A Dream of Empire Ch. 005

"By the wenches?" Alanna asked with a coy smile.

"Not by the wenches! I... won a payout there, a glorious sum. Only, the fools who owned the hall chose not to grant me my well-earned coin, and stole most of what I had instead."

Talos shrugged. "And what am I supposed to do about that, Em?"

"Why, venture with me to Pinkwater and... intimidate them, or something! We shall force them to return my things, and pay me my rightful earnings. With interest, naturally."

"So you... interrupted our reunion to ask if Talos could be your... thug? Some mercenary?" Casiama accused with more than a hint of anger.

"No! No!" Emmanuel exclaimed, raising his hands in a a mockery of fright of Casiama's glare. "Why, I would never do that. I only wanted him to back me up, you see."

"You shall not have him, Emmanuel," Alanna replied with a squint.

"Absolutely not," Casiama agreed with a quick shake of her head. Emmanuel's eyes flickered back and forth between the girls before they settled on Talos. Both men shrugged, though only Talos was smiling.

"Sorry, Em. If you'd've asked me two years ago, I would've said it sounded fun," Talos rejected him softly. "Nowadays? Nowadays It only sounds like an unnecessary escalation of thievery to me. How much did you lose? I could just loan you the coin."

Emmanuel shook his head. "But it's not about the coin, Talos. It's about the pride!"

"Then it's even more foolish," Talos said softly. "Pride waxes before it wanes, Em. Take it as a well-earned life lesson, and let it lie."

The bard only pondered on Talos' wisdom for just a moment, then rose to his feet once more.

"Never. I knew you would decline, Talos," he accused with a pointed finger. "I knew you would be far too comfortable here for a good adventure. You're just another has-been, a man past his prime."

Emmanuel's unexpectedly-severe tone startled Casiama, and she scooched away from Talos on the couch. She found the courage to look over at her lover, yet only found him smirking.

"Guilting me won't work either, Em," he replied warmly. "Come back in a week, and see if it still matters to you. I'll consider it then."

"Oh, it will Talos, it assuredly will," he nodded thrice with a squint.

Casiama noticed Alanna snuggling into Talos' shoulder during the silence after Emmanuel's retort, then Talos tilted his head so it rested atop hers. A sly smile formed on Alanna's mouth, and Talos' smile grew wider still. Casiama felt a pang of jealousy of their intrinsic connection just then, but didn't realize she was pouting. He kissed Alanna on the forehead, who retaliated with a wet smooch against his neck.

"But please Em, leave me to my comforts for now. My attention is required upstairs," Talos said with a grin.

-=-=-

Casiama and Alanna had forced their man to half-a-dozen orgasms by the afternoon that day, proof of a trio happily reunited. Casiama, now completely sated of her lust, had begun to worry once more. It seemed Alanna and Talos had had quite the bit of fun on their adventures alone, and she found herself getting jealous of the stories told to her.

She shouldn't have been jealous, she thought rationally. Casiama had been the one to offer it to Alanna, after all. She felt regret for traveling with Talos alone for half a year, stealing Alanna's mate away from her. A week with the babe Talos would be the least she could do.

The jealousy still came regardless. Casiama tried writing poetry, reading histories, and even a bit of light study just to get her mind off of it before realizing she couldn't do it alone. She needed Talos. She needed her man.

Casiama approached him as he was polishing his leather armor, dirtied from the recent travels. She cleared her throat softly, and he quickly turned towards her with the world's most comforting smile.

Casiama beamed. She almost turned away just then, not wanting to sour his mood.

"What's up, Cass?" he asked with raised brows. Casiama shook her head.

"Nothing, Talos. I love you."

His piercing eyes lit up in an instant. He dropped the brush and armor onto the floor immediately, rising to his feet to kiss the princess deeply. "I love you too, Casiama."

The elf swayed her head side-to-side, her long golden-brown hair brushing softly against her shoulders, giddy now she were near him. Casiama felt like such a little girl in his presence.

"Something's wrong, Cass."

She pursed her lips, unsure what to say. She raised a hand over her shoulder instead, pointing towards the front of the townhouse with her thumb. "Think we can go on a walk together? You and me?" she asked gently. Talos nodded.

"Of course. I'll show you the boat you purchased," he smirked. Talos tilted his gaze towards the ceiling briefly, and the elf knew that he was silently projecting the same to Alanna upstairs, who was currently feeding the babe. He took her hand in his a moment later.

"Okay, let's go."

-=-=-

Casiama and Talos walked hand-in-hand down the cobblestone streets of Catriona as the sun set over the massive ocean before them. Catriona always promised an interesting sunset, being on a thin peninsula with a monolthic mountain peak at the end; it almost appeared as if there were two seas, both cast with the sun's orange and red glow simultaneously.

Casiama, now in her typical human attire with a hooded cloak, spoke in hushed tones of her troubles. She wasn't sure how Talos would react, but she needed his help now more than ever. Casiama spoke of her jealousy over her man's treatment of Alanna.

"But Cass, I don't get it. You seemed to enjoy it in bed today," Talos shrugged, missing the point entirely.

"I know... and everything in bed is wonderful, I swear. But everywhere else... every thing else, I..."

Talos stopped walking, forcing the elf clasping his hand to do the same. He hugged the now-pouting elf tightly, then stroked her hair as she spoke.

"I feel so jealous! Every time you look at her my heart drops in my chest. And the... conversations, all the things I miss when you communicate silently. I don't know what to do about it all, and... and I know I shouldn't feel this way, Talos, but perhaps I just have a predisposition for it."

She wanted Talos to reassure her, just then, but had no idea how he could accomplish it. Casiama hadn't meant for all of this to come out, yet his sympathetic eyes had forced them from her. She buried her face into his shoulder.

"Casiama, all of this was your idea, remember?"

And that's supposed to make me feel better?! she thought at first, feeling her heart drop once more. But...

She lifted her face from his shoulder to gaze into his green eyes with her own, the colors of a spring-time forest now weaving together once more.

"I know," she replied with a whimper, "and it was the right thing to do... right?" she asked him. Talos gripped her shoulders, and leaned his head closer to hers.

"You tell me, Cass," he said seriously.

At that moment, Casiama was reminded of the undeniable fact that Talos was still hers. In those piercing portals she saw his absolute sympathy, his undeniable love for her. She nodded in reply.

"Yes, I-I believe it was. For the babe... Talos..."

"I love you, Casiama," Talos assured, "and I want to remind you, the most important thing in the world to me is your happiness."

"I know," she nodded tearfully. Casiama felt a wash of guilt flood over her, knowing that Alanna was likely aware of the current conversation through her connection to Talos. "But, Alanna... please don't say anything to anger her. She could be listening."

Talos shook his head. "It isn't news to her, she knows it's true. But you can't hold this over me, to be depressed that I did what you asked. You gave me the ultimatum, Cass. To stay here."

"I know..."

"Or I'd lose you."

Casiama shook her head, unsure what to say. She felt the tears building.

"Oh, Talos!" Casiama exclaimed with trembling lip, "I couldn't have. The gods know I do not have the courage to leave you." Talos smiled at the confession, speaking after finding an appropriate reply a moment later.

"But honey, you would have been mopey for weeks if I declined. I couldn't have that. Your pouts are what I fear most."

Casiama snorted with laughter and smiled tearfully for him, retreating from the world and into his protective arms once more. "You're my everything, Talos," she whispered into his chest.

"As are you to me, Casiama," he softly replied.

The sun was setting over the endless sea to the west, carpeting the ocean with a wide band of oranges and reds. Talos gazed towards it as Casiama nuzzled into his chest, her hands clutching his arms to ensure he would never leave her again. She sniffled for a minute, slowly regaining her composure. She pushed away from him when she felt prepared to do so.

"Well then. Shall we go see your boat?" she asked with the warmest smile she could muster.

"Our boat. And no," Talos answered, nodding towards the sunset and taking her hand in his. "Let's stay here a while."

Casiama and Talos made their way hand-in-hand to the shoreline, then, and found a seat on the edge of a fountain as they gazed out over the sunset to their west. Casiama laid her head on his shoulder with her eyes transfixed on the beyond, while Talos only bothered to gaze on her wondrous smile instead. All was well in the world.