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Click hereI shook my head. "I'm not going to put you or anyone else aside. If you want her to be a part of this family, it is Izel that will need to adjust to us, not the other way around."
"This will put a lot of pressure on me. She's from a rich noble family. She's cultured, Ranji. Sophisticated like I will never be. Trained to rule not just a house, but a large tracts of land with tens of thousands of people under her control."
"Janetta, you've done a good job as mistress of my household. Both of us are warriors on active duty, and are pretty much unfit for genteel society. You heard Calia. Her brother has a new husband picked out, and he's hot to drag her back to the wedding altar. She's the one because she sees me as her way out of that. She needs us. Not the other way around."
"Fair point. All right. After we both get some food, will you rub my lower back?"
"Sure, I remember my promise. For you and for Zinja. She's on her time, too."
"You are a shitload of complications, but by the gods, I'm glad your mine."
I pulled her close. "You are the most beautiful woman in the world. Give us a kiss, Janetta, my wonderful warrior woman."
She tilted her head and we kissed. Mouths open, our tongues touched in a familiar and knowing manner. After a little exploration, she broke the kiss, burying her face into my neck. I kissed along her cheek, nuzzling and tasting her. It felt good to hold this strong, vibrant woman in my arms, and to feel her own arms holding me close.
Her stomach rumbled and mine answered.
Janetta grinned and pushed me away. "I'll be downstairs, stuffing my face."
"What are the sleeping arrangements tonight?"
"Calia can sleep on the other side of you. Put Izel on the outside, next to Calia. Cholan can keep Ixma and your girls company tonight, or if she prefers, she can sleep in her own bed. If I see her, I'll tell her."
Janetta left.
I went to the bathroom and set up the water running, adjusting for warmth. Satisfied, I went back and carried Calia. Sitting her on the edge of the tub against the wall, I soaped up a washcloth and quickly washed her front down. Turning off the water, I quickly dried her off. Carrying her back to the bed, I laid her down and moved Izel. Pulling back the blankets, I set Calia down, then put Izel next to her, and covered them both.
Grabbing some shorts and a tee-shirt, I went downstairs. While I ate, Cawbos interviewed me for the field report. Vaniksl sat nearby, sipping cahault, sometimes giving him prompts to follow up on.
Janetta had eaten two servings, and was lounging in her seat, nursing another shot of metl juice.
Blankets had been found, and it was decided that the two new servants, Ando and Chihua, would sleep in the front room for the night.
Laylandi informed me that the body out front was being cleaned up, and that the leader of Izel's guards insisted on a visual check of their mistress before departing. Laylandi and Yelts escorted them upstairs. Once he saw she was sleeping, he departed.
Once the meal was finished, I presented Sowitwee with the guitar and carrying case. His tired eyes lit up, and he grinned. "She'll love this, sir."
I went with him to present the gift to Nariya. Zinja, Ixma, and Sisi tagged along, for they wanted a chance to see the baby, too.
For a few minutes, we looked and admired the little guy who did nothing but sleep and look very cute.
I nodded to both the proud parents and grandfather. "Welcome, little Daydo Bancorri to House Kandikan. May you grow healthy, strong, and wise and make your parents proud."
When brought in the guitar case and opened it for her, Nariya teared up. With one hand on her son, she reached out with the other to run her fingers over the smooth varnish. "Oh, it's lovely. I can't wait to put the strings on and play it."
Sowitwee closed it back up and set it down against the wall. "Just rest now, my love."
Terra came in, and we scooted out while she and Sowitwee helped Nariya change into a fresh nightgown and receive a quick sponge bath.
I went to the living room for story time with the girls. Ixma sat beside me with Sisi and Mina, while Salvia sat on the floor.
As Terra arrived and sat next to her sister, Janetta and Zinja said they were going to have a hot bath and wait for me upstairs.
After the story, Terra worked on cleaning up the kitchen while Salvia kept her company. Ixma got to sit in my lap and we kissed, and I reassured her that the woman Izel was not going to make any changes to my family. We snuggled a bit, with two sleepy girls getting their share of attention. Then I helped Ixma get them ready for bed.
As the girls finished up, I checked on Cholan. She was in her room, with the light out, telling me she had a headache, and it had been getting worse all evening.
I sat on the edge of her bed, and clasped her hand, then checked her forehead for a fever. None. "If it's still bothering you tomorrow morning, I want you to go to the clinic."
"I will," she promised.
A kiss to her forehead, and I wished her a good night's sleep.
Once the girls and Ixma were tucked in, I entered the bedroom. Both women were just coming in from the bathroom. Gathering some towels, I laid them down, and with the rubbing oils, began massaging Janetta's lower back. She moaned as I worked, and once the oil was absorbed, I switched to Zinja. She, too, moaned out her appreciation.
With Calia and Izel on the one side, I got in from the east side, followed by Janetta and then Zinja.
My alarms set, I spooned up to Janetta, and she curled around Zinja. Once the lights were out, the sparkle of starlight gleaming through the skylights shown down.
It had been a very long day. Tomorrow, Emilo and the kids were going to have a full day. Over the next three days, the kids would get healed. As for Izel? Calia would definitely need to be there. And, it would be nice to see the new baby.
I had no idea what else tomorrow would bring, but ultimately it didn't matter. My family was here and they were safe. My time at Sparantzlo had taught me to count those days as precious memories, and subsequent events kept reinforcing that notion. I had no doubt that Izel was intelligent, and hoped that she would not disrupt our lives too much. Janetta seemed to think it important that I take her to bed and make her an ally. Calia, too, had seemed accepting of Izel even as she easily ripped away the noblewoman's secrets like she was reading a book.
All those demands can wait for tomorrow.
Precious memory saved.
# # #
- COMMENTS
Ramaza10 months agoWhat i find very weird and suspicious is the fact, that even if Ranji has ordered that anyone that enters High Guard war base to be scanned by personnel with scout helmets to detect nano bombs, the priestess still got in and got close to Ranji and his family? How did she do that??
TJSkywindover 1 year agoAuthorRe: firehorseuk comments
Yes, nudity in the Empire is not taboo. There are some expectations for married women, but as mentioned before, the Empire of Chimorro operates with a caste system. To those who are warriors or priests (noble classes), those below that may be ignored or treated as invisible. Ranji has the Protection Order, but except for a very few pockets elsewhere, it's only a "thing" at High Guard; it's the exception, not the rule. Contrast that with what has gone before. An officer saw Ixma and demanded she drop her trousers and give him sex -- right in full view of any passersby. Women, both officers and enlisted, can live in dormitory barracks that have armed guards and are fenced, but once they leave that protection, they are fair game. In chapters 8 and 9, many of the women Ranji talks to women that reveal they frequently have to give sex to those of higher rank. Nakedness being socially taboo is very much a modern social construct. Public sex with women who are socially inferior is also not unusual. Even in more modern times, wealthy men in Victorian England who wanted to empty their balls? All they had to do was find a whore and a convenient alley to shag in. It's very much that way in many places.
While some states within the Empire were better than others, overall, a wife was her husband's property throughout her marriage, and children were a father's property until age 16. Izel is the widow of the general that Ranji dueled (which, because the general cheated, nearly costs Ranji and LT Terrapan their lives). Killing someone in a duel *was* a way to enrich one's self. Ranji, after Tonca was defeated, inherited all Tonca's property currently at High Guard, including his home, which Ranji had converted to dorms for the single mother veterans that returned to military service. As CO, Ranji also was assigned a separate domicile, which was also set aside for the same purposes.
Dueling could be to "satisfy one's honor." It could also be abused in order to gain wealth, not just in the Empire of Chimorro, but also by knights of the Middle Ages. The famous English knight, William Marshal, who served five English kings beginning with Henry II; Marshal made a lot of money at jousting tournaments. It was the right of knights to challenge each other, and the prize could be armor, a horse, or more.
So, Izel stripping naked and throwing herself at Ranji is unusual solely because she's a noblewoman. She's using the Right of Conquest idea allows the winner of a duel, especially a fatal one, to seize the loser's goods. Since Ranji won the duel and she's the widow of the loser, Ranji could take her right in his front yard (making witnesses much more likely) and thereby become his wife. It was a way to take another man's wife under certain circumstances, and by publicly inseminating her, he would be asserting he is her new husband and indirectly declaring ownership of her. In the Empire, the religious ceremony counts less than if the woman is inseminated and the act is witnessed by others. Modern weddings can be annulled if not consummated, i.e., insemination is consummating the marriage.
A related but despicable practice was the medieval practice by single knights of kidnapping the unmarried daughter of a noble family or a rich merchant and raping her; the *accepted* practice was for the knight to then offer marriage to hide the fact that according to custom, the girl was then considered "damaged goods" and that her loss of virginity had shamed the family (not that she was cruelly violated and the knight need to go to prison). It's not emphasized, but fathers owning their children was a thing in bygone days, and there are still a lot of conservative religious groups that hold to that same idea, and that marriage is simply a transfer of ownership to the new husband. Ever hear the phrase, "Who will give the bride away?" It really is the same idea that the woman is property to be managed and not to have any intrinsic rights of her own, especially to say no. It's still very much an issue in the USA; before Roe v Wade became law, many, many families dealt with child rape by forcing marriage, and if there is parental consent, girls as young as 10 may marry in nearly all US states. The age of individual consent is related, but child marriage continues to be an issue, not just in the US but in many other countries as well. But, I digress.
Something else to consider is that the sexualization of female breasts is a Western European idea. There are plenty of pictures and statues of women in tropical countries going topless. Meso-America, ancient Egypt, India, and more. While customs and circumstances made a difference, there were many tribal peoples across the world where a naken woman was no big deal but men were expected to cover their cock; some South American tribes used a hollow piece of wood and string as a type of codpiece to cover the shaft, but exposing the balls was okay. Medieval men might wear hose instead of trousers, but to cover their sex, they used a codpiece -- and naturally, the bigger the better. Again, I digress.
At the point of Izel's arrival, only Janetta recognizes Izel; Calia is operating on her psychic read of both Izel AND Janetta. As for Zinja and Ixma, of course, they would be shocked; a strange and crazy noblewoman shows up and demands to be married -- to THEIR man? And both Calia and Janetta are somehow okay with that? Stunned is another good descriptor.
Yes, Izel entered the house, naked as the day she was born and she was put into Ranji and Janett'a bed -- still naked, save for the Nu-Skin patch on her lower arm.
For what it's worth, Izel's offer, what Ranji decides to do, and what happens to Izel are discussed in more detail in the next chapter. It's shorter than this chapter; it was also fun to write.
firehorseukover 1 year agoShock writ on their faces, mother and daughter erupted. "What!?"
--
Not described whether Izel is still naked from stripping outside the house or not. Did not describe her getting dressed. She comes into the household apparently naked and people are only shocked because its announced she is getting married to Ranji.
TJSkywindalmost 4 years agoAuthorIt took a bit of time for the reader to get the story back to me. Not strictly his fault as his computer has been giving him fits and I was unaware. After I did the corrections, I did one more quick pass, saved the changes, copied it to a file format friendly to our hosts, and uploaded it. Hopefully, the number of embarrassing mistakes are minimal.
To Slofred - I've never stopped working on Starlight Gleaming; it's been the health issues that have impacted my output more than anything. I also beta read for two Literotica writers. Still, I appreciate your wishes. Safe Flight and Safe Return to you, too.
To bhojo - I appreciate the interest, but unless you know how I can slip into a pocket dimension where time runs at a much slower pace than here, I'm at a loss as to how you can help. Your sentiments are appreciated, however.
Starlight Gleaming chapter 21 part 1 should be up in a few days. Not much action, but some important reveals take place.
To everyone else, your interest is appreciated. Stay safe. Slainté
Slofredalmost 4 years agoI rediscovered this story and had to go back and read the entire thing. Still love it. Glad to see you are working on it again. I spent 24 years of my life as a USAF Aircraft Maintainer and I can see many of the events you describe as being realistic for the Flight line. Safe Flight and Safe return to you. 5stars.
