The Princess and the Blade

[Emora Deen]

Laurius pursed his lips. He didn’t wish Toothsbane on his worst—okay he had wished it on his worst enemy. The flower would be better. “Is the flower easy to get? If one wanted to use it, that is. Could we get some tomorrow?”

[Soran Nightblade]

Ren turned to look at Laurius lying in the blankets. He was starting to feel concerned. "It is in this room now. By the furnace. The powder burns extremely well and can be found anywhere in a wealthy estate like this one. But you should not consume it, Master. I don't know what such herbs do in your world, but that powder will make you very ill."

[Emora Deen]

“It’s not for me, it’s for Tenara,” Laurius said, waving off the concern before he realized what he’d said. He winced, and flopped on his back, throwing his arm over his head. Tenara would kill him if she found out he’d said something to Ren. She believed he wouldn’t understand, and for a moment there Laurius had thought he wouldn’t.

[Soran Nightblade]

The Ivis's posture grew tense. He didn't want to believe what he was beginning to think Laurius wanted. He fisted his hands in the sheets at his sides and, for a few moments, just sat stunned. He was shocked. No... hurt? He couldn't tell what he was. "You mustn't. No matter how much you care for the princess, you cannot," he half-whispered.

[Emora Deen]

Laurius’s brow furrowed. “What do you mean?” Did he really not understand? Was life that sacred here that he would want her to… “Whatever your beliefs, that sweet woman should not be forced to have Elias’s little spawn—if such a thing came to be. What happened to you both was cruel enough but that…”

[Soran Nightblade]

Ren's adrenaline was beginning to pound in his ears, but the hot-tempered Ivis was anxious enough to manage to hear what his master was saying. "Elias's... spawn?" He shook his head. One problem at a time. "I saw him every day we were with him. I would have noticed if he was in Rut. The only child she could possibly be carrying is Thvoros's."

[Emora Deen]

Laurius sat up and sighed, not able to believe he was about to give a lesson on human male reproductivity—especially with the subject being fucking Elias. “Human males don’t have a rut…” he said. “They are a hundred percent… eh, fertile, a hundred percent of the time.” He was over generalizing but he wanted off the subject as soon as possible. “On our world women have the… ruts. But they are subtle, and sometimes hard to detect and track. If Elias… or anyone in that camp…” If was not in question, it was more a matter of who. “I will give her the blue powder tomorrow.”

[Soran Nightblade]

A chill went down the Ivis's spine. "She-... If they-..."

It sounded like pure nonsense. But if it wasn't... It was still a child. Maybe Thvoros's child. And she was a Yurivis. How could he even think of... Unless... "Did she... ask you for this?"

[Emora Deen]

Laurius could not comprehend Ren’s level of disbelief and confusion. Did he truly not understand or did he not know what was done to her?

“She asked for Foul Mother’s Tea. On our world it induced a woman’s fertile cycle early and dispels a pregnancy before it can begin…” He frowned. “Ren, they hurt her. They beat her and… forced her to mate. Did… did you not know?” Was that something that didn’t happen in his world? That had to be why he didn’t understand.

[Soran Nightblade]

Ren winced as if the words had struck him. His throat wound tight, adrenaline twisting it like a vice. Shame snuffed out any outrage that might have been left in him. There was no excuse. A Yurivis had suffered mere yards away from him, and he'd failed to help her in any way. An apology squirmed in his chest, but he felt unworthy to offer it. "I knew," he whispered, unable to look at his master.

[Emora Deen]

Laurius nodded slowly, noting the shame sweeping over Ren. Had they made him watch? He couldn’t bear the thought of it. It was hard enough for him to acknowledge what had happened to Tenara because… This was all his fault.

“You couldn’t have helped her,” he offered. “Nor could she have helped you.. You were outnumber and the Black Sisters…” Laurius sank down into the bed. He didn’t want to argue the morality of Tenara’s request anymore. He had the answer he needed. He curled his arm around Ren and pulled the man so that he lay on his chest. “It is okay. You are safe now. It wasn’t your fault.” His throat tightened. It’s mine.

[Soran Nightblade]

You couldn't have helped her. It is okay. You are safe now. It wasn’t your fault.

Why did this man keep saying the things he most needed to hear?

Ren leaned into Laurius's chest and wrapped his arms slowly around his neck, hugging him like gravity wasn't enough force pushing their bodies together. They weren't safe, and it wasn't okay. Not by a long shot. But for some reason, his body seemed to buy it anyway. As the temperature of the room licked up to a comfortable level, Laurius's skin against his sucked his tension away. "You didn't eat," he murmured. "Let me feed you."

[Emora Deen]

Laurius ran his hand over Ren's hair and around the curve of one of his horns. "I will let you do many things to me, Ren, but I do not know if I would like to eat right now," he said. He knew he should, but he didn't have the stomach for it. Then, he thought how it might make Ren feel better, and he said, "Maybe two bites."

[Soran Nightblade]

Laurius's concession breathed fresh energy into Ren's body. He pushed up from the master he was squishing and spread the blanket where his body had been to keep the heat in. He sat up and brought the tray the servant had delivered into the bed with them. "This should taste at least somewhat like what you're used to," he said, choosing a mushroom cracker and raising it to Laurius's lips. The gesture was somehow natural for him, and a little seductive. He was not new to feeding his masters. The Ivis's green eyes watched Laurius with keen interest.

[Emora Deen]

Laurius was not a fan of mushrooms. It wasn't that he hated them, but they were not something he actively sought to eat. But, he supposed that he would need to get used to mushrooms. He had not seen a window, or a crevice through which sun might shine, nor a plant of any green. All he had seen was dark and moss and fungus. Laurius took a bite, and it was not an unpleasant flavor. Earthy, but tolerable. "Mmm," he said and nodded. "Not bad. Perhaps one more and then... maybe we can rest? I do not know how to tell the time. Is it morning or night here? How do you know?"