CONTENT ADVISORY / TRIGGER WARNING
THIS NOVEL CONTAINS DEPICTIONS/STRONG IMPLICATIONS OF THE FOLLOWING THAT SOME READERS MAY FIND OFFENSIVE OR DISTURBING:
~ ALCOHOL
The sky was dark yet filled with stars, and the air was crisp but not quite freezing. Light from fire illuminated the city of Edinburgh, and Nordic men and many other races bustled about the evening festivities. To his knowledge, there was no point to the fair but it had brought joy to many of the people. Men and women drank, gambled, danced, and sang. It was a fine night for the joyous festivities.
Eskil sat on a stone bench in the city square. A large blazing fire had been built and many of the citizens danced around the heat of it. Gaalin sat beside him, drinking a large pitcher of ale as they watched the woman they both desired. She was dancing with the young sisters, their arms linked as they skipped merrily about the fire. They took turns switching partners, walking and skipping in circles with their palms touching before switching partners again and moving in the opposite direction.
They danced happily together to the fast tempo of the bards who banded together to play their instruments. All of the girls had bright smiles on their faces and were truly enjoying themselves. When the song ended, those who had been dancing paused to applaud the bards.
Libelle casually walked over to the men and accepted a tall pint of strong ale from another attendee. She took a large gulp before sitting down between them, turning slightly and leaning up against Eskil who stared at her with wide eyes. Her head rested against his arm, her mug of ale against her lips while somehow still looking incredibly innocent.
Gaalin was about to protest against her actions, but again he was interrupted before he could speak.
"Lord Gaalin, Lord Gaalin! Dance with us!" Ingrid shouted happily with a large smile and blonde hair waving about her shoulders. She and her sisters grabbed onto his wrists and tried to pull him upwards, but he didn't budge from his spot.
"Sorry lasses, I don't dance," he said.
The girls pleaded with him as they tried to pull him along with them. He tried to excuse himself again when Libelle's booted foot kicked his ribs. She raised her mug at him as she pushed him up with her heel.
"Go dance wit' em you old fart!" she grumbled.
He shook his head and grabbed his own ale, taking another large swig of it before the girls dragged him off to dance. Despite his hesitation, he looked entertained by the trio of girls bustling around him in fits of giggles.
Libelle slid down against Eskil, her head resting on his lap. She smiled up at him, "Hic...hello."
He smiled gently back at her. "Hello."
She just stared at him and smiled like an imbecile as he chuckled. "You're drunk, aren't you?"
"Hic, I don't know what yo—hic...what you're talking about."
He laughed this time as he retrieved her tipping pint from her hands and set it on the opposite side of him. He had heard of man becoming drunk on the swill they called ale, yet never had he really been around them when they were so intoxicated that they became even more obnoxious and even more lustful.
Libelle's eyes began to droop, her smile still there but becoming faint as she seemed to be drifting off. "Mmmm," she purred, the sound soft and sensual. "My lifemate."
Eskil's expression went placid for a moment, and he tried to collect himself while she seemed to be unintentionally testing his patience as a man. Her dress clung to her body, the low cut revealing the smooth skin of her breasts. She brushed her hand against his chest, toying with the collar of his jacket.
He remained silent for a moment longer, before chuckling and eagerly lifting her onto his shoulder while standing up from the bench. She laughed in surprise, propping her chin up onto her palm and elbowing him in his spine. He began to walk away from the main crowd and into the well-lit streets.
"Where are you taking me, hmmm?" she asked.
He chuckled again. "My little she-elf is quite inebriated, and I believe a long walk may be in order."
She spoke mockingly. "A long...hic...walk, you say? Hic! What else do you plan to do with me?"
Eskil smiled and shook his head, and once they were away from the main crowd of people, he set her down on her feet in the empty street. She was swaying back and forth, giggling as she continued through a fit of hiccups.
He lifted her chin so she would look at him. "I can also see in your mind what you'd like me to do, my little elf. However, there is nowhere around where we could do those things and have privacy." He whispered in her ear, "I will not allow anyone else to hear your delectable cries either."
Libelle blushed and stepped away from him with a mildly disappointed smile. "A walk it is then."
She took his hand and began to walk down one of the main roads of the city. The majority of the town folk were crowding the square, so the streets were anything but busy. A few citizens wandered around as they made their way back to their homes or to the inn. They smiled and waved as they passed, and with more than half the townsfolk being drunk on ale she was not afraid to remain holding his hand.
"Hic! I spoke with the king this afternoon."
"Oh?"
She stepped up onto one of the stone block walls, carefully tip toeing down its narrow path. Eskil still held her hand, balancing her as she wobbled side to side. "Yes...hic! I told him about you."
"Was that a good idea?"
She stared up into the stars for a moment before she answered. "Yes, I believe so. He's agreed to leave you and I be...hic!"
Eskil pulled her back onto the wall as she nearly stumbled off of it. "May I ask how much you told him?"
"Nothing really. I told him you and I are lifemates," she smiled.
He paused mid step. "Wait, you what?"
She giggled, "Heh, I am only joking. Hic! I told him about the magic I'd discovered with the help of the gods, and that you're now in the form of a mortal. I explained that people no longer have to fear you."
He rolled his eyes and grumbled.
"Well, not fear you, I mean that you can't...you know."
"I understand what you mean, beloved. However, I hope you understand that it's a bit of a blow to my self-worth that 'no one has to fear me anymore', you know?" he chuckled.
"I'm sorry. It's just, I don't want to worry about the king or guards mistaking you for a demon that someone summoned or something of the sort. I felt that if I did not explain the whole situation to him, things could end very badly."
"I understand, Libelle."