Note: You can change font size, font face, and turn on dark mode by clicking the "A" icon tab in the Story Info Box.
You can temporarily switch back to a Classic Literotica® experience during our ongoing public Beta testing. Please consider leaving feedback on issues you experience or suggest improvements.
Click here
His father had heard van Sietter's last comment. He got suddenly up and moved down the table to put a hand on Tashka's shoulder. Tashka looked up, startled, at her Lord General, her blue eyes creased nervously up.
"Your Lordship," van H'las said loudly. "We must give the children some time to consider this serious matter, allow them a year, I prithou. If Vadya and Tashka feel they are not of a mind to marry, I will gladly take your ... your daughter up into my strategic staff. I do not think there can be a greater demonstration of my faith that a bond can be made between our families which will last beyond our lives." Pava had started at this extraordinary offer and spilt some of his wine.
van Sietter looked very coldly down the table at van H'las. "If only the merchants could understand the significance of such an offer," he drawled. "Unfortunately the delicate issues of military security are beyond them so we must depend on our children's goodwill each to the other."
"I have bestowed a medal on your daughter in recognition of the goodwill she has shown to us in H'las and my son has always sung her praises to me," van H'las replied, squeezing the grey silk of Tashka's shoulder and looking back at van Sietter with hard open eyes.
Vadya saw Tashka's blue eyes suddenly flash with tears. His heart was pierced by a complex of emotions: pity; embarrassment for her – he knew she would feel it to cry in front of them all; anger at himself that it was his father not him, her Commander, who had stood up for her; shame as he remembered she was eating carefully past a curving pink lip that he had split with his glove.
Tashka had laid a hand on Lord van H'las' hand where he still gripped her shoulder, her head stooped down over her plate of food, her slanted blue eyes turning aside from Vadya's gaze.
"My officer, I will sit with you," van H'las said, "if the Lady Ilya will give place to me and sit with your sister by marriage in my place." He gave Ilya a courtly bow, she looked nervously at her father before moving to sit by Arianna. Arianna was looking with a warm smile at van H'las, who gave her that besotted smile back. Vadya made a mental note to remind his father to try not to behave in a manner inviting the dangerous glove of Clair el Maien van Sietter, who had once marked el Parva van Selaine's face over a most trivial matter to do with his Lady wife. Arianna had turned to talk to Ilya and make her comfortable and to draw van V'ta into their conversation so that van H'las and Tashka might be able to talk more privately but they did not speak, with van Sietter leaning in their direction to listen. van H'las sat back in his seat with his hand on Tashka's shoulder, looking inappropriately and surreptitiously at his hostess. Tashka sat in her seat with her head turned away, a diamond and pearl earring glistening like a tear hanging from her earlobe.
"Is it not so that one of your Lieutenants has family in the cloth trade in H'las," van Sietter enquired in a bored tone of voice, poking at a beautiful arrangement of vegetables cut like flowers on his plate. "Do tell me what he says of the state of the cloth trade."
Vadya was very surprised that he would know such a thing. He thought of Hanya Lein, whose family were involved in some political movement of the merchants, he did not fully understand it. He was just going to tell Lord van Sietter that Tashka knew much more about it than he did, in an effort to show her that he too could praise her to her old snake of a parent, when Arianna knocked over her wine. A thin red wave flooded across van Sietter's plate, causing him to jump back in his chair.
"So clumsy of me!" she cried. "Jamies! Bring a cloth, quickly, quickly! Bring your Lord a clean plate. Dids't not try this cheese, I think, my Lord? Lord el Gaiel, we are planning a trip the morrow to the artist Hyaline's farm. (He is under my patronage.) I believe it is a pleasant ride up into the hills; I will of course be taking the carriage with my Lord van Sietter and the other Ladies. You may like to take some rides hereabouts. I am told there is fine hunting here in the Sietter Hills although there are some very high hedges," she dipped her lashes demurely as she said this. Pava sniggered into his wine and spilt some again. van Sietter was still crossly looking aside as the servants cleared his plate away. Vadya saw Arianna screw her face up at Pava in a quick hilarious grimace that only made Pava snigger the more.
Vadya politely said that he had always heard the going was very good in the Sietter Hills. Arianna's face had become that of a demure proud Lady who occasionally trotted out to meet the men on their way back from the chase, too silly to realise that the hills around her own castle were famous hunting territory. Vadya glanced sideways at van Sietter and surprised a look of brooding irritation in that pale face turned towards his daughter by marriage. He felt glad he had not grown up in this atmosphere of secrets and spying, people making cruel sarcastic remarks and asking what seemed to be innocent questions but you were not quite sure if your answer might not give away something which would later be used in circumstances you did not wish to know more about.
- COMMENTS
Strixalucoabout 2 years agoI, for the one, cannot understand the feeble amount of feedback for this. Of course the style of the story is not for everyones tastes, but the story is brilliant.
NaokoSmithalmost 9 years agoAuthorThank you to Anonymous for some excellent feedback.
"You explore so little of the world" – It’s true, I have focussed on the characters and not written much about the religion or even the landscapes. I will work on this.
"Characters with the same name are confusing" – OK, I will have a look at this too, although I don’t think you felt it was a major issue? Just that sometimes I could have done it better.
"What’s the point of the subplot of Clair's dead friend and the son" – there is a point. However this is also the first of a trilogy of novels. In the next novel, Hanya Vashin (the son) is a major character, so he has to be around occasionally even though he seems to be purely decorative at the moment.
"I really started to like Anna then she dropped out of the story" – she’ll be back! I’m focussing on Vadya and Tashka right now; Clair and Anna will get their turn soon too.
"I never, for a moment, suspected Tashka to be a woman" – Yayyy! LOL. I have worked very hard to make Tashka masculine, even after we find out she’s a woman. I didn’t want to have a woman dressed in men’s clothes, I wanted a female character who isn’t ‘as good as a man’, she is just like a man and so she wears trousers.
"PS I think your punctuation can be cleaned up a lot too" – LOL, I don’t suppose you edit do you …? *says wistfully*. I should get someone to look at it for me, it’s so hard to punctuate your own writing.
NaokoSmithalmost 9 years agoAuthorI'm going to keep uploading chapters, as requested. I want to say Thank You to yesterdays for his kind comments, and to two others who sent me invaluable feedback. Thank you to everyone who is still reading, and especially those who vote - showing me that there is something worth your while reading.
I especially value you spending time on this novel as I know it isn't a classic Lit tale, not enough sex. I have had this story around for a long time, and I wasn't sure if it was worth telling any more. People are saying you would like to read more, so I'll upload a new chapter tonight and keep going till it's all there.
NaokoSmithalmost 9 years agoAuthorRight after I submitted this chapter and before it went live, the number of views for Chapter 9 suddenly shot up. I felt maybe I was being hasty to take a break from uploading the series, Because there were so few views before, I worried I was just using up people's time here, but if people are still reading I would love to keep loading up the new chapters at least once a week.
I would still like to quickly improve the earlier chapters and upload those in line with the one bit of feedback I had about the names. So if you have any more feedback I could use to improve my writing, please do put it here, or using the Send Feedback form.
:)
