Chapter Twenty
The sky was dark yet filled with stars, the air was crisp but not freezing. Light from fire illuminated the city of Edinburgh, Nordic men and many other races bustling about the evening festivities. To his knowledge there was no point in the fair, but it had brought joy to many of the people. Men and women drank, gambled, danced, and sang. It was a fine night for the joyous festivities.
Eskil sat on a stone bench in the city square, a large blazing fire had been built and many of the citizens danced around the heat of it. Gaalin sat beside him, drinking a large pitcher of ale as they both watched the woman they both desired; she was dancing with the young sisters, their arms linked as they skipped merrily about the fire. They took turns switching partners, walking and skipping in circles with their palms touching before switching partners and moving the opposite direction.
They danced happily together to the fast tempo of the bards who banded together to play their instruments. All of the girls had bright smiles on their faces, truly enjoying themselves. When the song ended, those who were dancing paused to applaud the bards.
Libelle casually walked over to the men, accepting a tall pint of strong ale from another attendee. She took a large gulp before sitting down between them, turning slightly and leaning up against Eskil who stared at her with wide eyes. Her head resting against his arm, her mug of ale against her lips while looking incredibly innocent.
Gaalin was about to protest her actions, yet again before he could speak he was interrupted.
“Lord Gaalin, Lord Gaalin! Dance with us!” Ingrid shouted happily with a large smile and blonde hair waving about her shoulders. She and her sisters grabbed onto his wrists and pulled him upwards, except he didn't budge from his spot.
“Sorry lasses, I don't dance.” He said.
The girls pleaded with him, still trying to pull him with them. He tried to excuse himself again when Libelle’s booted foot kicked his ribs. She raised her mug at him, pushing him up with her heel.
“Go dance wit’em you old fart!” She grumbled.
He shook his head, grabbing his own ale and taking another large swig of it before the girl’s drug him off to dance. Despite his hesitation, he looked entertained by the trio of girls bustling around him in fits of giggles.
Libelle slid down against Eskil, her head resting on his lap. She smiled up at him, “Hic, hello.”
He smiled gently back at her. “Hello.”
She just stared at him smiling like an imbecile, and he chuckled. “You’re drunk aren't you?”
“Hic, I don't know what yo-hic! You're talking about.”
He laughed this time, retrieving her tipping pint from her hands and setting it on the opposite side of him. He had heard of man becoming drunk on the swill they called ale, yet never had he really been around them when they were so intoxicated that they became even more obnoxious, and even more lustful.
Libelle’s eyes began to droop, her smile still there but becoming faint as she seemed to be drifting off. “Mmmm,” She purred, the sound soft and sensual. “-my lifemate.”
Eskil’s expression went placid for a moment, collecting himself while she seemed to be unintentionally testing his patience as a man. Her dress clung to her skin, the low cut revealing the smooth skin of her breasts. She brushed her hand against his chest, toying with the collar of his jacket.
He remained silent for a moment longer, before chuckling and eagerly lifting her onto his shoulder while standing up from the bench. She laughed in surprise, propping her chin up onto her palm and elbowing him in his spine. He began walking away from the main crowd and into the well-lit streets.
“Where are you taking me, hmmm?” She asked.
He chuckled again, “My little she-elf is quite inebriated and I believe a long walk may be in order.”
She spoke mockingly. “A long hic- walk you say? Hic! What else do you plan to do with me?”
Eskil smiled and shook his head, once away from the main crowd of people he set her down on her feet in the empty street. She was swaying on her feet, giggling as she continued through a fit of hiccups.
He lifted her chin so she would look at him, “I can see in your mind what you'd like me to do too my little elf. However, there is not any place around where we could do those things, and have privacy.”
He whispered in her ear, “I will not allow anyone else to hear your delectable cries either.”
Libelle blushed, stepping away from him with a mildly disappointed smile. “A walk it is then.”
She took his hand and began walking down one of the main roads of the city. The majority of the town folk were crowding the square, so the streets were anything but busy. A few citizens wandered the streets, making their way back to their homes or to the inn. They smiled and waved as they passed, with more than half the townsfolk being drunk on ale and she was not afraid to remain holding his hand.
“Hic! I spoke with the king this afternoon.”
“Oh?’
She stepped up onto one of the stone block walls, carefully tip toeing down its narrow path. Eskil still held her hand, balancing her as she wobbled side to side. “Yes, hic! I told him about you.”
“Was that a good idea?”
She stared up into the stars for a moment before she answered. “Yes, I believe so. He’s agreed to leave you and I be, hic!”
Eskil pulled her back onto the wall as she nearly stumbled off of it. “May I ask how much you told him?”
“Nothing really. I told him you and I are lifemate’s.” She smiled.
He paused mid step, “Wait, you what?!”
She giggled, “Heh, I am only joking. Hic! I told him about the magic I discovered with the help of the gods, and that you're now in the form of a mortal. I explained that people no longer have to fear you.”
He rolled his eyes and grumbled.
“Well, not fear you, I mean that you can't… you know.”
“I understand what you mean, beloved. However I hope you understand that it's a bit of a blow to my self-worth that ‘no one has to fear me anymore’.” He chuckled.
“I’m sorry. It’s just, I don't want to worry about the king or guards mistaking you for a demon that someone summoned, or something of the sort. I felt that if I did not explain the whole situation to him, that things could end very badly.”
“I understand Libelle.”
“For now, you're just a stranger who has, pointy, pointy horns.” She smiled teasingly, then tripped as her heel caught a loose stone, and fell forward. Eskil caught her with another laugh, for the first time he was seeing Libelle like this; although she was a handful, she was comical and made them both chuckle.
She giggled again and steadied herself, then became serious. “He seemed okay with everything I explained to him. He understood why I am safe-guarding you and keeping my eye on you. Despite only seeing the priests during the pilgrimage, he respects the priest’s decisions very much. He said that if I feel you’re not a threat, then he won't treat you as one. He wants the war with the dragons to end just as much as I do.”
Playfully growling he lifted her head, “I’ll have to have a word with my brother about that I hope you know. I haven’t been, very happy with him for some time. Now there’s this nonsense of being a priest of Uppsala? Hah!”
Libelle smiled at his teasing, then covered her mouth as she had another fit of hiccups. She turned away from him with an embarrassed blush before speedily walking away from him. He watched as she disappeared into the crowd they had fled from minutes before, then she returned holding two leather bound pitchers. She stopped in front of him, handing him one with a polite smile.
“It’s best to keep drinking at this point I think. I am already, hic, done for.” She took a drink. “Besides, it will help with my hiccups.”
Eskil laughed, deciding to at least try the beverage. He held his breath, raising the pint to his mouth and took a large gulp. To his surprise, it was actually good. He looked back at her while she just smiled at him.
“It’s wine, you turned your nose up at ale so I thought you may like this better.”
He kissed her forehead, leading her by her hand to walk down the dark streets again.
“So tell me my lady,” He said mocking her retainer. “I really am curious at whose aid you had in all of our battles, as well as in your discovery of this spell of yours.”
“Theron.” She hiccupped. “Oh, and Berodach.”
He waited until two stumbling nord’s passed by them. “I’ll have to punish my insubordinate lieutenant, heh Theron. I should have known it was him.”
She playfully walked into him, “Don’t be mad, if it weren't for him would we be here now?”
“I suppose not. I’d probably be still aiming for your head.” He playfully nipped her neck when they passed through the shadows of a building. “Berodach? I feel as though I’ve heard that name, however I do not believe I have ever met him.”
She sheepishly smiled, taking another drink. “I met him in the southern isles.”
“The what?! What in oblivion were you doing there?”
“I was, helping a friend.”
He snorted, nearly spilling his drink. “Must have been a good friend to visit the southern isles for. Do you realize you could have been killed going there? Those lands are plagued beyond belief.”
“Mmhmm.”
“So who is this Berodach?”
“A dragon.”
“I guessed that much.”
She giggled, “You can meet him some day.”
They turned another corner, beginning to approach the crowded streets nearing the square. They spun around and began walking the other direction.
“So tell me about your gray skinned manservant?”
Another giggle, “Gaalin? Oh my goodness, that’s a short story.”
She sighed, sitting down on a bench and plucking a mature branch of lavender from the plant. Twisting it between her fingers while chewing on her lip. Eskil sat beside her, resting his arm on the back of the stone bench and she leaned into his side.
“I met Gaalin around the time I first discovered I was a slayer. He was assigned as my retainer by the King here in Edinburgh, I believe at the time he was around, hmmm twenty-two years old? I was still barely sixteen, just a kid myself.”
“How did a teenager find herself on a chopping block in Grimsby?”
She shrugged. “Wrong place, wrong time. Anyways, he’s basically been by my side since then. He swore his allegiance to me, and vowed to forever be by my side. He’s almost thirty now, so he should be leaving to find a bride for himself soon: it's about time anyways.”
Eskil snorted and took another gulp of the wine. “I don't believe that’s all. He's quite the… character.”
“Hrm, well how do I explain it without upsetting you?” She asked herself. “In appearances, Gaalin is my servant. He’s also my friend, a protector, and someone who takes good care of me. He kind of reminds me of a brother, he's the only thing I have to compare a brother to at least. He’s always been pushy when it comes to me, always wanting to be involved with whatever I am doing and wants to go where I go. Sometimes it becomes an argument when I want to do something by myself.”
“It’s been a little over seven years since you first returned to these lands and in those years I know he's gotten more attached to me. I think he sees me as more than a friend, and more than just his ‘lord.’ I’m not sure, but sometimes… the way he stares at me, it's just something more than what a friend or ally would do.”
Eskil stared down into his empty pint, realizing he had drank the entire thing while listening to her. He took hers from her hands, “Believe me when I tell you, your suspicions are not wrong. Gray skin cares for you more than I am comfortable with.”
She shrugged, “He will never act on his feelings though. He’s too prideful, he is my servant and friend, his pride is worth too much for him to act otherwise.”
“Oh I wonder about that.” Eskil said under his breath, then realizing he had said the words aloud.
“What do you mean by that?” Libelle asked tilting her head to the side.
“Ah, ehm, well he just seemed a bit… off to me.”
She stared at him confused, oblivious to the situation involving her old friend. He shook his head, “Let’s change the sub-!”
Eskil’s eyes widened and he quickly stood up, dropping the half full pint of wine and rushing towards the shadows of a nearby house before the contents of his stomach emptied into a bush.