Strange Bedfellows Chapter 3.c

Kalus had an incredibly wide grin plastered on his face as he stepped outside the tent after his coupling with Lyra.  The horsewoman gave him a tender peck on the cheek and then she followed his herald to the horse pens to take care of her horse, Stormy.  He knew that no one would bother her as long as Kyselius was with her; the man was absolutely trustworthy.

This day certainly hadn't gone the way he'd expected, but he didn't feel he had room to complain, not that he wanted to anyway.  Lyra was a delightful girl and he knew that she'd made an excellent wife.

Katia on the other hand...

He slowly shook his head.  He had a feeling that she could be no less delightful -- though more reserved -- if she would simply stop hating him.  Their first evening together had been delightful, though in a very different way than this first evening with Lyra had been.  Katia was more reserved while Lyra was more carefree, perhaps even slightly flighty.  He thought they could be good for each other and rub off on one another.

"Kalus?"

He turned to see Katia standing there looking somewhat...  Hmm.  She wasn't quite meeting his eyes, which meant he wasn't being greeted by a look of cold defiance.  That was unusual for her.  Her shoulders were slightly hunched as well and she was clasping her hands in front of her in such a way that it made her look almost small.

"Yes?"  He asked, turning to face her.

She was still inside the tent, though the flap was open.  "I um...  I wanted to say...  um..."

"Take your time."  He had to restrain himself from smiling; she was voluntarily starting a conversation with him for the first time since their wedding.

She took a deep breath.  "I wanted to thank you for taking such good care of Lyra."  She finally said.  "She truly deserved it and I'm glad you did."

"You are welcome."  He nodded, then after a moment's consideration added.  "Should you wish it, I could take just as much care with you, and I don't mean only in bed."

She bit her lip and she seemed to avoid his eye even more if that was possible.  She shifted her weight onto one leg and seemed to consider for a moment.

"Nothing has changed."  She finally said.  "Imagine for a moment that you were in my place, or a place similar to it.  Imagine that King Tyso had placed a will-breaker ring on you and you were being forced to make war against your own countrymen.  Wouldn't you hate him for doing so?"

"I do see your point."  He nodded in concession.  "Katia, you obviously have a clever mind and some skill in speechcraft.  I had not thought about it from that perspective and you aren't wrong.  Though if I may, perhaps I could alter your analogy to be more accurate to the current situation?"

She shrugged.

"Imagine that you are a soldier who greatly cares for a young woman, and yet under pain of death -- both hers and yours -- King Tyso required you to bed her every day against her desires.  Imagine seeing someone you care deeply about look at you with hate for what you are doing to keep her safe from a gruesome death, distasteful as it is.  Could you summon some modicum of compassion for such a man?"

Katia slowly cocked her head to one side, then the other.  She pursed her lips and then drew them into a thin line before waggling her head back and forth in a pensive way.  She made a thoughtful sound and then frowned.

"I hadn't thought about it from...  Hmm."  She pursed her lips slightly and cocked her head to one side, obviously thinking for several moments before replying.  "I suppose that for such a man, I might...  Hmm."

She glanced at him, into his eyes as if searching for something.  It was brief, but her eyes were significantly less intense for a moment.

She made a thoughtful sound.  "I might be able to feel...  perhaps not compassion, but...  If I saw some evidence that he was indeed kind and gentle..."  She glanced back into the tent where he and Lyra had coupled not long before.  "...I suppose I could see how he might not be quite deserving of the...  the animosity which the young woman directed his way."

Kalus gave her a half-smile.  "Perhaps such a man and such a young woman could come to some sort of agreement?"

"Oh?"

"Perhaps he could be more aware that her loyalty to her country is indeed an admirable trait worthy of great respect, and thus be more sensitive to how she must feel in her situation.  In return, perhaps such a young woman could think of such a man as...  perhaps not an ally, but maybe a reluctant enemy who would wish to be an ally."

She inclined her head slightly in concession.  "Perhaps not all foes are equally adversarial, and perhaps...  perhaps if I ever meet such a woman I might counsel her to be a bit more understanding."

"I'm sure that such a man would appreciate it."  Kalus replied, the corners of his mouth curving upwards slightly as his heart lightened.  "It might also help to remind such a woman that she's helping her countrymen by eating the enemy's food, occasionally disrupting meetings between senior soldiers, and causing at least one enemy commander to lose sleep out of concern for her."

She had been smiling slightly at the first two items, but her mouth opened slightly at the last one.  "I am?  I mean, she is?"

He nodded.  "Few things can trouble a man's sleep like a concern for a woman he cares about."

"Oh."  Her eyes went slightly wider than normal for a moment before returning to normal.  She ran her hands through her amber hair.  "I suppose that was a bit inconsiderate of her."

"It's okay, I don't think he will hold it against her."

"That's good."  She nodded her head slowly.

Katia moved so that she was on the other side of the doorway and looked out into the camp.  He also turned and they both looked out across the camp.  It was nearly twilight and fires were starting to pop up everywhere and, as usual, everyone was going hither and thither on errands or camp business.

Kalus and Katia looked out, and he felt like it was quite significant that she was doing this beside him for some reason.  He certainly couldn't have imagined her doing this just hours earlier.  He briefly wondered what had changed, but it seemed like a large part of it had been Katia watching him couple with Lyra.  She had talked about seeing evidence that he was kind and gentle.

Hmm.

Perhaps she needed to see a bit more tenderness from him?  Perhaps what she needed wasn't always the stern military commander, but a gentler sort of man around whom she could relax?  He wasn't sure how to be such a man, but he thought for Katia he could try.

* * *

Lyra gently ran the brush through Stormy's hair, enjoying the simple act of taking care of her horse.  She smiled: her horse.  Her father had always let her ride virtually any horse she wanted, but this was the first horse that she'd truly owned; that was truly hers.

"Good girl."  She said as she patted the mare.  "That's a good girl."

Stormy nickered in response.

Lyra took a step sideways, moving a bit gingerly because she hadn't fully recovered from her wedding night.  Or 'wedding late afternoon' as it had turned out to be.  She was still a bit sore and trying to adjust to the idea that she was actually married.  Married!  She would've never guessed that would happen when she'd woken up that morning.

She sighed.

"He was amazing Stormy."  She said as she switched to a different brush for the mare's coat.  "He was so powerful and loving; it was everything I ever wanted and more."

Stormy nickered again and brushed her head up against the blonde's arm.

"Yes, I know you want a stallion too; we'll work on that."  She chuckled.

"Tornado might be willing."  A feminine voice said from behind her.

Lyra turned to see that Katia had just walked up and leaned against the horse pen's fence.  "Hi."

"Hi."  The amber-haired girl replied.  "Can I join you?"

"Sure."  Lyra beamed.  "Come on in."

Katia did and the blonde was pleased to see that Misty -- Katia's horse -- had started to wander over when she'd heard the newcomer's voice.

"Hey Misty."  The former handmaiden said as she gently patted her horse.

"Horses like it when you gently blow towards their nostrils to greet them."  Lyra volunteered.

The other woman did so, earning her a small nicker from her horse.

"She liked that."  Katia said with a smile.

Lyra nodded.  "She'll like it even more if you take this brush and start brushing her mane."

The other girl did and Misty leaned into it, nickering softly and appreciatively.  Lyra focused on her own horse for a minute, letting Katia have her moment with her horse.  The horsewoman had been a bit surprised at how comfortable she'd been having Katia in the tent for her wedding night.  It didn't bother her, and that seemed like a good thing.

Lyra wasn't exactly sure why, but her husband and new fellow wife seemed greatly at odds with each other.  It was a shame; Kalus was so incredible in bed.  He'd been so amazing that the near-constant itch in her loins and raging fire in her chest was sated for now.  Well, mostly sated.  She had been fully satisfied when they'd finished, but now she was feeling the itch come back, sore loins notwithstanding.

She glanced at her fellow wife, who seemed to be a bit more at peace now that she was grooming her horse.  She was softly humming too, and -- though Lyra wasn't a good judge -- it seemed like she had a beautiful voice.

"What's that you're humming?"  The horsewoman asked.

Katia smiled at her.  "And old lullaby that my mother used to sing to me when I was little."  She sighed.  "I miss her."

"I'm sorry."  The blonde's face fell.  "I lost my mother when I was young.  It got easier with time, but I don't think I'll ever stop missing her."  She didn't say this, but she'd lost count of the number of times that she'd wished her mother was around, or that she had a motherly figure in her life.

She really wanted that.

"I'm sorry."  The amber-haired girl's face fell.  "My mother is still alive, thank Illuminar, but I haven't seen her in many months because of the war."

"Ah."  Lyra nodded.  "Still, it should be over soon and I'm sure our husband will let you visit her here in Timarou before we go to his home, wherever that is in Har'peton."

"I doubt that."  She replied with a sullen tone as she began to brush Misty's mane with a bit less enthusiasm.

The blonde frowned.  "He's so incredibly fond of you, so why wouldn't he?"

Katia turned and stared at her.  "What?"

"I'm sorry if I wasn't clear."  Lyra hesitated, not sure how to rephrase it so she was clearer.

"No, I understood everything you said, that's why I'm confused."  Katia cocked her head to one side.  "You really think he's fond of me?"

"Yes."  Lyra nodded her head, having a hard time believing that the other girl didn't know that.  She thought it was incredibly obvious, which must've shown on her face.

"Well, I suppose he did just say..."  She made a thoughtful frown and then turned back to her horse.

"So, can I ask why there's so much tension between you two?"  Lyra said.  "You seem like a very good match and I don't see why."

"It's a rather depressing story, are you sure you want to hear it?  You did just get married a few hours ago."

"There's enough light left yet."  Lyra pointed to the sky, which while darker wasn't dark yet.  "You said they eat late after training, yes?"

Katia nodded, then told her the story.

When she reached the part in the field of flowers and repeated what Kalus had said would happen if she wasn't with child, Lyra felt her heart begin to hurt.  She stepped forward and wrapped the other girl in a hug, which apparently surprised her.

"Thank you."  The former handmaiden whispered.

Lyra squeezed her tightly for several seconds before loosening her hug, but not stopping.  "He didn't force you, did he?  I know I've only known him a few hours, but he doesn’t seem the type."

"No."  Katia shook her head as she let go of the hug, taking a small step back and wiping her eyes a bit.  "He was actually..."  She cocked her head to one side.

"What?"  Lyra asked.

"Well, I had a short talk with him a few minutes ago and he said something about seeing things from his perspective."  The amber-haired girl pursed her lips and frowned, though she didn't look unhappy, merely pensive.

"Oh?"

"I think..."  Katia finally said after several seconds.  "I think he might've tried very hard to make it as easy on me as he could."  She hesitated for several more seconds.  "I'm not sure what to think of that."

"He seems like a good man that way."

"Yes, but that's not all he's done."  Katia said darkly, and then she related how she'd been spanked by Kalus and what had led up to that.  Tellingly, Lyra noticed that the other woman's cheeks got slightly pink as she mentioned the actual event.  She also adjusted her legs slightly in a way that the ash blonde was very familiar with.

Hmm.

Maybe Katia did have a bit of a freak in her.

When the amber-haired woman was done with her story, Lyra nodded slowly.  "So, what you're saying is that instead of the normal punishment in public, you got something that's much lighter in private?"

"Yeah."  Katia conceded.

"And, Kalus was as kind to you as possible before, during, and after?  And he seemed to hate doing it as much as you hated receiving it?"

The other girl's shoulders slumped as she grimaced and suddenly seemed very intent on looking at the ground.

"And you enjoyed it a bit?"  Lyra pressed, her tone like they were merely discussing the weather.

Katia started to nod before she stopped herself, and then blushed scarlet.

"So, you're primarily mad at him for two things."  Lyra said.  "First, him marrying you, which was actually King Tyso's fault and he tried to shield you from it as much as possible, even sacrificing the favor of his king to do so.  And second, for the spanking, which was required , and he shielded you from that as much as possible too.  Do I have that right?"

Katia shifted her feet.  The two women were about the same size, but Lyra had never seen a woman of her size look so small before.  The former handmaiden was holding her hands together with her shoulders hunched as she bit her lip and examined the ground intently.

Finally, Katia nodded slowly.  "I realize I haven't been..."  She hesitated.  "I just feel like I'm being forced to betray my country, and even though he's been so nice..."  She trailed off, then cocked her head to one side and slowly repeated herself as if she had just realized something.  "He's been so nice."

Lyra gave Stormy a gentle pat before speaking again.  "Look, I understand being loyal to Timarou since our country is wonderful, but let's face it; our current king is a terrible ruler."

Katia's head snapped up, shock written all over her face.

"Everyone thinks he's a good guy, but sometimes good men make horrible rulers."  Lyra moderated her statement a bit, then frowned.  "You didn't know that?"

The other girl shook her head, looking like someone had just slapped her.

"I guess you might not have heard that living in the palace, but it's true.  Most of the regular people don't like him much.  Well, maybe as a person, but not as a king"

Katia started at her, mouth agape.  "Why?"  She finally got out.

"Pa'pa says that he's too soft when he should be hard, and too hard when he should be soft."  She replied, trying to remember her father's many conversations with various men.  "He lets the troublemakers have too much leniency and won't give the men who want to help enough freedom.  Why do you think so many cities weren't upset when our husband installed new governance?"

Katie folded her arms and took a slight step back, then said somewhat defensively.  "Well, I think our king is a good man."

Lyra took a moment to remember that Katia was a former handmaiden and thus she had probably spent her entire life around people who approved of the king.  That was the only reason the horsewoman could think of that she was so upset about learning the king wasn't a good ruler.

"No one said he wasn't a good man."  She replied evenly.  "But just because you're a good man doesn’t mean you'll be a good ruler.

Katia didn't reply, but she seemed slightly mollified as she spoke.  "I'm just saying, I spent a lot of time in the palace and I think King Bracken is a good king."

"Well, until recently you seemed to think our husband wasn't that good of a man, and you were wrong about that."  Lyra pointed out.

"You seem so sure of that, even after only knowing him for a few hours."  Katia shot back.

Lyra grinned as she realized something, something that the other woman probably didn't know.  "Katia, you don't know what our husband said to my father that convinced him to give my hand in marriage, do you?"

She shook her head.

"Well, let me tell you."

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