Tales of Tanlien: Rhiannon - Chapter 4

Chapter 4

In the end, Baldur had been unable to shed any more light on the situation and after another shouting match, we reached a compromise on the whole partner/apprentice thing... I would take her on, but not until after the Tovar business was settled. Hey, who knows, I thought at the time, I would probably really need a good tumble when I put the mission to rest, for that was all I saw my new partner being good for. Yea gods and goddesses, if I only knew then...

But I am getting ahead of myself here. Where I should be is firmly on the road, on my way to meet with Rhi, Tovar, and the whole sordid mess. After getting my orders from Tovar, I did not delay much on getting out of Portico. I put in word with Destry what I was about, and shared some brews with Kellan setting things straight between us as well, then snuck out of town just as the guards were closing the massive gates for the night.

I could have had company on this journey--both Destry and Kellan had offered to come with me--but there was a sense of rightness as I took the road alone. I pointed my horse down the road into the enveloping gloom of the fading dusk.

At one point, not more than a day or two out of Portico, a lack of convenient villages or farms forced me to sleep out in the open. With the dinner fire dying down to embers, I had pulled my cloak over me like blanket, resting my head on my rucksack for a pillow. Melody was hobbled close by and I could hear her gentle whuffing as she nibbled on the tall grass of the meadow.

I was powerfully reminded of my travels with Rhinegar and Rhi and how we often were forced to camp on the side of the road. Rhiannon. I sighed and closed my eyes, letting the inevitable memories wash over me. It was like being there again, holding her close to my body, her innocent face tucked into my shoulder as we shared our blankets. Slowly, my hand would slide up and down her body, stroking her so soft skin until I swear she would begin to purr and press her body more forcefully into mine. A pause to hush her as I would listen for our mentor's soft snores would signal if it was safe--

Melody's whicker startled me as for a moment I had heard Rhinegar's snore, but then I snapped out of my doze, snapping my eyes open to see what had disturbed the horse.

A woman stood over me, back-lit by the moon. I could not see her face or who it was, but she just stood there, hands on hips, watching me.

I started to scoot back into a sitting position, but she raised a hand and waggled a finger at me, and I stopped, very much confused. Then she began undoing the ties on her blouse and pulled the garment over head and let it fall to the ground. I noticed then that the shirt was not the only article of clothing strewn about on the grass in front of me. It joined a pair of boots, cloak, and pants too...

"Rhi" I whispered soundlessly as the nude women lay down and slid her body against mine. Sweetly ripe lips found mine, and I opened my mouth to hers. The kiss was inquisitive and playful on her part, and I surprised a gasp out of her with the intensity with which I returned it.

"Seven Bells of Silanunua," breathlessly exclaimed an unfamiliar voice, "You led me a merry chase, Sir Bard, but the reward... you are everything your reputation--"

The interloper said no more as I jumped up, dumping her on her ass on to the matted grass. I regarded her cautiously from a crouch, my rapier flying into one hand and a summoned ball of mage light into the other.

"Lily Lay, I presume?" My voice was cold and tight with disgust as I relaxed and straightened, though I kept my blade hovering inches from her bare chest. Bathed as she was in the arcane light, my uninvited guest's mane of ridiculous pink hair identified her as my new and most unwelcome partner. God damn Baldur and his meddling...

"Why were you following me, and what in the hell did you think you were doing? Do you rape every man you meet?"

"Hey, you didn't seem to mind when I crawled into your blanket, did you?" Lily returned in a little-girl voice filled with hurt innocence. "I know all about your reputation as a lothario... am I really so vile looking you would turn me down?"

There was a hint of tears in her voice and her lower lip was quivering when she asked that last, and while I had a good guess it was just an act, does it really matter? Whether it's a game or genuine, a woman in tears always undoes me. But this time, I was too fed up with Baldur's machinations and all of the heart ache and frustration of the last few weeks.

"I never said you were vile. You are in fact, an extremely stunning young lady, and you damn well know that." I nodded in satisfaction when the vapid, injured look left the girl's face, and she regarded me now with quizzical amusement. This one will be trouble, I sighed to myself. "However, I am neither in the mood nor the inclination for any relationship right now. Nothing personal."

"You were getting pretty personal there at the start; the goddess Silanunua... that kiss alone--"

I colored slightly and hoped she could not see it in the weak light. "I thought you were--" Shit! I shut up at point, my lips a grim line. Why was I telling her this?

Lilly looked a little confused herself, waiting for me to continue. "You thought I was who... " She paused and her eyes got very large and her soft lips parted in a quiet 'oh.' "You thought I was her, didn't you?"

"Her who?" I hedged cautiously, but I knew already it was too late.

"Rhiannon. Your old lover, the one you are going off in search of, like one of the old tales..."

"No!" I said this a bit to harsh perhaps, and in the embarrassed silence that overtook the two of us, I realized she was still naked, and the way she was sitting left little doubt that pink was her natural hair color.

I spun around so I was facing away and growled at her with out looking back. "For the goddess' sake, put some clothes on, Lily."

For a few moments, I could hear nothing, yet I knew she was laughing at me; feminine amusement hung heavy in the damp night air. Then there was some scuffling of movement.

A cool hand was placed on my shoulder, and it took all my discipline not to jump in startlement. "You really are in a bad way over her, aren't you?"

"I fail to see what concern that is of yours." There was no use denying it, not even to her, a stranger. Lily might have been raw and inexperienced as an operative, but it hardly would take a professional to puzzle that out. I was not, however, in any such mood to discuss it.

"I'm your partner; what affects you affects me."

"You're my trainee, nothing more, and this does not affect you. At all"

"I'm your partner!" Repeated Lily, exasperation and anger replacing her amusement.

"You are a child, a spoiled noble's daughter," I accused her coldly, turning to face her. "And whether my newest partner or a trainee, this trip is not yours. I specifically recall watching Baldur writing the orders that delayed our association until after I returned. And do not presume to tell me he forgot to mention this to you, or that you left before he had a chance to. I know Baldur much better then you do, and I can read the guilt in your eyes."

I turned the full force of my silvered eyes on her in an icy glare, and damned if she did not take a step back. I sneered, then snorted in disgust and walked away. She really was a child, to be so easily cowed by a little personal glamor to make my eyes look like silver flames and some menacing stage presence. When I started her training, that was definitely something we would have to see to.

"Go home, Lilly Lay. Go home, and we will work this out, you and I, when I return. But not before then, and right now, I really need my sleep."

There was silence from behind me, and I wondered where her snappy response, her angry refutation... anything, but there was nothing. Sudden remorse filled me for treating her so, and I pictured her crying silently at my abuse. I went to look for her, against my better nature, to comfort her, but she was gone.

"Looking for me? But I thought you needed your sleep, old man!" Tinkling laughter filled the darkened glade, sounding like it came from everywhere, but I could not see the dammed girl.

"Sleep, my Silver Bard, sleep, for you really will need all your strength when next we meet. When you return." The voice mocked me, and then I knew no more.

When I awoke, the sun was well up and Melody was standing over me, chewing on grass and looking at me accusingly. "It's a female conspiracy," I muttered as I rubbed my head and looked around. I was still in my camp, of course. I was even laying on my bedroll, under my blanket.

I sat up and then groaned. My head hurt as if I had spent a night carousing in a Tavern with too much drink, but I knew it was the after effects of a sleep spell. Lilly. Of course. I had belittled her, and she struck back. And got the last word, damn it all. I was really gonna have to kill Baldur for this one; my life was already complicated enough without adding a woman like Lilly to it.

I was still grumbling when I packed up my camp after a hurried breakfast, the departed astride Melody. It was not the best of starts to a day, that much was certain.

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The watcher observed motionless in her hidden perch in the trees. The bard was amusing, and seeing him grumpily deal with what must have been a massive spell headache made it hard for her not to betray herself with laughter. Men should never try to get so far ahead of themselves, she thought smugly. Still, her interest in this male was high, and well she anticipated her future orders regarding him.

Continued in Chapter 5

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