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The Ride
Kaugnay na kabanata
Tova's Four Kingdoms Meeting
ERIK It took great self-control to pull back and not penetrate Tova on the muddy bluffs overlooking the ocean. Her body was exquisite and when we kissed I could feel my restraint lessening. I had to leave before I did something to scare her or, worse, to harm her. I led us back to the stable and I could sense her confusion. I didn’t speak to her because I couldn’t trust myself not to yank her from her steed and puncture her blossom, taking her in the woods or on the side of the trail. Someday, I promised myself. But not today. She didn’t chatter and when I looked back at her she had her eyes downcast, looking at Bo, appearing sad and confused. I felt badly and then I was irritated that she could invoke this type of emotion in me. The woman was making me soft. If I wanted to take a woman in the mud and brambles, I took that woman. Why was I concerned about showing Tova sensualism and gentleness for her first time? I tossed Troi’s reins to the groom that was waiting for me
Tova's Four Kingdoms Accusations
TOVA When I got back to the stable, Birgir was waiting for me to help me unsaddle Bo. He looked at my face, seeing the unshed tears that bubbled right behind the surface and leaned down to whisper to me. “What happened?” I shook my head. I didn’t want to talk about it. I couldn’t admit, even to my best friend, that the King had kissed me and found me lacking so much that he had abruptly left, not speaking another word to me. Instead, I busied myself by taking the saddle off Bo and running the curry brush down his back, an act I knew he loved. He nuzzled me and I felt better, even smiling now. Birgir still looked at me with concern. “Did he hurt you, Tova?” he asked, quietly, even though the King had already left the stable. “No, of course not, Birgir,” I smiled at him, reassuringly, but his look of concern didn’t leave his face. “I will ask the King about it,” he warned me. I shrugged. “Go ahead,” I said, calling his bluff. I would have caved when I was younger but th
Tova's Four Kingdoms The Fight
TOVA After Erik stalked out of my chamber, Liv crawled out from under the table and looked at me with disbelief. I relaxed and plopped back into my chair with a sigh. “I wonder what that was about,” I mused. “I have never seen the High King like that before,” Liv commented, picking up a piece of bread and spreading animal fat on it. “He was very intense and then he wasn’t. It was like you calmed him down. Amused him somehow.” I sighed again. “Men are weird,” I told Liv. For some reason that set her off into a fit of giggles. The next morning, I got up and dressed into my shift with the tunic over the top. I knew that I had more training today and so I ate a hearty breakfast, looking forward to it. I liked feeling strong and the training gave me practice in case I was ever in this situation again. Birgir showed up at my door promptly on time, but this time he had one of the castle guards with him. “My Lady, I have a meeting with the High King. Shipp will escort you tod
Tova's Four Kingdoms Taken
ERIK I heard a knock at my door. I checked the time. Birgir was prompt. “Enter!” I shouted. The door to my chamber opened a little and Birgir slipped in. He bowed his head. “My Grace,” he said, respectfully. I smiled at him and held out my hand. “Don’t be so stuffy. When there’s no one else around, please call me Erik.” I smiled ruefully. “You changed my diapers, my companion. There are no secrets between us.” He laughed and took a seat in the chair that I indicated. “How can I help you, my friend,” he asked. I paused, unsure how to broach the subject. “I want to get your opinion on Tova,” I said. “I know that you must be diplomatic when around anyone else, so I wanted to give you the opportunity to be honest and upfront with me.” He looked at me shrewdly. “Are you having feelings for her, Erik?” he asked, forgoing all pretense. “I am,” I admitted. “I am finding that I admire her. She is different than the other women I have had opportunity to surround myself w
Tova's Four Kingdoms Swim
TOVA I woke up soaking wet, in the bottom of a boat that had been hewn out from a log. It bounced on the waves, tossing me around. None of the three men in the boat with me made any attempt towards my comfort. I pretended to still be asleep, trying to figure out who they were and what they wanted with me. I knew that I was on the lake and that terrified me. I have crossed the lake quite a few times, but the ship was always large, and the weather was always fair. This was a tiny boat, and the rain was lashing down at us. Waves threatened to swamp us at any moment, and I was freezing from the spray. My hands were tied behind my back and my feet were bound together. I thought about throwing myself out of the boat and attempting to swim, but I knew that I would need all my limbs to battle the surf when it was this choppy. I would drown with my hands tied behind my back or I would succumb to the cold temperature of the lake. It was better to wait. I decided to continue to play
Tova's Four Kingdoms Taff
TOVA The pain in my head threatened to cause me to lose consciousness the moment I regained it. I could feel the blood trickling down the side of my face, and I realized that they had hit me much harder than I had originally thought. I carefully opened my eyes. I was bound to the center pole of a meager hut. Huts in this part of the country were built raised since the ground is permanently frozen eight inches under the topsoil. A log is driven into the ground, eight inches deep, and then cemented into place with a combination of animal hair, saw dust, gravel, and tree sap from the Bidor tree. Then a hut is built around the log. First, stones are laid on the ground as a foundation. Animal hair, wool, dried grasses, and branches are put on top of the stones as insulation and then a floating wooden floor of halved logs are laid on top. Depending on the riches of the person building the hut, the logs may be smoothed and sanded. Walls are built around out of stone and a thatch r
Tova's Four Kingdoms Safe
TOVA I had braced myself for the first lash of the whip. My torturer barely used his arm, instead flicking his wrist to have the tails of the whip dance across my back. I involuntarily screamed, the pain feeling like hellfire had been poured on to my back. He pulled back and whipped again and again, flicking his wrist into a morbid movement of pain and blood. He was right; my blood spattered around the room with each strike of the whip. After the tenth stroke I was standing in a puddle of my own blood, bits of my flesh on the ground around me. My knees were wobbly, my throat was sore from screaming and my vision swam. I thought I heard voices over the thundering rain, but I couldn’t concentrate on anything but the pain. “Get on with it!” I heard Sala scream. I saw the man cock back his arm, this time ready to put his weight behind the stroke and I closed my eyes turning to the pillar with a sob. I knew I would not survive this. The stroke hit with as much force as I had im
Tova's Four Kingdoms Brother
ERIK I watched Tova drift off to sleep. Birgir went to the fire and gathered a bunch of herbs, tying them together in a bundle. He lit the end on fire and then blew out the flame, creating a smudge. He wrapped a stiff piece of bark around the bundle, making a little cornucopia with the smoking end at the large end of the cone. He sat in front of Tova, holding the smudge in front of her face. Her breathing deepened as she drifted into a deeper sleep. Satisfied, he stubbed out the smudge on the dirt floor and then went back to the pot that was boiling on the fire, the herbs and roots inside turning the water to a noxious shade of green. I watched him dip strips of linen into the water and pull them out, letting them cool slightly in the air before bringing them to Tova’s sleeping form. I braced myself for what I was going to see. He removed the light sheet that was covering her body and gently pulled off the used strips of linen, setting them aside to be cleaned and used again
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