Kros Voyeh

"They may have expected you to arrive with the Lady Isonei. I did my best to keep it from being known she was traveling without your protection." Krouth bowed.

"Let them wait until I'm ready. Make certain the household knows Lislora will be assuming the duties of running the house. See to it the transition is as smooth as possible and give her whatever help she requires to undertake the task."

"At once, your Highness."

°°°°°°°°°°

Lislora readied herself for bed as the Aran woman chattered about the winter garden. The flowers were lovely, but she'd never felt the need to rhapsodize over them. She was half ignoring the conversation when she heard Isonei ask, "Do you think Draeseth would mind if I pressed some petals and sent them with my letters? Or perhaps sent some seeds? My father would love some of these flowers and I know my Daga would enjoy the Soldier's Wife, it's the color of his mantle."

She was glad her back was turned to the woman as she winced. "Perhaps you could ask him." Lislora put on a smile as best she could and moved to the Duchess' bed.

"Forgive me for babbling on. You've only just arrived today, you must be tired." Isonei gave her an encouraging smile.

"I am, thank you." Lislora climbed into bed and got comfortable, tensing slightly as the Aran woman followed and cuddled close.

Isonei seemed to fall asleep almost immediately and Lislora studied her face. Even with the knowledge the woman was an adult who'd bedded her cousin, she still looked like a child asleep. There was an openness and innocence on the woman's face that plucked at her conscience. Lying to her might be for her own good, but it still felt wrong.

The guilt didn't help her sleep. The room was already far warmer than it should have been and with the Aran clinging to her Lislora began to sweat and feel miserably overheated as if it were the middle of summer. Carefully, she freed her feet and the side of her not being snuggled by the peacefully sleeping woman next to her.

It was enough to let her doze fitfully. Each time she tried to move, the woman truly was like a vine that clung relentlessly. Lislora found herself on the very edge of the bed by morning with Isonei pressed to her back and the woman's arm around her waist. She'd never been so eager to get out of bed.

The whining from Lady Isonei, however, suggested that she'd have been delighted to stay in bed longer.

Her sleepless night left Lislora ravenous for breakfast and the meal with Draeseth didn't disappoint. The table was laid with chicken livers, lamb kidneys, eggs, dark bread and light with the delicious brown spread from the Thoncur that he favored. There were even sausages that smelled like they might be swine.

As she filled her plate she noticed that the tiny Aran woman had only taken a single slice of the light bread and a fried egg to place on top of it.

"Is that all she eats?"

"Krouth has said some mornings she eats only yogurt with a little honey. I've never known her to eat a great deal."

Isonei looked at them curiously, "My Draeseth?"

"My cousin is concerned that you eat so little, my Duchess."

"She's very sweet." The Aran woman smiled at her, "And very warm, I enjoyed sharing a bed last night."

Lislora couldn't hide her wince and Draeseth made an amused sound in his throat, "Cousin?"

"The room was far too warm and she clings like a vine to a cliff face. It was unbearable and I hardly slept. I wanted to find a way to tell her gently that I don't want to share a bed with her again."

"I will tell her." He smiled wryly as he looked back to the Aran woman, "My Duchess, my cousin wanted to find a gentle way to tell you she was too warm in your rooms last night and that she isn't as fond of sleeping close as you are. She had difficulty sleeping"

The disappointed look on the Aran's face made Lislora feel as if she'd just spoken too sharply to a small child. When the woman tried to smile to cover it, it made the feeling worse.

"I understand. Not everyone enjoys sleeping close, or in warm rooms. If you didn't sleep well I won't press you to continue."

"Thank you, Lady Isonei." Lislora inclined her head and turned her attention to her food letting her cousin speak quietly to the Aran woman as he ate.

When they rose from the table, she noticed that Isonei had barely eaten three quarters of the bread and egg on her plate. It wasn't difficult to understand why the woman was tiny, a bird would eat more. Lislora frowned and looked at Krouth as he entered the dining room.

"Lady Isonei didn't finish her breakfast and she'd barely put anything on her plate."

"That isn't uncommon for the Lady. She ate more in Leria but not much more. The Lerians linger over meals and they would prod her to eat."

"I'll try to encourage her. I feel badly about declining to share a bed with her again, if she ate more she might be warmer."

"I may suggest that to the Lady when I take her lunch to her." Krouth bowed slightly.

"She won't be joining us?" Lislora glanced at the door her cousin and his wife had walked through a few moments before.

"No. I will be taking her meal to her in the winter garden. She enjoys the flowers and it's warmer there. She has a small sofa and a desk with writing implements. I expect her to amuse herself without difficulty."

"She does enjoy the flowers. I didn't think she would ever stop talking about them last night."

"Lady Isonei shares his Highness' appreciation of flowers, but," Krouth paused, "she is more vocal in it. You may suggest having the gardeners cut some of the Kros Voyeh for his study to show him you also have an interest in them. I advised him to discuss the household budget with you today."

Feigning more of an interest in flowers than she had for her cousin's attention seemed underhanded but she inclined her head slightly as if agreeing.

Choosing to make her way to Draeseth's study, she was surprised when he joined her almost immediately. His mood seemed sour as he withdrew the ledger from his desk and gestured for her to sit.

"Did she ask to have me sent away? Because of-"

Draeseth's snort and annoyed look cut her off. "No. She was disappointed but she will not press you or punish you for choosing to sleep in your own bed. Why do you ask?"

"You seem displeased about something."

He gave a growling grunt and settled into his desk chair. "She wished to spend time with me and I had to excuse myself. I would be content to spend the day with her in the winter garden." He paused and exhaled heavily. "Knowing she's in my garden and wishing to be close to me is agony when I cannot give her what she wants."

"If it helps you at all, she spoke at length last night of how much she loved the flowers."

His face softened, "It does."

"If I could bear it at all I would share the bed with her for her comfort. I don't think I've ever been as eager to get out of bed as I was this morning, and that includes my wedding night." Lislora grimaced and her cousin barked a laugh, blushing slightly.

"It was an adjustment for me. I haven't shared a bed since I was a child and sometimes crept into my mother's. Isonei had her own room as a child, but she behaves as if she's never slept alone." Resting his hand on the ledger he blushed again, "You may not wish to tell her you were eager for your wedding night to end. My Isonei would try to find a lover for you."

Lislora looked at him aghast and he began to laugh. "It isn't something to jest about! She needs to learn that Torgans don't-don't," scowling at his flushed grin she narrowed her eyes, "We aren't Aran."

"No, but it would be a lie to say Torgans don't take lovers."

"I haven't!" Lislora smoothed her skirt and straightened her back. "I've never known you to-" She made a rolling gesture with her hand.

"At Court." He inclined his head and his grin faded. "Father insisted that I not go to Phaethia as a virgin. I thought it was cruel but it was necessary. The Phaethian Emperor plied us with gifts and women after our victory, if I had been inexperienced..."

"You couldn't refuse?" The thought of him with other women made something in her belly knot uncomfortably.

"The slave girls would have been punished for not being able to entice me. I was plied with women in the hopes that the Emperor might have warriors of my caliber born into his service. Had I been inexperienced I might have given one a child. I needed to know when to pull away."

"And Prince Rogath?" Lislora frowned. As the Crown Prince of Torga, his sons being slaves to the Emperor would be not only horrifying but an embarrassment to the Crown.

"Princess Kresh was given to him. It was thought that after such a victory a son could be conceived more easily. It was a surprise to her Imperial Highness when Ror was born."

"Didn't the wheat sprout for her?"

"She refused the test. Burgath suspected she was trying to discover how much poor behavior would be permitted before our father's displeasure became unbearable."

Lislora's horrified expression earned a grim smile and a nod from Draeseth.

"It was an expensive lesson for her. Be glad you haven't been forced to endure the woman's company. She once tried to seek me out, expecting me to be willing to bed her." His lips curled in disgust. "My brothers sometimes make remarks reminding Rogath and myself of it. The woman had the gall to suggest we were so alike he wouldn't be able to tell his son from mine."

She found herself leaning forward and breathing out a question, "Isn't suggesting such a thing treason?"

He made a sound of agreement, "If I had been disloyal enough to take her to bed it would have been. She has only ever been attended by female slaves and father made it clear that for any man other than my elder brother to be alone with her, without a chaperone, there would be dire consequences." Leaning back in his chair for a moment he lifted the ledger and turned it in his hands. "I have asked my father to make it understood that there will be similar consequences when I am forced to bring Isonei."

"You think she would..." Lislora studied his face.

"No. My Isonei keeps her word, but her open manner could easily be seen as an invitation. It burns me that the only reason she does not take other lovers is that she agreed to be mine alone for a year, not because she wishes to be mine alone, or because she wants only me. Taking lovers at will is an Aran habit and she finds being exclusive to me difficult despite her love for me."

"Why would you choose a woman like that, cousin? I-" Lislora stopped herself and swallowed looking down at her hands as silence stretched for a long moment.

"No one has ever looked at me the way she does. She sees a beautiful man with a good heart and a kind nature. I have wanted to be a man like that but I cannot see it in myself. My Isonei looks on the Beast of Kroscur and sees a man worthy of love and trust. I want to be the man she sees, and I can endure her faults. It is my hope that she will come to understand propriety and close herself to other men. Then we will be content together."

After another pause, he continued, "I wanted to ask you to teach her more than her duties. She has never seen a proper and virtuous Lady. With your guidance, I believe she can learn to be the wife I need."

"Draeseth..." Lislora licked her lips and drew a deep breath, "It isn't only Lady Isonei who needs to be reminded of propriety. You seem to forget how you should behave when she's in the room. If you can't show her how a virtuous man is meant to be, how will she understand the importance of her own behavior to you?"

Finally lifting her head, she offered him a look of apology, "You have always been good-hearted and kind to me, as well as deeply respectable. The change in you concerns me."

"What change do you see, Lislora?" He frowned, placing the ledger back on the desk.

"You weren't as respectful to the priests as you usually are, you sounded more like one of your brothers. And I've heard rumors that you've already spent a great deal on dresses and gifts."

"Those things are true." Draeseth scowled at the desk. "What do you suggest?"

"Come with me to mid-morning prayers? It may be a good place to start."

His face softened, "Agreed."