Fay Tale - Chapter Twenty-Six

Anand lay between the sheets of his bed, utterly exhausted. To his left Zara sighed and shifted slightly, seeking a more comfortable position. His long blonde hair had all but swallowed the pillow and the surrounding sheets on his side. Sighing himself, Anand scooted further away. How was it someone so apparently fragile and slender took up so much of the large bed?

It did not escape the king’s grasp of irony that his exhaustion was not for the reason most would presume when lying next to a naked, beautiful man.

The courtesan, at least, had obtained some enjoyment and energy out of the unending procession. Anand would rather battle invading forces in the winter than spend another moment in the presence of those so lacking in basic intelligence. A full day’s work lay undone because they were all so absorbed in their own self-important fantasies as to believe that they and they alone were worthy of Zara’s full attentions.

The royal courtesan was quite obviously free with his favors. Yet, there were those within the castle that believed Zara could be cosseted into becoming theirs alone. He had favorites, of course. But Zara would never be content with the affections and prowess of only one partner. Mainly, Anand suspected, because there existed no one creature who could manage to sate Zara’s copious desire. The courtesan pursed his chosen craft with passion and dedication. Zara did not merely pleasure. He healed. He listened. And he occasionally purged.

Before he could continue to follow that hare through the market, Anand felt arms wrap around him.

“I could hear you thinking from over there, Aarav. Rest.”

“I am hardly likely to do so in your embrace,” the king pointed out.

“Oh? And why is that.”

“You know exactly what it is I speak of.”

“But it brings me such delight to tease it out of you,” Zara purred against his neck.

“I supplied you with the energy you bargained for during our endless foray about the castle. Additionally, I allowed you to sit upon me for a full candlemark and a quarter while I attempted to make up for the work which ought to have been done earlier. Even now I allow you to sleep within my bed. The line is drawn during the time I must sleep to regain my energy, magical and otherwise.”

“Sexual congress would also restor-”

“No.”

Zara withdrew with a reluctant sigh to his side of the bed, but not before pressing one final kiss to the other man’s temple.

“Goodnight Aarav.”

The lack of response was pointed. Zara chuckled before curling up on his side of the bed and closing his eyes.

~~~

By the time Zara woke the next morning, the king had already risen, bathed, and begun the work of making up for lost time in his study. The royal courtesan was more than willing to linger in bed. He stretched slowly, luxuriously in the silk sheets then rolled into the center of the bed. His body nestled into the slight depression left by the king’s habitual resting place, and Zara inhaled deeply. Anand’s scent greeted him in a way that never failed to soothe.

A disturbing hacking sound was the only warning Zara had. He flipped his body off the side of the bed with an athleticism that defied his slender body just in time to avoid the hairball which leapt into the place he had just been laying. Zara gripped the bed and levered himself back up with one elbow, blue eyes sparking death.

“Oh good. You’re awake,” Bremen said from where he perched at the top of the headboard.

“You did not just defile me with your filth you twisted, cantankerous cat!”

“Nope,” Bremen said, licking one paw then dragging it behind his ear. “I missed.”

“I will flay the hide off your bones and hang it inside my bower!”

“Majesty asked me to wake you,” Bremen continued, apparently unconcerned with the threat. “He didn’t say how. Your lovers have started streaming in to pester him so he’s annoy-”

When the silk sheets shot up to encircle the cat, Bremen leapt onto the floor beside the bed. He flicked an insulting tail at the courtesan who promptly flicked back. The resulting bolt of electricity shot close enough to the cat to stand all his fur on end. Bremen streaked toward the study and disappeared before the next bolt could do more than raise his fur.

Zara picked himself up off the floor, waved a dismissive gesture at the filth on the bed which promptly disappeared, then stomped off to the bathing room to wash out his irritation. The cross feelings didn’t linger in the face of such luxury. He could, of course, heat his own bath with a touch of magic, but Zara found the dwarven pipe system that Anand had installed in the castle fascinating in the extreme.

While the tub filled, Zara stripped and dumped the clothing in a nearby bin. He held out one hand and a small bag dropped onto his palm. It opened to reveal its contents of tiny scented soap balls. The courtesan chose one mixed with citrus and cinnamon before dropping it into the bath. The bag disappeared and Zara swung a long leg over the side of the bath. He settled in with a blissful sigh as the water cut off.

Truly magic pales in comparison with the ingenuity of dwarven engineering, he thought happily.

Eventually though the hot water cooled and rather than reheat it with magic, Zara pulled the stopper and allowed it to disappear down the drain. He did rid his body of the excess liquid with magic, however, before stepping out of the tub.

A quick peek into Anand’s stash of scented balls proved it was low. Zara had wisely packed more as gifts though the dreadful man would insist on paying for them. He had brought others for the court as well though those scents were typically not as subtle as those that Anand’s delicate nose preferred.

A desire to tweak that nose made Zara fill the container to the brim without informing him.

When that bit of mischief was finished, Zara looked around then wrapped himself in a robe that was clearly intended for the king. Their heights were not unsuitable, but more than one courtesan could fit in the soft material. Zara had always thought that Aarav’s greatest irony was the way he was built like a warrior but so often preferred the role of merchant.

The courtesan smiled softly.

It was just one of the many reasons he loved the king.

When he’d belted the ridiculous amount of excess fabric into some semblance of order, Zara sauntered out of both the bathing room and bedroom. It was time to begin their game in earnest and haggling with the Trader King was always an exciting proposition.