Marcus of Duros Ch. 04

"Remember Marcus, if you get too snarky I might slip. Lips are good but teeth-" She bit him gently, and Marcus jerked in discomfort, "they hurt a little bit."

Smiling sweetly up at him, she rose from her knees and pecked him on the cheek. It was Marcus's turn to glare at her as she stepped out of the shower. Wiggling her ass for him, she took two towels off the rack. Shutting off the now freezing water, Marcus stepped quickly out from the shower and pinched her soft ass as she toweled off her hair.

"You're a brat. You know that right?" He asked playfully as she squealed and turned to him indignantly.

"Maybe I am, but I think you like it."

She turned into his arms and kissed him wetly, trying to ignite his passions again.

"Oh no, none of that missy, we have a lot to do today." Marcus said, forcing her tongue from his mouth and pecking her on the lips with finality.

"Oh?" She asked curiously. "What did you have planned?"

"Well, firstly, we need to go somewhere for breakfast, since apparently we have nothing to eat here, or don't you remember why you woke me up so painfully early?"

"Oh I remember alright, although breakfast may not have been the real reason I woke up up." She grinned at him suggestively.

"Anywayyyyy," he said, mock glaring at her, "after breakfast we can go shopping in the market for some food, and maybe something for you to do when I'm not here. I'm not sure when we'll be headed out again, but sometimes I'm gone for a while, and I don't want you to be bored when I'm gone."

"Right, well I suppose that makes sense." She said hesitantly, as if unwilling to discuss his unknown, but impeding deployment. "Can we visit the book merchants? I really love reading, and I've never had any books of my own. I always had to borrow them from the forum library."

"I'll buy you a whole shelf if you like." Marcus said, taking a towel from her and drying himself.

Distracted by the thought of going on a book buying excursion, Chloe perked up and finished drying herself. Walking into the bedroom she picked up the dress she had been wearing the previous day from where she had left it, neatly folded in Marcus's bureau. Pulling the long flowing skirt up she felt Marcus's eyes on her from the door of the bathroom. She grinned at him as he watched her sway her hips seductively, still topless.

"I thought you said we had places to be mister, or are you up for a second round?" She asked, wiggling her eyebrows lewdly as she pulled her top on.

"No, we don't have time. I think you could probably hear my stomach growling from over there. I was just appreciating the scenery." He winked at her teasingly.

"Well if you've finished being a smart ass, will you come over here and tie this for me?"

She turned around and showed him the two bottom ends of the top which would tie behind her back and offer support to her breasts.

"A bow if you please. A knot wouldn't look very becoming on the wife of a commander, now would it?" She quipped.

"Only the best for you, darling wife." He said, as sarcastically as humanly possible while he fumbled with the slippery fabric.

Finally satisfied with his efforts, he told her he was done, and planted a small kiss on the back of her neck. Walking over to the mirror to examine his work, Chloe turned to him and raised an eyebrow critically.

"Really Marcus? That looks terrible." Undoing his lopsided bow, she retied it perfectly, grinning at him.

"I thought you couldn't do it yourself?" Marcus asked suspiciously.

"No, I asked if you would tie it. Of course I can tie up my own clothes, I just wanted to see if you could do it."

Retrieving her insignia rings from the top of the bureau where she had left them, she put them on, winking at him as he pulled on his casual dress uniform. Walking over to the chest next to his bed he removed the pistol holster from its mount on his dress belt. His belt now held only his sword, which hung comfortingly by his side. Walking back to her he offered her his hand which she took with a smile. Then they walked out to the door, put on their shoes, and left apartment building in the direction of the marketplace for their first public appearance as man and wife.

******

The restaurant Marcus had chosen for breakfast was one of his favorites. It was a modest establishment, able to seat no more than 25 people at small, cozy tables. All in all it was not a terribly upscale establishment. Many of his fellow commanders preferred to dine at more lavish eateries. Marcus however, would take Danny's Lunchroom over any of the more "upscale" joints.

Danny's Lunchroom was located just off of the main marketplace, slightly tucked away on a backstreet, allowing a cool breeze from the Atlantic to filter up the streets and through the open air building. The owner, Danny, was a retired captain nearing 70 now, having been the owner of the restaurant for nearly 30 years.

Whenever Marcus was not on a campaign he would come eat at Danny's as often as he could. Danny made the best empanadas in Duros, stuffed with marinated meats and delicate cheeses. A sweet soup accompanied the empanadas, and Marcus loved dipping the hot empanadas in the soup to complement the flavors.

As Marcus through the door with Chloe holding his hand the hostess, Danny's wife, yelled into the kitchen.

"DANNY! DANNY! MARCUS IS HERE, AND HE'S GOT A LADY WITH HIM TOO!"

Danny came barreling out of the kitchen, spry for a man of 70 years. Still early in the day there were barely any customers. Several retired sergeants sat at a corner table sipping on cool drinks, hardly fazed by the commotion.

"Marcus! Nice to see you kid. Guess you got yourself married huh? Of course you would get the prettiest girl around, what's your name sweetheart?"

"My name is Chloe." She answered respectfully, holding out her hand to shake his.

"Nah, nah, none of that here Miss Chloe."

Danny stepped in swiftly laying a quick kiss on Chloe's cheek. Surprised, Chloe looked over at Marcus as if looking for instructions or an explanation. Marcus just chuckled, watching the scene unfold with amusement.

"Oh don't worry honey, I've known Marcus for a long time, ever since he was a corporal in the 13th Battalion if I recall rightly. He won't mind if I sneak a little kiss, now will he?"

Turning his cheek to her, he tapped it with a bony finger. Chloe looked over at Marcus, as if for permission. Marcus nodded his head slightly, grinning at Danny's antics. Chloe, for her part, kissed Danny's thin cheek with with gusto, lingering slightly longer than was strictly necessary. By the time she had finished, Danny was blushing. His wife looked on with amusement. Over 60 herself, Marcus felt sure she had no ill will towards the beautiful young woman who was kissing her husbands cheek.

"Goodness gracious Charlotte," Danny said, addressing his wife, "she kisses nearly as well as you do."

Marcus chuckled again. Danny had always been a smooth talker. Many of his patrons returned time after time to enjoy Danny's cooking and company. When he wasn't terrorizing his kitchen staff in the back, he was doing the rounds, meeting first time customers, seeing to everyone's meals, and making idle chatter.

"Come on Chloe," Charlotte said, sneaking in and pulling Chloe off to Marcus's normal table, "let's get away from this dirty old man and your handsome husband for a couple minutes."

Danny laughed as the women moved to the table and began talking quietly, their heads close. He noticed Marcus looking curiously at them.

"Haha, you didn't know that about women did you? They always want time to talk to each other. Big secret stuff, you know."

"Well what are they talking about?"

"Who knows? They certainly don't tell us about it. Sometimes they like to use the restroom together as well, if they're in a group with men that is." Danny said as he pulled Marcus towards the bar.

"Come on over here, I've got a great new drink I want you to try."

Walking around to the business side of the bar, Danny began mixing what looked to be a drink based on a fruit smoothie.

"What is it this time Danny? Looks like mango smoothie."

"That's exactly what it is," Danny responded cheefully, "I just added some grape liqueur!" Marcus sipped the drink Danny offered him. It tasted fruity, with only the slightest tinge of alcohol.

"She's quite a catch isn't she Marcus? How'd you find her? I didn't know you were looking for a patron."

"I didn't find her Danny, The Lords offered her to me after I came back from The South African campaign, I could hardly refuse them could I?"

"No you certainly couldn't, they wouldn't have taken that very well. Wouldn't make sense to them that a man wouldn't want a woman for himself, especially one as beautiful as her. Did you want her thought? I always figured you for a loner kind of fellow."

Marcus glared at his grizzled friend, stung by the comment.

"Not in a bad way, you've just always liked to run your own show, and now you've got a wife to look after." Danny said quickly, catching Marcus's expression.

"Oh I don't think I'll have to look after her too much, she seems to be taking care of me more than I her. I got an hour long back massage last night. Do you know how long it's been since I got a back rub? I think not since I was with that hooker in The Maritime Republics, and that one was only a couple minutes, AND I had to pay for it. Not to mention Chloe made me dinner beforehand."

"Well now, seems to me she's got you wrapped around her little finger already." Danny laughed.

"Not quite, but close." Marcus winked at him. "Now how about another one of those for my lovely wife?"

"Sure thing Marcus, I'll go see about getting your empanadas and soup. Still your favorite right? Oh, and tell my wife to come help me in the kitchen."

Marcus took the drinks Danny held out to him and made his way across the room to where Chloe and the matronly Charlotte sat deep in conversation.

"Charlotte, Danny needs your help in the kitchen." Marcus said, interrupting their conversation as politely as possible.

"Pshh, that's for sure," she scoffed, "he could barely hold this place together if it wasn't for me."

Marcus sat down in the seat she vacated as she bustled off to the kitchen, placing the mango drink in front of Chloe.

"Ooooh, what's this Marcus?"

"Danny's latest cocktail."

"It looks like a smoothie." She said with trepidation, as if the smoothie disguised something unexpected.

"Oh it is," Marcus laughed, "Danny just added liqueur to it. Every time I'm in here he has some new and exotic drink for me to try. Usually he just takes a drink off the menu and adds booze." Marcus chucked, explaining the long running joke that Danny and Marcus had sustained for several years.

Chloe began sipping slowly, savoring the cool drink. After several minutes of discussing what they would need to shop for later, Danny came out of the kitchen balancing a large plate and bowl in his hands. Setting the large plate of beef and cheese empanadas in front of Chloe and Marcus he began ladling a thick soup into bowls he had materialized from a pouch at his hip. Finished serving he sat down opposite the two and began regaling them with stories from his patrons. For the most part they were mundane anecdotes about everyday happenings, just meant to fill the silence as they ate.

Finally as Marcus mopped the last of the soup from his bowl with the final empanada, Danny felt it was time ask about the campaign.

"You were gone for a while this time Marcus, why did it take you so long to take a little village in nowhereville Africa?"

"It wasn't a little village Danny, it was a fortress." Marcus responded pointedly.

"57." Marcus said, anticipating his next question.

"57 what?" Chloe asked curiously from his side.

"Lost Chloe. He lost 57 men on this campaign." Danny answered for Marcus, who said nothing, mutely playing with the crumbs on the plate, unwilling to betray his sadness with his voice.

"Oh." Chloe answered quietly, as Danny nodded at her slowly.

Turning his head to look at Chloe he saw her eyes darken with concern and pity. She began to vocalize a question, but before she could Danny cut her off.

"No Chloe, don't ask him about it. Sometimes men don't want to talk about something, and asking them only makes them feel worse. If he wants to tell you about it, he will."

Chloe nodded and settled for taking Marcus's hand which had been nervously scraping at crumbs, and holding it in both of hers. Danny chucked as he watched the pair.

"You kids have a lot to learn about getting along, now that you aren't single and on your own. You two are married now, it's a lot tougher than you think, trust me I know."

"I heard that!" Charlotte yelled from the kitchen.

"Humph, nasty old bat, I'd swear she could hear a mouse shit from a hundred meters." Danny said, grinning as he stood up. "Well kids, I'll let you get on with your day. It was lovely to meet you Chloe. Come back anytime, with out without this ugly numbskull here."

Chloe giggled girlishly as Danny kissed her cheek again. Shaking Marcus's hand, he gathered up their plates and cups and headed off to the kitchen. Marcus stood up, Chloe following suit. Reaching behind his back to the purse on his belt, he unfastened it and opened it. Sifting through the heavy coins he located two iron colored coins and dropped them on the table. Although a simple meal like this would have cost slightly less than one iron in any other eatery, Marcus felt obliged to pay more than generously. In this way, he reasoned, he would help keep Danny in business. Besides, it was money well deserved. Over the years Danny had been helpful in introducing Marcus to Legion officers, always a boon to a young soldier with dreams of promotion. That aside, Danny and Charlotte had always been like a second family to him, eager to hear about his life and how things were going.

In Duros the monetary system was simple; based in tens. Ten copper colored coins equaled one iron coin. Ten iron coins in turn were the equivalent of one silver coin. Ten silver coins then equaled one gold coin, which was the highest mintage. A family of four might go through a silvers worth of food in a week. Always frugal, with few things to spend money on, and a handsome salary, Marcus's purse was heavy with golden arums and silvers. His account at the Durosian Depository was similarly well filled.

Marcus could be considered rich by Durosian standards. For his service Marcus was paid 122 aurums per year. Not needing to pay for housing, since the government provided it for him, or any substantial amount of food, this sum remained relatively intact. When there was looting to be done, his accounts grew even more rapidly. The value of his share from the last campaign, which had been processed by the government, amounted to nearly 96 aurums, and this campaign had only lasted several months.

Marcus reflected that he was much better paid than the average Durosian. While there were pay increases congruent with years of service, and a pension upon retirement, a soldier's salary could only be described as adequate, for it was by no means comfortable unless he were promoted. Legionnaires were payed 20 aurums per year as a starting salary. Corporals made 40, sergeants received 60, lieutenants 80, captains 100, and commanders 120. For each year of service a soldier received an increase of one aurum on top of their base salary, which could continue until he reached the twenty years of service mark, whereupon there would be no further increases as he had already hit the starting pay grade of the next highest rank.

The low pay rate in the Durosian Legion explained why many young men waited several years until they married. With such a low salary they would barely be able to afford food and rent for their family if they decided to marry and move out of the barracks. In this way the Durosian government ensured that young men were not having children before they were ready.

Walking sedately, Chloe and Marcus reached the main square of the market. Hundreds of small booths selling all manor of goods formed dozens of rows, all organized by content. The food stuffs for example, could be found on the far left of the square. Clothes and other items needed at home would be found nearer to the center, while trinkets and luxury items were located at the right of the square. Ringing the square were many pubs and restaurants. Still being early, most of the pubs were empty, although some had small groups of Legionnaires sitting in the outdoor seating sipping cool drinks in the shade. Come nightfall these pubs would be packed full of men drinking with their comrades. Most nights at closing time they caused quite a problem for the Durosian police forces.

Leading Chloe in the direction of the book merchants, they had to stop frequently to let Chloe explore stalls that caught her fancy. In this way he made several purchases, including five new outfits for Chloe, all resembling her current attire, but differing in color and material. A flower merchant also caught Chloe's eye and Marcus soon found himself the owner of three new orchids. A few stalls down Chloe selected an assortment perfumes, lotions and shampoos, asking Marcus to smell each one for his approval. The dresses, orchids, and toiletries would have been too cumbersome to carry themselves, so he hired several runners to deliver their purchases to his apartment.

Finally reaching the book merchants Chloe was overcome with excitement, whirling from one stall to the next, she thrust her favorite books into Marcus's hands for him to buy, and zoomed on to the next stall where the process was repeated. Arriving at the last stall Marcus's arms were so full of books that he had had to enlist the several shop boys to help him carry the books. As Chloe picked through the last stall, selecting her final purchases, Marcus turned to the boys.

"Here are two irons for each of you. That's for your help, I really do appreciate it." Turning to the oldest who must have been nearly eight, he continued. "Here's two silvers as well, go out and find me a high quality bookcase, then bring the books and the case to my apartment before we return, alright? I want it to be a surprise for my wife. Buy the nicest case you can, and then you can divvy up whats left of the silvers alright?"

"Yes Commander!" The boys answered quickly, taking the coins and books Marcus proffered before scurrying away on their profitable mission.

Leading Chloe by the hand back to the foods section of the market she was bubbling with excitement over her new books, attempting to decide which titles she would read first.

"I'm glad you're happy with your books." He said happily, kissing her on the cheek. Her mood was infectious, and being in her presence was lifting Marcus's mood to great heights.

"But now," he continued, "we are going to need to stock up on some food."

This also excited Chloe, who seemed equally as enthusiastic about cooking varied and exotic dishes for him as she had been about her new books. Indeed several of her book purchases had been cookbooks. A few even contained foreign recipes. Stall after stall they patronized, until finally, too laden down with paper bags to continue, they returned to the apartment building.

******

Outside the door to his apartment sat several boxes. All of which were covered in paper, with a tag that bore his name. Evidently the boys he had hired had been successful, as one of the largest packages was approximately shaped like a small bookcase. Carrying the food inside, Marcus left Chloe to arrange the pantry however she liked. He was beginning to learn that women enjoyed organizing things in their own way, and he felt that her influence was inevitable so he should just let her do as she pleased in terms of arrangement.