Chapter 5

Christi was barely awake when she heard the knock on her door. Looking next to her at Arilee curled up in the sheets — smiling sweetly in her sleep — the Duchess couldn't help smiling as well.

Another knock jolted her out of her reverie, this one actually registering in her mind as something requiring a response. Christi stretched, yawned, and then rose to pull on a robe. She opened the door a crack, to see it was Ashtar who was knocking.

"Sorry I am being to be disturbing you at such a very much early hour, but I am having word from Cerebus and must to be speaking with you."

"Okay, Ashtar. Give me a minute to throw something on."

"You may be coming to my room if you are not wishing to be awakening young Arilee."

Christi raised an eyebrow. "And how did you know she was here, Ashtar?"

Ashtar smiled, his bright white teeth contrasting sharply with his dusky skin. "The walls and doors of the Hall are being thick, but not that thick." He punctuated the statement with a wink.

Christi chuckled, realizing that she and Ari had likely made a great deal of noise, although she could only remember the feeling, and not the screaming. "I'll be there as soon as I'm dressed."

Ashtar nodded and turned to return to his room. Christi closed the heavy oaken door, and quietly selected the first clean clothing she came across in her drawers. As soon as she finished dressing, she proceeded to the room Ashtar always used when in the Hall.

As usual, the door opened before Christi's hand could reach it to knock. It was one of his favorite enchantments, and one that never failed to amuse him. If her hand actually touched the door of his room, she knew that he wasn't there, and there was no sense in knocking.

Ashtar's room was the same as always. It was sparse, having plain furnishings that served their purpose and nothing more. He could have afforded lavish surroundings, and even if he could not have, the Duke and Duchess would have provided such if he wished. Only a few pieces of art from his land were displayed unobtrusively upon shelves containing his books and other trappings of the Art.

"You could at least let me get you a nice down-stuffed cotton blanket for your bed. It wouldn't kill you to enjoy a few comforts now and again."

Ashtar smiled. "I am being from a hot land. Coverings are being most alien to me."

Christi shook her head and chuckled. "It gets cold here in the winter, Ashtar. You might feel different when the snow blows."

"This is why I am only being visiting during the summer, Christi."

Christi shut the door. "Okay, I give up. What did Cerebus have to say?"

"He has been discovering that the goodly peoples which are being delaying his arrival in Darius are being charmed by magic. He is being requesting that I might come to his side to aid him."

"By all means, go. With all the weird magic we've been having here, he wouldn't ask you to come to him if he didn't really need you."

"I am being prepared to leave already. I was wishing to be telling you of Cerebus' message, and to be telling you that Crystania will be coming most quickly to take my place, before I was going."

Christi smiled upon hearing that news. It had been quite some time since Crystania had been to the Hall to visit, and Christi was looking forward to it. "Well, get going then. Be safe, keep an eye on Cerebus, and bring him home safe."

"I will be. Crystania will be coming at the high sun, and I am being wishing safety unto you as well."

With that, Ashtar smiled and vanished in a flash of light — a bag lying on the bed vanishing with him. Christi walked out of the room and shut the door behind her, knowing it would safely lock if anything dangerous was still inside, or remain unlocked for the servants to clean if not.

Christi walked back to her room, planning to let Ari rest a little while longer before she awakened her and told her about Crystania's impending arrival.

"I trust you bring good news," The self-appointed Governor of Darius said to the man in rough, threadbare, homespun clothing before him.

"A dark-skinned fellow with a pointy beard is in the camp, now. He showed up this morning out of nowhere."

"You're lucky, that is good news. You're dismissed. Get back to your place."

The man made some attempt to bow before leaving, but appeared to have no idea how to do so properly, because the action looked more as if he was bobbing his head while watching a rabbit hop.

As soon as the man had exited the room, another man in dark leather armor stepped forward from where he had leaned against the wall.

"The sand-eater is in our trap. Any word about the others, Cordell?" The Governor asked the approaching man.

The man hooked his thumbs in his belt when he came to a stop and answered, "There's only one other that's any real threat that they would call for — the elf mongrel. The rest are otherwise occupied."

"Have the clerics ready to move, if she shows up in the Hall. I want her out here in our snare as quickly as possible."

"They'll be ready, Garvin. It looks like the half-breed and his bunch are getting ready to head this way."

"Good. Let's give him a nice welcome," Garvin said, punctuating the statement with a loud laugh, which Cordell echoed.

"Wake up, sleepy," Christi said as she gently shook Arilee.

Ari stretched and opened her eyes, smiling up at Christi. "Good morning."

"It's almost good afternoon," Christi responded, and then laughed.

Arilee blushed. "I guess I was really tired."

Christi offered her a mischievous grin. "You had a busy day — and night."

As Arilee started to rise, she noticed that her thighs were sticky. "I think I need a bath."

Christi shivered just a bit, remembering what had caused the need for that bath. "Just wash up a bit, and we'll go a few rounds down in the courtyard, I think you're ready for a little harder training. We'll both need baths after that."

"I really am learning a lot, aren't I?" Ari mused as she stood up, stretching again, and yawning once she was on her feet.

Christi kissed her on the cheek and crossed the room to get the woman a robe. "It's about time you realized it. Yes, you're doing very well. I was right from the beginning. You have natural ability. I should probably let you look through my spell books sometime, too. If you have any aptitude toward magic, I can teach you what little I know."

Arilee was still trying to rub the sleep from her eyes. "I don't think I could do magic."

Christi handed Arilee the robe and said, "You didn't think you could fight either, so what does that tell you? While we're on the subject, Crystania will be here shortly. Ashtar left to go help Cerebus. He's running into magic out there, and needs Ashtar's help. Crystania is going to take over for Ashtar here. I'll introduce you when she gets here, but I should tell you a few things first."

Ari put on the robe and said, "Okay."

"Crystania is half-elven, and she was born of a rape."

Arilee pursed her lips and said, "That's terrible. How can people be so evil to do something like that?"

"It gets worse," Christi warned, gesturing for the blonde to follow her to the bath room. "She was raped when she was just a girl — as elves count such things — and had to watch her mother being raped again as well. They strangled her mother and thought that they had killed her too, but she survived. Since then, she can't bear to have a man touch her — can barely stand to have a man near her. Most everyone here knows that, but they may forget, and some might not know. So, try to keep anyone from making a mistake and touching her. She manages to control it most of the time, but sometimes she'll lash out with her magic instinctively, and she feels terrible about doing that."

The pair reached the bath and walked in. Arilee said, "I'll do my best to help. It's all so sad."

"She's getting a little better. She does fine with Ashtar, Darkni, and the other wizards at Darkni's college — and she's okay with Cerebus now. I think she'll overcome it eventually, with time. She has elf blood. She has plenty of years to heal."

Arilee shed her robe as she listened, and stepped into the bath to wash the sticky evidence of the previous night's passion from her.

An idea occurred to Christi as she waited for Arilee to bathe — something that was not only practical, but quite naughty as well. A crooked grin crept across her face. "I've got an idea."

"Oh?" Ari said, and turned to look at the Duchess while she continued to scrub.

"These things keep popping in on us indoors, so it would make sense for us to practice a bit here in the Hall, where we have the obstacles and close quarters we'll run into if we get attacked again," Christi explained.

"That does make a lot of sense," Ari agreed as she stood up in the bath, preparing to get out.

The mischievous glint in Christi's eyes grew brighter. "And since I, at least, keep getting caught by surprise in the all-together, maybe we should practice naked."

Ari covered her mouth and giggled. "That is going to be very distracting."

"That's good. You have to learn how to deal with distractions in a fight. I'll be more than a little distracted too," Christi said with a wink.

"I guess I don't need to get dressed then," Ari responded with a grin that had just the slightest hints of mischief within it.

"I'll go grab us a couple of swords."

"Calm down, people! I'm Duke Cerebus, and you've all been bewitched. The spell is broken, but you all need to return to your homes and stay there," Mindblind yelled at the confused farmers and villagers milling about in front of him, staring at weapons in their hands that they couldn't remember having picked up.

It took a little while longer to get through to the befuddled people, but eventually the crowd came to realize what had happened. Cerebus' men confiscated all the real weapons, ignoring the farm implements pressed into such service, and told the people that the weapons would be returned to them once the current situation was resolved.

The villagers were then sent away, save a few that had come from villages still between the Duke's men and Darius. Those men fell into line with a few others at the rear who had also not yet reached home. As before, a few requested weapons and a place in the coming battle, angry that they had been charmed and forced to fight their rightful ruler.

Mindblind's forces had swelled to twice the original size in one day, albeit with mostly untrained farmers and villagers. His captain assured him that a place could be found for the newcomers where they would be both useful, and not in too much danger should it come to a real fight.

Ashtar leaned against the thick bole of an Osage Orange tree, looking a little weary. The Duke walked over to him, looking up warily into the branches swaying in the wind as he passed under them. He'd been clonked in the head by one of the huge green fruits of the tree before. Thus, he knew they might as well be rocks, as hard as the things were. He'd disliked the trees ever since, and wasn't happy to see the trees appearing with increasing regularity as he and his men approached Darius.

"You okay, Ashtar?"

"Oh, I am being fine, Cerebus," Ashtar answered.

"Okay — you just let me know if we need to stop. I know you're used to just popping around from place to place, not following along on a fast march," Cerebus offered, glancing back up into the tree again as a gust of wind kicked up.

Ashtar smiled and said, "Think you the trees will be taking up arms against us do you?"

"I've been attacked by one before, and if it happens again, I'll cut down every damn one of these stinkin' trees in the Duchy," Mindblind grumbled.

Ashtar laughed and said, "Going we should be, for long to walk we have before Darius we reach."

Arilee shot up out of the water, whipping her drenched hair out of her face and bringing up her sword. She saw that the Duchess had lowered her weapon and did so as well.

"That was a good dodge. That stroke would have taken you out of the fight for sure, if it connected — and having the high ground is never a bad idea either. That kick was a little over-ambitious, though. You weren't properly set, and that's why I was able to get hold of your leg and dump you in the drink," Christi instructed, wiping sweat off her brow.

Arilee blew out a breath, spraying the water that was dripping down her face, and waded over toward the steps. "I thought I could surprise you."

Christi grinned and lay her sword down on a dressing table. "That's always good, but you have to be ready, just in case you don't surprise whoever you're fighting. Don't get out. Just hand me up the sword. That's enough for today."

Ari handed Christi the sword, which the Duchess carefully dried and placed with her own before sliding into the bath with Ari. "You get better every time we practice. I had to move fast a few times to avoid that blade, and I've been doing this all my life. I can fight most people in my sleep, and if you're making me think and move, you're doing well."

"You still amaze me, and I know you're not fighting as hard as you can," Ari responded as she picked up some soap and washcloths for herself and the Duchess.

"You'll get there. I guarantee you would give Cerebus a surprise if you want to spar with him when he gets home. I'd like to see that, actually. He won't be ready for it. He'll recover quick enough, but seeing him thrown off balance by a little slip of a girl will be fun to watch." Christi then dunked her head under the water.

Ari admired the water running down Christi's breasts when the Duchess pulled her hair back out of her face. Christi smiled and winked. "Cris will be here soon, so none of that. We'll see if you have any aptitude for magic when she gets here. She has always had a good sense of who might have the ability."

Arilee pouted prettily, and Christi laughed. "That was good. I just about changed my mind when you pouted just now."

The shy, slightly mischievous grin that the blonde offered the Duchess would have told her it was intentional, even if she hadn't already known that.

"We should hurry up and wash so we can be ready when Cris gets here," Christi suggested. The two then concentrated on washing away the sweat from their spar.

Arilee went to make something to eat once the pair dressed, accepting the suggestion that she make a vegetarian meal, since Crystania ate no meat. Christi was called away to deal with some business of the Duchy — a turf war between two competing bawdy houses.

Only in Fightershaven could a dozen scantily clad ladies of the evening find audience before the nobility — let alone expect anything resembling justice. The fight was over a popular tavern situated between the two houses of ill repute. Both houses sent girls there in order to drum up business, and both claimed that they should have exclusive rights to work the tavern, citing a deal with the owner.

Once a soldier sent to fetch the tavern owner returned, it finally came to light that he had told each Madame that he had no problem with them sending girls to his establishment. He had offered neither any special treatment. He simply considered it a mutually beneficial arrangement that brought customers to his tables, as well as the bawdyhouse beds.

Christi asked the women to choose sides of the tavern, but had to assign the two houses their sides when another argument broke out. She then asked the tavern owner to keep things under control. He asked for more firepots to be placed near his establishment, which was in a darkened area that was starting to attract thieves due to his growing business. Christi agreed to this as well, and said that additional city watch would be stationed near his area until the firepots were constructed.

With that settled, the Duchess took care of a few other small matters before returning upstairs, her stomach growling like a caged beast. When she reached the top of the stairs, her eyes rolled up in her head and she moaned as the smell of vegetable soup washed over her.

Ari had just finished setting the table when Christi walked in. The blonde smiled, and gestured for Christi to sit down to eat.

Christi quickly shrugged off her state regalia and moved to sit down, but a knock on the door stopped her midway. She returned to answer the door, and immediately opened it with a wide smile. "Come in, Cris. We were just about to eat."

Arilee had to suppress a gasp as the blonde woman walked in the room. Crystania's elven heritage was obvious despite the voluminous, loose fitting robes of deep crimson that she wore. Her face had a strange, alien beauty, dominated by piercing green, angular eyes. Her features were somewhat sharp, though they softened when she smiled.

"Arilee, this is Crystania. Crystania, this is Arilee. She's doing Gwen's job now," Christi said, introducing the two.

"I am very pleased to meet you, Arilee," Crystania said. Her voice was musical, and reminded Ari of a bluebird's song. Her eyes crossed slightly and her pink lips pursed as a bead of sweat formed on the end of her slight, somewhat pointed nose. She wiped the drop away with a petite hand, and Arilee noted how long the woman's fingers were. The half-elven woman then added, "I am quite unused to the heat, I'm afraid. The Isle is always kissed by cool ocean breezes."

"I'm pleased to meet you too. I've set a place for you, since we knew you were coming soon. It's vegetable soup," Ari said to the new arrival.

"Thank you. I am quite famished, and it smells delightful," Crystania responded.

Christi gestured at each of them in turn, speaking to the woman she was not pointing to, "We also call Arilee, Ari, and we call Crystania, Cris."

The three women then sat down and pulled close the bowls of soup tormenting them all with a wonderful aroma. Christi and Cris both caused Ari to blush when they gushed about how good the soup was, Christi noting that it was the best they'd ever had in the Hall. She said that the cook simply did not know how to cook without meat, or at least beef stock.

When the three finished eating, Christi said, "Ari has been sparring with me lately, and she's getting really good. I was thinking that maybe we should see if she could use magic too."

Crystania looked Arilee over, causing Ari to feel a little uncomfortable as the woman's piercing green eyes seemed to penetrate her skin and see into her soul. Crystania then said, "I sense nature's blessing upon her. I believe she might be able to learn the Art."

"Cris thinks that all women have the ability to use magic — some more than others — but she believes every woman could, if they just tried," Christi noted.

Cris rose and pulled a small book from a pocket in her robes. She opened it and sat it down in front of Arilee. "See if you can read a few words of this."

Arilee had to lean down a bit to see the tiny, flowing script in the book. "Formeen, Fira, Arseela, Day," Arilee read once she was able to focus on the words.

Christi's mouth dropped open and she asked, "Is that magic missile?"

The elfish woman nodded. "Indeed it is, and she has pronounced the words perfectly."

"I said them right?" Ari asked.

"That's a true magic spell. Almost all of the magic that I know is what they call hedge magic, little magics that arose in the country out of need, rather than study. It's much easier to learn than true Art. I could never pronounce more than a couple of words of the magic missile spell, and that made my head hurt," Christi said with obvious surprise in her voice.

"I will instruct you in the Art, if such would please you, Arilee," Cris offered.

"Was it really that good?" Arilee inquired.

Christi laughed. "You've got to stop underestimating yourself, Sweetie. Yes, that was very good. Even if you can't ever best me with a sword, you've already defeated me in magic with those few words. You should let Cris teach you."

Something occurred to Arilee then, and she asked with obvious excitement, "Will I be able to fly?"

Crystania smiled and said, "That spell is very difficult, but it is possible to use the Art to soar amongst the clouds."

"I'll try, then. I've always dreamed about flying."

Cris smiled and put her book away. "I will instruct you in the use of some cantrips this evening. I should examine the wards and become familiar with them, in case I need to restore them."

A knock sounded on the door, and Christi went to answer it. Arilee recognized the voice on the other side as Kronk's when he said, "A letter from Queen Alicia."