Unedited Sample – A Treasured Bind
As a pre-Christmas treat, I thought I would share a short sample of a story that is currently in the works. It is the first that I have made with characters that were in made in collaboration with AuldMisdione.
In this segment, a young witch named Caleb Grimaldi has just entered a dining room at the home of a famous adventurer. But not everything is as you might expect.
When they got to the dining room, Caleb’s mouth dropped open in surprise.
The room must have been at least half a mile wide, and maybe two miles long. Scattered across the landscape were tables made of pure crystal, each one twice as large as any he had ever seen.
On the floor, which was covered in a soft grass that seemed to sway in an invisible breeze, a large river snaked around the tables. At various places along the body of water, wooden carved bridges were stationed, each of them engraved with symbols of ancient magic from the deepest forests. All of these fixtures seemed to sparkle and sparkling in the light of a mysterious moon like object, which hung without supports in the space which occupied the ceiling.
Caleb knew that most of the room had likely been constructed using magic, but it was still breathtaking. The various guests that had entered along with Caleb and Michael didn’t seem to pay any mind to their surroundings. They must have been so used to the parlour tricks of the adventurer, that they wouldn’t have given a second glance even if an impossible object had materialised within their presence.
After a moment of talking amongst themselves, the other guests began to walk across the bridges to the crystal tables and took one of the equally magnificent crystal dining chairs as their chosen destination. Caleb and Michael walked in their stead, the latter not really paying attention to his lover, or to the spectacular place he found himself walking through at that moment in time.
As Caleb walked through the room, he saw several wonderful things flowing in the river. There were several plants such as duckweed and reeds, but also several creatures of the ocean such as salmon, jellyfish and even the occasional crab walked skittishly across the rocks that had settled at the base of the water bed.
Taking a seat at a large crystal seat by the edge of the water, Caleb was reminded of the Kingdom of Ravandar he had visited on one of his many travels. Although he had been begrudged to go into one of their ocean temples to retrieve a sunken treasure, he would never forget the beautiful scenery he witnessed as he travelled to and from it’s resting place.
Just as Caleb rested his arms on the smooth surface of the table, a whirlpool of magical water rose up from the river’s surface. Atop the whirlpool, was a breathtakingly handsome merman. His upper body was sculpted golden man, with pert nipples, several scars probably from a hard fought war and a tattoo of a seahorse on his left shoulder. His hair was long and smooth, and seemed to be a mixture of seaweed green and dishwater blonde. At his waist, his human half ended, and a lower body of an orca whale was formed as his tail.
“Good evening good sirs,” said the merman, in a voice that oozed sexual charm. “My name is Aquarius, and I will be your waiter for this evening.”
Caleb wondered how much the handsome merman was being paid to work at this celebration, because unfortunately the merfolk were not treated with the greatest of respect on land, even though they were practically royalty when in their ocean homes. The various guests seated at Aquarius’s table all gave him their requests for their drinks, all the while conversing amongst themselves about the state of the magical economy, and which sorcerer had just lost his place in the recent magical council elections.
As each order was made, Aquarius produced a small scrap of parchment from inside a kelp purse around his neck, and with a wave of his hand, the writing appeared on each page in a stylish Celtic font. When Aquarius had finished with each one, the page fluttered away towards the nearest dumb waiter, where it travelled upwards towards a makeshift tavern on the second floor.
“And what can I get for you, my handsome witch?” Aquarius asked, tapping Caleb on his shoulder with one of his strong muscular arms. The magical acolyte jumped nearly five feet into the air, causing the merman to blush with surprise, then gather the fresh piece of parchment which had fallen into the butter dish.
When he had regaining himself, Caleb blushed at his accidental predicament.
“I’ll just have a mineral water.” he said, knowing that he would likely need to be the designated driver, so to speak.
“An excellent decision,” replied Aquarius, “Our water comes from the peak of one of the elven mountains, at the spring where they brew the magic that brings the summer breeze to the whole continent. Many people I have spoken to, say it is one of the most delicious beverages they have ever tasted.”
With that, the merman waved the order up to the tavern, then nodded his head in respect. Before anyone could ask him anything else, Aquarius leapt from the magical rising water, and crashed back into the river from whence he came. A large cascade of the resulting splash flew through the air, and landed all over Michael.
In spite of himself, Caleb began to laugh. His boyfriend gave him a pointed stare, which caused the witch to stop almost immediately. After grumbling about the attitude of merpeople in general, Michael waved his hand, and chanted a small verse in his native sorcerer tongue. A gust of wind surrounded him, and in moments he was completely devoid of the unwanted water.
After he had composed himself, Caleb wondered how the merman was going to bring their drinks over to their table, because unless he was part octopus, he would only be able to carry two drinks in his arms, and a tray would not be practical when swimming through the currents of the river. His silent question was answered almost at once, as a tray laiden with the order flew just above the river’s surface, no doubt guided by the magical powers of the waiter, or the barkeeps held up in the tavern.
The tray stopped just short of Caleb’s table, and then floated up onto the cotton cloth which protected it from harm. Each of the guests picked up their chosen beverage, until only a seashell shaped glass remained, filled with the brim with crystal clear water that shimmered with the residual magic of an elven spring.
Caleb smiled. The merman could have asked for the drink alone, but to offer someone a seashell glass was in their culture, a symbol of sexual attraction. He knew that merpeople would often flirt with whoever they could find, as swimming the deepest oceans rarely left time for finding a lasting companion.
Although he knew that Michael would lose his mind if Caleb ever tried to go with another man, at least while they were together, he was flattered that Aquarius had taken the time to make him feel appreciated. He loved the sorcerer, but the merman had been more romantic in the space of five minutes, than Michael had been in the past three months.
The evening progressed in much the same way. Michael was busy trying to talk to anyone who would accept his attention, and to some of the few citizens of the magical community he happened to have met. Whether this was through his wheeling and dealing in the upper circles, Caleb didn’t know, and that moment, he couldn’t really have cared less.
Five minutes after their drinks arrived, Aquarius returned and asked for their choice of main course. Most of the table chose to opt for the lobster, crayfish and caviar platter, but Caleb opted for the lamb korma, a decision which made the merman smile once more.
“Creamy and sweat, just like yourself,” he said, winking with one of his deep turquoise eyes. It was at that point at the witch blushed brighter than a beetroot, which only made the masculine half man grin even wider.
When he had sent the orders on their way, Aquarius leapt back into the water once again. Michael held up an umbrella to prevent himself from getting soaked, but to add insult to injury, he was hit with another set of waves that came from the opposite direction.
After they had chosen their main course, Caleb had decided to sit down by the riverbank until it arrived, and flick some of the water across to the other side with his right hand. He hoped that this would summon the beautiful merman back to their table, as speaking with Aquarius would be more entertaining than watching Michael stroke his ego by talking only about himself, and occasionally his beloved grandmother.
Besides, he partially hoped that if Michael saw Aquarius flirting with Caleb, it would arose a hint of jealousy in the sorcerer. He didn’t want to bring any harm to the aquatic adonis, but it would never hurt to make Michael wake up and smell the coffee, even if it was being served cold.
Almost as if he had been waiting for the right moment to strike, Aquarius’s head broke the surface of the water, and playfully flicked some of it at the witch. Caleb looked down at him, and casually returned the favour. Before the two could continue their playfight, another set of trays came down the river, this time carrying their main courses.
With another stunning grin, Aquarius’s head vanished into the water, leaving the witch to return to his table, and eat the meal that had been prepared. As he watched Michael completely ignoring him once again, Caleb wondered if he would even care if he kissed Aquarius right in front of him. But no matter how much he was tempted, Caleb knew he could never go through with it. Regardless of Michael’s apparent disinterest in him, he wasn’t going to cheat on the man he had fallen in love with, even if the feelings weren’t returned.
With a sigh, Caleb continued to eat his main course, and imagined what it would be like to make love with a merman.
Hope you enjoyed this little snippet. I’ll hopefully have some more to share with you before Christmas.
