Throne Of Cards 63 – Reunion
I’ve always considered punctuality as a virtue to aspire to. Even so, there are times when circumstances have kept me from keeping an appointment. Should this happen, I find that a sincere apology, with a personal touch, usually works.
Excerpt from ‘Interview With An Assassin’
Working advanced magic while under elevated levels of mental stress was a dangerous and indeed foolhardy endeavor, one which could easily cause fatal accidents. Elvira Odesseiron had informed her son of this more than once, even if she had little actual hope that he would follow her advice rather than ignore it in the heat of the moment. After all, he takes after me in that regard. Then again, Vadrak’s influence probably doesn’t help either. He wouldn’t forget himself, but he’d just go ahead regardless because he decided it was necessary.
That thought was accompanied by a sharp pang in her heart, and a quick intake of breath. She raised her hand, aimed at the target on the far side of the room, and a blazing hot ball of fire and lightning screamed through the air, leaving flickering afterimages floating across her field of vision as it incinerated the top half of the target dummy, not just the head she’d been aiming for. Damn it. If he doesn’t get back to me soon, in one piece, and get back to normal, I’ll have to go for the walls, and then we’ll end up renovating this entire basement level. Yes, a lab with a target range was all well and good, and it kept down the turnover of furniture in the mansion to reasonable levels, but this state of affairs had lasted for entirely too long.
The wizardess sighed and stretched her arms. There was a persistent, dull ache in her right shoulder – she should probably use the left for aim for a while if Edwin intended to be much longer. Also, her black hair was tangled and sweaty, and the old robe she’d put on for her workout was torn in places and covered with dust. Wait, that’s not dust, it’s plaster. Oh for…I’ve got it in my hair as well. She craned her neck back and cursed out loud when she saw the smoking hole in the ceiling above her. She hadn’t thought her aim had been that off, even when she was in the worst of her worry-induced fit of temper, and more importantly, she’d thought the ceiling was sturdier. Well, that was a matter for tomorrow, she’d just have to put up a barrier so nobody fell through. For now, a bath.
She sighed and wandered upstairs, trying to ignore the still churning unease in the pit of her stomach. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust her beloved son to be able to perform the ritual properly. Edwin was a very bright boy, and had been well trained, and he certainly knew the importance of the task. Even so, she wished she could have been there. But that wouldn’t have been the right thing to do. It wasn’t just because her beloved wouldn’t know her in his transformed stage, no, even if that had helped influence her decision. Most importantly, Edwin needed to do this, to put things right. She knew he could, and she also knew he needed to do it on his own, without her supervision. My own baby. All grown up and performing arcane Netherese rituals. Where did the time go?
Elvira absently snapped her fingers, lighting her bedside candle and then the dim globe she kept for illuminating her bathroom. The servants had timed things perfectly, the bathwater was still hot, but not scalding. What scent to use? Lemon? Lilac? No, dusk lily. That will be perfect. She sprinkled the ground petals into the water, slowly inhaled the scent. Subtle, yet it insinuated itself everywhere. With a sigh of relief she shrugged the sweaty robe off and lowered herself into the wide tub, luxuriating in the deliciously hot, scented water that made all her muscles relax. For a few moments she just floated, and then she started washing her hair, carefully combing through it with her fingers to get every single speck of plaster out. She muttered a quick spell and a globule of water rose into the air, then started gradually pouring itself over her head, rinsing the lather out. The sound of rushing water was all she could hear and the water streaming down her back was all she could feel.
And then there was a hand on her shoulder, long fingers caressing her neck, and an achingly familiar voice whispering into her ear.
“Miss me?”
It was to her credit that Elvira didn’t startle. Even so, she couldn’t quite suppress her gasp of surprise, somewhat choked when she lost control of her cantrip and a bucketful of water landed on her head, momentarily blinding her.
“Oh…” She sputtered once she got her breath back and was able to speak again. Her chest felt warm and light, ready to burst with joy, and before she knew it, she had grasped her beloved by the collar, pulled him closer and was covering his face with kisses, her fingers entangling themselves in his hair. “Oh, you utter bastard, are you trying to kill me?”
“I would prefer not stabbing a lady during her ablutions if I can avoid it, it seems both messy and somewhat theatrical. And I learnt long ago that you chew up fear and eat it for breakfast.” He smiled, that warm, adoring smile that was hers and hers alone and she had to muster all her self-control not to squeal like a silly little girl. “Also, you didn’t answer my question.”
“Of course I missed you, you reckless fool!” She tightened her embrace, vaguely aware that he was nearly as wet as she was by now. “You’re inexcusably late, you know. ‘Just a reconnaissance mission’, I recall you saying. ‘Something relatively simple for Edwin to satisfy his interest in fieldwork. I’ll be with him every step of the way and we’ll be home in time for Solstice celebrations.’ That’s what you said, wasn’t it?”
“Well…”
“Over a year ago! A year! Closer to two! I…I ought to chain you to my bedpost for safekeeping and never let you out of my sight again! I ought to sear the skin off your back for making me worry so! I ought to…”
He simply grinned at her and his fingers cupped her chin as he gently tilted her head up for another kiss. “I missed you too, beloved. More than I have words for.” Warm, eager lips met hers and sparkling red fireworks went off behind her closed eyelids, entirely making her forget what she’d been about to say as her muscles tensed and tightened, a core of needy, burning desire. When they eventually came apart she gulped in air quickly, pleased to notice the hungrily appraising look he gave her breasts. “Bath or bed?” She said. Scolding him could wait for later. Much later, if she had her way with him, and she rather thought she would.
“Both?”
“Both.” She nodded imperiously. “Now!”
“As my lady commands, of course.”
-*-
It was quite some time later, and things had progressed in a very satisfying manner. They’d long since progressed from ‘bath’ to ‘bed’ with a few little detours in-between – her vanity table would never be quite the same again. Not having to be quick about things, not having to be constantly cautious, oh now that was a complete delight, and one she intended to take advantage of again and again. Right now they were lying in bed, catching their breaths. The sheets were a rumpled mess, but not really necessary anyway. Her skin was fairly radiating heat. Elvira sighed softly with utter contentment, feeling her lover’s arms tighten around her. Her fingers trailed slowly across his chest, catching a strand of his hair and proceeded to idly toy with it, enjoying the silky smoothness.
“Do you…remember?” She suddenly asked. “What happened during the time of that botched spell?”
“I’m afraid so,” He said a little wryly. “I’m not sure if I’ll ever be able to get Edwin and his friends to take me seriously again after all of that.”
Elvira chuckled. “Edwin would jump off a cliff if you asked him to, possibly even without argument. As for his friends, you’re very good at getting people to take you seriously. But that’s not what I meant. Did Edwin fill you in fully yet, about Galen?”
He went still, and she felt his muscles tense momentarily. “Yes. A strange coincidence, is it not? After all these years, to have things change, just like that. At his whim. It almost makes me wonder if he knew all along about us.”
“I hardly think so. He wouldn’t be able to feign ignorance that well. But it doesn’t really matter now, does it?” She planted soft, teasing kisses along the side of his neck, then proceeded to light bites, not enough to draw blood, and grinned to herself when she felt him responding to what her hand was doing at the same time. “What matters is that we’re free. We have each other, openly this time. And I can’t help noticing that Edwin’s latest small mistake was a very happy one.”
“Ha, so you did notice? I was going to wait and see how long it took you.”
“Pfft,” Elvira scoffed, tightening her grip a little. He made a quiet sound of pleasure at the back of his throat, and so she continued with what she was doing. “As if I wouldn’t. I know you very well after all, my Wolf. After the first shock, of course I noticed it. You look…not quite as young as the day we first met, but still quite a lot younger than when you and Edwin went off on your little trip. You could easily be mistaken for his brother, a few years older than him.”
“Fighting monsters and chasing around the world after Bhaalspawn can be extremely invigorating. You should join me, sometime. Just the two of us.”
“That sounds disgustingly rugged. But I can think of a few other things that we could get up to. I’ve had nearly two years to make plans, after all.”
“Are you ever going to let go of that ‘nearly two years’ thing?”
“Probably not! At any rate, I won’t scold Edwin too much this time, clearly he was afraid to overdo things and make you decrepit, so he held back a little.”
“Mmm. Clearly. He offered to make another adjustment, but I declined.”
Elvira felt herself smiling like a cat that got into the cream. “Good. I very much approve of this. Now, there are a few more things we’ll need to discuss…but I think that’s for later, don’t you?” She twisted around, straddling him, and leant forward to nibble at his throat again. “Much, much later.”
He didn’t reply in so many words, but the way his fingers cleverly snuck around to find one of her most delightfully sensitive places was all the reply she really needed.
-*-
And now there was a faint hint of the early grey light of dawn trickling in through the bedroom windows. Elvira yawned quietly, tired but content. She hadn’t got much sleep at all this night, but oh what a night it had been. What a night, and what a reunion. I think I’ll have some trouble walking straight today. Still, what aches and pains there were she welcomed entirely as a delightful reminder of what they’d been up to. And I think I managed to leave him with a few reminders of his own. To think, I’d nearly forgotten just how flexible he can be. We mustn’t ever be apart for that long again.
She turned her head to give her beloved a fond look. He was still fast asleep, his face unusually relaxed and peaceful. Temptation inevitably got the better of her, and so she reached out to caress his face, her fingers slowly traveling along his cheek and down the sharp lines of his jaw.
“Were you watching me sleep again?” He murmured, not opening his eyes.
“Mmhmm. But it’s not creepy if I do it. After all, you’re mine.”
“Always.” He opened his eyes, those beautiful black eyes, to give her a serious look. “Elvira. I will have to…”
She silenced him with a finger across his lips. “Hush, my love. I know. The children still have unfinished business. Unfinished dangerous business. Of course you must go with them. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be you.”
He deflated slightly. “You guessed?”
“Of course. I know you, Vadrak. I could practically see the wheels turning in your head, trying to work out how to tell me. Do stop tying yourself in knots about it.”
“But what of you?”
Elvira sighed. “I will be keeping myself busy while you’re gone. Only this time, do try not to stay away for two years.”
“Only nearly two years.”
“Even so. I have to take out my frustrations on something, and I don’t think you’d want the mansion to be reduced to smoking rubble by the time you get back. And you will get back to me, alive and whole, or I swear to you I’ll hound you into the afterlife to personally bind your soul into my favourite necklace.”
He gave her a quick smile. “I could think of worse fates than spending time hanging about in your cleavage. But I promise to do my best to stay alive.”
“Good.” She gave him a considering look. “Now, would you look at that, it’s nearly dawn. And do you know what that means?”
“No?”
Elvira felt a wide smile creep across her smile. “You’re absolutely right. It means nothing at all, not anymore. This time, you won’t have to leave me too soon. This time, we have nothing to fear, nothing to hide. I could keep you here for hours yet and nobody would interfere.”
He pulled her closer, his hand sliding up her thigh. “Then I say we should take full advantage. I’m only about a third of the way through the list of things I’d planned to do to you.”
“You made a list?”
“Of course. I wouldn’t want to miss any important details, after all. But not in writing, nothing indiscreet. Now, if I remember correctly, if I do this…”
Elvira drew in breath sharply, quite unable to speak.
“Ah, yes, I thought so. Let’s see if I can leave you with a few happy memories, shall we?”
She felt her legs folding around his back, pulling him closer and entrapping him. Her nails raked down his back, and he gave a small hiss, a mix of pleasure and pain. “I’ll leave a few marks as well,” She purred. “Just so you don’t forget about me, and that you’re all mine.”
“Inconceivable.” He shuddered briefly as she sucked hard at the skin at the nape of his neck. “You may just manage to succeed in mentally scarring our son, mind.”
“Ha, he’d better get used to it, now we’ve nothing to hide anymore. You don’t care either, do you?”
He shrugged, giving her a slanted smile. “Care about what?”
And with that, the rest of the world was happily dismissed for exactly as long as needed to work their way through the list.
Though that was probably taken for granted anyway. Ah well, it's better that a parent expresses slightly unfounded confidence in their children, rather than constant denigration which is certainly more common. 
