Chapter 50
When they entered the keep the smell of delicious food cooking made their mouths water and their stomachs rumble. Natheran looked over at Casavir in his armor, and for the first time actually felt like a noble lady being escorted by her knight. He kept looking over at her and licking his lips, his eyes stormy with desire. She was beginning to wonder how rude it would be if she just decided to skip the dinner and go back to their room. Before she could give into that idea they had reached the dining hall. Everyone else was already there including the spoiled brat Qara. She felt eyes on her and looking around saw Ailric staring at her intensely and felt herself flush under his gaze. She heard a low growl coming from Casavir, and hurriedly moved to the head of the table, seating Casavir on her right and Meron on her left and Neeshka to Meron's left. She saw Ailric pause a bit before taking the seat next to the tiefling. Elanee took the seat next to Casavir and Gareth immediately sat next to her. Shandra was escorted to the seat next to Ailric by Frederick who sat next to her. Very quickly Sand and Aldanon took the seats next to each other, followed by Katriona, Kana, Khelgar, Grobnar and Qara. To say that Qara was pissed about this was an understatement.
Behind each of their knights stood their squires, waiting to attend to their master's needs for the evening. Servants came forward with bottles of wine and began to pour starting at the head of the table. The conversation at the head of the table naturally turned to the similiarities and differences between Helm and Tyr. Natheran was glad to see Casavir actually relaxing a bit, but he still glared at Ailric every time the man spoke to her. Neeshka who was aware of the problem, tried to keep the conversation to neutral territory, and occupy Ailric's attention. Natheran found herself flustered at the attention she was getting from Ailric, she just wasn't sure why he seemed to be so attracted to her. He didn't seem like a stupid person, so couldn't he see that she was Casavir's? Her stomach was fluttering so badly that when the food started arriving she wondered if she could even eat.
The platter set down at the head of the table had a roast pheasant on it. Casavir immediately got to his feet to carve her some of the bird and place it on her plate. Then he carved some for himself and Meron as well. Looking at Ailric he arched an eyebrow, but the man merely waived his squire forward. Sitting back down he gave a small smile to her, which she returned. Looking down the table she saw venison, duck, rabbit, pig, and two different kinds of fish had been set down. Shandra was talking animatedly with Frederick, while Elanee was talking more quietly with Gareth. Kana, Katriona, Aldanon, and Sand all seemed to be involved in the same conversation and she noticed the way the wizard was looking at Katriona and she at him. Possible romance blooming? Khelgar and Grobnar seemed to be involved in some kind of debate with each other with Qara looking on and sulking.
When everyone had finished with dinner, the servants came out with all kinds of pies, cakes, and puddings for desert. Natheran noticed that Neeshka was getting more attention from Ailric and breathed a small sigh of relief. Hopefully the man would stop trying to flirt with her so Casavir would settle down or it was going to be a very long night. She was on her third glass of wine and was definately beginning to feel a little giddy. As the dinner party was winding down she saw Katriona lean over and say something to Grobnar. Whatever it was made the little gnome jump to his feet in excitement and run off. Looking questioningly at the woman she saw her hesitate and then:
"I was thinking that since the night is still young that it would be nice if we could have some dancing. So I asked Grobnar if he would mind playing for us. He's going off to get his lute right now. The throne room has plenty of space for it," Katriona said.
"You asked Grobnar to play?" Natheran asked in amused horror. She watched as Khelgar sputtered, "You want that idiot gnome to play? What's the matter with you?"
The reactions of the companions ran the gamut: Casavir closed his eyes and groaned, Elanee and Shandra simply giggled, Sand and Khelgar just stared in horror, Qara looked like she would be sick. Everyone else was looking around wondering what was wrong.
Sighing, Natheran looked around and saying a silent prayer to Helm said, "Let's just hope that when he does sing he hits the notes." Standing she took Casavir's arm and grabbing her glass of wine, headed for the throne room to find the gnome waiting for them cheerily tuning his lute. Finally finished, he struck up a lively country dance and Meron asked if she would dance with him. She nodded even though she knew Casavir wouldn't like it much, but she couldn't be rude. She saw one of the squires ask Qara to dance, and soon the others had joined in. To her surprise she saw Neeshka dancing with Ailric and they actually made a striking couple. The tiefling had never looked so happy. Grobnar next played a really fast reel and she found herself dancing with Gareth. When the dance was finished, Grobnar started a rather bawdy song, and excusing herself she went to join Casavir.
She continued to sip her wine and talk with Meron and Casavir. Grobnar had taken a little break to have some wine, and when he was ready he announced a slow dance. Casavir bowed to her, held out his hand and asked her to dance with him. When she nodded, he swept her into his arms and onto the dance floor. Looking up into his face she saw how his gaze roamed over her and his eyes darkened, causing her pulse to beat faster. They had eyes only for each other and almost didn't realize when the song ended. The next song was an elvish court song and to her surprise Casavir ceded the floor to Frederick. She wasn't sure of the steps but he seemed to enjoy showing them to her and she found herself laughing as she tried to follow his lead. Next she found herself paired with Aldanon for a slightly faster number and was quite amazed at how good a dancer he was. Unfortunately, Grobnar had the annoying habit of not always telling them what he was playing next, and he next chose another slow song. Much to her dismay she found herself in the arms of Ailric who pulled her in close and started to move with her across the dance floor. She saw Casavir watching and his glare could have melted adamantine. Ailric caught her eyes with his and she saw they had started to glow, not realizing that hers glowed as well. A soft white light shimmered around them, and she felt her stomach clench as heat stole through her body. She felt a light touch to her mind and felt a shiver run down her back. Finally the dance came to an end and Casavir caught her arm and pulled her away from the knight, glaring at him.
Feeling slightly dizzy she told Casavir that she was tired, and after saying a polite goodnight to Meron, let him lead her back to the inn. Looking up at his face she saw how angry he was and hoped it wasn't because of her. She wasn't sure what had caused it, but dancing with Ailric had made her want to kiss him and she was horrified at the thought. How could she feel that way about another man? Only briefling saying hello to Sal, Casavir took her upstairs to their room. She heard him lock the door behind them. As soon as she turned around, he grabbed her in his arms and pressed her against him, his kiss bruising in intensity. When he pulled away the look he gave her was so burning with desire she felt her legs tremble. Stepping back, he set a speed record for getting out of his armor, dropping it to the floor at his feet. She watched as he walked forward his gaze roaming down her body, and she saw how hard he already was. The sight of his arousal made her lick her lips in anticipation. The intensity in his gaze though caused a little tremor of trepidation to run through her and involuntarily she took a few steps back. He lunged for her and turned her so he could undo the buttons on the back of her dress, actually popping a few in his haste. Pushing the dress of her shoulders it fell in a pool at her feet.
Reaching his arms around her he took her breasts in both hands and pulled her hard against him, teasing her nipples with his fingers, making her gasp. The desire was raging in her now and she ground her hips against him making him moan. His lips and teeth licked and nipped at her neck and then he moved down her back, his hands stroking down her body to her feet. Turning her around he pulled her hips forward so his mouth could kiss and lick at her while his fingers probed her inner depths. He continued this until she was almost ready to scream, and then moved his mouth up her body to grab a breast. Frantically she tore at his shirt wanting to feel his skin. Both of them were breathing heavily now. She hadn't known how close she was to the wall until she felt him push her hard against it. She felt him fumbling with his pants and heard him almost whimpering in need. He grabbed her legs to wrap them around his waist and then he shoved himself forcefully into her causing a little scream to escape her throat, and it was enough to make her climax. He kept thrusting hard into her, the force of it kept her pressed to the wall. As he began to bite and suck on her breasts, she suddenly found herself moaning as the tension built again. When she climaxed for a second time, she felt the heat of his release in her body and he simply held her motionless against the well, his face buried in her neck. Both of them were gasping for air and trembling.
He leaned back to look into her eyes and slowly pulled away to lower her legs to the floor. Her legs buckled under her and he picked her up to carry her to the bed. When he lay down he pulled her on top of him and clasping her head in his hands began to kiss her deeply again, his tongue plundering her mouth. She felt him stirring again and an answering heat swept through. He ran his hands through her hair and down her back causing her to shiver. She ran her hands over his chest, reveling in the muscles that rippled under his skin. One of his hands moved down to touch her and stroke lightly along her cleft making her tremble and moan with need. She pulled away from him and moved down to his feet where she began to kiss and lick along his legs. Looking up she saw him staring at her, his eyes dark with desire. Keeping her gaze on his face, she ran her tongue all the way up his legs and then lightly ran it up his hard shaft. She saw his head drop back and his eyes close as he moaned. She continued to lick him and then took him in her mouth sucking on him, watching his back arch as his hips thrust upward. As she continued to suckle him she saw him grip the sheets tight and shudder, causing her to tremble in response. Suddenly, his hands reached out to pull her up and holding her hips in his hands he thrust inside her, causing her to cry out at the exquisite feel of his hard length inside her. Fiercely she rode him, panting and moaning. She braced her hands on his chest for leverage and pushed herself down on him hard. The tension was building again, and as she felt herself climax she threw back her head and cried out his name, feeling his release pour into her again.
Exhausted she collapsed on top of him, panting and sweating from her exertions. As she lay there, he wrapped his arms tight around her and whispered, "Dear Tyr how I love you." She felt herself tremble at the words, and leaning her head back smiled at him, "I love you too." Then resting her head on his chest, she let her thoughts drift lazily over all the times they had been together. Smiling at the memories she fell asleep.
