The Princess and the Blade

[Soran Nightblade]

Havi was so relieved by her answer that he nearly smiled back at her. Instead, he looked at the book she suggested eagerly. "I place myself in your hands," he said gratefully, bowing his head.

[Emora Deen]

The corner of Felicity's mouth pulled up, and she turned the page, beginning to read. She read for two hours, her voice a sweeping melody of invocation—her voice heavy with the appropriate emotion for each moment, each sentence, each word. The story, from a mechanics perspective, was simple enough, but the focus was entirely on the characters—a beautiful dragon queen and a dark sorcerer seeking to control her, who's desire for control inevitably became desire for other things, and then respect, and then love. But, so far in the story, they had only made it to desire.

Felicity's voice never wavered over the most colorful parts of the story. She read the words just as she read all the others, but her cheeks colored rose ever so slightly and she began to shift a little in her seat. At the end of the chapter, she closed the book and let out a breath. "We can... pick it up tonight, if you want? If you're free?"

[Soran Nightblade]

Havi straightened up, resting his pen. He hadn't expected her to be available at night. "That would be a great help," he said, impressed by her level of commitment to her work.

To be honest, he wasn't sure he understood the story properly. He had been taking actual notes in his own script, trying his best to grasp the meaning of the story. He looked at her across the table as if wishing to ask something, but hesitated. No... he couldn't throw out the chance to ask questions, even if they embarrassed him.

"The dragon queen reacts strongly every time the sorcerer is in close proximity. The sorcerer has become erect several times when she touches him as well. If they both feel this strong sexual connection, what prevents them from acting on it?" He was deeply worried that he was missing something here that might relate to the difference between a Bond and Love. This was a world where mating posed no risk of a permanent Bond, and where there was no rut to add ritual to that intimacy. It was culturally alien to him, yet this was the reality the people in this world lived in. What if Love was its own ritual that only people from such a world could understand?

[Emora Deen]

Felicity grinned. "Well," she said thoughtfully, holding the book to her chest. "I... suppose it would mean giving in. Intimacy can be a kind of power. If either side bows to the need for the other, it is—in their mind—admitting that person has some sort of power over them. But also, admitting you have those feelings at all is even more vulnerable. It is opening your heart to someone, and risking them tearing it out," she said wistfully. "I suspect this will inevitably lead to them casually exploring their physical needs while ignoring their emotional ones. The sorcerer seems selfish at the moment, thinking more with his dick and his thirst for power. She'll set him right, I'm sure."

[Soran Nightblade]

Havi nodded seriously. "I see... You have give me much to think about. Thank you, Felicity," he said, standing with her. "I will be sure to reflect on this before tonight."

He departed calmly, but as soon as he was alone in the corridor, concern weighed down on him. He didn't 'see' at all. He'd been hoping for a clear, logical explanation, but instead they were learning through a scripted tale. To give the tale credit, it was extremely detailed, just not about... the things he'd expected. He told himself to be patient and trust Felicity's instructional methods. After all, she had successfully trained two other men.

His thoughts proceeded this way until he reached the hedge maze outside Laurius's lab/study. His boots paused on the now-well-shoveled path while he gazed at the mouth of the strange living structure. Looking down, he noticed the fuzzy shape of the snow angel Tenara had made yesterday. He had the strange urge to lie down in it and avoid the lab entirely. What should he do if these experiments kept injuring Tenara? A tendril of despair attempted to burrow into his heart. His promise to her mother had been to leave if the sword placed her in harm's way.

He physically shook himself to wrestle off the thought.

It seemed like there was still some time. He turned away from the direction of the lab and crossed the snow to maze's mouth instead. The memory of their race through the hedge tumbled in with his other thoughts and colored them all a shade brighter. They had the horn shard now. Something might still be done with that. And regardless of what he might think of Laurius, the man did seem intent on discovering a solution.

[Emora Deen]

Tenara left the house, tugging the blue coat around her shoulders a little tighter. She headed for the conservatory across the shoveled cobblestone path when she spotted Havitharon at the mouth of the maze. "Careful," she said. "Yesterday I went in and came out with a cat." She thought of a crude joke, but kept it to herself. He was unlikely to understand it anyway. "How were your lessons?"

---

Laurius drew back from a kiss, and slowly slipped away from Ren. He'd been lying ontop of the man for several minutes, having fallen onto the floor with him and driven the sanity out of them both. He flopped over onto his back, stretching naked across the cold stone floor. He stared at the ceiling, the glass panes were still whole, which was to be expected. Ren was never going to yell loud enough to break them, but he liked to use it as an excuse to have him every day.

[Soran Nightblade]

Havi turned. The sight of her both soothed and worried him. He shook off the illogical sensation and walked back toward her. "I fear I make a poor student," he admitted. "Felicity seems to be a glutton for punishment. She has offered additional lessons this evening." He stroked back a stray lock of her hair, and felt his tension instantly lessen. "Are you... keeping that creature?"

[Emora Deen]

Tenara smiled, looping her arm in his and guiding him across the garden. “No. I don’t think Colonel so the ‘keeping’ kind of cat,” she said. “He’s off somewhere eating a bird, I suspect.”

They walked and Tenara thought about what he’d said. She pushed down the bitterness she felt towards the woman. It wasn’t Felicity’s fault Havi didn’t want her teaching him. “I’m sure you’ll catch on to her lessons soon. You learn quickly. She’ll be singing your praises before long.”

[Soran Nightblade]

Ren lay panting, staring at the glass ceiling in a daze. His stomach still twitched where Laurius had just been inside him. He squinted at the glass and wondered if he was really supposed to break it. Was that possible? What kind of material was it? Was it a matter of volume? Pitch?

He'd been too overwhelmed to do anything so strategic during Laurius's experiment, though he was loosely aware of the urgent, animalistic sounds that had escaped him. He looked down, embarrassed by the recollection, but he still managed to steal a glance at his master's profile beside him. Laurius looked as heated and breathless as Ren felt. His stomach twitched, and he forbade his lower half from reacting to the sight. He sat up abruptly and began gathering his clothing. "They'll be here soon," he said.

____________________

Havi wasn't sure what to do with the sudden rush of happiness her words gave him. It was the first time she'd seemed confident he could learn this properly. Her faith squashed his festering doubt that he was somehow incapable of learning this. He just needed to stay focused. Of course, he wasn't even aware of the possibility that she didn't understand his purpose.

"Yes," he said warmly. "It has to succeed. She's done this twice before, after all." He reached out and caught her sleeve gently as she passed him. "Tenara... you had a difficult night, thanks to me. I am concerned that Marr is pushing this too fast. If something today feels like too much, please just stop wherever you are. You can leave me inside the sword until tomorrow. It will do me no harm. And when my horn has been preserved..."

[Emora Deen]

Laurius dragged himself up from the floor, scooping up his trousers. He pulled them on, sighing. "I'm sure they are well aware of what we do in our spare time, Ren," he said, his lips tugging with a wicked smile. He pulled his tunic on began opening his journal to a new page.

---

Tenara flinched a little at the mention of his horn, her gaze drifting up to the bandage she'd been avoiding setting her eyes on. She averted her gaze again, smiling and continuing towards the conservatory. "If I leave you in the sword, how will you meet Mrs. Felicity tonight for your lessons?" she said, pulling his arm against her as they went. "I'll be alright, Havi. Its only temporary. Laurius is steadfast in his desire for knowledge, but... I am too. I want to know how I can..." Keep you. She shook her head. "Be strong enough."

[Soran Nightblade]

Ren smirked a little at that, pulling his braided locks back into some semblance of order and tying them with a leather cord. "Spare time? I thought this was important research." He pulled a cloth napkin from the drink cart the maids had brought earlier, dipped it in the water, and used it to wipe his skin clean. He sat at the edge of an ottoman and cleaned Laurius's seed from between his legs without a hint of bashfulness, then pulled on his pants.

He sat unusually still for a minute, as if weighing whether to speak his mind. "Have you heard anything new...from your clients?"

_______________________

Havi nodded, accepting her will without further question. "If it is what you want, I will do the same," he said without argument. He followed her like a long shadow across the snow until they reached Laurius's conservatory.

[Emora Deen]

Laurius kept his gaze on his book. "Not since their last letter. I suspect they are traveling. We still have a week or more," he said. "I hope..." Laurius didn't want to think of what would happen if he didn't compile enough information to appease them. He knew enough of Arken and their ways to know that even in the best of circumstances the encounter was unlikely to leave them unscathed. "I've sent for the soul stone maker. He'll arrive tomorrow. We'll repair the weapons, and collect the additional ones to offer Ark—"

Laurius's voice faded off as he heard the conservatory's main door open. "We'll speak later," he said and began scribbling in his book.

A moment later Tenara entered, followed by Havitharon. Laurius continued writing. "We'll do as yesterday. Once without magic. Once with. I'll record. There should be no change."

"And if there is?" Tenara asked.

"There shouldn't be. Hopefully, tomorrow, with the addition of Havitharon's horn sliver, you'll find some relief. If not, we're going to repair the sword's soul stones which will, I believe, fix any issues. We'll have to test with the horn and with the new soul stones separately to be sure."

"So, lots of cutting. Got it," Tenara said. "Is your doctor on hand still?"

"Yes. In the same room as before," Laurius said, finishing his sentence with hard tap of his quill.

Felicity arrived a few minutes later, just as Tenara dawned the blind to block her magic. She sat in the corner of the room with a tablet and a stick of charcoal. She seemed so eager to draw, but Tenara doubted Laurius explained, exactly, what she was drawing.

They did as before. Tenara put the bind on, lost her magic, cut her hand deep enough to bone. Blood poured free and plenty, and she willed Havi in and out of the sword. She wrapped it up, and went to the doctor, leaving them with Felicity who promptly stood up and wretched into a bin.

[Soran Nightblade]

Havi felt he ought to offer some form of support to Felicity, who clearly hadn't received a proper explanation of what to expect. However, his dark eyes were focused solely on Tenara as she left the room. Yesterday, he had let her go alone so he could use the opportunity to rip into Laurius about endangering her. "I will go with her," he said, rising to follow her to the doctor.

[Emora Deen]

Tenara heard Havi say that he would come with her, and a flood of relief washed through her. The doctor didn't seem to have any ill intent, but his methods set off every alarm inside her head, drawing out fears and memories and all the things she liked to keep buried way, way down. Tenara slowed so Havi could catch up, leading him across the length of the conservatory to the chamber at the opposite side.

Dr. Crofford came away with a cough as they entered, rubbing his eyes. "Again?" he asked. "Sit, sit." He motioned toward the table, and Tenara went to it, feeling more lightheaded than she had the other day. She swayed as she turned and collapsed back onto it.

The doctor began fiddling with his box, pouring liquid onto a cloth and coming around toward her.

"Wai—"

But, it was on her mouth again, covering her face and nose. The acrid scent was like a punch to the face, and as the darkness crept across the corners of her vision, the roar of water slamming against the hull of a ship filled her ears.

[Soran Nightblade]

Havi launched forward. In a fluid motion, he seized the doctor's wrist, twisted it behind him, and pinned him chest-down on the table next to Tenara. "Explain what you just did to her," he said, his low voice as calm and menacing as a moonless night.

_____________

Artisuren walked to Felicity's side, crouching next to her. "Would you like to sit down? You can take my arm, if you're dizzy," he offered.