The New World
Copyright© 2024 by Dark Apostle
Chapter 59
Fan Fiction Sex Story: Chapter 59 - The story follows James Smith, a man who dies and finds himself in a surreal afterlife courtroom, where his life is judged as "zero sum"—neither good nor evil, just utterly average. Dissatisfied with being consigned to eternal mediocrity, he manipulates the cosmic bureaucracy into granting him a second chance in a new world, where he is reincarnated as a child with his memories intact and perks... - edited by my lovely Steven.
Caution: This Fan Fiction Sex Story contains strong sexual content, including Ma/Fa Ma/ft Mult Coercion NonConsensual Reluctant Slavery Lesbian BiSexual Heterosexual Fan Fiction Farming High Fantasy Rags To Riches Restart Alternate History DoOver Extra Sensory Perception Body Swap Furry Magic Incest Mother Sister Politics Royalty Violence
Over the next forty-five days, James settled into a steady rhythm. Breakfast with Christine or Jan to facilitate the transition to their complete control. Then a meeting with Captain Kenneth and Sheriff Teasle. Lunch with Iona and then an afternoon at the clearing. Dinner with a variety of the city’s upper crust. But there were some notable high points.
“James, you need to introduce us to the spice traders. We are using a lot more than projected. We will need to replace all of the ones used in the tourney and for normal operation. The spices and recipes from earth are the key to The Fenrir’s success,” Christine stressed.
“You have met them when they delivered the first order of spices. But the next time they are in Castletown, I will bring them to meet you. My concern is that they will try and take advantage of you. If they know I am integral to the operation of the city, they are smart enough not to try to scam you.”
Jan continued, “We know what you paid last time. We have become adept at bartering in the marketplace and neighboring farms. It is a huge change from earth where the prices in the grocery store were fixed.”
“You and the girls have run the tavern without difficulty for months. I have been preoccupied or gone. I have complete confidence in you. That is why I am turning the tavern over to you. Have you decided how to split up the ownership?”
“Jan and I made the decision. I will keep 51% and she will have 49%. Our daughters will inherit our shares if we retire or die. To make sure there is no unhappiness, we are also starting a profit-sharing plan to spread the wealth to the others.
“That’s really smart, you need a single point of control. Otherwise, decisions take forever to be made,” James said approvingly. “As time permits, I have been writing down the recipes for your use. Spiro wants access to them so he can serve them to Lord Mallow.”
“He comes by every few weeks and orders a meal. He then offers to trade secrets,” Christine noted. “I have traded just enough not to antagonize him. I don’t trust him not to spread them throughout the upper crust. They love to one-up each other, so having our recipes would be too much temptation,” Christine confessed.
“Since the world allows women to own property and operate businesses, their options are not limited. And you have Iona’s and my backing,” James said.
“Yes, we are very lucky,” Jan added.
Gradually, Captain Kenneth and Sheriff Teasle reached an accommodation. James’s vision of the two men’s troops being able to work together in an emergency was finally, gradually approved. Once James knocked Teasle off his pedestal, the man became reasonable.
Today’s meeting was typical. Both men had a standard set of requests—more troops, more money, better supplies. James always answered the same: “Once we have finished the cross-training, I will request funding to add more troops. Our mutual goal should be the same, protect the populace with a dispersed cohort that allows for a quick response.”
“How many strong points do you envision?” Teasle asked.
“Five. The main one would be inside the city. And at each cardinal point, we will build a strong point where your men will be garrisoned.”
“That will not work. We will be dispersed and could be defeated in detail. Each garrison could be overrun before an alert could be sent or a rescue party dispatched,” Teasdale protested.
‘Gondor calls for aid! And Rohan will answer!’ James thought to himself. “I will prepare communication crystals for each garrison. The crystals will allow them to instantly communicate with Kenneth’s men in the city. A relief force could be immediately dispatched, or I can go myself.”
Teasdale thought for a moment. “That changes everything. The men would not be isolated. At worst, they would be forced to stay in their protected garrison until relief comes. If the finds can be found to build the garrions and you can provide the crystals, you have my agreement.”
“And mine. It is the perfect solution,” Kenneth agreed.
“I will write to King Destinea and request funds. Take a month and give me your estimate of the coins required. Contact a builder to design each garrison building and get a firm bid. I will include your bids and design plans in my message to the King.”
“Do you have a recommendation for a builder?” Kenneth asked.
“No. You might ask Iona. In the meantime, I will start on the crystals. It will take me a month to create them.”
“We will work on the bids while you are creating the crystals,” Teasdale promised.
His lunches with Iona were always a pleasure. They varied the location—the palace, The Fenrir, the clearing, even other restaurants in the city. The more time they spent together, the more in love with her he felt.
“I love to watch you trying new dishes,” James admitted.
“Can you blame me? Before I met you, the food prepared by Spiro was good, but not adventurous. Now, every new meal you offer is a surprise,” Iona gushed.
“Love, don’t expect every meal to be a surprise. But they will always be tasty and nourishing.”
“I am not as demanding as Fel.”
“True, but he has the maturity of a toddler—I want what I want when I want it! Describes him perfectly.”
“I like that, a 500-year-old toddler.”
“Just don’t tell him,” James started to laugh. “He has poor impulse control, though to be fair, he’s never needed it.”
They became a common sight, walking hand in hand through the market. They received smiles, waves, and occasional treats. To James, it seemed that the city’s subjects genuinely were happy for them. ‘This is new to me. I was obvious to how people thought of me.’
During one meal, James raised a serious subject. “How does your father make his money?”
Iona looked at him. “I’ve grown up in this so it never occurred to me that you did not know. The Kingdom is divided into regions and the regions are further divided into provinces. My father controls a province. This gives him the right to charge tolls on road travelers. If we were on a river, he could also charge tolls on the river traffic.
He owns the grain mills and receives part of each grinding, usually a sixteenth. The bordering villages and farms pay taxes, either in coin or produce. All of the merchants pay a portion of their earnings to him.”
“Sheriff Teasdale told me that they patrol to protect the surrounding lands.”
“That is true. And they also collect the taxes and rents that sustain the castle and pay their salaries.” Iona noted.
“Do you have difficulty getting paid?”
“No, there is a rhythm of life and everyone knows what is required. But there is always the unstated fist from Captain Kenneth and Sheriff Teasdale to keep people focused.”
“Does Gerrick pay?”
“Yes, but only a small amount as they are farther away and do not receive as many services as the closer in farms. They would be able to sell more if they were closer, and thus afford to pay more taxes,” Iona noted. “But my father does not believe in draining the peasants. He only takes what is needed to run the province.”
“Thank you for explaining this to me. I knew The Fenrir paid rent, as did the original tavern I bought.”
“All of the city is an outgrowth of the castle. During construction, my grandfather had a temporary town built to house the workers. They needed to be fed and sheltered. Once the castle was finished, the temporary structures were torn down, and people flocked to the safety provided by the castle. Castletown was built one house or shop at a time. In time, the outer wall was built to provide more security.”
“So that is why there are two walls. I never knew,” James mused.
“We are lucky in another way. King Destinea does not travel. In my grandfather’s day, the king would come to stay for a few days to be seen. While he is here, the town lord is responsible for all costs. The King’s party could be up to five hundred people. The costs were staggering. Fortunately, when the King was scheduled to visit here, the castle was not ready and the visit was postponed. To date, it has never happened.”
“Uh, now that you have a battlemage here, there is more of a reason for the King to visit.”
“Bite your tongue. It would cost thousands of golds to pay for the visit.”
I will ask Aaron to keep an ear open to see if a trip is planned. We could always go to the Capital before his trip. That might remove the need for the trip.”
“My mother told me that in the past, the King was demanding of women visiting the city.”
“What do you mean, demanding?” James asked.
“When he was younger, he required the women to have sex with him. Not that he is older, Mother tells me that the rumors have stopped.”
“You do not need to worry. I will not share you,” James said.
After a meal, James walked Iona to their wing of the castle. “I am glad that your father approved of our moving here. I was initially against living in the palace, but your arguments were sound.”
“It makes my move simpler,” Iona laughed, “look, Bartholomew is here.”
“I am glad you are here, Lady Iona. I can show you the new devices,” Bartholomew said.
“Wonderful. Go ahead.”
“The first is the changes in the bathroom. This rod is a towel warmer. Hang the towel on it, and it will be comfortably warm for your use when you get out of the shower. The shower system is now streamlined. This controls the water temperature. Turn it to the left for hot and to the right for cold. Feel free to adjust it as you want until you have the temperature you want. The water will be cast into the river by the magic in the drain.”
“Amazing. How long will the water stay hot?” Iona asked.
“As long as you want. If the magic runs low, James can recharge it. But for a normal shower, the magic will replenish itself overnight.”
“Over here is a rocker. If you press it up, then the lights will come on. Each room has its own rocker and lights,” Bartholomew said.
Iona spent the next few minutes playing with the rocker, turning the lights on and off. What was old hat to James was new and magical to her.
“The last thing is this box. It is a cold box that keeps things cold. I had never considered it until James suggested it to me. Now the gentry in town is demanding them, and I am hard pressed to keep up with the requests.”
Iona bent down and opened the door. Sticking her hand in the cabinet, she looked up in astonishment. “This is wonderful. We would not need to go to the kitchen for a snack or call a servant.”
After a few more minutes, Bartholomew bade the couple goodbye. James walked him out, Thank you. These are perfect. Let me know how much it was, and I will pay you.”
“I am tempted not to charge you. I was serious about the cold boxes flying off the shelves. I am making more from them than I made all last year from everything. Now I can tell people that the lights and the shower are installed in the castle. They will be in such demand that I may have to take an apprentice.”
“Do what you think is best. I am good either way. Thank you again, my friend,” James said.
Returning to the room, he saw Iona playing with the new gadgets. ‘This is a great gift got her.’ “I need to go to the clearing for practice. Would you like to walk out with me?”
“Of course. Then I am going to get my mother and show her this. Father will have an order with Bartholomew before the day is out. He will probably pull rank and jump ahead of the other orders.”
“Yes, it is good to be the lord,” James said.
As they walked out of the room, James suddenly stopped.
Iona stopped and frowned.
“James?”
The corridor quickly turned dark, with a stygian gloom absorbing the bright sunlight and leaving a dull gray miasma. The temperature dropped to the point where they could see their breath. James instinctively raised his shields to protect them both. His battlemage senses screamed danger, yet there was no immediate surge of hostile magic—only an overwhelming, ancient presence that pressed against his awareness like an unseen hand.
An impossible figure stood before them, materializing as if stepping out from the very shadows between the ancient tapestries and polished marble floors. As the man’s shape slowly materialized in the corridor, he was holding a scythe in his bony left hand. Turning to study the pair, she gasped; his face was pale, pearly white, like bone.
James dropped his shield and started to clap. “Very impressive! But did you need to scare my fiancé? Lady Iona, meet Azrael, the god of Death.”
Trembling, she asked, “Is he here for me?”
Azrael regarded them silently for a long moment, its hollow gaze shifting between James and Iona with clinical detachment. The air grew colder still, carrying a faint scent of frost and turned earth. James could feel Iona trembling beside him, yet she held her ground with the same quiet strength she showed when managing the city’s affairs. He placed a reassuring hand over hers, silently waiting for Azrael to speak.
“Yes, Lady Iona, I am here for you.”
Then Azrael smiled.
If it could be called that...
“You are looking for a ring.”
“Yes, how did you know?” she asked.
“I am a god. I have access to more knowledge than you could imagine.
He walked—well, not exactly, more like glided—and then, raising a finger, drew a circle, tapped it, and then it split into two.
Floating in the air were white, white wedding rings, not gold. James held out his hand.