Strange Bedfellows Ch. 03

She really wanted that.

"I'm sorry." The amber-haired girl's face fell. "My mother is still alive, thank Illuminar, but I haven't seen her in many months because of the war."

"Ah." Lyra nodded. "Still, it should be over soon and I'm sure our husband will let you visit her here in Timarou before we go to his home, wherever that is in Har'peton."

"I doubt that." She replied with a sullen tone as she began to brush Misty's mane with a bit less enthusiasm.

The blonde frowned. "He's so incredibly fond of you, so why wouldn't he?"

Katia turned and stared at her. "What?"

"I'm sorry if I wasn't clear." Lyra hesitated, not sure how to rephrase it so she was clearer.

"No, I understood everything you said, that's why I'm confused." Katia cocked her head to one side. "You really think he's fond of me?"

"Yes." Lyra nodded her head, having a hard time believing that the other girl didn't know that. She thought it was incredibly obvious, which must've shown on her face.

"Well, I suppose he did just say..." She made a thoughtful frown and then turned back to her horse.

"So, can I ask why there's so much tension between you two?" Lyra said. "You seem like a very good match and I don't see why."

"It's a rather depressing story, are you sure you want to hear it? You did just get married a few hours ago."

"There's enough light left yet." Lyra pointed to the sky, which while darker wasn't dark yet. "You said they eat late after training, yes?"

Katia nodded, then told her the story.

When she reached the part in the field of flowers and repeated what Kalus had said would happen if she wasn't with child, Lyra felt her heart begin to hurt. She stepped forward and wrapped the other girl in a hug, which apparently surprised her.

"Thank you." The former handmaiden whispered.

Lyra squeezed her tightly for several seconds before loosening her hug, but not stopping. "He didn't force you, did he? I know I've only known him a few hours, but he doesn't seem the type."

"No." Katia shook her head as she let go of the hug, taking a small step back and wiping her eyes a bit. "He was actually..." She cocked her head to one side.

"What?" Lyra asked.

"Well, I had a short talk with him a few minutes ago and he said something about seeing things from his perspective." The amber-haired girl pursed her lips and frowned, though she didn't look unhappy, merely pensive.

"Oh?"

"I think..." Katia finally said after several seconds. "I think he might've tried very hard to make it as easy on me as he could." She hesitated for several more seconds. "I'm not sure what to think of that."

"He seems like a good man that way."

"Yes, but that's not all he's done." Katia said darkly, and then she related how she'd been spanked by Kalus and what had led up to that. Tellingly, Lyra noticed that the other woman's cheeks got slightly pink as she mentioned the actual event. She also adjusted her legs slightly in a way that the ash blonde was very familiar with.

Hmm.

Maybe Katia did have a bit of a freak in her.

When the amber-haired woman was done with her story, Lyra nodded slowly. "So, what you're saying is that instead of the normal punishment in public, you got something that's much lighter in private?"

"Yeah." Katia conceded.

"And, Kalus was as kind to you as possible before, during, and after? And he seemed to hate doing it as much as you hated receiving it?"

The other girl's shoulders slumped as she grimaced and suddenly seemed very intent on looking at the ground.

"And you enjoyed it a bit?" Lyra pressed, her tone like they were merely discussing the weather.

Katia started to nod before she stopped herself, and then blushed scarlet.

"So, you're primarily mad at him for two things." Lyra said. "First, him marrying you, which was actually King Tyso's fault and he tried to shield you from it as much as possible, even sacrificing the favor of his king to do so. And second, for the spanking, which wasrequired, and he shielded you from that as much as possible too. Do I have that right?"

Katia shifted her feet. The two women were about the same size, but Lyra had never seen a woman of her size look so small before. The former handmaiden was holding her hands together with her shoulders hunched as she bit her lip and examined the ground intently.

Finally, Katia nodded slowly. "I realize I haven't been..." She hesitated. "I just feel like I'm being forced to betray my country, and even though he's been so nice..." She trailed off, then cocked her head to one side and slowly repeated herself as if she had just realized something. "He's been so nice."

Lyra gave Stormy a gentle pat before speaking again. "Look, I understand being loyal to Timarou since our country is wonderful, but let's face it; our current king is a terrible ruler."

Katia's head snapped up, shock written all over her face.

"Everyone thinks he's a good guy, but sometimes good men make horrible rulers." Lyra moderated her statement a bit, then frowned. "You didn't know that?"

The other girl shook her head, looking like someone had just slapped her.

"I guess you might not have heard that living in the palace, but it's true. Most of the regular people don't like him much. Well, maybe as a person, but not as a king"

Katia started at her, mouth agape. "Why?" She finally got out.

"Pa'pa says that he's too soft when he should be hard, and too hard when he should be soft." She replied, trying to remember her father's many conversations with various men. "He lets the troublemakers have too much leniency and won't give the men who want to help enough freedom. Why do you think so many cities weren't upset when our husband installed new governance?"

Katie folded her arms and took a slight step back, then said somewhat defensively. "Well, I think our king is a good man."

Lyra took a moment to remember that Katia was a former handmaiden and thus she had probably spent her entire life around people who approved of the king. That was the only reason the horsewoman could think of that she was so upset about learning the king wasn't a good ruler.

"No one said he wasn't a good man." She replied evenly. "But just because you're a good man doesn't mean you'll be a good ruler.

Katia didn't reply, but she seemed slightly mollified as she spoke. "I'm just saying, I spent a lot of time in the palace and I think King Bracken is a good king."

"Well, until recently you seemed to think our husband wasn't that good of a man, and you were wrong about that." Lyra pointed out.

"You seem so sure of that, even after only knowing him for a few hours." Katia shot back.

Lyra grinned as she realized something, something that the other woman probably didn't know. "Katia, you don't know what our husband said to my father that convinced him to give my hand in marriage, do you?"

She shook her head.

"Well, let me tell you."

* * *

Kalus finished the drills with his men and then allowed them to go back to their campsites to eat dinner. He knew they hated drilling after marching all day, but it made a difference. The casualties from the men under his command were far less than what his fellow commanders saw. Despite starting this campaign only in charge of one-fifth of the army, he'd lost so few and the others so many that he now commanded almost a third of the men. That was despite his men sometimes being sent into the fiercest fighting grounds.

The men stopped being mutinous when they realized this, but they still didn't like it.

They were alive because of it though.

He made his way back to his tent and made sure all of his advisors had their meals before he tucked into dinner himself. It was starting to get dark and he would've been worried about his wife-- no, histwo wives being absent except that he'd assigned his herald to watch them. He doubted anyone would harm Katia -- she'd been in the camp long enough that most everyone should know her as his wife by now -- but Lyra was a new face; blonde, pretty, and just the sort of woman that men under other commanders might be tempted to take advantage of.

He had half finished his meal when his wives arrived. Lyra looked cheerful as ever, but Katia...

She wouldn't look at him.

He didn't get the sense that she was angry though; far from it. Her shoulders were hunched and her body language was small. She seemed to be trying to disappear into the log she was sitting on, not that she had much luck. She poked at her food, barely eating anything despite the day's excitement.

Lyra had sat next to him, scooting close so they brushed one another regularly. She would occasionally give him a sly, satisfied smile, though her cheeks would often get a touch red as she did so. Katia sat on Lyra's other side, apparently trying to hide behind the ash blonde so she wouldn't be seen by him. Again though, she didn't seem angry or upset, more...

Ashamed?

Perhaps guilty?

Hmm.

Katia had leaned her head forward so her hair was creating a bit of a veil so her face couldn't be seen. She didn't say anything during dinner. That wasn't unusual, but her silence was usually of the standoffish kind. This seemed different.

He waited until dinner was over, then caught Lyra's eye and gave her a subtle nod to indicate she should go into the tent. She nodded, smiling as she did so. He stood and Katia rose as well.

"Katia, one moment please." He said before she'd taken more than a step.

She stopped, but didn't answer.

"Are you okay?" He asked in a low enough voice that no one else would hear, trying to remember that she probably needed a softer touch than his men did.

She hesitated for several seconds before slowly shaking her head.

"Are you willing to talk about it?"

She opened her mouth but didn't seem to be able to get the words out. It looked like she was trying, but couldn't bring herself to. He again reminded himself that she probably needed a gentler touch, and gently put his hand on her shoulder.

She didn't flinch away.

He spoke softly. "Katia, I would love to hear what's bothering you, but I won't push. Let me know when you're ready to talk and I promise I'll be there to listen."

She nodded, but didn't say anything.

In his book, this was all progress.

He went into the tent and Katia followed him. Lyra was already inside, brushing her long hair.

The blonde turned and smiled when she saw Katia. "Here, I have something for you." She reached into the small bag she'd brought from her father's house and offered another brush to Katia.

"Thank you." The former handmaiden smiled, and her eyes looked a bit watery.

She took the brush and started brushing her own hair, and that's when Kalus realized that he hadn't considered the additional grooming products that women usually use. Thankfully, Lyra appeared to be willing to share what she hadn't brought extras of.

He'd only met the horsewoman perhaps four or five hours ago, but she was a delightful girl and he could see a happy future for them. He hoped that Katia would fit into that future too, though she seemed much more apprehensive about that. Sadly, her biggest issue seemed to be him working for the army that was conquering her country.

Unfortunately, there was no easy solution for that.

* * *

Shara was getting used to being called 'Katia' by now, and even starting to enjoy it slightly. By contrast, she hadn't enjoyed the one part of the conversation with Lyra earlier about her father not being a good king. She found it almost impossible to believe that anyone thought he was anything less than wonderful.

Apparently, that wasn't the case.

She didn't know what to make of that.

She really didn't.

She'd thought about it a bit since then and realized that as far as her father was concerned, she had 'gotten away with murder' as her mother liked to say. What if he was that way with others? What if he didn't stand up to members of the court and got pushed into bad decisions which made the people unhappy? She had certainly been able to get him to do things growing up.

She didn't want to think about that, but it was better than thinking about theother thing that was bothering her. Her cheeks got warm as she thought about Kalus. It had taken Lyra's presence to see it, but he was a good man who'd treated her as best as he could under the circumstances. He had probably treated her better than most men would.

She could barely look at him without wanting to turn away in shame at her behavior. Even thinking about it now her stomach clenched and her cheeks felt warm; almost hot. She needed to apologize, and badly, but her brain seemed to freeze up every time she tried. She just felt sick when she thought about how she'd behaved.

Kalus laid down in the bedroll and Lyra wasted no time climbing into it next to him on his right side, which left the problem of space.

That bed was never intended for three.

It was wide enough for Kalus and Katia to share it shoulder-to-shoulder without touching, but there wasn't much extra space.

Now...

Fortunately, Lyra didn't seem to want any space to herself. She was lying on her side against Kalus, leaning up against him with her arm on his chest while she used his upper chest and shoulder for a pillow. She seemed to enjoy it too, judging from the contented sigh she released.

Kalus looked up at her, raised his eyebrow, and patted the open space beside him. It was nearly as large as the space that he and Lyra were taking up. She sighed and slipped into the bed too, making sure to stay as far from him as she reasonably could. This time though, it was more out of habit than anything else.

Despite how good Kalus had been to her, she still couldn't make peace in her mind because he was quite literally the enemy. He was literally making war against her father and country. He might be a good man, but she couldn't reconcile that with her loyalty to her father and country.

She wondered if she would ever be able to do so.

* * *

"Shh, don't wake her up." The princess heard her husband whisper.

Shara was awake, but barely. She had somehow ended up a mirror image of how Lyra had been lying against Kalus when they went to bed, though her legs weren't over his and were on the bed mat instead.

"Sorry." Lyra whispered so silently that Shara almost didn't hear. She could feel movement though, and it felt like the blond was rocking her hips against...

She peeked.

Sure enough, she could see in the extremely dim light that Lyra was laying on top of Kalus, though off to one side just a bit so her leg didn't touch the princess's leg. The other girl was rocking her hips slightly, and there was no doubt that Kalus was firmly encased inside the ash blonde. Moments later, he stiffened slightly and then quietly made a sound somewhere between a groan and an exhale, clearly trying to keep his volume down.

Lyra sighed, then laid her head down and laid still against him. Shara quickly closed her eyes to a mere slit so the other two didn't see that she was awake.

That would be awkward.

"You didn't finish." Kalus said very quietly.

Lyra sighed. "I just wanted to feel you."

"I could take care of you."

She shook her head slowly. "That would wake Katia and she's been through enough."

"She has." Kalus whispered, then sighed heavily. "I wish I could help her though; something is bothering her and it's not her dislike of me this time."

There was a pause and Shara couldn't see well enough to figure out what was going on.

Moments later, Kalus whispered again, and again he was so quiet that he never would've woken her up. "You know what's bothering her?"

"I think I do." Lyra replied just as quietly. "But I'd rather not say if that's okay; I think she needs to talk to you about it herself."

"Okay." He replied softly, then Shara heard a kiss. It sounded like a tender one too.

She wasn't jealous.

No, she definitely wasn't jealous of the tender affection that Lyra was getting from Kalus. That would just be silly, and the fact that she'd been spurning it -- and him -- for some time didn't factor in either. No... not at all. She definitely, positively wasn't jealous.

Not at all...

That was her last thought as she drifted back off to sleep.

* * *

Kalus had enough self-control not to startle awake anymore when he woke up in bed with a woman next to him. But today there were two of them and it took a little extra mindfulness. He didn't react this morning either, but he nearly did. Once the initial 'fight or flight' reflex had died down, he looked down at his two wives.

There was a messy tangle of ash-blonde hair splayed across his right chest and a chaotic spread of amber hair on his left. Both women were snuggled up to him, leaning on his chest, and their faces were quite close to each other as a result. They were both sleeping peacefully, like they hadn't a care in the world.

He smiled.

He closed his eye and luxuriated in the sensation.

Lyra was a lovely girl of whom he had already become quite fond. It wasn't even because the horsewoman had offered her virginity so willingly, nor that she'd woken him up in the middle of the night for an encore. Neither hurt, but they weren't the reason. No, it was something about the girl herself; her spirit. She was alive in every sense of the word and simply delightful to be around.

Katia was just as lovely despite the metaphorical thorns. Yet despite how 'thorny' she'd been, he still really liked her. He couldn't forget their first night together and how pleasant she'd been. She also struck him as very perceptive, which would be incredibly useful in life for both of them, especially once she was older and knew what to look for.

Separately, each woman was wonderful.

Together...

Together they could be extraordinary if Katia could learn to live with him. The previous day's conversation had given him hope of that, which must suffice for now. He closed his eyes and said his morning prayers to Illuminar, making sure to pray for both his wives and the marriage as well.

Katia started stirring not long after he'd finished. She made a sleepy yawn, let slip a tiny sigh, and then snuggled her head into him more.

He smiled.

It was another few seconds before she seemed to realize where she was and who she was snuggling with, and then she pulled back. She didn't jerk away as she did many previous mornings though; that was something.

"Good morning." He whispered, so as not to wake Lyra.

She rolled off the bed mat and stood up, clutching her arms around herself in the cold semi-darkness. "Morning." She mumbled, not meeting his eye. Again, this was all progress since before she had barely acknowledged his morning greeting.

"There should be a cloak in my bag there." He pointed to his luggage, having noticed her slight shiver.

She bit her lip, then nodded, found it, and wrapped it around herself. "Thank you." She said so quietly that he almost didn't hear it.

She still didn't meet his eye.

"You're welcome." He replied with a smile and she seemed to avoid his gaze even more.

The goings-on apparently had woken Lyra, who also started stirring.

"Good morning." He said.

She looked up bleary-eyed and smiled. "Goo' m'rnin'." She blinked several times and then leaned up a bit and kissed him gently, then moved up slightly and wiggled her head back and forth slightly so the tip of her nose brushed the tip of his nose several times.

He liked that.

* * *

Shara watched the simple display of affection between Lyra and Kalus and couldn't help but imagine that she was doing that with him. She frankly couldn't believe how much she'd misjudged him or how tender and loving he could be.

She could've had that.

She turned away, not because she didn't want to look but because she wanted to. It was amazing how much her opinion of her husband had changed in the last twenty-four hours. With Lyra, she'd seen a side of him that she hadn't seen before, or perhaps hadn't wanted to see. She liked this new side though and didn't want to miss out on it.