Hi gang! I hope you all found me, since Book twoo has it's own chapter! If you haven't read A Fairy Tale...Sorta, hie thee on your way! But hurry it won't be up long, I'm polishing it up to send to a publisher, hopefully by Christmas!
I apologize for the long wait, as I was participating in Nationl Novel Writing onth in November. The good news is that book two is about three-quarters of the way finished!! But since I am working on revising book one please be patient with me on releases!
New email, same whacked out author! Feel free to use either dragonwriter email, they all arive in the same place!
Thank you! And enjoy!
Chapter One - Trouble Starts
I can't remember a time when I didn't look forward to the return of spring, to the weather warming up and the end of my body's aches. Spring also meant the beginnings of some variety in our diet and fresh vegetables, fruits and meat arrived in the marketplace or on the peddler's wagons. With the spring births among livestock, milk and fresh eggs returned to pantries. As she did every year, Mellys made sure to save some of the better gooseberries just for me. I wondered this year if she'd also save some for Teru, who had become so enraptured with her that he came up to the castle nearly as often as Tamas.
Our quarterstaff exercises started up even before Tamas returned. At first, Bitte and I practiced at the garrison smithy where the ground was level and free of snow, though quite muddy early on, and then later in the courtyard of Tamas' house. It felt good to work my muscles again after being so inactive all winter. At first, my hands protested their ill treatment but slowly they came around to the notion that I was not actively trying to kill them. In addition, it wasn't long before I found myself becoming more dexterous in my ordinary every day life and much less likely to drop things. I still couldn't tie my laces or handle things that required using more than just my index finger and thumb, but I noticed that buttoning my doublet had gotten much easier and most days I didn't need my boot hooks to pull on my boots, I could grasp the loops on the sides well enough.
Chohee's newborn daughter Elly made it through the winter with only one scare. Molly hardly slept for four days as she walked the floor with the baby to calm her crying or held her under a blanket with a steaming kettle to break up the congestion in her head. Chohee maintained his imperturbability on the surface, but I could tell by watching his eyes and his hands how worried he was over the baby. Terrified is the only word I know to describe my feelings and every time I'd go to the garrison smithy, even after she regained her health, I'd stop in and visit her. I was amazed at what a pretty baby she was and at how fast she grew, perhaps she felt she needed to catch up to her older sister as quick as possible. Sarah, her sister, took after their mother being blond and fair but Elly was wholly her father's girl with dark hair and brown eyes. Chohee's pride in both of his daughters was evident in everything he did and the time he spent with them in the evenings. Both girls, as well as Chohee's sister, Marin fell rapturously in love with Tamas and once Elly started to crawl, she would follow him until he picked her up. Most of the time that he was at Master Madoc's, if not actually in the smithy, he would be covered with small girls. It amused me to no end to see him walking around with Marin on his shoulders and Sarah and Elly in his arms. It also saddened me a little, because I thought Tamas would make a wonderful father.
Spring sadly, also, brought Father back from the Continent, his diplomatic work completed. It wasn't Father I minded so much returning but rather his manservant Raulf, who had a horrible mean streak and a tendency to pop up out of seemingly nowhere and grab whomever he took a fancy. He'd never done anything worse than pinch, twist or grip my arm tightly, but I still made an effort to travel in crowded corridors and stay away from dark corners. Raulf had a reputation among the serving girls for groping and violence, often answering a rejection with a punch in the face or stomach. All the children and serving girls knew to give him a wide berth. Bitte loathed the man at first sight and spat out something in Gypsy that I didn't need translated to know wasn't at all complimentary.
"Someone will gut him one day," he predicted direly.
"Bitte!" I said sharply, looking around to see if anyone heard him. "Be careful what you say, the walls, they have ears."
Bitte nodded glowering and I sighed. I was sure he was right; I just didn't want blame to fall on him when someone finally did give Raulf what he deserved, especially given Bitte's dark foreign complexion, a complexion generally associated with thieves and unholy peoples. Since the castle folk were in the regular habit of considering me deaf to their whispers, I had heard several whispers about Bitte's parentage and gossip about whether or not he was an unholy spy. Whispers I did my utmost to protect Bitte from hearing, though I suspected he had his ways of acquiring information as well. The serving girls were already casting admiring looks in his direction, even though he was barely fourteen.
After a lot of careful thought and weighing the consequences, I made the decision that by Mid-summer I would leave the castle for Tamas' permanently. I wasn't certain how Father or Mother would take my decision but I felt it was time for me to establish myself as an adult and not just an extension of my mother. I had become tired of hiding my relationship, at first, it had been an adventure to slip out of the castle and spend my days at the forge in town. But now, I wanted to spend my days, my nights and my mornings there. I wanted to go to bed with Tamas and to wake up with him as well. The yearning to be near him all the time was getting stronger and stronger... and more and more painful. I was tired of feeling like the helpless heroine in a courtly love poem, always pining for her love, but never able to go to him.
However before I could take hold of my destiny, fate decided to stick her fingers into the pot and one morning, in early May, before we could slip out of the castle for town, Bitte answered a knock at the door to find Raulf standing there. I heard Bitte snarl softly before turning to me. Raulf tried to push the door open but to no avail, Bitte hadn't been fighting with a quarterstaff on and off for a year now with nothing to show for it and consequently Raulf was unable to push the door open. I took the three or so steps to the door and stopped just outside of his arm's reach. He glared at me through the door, perhaps angry that I was no longer the frightened child of previous years.
"Can I help you?" I asked politely but warily.
"Hardly," he growled, his face red with frustration from being thwarted on gaining entrance to my room. "But Milord, your Father would have a word with you." After a slight pause he snarled, "Now, and without your half-breed mongrel."
I shrugged nonchalantly, my heart pounding so hard I half-expected Tamas to appear on the run wondering why I was so upset. Pressing the toe of my left boot against the door, I pushed it shut fractionally. A small whisper in the back of my head voiced the concern that taunting Raulf was far from a safe course of action, but the part of me reveling in my new found confidence couldn't resist.
"Tell Father, I'll be along in a few moments. I need to clean up first." I said far more calmly than I felt. Raulf snarled again and tried to push the door open. "And I shall be bringing Bitte along with me as befits my station," I added feeling terrified to step into Raulf's domain without Bitte and his quick wits and even quicker knives.
Raulf growled out a particularly foul swear word and turned on his heels. I could hear him stomping up the hallway and I said a short prayer that he wouldn't encounter any maids or other people weaker than him before he returned to Father's quarters. Bitte shut the door and I leaned on it willing my heartbeat to return to normal. I blew out a breath and rubbed my eyes with the back of my hand.
"Do you think that wise, Nicco?" Bitte said his voice full of concern. "Taunting that-" He snarled out a Gypsy word. "Doesn't seem like a good idea to me."
"No," I said with a shake of my head. "It probably wasn't the best idea I've ever had, but damn, it felt good!"
I grinned at Bitte, who snickered and nodded understandingly. Sighing over the delay in my getting into town, I walked to my clothes chest and opened it. Pulling out the light blue doublet and hose Tamas gave me, I gestured to Bitte to help me change, partly because my hands were shaking so bad I wasn't certain I`d be able to do my buttons. Once I finished dressing, I told him to change into the fancy clothes Mother had given him on New Year's Day.
"At the very least, let's not look like poor relations, begging at the gate," I said scowling out the window.
Bitte nodded and opened the lid to his clothes chest. The Old Archivist had given the small yet intricately carved chest to him when he first came to live in the castle. I secretly coveted it and made many a Sunday penance over it. The Archivist told us it had come from the Eastern part of the area around the Inland Sea from the Holy City. He'd purchased it in the market, when he'd gone on a pilgrimage there as a young man. Now that he was old, he wanted it to go to someone who would take good care of it. Bitte hugged the old man gratefully, sniffling back tears.
All dressed up and cleaned up and any visible ink stains removed, we were ready to brave the lion's den that was Father's sitting room. Bitte opened the door cautiously and stuck his head out into the hall. I half expected a sword to swing down and lop his head off, but of course that was nonsense. That kind of thing only happened in stories nursemaids used to keep their charges in bed at night. Still I did have a tense moment as he looked up and done the hall before stepping out and gesturing to me to follow. Neither of us would've put it past Raulf to tiptoe back and be lying in wait for us to step out of the room.
Briskly we walked down the hall to the front stairs; I would never take the back stairs if there were even the smallest remote chance that Raulf could be lurking in the area. Climbing the stairs, we passed several of Lehi's fellows and some of the off-duty knights assigned to protecting the castle. Most of them stared at me frankly, they knew who I was but not why I would be in this part of the castle. I held my head up proudly refusing to give an inch. I had just as much right to be there as they did, perhaps more since the Arm's Master was my father. I paused outside Father's sitting room door and took a deep breath, glancing at Bitte, I saw him bite his lip. Gently I tapped his chin and shook my head. Never let these people see your fear, my eyes said to him. He nodded and straightened his shoulders.
Raulf opened the door, almost before my hand touched it and I shivered at the thought of him lurking behind it waiting for me to arrive. He looked me up and down with a leer. Suddenly, I felt very dirty as if I had thrown off all my clothes and invited all takers. I clenched a fist behind my back and forced my face to stay noncommittally bland. Raulf stepped back and gestured us in. He didn't attempt to stop Bitte from entering but I was certain his hand caressing my thigh was not accident. I gave him my best imperious glare and had the satisfaction of seeing his sneer falter. However, he recovered fast and sauntered off to the inner chamber to tell Father I was there.
I gazed around the room as I waited, noting that the old saddle from a year ago was gone as were the tapestries. New tapestries hung on the walls, their colors bright in the Spartan room and I wondered if that was Mother's influence, as I couldn't see Father caring one whit how his tapestries looked. The chairs near the fireplace and the stacks of charts on the table looked untouched, though I suspected the charts weren't the same ones as had been there the last time I visited the room. I glanced at Bitte whatever he was thinking he kept hidden, showing nothing on his face.
The door to the inner room opened and Father entered followed by Raulf. Raulf sneered at me as he crossed the room and exited out the door to the hallway. I wasn't certain if I was pleased or worried about him leaving, I just preferred him not to be in the same room as me. Father looked, as usual, as if he'd come straight from the practice field and had only left his sword just outside the door. His hair looked uncombed and his cotton shirt was untied; I wondered why on Tamas that looked sexy but Father only looked slovenly. His heavy leather breeches were dusty and worn and I contemplated whether his hose underneath had holes in them. It took all of my control to keep from laughing at that thought and suddenly it occurred to me that, much to my surprise, I was no longer afraid of him. I was certain I had Tamas to thank for that. Even his sharp hawk-like eyes had no effect on me, and I was still pondering that thought when he spoke.
"Nicco, I'm sure you realize that now that you are twenty, you need to face up to the obligations of your class and station in life," he said pompously.
"Excuse me, sir?" I said, puzzlement coloring my voice.
"Well, dammit boy, no one thought you'd live this long," Father blustered. "You were such a sickly baby, always catching some damn thing or another."
Father looked confused as if trying to work out how a child of his loins could be so troublesome, especially when his two eldest sons were such fine specimens. I had long ago reconciled myself to being a disappointment to him. Oddly, though, it didn't chafe at me anymore, perhaps because I knew people who loved me for who I was and didn't care about what I couldn't do. Father shrugged as if brushing the thought away and walked to the table. He sorted through a few papers before irritably pushing the stack away. I shifted nervously from one foot to the other, not certain if I had been excused or not. Bitte made eye contact with me, his face showing the same confusion and I twitched my shoulders in puzzlement.
"What I mean, Nicco, is it's time you got married," Father said abruptly.
"What?" I yelped in surprise.
Father glared sternly at me, but surprisingly didn't berate me for yelling. I blinked several times and glanced at Bitte, who was staring open-mouthed at Father. I looked back to Father and realized that he looked quite embarrassed about broaching the subject with me and I wondered if his next comment might be regarding my capacity in bed. Thinking about it, I decided Father had probably never thought much about it, as it was doubtful he'd ever expected me to live long enough to have sex, much less to be married.
"Well, it's just that, Nicco, we, err your mother and I, felt that it was wiser to not pursue the question of you getting married until such time as we were certain you would reach adulthood," Father said confirming my guesses.
"I don't want to get married, Father," I said evenly.
Father made a dismissive gesture and walked over to the fireplace. He poked the grate with his boot before turning around and leaning against the mantle. He crossed his arms and studied me, his fingers tapping on his arms.
"You're not like your brothers. Had to get them safely married before we were up to our arses in bastards. Raulf tells me you must have someone, given the changes in your behavior over the last year. You're more cheerful, less reclusive and appear well taken care of sexually, but he can't figure out who she is. So she can`t live in the castle." He shrugged. "Well if she's a peasant we can buy her off and send her to another village to marry someone to support any brats she may have."
Beside me, Bitte sucked in his breath with an audible hiss. Father's casual brushing aside of any by-blow I might have hit far too close to home for him. I thought of the old Gypsy woman's sad eyes as she remembered her dead granddaughter and grasped his shoulder shaking him slightly. He looked up at me, fire flashing in his black eyes. Almost imperceptibly, I shook my head at him. Now was far from the time or place to address such social injustices and he knew it. Bitte clenched his teeth and hands in frustration and anger. Father went on speaking as if nothing had happened and I suppose that to him the actions of a servant, so long as they weren't disruptive, didn't warrant his attention.
"There are a number of pleasant heiresses to whom a liaison would be beneficial," Father mused. "I should think we can negotiate a decent deal with one of-"
"Father I said I don't wish to marry!"
Father looked up surprised. After a moment his eyes narrowed and he took on a mean look. His hawk-like gaze fixed on me like a predator eying its next meal and I willed my feet not to move backwards. My heart pounded insanely loud in my ears and I prayed that it wouldn't bring Tamas on the run.
"I am not concerned with your wishes," he said shortly. "I'm concerned with the betterment of the family fortunes and reputation. Therefore you will be married."
"No!" I said a lot more self-assured than I felt at the moment.
"Nicco, I have been more than indulgent with you all these years. You will not disobey me now!"
"No Father, I don't wish to marry someone I don`t love. And I won't!"
I felt my throat tightening and panic rising in me. How could I marry someone when I loved Tamas? I'd never really had the desire to make love to a woman even before I'd met him and even less of a desire now. It was Tamas, I wanted to be with, not a giggling empty-headed girl or some elderly heiress who looked like old lace and possibly smelled like it too. I shook my head in frustration.
"Father," I said slowly trying to be reasonable, "I can't marry because I already have someone I'm in love with. Someone I want to be with."
"Pfft," Father made his dismissing gesture again. "We can take care of that, you can even still visit her from time to time. I'm sure your wife would understand that a healthy young man has certain, ahem, appetites."
"Father, I could never do that to anyone. How horrible. Does faithfulness mean so little to you?" I cried.
Father looked annoyed. He walked with a stiff jerky gait to the bench and sorted through his papers again. Finally, he turned around holding a rolled piece of paper in his hand. Unrolling it, he read off a list of aristocratic women who had three things in common--they were all quite rich, quite elderly and widows in charge of their own money. Father looked up.
"Well Nicco, pick which one is most favorable to you," he said rolling the paper up and tapping his thigh with it.
"None of them. I already have someone I love," I answered.
"God's teeth, Nicco, stop being ridiculous! It's only marriage, I'm not asking you to shave your head and take holy orders!" Father paused and sighed. "All right, I'll ask Lehi about finding an heiress closer to your age if you prefer."
"Father, I refuse to marry. I do not plan ever to marry any of those women or any other woman Lehi finds. I have a lover and I plan to stay with that person."
"Nicco, I will not have you acting so disobedient. You will do as I say!"
"I won't!" I shouted back. "Father, I refuse! I am not going to marry some wealthy old woman, just so you and Lehi can get your hands in her purse!"
The words had barely left my mouth before Father's palm connected with my cheek. The slap cracked through the air like thunder. The force of the blow snapped my head sideways and backwards, and I feared my head was coming off my neck. My ear rang, my heart pounded and I tasted blood. I staggered, struggling to stay on my feet, refusing to give him the satisfaction of knocking down his youngest son. I would have fallen if Bitte hadn't jumped forward and caught me. He growled out a Gypsy curse, his eyes snapping in anger. Father barely noticed Bitte though, a half-breed of dubious parentage, Father would give his dogs more attention than he could spare for the boy. Father's hand shot out and grabbed my arm dragging me upwards onto tiptoes. Face to face, I could smell the ale he'd been drinking and the rank smell of unwashed male. He gave me a sharp shake that felt as if all the bones in my body had disarticulated. I bit my lip to keep from crying out.
"How dare you defy me. You have nothing, absolutely NOTHING, that isn't from me. I provide your shelter, food, and clothing. I give you money so the two of you can continue to play at having a household. You are nothing without me and will do as I say." Father's head suddenly turned and he fixed Bitte with his hawk gaze
"Or is this brat, the one you're tupping?" Father's voice was a growl.
"No of course not," I stammered, "he's just my servant boy, after all. I wouldn't tup him."
"Hmm," Father growled a second time.
He shook me again and this time I yelped in pain. Father let go of my arm and I slumped to my knees, my body shaking and my heart pounding in terror. My cheek throbbed and I was certain I'd have bruises on my arm. I prayed I could pass them off as quarterstaff blows. Tamas would kill Father if he knew how roughly Father had treated me. My hand went to my bruised cheek.
"Now get out of my sight, you whining crybaby girl. I will arrange which ever lady suits my fancy. You had your chance to choose." Father turned on his heel and strode to the inner room. He paused with his hand on the handle and turned to look at me.
"I would suggest you do whatever you need to do to prepare yourself for marriage," he said before going through the door and shutting it firmly behind him.
The door slamming shook Bitte out of his spell and he leaped towards me grabbing my arm, his eyes wide in fright. I wrapped my arm around him and pulled his shaking body close, as much for my comfort as his. Murmuring softly I stroked the boy's hair, even as scared as I was I was still the adult and he a fourteen year old boy. I struggled to my feet, pulling Bitte up with me.
"C'mon, let's get out of here before Raulf returns," I said, rubbing Bitte's eyes with a corner of my shirtsleeve pulled loose from my doublet. He sniffled and nodded.
We slipped out of the room and down the hallway to the stairs without meeting anyone. One or two people spoke to me on the stairs and I answered automatically, my mind whirling in panic. What was I going to do; Father was not going to listen to reason, especially in light of money being the main motive for this sudden urge to marry off his useless youngest son. There was no way Tamas could offer him anywhere near the income any of those dowagers on his list could offer.
Not only was I panicked, I was deeply mortified at his treating me like a girl who had defied her father. I had spent the winter determined not to be a girl to Tamas only to have my own father thrust me into that role. I knew Father would never be able to pick up Lehi or Michael and shake them, but he had swung me about like a rag doll, completely ignoring my sex and my dignity in front of Bitte. I was furious, mortified and frustrated all at the same time.
As soon as we returned to our room and Bitte was certain I'd stay there, he took off for the kitchen to get cold water and a poultice for my bruised cheek. I paced from one end of the room to the other, furious and frustrated. Father wasn't about to listen to me and while I never expected him to be pleased that I loved someone from the village, I never expected him to react with such fury. Back and forth, I paced, first livid at him for disregarding my feelings and then terrified of what he might do to Tamas if he found out who my lover was. Tamas, himself, I wasn't too worried about, but my throat tightened in fear at what he might do to Nayne or one of the boys.
Bitte returned as I tortured myself with these thoughts. He dragged me to the bed and forced me to sit down. Handing me a cloth soaked in cold well water to press to my cheek, he silently poured ingredients into a small bowl; adding some water, he stirred them together into a paste. I smelled peppermint and a few other things I couldn't name. He gestured to me and I moved the cloth. Bitte dried my cheek with his sleeve and I winced in pain.
"Did he cut your cheek inside?" He asked softly, his voice tight from his efforts to hold himself together.
I nodded and Bitte growled softly in Gypsy. He scooped up a dollop of the poultice with his index and middle fingers and rubbed the poultice on my sore cheek. I winced again and then moved my tongue between the cut and my teeth. My eyes filled with tears again in frustration and embarrassment and no small bit from the peppermint. Bitte nodded.
"The Tlacha, he'll not be pleased about this," he said softly.
I nodded; not being pleased was an understatement. Tamas would be flat out livid; I dreaded to think what he'd do to Father for actually hurting me, since he had punched Lehi in the face for just grabbing me roughly. I was going to have to stay away from the forge in town until my cheek healed. It was the only way I knew to protect Tamas.
"Bitte, run into town and tell Tamas I'm sick so I won't be there for a few days." I said urgently. "And tell him to stay away so he doesn't carry the sickness back to Kinna or the others." Bitte stepped back and scowled.
"He's not going to accept that," he said, hands on his hips, his black eyes unreadable. "Tell him you're sick and he'll come a runnin all the faster."
"I know," I sighed. "But what can I do? I have to protect him from Father."
Bitte quirked an eyebrow at me and smoothed some more poultice on my cheek. I hissed in pain as the peppermint heated my already sore cheek. Bitte wiped the excess off and daubed at my teary eyes.
"I'm thinking, Nicco, it's more like protecting your father from the Tlacha, rather then the other way round," he said thoughtfully. "He's not going to look kindly on someone bruising his mate."
I sighed, we both knew Bitte was right, but what other choice did I have? I had to keep Tamas away from the castle and away from me until my face healed. Bitte tuckered the rest of the poultice under the edge of the bed and pulling on his cloak, he slipped out the door like a shadow. Left alone again, frustration threatened to overwhelm me and I crawled under my bedclothes, burrowing deep in a childish attempt to hide from the world.
Some time later, I heard the door open and voices. Crawling out of my blankets, I caught Bitte as he leaped at me. I gathered the sobbing shaking boy into my arms and stroked his back. With my attention so firmly focused on the crying boy, I neglected to take note of the other person entering my room until he spoke.
"Fer shame, Nicco, sendin a child ta lie fer yeh," Tamas said, his arms crossed over his chest.
"Tamas!" I exclaimed, jerking my head up. Tamas' eyes focused immediately on my swollen discoloring cheek.
"Sweet heaven, I'll kill him!" Tamas growled, whirling around to the door.
Roughly, I pushed Bitte out of the way and kicking blankets off my legs, I struggled out of the bed. I caught Tamas' arm just as he was about to step out into the hall. Stubbornly pulling him backwards, I made him come back inside and close the door behind himself. My hand clenched his arm as best I could as I bent over to catch my breath. Tamas' hand cupped my chin and raised my face until I looked him in the eye.
"Tamas," I murmured.
"Tell me what happened," he said in his craft master-allows-no-disobedience voice.
I swallowed and pulled him toward the bed. He perched on the edge of the table and I sat on the bed, pulling Bitte to me. Carefully, I dried his tears and calmed him down, telling him I wasn't angry that he hadn't carried out his errand. Slowly he stopped crying.
"Nicco! Tell me what happened," Tamas said impatiently.
I took a deep breath and forcing my voice to remain calm, told him about the interview in Father's quarters. Tamas, for the most part, remained impassive while I talked but I could see the fire flickering in his eyes and under his skin. For the second time since meeting him, I was scared, this wasn't the Tamas I knew and loved, this was the Tamas that was just this side of being a non-human creature possessing the power to kill easily.
"But why are you here?" I asked. "I thought I was supposed to come to the forge today."
"How could I stay there knowing my beloved mate was injured?" He growled with a glance to the door.
"Injured!" I exclaimed. "But how, you, you-"
"I felt it," he said sharply. He jerked to his feet and stalked to the window. Leaning out, he gripped the sill so hard his knuckles went white. "I was hammering out a section of wheel rim when the side o' my face exploded in pain. Knocked me sideways, it did, but theh was nowt in tha forge at thah spot ta hit me an' even though I tasted blood theh was no cut in my mouth. And I heard yeh cry out moments later. So I figured I`d better hie myself up ta tha castle and find out whah happened."
"An when I get here, what do I find? Bitte slipping ou' ta tell me outrageous lies at yer command."
I flinched and stared at my hands, beside me Bitte whimpered. I patted his hand and smiled softly. Tamas spun around and crossed the few feet to me, wrapping me in his arms. I clung to him, surprised that as much as he frightened me at the moment, I still wanted his arms around me.
"I can't forgive an'one what hurts you, Nicco," he murmured softly into my hair.
"Tamas," I said sternly, pushing him away from me. "You mustn't go after Father. Just ignore it."
"What!" He yelled. "Ignore tha bruise on your face! Yer beautiful face! Yer mad, thah blow rattled yer brains!" He tried to stand up but both Bitte and I pulled him down until he was seated on the bed again.
"Tamas, listen to me." I said firmly. "You dont understand castle politics, this is a situation you cant possibly handle on your own."
Tamas looked stubborn, but a glance at my hand clenched on his doublet sleeve and his expression softened. He cupped my chin in his hand and raised my face to his for a kiss. Heat from the kiss flooded my cheek, soothing and numbing the ache. Reluctantly, I broke off the kiss and pulled out of his arms again. I was not about to be treated like a girl by him as well, and I was in no mood for sweet words and empty promises.
"Tamas, you mustn't go after Father. Not here, not now. This castle is his realm and the men here are more loyal to him than they are to His Lordship, and even His Lordship knows that and acts accordingly. If you attack him here, you'll be gutted in no time."
My voice tightened to a squeak and I inwardly cursed my lack of control over it. Tamas pulled me close, stroking my hair and my back. He sighed and hugged me tightly to him. I snuggled close and took a deep breath of hot metal and dragon musk, his heartbeat thundered in my ear, angry and every bit as frustrated as I had been earlier. Tamas sighed again and tipped my head up.
"Yer right, o' course," he said softly. "This time I'll stand down, but he'll no get away wi' it a second time. When I can become tha dragon..." his voice trailed off ominously.
"Thank you Tamas," I whispered relieved beyond words. "I'll think of something. I swear I'm not going to marry anyone else because it's you I love. I will show him Im not a girl he can just marry off at his whim. Its going to take him some time anyway to negotiate a marriage. Trust me, aristocratic marriages aren`t speedy affairs and take forever to formalize. I've known ones to take over a year for the parents to decide on terms, as in how much money, land and even what clothes will be due the bride as her income. Not that I'm a bride, but, do you understand what I'm saying?" I ended wryly.
"Hai, I understand, but I'll learn to change soon, then yeh won't have ta worry. Yer da will no be a problem anymore. I'll joost take whah I want."
I snickered at the image of the golden firedrake snatching me out of Father's hands. Tamas' hand tipped my head up again as he leaned down for a kiss. Heat spread through my body warming my joints before settling in my belly and groin. I moaned softly and the pressure of his kiss intensified. Under his lips and hands, my body tensed, thrumming like a well-tuned lute.
Tamas broke off the kiss reluctantly, his arm tightening around my shoulders. He stretched out his arm and clasped Bitte on the shoulder, pulling him gently towards the big smith. Bitte tensed up, afraid still of the smith's earlier temper, but Tamas smiled softly. Bitte relaxed and allowed Tamas to pull him into his lap.
"Theh, theh, I'm sorry. I dint mean ta scare ya wi' my temper," Tamas said softly. "Yeh've worked very hard, and yer Gran will be very pleased."
Bitte sniffled and rubbed his eyes; Tamas enfolded him in his arms and rocked the boy until he stopped crying. He scrubbed the boy's face with the edge of a blanket. Bitte slipped out of bed, murmuring that he'd fetch us some food and drink. The door barely had time to shut behind him before Tamas pulled me into his arms and was kissing me again. Having resigned myself long ago to going at his pace, I wrapped my arms around his neck and surrendered myself up to him. Bitte returned sometime later, but I was too distracted by the naked red head under me, doing wicked things to my body with his hands and cock, to spare a thought for the boy; he left dinner on the table and discreetly closed the door behind him.
I heard the noon bell ring in the village clock tower as Tamas handed me a mug of ale. Wrapped in a blanket and leaning against the tapestry-covered wall, I watched him move with all the grace of an aristocratically trained man. In all actuality, he moved with more grace and less wasted gestures than many a castle inhabitant. Perhaps, spending his life half a step from an open flame had taught him a certain economy of movement. We ate, drank and made love once more, Tamas' lips and hands soothing away my tension, frustration and fear. I was determined to push away Father's actions and talk of an impending marriage. I was committed to Tamas heart and soul.