"You
have a very clever tongue my lord," Lady Una moaned. Since Derek's
tongue was otherwise occupied he didn't bother to reply. Instead he
brought the lady to the pinnacle of ecstasy before seeking his own
pleasure buried in her willing body. Afterwards, Lady Una lay sated
and exhausted, watching him move to the fire and pour himself a
goblet of wine. The firelight bronzed his imposing muscular body, the
road map of scars only added to his sensual appeal. His lean, rugged
and handsome face wore an uncompromising expression that never broke
into either a smile or laughter. She did not need to see his
countenance as he stared into the fire to know the predatory cast of
it since it never changed.
Feeling
renewed desire as she studied the glorious sight of him she rose from
the bed and went to him, her own body nude and flawless. She knew she
presented an exquisite sight in the low shadowy firelight, if only he
would turn and look at her. She placed one elegant hand on his
shoulder and leaned in, brushing her body against his and whispering
into his ear. "The
sight of your hard body fuels my desire, Derek. You are an uncommonly
attractive man."
Derek turned to glance at Una, his eyes sweeping over her alluring
features, radiant skin, ebony waves of waist-length hair and
statuesque body. Without the slightest flicker of interest his eyes
raised back to her face.
"Are you still here?" he inquired casually and without any real interest. Then he turned his back on Una's shocked and outraged expression and moved to the window in his tower chamber, staring out at the mountains beyond as he sipped his wine.
"You bastard!" Una spat, snatching up her clothing and awkwardly pulling on her simples and gown. "How dare you dismiss me in such a manner? Do you realize who I am? Every man in this kingdom desires me and I chose to share my body with you! This is how you repay my gift." Una finished dressing and continued to address Derek's unyielding and scarred back. "I should have known that even wealth and a title couldn't make a gentleman out of a commoner. You should be grateful any lady would want you with your background, my Lord." She snarled, the venom dripping from her voice.
Derek continued to ignore her; bored with her, he had already dismissed her from his mind as he contemplated the silhouette of the mountains from his window. She raced towards the door and yanked it open, firing one last parting shot. "I see why your princess Sondra chose a fire-breathing monster over you." She shouted, slamming the door behind her. Even this did not arouse Derek's ire, the mention of Sondra and the way she had rejected him failed to upset him anymore. Perhaps finally he had set that part of his life firmly in his past.
Una struggled not to cry, aware that she had made a huge mistake saying such a thing. Derek would never harm her physically but after that reference to the former princess of Ariva, she knew he would not welcome her back into his bed no matter how prettily she begged. And she wanted back into his bed. No matter how poorly he treated her afterwards, he was a considerate and skillful lover and he never took his own pleasure without seeing to hers first. She still desired him even knowing that she could never have what she really wanted, that he would never marry her. He would probably never marry any of the women that Una suspected shared his bed.
Despite his position as the wealthiest and most powerful lord in the kingdom and as a national hero, Derek seemed disinclined to marry and secure his line for the future. Considering his common background and the fact that only through the King's favor did he win his noble title, it wouldn't seem that many prospective brides would consider him as a future husband. But his handsome face and tall, powerful frame in a country where noblemen ran to obesity and inbred homeliness made him a green girl's most delicious fantasy. For those more experienced in matters of love like the widowed Lady Una, his skilled mastery of the bedroom arts and the way her body learned to crave his touch drew her to him like a moth to flame. Though he always burned her she kept returning for more. She returned to her chambers in Derek's castle, aware that she would be returning home with her family at the end of this country house party without experiencing again the euphoric pleasure he bestowed so proficiently on her.
Derek finished his wine and then refilled his goblet. He'd already drunk too much but that was nothing new. Since he retired his position as Warlord and taken over the responsibilities of his new title and estates, he'd found himself suffering from unrelieved boredom. He wasted his daylight hours pouring over accounts with his very efficient and knowledgeable steward, fully aware that his input wasn't necessary to the smooth running of his estates. The Miner's Cooperative dealt with the ginacite mines completely, paying him his enormous quarterly percentage for the protection of his guard force and the privilege of using his land. It seemed he wasn't needed at all and left with nothing to do he sought less wholesome ways to entertain himself.
At night he spent his time with wine and women. When he wasn't throwing a house party for the more experienced widows he took his pleasure with the maids who'd delighted in placing their ample charms in his path from the moment he took control of the estate. He spent most of his evenings either drunk or on the verge and he hated when the women stayed the night and he must face them the following sunbirth with a hangover and little memory of their encounter.
Briefly he allowed his memory to touch upon another woman, one with whom he'd never shared a more intimate embrace than a kiss, one he had loved more than his own life and placed his life in jeopardy to rescue. "Sondra," the whisper of her name still held the power to cut through the drink-induced numbness. She was out there, somewhere in those mountains, happily trapped in the form of a dragon forever. Out there with her dragon lover, the one she chose over him. This night, her name only cut a small wound in his heart as the memory of her magical smile faded over time and he struggled to recall the exact features of her face.
Still the night held no joy for him, nor would the endless cycles to follow. He could not see spending the remainder of his life dragging through the rotas in this manner. If he failed to discover a purpose for himself he would end up as fat and dissolute as all of the other nobles of Ariva, a sad remnant of the hero that once saved the entire kingdom from invasion. He finished the flagon of wine and collapsed in his bed, drunk and depressed.
Several cycles later something occurred that filled Derek with the first twinge of interest he'd experienced in a long time. His steward informed him that the ginacite mines had just received a huge order from the queen of Vanguard. The miners possessed the size and quantity of ginacite and the ability to fulfill the order but feared that the small guard typically sent with the ginacite transport would not be enough to protect such a large order.
Derek declared that he would personally travel with the queen's ginacite, ignoring his steward's vociferous protest and his unsubtle references to marriage and heirs. Derek would never marry, he had come close to making that commitment once and he would not be so foolish again. Besides, he assured the steward, it was just a routine escort mission. Surely Derek would not encounter anything he, a trained warrior, could not handle. He fought for rotas in the southern lands and even served in Vanguard, his destination, as a mercenary before fighting the battle at Ulrick Pass three rotas earlier. He could barely contain the first shiver of excitement during preparations for the journey and the minimal adventure it promised. It could not prove any more dull than his life here in Arivale.
It took fourteen cycles for the stone smiths to complete the two giant obelisks ordered by the queen. The smiths worked tirelessly on the milky stone, bathed in the lavender glow of the aether that filled it. After they completed the statues it took another ten-cycle to empty the naturally occurring aether, the purest form of magical energy, from the obelisks. The queen specifically ordered ginacite obelisks uncharged by aether and though the miners could not understand why she issued such an unusual request, they were not about to complain since she paid the full price for the charged stones. They used tuning instruments to change the resonance of the crystal structures and the stones released their aether charge, emptying their magical energy into other uncharged stones that the Cooperative would resell to another client.
Finally, Derek found himself mounted on his favorite stallion Panzer, ready for travel with a double guard of his house soldiers and a huge transport cart carrying two sleek, alabaster white ginacite obelisks that gleamed in the centerday sunlight. Ignoring the final vehement protests of his steward and completely unaware of the weeping of disappointed women taking place in the kitchens and servants quarters, Derek signaled and the carter cracked his whip. The massive bullocks, startled out of their standing doze, strained against the yokes and the cart rocked noisily into motion. The transport cart pulled forward with Derek in the lead and his guard fell-in around and behind the vehicle. They began the first leg of their journey, the long trip to Ulrick Pass. After that they would find themselves in Halidor's territory.
The idea of journeying through Halidor filled Derek with the anticipation of a battle-hardened warrior facing an upcoming battle. After all, the southern kingdom had declared war on Ariva with nothing more than a spurious accusation as their excuse. The true reason the Prince of Halidor wanted to invade Ariva had been the discovery of the ginacite that even now filled Lord Derek's coffers to overflowing, not to mention enriched the entire valley kingdom. Though the Priest King of Halidor sent an official apology for his son Prince Onian's unsanctioned attack on Ariva three rotas previous, Derek would never trust the Halidorians.
The Priest King's guards had never captured and executed Prince Onian for attacking Ariva and attempting to murder his own father with poison. Derek suspected that the man still haunted the Halidorian forests, waiting for an opportunity to usurp or reclaim his power. Capturing such a large and expensive treasure as the ginacite obelisks would not hurt Onian's standing with the Halidorians. In fact it might prove enough to earn Onian a second chance with the Priest King whose own greed and excess sucked Halidor dry of wealth and prosperity.
It took six cycles to reach the pass. Naturally they encountered no problems in the Arival Valley since it now fell under the protection of two powerful dragon guardians. The peace that had lulled Ariva into complacency for generations prior to the battle with Halidor and its allies now reigned again. Such tranquility left no room in this kingdom for warriors like Derek. He reflected that he would not miss it much as he traveled once again to the southern lands. Harmony set uncomfortably upon him lately.
At the Black Bridge, an obsidia chasm formed during the battle of the Pass, Derek turned to gaze upon the Arival Valley one last time before he left it behind. The sight of the two dragons that even now executed aerial acrobatics over the capital city three cycle's ride away failed to elicit much more than a tiny pang of sadness and regret. He turned away, wishing good riddance on the entire kingdom and trying not to hope too much for a little action on his journey.
Derek preferred not to press his men to travel quickly, well aware that while they traversed the entire length of Halidor he needed his soldiers to remain as fresh and rested as possible. For this reason, despite his urge to remain on the rarely used trails and pathways, he instead called for stops at several of the smaller towns in Halidor. The obelisks proved difficult to conceal, so other than the paltry cover of a canvas tarp he made little effort to hide them. Instead he posted his largest and roughest looking men as guards during their town visits in the hopes of discouraging unwanted attention.
His concern proved largely unnecessary. The kingdom of Halidor had suffered greatly in the last three rotas. At the first town where they rested, the border town of Halinden, the guards paid only cursory attention to Derek's official travel papers which identified him as a citizen of Ariva. The documents issued by the Priest King of Halidor granted him pass privileges for merchants. The guards displayed more interest in the golden helms, Halidor currency, which one of Derek's sergeants pressed into their gauntleted fists as they passed through the yawning gates of the town. Derek had learned during previous travels that guards made very little in the way of coin and appreciated bribes. It tended to ease passage through a province to spread some gold around to the men wearing armor, especially when that armor belonged to a former enemy.
Derek did not concern himself about being recognized in Halinden, although he had visited before. The citizens of Halidor posed little threat to the Arivans, not since word spread through their kingdom that Ariva possessed powerful and magical dragon guardians that responded to the summons of any of its citizens. Though that was not entirely the case, Derek had no intention of disabusing them of the notion. Indeed, he strongly doubted that either Sondra or her mate would rush to his aid should he find himself in danger beyond the borders of Ariva, but the rumors made travel in the foreign kingdom safer for all Arivans, even himself. It meant he could sleep with at least one eye closed this night.
The decline of Halidor due to the excesses of the current priest king and the ill-fated and expensive campaign against Ariva waged by Prince Onian left the citizens with little in the way of wealth or even poverty for that matter. In Halidor, a small amount of coin went a very long way. The citizens were so thrilled by the very presence of travelers and by extension their custom, that they paid little attention to the large cart and its contents. Instead the destitute townspeople rushed to cater to the every need of Derek and his men, responding to the promise of gold like a starving man to a feast.