Of Hearts Bound Ch. 03

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In Errette, bonds run deep with the help of magic.
10.7k words
4.74
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Part 3 of the 3 part series

Updated 06/08/2023
Created 02/13/2018
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Deres slowly pulled the door closed behind him, holding the handle down so there would be no click to potentially pull his daughter Khylen out of her half-sleep before she could fall to it the rest of the way. She quibbled about bedtime the same as every other child that ever lived, but, once settled in, she enjoyed the quiet time with those who loved her with fairy tales and chat about the day spent and the day to come. It was something she looked forward to, so the quibbling usually ended quickly and was more an exercise in her attempting to hone an argument and a test of wills that usually ended up being entertaining at least as much as it was taxing.

Moving down the hall now, he contemplated the things that he might do to fill the evening. It was a rare thing that the nights were completely his. Bryana had taken herself away from her studies of forbidden magics to spend time with Anna, a soldier with whom she forged a friendship with on a quest some years before, and their mutual friends. He was quite happy that she now lifted her eyes from the books now and then to have a life all her own.

Neral had said her goodnights already, having left to visit her sisters at the home of Nessein, her younger sibling. The three of them would be set to gossip and pass a bottle of wine until deep into the night. She would stay until morning, then proceed with her day, not returning until near dinner time the next day. Bryana was likely to be home before too late, but, for at least the next few hours, he was left to his own devices.

Though even now he was hardly alone with a house full of servants, including a couple of playmates bound to him body and soul via magic. He enjoyed their company for themselves and, indeed, one of those playmates weighed heavily upon his mind of late. Making his way to one of the smaller studies that he had taken as his own, he gathered pen and paper to get to some correspondence that he hadn't had a chance to get to before now. He'd managed one and was taking a few moments to outline the contents of the next in his own mind when there was a knock at the door.

"Come in."

The door opened and Tessa, House Mistress for House Jaye poked her head in. Her fiery hair was mostly pulled to a bun, the exceptions being two long curls falling over either side to frame her face. With her cherubic features and bright eyes she still looked too young to have a job with such responsibility as maintaining one of the great Houses of Erette, but she did the job and did it flawlessly. Neral had said more than once that, without Tessa there she wasn't sure she could get herself dressed each day. It was said only partially in jest as an estate of the size of House Jaye took a great deal of resources and manpower just to keep it all from falling apart on a daily basis, from feeding everyone in it to maintaining the stone and interiors, and she did it all never losing for a moment her quiet but cheery nature, even in the midst of haggling for the best deal.

She smiled at him, "Good evening, Deres. I was about to retire for the evening and wanted to see if you needed anything before I did."

'Deres' was always enough. He never had any interest in 'Lord,' 'Master,' or any other title. They felt odd to his ear and always had. He accepted that it was a part of the lives of his wife and other members of High Court, but he would always be something of an outsider. Growing up poor in Erette and then in a land of magic and technology no one believed existed as a real place saw to that.

"No, thank you, Tessa." He paused, that thing that he had contemplated now and then coming to the fore once more and he resolved to bring it out and put it to rest one way or another. "Well, there is something I'd like to talk to you about if you're not tired or otherwise in a rush to claim the rest of your evening. If you are, it can certainly wait. It's nothing negative, I promise."

Her brow furrowed briefly as her curiosity piqued, "Oh, not at all. My book will still be on my bed when I get there," she said coming in and closing the door behind her because she definitely got the sense that, whatever it might be, it probably wasn't for public consumption.

He gestured toward the high-backed chair in front of the small desk. "Would you like a drink?"

"No, thank you."

He was fine himself so he took the chair from behind the desk and positioned it next to her before sitting down. He mulled how to begin for several seconds, his eyes roaming the room before he settled on a path. "I know that you and Elan are close friends and it makes me happy that that is so."

Even though he'd promised her the topic was not one that shoud concern her, she was slightly relieved. She still was not sure where things were going, but it had certainly started out pleasantly enough. "It makes me happy as well. She is a fine soul. We are alike in many ways, I've found." Indeed it was so. Both were soft spoken and content in being something of an introvert. They certainly liked to talk and be social, but neither were they people that couldn't abide silence. "Of course, the only way I could hit anything with an arrow is to walk up and stab it with the tip."

Deres chuckled with her, "Well, you still hit it with an arrow...technically." The smile faded and he pursed his lips before taking a breath. "You know about the...special nature of our relationship?"

It wasn't much of a secret amongst the extended family that those who live in House Jaye had become. Some years before, Deres' adopted mother enlisted his and Neral's aid against a mage who threatened his adopted home and, in turn, the world. A dozen elite soldiers were selected to accompany Neral on the quest. Some did not return at all, but those that did did not return didn't do so untouched by the ordeal, some more than others. On the edge of irrevocable corruption and slavery to the witch Drexa, Deres saved her life and her mind by taking that control himself. He molded her back into the person she was when the journey began. But there were still ties that bound them. As much of her old self as she reclaimed, she was still his slave. She was his. His wants and whims were her commands and the aches in her soul.

And she was content and happy in that.

"I do."

"Does that trouble you?"

She gave a small shake of her head, "It's not really my business."

The corner of his mouth turned up, "That's not what I asked."

Tessa paused and shifted her weight, working through the anxiety that came with being asked to comment on the business of people not only her employers, but those her family had been in service to for almost as far back as either of their Houses existed. "No, Deres. It doesn't bother me because it doesn't bother her. I realize that, as she explained the way things happened, she wouldn't be bothered by it no matter what, but she is at peace. She says it couldn't have happened any other way and still have her be herself and I believe her."

"I see how she behaves and how you treat her, and I have no reason to be troubled." She let a pause linger in the air before she added once again, with added firmness, "But it's not really any of my business."

He liked the hint of steel in her voice. It belied her soft-spoken veneer. "Has she told you any of what happened on our journey north?"

"That you confronted the people that aided Mareth in his attack on Erette. She told quite the tale of your time in Idros and parts more north still."

He saw the twinkle in her eyes that suggested she was aware of quite a lot, but that, like many other secrets of House Jaye, she would keep them safe. He shared the amusement just for a moment to delay his treading into the reason he sat with her now. "Did she tell you that I almost died?"

Tessa gave a little nod. "She mentioned it, saying only that you'd been hurt and Bryana healed you."

"It wasn't that simple," he clarified. "Yes. Before I met with Drax I was wounded by something like the poison that threatened the queen. It took me very quickly and, in short order, I realized that...I wouldn't live. The poison was quick and I was too weak to clear it on my own. Elan was quite right. If Bryana hadn't found us when she did I would have died...and so would she have."

His eyes became distant, "There were spots in my vision and what the spots weren't wandering over was so blurry I could barely see it and I had to remind myself to breathe. I was going to die...and so was Elan. Cassea is tied to me. If I were to pass, she would know it happened and it would be a wound, but she could go on and would go on."

"And it's more with Elan." Tessa didn't know the intricacies of magic and while curiosity led her to ask things now and then she'd gleaned as much it never occurred to her to pry in any depth.

He nodded slowly thinking of those moments with Elan before he took her years before. "She was slipping. Drexa didn't want slaves that could think or act truly on their own, lest they threaten her. They were empty and all but devoid of thought and will to the point that they would die if Drexa did.

"Elan had been overwhelmed and she surrendered. She simply floated, awaiting a voice to tell her what to do and who to be. It would either be me or the likes of Drexa. In that moment, it had to be me. I commanded her to become who she'd been and to someone with no more will of their own, I had to give mine. We are tied that way. And...without my will she has none. So, when I died, so would she."

He cleared his throat softly to dislodge the lump that threatened to form. "Even as my own life slipped away, one of the things that weighed upon me most was how unfair it was to her. Young, beautiful, and with her whole life ahead of her, and here it is about to be snuffed out through no action or inaction of her own. It's snuffed out because of my ego more than anything else."

She seemed genuinely puzzled as her head tilted. "Your ego?"

He rubbed his face and let both hands run through his close-cropped dark hair. The admission was a hard one. "It hadn't occurred to me that anything could happen to me, not really. I'm a capable mage. Ability for ability I'm probably the most capable mage in the world outside of the confines of my adopted home, and that's the truth."

"There's a certain air of...invincibility that one could fall into with that truth and, I didn't realize until after the fact the degree to which I fell into it, and was completely oblivious to having done so. Nothing those so far 'beneath me' could do could harm me. But one guard with a blade sheathed in an alchemy I'd never seen drives it into me and there I lay dying, my skill useless."

"And Elan dies with me...for nothing. She deserved better then, and she still does. To that end, I am hoping that you'd be willing to help me."

"Anything I can do, of course, but I'm not sure how I could help you, Deres."

He leaned forward out of reflex. He was about to propose an intimacy, so he moved to be closer to her, "I cannot entirely unbind myself from her and, to be honest, even if I could, I'm not sure I would. I do love her. I love Cassea and Bryana and Neral as well. I love them for different reasons and in different ways. Our relationships are all different, but no less satisfying to me. But I can bind her to another in addition to myself."

The words surrendered to silence as Tessa absorbed them. When she finally did speak, the words carried more than a hint of shock and wonder. "Why me of all people? Why not Cassea?"

"For many reasons, not the least one being that you can be trusted. You are a good person, Tessa, and the goodness within you isn't just a mask that you put on to hold your position. You are kind, gentle, and honest. It isn't in you to abuse anyone, and you are as likely to try to push Elan to anything not in her interest as you are to harm Khylen. I know that you would never toy with or manipulate her.

"And your life is a safe one. I do not rush to or thrill at danger, but," he said with a grin, "it does find me." Turning more somber once again. "But if it would take me, this time, with your help, she wouldn't suffer for it. If I were to pass, it would be hurtful, but she would have you and your will to drive her. She would have her life and move on. She would have you to anchor her being."

"Cassea would do it if I asked, of course, and I could trust that, but you and Elan are better friends and it seems like a better fit to me."

Tessa's hands went to her lap, her right hand holding the wrist of her left almost to remind her of reality as she contemplated what was being asked of her. It was something almost inconceivable on one end and yet, something very natural in it on the other. Being there for others was always her nature. Her parents lovingly chided her for every stray animal she brought home, her mother joking that every one she fed or nursed back to health told their friends where they needed to go.

Her life in service to the Jaye family had been as much a foregone conclusion as the House Jaye's commitment to the military, but, it was just as much a point of pride for both. Tessa had genuinely looked forward to that life, for it meant safety and surety of purpose, and a comfortable life. Added to that was the fact that the Jaye's honored the service of House Jovis and never treated it as though their service was demanded by tradition or ordained by the Goddess because those of House Jovis were less. Indeed, A'marin Jaye, the family matriarch had parroted Neral's thoughts often enough: House Jovis helped make it possible for House Jaye to be what it was.

Her own ties had deepened in ways both expected and not in ways that pleased her. She was much closer to the mistress of the house and, with the mistress now wed, she was set to continue her line when she was ready to do so unencumbered by having to look for a male to aid her that she really didn't want to begin with. Marriage to one was out of the question simply because no man could have her heart and even temporary relationships could be complicated. Even if they found one another agreeable, sometimes the outsider tried to insinuate him or herself into the greater House and it made things difficult. It was simply easier for a woman like herself to borrow the man of the manor.

And she had a fondness for Elan. They were alike and they meshed together as friends, but this was more. Deres saw the wheels turning and thought to address what she might be contemplating. "Your life will not change at all, live it as you please. Live your life...find a love. This change for Elan would only happen if something were to happen to me. You won't even notice the spell otherwise."

She knew enough about her ties to Deres so that it wasn't a question. "She will accept this because you want it done."

"She...quite enjoys that I manipulate her mind. She would enjoy the act of being bound and we could...enjoy it together."

Tessa had to admit that she liked that idea herself, as Elan had been the fuel for a fantasy or ten over the time they'd known one another. "That could be...fun."

"It will be," he assured her with a smile. "Am I to take that as a 'yes?'

She saw the hopefulness couple with amusement in his blue eyes. "Yes, Deres. I accept."

His smile broadened and the exhalation that followed was a long one. "Thank you, Tessa, from my heart. It's a burden lifted from me to know that she will be able to go on. And I won't forget this."

She shook her head, rising from the chair. "It's nothing, Deres. I believe I would do the same for anyone else, much less a friend and someone in my home." They embraced warmly and, as they parted, she asked the only thing she really needed to know, "When will this happen?"

"When would be best for you?"

She thought for a moment, "In two nights? It sort of...feels like something I should prepare myself for."

He gave a small nod and his grin returned. "I would say that in terms of the magic at play that's not necessary, but then I realize why one might feel the need to do that."

She stepped away, running her hands down her dress to relax herself as much as the soft wrinkles in the fabric. "So, again, is there anything else I can do for you before I retire?"

"No...no, thank you, Tessa. Do have a lovely evening and enjoy your book."

"Thank you, Deres." She would try to get back to it this evening as intended, but she suspected that other thoughts would consume her this night.

***

Traymis Elan was what she called selectively social. She was never what one would call boisterous. Those she served with said that her greatest skill when it came to parties was in holding down her chair and watching the drinks though they didn't mean it to insult her. She was quiet, but she was kind to her fellows in life and fierce and dependable on the field.

Truthfully, it probably wouldn't have bothered her even if they had meant it badly. Not that she didn't care how her friends and comrades saw her, for she certainly did. She simply accepted who she was. She was quiet and contemplative. She would toast and drink, but never to the point of blind drunk and always felt a bit silly those times she surrendered to the raucous of the crowd.

She was still those things when you entered her inner circle, but it was then that she truly revealed her warmth. She was still on the quiet side, but her smiles were easy and if you asked her where she stood, you would always know. All those positives to her being made her the rare exemplar of a quiet girl with many friends.

Though, as one might expect from a quiet girl, she was her own best company and her hobbies reflected that, though they all tended toward the artistic. The small room off of her bedroom was filled with her works, from sculptures, to statues, to ceramics, to paintings. Tarps were draped here and there to cover her works, and the tools of each trade had their own place. There was at least some order to the chaos, but one could look at it all and just sort of know that she could flit between several projects in a single session.

Now though, she wore an apron that was once beige before her various efforts had made their mark on the thick, slightly rough fabric. She swirled a thin piece of wood into a mid-sized jar of paint, thinning the dark green mixture so she could work with it, the last of the colors to be made ready. She had hoped to finish her work before bed, her deadline self-imposed simply because she had been so busy of late that it had seemed like forever since she'd had time for any of her projects. Between her own patrols and other duties in addition to helping train the archers assigned to her, when she did make it home there was little time for anything other than to come home to a long, hot bath, then collapse into bed to start it all over again at dawn. Some days were so harried that she'd fallen asleep in the tub.

She had no more than picked up the wood to put it a toast brown shade to the palette first when there was a knock at the door. She tensed for a moment, but found herself more amused than frustrated. What a surprise. "Come in."

The embers of frustration evaporated when she left her workspace to see Deres closing the door behind him. Even if she truly could get angry at him, there was no reason to. She hadn't had the chance to see him in almost as long as her schedule had become so complicated aside from an occasional quick tryst. She missed him. She missed those eyes and that cocky smile and that compact, powerful body. Elan felt a delicious rush of weakness at the sight and the thought that she teased herself with, He's coming to take me. True or not in this case, the thought felt wonderful.

It simply felt wonderful to be owned.

He smiled at her and her heart raced, "How are you?"

"Fine. Better than fine at the moment" She came to him, wrapping her arms around him, feeling his firm chest against hers and his powerful arms envelope her.