The Sky Kingdom Ch. 22

"As I understand it, most Sorcerers treat their Font's like that, but that's not how I want to do things. I want you to be more like a concubine than a Font."

She seemed to want to say something, but after waiting a while, she went to the door to leave. I followed and took the lead as we walked to the castle entrance. As we passed the guards, I stuck my hand out, and she slipped hers into mine, seamlessly linking our fingers.

We exited into a brisk late morning chill and began our walk around the outside of the main lake in silence, still hand in hand.

"I feel like we've not spent enough time together. Tell me more about yourself?" I asked, feeling nervous myself.

"What do you want to know?"

"What is it you enjoy doing? Other than thrashing me at the game of kings!?"

She chuckled at my jest, which seemed to break the ice.

"I love to learn about just about anything, I can become lost in books, but my real passion is baking!"

"You love to cook?" I asked excitedly.

"I know it's not becoming of a lady, but my library was full of historic recipes, and I was hooked once I'd found how nice they could be."

I thought back to my times secreted away in the kitchen, trying to perfect my own dishes without my father knowing.

"I'm the same," I replied, "I'm fascinated by cooking. But mostly, I prefer Ravian cuisine!" I continued thinking back to the matronly Ravian governess I grew up with, who patiently taught me all I wanted to know.

"You cook as well?" She asked, coming alive as she leaned into my side, "Can we cook together? I'd love to see how you make Ravian food. I've heard that their food is incredible!"

"Have you not had it before?" I asked, bemused.

"Uhm...I didn't ever really leave my father's estate, and he insisted on all our food being Volantian."

"Well, I've asked the kitchen to prepare us a picnic which, if they still remember me, should be full of all my favourites."

She beamed up at me as we continued our walk. The topic soon turned to the array of wildlife surrounding the lake and the stream we followed into the woods. The plethora of deer kept everything neat and trimmed while providing an excellent food source for the nearby castle.

We soon approached a lush green enclave a few hundred metres up the woodland path. The steam opened into a large pond with ducks gliding gracefully across the pristinely clear and reflective waters. I led Emily over to a stone structure carved into a hillside just off the path but looking out over the pond. The structure was an ornately carved arch with a cutout area behind it, forming a large man-made alcove.

I couldn't have asked for more as an array of pillows and rugs covered the sheltered area with a wicker basket I knew only too well. Stacked to one side was a pre-prepared fire in a cut alcove.

"This is incredible," Emily blushed, "you did this all for me?"

"I had a hand in it, but honestly, the castle staff need all the credit here!" I admitted.

"Well, I like to think it was all you," she replied with a spring in her step and a bubbly smile as she knelt beside the basket.

I walked over to the fireplace and drew on my magic, sending a stream of flames that lit the kindling instantly and in short order, a roaring fire took hold, warming the whole alcove.

Emily immediately came up with a set of blankets from the top of the basket and handed me one of the dark blue velvety soft but superbly warm blankets. When she began to unload the basket, I dropped to my knees beside her and offered my help, but she just elbowed me in the ribs with a smile.

"I'm capable of serving a picnic by myself!" she shot at me.

I moved back and away as she unloaded prepared sandwiches, fruit, homemade cookies and even some of my favourites with sausages wrapped in bacon and slow-roasted artichokes. The feast enraptured Emily's eyes, and we were both soon digging in.

The conversation flowed through our mutual love of classical literature and favourite authors. I began to feel a sense of connection with Emily growing from the seed that had been there before. She was smart and funny, and she was eager to listen. We continued to talk about everything from our childhoods to our dreams for the future, and it felt like I was getting to know the real Emily.

"I want you to still have those opportunities to learn. I need to bring the subject up with Scarlett, but I still want you both to study to practice healing alongside me. Would you be interested?" I asked her cautiously.

"Would I be allowed to do that as your Font?" she asked, bringing up the barrier I'd managed to forget.

"You are too smart to be wasted simply keeping me happy," I chuckled.

"But I like that part as well," she whispered back with an obvious blush.

I turned to her then, feeling the need for a serious discussion.

"Em, you need to know I care a lot about you and want only what is best for you. I know you are my Font, but I also want you to set some of the boundaries of our time together." I began seeing a concerned look growing on her face, "I don't want us to be solely defined by you being my slave. I want us to have more to our relationship than just that."

"So you want me to be more like a girlfriend?" She asked timidly.

"What would you prefer?"

"I want to spend more time like this with you...if that's allowed. But isn't Mistress your girlfriend?"

"When we are alone, you can call her Scarlett, and of course, it's allowed. But if that's how you'd prefer things, we will still need to do certain things to keep your magic under control."

"But I would still want to be yours in the bedroom."

"Detail exactly what you mean by 'yours'," I replied, enjoying her nervous squirming.

"I still want to be your slave." She whispered.

"Sorry, I barely heard that," I said with a smile, "when you say slave describe what that entails."

She paused, looking up at me with a hint of despair before beginning.

"I want to serve you. I want you to train me and tie me up. I want to be leashed and gagged and spanked and made to be your pet in the bedroom." She burst out in a rush that had a certain appendage react against my will.

There was a moment's pause after she had spoken as I took in her words.

"So, you still want to primarily be my slave?"

"I don't want to upset Mistress, but I want to be there to serve you and to spend time like this."

"We will find a way to make things work," I replied before sitting back and taking in the tranquil silence keeping my eyes on Emily. She was fidgeting, obviously wanting to ask something else.

"Can I ask you something?" Emily said suddenly, breaking the latest silence.

"Of course," I said, "you can ask me anything."

"Do you have strong feelings for Scarlett?" she asked, her voice quiet, "Do you love her?"

I hesitated momentarily, unsure how to answer and taken aback by her sudden forwardness. "I...I don't know," I said finally. "I care about her. I care about her a lot, but I don't know if it's that."

"So does that mean there is space for me?" she asked, looking vulnerable in a way I hadn't seen before.

"Why are you asking this?" I responded, unsure where this was going.

"Well, in most books I've read, men can only love one woman. I'm scared that what we have can never be special if you love someone else." She replied, giving me an innocent look, "If I'm serving as your slave do you think you could ever come to love me?"

I was once more taken aback by the word love being thrown around. I already cared deeply about Emily; despite her situation, I felt that those feelings would only grow deeper in time.

"Em, it's not that simple," I began as a crestfallen look spread over her features, "but I want you to know that in time I want what I feel, and I hope you do to blossom into something much more. That won't change whether you serve me as a slave or not."

My final statement seemed to placate her somewhat.

"Then Harry, I don't want to be just hers to train. I want to be trained by you. If I am your slave, I want to serve you instead of serving someone who spends more time putting my tongue to use than letting me speak."

That mental image had me in trouble already.

"But she is training you on my behalf. If you don't like serving her, I can do something about that."

"Please, Master, I want you to be in charge of my training. That's what I've always dreamed of. But I don't want to stop being with Mistress. She is an amazing woman." Emily stated while moving into a kneeling position before me.

"Em, we are going to have some much fun exploring these things together. I'll just have to break it to Scarlett that you'll be spending more time with me!"

Emily looked down at the ground, adjusting and tidying her skirts. "I don't want to upset Scarlett, though. I want her to be happy, too," she said softly.

I reached over and took her hand in mine. "She's not going to be upset with you," I said. "I've been trying to figure out how to balance things for a while now. She just wants to spend all day serving, and I need her to find the old Scarlett in there more often. But she is also my head slave, and I expect her to train you to serve me in that capacity."

"Okay, Master," Emily replied.

"Let's head back into the castle, and we can maybe play more game of kings. I was hoping you could teach me a few things based on what happened earlier.

She beamed, "I can show you a thing or two. But didn't you say I can choose what we do today?"

"I did say that," I replied, increasingly concerned at the mischievous look developing.

"Then I want you to spend the rest of the afternoon training me. I want you to leash me and keep me as your pet to serve you."

"Right now?" I asked, looking cautiously.

"Yes, Master. I want to be trained."

"I'm not going to train you out here. But in the privacy of our chambers, you will spend the rest of the day learning your place." I finished returning her beaming smile.

Emily insisted on tidying up our mess before we made our way back to the castle. She was much more eager than before and practically pulled me along while holding hands.

"Master, I like the ball in the mouth and when you put a leash on my collar. If I'm well-behaved, will you take my belt off?" she asked in a rush as we swept through the castle.

"Em, can this wait until others can't hear us," I said, embarrassed and looking around.

She stopped in her tracks and reached up to whisper in my ear, "Master, has this slave earn herself a punishment?"

I felt myself getting hard as I held her hand tighter and rushed us along the winding corridors to the guest suites. We burst into our rooms laughing, and I swept her into my arms as I carried her into the bedroom.

As we entered the room, my senses were immediately drawn to a sight I had missed. Knelt by the bed with her head bowed was a scantily clad Scarlett dressed only in black underwear.

She raised her eyes to look at me, and I both saw and felt her worry that wasn't in keeping with the slave girl routine she was playing on.

"Em, pop next door and prepare yourself to serve me. I want you to lay out the toys you want to play with." I whispered with a composed smile while I internally worried for Scarlett.

Emily looked between Scarlett and me uncertainly but complied with my order and entered the bathroom to get ready.

I swept over to Scarlett, who dropped lower into a bow as I approached.

"Master, how can this slave serve you?" she lasciviously said.

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