In which Goblin Slayer gets a little drunk and Sword Maiden admits a few secrets

Married Life

Chapter Twenty Two: Two Conversations On A Theme

Night fell uneasily upon the cottage.

Sword Maiden had been offered and taken the guest room, while Lord Paladín and Mage had set themselves up in the parlor, insisting that they were more than comfortable enough. For his part, Minotaur Blacksmith had proclaimed the barn a veritable Palace compared to some of the places he'd had to sleep in the past and soon set about making himself comfortable.

Goblin Slayer walked around the building, supposedly checking for signs of goblins, but knowing full well that they'd stay well clear of the scent of a Minotaur. Still, he checked all the usual spots, sword and shield in hand, before slowly making his way back to the cottage.

"A man with three beautiful wives who chose to spend his evening looking for something he knows won't be there is a man with a lot on his mind." Minotaur Blacksmiths voice carried from the shadows of the barn, "One might think he was avoiding something."

"One might." Goblin Slayer admitted, stepping into the barn and lighting a small lamp, being careful to fully extinguish the match.

"Indeed, one might say that he's received some news that's playing on his mind."

"One might."

"You've never been one for a philosophical conversation, have you?"

"...it has been commented on, yes."

"So, what exactly is it that's keeping you from your bed and your wives?" Minotaur Blacksmith gestured to an old barrel, "And for the love of all that's good in this world, don't say 'goblins'."

"I'm not sure." Goblin Slayer admitted, sitting on the barrel and resheathing his sword, "I'm still new to talking about my feelings."

"Well, I'm 76 years old, and I've walked from one side of this kingdom to the other, seen the great Western Ocean, the mountains of ice in the frozen North, the Sea of Sand to the south and the endless Steppes of the East where my people roam all the way to where the trade caravans bearing spices and silks from distant lands arive. And in all those travels, you're far from the first man I've met who's wife has had a child by another... admittedly they're normally the ones giving birth."

"How did they cope?"

"Depends upon the man. Some turn to drink, some to anger, all too many both. Some leave their wives and never talk of them again, while others forgive and try to forget. You... you have to decide which one you are."

"I don't drink, I'm not angry and I'm not going anywhere."

"So you intend to forgive and forget?"

"There's nothing to forgive: High Elf Archer did nothing wrong."

"Ah, so it's the forgetting part that's troubling you."

"She has a son with Sword Maiden. How am I supposed to forget he exists?"

"That there is a good question." Minotaur Blacksmith reached into his pack and pulled out a bottle of rich, amber liquid, "This whiskey is almost as old as I am." he pulled the stopper out with his teeth and spat it away before taking a deep drink, then offered it to his companion, "You might not drink, but you need one."

Goblin Slayer took the offered bottle and drank down a swollow, the rich, smoky liquor burning its way down his throat.

"I don't have any children of my own; least, none I know of, so I can't say I understand how you feel." the Minotaur admitted, "But... I can't blame you for feeling conflicted."

"Is this the part where you give me advice? Because Lord Paladín already tried that."

"No, this is the part where I give you the whiskey that I've been hiding from Mage, you ungrateful little bastard!" Minotaur Blacksmith chuckled, "No, I just want to make sure that you're not going to do anything that you later regret."

"I'm not leaving my family." Goblin Slayer took another deep drink of the whiskey before handing it back, "And I'd die before I hurt them."

"Good. Good." the Minotaur downed half the bottle in a single gulp, "Just don't get too angry with the Gods, either: last thing we need is you turning into a Non-Praying Character."

High Elf Archer stood looking down into the cot that held Fawn and Godfrey and tried to reconcile her feelings. She had carried Fawn, felt her growing and moving inside her, then given birth to her, nurses her and cares for her. She loved her daughter, same as she did those brought into the world by her wives: it did not matter to her who their mother was, they were living embodyments of the love that bound their little family together, and she would burn the world down to protect them.

But then there was Godfrey, a child that was as much her as Fawn was, and while she felt the same protective instincts she had for any child, she did not feel the love she had for the others, even those who were not her blood. There was a faint echo of that connection when she looked at him, but it wasn't the same. It felt different in a way she didn't have the words for.

"Oh, I'm sorry." a soft voice, little more than a whisper, came from the doorway and the Ranger looked over her shoulder to see Sword Maiden standing there dressed in a robe that only just covered her form.

The Archbishop had already been the most buxom woman High Elf Archer had ever met, and pregnancy had only enhanced her natural assets even further. Somehow she'd managed to regain her almost hourglass figure in the few short weeks since her sons birth, and the Ranger couldn't help but remember just what she'd looked like the night their children had been conceived. She tried to push the memory out of her head, but it remained, none the less.

"I couldn't sleep." High Elf Archer turned back to look at the children, hoping that whatever strange gift that allowed the other woman to see despite having been blind for most of her life had picked up on the flushed look she could feel on her face.

"I often watch him sleep when I myself can not." Sword Maiden closed the door and crossed the room to stand beside the Elf, "No matter what troubles fill my mind, just looking at him makes them fade away."

High Elf Archer remained silent at first, not sure if she could trust herself to speak, but ultimately felt compelled to.

"Why did you come here?" she asked softly, "The truth, this time."

"You're the first, the only, person I've ever made love with." the cleric admitted, "While many consider me desirable, there is always the fact that my chastity was stolen by goblins. Goblins, the weakest of monsters an Adventurer can face, killed those I was with and used me as their plaything."

"You're far from the first young woman to suffer such a fate."

"But I asked you, one Adventurer to another, do you ever wonder what happens to the women you save?"

"I... Priestess said that many join the church, seeking solace and protection in their religion. Others return home and try to rebuild their lives. Some succeed, others... Don't."

"People look at you differently after you've been taken by goblins, doubly so when they think you can't see them. They talk about you, but not to you, as if you had died or went away." Sword Maidens face became a mask "Oh, not everyone's like that: there are plenty of good people in the world who want to help you, but there are still those who consider you... tainted, unclean." she turned to look at High Elf Archer, "Your husband was the first person who really understood how I felt, what I'd been through, and for that I will always love him, even if I know that he will never look at me as he does you or your wives. But you... you also looked at me as a woman, someone to be desired, and not inspite of what happened to me, but because that's simply how you saw me. And for that, you too will always hold a special place in my heart."

High Elf Archer stood frozen, suddenly very aware of the fact that she was naked under her thin robe. As a people, Elves didn't understand the need for sleepwear any more than they did underclothes, and she slept naked every night. Cow Girl was very much the same, all be it from a position of not seeing the point of making extra laundry just to have something to sleep in. The very idea had scandalised Guild Girl when they first married, and she still insisted on going to bed in a cotton gown, which more often than not ended up in a heap on the floor beside the bed before the night was though.

As such she was use to walking around her home naked, especially in the evenings when they were less likely to receive unexpected visitors. She was proud of her body, which was quickly returning to its former state after the birth of her daughter, and was not opposed to putting it on show for her husband and wives. Her only concession to their current house guests was the simple robe that only just covered enough to be decent, and then only seemed to enhance what she already had. Under normal circumstances, it would be more than enough to ensure that she had a sleepless night for a very different reason, but right then nd there, it made her feel decidedly self-conscious given just how similarly dressed Sword Maiden was.

"I... I don't regret what happened between us," she stuttered, "but I made a vow to Orcbolg and our wives."

"And I am not looking to try and break you up, as enjoyable as that might be." Sword Maiden admitted, "But you are... the other parent of my child, and for that, I will always feel... close to you."

"I... I really should get back to bed." High Elf Archer broke away and headed for the door, her heart pounding in her chest, "Goodnight."

"Goodnight." Sword Maiden smiled as the other woman hurried away, "Sweet dreams, my love."

To Be Continued...

Bet a lot of you are wishing this story was M not T right now, because yeah, I really considered going there...