The Taxman ushered a guard over to help Ed up from his up chair and walk him to the front. As Ed got up from the table and came around towards the door the Taxman held up a small packet of paper. It was sealed in the same way as their papers to come into town. Ed was piecing together how the town worked here. At home in Deavers, they had two constables. The constable worked under the Mayor of the town. Here in Northern Gate, the Guards worked for or with the Taxmen. They held the authority here in the gate to the southern lands. I guess the old saying of gold makes the world go around was completely true here.
Ed took the packet and looked down at the little man who was still smiling. "And where do I pick up your package?"
The man looked up and adjusted the hair on his head. "When you head to the stable pass that to the keeper. An item has already been stored there that I want you to transport. Trust me my good lad, it's all above board. I would never put an honest traveler like yourself in jeopardy." His voice was a little too honest. Like someone who is trying to hide some of what they are doing.
"Well, then that is convenient for us then isn't it? We will pick it up on our way out of town then. Thank you. I assume you will know when the delivery is made, or will we need to return?" Ed said taking the packet and putting it into his pocket.
"Oh, I will be made aware, although you will always be welcome for more jobs if you prefer. Payment will be made for your trip upon delivery, so don't worry. Just make sure the package makes it to its destination. It's all in the instructions there." He said standing aside and using his hand to motion towards the door. The meeting was over, and Ed had all the information he was going to get.
His guard escorted him down the dimly lit hallway and towards the front of the building. Ed could hear Rennish in the front trying to convince someone of something. He guessed he was involved in the discussion somehow.
"Look I've got money to pay fines or damages, but we need to let him go, his wife is worried sick!" Rennish said leaning over the counter and talking down to a demi seated behind the counter.
"Sir, please wait. Take a seat and let me see what's going on." the man said in the way that told Ed it was a rehearsed line and he had this conversation nearly every day.
"He was assaulted, and this is what happens? What if he was murdered would you take the killer out for cake and coffee? He's married to a Felis, he's not some Joe off the street. Hell, he could be the pilgrimage prophet for all you know."
"Well if he's the prophet then he should be able to just walk through the walls and use rats to chase us all away, then won't he?"
Rennish stood back and put his hands on his hips. "You will be sorry about this one day. I promise you that. When word gets out." He shook his head and stepped back. At that moment the door to the hallway opened and Ed came out as the guard held it open for him.
"Come on Rennish let's get back to the hotel," Ed said as he stepped through and rubbed his wrists and arms where he had been manhandled on the way in. Ed could have complained but he just wanted out of this situation as quickly as possible. Whatever business they may have had as visitors was now over with the note from the Taxman.
Rennish smiled and nodded. "One horse town is too small for you anyway. Let's talk on the way home anyway."
The night was in full swing and Ashra had been escorted home, the humans were sent out on their own to fend for themselves. The fact that they had been mercilessly attacked wasn't even considered. It showed that the prejudices still existed even in a town that was supposed to be so open to all kinds.
"Soooooooo…" Said Rennish with a sheepish grin. "You graduated from flunky to husband with one simple outburst. Congratulations… What a way to weasel yourself into bed with the beautiful young lady. And you didn't even need any of my special skills."
"Cork it, I didn't realize what I was saying because a certain person failed me," Ed said pointedly.
"Huh… How?" Rennish replied cocking his head and looking at Ed while they walked.
"Seriously bard? You all are supposed to be learned, scholars and artisans. Bardic knowledge is what you guys are supposed to be known for. Part of why you make excellent teachers and artists. But no, you had to be solely focused on getting back to be a human so you could drink and whatever else your remorseless soul wants to do that you've left me again in a hard spot." Ed stopped to take a breath.
"And now we have been blackmailed by the town's head taxman to carry his illicit cargo to wherever these papers say." Ed reached into his pocket and pulled the folded instructions out. He tapped them twice with his fingers.
"Ed… I'm sorry. I won't lie, I am greedy and selfish and an asshole. And I started this with every intention of just letting you figure it out. I thought that someone with your soul should be lucky enough to just sort of butcher through. But first, the gods showed me their true selves, and now I'm here stuck as a human with you. And I am experiencing human emotions. And remembering to eat and bathe and that I can't walk through walls anymore or anything." Rennish rubbed the back of his head and looked forward.
"I hoped walking through the desert together would help prove that I am taking you and this more seriously. But give me time Ed. I promise to prove that I am actually your friend. That means at times I am going to advise you against the god's path. I know what they want, and I have been bound by contract to guide you but not tell you the plan. I am sorry for that because explaining what we need to do would be so much easier if I could just give you the plan. I am not your enemy Ed. I wasn't your friend but the longer I am human the more you grow on me."
Ed looked over at Rennish. He wanted to trust but he knew that he could lie as easily as a duck could swim and at this point the only person he really trusted not to lie to him was Ashra.
"What do I do if she wants children…" Ed said without thinking.
"Huh? Thinking about that already? It's not a problem for you." Rennish replied rubbing his hands together in the night brisk.
"Huh? Why's that? I mean I do have to, you know, cement the marriage."
"Well, first off you are a divine being and you are incapable of having children anymore as Erust. Unless you become Ed and explain to her and show her your true self, she will never bear your children naturally. You could use divine magic to implant life if you wanted to show her mercy, but your body is a divine creation. Therefore, unable to procreate. That is why the divine has to wait for souls to agree to work in the divine realms. We can't create a workforce the fun way. We have to conscript it over time." Rennish told him.
"So you mean… Oh." Ed worked out the ramifications of this in his head. "I hope she understands if family planning isn't a huge priority right now. Maybe we can handle that problem later."
Rennish nodded. "Yes, I am sure in time the problem will take care of itself." He replied just a little too quickly. As if he knew more than he was letting on and just as Ed was trusting him again, his suspicions were renewed.
The last bit to the hotel was dark and quiet as they each watched for muggers or further trouble before they made it into the lobby of the hotel. The owner greeted them at the door and asked if they needed anything. They replied letting him know that at this point they wanted to sleep and recover from the day's activities.
They walked into the lobby and Ashra was asleep on the lounger in the front room. She had Ed's scarf wrapped around her hand and was snuggling the satchel he had left behind in a hurry. She was fast asleep. Rennish put a finger to his mouth in the universal sign for quiet and then waved goodbye before heading to his bedroom.
Ed walked over quietly and looked at her. He sighed and smiled. "What have I gotten myself into now." He thought to himself, looking at his bride. She always looked so lithe and small which was deceptive of the power and agility she had shown during the fight. Any other day he wouldn't have worried about picking her up but today he actually wondered.
He leaned down to her and put her arms around his head and his arms around her shoulder and under her legs. She wasn't as heavy as he expected. She felt light almost somehow compared to the power and brutality she demonstrated. He carried her to the room they had rented as Master and servant. Tonight, it was something else. She snuggled into his chest and sighed relief as she seemed to relax knowing he was there.
In the bedroom, he went to the bed and laid her down quietly. Normally at night she would go through a ritual of cleaning and brushing to keep herself clean and tidy. Tonight, he was just trying to make her comfortable. He quietly removed his boots and pulled off his overclothes. He laid them on the dresser and closed the blinds over the window. He wanted to sleep in if possible.
Climbing into bed quietly was something he had never done before. And she had always waited to sleep until he was asleep. He suspected she watched him and at first that thought was creepy. He had grown used to it; it was his turn tonight to watch her sleep.
He slid into his side of the bed and rolled over to get comfortable. It was a cool night and normally he would have lit a fire or something, but he was just too tired. The light in the room was dim from just what little light streamed in. He looked at her face and put his arm under his pillow. Just as he was starting to feel the weight of the day drain away into blissful sleep, he felt her roll over and curl against his body. Tonight, he didn't try to ignore it. He pulled the blankets up over their shoulders and then put his left arm over her body and put his hand under her waist on the opposite side. He reached out with his leg and tucked her right leg in between his. It was the most natural position he could think of half-awake. He looked down at her as she slept with a smile on her face now. He put his head over hers finally and closed his eyes. Tomorrow was something new.
---------------------------------
The next morning Ed was awoken to the feeling of an empty bed. She was gone and the drapes pulled back. "Good Morning Master." He heard a voice from across the room.
"Good Morning." He said sitting up and stretching.
"You know we must talk," Ashra said to him. She was sitting on a chair with her legs tucked under her.
"How far up is the sun?" Said Ed to her while he wiped out the sleep from his eyes.
"Still in the morning lights. You have slept for about 4 or 5 hours according to the hotel owner. He told me about you coming home last night. Rennish is still asleep and snoring loudly." She shifted in the chair. She had a blanket draped around her, which was odd as she was not normally ashamed of him.
"Oh, has something happened?" Ed sat upright finally and looked at her, curious now that he was noticing her.
"I forced you yesterday to do something that I had hoped would spare you shame and trouble. The hotel manager has informed me of what you told him last night. With everything that happened and what you endured, I must offer to speak to the shaman and annul our pairing seeing as how you did not complete the wedding last night." She said with a serious look on her face.
"What is done is done and I will honor my word," Ed said flatly. "I don't break vows. I don't take advantage of sleeping women and I most certainly will not have you back out now."
Ed stood up from the bed and walked over. "I have proclaimed to you, we stood in front of witnesses and now it has already been registered with the city Taxmen that we are a mated pair."
"How does the city know?" she said to him.
"Taxmen know everything." Ed stretched and walked over to the dresser. He reached in his pants and pulled out the letter showing her. "This is the price I paid to keep everything quiet like it is. We will haul a cargo. The manifest calls for the company of me, my traveling partner, and my wife." He put it down on the table next to her. "I refuse you the right to back out. We are married. That's that, so stop being so squeamish about the whole thing."
Ed held out his hand to her. "Now will you come here please?"
She took his hand with hers and unwound her legs. She stood up and looked at him. She had to look up just a little due to their height difference. He held her one hand and said "Would you rather we just treated this as a business arrangement? You seemed happy last night or just caught up in the emotion maybe. You even talk to me differently now than you did when we first met. Your choice of words has changed."
She looked at his face for a second and then squeezed his hand before letting it go and stepping back. "No, I spent the time thinking about what happened between first light and you getting up this morning. I am your servant, sent from tribes of true believers to serve you as a guide. I have sworn to you already, but I also should have protected you. As is custom with my people we will have to go be sworn in and announced with the village I live in that I am now your mate. I don't wish to change the view of you based on my actions.
You are a prophet, I am a simple girl, with basic education from a simple village, chosen because I was not wed and considered undesirable because I have more human features than feline. That makes me ugly to my own kind. The gift of me to you was a way to bring honor to my family. I was resigned to staying unwed, much like what you would call a nun. You are right in my own girlish way I got caught up in the moment. I am old enough to be considered an old maid at 23."
Ed laughed out loud at the whole situation. "I am a simple town errand boy; I was killed once by a cart full of orphans while proposing to my best friend. She had turned me down just seconds before I was run over. This was probably 7 years ago now. My birth name wasn't even Erust, but I must never tell you what it was for that has ramifications. I am somewhere near 27 years old."
Ashra looked at him with surprise. "I was resurrected by the divine and told I have a purpose. I have been on travel to help find this purpose. I have no clue what the exact purpose of my travels is but the gods tell me I am on the right path. If that IS true, then shouldn't my time here with you also be the right path? The time on the road, learning about my divine powers, the exorcism at the church, and the plague of rats. All the things that you all call me prophet on, are all part of the right path that led me to you. And you want me to defy the path I have been given by backing out now?"
She looked at him. "Why tell me these things?"
"Because you are my mated pair. I have to share with you everything that I can. We will travel together now across these lands. I gathered Rennish, I have gathered you, Rennish and I were NOT friends when we started this travel. You and I were not even very well acquainted when we started but look where it took us." He held his hands up and shrugged. "I can trust you, right? I think I have the power to wipe out this memory if you want me too."
"No… don't do that. You shared your secrets with me, I can keep them." She said with a worried look on her face and shook her head.
"So again, what do you say? Are we wed or are we just keeping up appearances? Either way, we can't back out now we just need to figure out how to carry on with the trip." Ed looked at her.
"You promise that everything you told me is true? You promise to treat me like a wife and that you want this with me also?"
"Yes, I promise, I will give Rennish permission to verify what I have told you so that you know I am not keeping secrets except for the one thing. I told you I would honor my word. You will travel with me, together, and we will do this thing until you tell me you don't want too anymore." Ed stuck his hand out.
She looked at it in surprise. She took it and shook it. "Then you are my pair and have confirmed that you do want me and promise to take care of me while I take care of you. I will still try to serve you as best I can, but you will also be a provider to me and my children."
Ed look at her laughed, he was feeling more relaxed than he ever had with a woman before. "Don't you only shake hands to seal business deals? Don't we have to seal this deal another way?"
She blushed and laughed. "Oh, well I guess we do have to get that out of the way."
"Out of the way? Wow, let's make it sound like real fun." He laughed at her and picked her up by the waist with her legs dangling free of the ground listening to her squeal in surprise. "I am sorry, but this is my first time."
"The basics were explained to me when I was still considered for marriage into other villages." She said as he put her down on the edge of the bed. "Come on, just like the rest of this trip you will figure it out as you go along."