by Robin Roseau
“I believe I do,” I said. “But we can’t spend two weeks on them.”
“No, ma’am.”
“Ms. Kunzite, do you believe you could gather two more people and assist Mr. Thinaksite?”
“I could, Ms. Cuprite.”
“Mr. Sellaite, paint or replace the rotted decking?”
“Decking, if you please.”
“Ms. Lazuli.”
“We’ll make it look really nice, Ms. Cuprite.”
“Excellent.”
* * * *
The crew was still growing accustomed to working together, so they weren’t as efficient as I would have liked. But my crew chiefs were good at their jobs, and I was pleased with the results. The old decking was removed, with the rotted portions cut way and the remainder stored on our supply wagon to be repurposed. New pieces were cut to fit then painted on all surfaces and left to dry before being set into place. The paint crew caught every nick and cranny, and the bridge gleamed.
Mr. Thinaksite was brilliant, and when they showed me what they had done, I was pleased. They built a little rest area near the bridge, with two benches. The benches were lower than a green tuft would normally prefer, but they put a little fence around the area with clear places, perfectly sized for the small animals. Another resting spot doubled as a sign post, and on the sign they had carved, “Goldenplum pits damage the deck.”
I asked about that.
“Maybe travelers will help keep the deck clean,” Ms. Kunzite explained.
“Very good.”
Green tufts aren’t territorial, not really, but they like a little breathing room while eating, so to add to the defense of the bridge, someone had carved wooden green tuft replicas and painted them. They put them on the railing near where the rotted wood had been. “It might keep them away,” Mr. Thinaksite said.
“They’re cute,” Ms. Lazuli commented while looking at them.
I gathered the crew. We stood in the rest area, looking around. I directed attention to the bridge. “Everyone,” I said. “I’m proud of you. You did a nice job. We took a drab bridge that was going to need far more significant work in a few years, and you made it gleam. We’ll have to see if the green tufts prefer this nice lounge you made for them.” I gestured. “This was far from the most notable bridge across a minor stream, but working together, you’ve made it memorable. Thank you.”
We congratulated each other, and then I said, “Let’s head out. It’s time to return to Tebradine. Tomorrow is a rest day. Congratulations, everyone.”
* * * *
It was late afternoon by the time we returned to Tebradine. I let the crew see to our gear. Instead, I headed into the inn. I wrote a note and then offered to pay a local girl to deliver it to the Ressaline guardhouse.
Corporal Nissault,
I intend to take dinner in the main dining hall of the Verlies View Inn. Afterwards, there should be entertainment, and so I could be found relaxing for an hour or three.
I wouldn’t be at all opposed to company, and would enjoy an opportunity for a gentle walk. Tomorrow is a rest day.
It is possible some of your friends could also find warm welcome here. Ms.Kunzite seemed especially intrigued at the thought of attention from a dashing woman in leather, and there may be other opportunities here I haven’t investigated. Perhaps if you come this evening, you won’t come alone.
Maybe I’ll see you tonight.
Allium Cuprite
After that, I headed upstairs for a much needed bath.
When I returned downstairs, the main room was louder than it had been. It was a good space but already half full. And apparently it wasn’t unusual for the Ressalines to cross into Flarvor for dinner, as the table of four women in leather was garnering no particular attention.
However, one of them must have been watching for me. I came into view, and the four stood. I saw smiles, and I offered my own as I moved through the other tables towards them. “Welcome to Flarvor, ladies.”
One of them stepped forward. She took my hands. “Perhaps you remember us,” she said. “I am Nissault.” She reintroduced me to Pandary and then introduced Gibslen and Malstar. “There are six of us in total,” she said. “Fodorie has guard duty. Trellen decided not to come. Between us, we manage the guard and customs house plus run our farms. We rotate.”
“Ah,” I said. “That makes sense.”
“Would you join us, Ms. Cuprite.”
“Only if you call me Allium.”
“Allium,” she amended with a smile. “Please.” She grabbed a chair from another table, and they all shifted, making room for me.
I settled with Nissault on my right and Gibslen to my left. Once she was settled, I leaned towards Nissault and spoke quietly. “Ms. Kunzite was quite interested in attention, but we won’t fit six at this table. I make no promises for how anyone else will behave.”
She leaned back. “We’ll pull another table over but probably divide eventually.”
“We should pull the table over now.”
“If we did,” she whispered back. “I wouldn’t have an excuse for why you’re sitting so closely to me.” Then I felt her leg press against mine. “Got a problem with that?”
I smiled and set my hand on the table, palm up. “You don’t need an excuse, Nissault. If this is a date, I want my hand held. If you don’t hold hands, I’m going to flirt with someone else.”
“Flirt however you want,” she whispered back, but she took my hand and kissed the knuckles besides. We smiled at each other.
The other three watched this exchange, and I caught several smiles, especially when I so obviously offered my hand. I spoke more loudly, enough for the table, but not designed to carry further. “How open have you been when visiting this side of the river?”
“Everyone who comes is dressed in leather,” Pandary said. “If you understand.”
“I do.” I indicated my hand clasped by Nissault. “This?”
“Some. We didn’t know what to expect. We get stares, but we get stares anyway, so I don’t know which is most notable.”
The barmaid chose that moment to stop by. “Our casks of first press arrived this afternoon,” she said. “Do you know what you’d like.”
“Good evening, Seorie,” I said. “Have you met the Ressalines?”
“I have,” she said.
“Ladies, do you know what Seorie just offered us?”
“Not a clue,” Pandary said with a laugh.
“How long have you been based here?”
“Four years.”
“Seorie,” I said reprovingly.
“I can’t force anyone,” she replied.
“You’re right. I’ll have a mug, and no one else gets to order until she tries it.”
“On it,” she said. She didn’t wait for protests but slipped away, a little bounce in her step. My table companions watched her walk away, even Nissault. I bumped her with my shoulder. “Check out the other girls some other night.”
“Sorry,” she said. “She has a nice backside.”
“I’ve never really paid that much attention in the past,” I said. “I take it she’s turned all of you down several times each?”
“No.”
“Oh?”
“We’re under careful orders.”
“How careful?” I asked.
“We can’t instigate a thing.”
“Oh, my,” I said. “Really?”
“Relationships between our countries are delicate,” she pointed out.
“So she doesn’t know you all just checked her out?”
“I doubt she’s that oblivious,” Gibslen said.
“I bet none of you are accustomed to waiting for someone to make the first move.” I paused. “Wait. I didn’t make the first move, Nissault. You did.”
“Yes, but you’re on a particular, very short, list.”
I laughed. “You must all be quite frustrated.”
“We have ample opportunity for other arrangements,” Malstar poin
ted out. “Although I wouldn’t mind if Seorie joined us some evening.”
“Grab another chair,” I said.
They didn’t argue with me. It was Gibslen who grabbed the chair, but it went between Malstar and Pandary, directly across from me. The table became even cozier. We settled just in time for Seorie to return with my mug, dropping a few others off as she moved through the room.
“Sit with us while they try this,” I told her.
She eyed the chair then sat slowly. I sniffed at my mug then took a drink before handing it to Nissault. “Everyone tries this. Or else.”
“Or else, what?” Pandary asked.
“Or else Seorie will stand back up and take your orders,” I said.
They all laughed, including Seorie. But my mug went around the table, all the women taking their time with it. Seorie tried to pass it on, but I said, “Uh, uh. Everyone tries it.”
She laughed again. “I think I’ve had first press before.”
“Give them a thrill, Seorie,” I said. “Let Malstar and Gibslen think about placing their lips where yours have been.”
She snorted but took a healthy chug. When she handed the mug to Malstar, she smiled and said, “Right here,” gesturing on the mug.
Malstar offered her own smile and was quite meticulous in how she sipped. “Oh, that’s good.”
“Told you,” Seorie said. Before Malstar could pass the mug to Gibslen, Seorie took it back and carefully took a token sip. It looked a little awkward, but then she passed it to Gibslen, leaning into Malstar to do it. “There, on the edge,” she said with a grin.
Gibslen didn’t take her eyes from Seorie as she sipped from the mug. Finally, I rescued it from her and looked inside. Seorie laughed and promised a refill. She sold two more mugs of first press and two mugs of ale. She asked if we wanted dinner. “Yes,” I said. “But we’re going to see if we can lure one or two more alluring damsels to join us first.”
“I’m working or I might just join you,” she replied. “I’ll be back.” She flounced away, and yes, my tablemates watched her backside. But Seorie looked over her shoulder. Suddenly, they all looked away, but not until after she caught them. Laughing, she waved a finger before disappearing from view.
“So,” I said as they all lifted their glasses. “It’s a pity.”
“What’s a pity?” Nissault asked before taking a mouthful of first press.
“It’s a pity that Seorie is married with three kids.”
None of them spewed, but I thought it was a close thing. Their mugs came down, and it was Pandary who asked, “Then what was that?” she made a vague gesture. “She was flirting.”
“Oh, she was definitely flirting, but there’s another word for it?”
“Oh?”
“Customer service. You should all be flattered. She wouldn’t even have sat down if she thought you would be rude.”
There was a pause, and Nissault said, “Should we take it as especially good she was this comfortable with us?”
“Let’s put it this way: if I don’t see reasons to change my opinion, I’ll be reporting to the king that relationships between our countries seem quite good in this region.”
“Is that why you did it?”
“Of course not. I wanted to tease you.” I grinned. “Remember, when considering retribution, that I told you rather than let you do something foolish. Furthermore, I’m not promising to fill that chair.” I gestured with my nose. “But if it gets filled, it will be on my doing and not your own.”
“There won’t be any retribution,” Nissault promised. “But you know you’ve invited teasing.”
I thought about it. “Fair enough, but I don’t want anyone letting me believe anything that isn’t true about how your society works. You can tease other ways. And while you’re at it, remember that at least some of you hope for challenges with me, and I’m pretty sure I already know how often I’m going to win.”
They laughed at that.
“We’ll never give you cause to distrust us,” Pandary said. “Not only because we wouldn’t, but also because Queen Lisdee has been very specific about that. In all dealings with Flarvorians, we must be utterly trustworthy. You’re safe, Allium.”
“Thank you,” I said.
Nissault lifted her mug again. She seemed to enjoy the contents. “What am I drinking?”
“Do you know how olive oil is made?”
“This isn’t olive oil.”
“No, of course not. It’s made from sea olives. They aren’t olives at all. They grow in the mangrove swamps along our southern coasts.” I had to explain more about that, as none of them had any experience with oceans or had ever heard of a mangrove swamp. I was still explaining when Ms. Lazuli stepped to the edge of the table, her hands on the back of the open chair. I stopped my explanation, and we all looked at her.
“We’re off duty, Allium.”
“We are, Ressie,” I agreed. I introduced her to everyone and said simply, “Ressie is one of my team leaders. She has a promising career in front of her.”
“I do?” she asked.
“You do,” I confirmed. “I’m lucky to have you.”
She looked pointedly at my hand, still clasped by Nissault. She stared at it for a moment, actually, and then said, “Are you on a date with everyone here?”
“Just Nissault,” I said.
At that, she looked me in the eye. “Then which one is mine?”
The entire table stilled. I was rather surprised by the question, but I recovered. Finally, I asked, my tone very gentle, “How nervous are you?”
“I’m here,” she replied. But that was when I noticed how tightly she was gripping the back of the chair.
I considered carefully then finally said, my tone remaining low. “Did you want to talk to me first, or did you want to take that chair.”
“If I take the chair, is someone going to hold my hand?”
“If you set it on the table like I did with mine,” I said, “then it is possible, but that wouldn’t be for me to say. Are you staying?”
“Yes.” She was abrupt about it, but she sat down and tucked the chair in.
Before anyone could settle, I turned to Nissault. “Expand this table, please. I want exactly one open seat, so if anyone else comes, we find another chair.”
“We’ve got this,” said Malstar and Gibslen.
They were efficient, pulling another table over, the one we’d already been stealing chairs from. They set one open chair between them and the spare chair against the nearest wall. There was a little adjustment, but I whispered to Nissault, “I don’t need an excuse to sit closely.” And so we remained pressed together, which I liked.
Malstar then said, “Ressie, any of us would be honored to be your date this evening, if that is, indeed, what you’re offering.”
She turned to me. “Does that mean the same thing to them as it does to us?”
“As best I can tell,” I said. “There are no particular expectations, beyond enjoying yourself honestly.”
“I can’t necessarily understand everything they say,” she said. “Their accents are thick.”
“We’ll speak carefully,” Nissault said. “And we have the same problem.”
“We will also speak carefully,” I replied.
Ressie nodded, but she said, speaking more slowly, “You’re all soldiers, aren’t you?”
“Yes,” Nissault said. “Although we’re now part-time soldiers and full-time farmers.”
“You have swords.”
“We do,” she confirmed. “You’re safe, Ressie.”
“I presume you know how to use them.”
“We do,” Nissault said carefully.
“So if I go for a walk with you, we’re safe.”
Nissault’s expression cleared. “We’re careful on this side of the river. Yes, you’re safe on a walk with us.”
She nodded. “I would like a date, but I want to explain what that means to me.”
“All right.”
>
“A meal. Talking. Getting to know each other.” She looked down at my hand, then gestured with her nose. “That. I think I’d like that. Later, a walk. Eventually, walk me home, all the way to my door. I want her to treat me like she’s a…” She sighed. “I was about to say gentleman, but that’s the wrong word, isn’t it?”
“How about ‘with honor’?” I suggested.
“Yes. I want to be treated with honor. And if I like her, I want a good night kiss. A good one. But I’m not offering more than that on a first date.”
“You will be treated with the utmost honor,” Nissault promised. She lifted my hand. “As you can see, I am claimed tonight. Which of us do you fancy?”
She looked around, focusing on Pandary. “We’ve met, on the bridge the day we got here.”
“That’s right.”
“I don’t know if Wesla is coming,” she said, “but she thought you were cute. I’m sorry. I’m not going to cut in line.” She turned to Gibslen and Malstar.
“Either of us would be pleased to accompany you, Ressie,” Gibslen said gently.
“I don’t want to choose,” Ressie replied back. She turned to look at me. “What do I do?”
“Me?” I asked. “Hmm. Well, I see several choices, some of them far more playful than others. The first is to sit between them and let them both entertain you.”
“That’s too much,” she replied.
“You could make them arm wrestle over you.” Ressie snorted at that, and I decided she didn’t think I was serious, although I actually had been. “Hmm.” Then I leaned to Nissault and whispered into her ear, “She’s scared out of her mind.”
Nissault nodded. “Gibsy, Ressie would love your gentle touch tonight.”
“You haven’t called me that in fifteen years,” Gibslen said. But she and Malstar switched seats. If Malstar was disappointed, it didn’t show. Gibslen sat down, smiling at Ressie, and then stroked her arm, ending with collecting Ressie’s hand.
She would keep it most of the evening.
Ressie smiled nervously. Seorie stopped by with a mug of first press, setting it in front of Ressie with barely a pause. Ressie drank from it, and I could see how nervous she was. I waited until she set it down before I asked, “Why are you so nervous?”
