AN: Nothing too bad in here, just some mild innuendo.

Karigan trudged up the flight of stairs, army dispatches in hand as she headed for the king's study. She passed several Weapons on her way up, some on a change of shift. They nodded at her and continued on their way, disappearing back into the winding corridors.

Upon seeing the door itself, positioned at the end of the hall, she found it odd that there was no Weapon posted outside.

Nor did there appear to be anyone in the vicinity.

Slightly troubled, she neared closer and she heard several male voices speaking in agitation. She recognized the timbre of Fastion's voice and that of young Willis, but the one that placed her in slight confusion appeared to be . . . Zachary?

Although only muffled, his words did not seem to be issued in a calm and controlled manner. Quite the opposite as his pitch rose and fell in quick succession, belying his anxiety. Looking around her once again and knowing what she did was just a little bit wrong; she crept closer to the door that lay open just a crack.

' . . . I just had no inclination when I looked at her, and really not at all for the longest time,' the king said, almost pitifully.

Fastion closed his eyes and shook his head slowly, 'I really do not want to be having this conversation . . .'

Zachary raked his hands through his wild golden hair, 'Who else am I supposed to talk to?'

The Weapon scrunched up his nose in slight distaste, 'Perhaps we should keep these things to ourselves.'

Willis bit his lip as he looked between the two, raising a hand hesitantly to gain their attention. Both men looked at him, Zachary with a slight desperate hope and Fastion in irritation. 'Yes?'

'My da started to have those sorts of problems, as he got older,' he offered tentatively.

Zachary sputtered, 'Problems as he got older?'

Fastion held up his hands up to placate him, shooting an incredulous look at a flustered Willis, and spoke slowly, 'Now, we both know you are not old. You have not even hit thirty five years of age.'

Karigan's eyebrows shot up in slight surprise, Does he have an injury that he worries about with advancing age? Even twelve years her senior, he was still a young man.

Zachary stared at him, his countenance still possessing a frantic edge. The Weapon continued, using the same calm voice, 'You also were ill for a very long time. Your body is still recovering even now. I would think it is the last thing on your list to worry about.'

The king sat down heavily his armchair, 'Not as of late, if you remember. I've never reactions that strong before. I honestly thought I'd have to call my physician, although I would not relish that particular conversation.'

Karigan wrinkled her nose in confusion. Reactions? A side effect of the time he spent in his sick-bed maybe?

Willis spoke again, his voice small, 'Da would go to the local mender, she'd give him herbs and the like for his tea. Said it'd be up again in no time.'

Fastion whipped his head around, 'Yes, Willis, thank you for your input. Now be quiet!'

The younger Weapon flinched and looked apologetically at the king, who had his hands covering his flaming face. Rubbing his hands briskly over his skin, he dropped his arms to the side and looked between the two of them, 'What if I can't do my duty to the crown? What if what I experienced yesterday, is the last time?'

Fastion's face softened slightly but he still grimaced, 'Sire, I think your physical response is intrinsically linked to your emotion state. You love one woman deeply and respond only to her. It isn't such a bad thing.'

Karigan was mystified. He suffered from a malady that only the woman he loved could relieve. Did Fastion speak in general or of someone specific? And what exactly is 'down' and needs to be 'up'?

Willis lit up and moved closer to nudge Fastion in the arm, 'You ought to tell him.'

The king's eyes raised to meet their guilty expressions, 'Tell me what?'

Fastion glared at Willis, making the other Weapon shrink back against the wall, but he took on a pained look when his gaze returned to the king. 'Sire . . . we thought it prudent, although it was a consummation, to have at least three Weapons in the chamber while the others were present. You understand, of course, the risk posed by Spane?'

Zachary's face flushed but he nodded.

Fastion uncharacteristically wrung his hands as he stammered out the rest, 'You were delirious, in a fever, and you seemed confused about who was in the bed with you. There were uh . . . no performance issues that night.'

Karigan's breath hitched in her throat as the implications of the Weapon's words started to sink in. Her own face flushing, she fought the inclination to run, wishing to hear what the king would say in response.

The king's face drained of all color, his breathing slowed considerably, and he whispered one query, 'Did I call out for her?'

Fastion was at a loss for words for a moment, 'Well-that is . . . I'm not really sure-'

The king barked, 'Fastion!'

The Weapon sighed in resignation, 'You called for Kari.'

Zachary closed his eyes in mortification and groaned, 'Oh Gods . . .'

Karigan's heart was pounding wildly as she slid away from the open door, her eyes wide as she took slow and quiet steps backwards. Her body tingled in awareness, a small part of her strangely smug, but for the life of her, she could not say why. She knew of the mechanics in the marriage bed and what it yielded, but nothing of the details.

Why he was inclined to call for her while with another woman, she was not entirely sure, but it pleased her none the less. Grabbing a passing Green Foot, she handed off the dispatches with strict instructions on where to deliver them. Preferrably after she ran away.

In a sort of dream-like daze, she walked back to her room, musing over the abnormal conversation she had heard. As she climbed into bed, she idly wondered if the castle library had any sort of books that could shed some light on some of the terms she had heard.

A note here, someone did ask me about this. The war is revving up. Preparations are being made so I'll allude to things going on in the background. Eventually the war will start in earnest and will end, all within a year, and all within the series.

This chapter was to show Zachary having a moment and Karigan being the naive gal she is. And Fastion being . . . Fastion. Smutty goodness is fun, but I want to build something of a story around it.

Please review and tell me what you think.