A Dream of Empire Ch. 004

"Cass, Cass, I would dare not tell a soul," Emmanuel whimpered.

"Talos loves me wholly, and he'll destroy all you hold dear if you do."

"I know it, I know it!" he cried.

"Silence yourself, Emmanuel, before you wake the babe."

"I'm sorry!" he whispered nervously, choking on his words.

"Sit down at the table," she murmured in his ear.

"Yes! Let's converse, let's chat. I'm sure we can remediate all this, with that," Emmanuel agreed in a wobbily tune. He sighed audibly as the blade left his back, and he slowly turned towards the elf. She still gripped the knife, but at least it was pointed at the ground.

"And by all the gods love, will you stop singing?" she berated him.

Emmanuel whimpered as he took his seat at the table. "I really want to, but you're scaring me."

"Just don't flee, then there is nothing to be scared of," Cass shrugged. She never left his side as they spoke, and still held the blade. Emmanuel chugged down the ale in front of him, then sharply exhaled before he replied.

"Okay okay, whatever you say."

Another sigh from behind him. "Now, tell me why you're so afraid of my ears," the elf said calmly.

Emmanuel pursed his lips, then brought both of his trembling hands to the table. "It would take me so long to explain, Cass," he said truthfully. He heard the elf drop the blade on a counter, and she walked beside him and placed a dainty hand on his shoulder.

"I have time, Emmanuel," she told him softly.

-=-=-

Rain trickled onto the cobblestone streets of Catriona from the heavens above, and many ales had now been served to the quavering bard to relax his nerves. The elf and Emmanuel spoke in hushed tones around the kitchen table for the greater part of an hour, although it was the bard who did most of the talking.

He spoke of memories long repressed, histories of his past that he dared not access. He talked of love, of glory, of boons, but under no circumstances did he speak in tune.

"And then she shot at me," he cried, sobbing as his face met the table before him. Cass could be seen frowning sympathetically, although she, no doubt, understood the antagonists more than he. "She shot at me, for merely asking if her sister was virginal. Who does that?"

"Now, now, it just sounds like a misunderstanding," Cass reassured him softly. The bard's visage shot up from the table, smiling through his tears.

"You mean she overreacted?" he asked wobbily. Cass shook her head.

"No, I mean that you misunderstood," she explained with furrowed brow. "Elves mate for life, and most demand absolute chastity from their lovers in the presence of another. Your actions in all of these stories, Emmanuel, have you gallivanting about as some idiotic womanizer."

"But I am, miss Cass," he replied truthfully.

"But elves don't care for that at all. I'm just trying to get you to see it from their perspective."

"So I shall avoid them at all costs?" he reasoned, his initial reaction to the present situation. Cass rolled her eyes from across the table.

"No, just... don't try to bed one, I suppose. That would be the simplest solution."

Emmanuel chuckled, regaining his composure slightly. He took a drink of ale before responding, from his sixth ale of the night. "Your fix sounds far more difficult than mine, miss Cass."

Muffled, helpless cries began at that moment, but they hadn't come from Emmanuel this time. Cass rose from the table in a hurry, her pointed ears swiveling towards the commotion.

"Well, you're unknowingly applying my fix to the present," Cass replied with a smirk, making her way from the table after gently patting him on the shoulder. "Excuse me, I have to help the babe. You're welcome to leave, Emmanuel, but know I'm not forcing you to."

The bard sighed, tilting his head towards the kitchen window. Rain was falling outside lazily, and strands of water flowed down the glass. "Thank you. I think I'll stay for a time."

"Okay. Meet me in the hall, I'll get the fire going."

Emmanuel rose from the table, cracking his back with a glorious stretch. He thought of the elf's words as he sauntered towards the main hall of the townhouse, plopping down on a boring couch beside the room's unlit fireplace. He would have likely attempted to light the fire himself, but could not see any readily available logs or flint nearby.

Cass joined him a quarter-hour later, treading silently down the stairs behind the couch. Emmanuel was shaken from his thoughts when she spoke, twitching his head towards the elf.

"The Talos spawn is asleep once again," she giggled, clearly enjoying the new designation for the babe. Cass turned towards the fireplace, outstreching one hand and opening her palm. A bright flash of light illuminated the hall for one long second, and the bard was forced to cover his eyes. Once the light had disappated, Cass now held a curved firesteel in her hand.

She pointed towards the emptied fireplace next, producing another blinding flash of light within the stone. The fireplace was instantly filled with a neat stack of firewood.

"Where does Talos find such extraordinary maids?" Emmanuel asked amusingly, now wanting one for himself. He was somewhat familiar with all kinds of magic through his travels, although he hadn't seen the elf's particular brand yet. She knelt by the fire, chastely at her knees, and struck the firesteel against the stone of the fireplace. The logs were alight momentarily, the flames illuminating the hall with a warm glow.

"Oh, here and there," Cass replied with a shrug, still facing from him. "It's a big world, Emmanuel."

"Don't I know it," he replied genuinely. The elf stood straight, pointing at a corner of the room and summoning an ornate footstool with a flick of her wrist and another flash of light. She plopped atop it, crossing her legs and pulling the hem of her thin white dress past her knees.

"How much have you seen of it, Cass?" the bard asked as his sight traveled from her knees towards her eyes, trying to strike an innocent conversation with the willowy elf. She shook her head with a frown.

"Not nearly as much as I'd like," Cass answered truthfully. "Talos has already seen most of it from what I know, but I'll likely be here until the little Talos grows older. Who knows, perhaps I'll see it all with him when he matures?"

"Talos spawned a child named Talos? Not very imaginitive, I'd say," Emmanuel chided a man not present with a wagging finger. Cass giggled into her hand.

"It wasn't his choice. Alanna named the babe."

"It's going to be terribly confusing for those listening to my ballads of the man."

"I'm sure she wasn't thinking of your songs when she named him," Cass giggled again.

"Perhaps I'll grant him a surname? Talos Talosspawn?" Emmanuel offered with a sly grin.

"Speak it over with Alanna first," Cass warned him with a sly smile. The bard chuckled.

"Indeed, indeed," Emmanuel replied. "That enchanting girl would likely decline, no doubt. Although, she did not mention the babe for the days I spent with them. Most of her words consisted of loving the elder, or offering castigating assurances of my own ineptitude."

"Tell me of them, Emmanuel," Cass asked with a sigh. "I miss them dearly."

Emmanuel placed a hand on his chin and pursed his lips, then pointed his forefinger at the elf after a nod. "Yes, yes, I could do that. I even wrote a ballad of the sorceress. Shall I sing?"

"You shall," Cass replied with an outstreched palm, granting him the floor. Emmanuel rose to his feet, placing a hand on his chest and stretched his other towards the roof of the hall.

"Excellent. I call this one, 'Her Wondrous Tracts'," he said with more than a hint of whimsy, his sight fixed skyward. Cass raised a brow in confusion, and the bard cleared his throat.

"In the grass I laid, on that summer day,

When the sun shone bright on me;

The hills were emerald, the clouds pearl,

And my diamonds hardened with glee.

For along the road, I saw a lass,

A lass so sumptuous you see;

Her shimmering eyes, her sparkling smile,

And her legs displayed completely.

Those tracts, her busom,

Those glorious pillows;

Like the sea did they heave,

And like a wave did they billow.

Those tracts, her cheeks,

How pleasing they moved;

An applause, they clapped,

With no room to improve.

Yet she danced away, on that summer day,

When the sun shone bright on me;

She giggled and swayed, though I wish she had stayed,

Of that I can certainly agree."

Emmanuel waited a moment for applause, then shifted his gaze to Cass when he had not received one. She sat silently with wide eyes, her hands on her lap.

"And then what happened?" she asked curiously.

Emmanuel cleared his throat nervously. "Well, then, nothing happened. That's the end of the song."

"Oh," Cass replied softly, raising her hands to give him the pitiful praise of a polite applause. Emmanuel lowered his arms meekly.

"Did you not think it finished?"

"No, no! It was a great song, Emmanuel," she hastily reassured the frowning bard.

"Don't deceive me, Cass," he declared with brow lowered. Cass sighed, and her smile waned.

"Uh, er... well, it could have used a better ending, I suppose," she admitted softly with a tilt of her head. Emmanuel brought a hand to his chin, stroking his tuft of hair growing there for a moment.

"Hmm... yes... yes!" he exclaimed with raised finger, "it needs a climax. A crescendo, a peak, an orgasmic flow!"

Cass smiled nervously, but agreed with a gentle nod. "Uhh... yeah. Yeah, like that. But Emmanuel, you still haven't told me how they are."

Emmanuel grinned. "No time for that, my sweet lass, as there's glorious art to improve!" he exclaimed, then skipped towards the front door and leaned against it as he said his goodbyes. "Farewell, so long, and I'll try Talos again soon!"

Cass rose to her feet by the fire, but the front door was already opened. "Uh, okay! Take care, Emmanuel," she replied with absolute perplexion.

"And you, my lass, I appreciate the drink!" he yelled as he hurried, and slammed the door shut.