For the Whored: Stormwind Ch. 28

"You could have asked. But I don't think that was your only goal."

"I just wanted to see how you lived, really. I wasn't lying when I said I didn't expect you to come home while I was there. I got caught up and misplaced the time. I must be getting old." She sighed. "I have no excuse for staying after that. I had ample time to escape all night. But, curiosity got the better of me. Dear Gods, your stamina has gotten crazier since we last worked together."

"You're lucky I let you stay. Just because Tulani is open with my husbands, doesn't mean she is with anyone else. She's still shy, and keeps her body to herself. For that alone I should have tossed you out on your ass. She doesn't know anything, but I tried to keep her body blocked from you as much as I could without giving it away."

Jine winced. "Yeah, I read about her..." She sighed. "I'd ask if you've really done all of those things you wrote about, but I know you never lie or exaggerate in your books. I also noticed you filled in some missing details from the first time I read through."

Elunara shrugged. "Grogek helped me see those missing details, and once I understood things a little more clearly... It also helps that a fucking moron decided that his revenge was to shred my books. As I rebuilt my books, I noticed things I had left out. My memory is pretty solid, as much as I try to deny it, nothing escapes me. So, when I redid them, I did it right."

"Do they seriously bet cards on you?"

Elunara laugh. "Gods, yes. It's hilarious."

"Was anyone else aware?"

"No. Only me and I basically just ignored you and did what I wanted. Tulani is the only one I ever try to protect."

"Your family is very loving." Jine sighed. "I have a thousand and one regrets for my own."

"Oh, Jine..."

"My husband cut himself on his own damned blade... Died almost instantly to the poison. I never took time off from the service to raise Dak; I thought I didn't need to." She paced. "I never remarried because I was just too devastated over the loss of the man I loved. I never tried to open my heart..." She leaned against a counter and sighed. "Maybe I snuck in there because I was jealous, and couldn't believe your house would be so damned filled with love."

"Don't hurt yourself like this."

"I guess I always figured there'd be more time."

"I still say you should put in some time down at the orphanage. Maybe one of the miniature lunatics will appeal to your heart. If you don't want to do that, some of the orphans come down to the training yard and put in time with Jordan's class. Maybe you could take on the role of teaching a few your tricks. The SI:7 is always on the lookout for new blood."

"I just don't know."

Elunara shrugged. "Bradly is adopted. I hated the little shit originally, and then I figured out what was going on in his life..." She shrugged. "Shit happens, and sometimes it works out for the best."

"How many has Mathias sent you?"

"Twelve. The fun part is, only eight of them have told me so. The other four claim to come for other reasons, but I know."

"He's got you training TWELVE?"

"Thirteen if you count John. But John's always been my pet project."

"The maximum I've heard of is five."

"Yes, but my skill sets are as varied as they are specific. Some are learning my sketches, some are learning the sex, and still others are my social skills. Some come for extremely short sessions, or directions, while others take more time."

"That's still crazy."

"Crazy was the stupid contract he gave me; one hundred and seventy eight pages and only fourteen of them useful."

Jine laughed. "That's Mathias alright."

"Jine, next time you want to know... just ask."

Jine bit her lip. "What's up with the first woman from the other night?"

"Oh, Lucy? Hell, even I don't know the answer to that one. I can't get a handle on half the things she does."

"Did you ever..." Jine rocked her head back and forth. "Feel those... urges towards me?"

Elunara shook her head. "I never even considered women until I met Tulani. Even then it was sort of an accident. She had been torn apart by sex slavers... she arrived on a caravan with some other survivors, and she wanted me to draw her. She was convinced that my project was going to help her reclaim her body. She spent every single day with me, while I tried to make time to do her drawing. I was examining... a mark on her leg, when my fingers slipped. She asked me to keep going, and I'm always willing to experiment." Elunara shrugged. "It just kind of happened. Since then, I've opened myself up to anyone who wants a go, male or female."

Elunara eyed the other woman. "Why? Did you?"

Jine gave a shaky shrug. "I honestly don't know. It just seemed a little strange, that when next I saw you, you were holding hands with a woman, and I started to wonder."

"My preference has, and always will be, men. The only woman I truly love is my Tulani. All other women are just an experiment to practice on. Even Lucy doesn't mean that much to me. She's nice, and she's my friend, but..." Elunara shrugged. "She said it herself; we're not in a relationship; which is why she moved out of my house."

"I'm sorry I betrayed your trust." Jine sighed.

Elunara rubbed her neck. "You really didn't. I just didn't give it much thought or I would have offered you my books before now. You're still welcome to read them, but you have to tell me when you're doing it, and observe my signs at all time. My family has to, so does everyone else."

"You have a hell of a family."

"Yes, yes I do." Elunara grinned.

"Your Bradly is completely sold on little Lydia, isn't he?"

Elunara laughed. "Yeah. My kids are going to have a completely skewed view on family and relationships when they get older. Elune only knows how that one's going to play out."

"I wish Dak had been close enough to me for me to have met this Terica person."

"I'm not entirely sure she ever existed..."

"What?"

Elunara shook her head. "The more digging I do, the less I understand about it, but the end result, is that Terica did not exist on paper until her transfer with Lucy as Lucy's sister. Lucy's already refuted Terica as her sister and says they were lovers, but even Lucy knows no more than we do, and now that she's been reflecting on the mess, the more she questions. The case just gets weirder at every step."

"Damn."

"The only thing we do know; is that she supposedly gave her life trying to avenge Dak."