The Prisoner's Release and Other Stories (46 page)

“Maybe you should take a week or so off before coming back,” he said as I limped down the alley. I snorted at the advice. As easily say I should go a week without water.

I paused within sight of the palace gates. Richy had talked about a pub he frequented. I could go wait there; it was a public place. If I went back to the palace now, there would be explanations demanded, endless fountains of guilt, and there would be no more leaving for at least the rest of the day, and probably not until tomorrow. Better just to stay out. If Richy didn't show up at the pub, then I would go home and think of some other idea.

The Cup and Crown was closed by now, or I would've gone to apologize to Dasha. I felt far less sure of myself walking stiffly around the city in the cold pre-morning than I had the previous night at the pub. I walked on past the closed doors and further away from the palace.

The crowd in the streets at this time of morning was interesting, mostly mice and weasels and other smaller people. I saw two raccoons (one a guard) and a fox, but nobody else my height until the sun was peeking above the horizon.

By that time, I'd found the Dirty Dog, Richy's favorite pub. It catered to the daytime crowd, which was, I think, why he went so often; nothing else was even thinking of opening this early. Even here, it wasn't until the entire sun was above the horizon and I was beginning to think I'd never feel my ear or tail tips again that a portly weasel wandered up to the door and opened it.

“You waiting for me, sahr?”

I nodded.

“
Come in, come in!
Mustela and Gaia, I never have people lined up before. You must be cold!”

“Been out all night,” I managed through chattering teeth.

“What kept you out?” He gestured me inside, where it was not appreciably warmer but at least there was less wind.

“Waiting for someone.”

“Ah, broken tryst?” He clucked and started preparing a fire, then looked at me. “Say, if you can set a fire, I can start in back.”

“Sure.” I knelt by the fireplace and took over the job from him. I didn't have much practice, but I'd at least gotten the wood shavings to light by the time he returned.

“Very nice! Warm here in no time. So tell me what brings you here, what sad story you have.” He kept his ears perked towards me as he bustled about the room, setting out cups.

“It's not exactly a tryst,” I said. “I was hoping to run into someone here.”

“You wait all night for this place to open? Bed is more comfortable!”

“No, I...I waited somewhere else but he didn't come there. I know he comes here a lot.”

“Oh? Does he have a name?”

I hesitated, but there didn't seem to be any way or reason not to tell him. “Richy.”

“Oh, the adorable wolf. Yes, I know him.” He shot me a sidelong glance. “You are liking him?”

I nodded. “But I don't know if he feels the same. When I'm not paying him, I mean.” That slipped out before I realized he might not know Richy's profession. My ears burned, folding back.

“So.” He nodded, paws moving quickly around the tables. “You listen to a little of Cori's advice?”

“Who's Cori?” I asked stupidly.

He grinned. “I am Cori. I have owned this tavern for eleven years and I have seen many stories. And you are?”

“Rashi,” I said, taking my brother's name as a feeble attempt at disguise. I didn't even think about it.

“Then Rashi, I will give you some advice.” He had come over to my table, and he patted my paw. “Ay! Stay here and get warm. That is first advice. Next advice is this: go home. Forget about adorable wolf and find yourself a nice boy wolf your age and do all things young wolves do. Be happy.” He squeezed my paw. “Richy is very nice wolf. But stories of romance, with his profession, they are not having happy endings.”

On top of a night when I'd argued this with myself over and over, sitting in the cold and not getting nearly enough sleep, this truth seemed devastating to me. I pictured Richy's muzzle, his beautiful eyes and ears. Then I saw him turning away from me. My throat got tight and my face got hot and I knew I would start bawling if I tried to say anything. I also knew that I had to say something, because Cori was looking expectantly at me to see if his advice had sunk in.

“I...can't. It's not that...simple...”

His ears flicked. He came around the table and put his arms around me. “Ah, cub,” he said softly. “It hurts, yes. But better small hurt now than big hurt later.”

“This doesn't...feel small,” I managed.

“Shh,” he said, patting my back softly. I had to lean over to rest on his shoulder even though I was sitting down and he was standing, but his embrace comforted me. I cried for a little while and then sat back, wiping my eyes.

“I'm sorry,” I started, but he waved my apology away.

“Don’t be sorry. Hurt brings tears.” He gave me a kindly smile. “You go home now?”

I nodded. “I think so.” I wanted to wait, but I was tired, and I was scared of what I might see. At least if I left now, maybe there would be another solution to my problem.

“Good boy.” Cori smiled and patted my paw. “You come back here some evening. Cori look for nice boy for you.”

“Okay.” I smiled at him and got to my feet, shakily. “Thanks.”

The day was getting brighter. My stomach growled, reminding me that my family would probably be at their morning meal and wondering where I was . The streets were bustling now, so it took me nearly an hour to press my way back to the palace. Twice I turned around and started to head back to the pub; both times I only took a few steps before remembering Cori’s words. What I was most scared of was losing Richy. At least if I didn’t do anything to change the situation, I could keep seeing him a couple times a week. Touching him a couple times a week, that is. I saw him every time I closed my eyes.

They were closed a lot as I passed the gate, showing my papers to the guards automatically, entered the castle, and stumbled back to my chambers, where my nose told me my family was back. I braced myself and walked in.

My father was talking to Kira about something. They both turned around when they saw me.

To my surprise, my father was smiling. Not a happy smile, but a knowing one. He patted me on the shoulder.

“Cef, I don’t mind if you play around out there, but if you’re going to be out all night, let us know, okay?”

“Huh?”

“I was worried even when Kira told us where you were.”

I stared at Kira.
“How did she know?”

“It wasn’t hard to figure out, squirt,” she said, putting a gentle paw on my shoulder. “I mean, you’ve been out with this bar girl so often lately…”

“Oh, right.” I nodded as sheepishly as my fatigue would allow.

“She's not in heat, is she?” My father's tone got sharper.

“No.”

He relaxed. “All right. Don't get too attached.” That was his last bit of advice before leaving.

“I'm going to the kitchen,” I told Kira.

“You've got training in ten.”

“I'll eat fast.”

She followed me down the steps. “You know what's going on, right?”

“No, and neither do you. Dad never tells us.”

“You think he’s got another thing going on?”

“Course he does. He was all distracted like he was last year when there was that big military thing. Remember?”

“Oh, yeah. But that’s not what I mean. You know what’s going on with you?”

“I'm getting breakfast?”

She hissed impatiently. “After Kigi got himself stuck, they started really pressing to get you and Rashi married off. Nobody's biting on Rashi, what with the rumors, but they've got two families interested in you.”

“What families? What rumors?” We were rounding the corridors that led to the kitchens and my nose was occupying most of my brain.

“You've just been upwind of everything, haven't you? The rumors about Rashi. How he hasn't found a mate yet, and he was apparently seen in some gay brothel...”

I froze, a wave of nausea temporarily overcoming my hunger. “Gay brothel?”

“Some place near the palace. I don't believe it, but you know how people love to talk.”

“Yeah.” I started walking again, slower.

“And Jelila's family is interested in you, and one other is too. I forget the name of the bitch. They haven't brought her over yet.”

“What about you?” Hunger and anxiety made me snappy. “How's your search for a noble mate going?”

Her ears flipped back and then her muzzle smoothed into a smile. “That depends on you and Rashi. Mom and Dad might be able to afford to marry me to Lord Deverin.”

I snorted. “The cheater?”

She shrugged. “He's got land.”

By this time, I was cramming half-warm meat into my muzzle, so I didn't answer. I only got a couple pawfuls in before Kira reminded me that I would be late for training, so off I went.

That was the start of a horrible week. It wasn't so much that I was too tired to train properly and ended up sore from strained muscles and bruises, or that I had to endure two more dinners being picked over like a riding mount. It was the mornings I woke up convinced Richy was beside me, reached out, and found nothing. It was sitting in the palace in the evening with nothing to do and slowly realizing that the rest of my life was going to follow that path. I would be married to a wife I would not love, have enough sex to have cubs, and in exchange I would retain the privilege of living in the palace, or near it, and being well enough off to support my family as they grew older.

I loved my family, but I didn't want to sacrifice my life for theirs.

5: The Offer

These maudlin thoughts, or some like them, were in my head when Dereath approached me, nearly a week after my ill-fated nighttime adventure. I had just gone through another training session and was finally beginning to work some of the soreness from my muscles. He cornered me in the hallway upstairs from my chambers. Sneaky, too; the first inkling I had of his presence was a black shadow and a faint waft of cinnamon in the air. Then he appeared in front of me, dressed in his typical black tunic and silver belt. I wondered if he owned any other clothes.

“It's been a lonely week,” he said.

I shrugged. “Sorry. I've been busy.”

“So you have. All inside the palace, too. No nighttime excursions. I feel terrible about that.”

“Not your fault.” I kept walking, heading for the stairs, but he headed me off.

“Why don't you talk to me for a bit?”

I flicked my ears. “I kind of want to relax.”

“You don't find me relaxing?”

“I never really thought about it.” I sniffed the air, and realized for the first time that he was gay too. That made me wonder anew why he was so interested in me. “I've got to change for dinner.”

“Another lovely ball and chain?”

“What?”

“It's a shame,” he purred softly, “that such a passionate, lovely cub should be tied down for family reasons. Where's the justice? Where's your freedom?”

“Well...” He was articulating all of my own adolescent cries, and I had to take the part of my family. “It's my duty...”

“What about Kigi and his duty?” I shook my head. “And so the burden falls to you. After all, your poor brother Rashi...is not as discreet as you are.”

“Well, there's nothing I can do about it now.”

“But there is.” He leaned closer.

“What can I possibly do?” He was making me a little uncomfortable, but I was intrigued.

He chuckled. “That's what I want to talk to you about. What I mean is that once you're married, of course your visits to the brothel will be curtailed. But what if you could bring him to the palace to be your personal servant?”

“We can't afford a servant.”

“Ah, but your new wife will be able to.”

I shook my head. “It'd never work.”

“My boy, do you have any idea how many of the personal servants in this palace, male and female, serve part of their function in their lord or lady's bed?”

“N-no.”

“I can assure you the number is significant.”

“But he works at the brothel.”

“So you buy him. It would only take maybe forty gold.”

“Ha.” I snorted, more depressed than before. “Where would I get forty gold?”

“I could get you the money,” he said softly.

Now I looked right into his shiny black eyes. “For what?” Would I sleep with him for forty gold? In a heartbeat.

He laughed, and it had a harsh tone I didn't like. “Not for that, cub. Lovely as you are. No, I just need some help.”

“All right...with what?”

He looked around and continued in almost a whisper. “I’ll come find you in a couple days and talk to you about it then. Best to discuss it in my rooms.”

“Oh. It’s not…”

He put a paw to my lips. It smelled of cinnamon and of his neatly groomed fur. “Later.” He gave me a smile, turned, and walked away.

Two more days passed before he came to fetch me. In that time I had, at a rough count, five hundred different fantasies about life with Richy. Every personal servant I saw became him, beckoning me into an empty room, or even an intimate nook of the hallway, pressing his muzzle to mine, holding me in his arms. I ran my paws down his sides a thousand times in my dreams, held him against me, felt him inside me or around me, and sometimes the dreams were so real that I dropped out of them into cold reality with a physical shock. One night, they were so real that I woke with a start, shuddering in pleasure that bridged the dream and reality, my paw holding my hard cock as I came all over my stomach.

Kira smelled it the next morning, of course, and clucked at me with a grin. “You need to go see your barmaid,
squirt
.”

I snorted, my ears flicking. “It was just a dream.”

“Must have been a good one.”

“Mmm.” We didn’t talk much about sexual matters, leaving that to Rashi and Kigi, but she had caught me playing with myself once or twice. I had asked her if she ever did, being curious how girls would even do it, and she'd just smiled mysteriously.

“I’ll cover for you if you want to slip out tonight.”

“Thanks, but no.” Dereath hadn’t given me any more gold, and I didn’t have enough of my allowance left to visit Richy. The prospect of spending the evening with Dasha wasn’t enticing enough to keep me away from the palace. If Dereath came by to tell me how I could be with Richy forever, I wanted to be here to hear it.