The Princess and the Blade

[Emora Deen]

Laurius approached the bed cautiously, hands up to signal to Stalker he meant no harm. He leaned against the alcove opening and peered down at the three piled into the bed. He observed the princess curled on her side and wedged between the phage and the hellhound. He tried not to let his gaze linger on the soft skin of her shoulder where the strap of her gown had worked its way down in the night, or how the sun glinted on her pretty hair.

Tenara murmured, shifting in her sleep. She blinked her eyes open and then pulled her arm over her eyes to blot out the sun but to also hide. The night came back to her, a little blurry, but clear enough that embarrassment choked any confidence drink had given her to nothing. The ship groaned, but it was daylight, and that helped keep the panic and dread down where it belonged.

Laurius sent his gaze to Havitharon's hand. "That hand needs some bandaging," he said quietly. "I thought for certain it might need stitches."

"Stitches?" she said, sitting up. "Why do you need stitches?"

[Soran Nightblade]

"It needs sleep, not stitches," Havi protested, waving them off with his bad hand. His words weren't as crisp as usual, and he was running a bit warm, but nothing that felt worth leaving the comfortable nest of silver hair his face was pillowed in. The wound had swollen angrily overnight and throbbed as he moved it. Apparently the hellhound's mouth was not the magical antiseptic he might have hoped.

[Emora Deen]

Tenara caught his hand as he waved it around and pulled it down into her lap. "Oh, Havi," she whispered. "This looks awful... Did I do this?" She couldn't quite remember what had happened in her attempt to get away. But, she wasn't sure her mouth was quite so large or her teeth so sharp. She glanced at Stalker.

"I think the wolf thought he was hurting you, and Havitharon thought the wolf was someone coming at you. They collided and, well, that happened," Laurius said. "I can see about some bandages and maybe some ointment—"

"I can fix it," she said softly, her fingers lightly tracing around the punctures.

Laurius pursed his lips a moment. Part of him had the urge to dissuade her. He wasn't sure why. He had no stake in whether she was risking her safety, and he had no idea if trying to heal him would harm her. He just remembered Havitharon's words about sacrifice, and how she didn't consider what she gave to them.

"Perhaps the ointment," Laurius said, glancing at Havi.

Tenara pushed at Stalker's rear. "Give us some room, buddy. I'm good now. Hand me his sword, Laurius."

Laurius hesitated, turning his eyes on Havi to see what he wanted him to do.

[Soran Nightblade]

Havi opened his gold eyes to the brightening room. "I would prefer to let it heal normally. It hardly hurts, and we are at sea for two weeks. I have no need of it," he assured her gently. He'd been wounded so often that things like this didn't mean much to him. Usually, if a wound became too severe, he would treat it with Savant, but they didn't have that on this world. As awful as the side effects were, any injuries would repair near-immediately. "Ointment would be a wise step," he admitted.

[Emora Deen]

"Ointment it is," Laurius said and began to walk away, but he caught the hard glare of Tenara's blue eyes. She held out her hand but said not a word. The sword. He sighed, nodded, and went to retrieve it.

"I don't think we should let it heal normally. You could be allergic or it could get infected easily. It already looks infected, to be honest..." She touched his head gently. "I want to help you. You helped me last night."

Laurius returned with Havitharon's sword as Stalker slinked off the bed, reluctantly, after a final push from Tenara's elbow.

"You should... maybe go for a walk," Tenara told Laurius.

Laurius smiled. "I'd prefer to stay. It will help me understand the sword by viewing your interactions with it and how your magic works on it."

Tenara hesitated, knowing exactly how this sort of magic usually made her—them—feel. But, Laurius was right. He would probably see the reaction eventually anyway, given they would be conducting experiments of some sort in his home.

"Princess," Laurius said, folding his arms. "There isn't any shame or embarrassment needed here. I know you're fucking him, and you know I'm fucking Artisuren. So, what's left to worry I might blush over?"

"Well, when you put it like that..." Tenara grumbled. She touched the sword and pressed her thumb into the blade. A soft hiss rattled out of her, and then warmth flooded her. The red in her eyes bloomed, growing as bliss swept in, filling and expanding and calling. She focused her will on Havitharon, and heat slipped into him. Her cheeks and chest burned as the want whispered between them. As she smeared her blood on the blade and wiped it away, the wound on his hand healed. The light burning her eyes flickered out. The want, though... It stayed, having dug its claws into her.

Though the magic felt similar to making him hole, it wouldn't leave her with a headache or a nosebleed. Just the desire to be bent over and railed until her mind shattered. She held the sword a little too tight, afraid if she took her hand off it they would stray. Her gaze flicked to Laurius, all unwittingly full of lust. He stiffened, his gaze going to the flush of her face and lips, falling to her chest and the scar between her breasts.

"Do you two need to be alone?" he asked hesitantly—though his hesitation was in that he didn't want to leave. He wanted to stay. To watch it play out and see what magic did to them both.

Perhaps Artisuren was right. Maybe he was a pervert.

[Soran Nightblade]

Havi didn't particularly care who was in the room. He didn't care about anything except her desire and the sensations of his feverish body being licked by her magic everywhere at once. He could sense her hands clutching him tightly, possessing him. It was so good, and his mind was just bleary enough to relax into the sensations without debating them.

"Tenara..." He arched his back, shivering. His desire for her was barely subdued by the weight of the loose pants he'd worn to bed.

[Emora Deen]

Tenara shivered at the sound of her name from his lips. It was like a hand sliding up the inside of her thigh. Her gaze darted from Laurius and then down to Havitharon, to the arch of his body and the need pressing up against the loose softness of his sleeping pants.

"I think he needs your attention," Laurius said, his voice heavy. His gaze had gone to what the man offered, his heart thumping in his ears. Gods. It seemed... massive. Suddenly they were in his mind, the image of Havitharon's tall, lean form pressed over Tenara's smaller frame, his hands circling her waist. Did it even fit? Gods he wanted to see... Fuck, he was a pervert. "I'll see how Artisuren is doing with the tea."

Laurius turned for the door, and Tenara was already moving for Havitharon, as if Laurius had pulled some restraint from her that had been holding her back. Her lips were on his neck, her small hand sliding beneath the hem of his pants to wrap around the thing begging for her attention.

Her magic did that. To them both. It had done it to Artisuren too. What had he said it was like? Blowjob and warm cake? Laurius almost chuckled as he opened the door. He took one last look at the bed in the alcove, at Tenara practically tearing the clothes from the being in her bed, and then stepped out into the hall.

[Soran Nightblade]

Havi paid absolutely no mind to Laurius as the man barely escaped the room. The instant she freed him, his need pressed against the fabric of her nightgown, which he wrestled a bit clumsily to remove. It was strange - he'd never been a sexually hungry person before, but since coming to live with Tenara, this wild need he'd avoided his whole life had stopped being a threat. It became an act of affection. Something he could entrust to her.

"He had better burn that tea," he murmured against her neck, scooping her sideways and settling her beneath him.

[Emora Deen]

Tenara smiled, curling her fingers in his hair and around one of his horns as his lips dragged over her skin. Her magic-sensitive flesh buzzed where he touched, and she felt overwhelmed with the need still clawing through her. The spell was gone, but the need lingered like an aftertaste she could stay drunk on.

"They can wait outside if not," she whispered. Her hands dragged over his skin, fingers sweeping his chest and abs, down to the large length brushing against her. She made a soft sound as her hand curled over it and she felt the velvet, heated weight in her hand. "I crave you. There is not enough time in the world for all the things I want of you."

---

Laurius headed for the galley. It was located in the center of the ship, and not terribly hard to find, but he worried Artisuren may have gotten lost. Besides, it seemed weird to lurk outside the door until they were finished, and he had nothing else to do with his time.

He should probably check on Jim. The man was going to fire him. He'd been preoccupied with the dagger, Artisuren, and his prospective wife—fake though she may be. He bit his lip a minute and pivoted down a hall. He could pop in on Jim and then head Artisuren off on the way back before he barged in on Tenara and her phage.

[Soran Nightblade]

"Oh, hello!" a familiar voice called as Artisuren stepped into the kitchen behind the servants' areas. One of the maids who had ridden with them in the cart yesterday was fanning a bowl of soup. "Are you feeling better? Mr. Mar said you were ill."

"Is that how he's explaining it these days?" giggled one of the maids prepping carrots.

"Tabatha! Mind your manners," the maid snapped.

"Don't be so prim, Merry. You're as curious as we are," another girl said while pouring coffee.

"Forgive them. There's little to do on a ship but gossip and fuck."

"Yeah. Mr. Mar fucks, and we gossip!" chirped another chef, sending the whole kitchen into laughter.

Artisuren looked around at them, mortified. Did they know? Did the whole ship know? "I...we merely..."

As if taking this for confirmation, Merry offered him a gentle pat on the back. "Don't be too shocked. There's no shame in a little romp, deary."

"From what I've heard, he'll have bedded half the ship by the time we make land have," Tabatha snorted.

Artisuren's jaw dropped. "Half?"

"Haha, maybe I'll give it a try too," coffee girl said.

"My cousin worked at one of his estates. She says he'll fuck anything once as long as it doesn't bite."

"Maybe if it bites, he'll fuck it twice!"

The girls cackled.

Havi stared at them in shock.

"What's gotten into you, dear?" Merry asked.

"Maybe he bit him."

Artisuren went stiffly to the stack of cups and picked out four. "T...tea?" he managed to ask.

Tabetha, looking a little sorry after seeing his reaction to her last joke, scrambled to set up the steep for him. "Look, I could be getting it all wrong, but... Mar's the type who only loves his work. That's not the sort of man you go to for romance."

"As if I would want anything from that piece of crap," Artisuren said sharply.

Merry's eyes flashed wide as if just realizing something. "Oh, honey..."

"You're mistaken," he glowered. He slammed the pot Tabetha offered him on a platter with the cups and used his forearm to sweep some scones hastily onto the side. "Excuse me."

He took the tray and what was left of his dignity, and fled.

[Emora Deen]

Trying to give the illusion that he was a good employee while he wanted to be elsewhere was difficult. It took all of his focus to keep from tapping his foot impatiently while Jim spoke. It was good that the man seemed safer abroad than in his own home, because Laurius had been a very poor guard since meeting Tenara and her phage. Jim wasn’t blind to it either.

“All will be forgiven, I suppose, if you do marry her and broker a trade deal…” or something like that. Laurius hadn’t been listening well. He was trying to calculate the minutes since he’d sent Artisuren away and left the Princess to taming her creature. Too many, by his calculation.

“Of course. Of course. Thank you for being so understanding. When we reach Ighten, I’ll be more alert. I promise,” he said while attempting to back out of the room. He should have come to Jim second.

Several minutes later, Laurius managed to tug himself away from Jim and back toward his shared room. He kept his pace brisk. Not quite a jog, but not his usual unbothered pace.

[Soran Nightblade]

Havi was on his knees with Tenara on her side beneath him. He held one of her thighs tight to his chest while he plowed deep inside her. "Ah! Tenara. I'm there," he warned. He grew fiercely hard inside her, every vein stiff enough to feel sliding in and out, promising he was about to climax.

Artisuren dragged his heels returning to the room. He loitered in hallways, took wrong turns. He even tripped once on an uneven board and spilled a scone on the galley. He brushed it off and set it back on the tray. He would serve that one to his "Master," he thought with a dark smirk.

[Emora Deen]

Tenara had one hand braced on the alcove wall above her head, and the other hand was wrapped around the arm Havi had braced against the bed, nails digging into his gray skin as the world whited out. At first, she'd covered her mouth to keep their privacy, but her demand for Havi had been a little too heated. Now, she felt him driving against a place inside her that was shattering her apart each time. It was both pleasure and pain, and she held on for dear life as it built—climbing, climbing, climbing. She couldn't even warn him when she crested the edge, at least not with coherent words. She cried out, and to anyone who didn't know her—who had never heard her break so beautifully before—it might have sounded pained. It washed over her, searing and dizzying and absolutely wonderful. But it wasn't over. He wasn't through, and it built again—climbing, climbing, climbing—and she thought she might go mad. That she might actually break beneath him. "I'm there," he warned, and she nodded, moaning "please" into a desperate cadence. And she was falling, tumbling, burning, melting. Tenara twisted her face, pressing it into the sheets, and lost her breath, her voice.

-

Laurius rounded the empty hall, and felt a little relieved. Had he managed to beat Artisuren? It was taking the man an awfully long time. He heard the muffled sounds coming from the room down the hall. They were loud enough to flush a couple from their neighboring room. The woman blushed and scurried past Laurius. He wondered if Artisuren had gotten lost or if something might have happened to him. He wasn't familiar with this world, and Laurius had sent him off like he was. The being should be back by now. Laurius turned to go back down the hall to the kitchens.

[Soran Nightblade]

Havi had just enough sanity to realize their roommates would be coming back any minute. He could feel the aftermath of her climax spasming hotly around him. She felt so good... if he lost it right now while he was still inside her, they'd never clean up in time. "May I come on your stomach?" he strained, shuddering for control.

Artisuren finally wandered down the correct corridor towards Laurius's quarters. He could only put it off for so long. Besides, the fever would begin to reclaim him soon. This was his life now. His feet slowed to a stop in the middle of the hall. The room was up the stairs ahead of him, but he just stood there looking like someone who'd forgotten where they were trying to go.

[Emora Deen]

Tenara's blue eyes met his and she nodded, breathless. The idea of him... on her. Everything tightened low in her belly at the thought. She shifted beneath him, rolling from her side to her back, lying there like an offering. There was a softness to her face, all adoration and love. Her fingers danced over her skin, tracing a line and then a circle around her navel.

--

Laurius caught sight of Artisuren. "There you are," he said, and there was relief in his eyes. His stiffened posture melted into a relaxed ease as he approached. "Took your time, didn't you?" He smiled and reached out, scooping a scone from the pile. "Just as well, I suppose." Laurius thought about the lustful look in Tenara's eyes, the heated flush of her cheeks and lips. "Havitharon is busy taming the princess."