A Match for the el Maiens Ch. 06

"Clair?" Pava heaved a great sigh as he looked up at the Ship Inn through narrowed eyes. "He is like Tashka only his eyes are grey. He is beautiful to die for. He has a mind like a rapier-blade, clean and sharp and quick. He looks an arrogant horse but he loves so hard and deep and true. Sometimes I think he loves too truly, he has suffered all his life for love. Clair is a clever, witty, beautiful, deep-hearted scum."

"And you'll never forgive him?" Vadya leant his chin into his knee and looked curiously at Pava.

"These el Maiens!" Pava exclaimed. "I tell it you, they twist their way into your heart like roses so cans't not pull them out without thorns tearing your heart away! Angels, let us go and see that sweet-eyed one who was my Lieutenant and is your Captain."

But Vadya continued to sit on the wall with his chin on his knee. "So," he said slowly, "Anastelle el Maien is Tashka's sister."

"Uh ... yuh, yes," Pava said.

"Small wonder he was so angry when you were talking about her legs," Vadya reflected.

"I had wrong to tease Tashka so," Pava replied.

Vadya cleared his throat, looking away to the side. "Er, so Lord Clair looks like Tashka," he said. "Does the Lady Anastelle look like Tashka too? Are they all so ... beautiful, the el Maiens?" He blushed as he looked down the street.

Pava's eyes narrowed up, he stared hard at Vadya, sitting on the stone wall in the sunshine and looking shyly down the cobbled street. "Dearest," he said softly. "I will tell it you once more and that is all. Shall't not have the good fortune to marry Anastelle el Maien van Sietter. Hear me. Do not ask Tashka about her. Dids't see how I held his sword arm while we were talking of her in Sixth H'las? If says't so much as her name to him, he will run you through."

Vadya's head swung round, startled.

Pava's green eyes looked hard into his eyes. "Now come on," Pava said. "Let us go and console that poor fool who thinks his Commander does not love him the more!"

When Vadya opened Tashka's door, he found Tashka flung on the floor by the bed, his long legs hunched underneath him, his face buried in his arms. He lay completely still as if he had been thrown down by an Angel in battle and would never move again. Vadya's heart clutched up, he walked over to his Captain, his gentle brown face beginning to knead up with emotion.

Tashka's head lifted, his huge blue eyes stared at Vadya from a face white and strained. He scrambled to his knees and reached pleading hands to grab at Vadya's left hand and try to press it to his forehead in the junior officer's vow of allegiance but Vadya fell to his knees, wrapped his arms around Tashka's shoulders and hugged him in a hard, tight embrace.

Vadya pressed his cheek against Tashka's head, he tightened his grip around Tashka's shoulders. Tashka had an arm around his neck, he could feel the hard round bone of Tashka's shoulder pressing into his chest and Tashka's face was pressed into his neck. He felt the soft wet pressure of Tashka's rose-petal mouth on his neck. He pressed Tashka's head harder into his neck, one hand around the back of his head gripping on the velvety cropped dark hair, his eyes screwed up against his tears.

Pava stood leaning in the doorway and looking at them. His narrowed green eyes were both amused and thoughtful, he drummed his fingers on the doorpost and pursed his large mouth in a soft pensive whistle. "Shall we go for dinner then?" he said loudly.

"Um, yes, I am hungry," Vadya said huskily, wrenching himself from Tashka's embrace. He made a mock-punch at Tashka's face, Tashka caught his fist in a soft hand, his eyes went down with a flutter of those long lashes.

After they had enjoyed a very fine dinner, during which they toasted better relations between H'las and Sietter, H'las and Vail, Vail and Sietter and all of the regions of Trossia several times, they decided to go out and make a roaring night of it. They staggered from tavern to tavern, sampling every kind of drink they could find and fiercely arguing for the virtues of their own region's beer, wine and spirits.

The world was wonderful, amazing! Its edges were blurred but to think that Vadya knew who Tashka was and it did not matter. Pava was being sick over by the horse trough but when he had sluiced off his head he would be fit to go on to the next tavern, meanwhile Vadya and Tashka could stagger up the street ahead of him, howling a rude version of a famous song:

Do not unma-an me, Swe-et virgin slut! Never unma-an me, No ne-ever more!

Pava staggered after them, they found another interesting drinking house and reeled inside, grinning lovingly at the laughing faces which were raised at their entrance. Excellent! the place was full of soldiers. Tashka had stumbled over to a group of officers who were sitting apart from the main rabble, crying: "Caja! Upon my hon(hiccup)our!"

A handsome head tossed round in the warm lantern-light, laughter rolled towards them. "My sword and banner! el Maien!" the young Commander leapt up to sweep Tashka into his embrace and exclaimed again when he saw Pava, reaching eagerly for his former Captain's left hand.

"Young Nain, what a sweet pleasure," Pava slurred, beaming at him and pressing his hand to Nain's forehead. "How is it with you? How does't like Seventh Sietter? Is there enough jam in the provisions tent for you?"

Tashka was grinning round from the embrace of the officer who had stolen jam from the provisions tents with him when they were baby Lieutenants - and who had borne the punishment while Tashka got off free. Nain was softly cuffing his head and saying in an intent voice, "for you through Hell and through life, el Maien."

"Nain, this is my Commander," Tashka said, tugging Vadya forward. "el Gaiel of Sixth H'las."

Caja Nain looked startled but they were too drunk to explain it to him. Pava had cast his arms around Nain's and Tashka's shoulders, he hugged them to him, saying: "My babies, my lovely Lieutenants! Look, el Gaiel, are they not beauties? Mine were the prettiest Lieutenants in the Sietter army."

"Get off, el Jien! Leave it out!" they shouted, their heads flung back laughing: Commander Nain's handsome lean cheeks under the cropped head of brown hair, Tashka's exquisite slanted blue eyes and rose-petal mouth. Nain was muscular and fit with powerful thighs in the cotton civilian suit he wore with his brown army boots, Tashka was long and lean and lovely in Pava's affectionate arm. "They called us the Angels," Tashka admitted, "Vaie was the Angel of Flirting!" They roared with laughter to remember their brother officer. "Oh Nain," Tashka giggled. "I know something of Vaie! You will never believe it!" Then he started rolling about with laughter and saying it was privy and he could not confide it to them, to Pava's and Commander Nain's annoyance.

They settled into seats round the table full of drinking bowls with the Sietter officers who were all reaching out to give Tashka a hand or brush his cheek or shoulder with a mock punch, who greeted Pava with hilarity and who accepted Vadya warmly since he was a soldier and their dear brother officer Tashka el Maien van Sietter's Commander.

Tashka got up to go and order some drinks. Vadya watched him lean over the counter then a drunken soldier put a hand on Tashka's buttock and an arm around his waist and leaned horribly close to his back, saying something in his ear.

Tashka's sword was straight out of his belt but he was swaying with drink and Vadya knew the man would never think this elaborately dressed creature could do him harm. He leapt up, swinging his arm back and let his fist fly at the soldier. His fist caught the soldier's jaw and Vadya howled with pain! The soldier fell crashing sideways into his fellows, who began moving forward in an ugly crowd but Commander Nain had seen what had happened. He came striding up on his powerful big legs with his face suddenly set so bleak and stern that you would never have thought he had a fondness for jam.

"Stand to!" he barked. "Is this the way to behave to an el Maien? Son of the sworn Lord, who has been an officer in your own army?"

The tavern-keeper was running about, crying: "No trouble, gentle men, no trouble, I beg of you!" but already the soldiers were falling back to their table, scowling angrily down at their fellow. Tashka glowered coldly at them, their eyes fell before his accusatory glare. "I'll pay for any damage," Caja Nain said curtly to the tavern-keeper. "To quarter," he said sharply to the soldiers, "and bring that man to me the morrow." He gestured contemptuously at the fallen soldier whom they had let slide down to lie on the floor. The soldiers rose in a sulky body, seized the arms of their fellow and heaved him up to drag him out of the tavern.

"What is happening?" Pava was demanding blearily. "What is it, where is my drink?"

Caja Nain laid one hand on Tashka's shoulder and said, "I must buy these drinks, el Maien. I am well sorry."

"He did not know," Tashka said grumpily, sliding his rapier back into the sheath. "Must have thought I was a civilian. Give me a whisky to wash it away, then."

"My naughty boys, what have you been doing!" Pava sent his voice up high and started pretending to look over a fan at them, flirting his eyes at Tashka. Tashka burst out laughing, flinging his long limbs back into his chair and giggling when Pava cried in a falsetto voice: "Ooh la! Sirrah, I swear, I faint, I fall, musts't catch me, quick!"

"Look look," Tashka cried. "el Jien van Vail on manoeuvres," he swung his chair round and straddled it, immediately making it look like a horse, flipped an imaginary kerchief under his nose and drawled: "My sweet Captains, let us move closer to those virtuous young women over there."

"Why you ...!" Pava exclaimed in the hot gust of laughter from the Sietter officers. He made a sudden jump for Tashka, who knocked into Vadya as he swerved aside, making Vadya spill his brandy down his shirt.

~#~*~#~

When Vadya woke in the morning he was still drunk. He had that happy dreamy sense of fitting perfectly into the world, he felt absolutely contented with the weight of Tashka's head resting on his shoulder and Tashka's warmth curled in the crook of his arm. He knew this would soon pass and he would start to feel horribly ill. He wondered about getting up and going to see if he could vomit up some of what he had drunk. That bloody pale Angel Tashka had been sick already before they fell asleep. That was always his way. He drank them under the table and because he was slight of frame, he would be violently sick on the way back to the encampment. The next day while they all lay in their bedding moaning, he was able to stagger round securing the defences with a mocking laugh in his bloodshot blue eyes.

Vadya turned his head to look into Tashka's face with a dreamy smile and tightened his arm around the shoulders of the lean body curled by his side to face him. Those ridiculous long lashes, how softly they kissed the tanned cheeks and even in sleep the rose-petal mouth pouted as if for a kiss. Vadya shook his head in amusement even while his cock started stirring softly with arousal.

Then his heart seemed to leap into his mouth, he gave an involuntary gasp, a galvanic shock coursing through his body and his heart starting to thump so hard in his chest he was scared it would wake Tashka up. He did not take his arm from under the shoulders of the young officer curled round to lie sleeping towards him in a sudden terror that Tashka would wake up and find them lying together.

Bloody pale Angels of Hell, he was lying in a bed with Captain Tashka Maien - his own junior officer! in his arms. Hell and the Angels of Hell, no! it was even worse! Vadya had become aware of a great slew of magnificent suits and garments over chairs and sofas in the room around him. He was lying in Pava el Jien van Vail's bed with Captain-Lord Tashka el Maien van Sietter, formerly of Fourth bloody Sietter, in his arms.

He did not want to remember what had happened the night before and how he had ended up here with a junior officer lying - at the least of it fully clothed still - in bed with him. He certainly did not want to wake Tashka up and for Tashka to realise that Vadya had climbed into Pava el Jien's bed to join him. Without moving his arm, Vadya lifted his head and saw that Pava was asleep on the floor wrapped in a blanket with a basin to be sick into.

In spite of his efforts he was remembering. Tashka had been sick but not on the way back to the hotel. When they got back, it had seemed sensible to all tumble into Pava's room because Tashka's was up the next flight of stairs - although Vadya's was only next door. That was it, he had said Tashka could come and sleep in his room but Pava became drunkenly aggressive, saying he had been Tashka's senior officer before Vadya, Tashka should sleep in his room. Pava insisted they all go into his room for a final bowl then he fell over and just lay on the floor so Tashka chucked the blanket over him and put the basin by his head. He and Tashka lay about on Pava's bed because the sofas were covered in Pava's clothes, chatting in that dreadful way you do when you are so drunk you think you are saying something very important and nobody can understand a word of it because they are too drunk to listen.

He had listened, though. Tashka had been staring into his face with those exquisite blue eyes wide, saying, "el Gaiel, I beg it of you, do not shake me off your fingers and send me away. I always wanted to serve under you and now that I have been your officer I cannot swear to any other man's banner." Vadya had started crying, Angels! how disgustingly shaming, sobbing over his junior officer in a vile drunken snorting way. He had blurted out that Tashka ought to have had his own banner already. He ought to have pushed Tashka to take up his father's offer of a banner in the strategic staff offices, he had held Tashka back arguing that he needed him to manage el Darien and el Vaie. He admitted now that when Tashka had refused the banner, he wanted him by his side so much that he just accepted it. Tashka gave a kind of sigh and sat closer to him on the bed, reaching out to grip his shoulder and saying in a pleading voice wholly unsuitable to a younger child of the el Maiens van Sietter, "I prithou, el Gaiel. I just like to be with you. I cannot take a banner and go into the strategic staff offices in Port H'las; I am van Sietter. Let me stay in the troop with you, it will make a tie between the regions will it not?" By then Vadya was incapable of controlling his stupid drunken tears, he only sobbed something so dreadful Tashka would surely have ignored it. It might possibly have been, I love you, I will never let you go from my fingers, although hopefully he was not remembering this properly, and then Tashka kissed him.

Or he kissed Tashka.

Or he had dreamt it. Perhaps he had dreamt it, that sudden shock of happiness when the rose-petal mouth pressed to his mouth. His lips parting, a tongue pushing and pressing into his mouth; Tashka gripping his shoulder and pressing his shoulder. He had certainly reached to take hold of Tashka and start to pull him in to his embrace but Tashka suddenly broke his mouth from Vadya's, said, "Angels! I am going to be sick," and staggered off. Vadya passed out while he was waiting for Tashka to come back and now here he was lying in a bed by the side of a younger son of the high nobility from the region likely to declare war on H'las any day now, whose sister's hand in marriage Vadya's father must surely be seeking for Vadya. Vadya gave a horrified moan. Even if Tashka did not give him the glove, Tashka's older brother Clair el Maien certainly would. Or Tashka's former senior officer, el Jien van Vail - but Pava was asleep in the room with them, oh thank the Angels! Pava had been there all night too so nobody could say Vadya el Gaiel van H'las had stained the honour of a younger child of the el Maiens van Sietter or suspect him of seducing his own junior officer; which was a hanging offence.

Very carefully Vadya slid his arm out from under Tashka's shoulders. Tashka lay breathing softly beside him, still turned towards him with that infamous rose-petal mouth slightly open as if inviting Vadya to kiss him. Again. Vadya could feel his penis still softly filling with excited blood just to look into Tashka's sleeping face and the lean body lying curled round to face him, he gave a sobbing gasp, staring at the long lashes kissing Tashka's cheekbones. Tashka had always been too bloody pretty. It was impossible to keep the juniors and the men from passing comments, there were always drunken fools attempting to snatch his kiss, hardly surprising then if in such a sodden state the night before Vadya, who had loved him so dearly for three years - as a friend! had succumbed too.

Vadya passed a trembling hand over his own head. 'He is my junior officer,' he thought sternly to himself. 'Sweet Hell! if any thing had happened he would give me a glove over it. He fought and killed Vaian for accusing us of being too close for decency; he cannot possibly have kissed me and if I kissed him ... Gracious Heaven, I will be betrothed soon. How likely is it that I would go and kiss my own junior officer on the eve of my betrothal. We all do stupid things when we are drunk which are best forgotten. I must stop drinking with my juniors like some silly baby Lieutenant on a spree, I must begin to take my responsibilities seriously. I will be married soon and I will have to think of others before myself and I must always put the region before all else.'

He lay very still, staring up at the ceiling above him and thinking: 'I will stop going out drinking in this silly way,' and: 'I wonder if Tashka's sister looks like him,' and horribly conscious of Tashka lying breathing softly through that rose-petal mouth in the bed beside him. After a while he slid slowly out of the bed and lay down on the floor with his back to Tashka in the bed. He closed his eyes against his tears in the hopes that he would not remember anything when he woke up.

~#~*~#~

When they said their goodbyes on the quay they were all nauseous and pallid and nobody cared if anyone-else was being quieter or more reserved than they might usually be.

"Good speed, lovely Vadya!" Pava said, in an admirably cheerful if husky tone. "Come back to Vail this autumn and I will give you hunting for ladies! a noble sport which woulds't hate."

"I will hold you to your word, I would enjoy it above any thing," Vadya said, hurriedly fixing what he hoped was a lady-hunting sort of grin to his face. "Come down to Port H'las and I will give you a party aboard my caravel. With lots of ladyfriends."

"Good speed," Tashka said, offering up his sword arm and smiling warmly into Vadya's eyes.

"Come hunting in Halla with me when we rejoin the troop," Vadya said suddenly. "When the rest of Sixth are settled in the winter quarters we could take your Quarter up to my family's hunting lodge."

"I should like that," Tashka said, his eyes brightening at this further evidence that Vadya forgave him being van Sietter. Vadya felt a sick qualm as soon as he had said it but he dismissed this as over-sensitive nonsense. His betrothal would soon be settled, his betrothed might even make one of the hunting party. Tashka was making a move as if to offer him a hug but he pretended not to see this and ran up the gangplank to hang over the side of the boat and wave to them. He winced as he waved, his hand was still sore from punching out that soldier.

All around Pava and Tashka were boxes and bales bound up and down the rivers Gine and Arven for Vail, Arventa, Port H'las and Port Ithilien. Sailors and port-workers thronged the quay, a woman was selling good-luck charms of the Angel of the Waters. Pava and Tashka bought chocolates from her and hurled them at Vadya with deadly aim. Vadya dodged them and caught some, laughing, as the gang-plank was pulled up and the sails creaked above him and the boat pulled slowly out into the river with chocolates and husky farewells flying after it.