In Treachery Forged (The Law of Swords) (38 page)

“Centuries ago, huh?” Tur’Ba mused, the wheels in his head obviously spinning. “Thank you, master! I’ve got an idea!”

“Wait! What are you...” Maelgyn called, but it was too late. The Dwarf was gone. “Oh well.”

Moments later, Euleilla came in, carrying a tray with a steaming bowl of soup. “Where was he going in such a hurry?”

Maelgyn frowned. “I’m not sure....” After thinking about it for a few minutes, he mentally shrugged, putting it out of his head.

Euleilla took a spoonful of the steaming broth and held it out to him – a few inches above where he needed it to be, and unintentionally threatening to spill all over him. “Open wide,” she hummed.

I think I’ve got more important things to worry about than hyperactive Dwarves, anyway,
Maelgyn thought, trying his best to keep his wife from spilling his dinner over him.

Euleilla grinned, helping her husband stretch. He had recovered enough to get out of bed just a few days before, and was now engaged in an exercise regimen to rework his muscles. The doctors, Wodtke included, had uniformly disagreed with him about just what kind of exercise regimen he should participate in. He wanted to do some sword practice in order to ready himself for the campaign. They wanted him to go on long walks.

After some work, Euleilla managed to talk both sides into a compromise – if he still felt up to it after engaging in a light workout along the doctors’ line of thought, she’d engage him in a little practice with the staff. Maelgyn was a little unsure of engaging
her
in sparring practice, but he finally agreed as it was the only way the doctors would allow him to do anything but take those walks. The doctors believed that he would not be able to go through with it, though Wodtke wasn’t quite as convinced.

Despite their certainty, Maelgyn still wanted to spar after they had returned from their walk. That had surprised Euleilla initially, but then he said that he needed her help before they began. Specifically, he found he couldn’t quite fully stretch himself out without having someone help push him – literally. He needed someone to add their weight to his own for some splits and squats. She rather enjoyed draping herself over him as he exercised – their relationship was progressing nicely, and she was well able to use a little flirtation in the session.

Mentally, she was preparing herself for the spar ahead. She familiarized herself with the magical signature of his hands and feet, internally rehearsed all the advice Ruznak had ever given her about combat, and considered everything she might try to surprise him. She wanted to make a good impression.

Maelgyn took an unsteady breath and nodded. “Okay, that’s enough I think. Let’s get ready.”

She ‘looked’ at him in concern, studying his magical signature. He seemed strong enough, but there was something odd....

“Are you sure? You seem to be breathing kind of... oddly.”

She could feel his gaze on her. Curiously, even though she had long ago lost her own sight, she could always sense someone else’s eyes on her. “Of course I am,” he finally said. “You’ve been hanging on me for a good fifteen minutes. You are quite attractive, you know, and I am a man... and your husband. I would be concerned if I
wasn’t
‘breathing oddly’ after that.”

She felt herself blush deeply as she realized what he was saying. It was true that she’d been trying for a reaction like that, but she hadn’t really been expecting one. It was a... pleasant surprise.

“Then I guess I was doing it right,” she answered impudently. “So, are you ready to get started?”

“I am. So, how do you want to do this? Do you know anything about staff fighting?”

Euleilla grinned. She picked up the staff she had prepared for her that morning – the one which had iron nails driven in either end so that she knew where it was. With that, she began a practice exercise her father had called a “kata”, a complicated pattern of moves that involved an impressive array of twists and spins. She knew her husband was watching her as she worked, jaw open as he found himself unable to believe exactly what he was seeing.

She grinned at him when she was done. “What, did you really think that Ruznak, one of the greatest military minds of his generation and a hero to Svieda, would allow any foster-daughter of his to grow up without knowing anything about how to fight?”

She could feel the embarrassed grin he wore as he selected his own weapon. It wasn’t one she was familiar with – in fact, it was made of wood, so she couldn’t sense it even to tell its length, but she could make a fairly accurate guess based on how far apart he kept his hands. It was an escrima stick, not quite a full-length staff like her own. It could be used almost like a sword, though, for someone not trained well with a staff... like Maelgyn.

She nodded. “Ready?”

“Begin,” he called, taking what she knew was a defensive position.

She made the first few strikes, probing to see where his strengths and weaknesses were. She was pleased when he responded with an attack of his own – a poorly executed one, resulting from him holding back too much of his strength, but an attack nonetheless. Good – he was taking her seriously, even if he was still treating her too delicately.

They started trading blows – she using his hands to find just where the attacks were coming from, he treating his staff as a sword while defending from her own. She could tell he was tiring faster than normal, however, and decided to end it sooner than she would have liked – she was having fun, but his health was her first priority.

With a quick move, she pinned his escrima stick to the floor to counter a poorly executed attack. Continuing her motion, she brought the other end of her staff up to his shoulder, throwing the entire weight of her body into a cross between a hook motion and a tackle. She landed on top of him, the butt end of her staff right under his chin. “Do you yield, husband?”

Something tapped her on the shoulder. “I think we’d better call this one a draw. I think you forgot about my
schlipf,
” Maelgyn replied wryly.

“That, husband, is an unfair advantage, and you know it,” she answered, not even acknowledging the vine tapping her shoulder. “By the way, when is your, uh, friend going to do whatever it is he plans for me?”

“My friend? Oh! Sekhar, right – I’d forgotten about that. Let me talk to him for a second.”

She waited, noting once again the odd magical fluctuations traveling back and forth along his arm while he communicated with the odd Elven plant. She noticed also that he was getting agitated about something, but finally whatever the problem was resolved itself.

Are you there Sekhar?
Maelgyn asked, immediately recognizing it to be a bit of silly question.

Of course - where else would I be?
Sekhar responded sarcastically.
I need to ask your lifemate a question. To do so I need to put a root inside her.

That sound like a big step. She should know what you wish to talk with her about, first.
Maelgyn thought about it for a minute.
If you can you tell me what you need to ask her I will relay the question, however.

It will take longer this way, but I see your point.
Maelgyn listened carefully while Sekhar explained his question. When he was done, Maelgyn looked at Euleilla.

“Sekhar has something he wishes to ask you, but he cannot speak to you directly unless he plants one of his roots inside you so I’ll relay it for him,” Maelgyn explained. “Sekhar says he’s about six years old, which is the age his kind starts dropping seeds. He wants to know if he can put a seedling in you. You will have the same benefits I do with him, and as the
schlipf
will be in you from seed to sprout, you won’t have any adverse effects from the bonding, and in fact the only discomfort you will have will be a brief weariness and a momentary sharp pain when it sprouts. Sekhar will be able to help the sprout nurture you, ensuring your lifespan will be extended as mine is, and you’ll have a
schlipf
of your own to help protect you. He adds that his son may be able to help you in other ways, as well – it might help further compensate for your... uh, eye problem.”

“I don’t need the help,” Euleilla answered defensively, but then bit back the automatic reaction. “But it would be appreciated nonetheless. The added lifespan sounds nice, too, especially since it will be spent with you. Yes, I am willing to accept Sekhar’s child.”

Euleilla heard Maelgyn’s relieved sigh. She felt the pull of the magic, and then noticed a slight pinching sensation on her arm before she started bleeding slightly. “Sorry, but I needed to make a slight cut in order for him to plant the seed. I tried to make it as painless as possible.”

“You did a good job. I didn’t even notice it was me you were using that magic on until I felt the blood,” Euleilla replied as she felt the addition of something new – one of Sekhar’s vines entering her wound. That stung a bit, but she was distracted enough that it didn’t hurt much.

Indeed,
a ghostly voice almost breathed into her mind.
He is more talented than he realizes. My apologies, but I have to make a brief connection with your nerves while I search for a good place to put my offspring.

Sekhar?
she asked mentally.
Is that you?

Yes. You surprise me – your husband wasn’t able to figure out who was talking to him for quite some time, nor how to talk back to me.

Well, he wasn’t expecting a plant to talk. There aren’t many who do in this world,
Euleilla noted.
If I hadn’t known of it being possible, I wouldn’t have realized it was you, either.

My son won’t be able to talk for some time,
Sekhar warned.
It may come as a surprise when he does.

Will he talk before or after he sprouts?
Euleilla asked, wanting to know just what she should expect.

I am not sure. Some of us get that ability before, some after. Rest assured he will talk to you, though – we always talk with our birth host, if we have one. It takes a lot of trust for one of us to be willing to plant our offspring inside a human rather than the ground,
Sekhar explained
.

I hope I live up to your expectations. I will never intentionally betray that trust,
she vowed.

You won’t,
Sekhar declared.
I can sense the truth in you. A piece of advice, though, before I leave.

Yes?
Euleilla asked.

Do not doubt Maelgyn,
the
schlipf
demanded.
I am aware that you both love each other, but do not know if you can make your lifemating work due to the pressures and expectations upon each of you. You may face difficult problems, but know that I have tasted both your minds, and I am confident that you will succeed. Stay with him always, and you will never regret it.

Thank you,
Euleilla thought back... only to discover that she was thinking to nothing, as Sekhar’s roots were no longer in her. “Tell him thank you,” she said aloud.

“He heard you,” Maelgyn replied. “But what were you thanking him for?”

“Oh, he just gave me a piece of advice,” she answered with a mysterious smile, not really wanting to explain. “A piece of advice I think I’ll take.”

“Ah. Mind getting up, by the way?”

Euleilla grinned, enjoying the fact that she still had him pinned on the ground. “Hmm... I dunno. I seem to have you at my mercy right now – and Sekhar seems to have deserted you in this situation.” She sensed what she now knew was a mental conversation between Maelgyn and the
schlipf
before something finally made him snort in laughter.

“Yes, it seems he believes his use in this situation isn’t called for. Okay, you’ve got me. Now, what do you want?”

She thought about it for a moment. She could continue the moment of playful teasing, but she had something serious to discuss.

“You are leaving soon on the campaign, I understand. The army is assembled and organized, the navy is prepared to break the blockade against Largo, and all we’re waiting for is the completion of the supply train and word from Mar’Tok that it’s safe for the army to cross over.”

Maelgyn nodded slowly. Euleilla could feel the smile leaving his face, and was sorry to be the cause of it. “Yes, that’s true.”

“I will not be separated from you,” Euleilla stated. “I want to join you on the journey.”

“No,” Maelgyn answered softly. “Please, no. It’s not your place—”

“Yes, it is,” she answered. “You could be gone for years, and I will not be left in this castle for years without my husband. My
place
is by your side – always. It is one of the conditions of our marriage – I will not be left behind.”

“But—” he started to object, then stopped. After a few moments, she could tell he was talking once more with Sekhar, and seemed dissatisfied by whatever answers he was getting.

“You talk of my ‘place,’” Euleilla quietly added, watching for his reaction. “Where is that? It certainly isn’t here – this castle is a fine home as long as you are with me, but it would become oppressive if I were left on my own. Here I’m not even a true Princess but a mere Princess Consort – an emblem with no power. My place isn’t back with my foster father – while I would love to stay with him again for a short visit before he dies, I don’t think I could live in that town any more. Especially not if anyone else ever learns that I was married to you – I would become as much of a public spectacle there as I am here, and I wouldn’t have the protection of these castle walls or your armed guards. I have no ‘place’ any more, except with you. So please, let me take my place and stay there.”