Cultural Exchange Ch. 02

Another bit of information that caught me off-guard. "The.. his... what? Then how do they reproduce?" Right after that I almost regretted asking and said, "Please, spare me the crude details."

She giggled while rubbing her face on my neck and chest. "Orcs are farmed and harvested almost the same way as fungi, that's why all of the tissues in their bodies are green, even their bones. When you see a long dead Orc you will recognize him immediately because the skeleton turns yellow and fragile like dying grass."

While digesting that, I was only able to say, "Amazing."

She pecked a kiss on my cheek before saying with husky voice accompanied by her rubbing her breasts against my chest, "Talking about reproduction. There do not exist mixed races, or the less polite term 'Mongrel' as they are called when minor races mingle between the to create new spawns. When two members of the Blessed Races have children, the baby is always a member of the same race as the mother, although that doesn't keep him or her from receiving some external traits from the father. The first example that comes to my mind is my sister Zirilla. She has my father's cheekbones and forehead, although she covers that with her bangs."

The night had brought a cool breeze, but Ralya's body warmth was comforting in more ways than one. That, together with the pressure of her curves against my body and the scent of her skin was making my member harden against her thigh. Thinking that it could kill the mood in case she noticed, I tried to distract her. "So it is really mutual love? No one forces you to marry me?"

She said, "I am going to get angry if you keep asking," though there was no real annoyance in her voice. Besides my efforts, she had noticed my state and started rocking her hips lightly to rub my erection with her pelvis. "Mutual love... I am mostly sure that is what this is. The only thing that leads me to marry you is my own desire to do so." In contradiction with her shy first kiss, this time she was fierce and passionate, and I answered with all my heart.

Ralya let one hand down between us in order to caress my manhood while I grabbed her butt with one of my hands and used the other to cup one of her firm breasts. Through the thin fabric of her dress, I felt her nipple harden rapidly under my touch. I pinched it lightly, what made Ralya moan inside my mouth.

In the end, she was the most disciplined of us two and broke our contact with a look of apology in her eyes. She gently took my hand off her breast and kissed my palm before clasping it tight in hers. We went back to our embrace, just enjoying the sensation of being together while our panting breaths came back to normal slowly.

We stayed in each other's arms until Oner entered the balcony and said softly, "Hey lovebirds, I know you are enjoying your time alone, but this is your party and you have to be present." Then he went back to his normal tone, "Keep something until after the wedding."

I answered because Ralya was blushing and lost her cool for a second. "Yes, we are going. We have one thing we would like to discuss with your father. It's something important for the wedding."

And with that, Ralya and I went back into the hall, holding hands with our fingers firmly entwined.

*****

The morning after the party, while her master was attending his Physical training at the camp, Merita was brought to the presence of Yuan'Errom in his personal office. He didn't seem to be in a good mood because of the news she had brought him.

"Speak clearly, maid! Are you saying it was no coincidence? How can that be remotely possible?"

Even though she was kneeling, Merita flinched at the raised voice of the Hierarch. With her hands nervously wringing the edge of her apron, the woman answered, "The clue is in the bath, my lord. When I went to clean it, it had a faint metallic scent to it. But that is not possible because they receive an special treatment in their making to prevent just that. We are sensitive to those things, as you know..."

"Don't wander off-topic, stick to the important parts." Yuan'Errom cut her abruptly.

"Yes my Lord. Excuse me, but I become even more talkative when I'm nervous. The fact is that at the beginning I thought that maybe it had something to see with my Master's physical nature. But shortly after I discovered it was not so. When I took out the wooden floor from inside the tub, I found a thick substance at the bottom. Knowing it could not be dirt from my Master's body, I inspected it more thoroughly until I was able to understand what had happened. I was amazed to see that somebody had put very thin slices of copper fruit at the bottom of the bath for them to melt and mix in the hot water. Stormcrows are attracted to the smell of metals, specially copper..."

Merita was cut again by an increasingly impatient Hierarch, "You are saying that someone put the fruit in the bath for the off-chance that a Stormcrow passed by to attack my daughter's fiance? What if no Stormcrow had been near? What if the animal would have felt attracted to the bath, the biggest source of the scent? Stop wasting my time in half-baked conspiracies, woman."

"That's exactly why I think it was not a half-baked conspiracy, but a very clever attempt on my Master's life! The season where Stormcrows nest in the mountains is long past, there should be none left. So the fact that it conveniently appeared at the right time leads me to believe that someone brought the crow in a cage, altered the bath, and waited for me to clean it before setting the bird free near my Master's window to promote the attack!"

Both of them stayed silent for some minutes before Yuan'Errom spoke again. "So there is a snake in my city. A sneaky rat that uses intricately woven plans to attack my family based on old hates or simple greed." He stood up and started walking up and down the studio such a long time that Merita started doubting if she should ask him if she had to leave, but then he asked, "What has happened with this bird?"

Merita looked at her Lord with a puzzled look before answering, "After my Master left it unconscious I put it on a table at the backyard. It left flying when it recovered, but I have seen it by chance perching in one of the trees of the training grounds."

Yuan'Errom nodded and said, "Well, it seems it can no longer guide us to the criminal." He started walking and thinking again until he finally stopped again and told Merita, "Go back now to your duties, but be ready to receive another guest in the house you manage."

"Another guest, my Lord?"

"Yes. Yesterday at the party my daughter asked me for permission to stay at your house until the wedding in order to get to know the personality of her future husband better. I was going to deny her wish, but her reasons together with the need of a discreet security detachment for the young Brandon force me to accept. Though stay sharp, maid, because your duties from now until then will include the task of watching over them so they don't get too... 'intimate'. You may retire now"

Merita bowed deeply and stood up with sore legs to leave the room. Once he was alone, Errom mumbled, "Labyrinths inside labyrinths, I hate that. Knowing your enemy's name without a proof to fall on them is like having a bow with no arrows when the Orcs are at your walls. I just hope my daughter and my future son can get out of this alive."

*****

Because of the bandages covering his right hand, Dodger kicked open the door to his basement and went down the stairs while ranting, "Where the Hell are you, damned bitch? Your stupid trick with the Stormcrow has served for nothing more than putting them on guard! How can you be so useless? I thought you came from a group of professionals, not from the Gods damned circus."

Two things happened almost at the same instant. The door behind him closed without him seeing even a shadow, and a throwing knife stabbed through his shirt to pin him to the wall like a butterfly. He was about to start yelling again, but instead he froze in his position at the cool feel of a sharp blade against his neck. The feminine voice in his ear was like the steel of her weapon, soft and sharp. "We are not a 'group'. We are the Snake Clan, one of the five that form the race of the Deyimas." An irony that no one would know about was that, even though Errom had used that word to insult the hidden assassin, he could never imagine how close he had been. "The first rule of our Code states 'The word of your contractor is law, unless this word enters in conflict with the subsequent rules'. My contractor ordered me to commit an untraceable assassination, and that's what I tried to perform. I have been informed that a new chance has been prepared for three days from now. At the western gate of the city, two hours before lunchtime."

The furious young Elf swallowed his pride and said, "Then I will become your contractor, too. My word is that if your next attempt fails, you will take the first chance you have for a direct attack on the same target my father has ordered you to take out." With swift movements, the woman sheathed the short sword at the scabbard on the back of her right shoulder and retrieved her throwing knife. Now that this idiot had made an oath to pay her price, she could no longer unsheathe her weapons in his presence unless she was ordered to protect him.

He turned back, rubbing his neck and straining his eyes to ogle her figure in the dim light that entered the slightly open window behind them. "And if you succeed, maybe I can give you an extra reward... in bed."

He was not able to see the disgusted look on her face. "I am no prostitute, I am an Assassin."

While climbing up the stairs again, he waved a hand dismissively and said, "Whatever, just do your work. If you fail again doing it the way my father ordered you, do it as I told you without coming back here. We'll meet again once you are done."

Alone in the darkness, Sha'Zella of the Snake Clan whispered, "Pray that no one contracts me to take care of you, because I am going to enjoy making it slow and painful."