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olive-skinned cheek.
"But..." I replied, and found I simply couldn't finish. There really wasn't
much I could say. They were right - if Dyarzi truly loved me, she would accept
the change that had happened to me. I sighed again. "Perhaps..."
"You're afraid she might reject you anyway," Joy said, her gaze penetrating.
"I was a queen for nearly five decades, Old Man, and as such I learned much of
the hearts of men. That's your real fear - that you will bring her back, and
find she doesn't want you as you are, and will not touch you or lie with
you."
I was silent for a long moment, then finally nodded. "Yes."
"She won't reject you like that, Eddas," Pelia said, stroking my cheek softly.
"Perhaps she was not a sapphite, and perhaps she might be uncomfortable, or
even unwilling to lie with you. Still, I imagine that if she ever was truly
worthy of your love, she won't refuse to touch you. She may or may not couple
with you in the manner of sapphite love, but if she was ever worthy of your
love, she would not let you sleep alone," she said, then reached out and
placed her hand on Joy's shoulder. "Now, come, the both of you. Let's get some
food and drink into this starving little body you've abused, Eddas."
"And you will eat, Old Man, even if I have to spoon-feed you pap, as I once
did my own children. You said I had a destiny - well, I can see that part of
it is to make sure you don't starve yourself or suffocate yourself or do any
number of other terrible things to yourself just because you are feeling
miserable about the lot fate and the gods have handed you and want to join
Dyarzi in the afterlife," Joy growled, and shook her head. "You really are a
foolish old man at times, Eddas Ayar."
I smiled. She could never know just how much being thought of as a man, truly
as a man, meant to me at that moment. "Thank you."
Twenty-Five.
"A knight without a horse is like a wizard without a tower. Certainly one can
be the former without always having the latter, but the peasants will tend to
assume you are very poor - and usually, they'll be right."
- Hyperborean Proverb
Pelia's tower was a simple one, made of granite stones, and really more
symbolic than anything else - hand-made and rough-hewn, it was hardly two
stories high. Surrounding the tower were the small huts the women of her order
lived in, and surrounding that, the fields they tended. In truth, the home of
the Mountain Healers looked, just as Gorol had once said, much like a small
nunnery. For nearly an hour after we arrived, I had to endure the joyous
greetings of each of the women. They all marveled at my appearance, and all
wanted to touch my gloved hands, or hug me. Joy, fortunately, spared me from
the worst of it by insisting I first be given a bit of food and some water -
unfortunately, she watched over me like a hawk to make certain I indeed ate
every bit of the small bowl of gruel Pelia conjured.
The 'feast' Pelia and her women had prepared was, as she said, not much. A bit
of rabbit-meat, wild berries, a root-soup, and some conjured gruel, served on
a rough-hewn table set in the middle of their little village - and, judging by
what I could see of the women around me, it was rather hastily prepared. They
had apparently been planning something for when I came back, but had not known
when that might be. My return had come as a bit of a surprise, then, and they
had hurriedly prepared what little they had. I could see in their eyes and
hear in their voices, however, that it was presented with great love and
respect, so I smiled politely and ate with them quietly. Joy again watched me
closely, making certain I did, indeed, eat and drink.
Slowly, the sun crept towards the horizon, and evening was upon us. I wanted
to simply leave and sleep - I found I was exhausted after two days of trying
to starve this body out - and Joy, seeing my exhaustion, asked Pelia to
transport the two of us back to my tower, where she could care for me. I
suppressed a sigh. The last thing I wanted was to be cared for, really. Still,
I could tell by the look on Joy's face that arguing would be pointless.
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Shortly, the deed was done, and Joy and I had returned to my tower.
The days slowly turned into weeks, and soon, a month had passed. With Joy's
help, I slowly began adjusting to my new situation. Joy hoped that I might
once again become comfortable with myself, but the truth was that I simply
became resigned to my situation. Of course, having Joy nearby almost every
waking moment had helped - she refused to allow me to become maudlin, and she
knew exactly how to speak to me to rouse my spirits. Still, she couldn't be [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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