DrBone then to the Druid, both of whom were looking uncomfortable. He brought his eyes back to Bloodmoon, letting his normal personality shift into what was work mode when he’d been a guard. His eyes went flat and his face became devoid of emotion. “Really? So the story I’ve heard of you forcing the other group out of their spot is false, then?”
Bloodmoon growled as she stood up, her chair went skittering backwards, “It’s a free world out there, and they were where we needed to be. They had plenty of other places to go. We didn’t do anything, so what the fuck is your problem?”
“You deliberately causing issues for other members of Alpha Company is my problem. I am going to ask you just once to stop. I know that some of your group isn’t really onboard with your tactics. For those of you who aren’t, next time she starts up, walk away. Otherwise, you’ll end up in the same boat.”
“I thought this was a guild, not a dictatorship,” Bloodmoon scoffed. “So, you’re saying we can’t hunt where we want now?”
“Not what I’m saying,” Alburet told her levelly as he kept eye contact with her. “What I’m saying is that if you deliberately force another group to move again, then there will be consequences. Free will is still very much a thing. Not just yours, either.”
“Whatever,” Bloodmoon snorted, “come on, guys, we have a couple of quests to complete.” She stomped out, followed by the tank and a caster of some kind. DrBone and the Druid both hesitated visibly before they followed her out.
“Tha’ did nay seem to go as well as ya hoped,” Stacia said.
“Sad. Some people only seem to be able to have fun when they’re ruining things for others,” Alburet sighed.
“If they step out of line again, then what?” Karen asked.
“They will be removed from the guild.”
Karen nodded with her lips pursed, “This ought to get interesting over the next day or so, then.”
“Let’s go check out the Dwelden city while we wait for Gerald,” Alburet said, getting to his feet.
Fluff stood up with a pensive look, “She won’t listen. Maybe we should stay closer for now, that way we don’t waste so much gold since we’ll just have to come back.”
Stacia nodded, “She makes a good point.”
“We can check out the Blight Hills,” Karen added. “They’re on par with the gnolls, so more in line with where we should be.”
“Okay. Let’s go,” Alburet said, ushering them all out into the main room. Everyone was startled to see a pop-up appear in front of them.
House Theron has found an Heir.
Wilbur Theron, formerly of House Gilden, has taken over House Theron.
Alburet chuckled, then frowned, “Huh, if that just happened, it took longer than Lady Theron thought it would. Must have been issues.”
“Wait, is that the guy who was hanging out with Erin?” Karen asked.
“Yes,” Alburet replied, “and tomorrow we should be hearing even more news about House Theron.”
“He is going to marry her,” Fluff said quietly.
“Aye,” Stacia said, giving Fluff a hug, “she will be gettin’ her dream.”
“Like you did,” Fluff replied.
“Aye. Me husband seems to make dreams come true for those around him,” Stacia winked at him.
“When is it my turn?” Karen asked archly, looking at Alburet.
“Or mine?” Fluff mumbled.
“Patience,” Alburet replied quickly, “it takes a lot of effort to achieve dreams, you know.”
“I better be next,” Karen muttered.
“I think me sis Deidre be next, actually,” Stacia said matter-of-factly. “She likely be marryin’ Chris Eveningstar in the next week.”
“What about Marian?” Karen asked suddenly.
“She has nay gone out to hunt with her life mate yet,” Stacia replied. “so ya might be after Deidre.”
“Okay, let’s get going,” Alburet said to cut the conversation off. “Vanessa, if you hear about any problems with Bloodmoon, let me know please.”
“Will do,” Vanessa answered as she watched them go.
Chapter Twenty-Two
When they got to the Portal Guild, the place was crowded. Alburet waved to the few groups of Alpha Company he could see meeting up to take portals. They paused while Karen stopped to chat with Violet for a moment.
“What’s up?” Alburet asked when they’d continued to their portal.
“I was just checking something, and it seems I was right,” Karen replied, brushing back her short hair. “Violet is who Marian has been seeing of late. Yesterday, Marian asked to go out hunting with her. Violet told her it would have to wait until the quests for the guild had been completed.”
“Me last sister has settled on her, then?” Stacia asked, gently touching Karen’s shoulder.
“
It seems that way,” Karen shrugged. “Sorry for the delay. Might as well hit the fort and see the sights before Gerald and Marysue catch up to us.”
As they started up the stairs, everyone got a pop-up announcement. They paused to read it.
Announcement: Player Housing and Guild Buildings are now available in and around major cities.
Visit the City Hall in your capital city for more information.
Warning: All property is subject to monthly taxation. Failure to pay taxes can result in loss of access to and even loss of ownership of property.
Alpha Company (Alpha World Book 3) Page 28
