The Invisible Chains - Part 2: Bonds of Fear (58 page)

“I’m so sorry, Grunwell,” he said, looking down. “I didn’t know.

It’s not... It’s just... well, at home, there’s this girl...”

He noticed he was stuttering and stammering, so he kept quiet.

“Isn’t there always?” Grunwell said. “No need for you to be sorry,

your highness. Good evening.”

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When he couldn’t hear Grunwell’s steps anymore, Jerruth sighed

long and hard.

“Nice going, Jerruth,”
he thought,
“one guy hates you, the other

loves you, and he can’t be very happy with you either.”

Suddenly he felt much colder. He looked up. There she stood.

Straight. In the pale moonlight. Her white robes and her rich, golden

hair slowly fluttering in the wind. Smiling.

He wasn’t fooled. He knew it was an illusion. Just a hunger made

into a semblance of substance and form. Just his indulgent mind

showing what his needy, starving heart craved to see.

There was no girl at home. Of course there wasn’t. There was

only his lady.

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455

Chapter 13:

Collision Course

“Did you guys have a good time?” Arranulf asked when Obyann

and Ryhunzo came into the barrack.

“Splendid, just splendid,” Ryhunzo beamed, putting a little basket

with nuts on the table.

He leaned over and kissed Rahendo.

“It was all right,” Obyann said. “You know... market day in Lorseth

Market. Lots of people about. Much yelling. Their celery is pathetic.”

“Why don’t you just let me sit down, Love of my Life,” Ryhunzo

said, “and then you can sit on my lap.”

“We have six chairs,” Obyann said, sitting down himself, “and

there’s only four of us — and that’s how it’s going to stay, Landemere

— so you can each use a different chair. Your very own chair. We

don’t mind in the least.”

“This is much cozier,” Rahendo cooed.

“Look, Light of my Eyes, I bought some nuts. There’s salty nuts,

honey covered nuts and sugar coated nuts.”

Ryhunzo took one glazed in honey and fed it to Rahendo, who

blinked his eyes appreciatively.

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“Hm... honey... which reminds me: I got new letters from my

sisters.”

“Again, Sunshine on my Path?”

“Yes. I think they’re bored, so they write and write and write.”

“Anything interesting?”

“Well, Nulfie,” he said, turning to Arranulf, “Londo asks how you

would like her to pour honey — see, that’s what reminded me — all

over your, eh, junk I believe she called it, and then slowly lick it up

and...”

He took a few parchments of a stack on the table and rifled

through them.

“Ah, yes, here it is... since she has no objections to make certain

allowances, she is preparing this piece of wooden ornament that fell

off one of her bedposts. She reckons she can transform it, using a

sharp knife, into a believable facsimile of, eh, a splendiferous dick, as

she puts it.” He read a few sentences in silence. “Ah, yes, she asks me

exactly what girth and length your, ahem, fuck hole can accommodate

as it would be a shame to scrape off too much.”

He looked up apologetically.

“She still thinks I somehow have access to that information,” he

said pensively. “Which I don’t,” he added quickly and emphatically

for Ryhunzo’s benefit.

“Take another nut, Revered Object of my Sweetest Dreams,”

Ryhunzo said, feeding him one.

“Have you told them about Ryhunzo,” Arranulf asked, hoping to

lead the conversation into a whole new direction.

Rahendo nodded, munching.

“Londo writes she’s so happy for me she could piss cider and shit

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457

kittens. Alanda says that, now more than ever, it is very important I

should dry between my toes after washing, because a young noble

can’t have icky things growing there. And that I should remember

taking clean underwear when going to fight the Mukthars.”

“Yep,” Obyann mocked, “whatever would they think if you fought

them with dirty underwear on. I’m sure they would be shocked. They

might even refuse to fight us at all and withdraw in disgust. It would

be a disaster. Whatever would we do? The horror. The shame.”

“Oh, well, they’re not really going to put us into danger, are they?”

Rahendo asked, a little bit worried.

“They will have no other choice, Joy of my Days,” Ryhunzo said,

shaking his curls. “The Mukthars are terribly, frighteningly cruel

but magnificent warriors and there’s lots and lots of them. So the

prince will need every available sword and that means also ours. I

imagine we will be in the thick of it, fighting side by side, my All and

Everything. Of course, under their ferocious onslaught, you will fall

first, horribly maimed, bleeding out of several gaping wounds. I will

be standing over you, defending you till the bitter end. Naturally,

they will overcome me, and mortally wounded as well, I will sink

down beside you and with my last forces I will crawl up to you and,

while our slowly dimming eyes meet, I will press my lips upon yours.

Like this.”

He kissed a very white Rahendo full on the mouth.

“It will be awesome,” he added enthusiastically.

“Oh, Pookie, couldn’t we just forgo the horrible wounds, and the

blood, and the dying and stuff?”

“Alas, Eternal Spring of my Desire, no, but that is why we should

make love as often and as long as we can while we still have the

opportunity. Fiery, hot, animal love. You like it, when I make rough

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doggy love to you in that special manner in that special place, don’t

you, Gilding of my Existence?”

He tickled the boy on his lap.

“Oh, Pookie, don’t. We’re not alone,” Rahendo giggled.

“No, you’re not,” Obyann said, rolling his eyes towards the ceiling.

“And guys, remember, you’re boys. You’re boys. Boys.”

They ignored him completely, in turn pecking kisses.

“Don’t worry, Rahendo,” Arranulf said, laughing, “I happen to

know that the farthest we will get is the base camp near Dermolhea.

The provisional plan seems to be for the army to take the field at

the first sign of the enemy and meet them in the Renuvian Plains. Us

they will leave behind to guard the camp. We will be quite safe.”

“I doubt that very much,” Ryhunzo said, blowing a recalcitrant

curl out of his face. “Just to be on the safe side we should make

steamy, passionate, wild, wild love as often as we can anyway, Final

Answer to All my Questions.”

“Yes, I agree,” Rahendo said, “that would indeed be the wisest

course of action.”

“Just out of curiosity, how many pages are there, Nulf my man?”

Ryhunzo asked.

Arranulf shrugged.

“You’ll have to ask Obyann. I just tell them where they will be

lodging. He keeps the lists and rosters.”

Ryhunzo looked expectantly at Obyann.

“Well?”

“Oh, quite a lot.”

“Yes, but exactly?”

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“Exactly enough, I suppose.”

“Being how many?”

Obyann began sweating. Just a little.

“Eh... plenty.”

“Oh, Obie,” Rahendo said, “I am so, so disappointed in you.”

“You can’t count, can you?” Ryhunzo asked.

“Sure I can count,” Obyann defended himself indignantly.

Ryhunzo took a handful of nuts out of the basket and laid them

upon the table.

“Count them please.”

“No. Why would I? We’ll be eating them in a moment and then

there’ll be none anyway.”

“The nuts. Count the nuts.”

Obyann looked at the determined face at the other side of the

table.

“All right. Will you leave me alone then?”

“The nuts. Just count the nuts.”

Sweating, Obyann counted out the nuts.

“Nine... ten. That’s it. Ten nuts. Satisfied, you little tyrant?”

Without a word, Ryhunzo laid two more nuts on the table.

“Eleven... twelve,” Obyann counted.

Another two nuts landed on the table.

“Eh... twelve... twelve... twelve and some.”

Another three nuts were laid upon the table.

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“Twelve and some more... Now leave me alone.”

Everybody fell silent.

“Twelve, Obyann? How come you can count to twelve and no

further?” Arranulf asked softly after a while.

“Well, I figured I should be able to count my sons,” Obyann said

uneasily. “Wouldn’t want to lose one.”

Arranulf thought for a while.

“But, weren’t you stopping at eight?”

“Of course I’m stopping at eight. But there’s bound to be some

mishaps.”

“And by mishaps you mean girls, I suppose.”

“Anyway, I saw no reason to learn to count any further.”

“But Obie, that’s terrible,” Rahendo said, “they’ll be robbing you

blind.”

“That’s what you said to make me learn how to read, you little

manipulator.”

“Can he read?” Ryhunzo asked.

“Oh, well, he can decipher a letter, I suppose. I wouldn’t exactly

call it reading.”

“Hey,” Obyann intervened, “don’t talk about me as if I’m not here.”

“There’s nothing else for it: I’ll have to teach him. Counting,

adding, subtracting, long division. Is he a quick study, Delight of my

Dreams?”

“Hey, I’m here. Right here,” Obyann fumed.

“Meh,” Rahendo went, making a so-so gesture with one ringed

hand.

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461

“Look, guys, it is not happening. I mean it this time,” Obyann

stated firmly.

“But, Obie,” Rahendo pleaded, “you have to learn arithmetic.”

“‚Rithmetic?” Obyann looked at Arranulf.

“Fancy name for counting,” Arranulf said.

“You really must, Obie,” Rahendo continued. “Look, they’ll show

you a long list with numbers and you won’t be able to make heads or

tails of it. So you’ll ask ‘What did the seed cost?’ and they’ll answer

‘Not all that much, my lord’. Then you’ll ask ‘And what did we get

from the sale of the grain?’ and they’ll answer ‘Quite a lot, my lord.’

So you’ll say ‘That makes quite a lot minus not all that much’ and

they’ll answer ‘Yes, my lord, which makes just enough to get by.’ Tens,

maybe hundreds of rioghals will disappear in their satchels, never

to be seen or heard of again. It will be a disaster, Obie. The future of

Ramaldah depends on you being able to count.”

Obyann looked unsurely at Arranulf.

“Actually, I think he’s right, big guy.”

Obyann groaned.

“That’s settled then,” Ryhunzo said. “So, what’s the best way to

teach him, my Moonbeam in a Dark Night.”

Rahendo put one finger to his lips, and wrinkles on his brow

indicated he was concentrating.

“Well, teaching Obie is a bit like roasting a chicken and keeping

it moist.”

“I’m afraid you quite lost me, my Balm on an Open Wound.”

“You know how you have to ladle the juices over a roasting

chicken to prevent it from drying out? In much the same manner you

ladle knowledge over his brain. Most of it drips right off, but tiny,

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ever so tiny bits get absorbed. So, you have to repeat the process

over and over and over again. See?”