The boots stopped in front of the doorway and I raised a finger over Bethany’s lips to keep her from speaking. Her brown eyes grew wide with fear; she must have regretted helping me. I touched her left shoulder with my right hand and carefully guided her body to the rear of the small room and readied myself to fight whoever had found me. The expected knock sounded and my heart raced with adrenaline.
The man on the other side of the door knocked again and then sighed heavily.
His exhale was familiar, and before I could even reach the doorknob, relief had already flooded my heart and a smile was on my lips.
“Skinny!” The big man wrapped me up in his bear hug before I opened the door halfway. His body filled the room but his embrace was so full of love that the space did not feel small.
“I didn’t believe her but here you are!” My face was buried in the man’s massive chest and my nose was overpowered by the scent of salt, sandalwood, weapon oil, and beer. I heard his foot connect with the door and the thick piece of wood closed behind him.
“Youch! Careful, Skinny. You’re too strong for these old bones.” Greykin gave a short yelp when I returned his hug but then he seemed to match my strength enough to drive the air from my lungs.
“How did you know I was here?”
“Ahhh lad. A better question is: where in the fucking Spirits have you been?” He held me at arm’s length and looked up and down my body. “Also, why haven’t you been eating? You’re always too damn skinny, Skinny.”
I let out a laugh and shrugged my shoulders. My heart seemed to push against my chest and I realized that it was the affection I held for the Old Bear that made my eyes want to water. The big man was a great friend and I knew that if he was still in the castle, then the situation in the country of Nia was probably not as bad as the story I told myself.
“I’ll tell you everything, but it is going to take some time.” I turned to Bethany and realized that she had moved to sit on her bed so that Greykin and I had more room to embrace.
“Bethany, be a good girl and return to your duties.”
“Yes, sir!” She got up from the bed and squeezed between us.
“We are going to stay here a bit. Don’t speak to anyone about Kaiyer. You understand, lass?”
“Yes I do, sir. I am glad I found him.”
“Me too. I’ll let the queen know that you helped the royal family once again.”
“Thank you!” Her eyes opened wide and she smiled with unabashed joy. Then she gave me a last glance before she opened the door. “I’ll see you later on, perhaps?”
“I hope so. Thank you again.” I returned her smile and she nodded before exiting her room.
“Ahh, Skinny. When I was your age I had the same power with women. They could never seem to keep their undergarments on when I walked past them.”
“Why?”
“Ha! ‘Cause they all wanted to take them off of course!”
“When you were my age, Greykin? I am over five thousand years old, my big friend.” I smiled when I spoke, but I really didn’t understand what he meant about women’s undergarments.
“Ah yes. Nadea and Jessmei have told me of your history. That is why I am here.”
“Three years have passed, Greykin. Last I remember, I lay on the stone bench at the Radicle near Brilla and it sent me here. I felt only minutes had passed.”
“Humm.” He nodded his big head and his beard swayed with the movement. I noticed that the hair was a touch more white than gray now and the man had more weather to the stone of his face. “Jessmei summoned me to her room twenty, maybe thirty minutes ago. She said that you were here now and I needed to find you in the castle.”
“How did she know I was here? The castle is a big place. I’m surprised you found me.”
“She’s changed, my friend.” He closed his eyes and sighed. “She’s not my little girl anymore.” His face turned red for a brief second and then he shrugged his giant shoulders. “She was never my daughter, of course, but I spent almost every one of my waking hours protecting her for the last twenty one years. She told me to look for you in the courtyard by the dungeons and then she asked me to bring you to her.”
“How did she know I was here then?” I asked the question again.
“She knows magic now, Skinny. I don’t understand the stuff but she,” he paused and the big man seemed to search for the words. “She is still Jessmei, but, well, I’m just glad you are here, lad. It’s been a long time since the lass smiled. She will be happy to see you.”
“I hope so. How will you bring me to her?” I had intended to see Nadea first, but Greykin’s appearance was more than welcome. I wondered how Jessmei knew that I was in the castle, but I guessed that she would explain the situation to me when I spoke with her.
“We’ll just walk to the Royal Wing. I doubt anyone will recognize you wearing those clothes. We can talk more while we journey there.”
“They may not recognize me, but you don’t escape notice, my friend.” I laughed slightly and walked out of the door of Bethany’s room once the big man opened it.
“True! But you must admit that I fill the hallway with so much manliness that it is hard to pay attention to anyone else. I’m afraid that you’ll have to continue to stand in my shadow for a bit longer.” He let out another laugh and I felt my heart warm again at his joke.
“How is Danor?” I asked after a few steps.
“He is fine. Out of the castle now. Beltor, Knight Capitan Danor, and a few thousand Nia warriors have been working in the Teeth Mountains to eradicate these strange lizard monsters.”
“I have seen those beasts.”
“Aye. I heard a rumor that you killed a few thousand of them with a wave of your hand. They could have used your help. We just got a message two weeks ago that they have cleared the monsters, finally. Nadea is preparing to journey back home and rebuild the keep and its city with her father.”
I nodded at his words and recalled the endless swarm of the horrible creatures that lived in the bowels of the Teeth Mountains.
“How is Runir?”
“He was promoted last year. Vice General. There was a big celebration.”
“That is good to hear. How about Maerc?”
“As grouchy as ever. I think I saw him smile for a few seconds at Runir’s promotion. Jessmei and the empress both bestowed gifts upon the lad and Maerc looked as proud as if he’d just defeated all of Vanlourn with the sharp edge of his penis.” I laughed, but then closed my mouth when we walked by a pair of Elven guards. They wore blue and nodded slightly at Greykin. The big man nodded in return, but they did not otherwise greet each other.
“How is the relationship with the Elvens?” I whispered after I believed the Elvens to be out of earshot.
“It is difficult. They don’t like us. We don’t like them,” he said with a sigh, confirming what I had sensed from the brief interaction we had just had with the Elvens. I wish I could tell you that everything was fine between our two kinds. Fuck, I wish I could tell you that we hated each other and there was an effort underway for us to murder all of the pointy eared bastards. But in reality,” he paused and looked behind us down the hallway. “The empress has stuck to her agreement with Jessmei. There is violence now and then, and if an Elven is found to have caused the fight, then they are executed. Other than that there is not much conflict.”
“That sounds too good for me to believe,” I said. Despite everything that had happened, everything that I had remembered, I still did not trust the Elven people. I knew Telaxthe was honorable in her way, but I also knew she had a fierce, and if necessary, ruthless commitment to her people and I did not believe she would truly allow a peaceful coexistence to continue forever. There was too much pain between our two races. There had been too much bloodshed and death and neither the humans nor Elvens could so quickly forgive and forget such a past.
“Aye. I agree with ya, Skinny. I’ll let Jess tell you more. I try not to think too much about all that political stuff. Just makes my head hurt and the beer taste bad.” We passed a mixed group of three human and two Elven guards. All five of them greeted Greykin by name and asked him when he was going to be off duty.
“Probably when I’m dead!” he yelled back at them. “But I’ll be at the bar tonight if you kids want to buy me a round or four.”
“Sounds like some of them are your friends,” I said once we turned a few more corners of the labyrinthine castle halls.
“Yeah. They can drink. Not all of them are bad. Here we are.” We crossed one of the open foyers and entered the Royal Wing of the castle. Then we walked up a few flights of stairs and reached a hallway with guards posted every five feet. Most of the warriors were human, but there were a few Elvens dressed in the green armor of the empress. I grew worried that the Elvens might recognize me, but none gave any alert at my presence.
“The duchess is inside as well,” one of the human guards said to Greykin when we approached the decorative door that led to Jessmei’s private quarters.
“Good. Thank you.” The Old Bear nodded and the woman opened the door so that we could enter the suite.
“I brought Skinny!” Greykin called out after he closed the door behind us.
“We are back here!” I heard Nadea shout from a distant room and I felt my heart flutter. The foyer to Jessmei’s apartment was filled with gray marble, gold sculptures of various sized lions, and green plants. The surfaces of all the stonework and gold decorations were polished to a mirror-like shine. I almost had to squint my eyes to adjust to the light that poured from the open windows leading out to the distant veranda.
Jessmei’s foyer was probably six times the size of my previous quarters in the castle and I believe I spent more than a few dozen seconds standing with my mouth opened while I gawked at the splendor of the decorative room.
“Come on, Skinny.” Greykin tugged on my shoulder and I fell in step behind the big man. He wore Kannath’s axe on his hip and I felt surprised that I had not noticed the massive weapon earlier.
I hoped that the big man never had to use the weapon.
The thought entered my mind with stealth but once lodged there I could not make it leave. I truly wanted peace between these people. While I was trying to escape the empress’s capture, I told her the same, but I wondered if there was still a part of me that wanted to wash this world with their blood. Now I knew that I was sincere. From what Greykin described, the two people lived together in peace. I would have never believed such a thing was possible, but more than two years had passed and it seemed to be the norm. Perhaps Elvens and humans could peacefully coexist with neither race enslaving the other.
“You were right, Jess. Our handsome friend has returned to us.” Greykin gestured to me with his ham-sized hands and I walked from the foyer to Jessmei’s sitting room.
Both Nadea and Jessmei sat at a small oak table arranged amongst luxurious couches, decorative chairs, stands that held white canvas for painting, and dozens of musical instruments. My eyes focused on the two beautiful women and I felt the room spin and my heart catch in my throat.
Jessmei’s platinum blonde hair was longer than I expected and it fell down her back like a waterfall of brilliance. She wore an ivory dress that exposed both of her creamy smooth shoulders. A simple silver amulet, shaped like the sun, adorned her beautiful neck. She rose from her chair, her blue eyes twinkled with excitement when she saw me.
Nadea’s hair twisted down the side of her neck in an elaborate braid woven with flowers and silver chains. She wore a loose violet tunic that just hinted at the shape of her breasts and toned body. She smiled and stepped around the table to greet me first.
Her arms circled my shoulders and mine ensnared her lean waist. She said nothing as she embraced me and pressed her cheek against mine with guarded affection. She smelled of lavender and gardenias. I don’t know how long I held her, but I felt my eyes begin to water, it felt so wonderful to feel her in my arms again.
“I want a turn, Cousin.” Jessmei laughed from next to us and Nadea broke off her hug quickly. She looked into my eyes for a moment and I saw dozens of conflicting emotions wrestling within them. She looked both joyous and dismayed, her eyes had the tight sadness in them I had seen in those of Elven generals watching the front lines of their army lose the battle, proud of the valiant attempt their fellow warriors were making, but defeated and accepting of their fate, painfully aware their end was coming.
“Sorry, Jess.” Nadea’s cheeks reddened and she looked down. I wanted to ask her what was wrong, tell her I would make it better and that I would never leave her again, but then Jessmei was in my arms. The queen hummed with pleasure and nuzzled into me with the same unabashed affection she had shown me when we first became lovers. Jessmei smelled of roses and mint. I closed my eyes and stroked the silky smoothness of her hair, her skin, her warm, soft body. She felt as familiar and comforting as coming home. It had been ages since anywhere had been my home. I just wanted to hold her forever.
“I’ll leave you three alone for a bit. Give a call out into the hallway if you need me.” Greykin gave me a wink and moved into the foyer. A few seconds later I heard the door open and close. Then I was alone with the only living women that I loved.
“Sit down.” Jessmei pointed to a seat and I slid into the comfortable chair. There was a decanter of water on the table and Nadea poured me a glass.