Chapter 40

Gretchen woke me up with a kiss in the morning, her head on my shoulder, her brown hair flowing down my chest to provide a minty scent to my nose.

"Thank you for sharing yourself with me," she said emotionally stroking my arm.

"You're an attractive woman with a gentle spirit. You've had a hard life in slavery and I cannot begin to understand the things you experienced and are coping with still. I am fortunate to enjoy my new connection with you," I replied.

She liked what I said because her whole face lit up in a wonderful smile. "I am looking forward to many more healing treatments. Now I want to enjoy the taste of you that all the women rave about," Gretchen said in a sultry voice. Then she reached out and closed her mouth around my morning hardness.

Her eyes full of mischief, Gretchen focused on me as she bobbed her head up and down my sensitive shaft. She watched my reaction as the suction of her mouth sent waves of pleasure during each pass of her mouth. I enjoyed the tender licking of my sensitive head as much as the quick bobbing of her head along my thickness. There was still a grin on her face as she watched my growing tension, my moan of pleasure sending her into a frenzy of activity, adding the stroking of her hand to my shaft as her mouth sucked me. It only took a few moments of looking into her eyes as her heightened activities overwhelmed my mind's erotic zone, and I released the pent-up liquid that filled her mouth. She milked me with her hands on my jewels, consuming my healing seed.

"I am pleased I can give my man pleasure. It is impossible to express the difference in feelings between serving you and my slave owner. The difference between love and acceptance―and being property. I feel safe with you," she said timidly.

A couple of happy tears leaked out of her eyes as she finished loving me, sending my emotions to a place that wanted to protect her. "I understand the protector role so much better now, " I thought. Her carefree enjoyment of pleasing me was humbling and lifted my spirit.

I took a moment to feel smug as I surveyed the bedroom. This was the only unoccupied bedroom left in the tower. It was intended to be used when the village was under some long-term threat. A ladder led up to the turret where a guard walks on the roof when I am not in Juniper Hills. The room was filled with beds stacked against the wall for use in a crisis or for important guests staying in the tower. The possibility of making Gretchen pregnant rolled through my mind. I put on my pants facing away from her, hoping she didn't see my body betraying my growing excitement. After we'd dressed, I stopped by the master bedroom, but everyone was already up and out, so we went downstairs.

As usual, I was feeling well rested and full of energy, which put me in a great frame of mind. I noticed the main floor of the tower was full of my tower ladies and their babies. The women sat around the dinner table drinking juniper tea and eating apple pies. They immediately smiled when they saw us, and Laudus offered us some tea and pie. We were really hungry so our pieces of apple pie disappeared before Gretchen could answer their first set of questions.

Swarta asked, "How did the healing sessions go, Gretchen?"

My newest lover looked each of the women in the eye before saying, "I couldn't be in better hands."

After the giggles stopped, Palus said, "I am sure you will need more treatments my dear."

This sort of verbal fun went on all through breakfast. I found it amusing that all the women talked happily with Gretchen about their favorite highly personal moments in our times of passion. They didn't keep many personal secrets about me from each other.

I felt at peace with my lovers and my role in their lives. The women were excited to both help a woman needing healing and the discovery of a suitable woman to add to the harem. The ladies talked a lot about children and the need for more living quarters. I had thought about increasing the woman's barracks where the harem lived but that would be disruptive, so I decided an additional tower should be built closer to the cliff and Wizard's Pool. There was plenty of space along the wall so another tower could fit with no trouble. For now, I wanted the new tower twice as wide and three stories high. The only problem was that it would be a hassle to move timber to the location. I wasn't worried about the extra need for more mule teams. We would just order another dozen mules from Derwen to make the process of moving timber up from the north-eastern forest hills easier.

I spent some time holding the babies and talking with my wives; then I went to work. I found Coven and explained, "We needed a new tower built across from mine, against the cliff wall. The structure is for the concubines and their families so it needs to be three levels and twice the width of mine."

He grinned, "That should work for your existing collection of women. The rainy season is almost over and we haven't started any new projects so I will gather the foremen and explain what you want."

With that he gripped my forearm, as friends do, then walked off. We were settled in as a community and a leadership structure had formed with foremen taking construction project responsibilities away from Coven.

Tharin had seen me talking to Coven outside the tavern and walked over. With the western wall project completed, I knew he needed another challenge to keep him busy, and since Crum was busy training the village watch, there weren't really any security needs that Tharin had to work on. There were also currently no real threats, so as my primary bodyguard was bored.

"Tharin, I have told Coven that we need to organize the building of a larger residential tower for my family. That, in turn, makes me believe it's time we started thinking longer term, and building more defensive points around the village. I want you to lead that project."

Tharin went from a bored look to being spellbound. A large smile filled his face as he asked, "What do you have in mind?"

We sat and talked the rest of the morning away in the tavern, and I drew some designs of small, guard-posts with sandbags protecting timbered walls. Each trail into the village would have more defensive points that men could use in an emergency to control the paths. They would be simple structures but stout enough to make it difficult for an enemy to bypass. I expected commerce with other towns to increase and that would attract strangers and thieves. The shipbuilders were perfect guests but it was only natural for more unsavory characters to become attracted to our growing wealth. I limited the size of Tharin's work teams so he didn't interfere with the new tower or the construction of our next ship.

My dreams told me the next three days would bring clear weather, so I gathered the shipbuilders and organized them to get started on the next dragon ship. A number of the immigrants we picked up over the rainy season needed a job so I added them to lumber cutting crews for the new ship. Having seen and built the first dragon ship, the master builders didn't need me to supervise them any more, so I put three shipbuilders in charge of the project. We had shipped in a lot of prime wood over the rainy season so there wasn't any reason to delay the project.

I spent the rest of the day sailing along the coast with different crews on our ship as we needed a number of sailors trained with the new kind of hull. After working my third crew of the day, we docked the ship and went home for dinner. My saltwater-stained clothes clung to me as I walked up the dune path. I held the experience of sailing in my broad smile and the crews had all done well as I ran them through drills that tacked the ship. One or two slip-ups had us miss a few turns which lost the wind but all things considered, I was proud of the men and women.

With sunset approaching, I stepped into my tower and greeted Swarta and Palus with a wet hug. I wedged my body between them and received a loving kiss from both before we settled down to discuss each other's day and the news of the village. I talked about projects like the new tower and they talked about new people and our babies. We enjoyed holding my children and the expectant mothers enjoyed all the talk about babies and the discussion shifted to baby names. Somewhere in that discussion, I slipped away and took a nap.

After I awoke, my family and I took a stroll with Laudus's sisters in the village. We didn't go far but we did walk the paths around the top of the hill. A familiar routine developed and became expected by the village residents, so we took time to speak with each villager who stopped us.

Once we'd had dinner, all the ladies expressed their exceeding exhaustion, so we headed off to bed. While snuggled up under the covers, I told them of my intent to go see Derwen in the morning. Swarta fell asleep with her head on my shoulder and Palus curled up against my back, so I was sandwiched for the night. Celine had also joined our bed, to act as a night nurse to help my ladies with the babies. For the first time the children slept through the night, pleasing the entire bedroom in the morning.

My day started like they all do, refreshed and full of strength. Last night's dreams showed the now standard three-day weather patterns and predictions. No ships were in position to intercept my course to Convey so I knew the trip would be uneventful. During the night I had another old memory float to the top of my consciousness as I awoke in the darkness with a need to relieve the bottle of wine in my bladder. A flash of a discussion with my mother hit me. No image was attached to the memory, just her voice saying, "People depend on their leader to take whatever actions are necessary to underpin the general welfare." I brooded in silence over the lack of an image. Once again I had another memory with no context, but certainly my subconscious attached meaning to my situation.

Swarta and Palus loved not losing sleep to the twins' night time antics, but they both seemed to glow when a baby was in their arms. We gathered by the tower's fireplace and our empty plates, which had once contained flat-bread and cheese, were taken away by a widow who had brought our food from the kitchen. My ladies, now finished with the morning meal, tended to a couple of fussy children, rocking them gently and quietly humming a quiet lullaby.

Laudus helped out by holding my other sleeping daughter on her chest in one of the few high-back chairs we owned. My family was uncommonly silent today as everyone knew I was very close to leaving on the morning tide.

There really wasn't any way for me to comfort them before my departure, other than the private moments such as I shared with the tower women last night. After a few stern looks from Palus and Swarta, I'd even taken Celine for a walk in the forest. Celine's demands during our walk were surprisingly simple. She just wanted to hold hands as we walked. None of the normal banter of becoming my woman or talk about her birthday present dropped out of her mouth during the pleasant morning stroll. My sense was a new maturity within the young woman, most likely with the secret aim to earn my trust.

I found that a sense of nervousness had entered my psyche and the palms of my hands had become sweaty. Fortunately, the walk through the calm woods ended back at our tower by the time the discomfort hit me. She made no demands on me other than stepping in front of me as I went to open the tower door. My avenue of escape had been so close. Celine took hold of my other sweaty hand and stretched our arms out. This naturally pushed her chest to mine, and she kissed me deeply. For once I didn't have the heart to fight her advances letting the pleasure of our soft kisses make a promise for more on her birthday. She felt my growing promise as her waist connect with mine and I felt no embarrassment as she ground her mound into my hardening member. Celine stepped back certainly fighting for control of her emotions, her strong-willed nature showing with her restraint.

"Thank you, Lord Solon. I will take your interest as a future promise of commitment," Celine whispered.

My mind snapped out an unexpected answer, "You will be calling me Von on your birthday."

I could tell she felt buoyant from my answer. Celine seemed to float through the tower door after I opened it. Her cheerful nature beamed out, and Hazel - sensing some event - rushed to Celine and they went upstairs together.

After the women finished their morning tea I went to each woman and hugged her. I started with Celine and offered only a chaste kiss but a lover's hug during which I caressed her bottom briefly. Celine grinned at me, satisfied at the increase in affection. Celine quickly passed me to her mother for a more passionate departure kiss. One by one each woman's self-control broke down and the tower became a scene of tears and whimpers. Each hug of reassurance was followed by a promise of my return and a kiss, which they savored for as long as I would let them. They agreed to stay in the tower and make the door our point of separation. With a last wave of my hand I left my lovers and strode towards the ship, the painted eyes on the Dragon reminding me of my birthday promise to Celine. She had put her heart into painting the eyes for my ship, so I had to get back to Juniper Hills by her birthday.

I bounced comfortably on Dragon as she rode the calm waves away from land. The green sea was alive with sea gulls diving for fish and our fishing fleet dotting the horizon. The exhilarating feeling of freedom washed over me as we picked up speed, with the strong trade wind propelling our ship onwards. The morning mist had evaporated with the warmth of the rising sun, the dogs and villagers that saw us off became small specks and soon we were alone on the sea.

I controlled the helm with the oversized ash wheel, our course not requiring many corrections thus far. The sun beat down with its full radiance, so I gave up squinting and put on my reflective goggles. (A clip of a memory of me swimming with goggles hit me. The fleeting memory added to the mystery of my former life.) The goggles I put on were from the wobblers pack, intended to dampen the strobe flashes of the defensive balls. Thus far I had little need for my few gadgets, which was fortunate since most of my off world supplies had been consumables.

We carried thirteen people today, including four ex-marines whom I'd enlisted with a promise of a little adventure and an opportunity to visit civilization again. We all regretted wearing the leather headgear by the time we lost sight of the mainland, as the snug leather grew hot in the sun. We removed the tight-fitting skullcaps agreeing they'd be better in cooler weather or during a storm.