36. New Experiment

It was just after daybreak and the first snowflakes of the early storm were starting to swirl lazily toward the earth, melting on contact.

Varhog put his arm around Willow's shoulders when she began to shiver. She looked up at him with a grateful smile. "Arya said there's one more phase of the treatment to ensure that my allergy—especially to your semen—is taken care of. She said she would explain it when you returned so she'd only need to once."

Varhog nodded. "What do you suppose this will entail?" he wondered.

Willow smiled mischievously. "Hopefully some lovemaking!" she exclaimed. "I need to be in contact with it but not for a long time. I'm not really sure what that means. I guess Arya will explain it to us."

Varhog pulled her close and kissed the top of her head. Then he lifted her into his arms and cradled her once more. "This will help you stay warm," he said. "If we're lucky, maybe after this treatment is over, this storm will start in earnest and snow us in for a few days."

"I'd be happier with a few weeks," Willow impishly said. "Or even better, all winter. A perfect excuse never to leave our hut or your arms." He smiled at her, and she put her arms around his neck, resting her forehead against his cheek.

They entered the hut to find Eragon and Arya sitting at the table eating a small breakfast. Arya said, "We only arrived a few minutes ago. Help yourselves, if you wish. There's plenty."

Varhog and Willow each served themselves some food and sat on the sofa so they could be side by side. Between mouthfuls, Arya said, "I suppose you'll want to quickly finish the last phase of your treatment so you can get back to life as you want it."

Willow nodded and said, "Yes, please. What must we do?"

Arya appeared thoughtful. "I've been thinking about this. Willow, we need you to be in contact with his semen while I perform the techniques that will clear your allergy to it, but I fear it cannot be inside your body because after a brief time, we'll need to wash it off so the new energy message can pass unhindered through the twelve energy pathways."

Varhog interrupted, "Will I have to leave again?"

"No," Arya reassured with a quick shake of her head. "So long as Willow does not once again come in contact with your semen during the next day, the treatment should still work. I'll ascertain that the first treatment was as effective as it appears to have been, given Willow's reaction to your presence. If it was, she'll no longer feel any discomfort in response to her sensory perceptions of you—your smell, your voice, and so forth. If this second treatment then takes effect as well as the first, you'll be free to carry on as a happily married couple."

Willow asked, "So we must get some of Varhog's semen but not inside of me?" Arya nodded. Willow grinned at Varhog. "Sounds like we'll get to do some more experimenting."

Eragon smiled at Willow's expression, but Varhog made a face indicating his displeasure. "This doesn't seem appropriate to me unless I can be with Willow and have her help somehow. Will that be allowed?"

"Of course," Arya said. "You two may do whatever you wish. It might be helpful to have a glass or something so you can catch the fluid in it." She was clearly trying to remain aloof and clinical, but she colored slightly at her final remark. Varhog also appeared to be uncomfortable, but Eragon and Willow laughed at the prospect and also at their spouses.

"Very well," Willow said in obvious anticipation. "We'll begin right after breakfast. As much as I'm looking forward to this, I'm not so brazen as to feel comfortable with you two around."

"We'll leave," Eragon assured with another laugh. "And go far enough away that even our keen ears won't hear." He glanced innocently at Arya as she blushed more deeply. "And now the proper elven Arya has emerged," he remarked in amusement, adding to Willow, "Just come find us when you're done. I imagine we'll be waiting near enough that you won't need to wander far before calling for us will get our attention."

Willow commented, "It doesn't surprise me that an elf would be uncomfortable by the impropriety of this discussion but an Urgal? Come, Varhog. Has your old shyness returned?"

Varhog couldn't repress a smile at her question, and he answered, "I suppose it has somewhat. Or so it seems. Not that I too am not anticipating this, I'm simply uncomfortable that they'll know perfectly what it is we're doing."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Willow shamelessly said. "Our experiments have been most interesting. If anything, I'd imagine Eragon wouldn't mind a peek into our creativity, if only to witness the amazing achievement only an Urgal ram is capable of. Wouldn't you, brother?"

For Arya's sake, Eragon attempted to control his response, but he still laughed as Willow stifled a fit of snickering. If such a thing was possible, Varhog's gray skin had taken on a pinkish tone, and Arya's cheeks were now deep crimson. Eragon stroked them. "I'm sorry, my love," he said. To Willow, though he did not take his eyes off his wife, he added, "We ought not to provoke them so, sister. But in answer to your question, I'm not sure that would be advisable. Since you are to have only limited contact with your allergen, Varhog had best not bring that weapon to bear in this next interaction."

When Arya stood with a huff and a roll of her eyes, Eragon raised his hands apologetically, still smiling. "Forgive me, Arya. I'm sorry again. And this time I mean it. No more lewd comments." He drew his finger over his lips as he closed them as if promising they would remain sealed.

Arya smiled and sat down in his lap to show that she wasn't angry with him. Eragon put his arms around her and kissed her burning cheek, and Arya sighed. "I'll say it for you since your lips are sworn to silence. 'I love seeing you blush.'" He smiled affectionately and nodded. She turned to him, finally letting herself laugh a bit. "I love you, you great oaf." And she kissed his lips in return.

Willow laughed again. "Well, are you finished, Yelloweyes? You haven't eaten much, but by the look on your face, I'm guessing you don't have much of an appetite."

Varhog looked at her with the same affectionate smile that was on Eragon's face. "You've guessed right. I'd prefer to get this over with and leave these two in peace. We've intruded on their hospitality long enough."

Eragon and Arya shook their heads. "Not at all," Arya assured them.

"I'd still prefer to get it over with," Varhog repeated as he stood. "The sooner I can properly make love to my wife again, the better." His deep chuckle was an invitation for them all to join him, which they did.

The others also stood, and Arya said, "Make yourselves at home. There are glasses in that cupboard over the sink." She and Eragon retrieved some heavy winter cloaks from a chair near the door, swept them on around their shoulders, and left the hut.

Willow went and got a cup, handing it to Varhog when she returned to his side so she could grab her dress from the floor, where it lay neatly folded. Then she took his free hand and pulled him to the bedroom. Once there, she stepped behind him with a short, "Don't look," and quickly removed the clothing Arya had lent her to replace it with the beautiful gown.

"There," she said, moving back to his side. They stood in front of the bed, silently staring at it for a moment. "It doesn't feel right to use it," Willow commented. "Like it's their personal shrine."

Varhog nodded his agreement, and Willow looked around the room with a sly grin on her face. "Well, that leaves us a few choices. We could always stand. Or there's the floor, which would be new but potentially uncomfortable, especially if I were underneath. Oh by the way, I never got to tell you since the Willow witch came out to play right then, but I loved it when you were on top. Loved it, Yelloweyes. We definitely need to do more of that. And also since I couldn't then, or at least since it wasn't as believable with the way my eyes looked, I'm so sorry for what I said, no shrieked at you, so loudly it almost broke the window panes. Even though I could see how it broke your heart, the pain was so excruciating that there was nothing I could do—"

Varhog placed a finger over her lips, turning so they were facing one another. With a gentle smile he said, "I missed you, Eartheyes. Not just yesterday but all the days before. It wasn't the real you, but now you're back and I'm so glad. I felt a moment of your pain then and it was agonizing. I should be the one apologizing for causing that. It's the reason why this," he leaned down to kiss her, "will never have the same unbearable pull on me as it once did. Nothing will be able to interfere with my control when it comes to this again, since it almost killed you when I lost track of time. That was inexcusable."

He stopped and ran his eyes down her body. "You look as beautiful as ever in that. And it still fills me with longing, which I imagine was your intention, given the unusual objective we have right now. But since the successful completion of this goal will ensure that a situation such as we endured will never taint our love again, I'm willing to go through with it, no matter how unwelcome the idea of having a release into a cup is. Forgive me, though. I interrupted you. Were you finished?"

Willow smiled at him. "I almost was. I just noticed that chair over there and thought it might be a fun and novel experiment." She regretfully regarded the cup in his hand. "I'm willing to finish this as quickly as possible, Varhog, but . . . can we . . . ? Would you make love to me first? I can't even begin to describe how empty and lonely I've been, though I'm sure there's no need, since you experienced exactly the same thing and understand perfectly." She looked at him hopefully. "You have the ability to wait, right? Or am I mistaken?"

Varhog wrapped his arms around her. "Yes, I can wait, thanks to the excellent practice you have given me. Nothing would give me greater happiness than doing that for you, Eartheyes. I died a little every day I couldn't even touch your hand."

"Thank you, sweetheart," Willow softly said. "Shall we begin?"

Varhog nodded, guiding her over to the chair. "This does sound interesting," he said as he set the cup on an adjacent table and began unlacing the top of his shirt.

Willow put her hands on his wrists to stop him. "I hoped we could begin this experiment by undressing each other," she said. "Do you object?"

"No," Varhog said. "Not at all."

"Good. You go first."

So Varhog did, and when he was done, he whispered, "Your body is so perfect, Willow. So beautiful. Thank you for asking me to do that. I should have known how much I would enjoy it. It makes me wonder why I never insisted on doing it before."

Willow smiled up at him. "My turn." She started with his shirt and finished with his pants, and once she had, she muttered approvingly as she snuggled into him, echoing his words, "Your body is so perfect, Varhog. So beautiful. I could touch you all day, as unladylike as it sounds."

"I wish you would sometime," he invited. "Even when you're massaging as hard as you can, it feels so gentle and tantalizing to me."

They kissed for a time, enjoying their first opportunity to do so without having to immediately make love, and it ignited the deep rumbling in his chest. Willow pulled away to say, "I love that sound. I missed you so much, Varhog. All of you and all of this."

"I can tell," Varhog replied. "And all I can think about is how obvious it is that you still love me. I could just kiss you forever, as much as it's healing me of your unintentional rejection last week."

"But I'm afraid I don't have the same patience," Willow said in a tone of teasing regret. "So shall we sit?" She pulled on his shoulders to encourage Varhog into the chair behind him.

And, through a few more new and interesting trials, they successfully accomplished both of the purposes of their experiment. When they were done, Willow heard Varhog return the cup to the table as she continued her playful efforts with her hands.

After an unsuccessful attempt to speak, Varhog finally managed to choke out, "Willow . . . you need to stop." Willow reluctantly stilled her hands and pulled her mouth away from his face. He cleared his throat. "Thank you . . . for your help. I, uh . . . wasn't expecting that, and it felt . . . unbelievable. To think I feared it would be unpleasant and unnatural. I'll never again doubt our abilities, Eartheyes, but I need to calm down so we can complete your treatment. I'm sure Firesword and Arya must be wondering what's taking us so long."

Willow grinned wickedly. "If they knew, they'd be green with jealously at the extent of our enjoyment and creativity. I'm sure they understand, Yelloweyes," she said with a sigh of disappointment as she slid back off his lap and put her feet on the ground to stand. "They had to wait far longer than we to consummate their love. They were gone for an entire week and a half on their honeymoon, as I'm sure you remember, and they got to enjoy every day of it in one another's arms, unlike us. They won't resent us our pleasure now."

"I'm sure you're right," Varhog agreed, reluctantly releasing his hold and standing up with her.

Willow glanced at the cup. "That's quite a lot," she commented conversationally.

Varhog shrugged. "It has been a few days."

"Does it always build up? Surely you occasionally experience some type of release, if only to keep your organs healthy since they're always creating the fluid. Before we were married what happened?"

"A release can happen while I sleep without my conscious awareness," Varhog replied.

"I see," Willow said.

Varhog grinned. "I love how open you are. You always ask whatever you want to know and are never afraid or ashamed."

"Apparently it's a good trait to have. Look where it got me. I'm the first human woman to have an Urgal ram as a mate. If word ever got out as to what a truly unique pleasure that is, all the male humans and elves would have to worry, as well as the Urgralgra females. All the human and elven women would flock into the Urgal villages in pursuit of a ram, and the females would no longer have any potential mates." Willow smiled in return as Varhog laughed at her picture, insisting, "I'm serious!"

Varhog swept her into his arms. "I know," he whispered. "And I love you all the more for it. But you needn't worry. Unless there are many more female humans or elves as strong, determined, and fearless as you, no Urgal ram would ever consider one. But it's only his loss, I suppose, for I could say the same about being the first Urgal ram in history to know the pleasure of having a human female as my mate. Such a soft hide, no horns but my own to interfere with any kiss I wish to bestow, and such beautiful, warm, shining brown eyes." He looked tenderly into them. "I love you, Eartheyes."

Willow continued to smile through the tears that suddenly filled her eyes and sighed in exasperation. "I'm such a crybaby. I've cried more this past week than the rest of my entire life, which is saying something, considering all my family died before me. You bring out the best in me, Yelloweyes," she teased.

Varhog laughed and released her so they could dress. Willow put on Arya's clothes once more. "This feels as it should again," he said. "Easy and effortless, like we're friends and lovers. I love being with you, Willow."

"Yes, Varhog. And I you." He left the cup where it was, taking her hand as they exited the room.