Give Me the Man Pt. 02

Ardan listened. There was faint stir from below, but no smell of cooking. "I think it will be a little while before we can break our fast." He smiled down at Vella. "Can you think of anything you'd like to do while we wait?" he asked, his manner innocent.

Vella grinned. "Come here," she said, reaching for him.

Their coupling was gentle, slow, easy and the shared climax a warmth, the warmth of sharing, rather than the heat of passion. They lay in a cosy post-coital tangle of limbs, Ardan slowly diminishing within her. Smells of cooking drifted up the stair and Ardan's stomach suddenly rumbled. Vella giggled.

"Perhaps we should go and eat," she said.

"You're right, we should. Oops," said Ardan as his stomach gave another rumble.

Vella swung her legs out of bed and stood, naked, stretching. She caught Ardan's eye and flushed, but made no effort to cover herself. She blew him a kiss and went to the ewer, pouring water, washing herself with the rough soap, then drawing on her clothes as he washed. He took his purse and pouch, but left his over-tunic, and they went to break their fast.

The landlord came over. "Good morning, Fro Tearo, madam." He addressed Vella. "Did Fro Tearo pass on my proposal?"

"That I take over from - Elli, was it?"

The landlord nodded. "That's right, Elli. She leaves us on Lastday to have her child."

"I would be grateful, sir, and my answer is 'yes'." Vella smiled. "I think it best if I help her in her duties until Lastday, so that I know what I am about."

The landlord frowned, and Vella held up her hand. "I seek no reward for it, sir. It's just that I have never worked in a guesting house before. I think it would be well to have some notion of my duties."

The landlord smiled at her. "You're a thoughtful lass. Elli will be glad of the help. As I will, to be honest. I can't say as Elli has exactly been pulling her weight these past couple of eightdays."

"As soon as I have broken my fast, sir."

"Indeed. And what would ye be wishing to have, folks?"

After breaking his fast, and after a hurried kiss and hug from Vella, Ardan made his way to the stable. Shadow whickered to see him and he spent a while brushing the horse's coat, enjoying the quiet cool of the stable. Finished, he saddled the gelding and rode easily out of the gate, alternately trotting and cantering as he made his way along the road. He pulled off the road mid-morning, easing Shadow to a trot as he left the road and began to make his way cross-country, curious about a rock formation he had seen in the distance when riding with his father on their way in to the capital. The Gray Tower, Gerlan had called it. The ground was broken, sudden dips and pockets, breaks in the ground, dry stream beds, scattered rocks. Vegetation was open near the road, but thickened as he neared the rock formation, looking for all the world as if if someone had dropped a huge drum flat among the other rocks, for the formation looked like a flat-topped, squat cylinder, the top maybe five hundred feet up, sheer walls, no visible hand-holds anywhere.

Ardan enjoyed climbing on the rocks near his home, but they were not overly steep and there were nearly always handholds of some form. Here, as he approached, he could see nothing that would help a climber. Shadow was getting increasingly nervous and he kept the gelding on a tight rein as they picked their way through the thick scrub. He stopped suddenly, reining Shadow in hard. Tracks! He studied them. A cat. A big cat, about the size of a herd dog. Half-remembered stories came back to him. What was the animal?

It came to him suddenly. The keeta. 'Look out for the keeta', that was what the old stories said. Few people had ever seen a keeta; no-one had caught one. He studied the tracks carefully, deciding there were three sets, an adult, surely, because of the paw size, and two smaller, perhaps cubs. Or was it a male and two females?

Shadow shied suddenly in fright and Ardan gasped. The beast on the rock was striped, at least it was striped on the shoulders. Shades of brown on amber, the coat fading to beige on the hips, dapples of darker beige on the rump and upper hindquarters. The ears were tall, tufted, the tail short. Its head was powerful looking, the teeth purposeful. The beast stared at him. Ardan eased his sword, his brand-new sword, in its sheath, but made no move to draw it. He felt somehow, in some inexplicable way, that the beast meant him no harm. Even Shadow had quietened, although he could still feel a slight tremble through his knees.

The keeta looked at him and jumped lightly to the ground. There was a faint trail leading into the rocks. Deer, he suspected. Certainly some form of game for the keeta. The beast turned and moved away. It paused, looking back over its shoulder, almost as if it were saying, 'are you coming?' He touched his heels to Shadow and the gelding moved forward in a slow walk, following the keeta. He wondered if he was being stupid, following a predator into thick cover, but that sense of 'un-fear' stayed with him.

Ahead the trail forked and the keeta waited until he was closer, then took the left-hand fork, looking back over its shoulder. It wants me to follow, Ardan thought, it actually wants me to follow. Go, keeta, I'm right behind you, he thought. Ahead, the keeta called. Not a roar, more a cough. An answering cry came from ahead. The keeta looked back over its shoulder again, moving at a steady pace, just fast enough for the walking horse to keep up. There was a cluster of rocks ahead and the keeta jumped up, looking down at the other side. It coughed again and looked back at Ardan. He looked back at it and it looked down behind the rock, then back at him.

"Is there something you want me to see?" he mused aloud, then convinced himself that yes, there was. He dismounted, hitching Shadow to a thorn bush. The keeta watched him carefully, then sprang to a higher rock, looking back at him, then down into the hollow again. He moved closer, rounding the rock, surprising himself by not being surprised to see the other keeta. Two of them; not fully adult, he decided, the stripes on the shoulder incomplete, no dapples, half a head shorter than the adult. One was lying, the fore paw pinned by an angle of rock which lodged against another, a jag of it caught under the wall, impossible for the young animal to move. Claw marks showed where the adult had tried. He glanced across. The forepaw looked raw and as if to confirm his thought, it began to lick it. He bent closer. The trapped rock needed to move down before the animal would be free, but how? Two smaller rocks below the trapped paw seemed held by a pebble, half his hand in size. He drew his belt knife, feeling without seeing that the adult tensed, as did the yearling lying beside its trapped sibling,

"Easy, easy. I mean you no harm," he said quietly, soothing, and the animals calmed. He probed at the pebble with the knife, levering, careful not to break the blade. It moved suddenly, dropping free, and the other, smaller rocks which held the trapping rock dropped a finger width. Enough? he mused. He pulled down on the trapped rock, pulling it away from the animal's paw. It resisted at first then came suddenly, so that Ardan sprawled on his backside, sitting up to see the trapped paw pulled free and the animal move three-legged away from the rocks.

"Wait! Let me see if its broken," Ardan said quietly, wondering at himself. The young keeta looked at its parent, the adult coughed - a new note - and the youngster limped nearer to Ardan and crouched, the trapped paw extended towards the man. Ardan took it gently, feeling the beast trembling. He probed gently, grateful he could feel no bone grating. Nothing seemed bruised or torn. He looked up. "Nothing broken, keeta. You're going to be sore for a few days but you should be as good as new in an eightday." He wondered again at himself, talking to the animals as if they could understand, but somehow he sensed agreement, that they could. Shaking his head, he retrieved his belt knife and moved away. The three keeta watched him go.

Mounted on Shadow again, Ardan rode around the rock formation which had drawn him there in the first place, wondering at the smooth impossibility of climbing it. Shaking his head, he gigged Shadow away and back towards the trail, eyeing the sky. He should just make it back in time for the evening meal.

At the guesting house Vella, with rolled-up sleeves and apron, was helping Elli serve the few diners. She smiled broadly to see him and came across. "What would sir care to have for his evening meal?"

"Company, perhaps?"

"Ardan, I'm sorry, I promised Elli I would help her serve and then eat with her. I'll be free by the eighteenth hour. We can go for a walk, perhaps?" She smiled. "Or perhaps just go to bed?" The inviting look and the arched eyebrows left him little doubt as to her preference.

Ardan grinned. "I would welcome an early night," he said, "but for the present, if you would bring me some of the stew, and some bread, with a mug of ale to wash it down?"

"At once, sir."

In their room later, there was none of the previous evening's shyness about Vella. She undressed quickly, folding her clothes onto the press, standing lithe, naked, ready, as Ardan finished undressing. She moved towards him and into his arms, raising her lips for his kiss. The kiss was long, fierce, warming them both. Vella's hand moved down between them and moved Ardan's stiffening prick into a more comfortable position against her. He broke the kiss and smiled down at her. She grinned and moved to the bed, tugging at his hand. She lay back, spreading her legs, her sex gleaming pinkly through the sparse hair on her mound.

"Hurry," she said. "I've been thinking about this all day and I'm so ready."

Ardan moved up onto the bed, kneeling between her spread legs. He took his weight on one arm and was about to take his erection in his hand, to guide it into her, when she reached for him.

"Let me guide you, Ardan," she whispered, and hissed her breath in on a gasp as his hardness penetrated her. She was wet, and it took only a moment and a slight withdrawal before he was ready to go deep into her. He pressed forward and she moaned deep in her throat as she took him into her, her hands on his back grasping, tightening, as he began to move. She was breathing heavily already and he realised she had not just been teasing him when she said she was ready, for she was ready, ready and wanting, and her excitement was transmitting itself to him, so that he could feel that slow, deep tingle in himself that presaged climax, that tingle that builds slowly, so slowly.

He was pushing into her with firm, deep strokes now and each time he reached her depths she gasped, hissing her breath in as he pulled back to gasp again as he pressed into her once more. Her fingers on his back were moving restlessly, aimlessly and she began to whimper as he moved, until suddenly her stomach rippled, her pussy clamped down on him and she came, her climax pulsing around his hardness. He pushed deeper, moving more quickly now, feeling his own climax rising. Faster, harder, he moved, hearing her whimpering in his ear he began to quicken and as he felt his climax about to take him she came again, a scream in his ears as together they peaked, only to drift down the slow slope to stillness, a drift interrupted by pulses from each of them as the urgency of their climaxes faded into warmth.

Softening, Ardan withdrew gently from Vella, easing himself to his back beside her. Her eyes were closed, her breathing slow and steady and he realised with mild astonishment that she had fallen asleep. He smiled, drawing the bed-covers up to cover them. She must have worked harder than she realised, he mused. He kissed her lightly, pinched out the candle and dropped into a deep and dreamless slumber.

Dawn woke him. Vella was still sleeping soundly beside him. He washed quickly, quietly, and eased himself into his clothes. Downstairs, the landlord was moving about, sleepy, tousled, preparing for a new day.

"Good morning, Fro Tearo, you're up early."

"An early night last night, so an early morning today."

"Breakfasts will be a little while yet, I'm afraid. Vella said she would help today. Is she awake?"

"She wasn't when I came out. She may be now. Shall I check?"

The landlord shrugged, a rueful look on his face. "I feel awkward about this, Fro Tearo, to tell you true. The lass is yet a guest, not my employee."

Ardan smiled, touching the landlord's arm. "I'll see if she's ready."

"I tell you this," said the landlord. "Giving her Elli's job was an impulse, but she is a good worker and I think my impulse was a good one. I think I'll not regret it."

"She'll be pleased to hear that. Excuse me while I fetch her."

In their room, Ardan found Vella up, still naked, washing herself. She smiled to see him, giggling when he cupped her breast as he kissed her. "Our landlord tells me you said you'd help this morning."

"Aye, I did. You don't mind, do you?"

"Of course not, Vella. After I'm gone you'll be living here. Getting a good start with your employer is a wise move, I think."

"I think so, too." She smiled. "I still want to share your bed until you leave. When do you go?"

"Probably Lastday, or perhaps a day or two longer."

"By my moon calculation, I am at my most fertile last night and tonight." Vella frowned, anxious suddenly. "I hope I carry your child." She smiled. "It's very pleasant trying to make sure." She put her hand on his crotch. "Have we time?"

Laughing, he began to undress, the excitement rising in him as he looked at her, naked in the morning light. "We'll make time."

After breakfast, he went out into the street. The sky was grey and there was a threat of rain. Vella was proving a very able and enthusiastic bedmate but he knew that when he left she would wish him well, without regret, particularly if he were to leave her pregnant. Trying to ensure that condition made for a very pleasant interlude.

The streets were busy, people everywhere. Ardan was conscious that pick-pockets could be among the throng and kept his cloak tight around his belt pouch. Down by the river the crowd was thinner and he moved more easily. The chandler was just where the guesting house landlord had told him and he went inside. Rolls of sailcloth, reels of line, shackles and the like everywhere. He spotted what he was looking for. A case of knives. He bent to look at it and was conscious of movement beside him.

"May I assist you, sir?" The proprietor was a thin, balding man, rope-scarred hands attesting to his occupation.

"I seek a lady's belt knife, sir."

"I have a better selection over here."

Ten minutes later, Ardan came back out into the street, some silver coins lighter in his purse, a belt knife for his sister safely in his pouch. He breathed deeply, enjoying the unfamiliar city smells and whirled at a commotion behind him. A woman was on her knees, pointing. A youth ran towards him twisting through the wayfarers, dodging grasping hands. A cry of "thief!" pursued him. As the thief neared him Ardan stepped forward, making to cut him off. The figure feinted to the left, but for someone skilled in the ball games as played by the young men of Vilna Station the feint was transparent as glass and the thief found himself flat on his back with Ardan's sword point at his throat.

"I believe you may have something belonging to the lady," Ardan said politely, pressing lightly on the sword as the figure moved in denial. A bright spot of blood appeared on the young thief's throat and he sank back. His hand went cautiously inside his jerkin and he slowly withdrew a purse, the cut strings attesting to his methods of acquisition.

"Mine, I believe," said a cool, female voice. The woman who had been sent sprawling met Ardan's eyes with a smile. "I thank you, sir."

About to acknowledge, Ardan was suddenly sent sprawling by a push in the back. Catching his balance, he whirled. The young thief and a girl were dashing away. On the point of pursuing, Ardan's arm was caught by the woman whose purse he had retrieved.

"Let them go," she said. "My purse is safe." She watched the fleeing youngsters until they rounded a corner and were lost to sight,. She turned her gaze to Ardan. "Again, sir, my thanks."

This time Ardan managed to complete his bow of acknowledgement. "My pleasure, madam." The woman looked to be in her mid-thirties, possibly slightly older, slim, elegant.

"Do you have a name, sir?"

"Ardan Tearo, madam. From Vilna Station."

To his surprise, his name seemed to strike a spark of recognition in her. She opened her mouth to speak just as a figure ran up to them.

"Mama, what is it? Ardan!" Leara Asolan!

"I knew I recognised the name," said the woman. "Alna Asolan," she said, holding out her hand. "Leara's mother, as you have no doubt realised."

Ardan took the proffered hand and bowed over it. "Your servant, madam."

"What happened, Mama?" Leara asked.

"A thief stole my purse. Your friend stopped the thief and recovered it."

"Thank you, Ardan! But what happened to the thief?" said Leara.

"His accomplice knocked me off balance and they got away." Ardan shrugged. "At least your mother's purse is safe." He looked around. The small crowd attracted by the incident were drifting away and the three were alone for the moment. A pavement cafe was just along the street and he pointed. "May I offer you ladies refreshment?"

"You may, sir. Leara?"

"Of course, Mama. Thank you, Ardan."

They were soon seated, with dishes of nuts and a pot of efel tea. Alna Asolan sat back and studied him. He looked at her, liking what he saw. Like Leara, she was blonde, a darker blonde, but with the same green eyes. Their faces were similar, oval, straight nose, full lips. Altogether, two beautiful women.

"Do I take it that your Initiation is completed, Ardan?" Alna asked.

He flushed, finding the subject slightly embarrassing. "It is, Fra Asolan."

"Call me Alna. My apologies for embarrassing you."

"It is nothing - Alna."

"My daughter tells me you are from Vilna Station."

"That's right. My family has a ranch there. Cattle mostly, but we also raise horses."

Alna Asolan laughed. "Cattle and horses. Both of Terran origin, no doubt. The legends condemn the Terrans, but there is little doubt that their legacy has generally benefited the people of Haar."

"Do the Hinazi tell of the Terrans?" Ardan asked.

"Yes, but probably no more than any other group or clan. Tell me, Ardan, what keeps you in Jalx?" Alna Asolan's face showed no more than polite interest.

"A holiday, Fr - Alna. My father gave me a purse sufficient for two eightdays, although I had thought of leaving next Firstday, or possibly Secondday. I am invited to a meal with an old friend on Seventhday."

"Ah. So you are here for at least another three or four days at least?"

"Indeed, I am."

Alan Asolan studied him, then glanced at her daughter. "Ardan, may I ask a favour of you?"

"Of course."

Her eyebrows lifted. "You say so without knowing what I ask of you?"

Ardan laughed. "You seem to be a woman of intelligence, Alna. I feel sure that you won't ask more of me than you think I might be able to perform."

Alna Asolan laughed in her turn. "Well said, Ardan. My request is simple. Tomorrow I have to visit an old friend, here in Jalx. I admit freely that my daughter will find it tedious."

"Mama!"

"Hush, dear. You will. Ardan, Leara has expressed a wish to explore the countryside to the North, where the Gray Tower rises. She has heard of it, but never seen it."

"Oh, yes," said Leara. "I'd love to see it."