Chapter 540: The Great House of Katag (Patreon)

The crescent moon shined in the clear night sky, filtering faint silver light into Tauri’s bedroom. She could have lit the magestone lantern hanging from her ceiling but ever since traveling through Vulture Woods she had gotten used to little light, in fact, she had grown to prefer it. 

She closed her eyes and for a moment it felt as if she was somewhere else, far away from Hollow Shade and her family’s manor. The slight breeze whisked past the window and through the room and she caught the faint scent of rain.

Then she opened her amber eyes and came face to face with the mirror and the reflection of a noblewoman. It wasn’t her. A tight-fitting dress of a soft shade of pearl. The neckline ran low, but instead of pushing her modest bust up tightly, it opened down the middle, letting her breasts hang naturally to the sides, hugging them snugly. The dress had a long slit that ran up to her hip. A thin semi-transparent gold fabric covered her scarlet voluptuous legs, tantalizing the eyes of any onlooker of what lay underneath. As a final touch, she wore a pair of tall heels, pushing her hips upward and accenting her most proud quality. Even from the front, it was hard not to notice the way her bottom curved around her hips.

The pearl dress was made especially for her, created to seduce any who glanced at her, all for the sake of potentially attracting a potential suitor. No doubt her mother had set this all up. Tauri would have chosen any other dress for tonight’s dinner party but it seemed as if someone had raided her wardrobe and left her only with the pearl dress. Her mother’s handiwork.

Tauri sighed and fidgeted with her short black hair. “Thanks, mom…” she muttered.

She had always enjoyed the parties the nobility threw, especially the ones thrown by the Noir family. Lady Dolores went all out without sparing any expense. Tauri enjoyed socializing with her peers and was eager to hear the latest gossip among the mageborns and merchant princes. She had even enjoyed the occasional gaze of certain suitors who caught her fancy. But after Aizel’s death, she had withdrawn from the courting circles.

Evelyn Katag was a wise and shrewd woman, but patience was not one of her virtues. She had given her daughter what she considered enough time to mourn and was now trying to push Tauri back into what she called, ‘a young lady’s most important duty.’ Marrying well.

Tauri understood her mother’s words, noble Houses rose and fell by alliances amongst each other. And the most secure alliance was marriage. Tauri had been raised her entire life knowing she would marry a noble lord someday, the thought had never bothered her, after all, her parents had found her a great match. But Aizel was gone. And now the idea of dinner parties and engagements seemed like a faded dream.

Their city had just been under attack a few nights ago. Countless people had died on both sides. The entire idea of celebrating in the Villa district while the commoners rebuilt their homes at the edge of the city seemed ludicrous. 

And now she would soon have to go and greet guests with a pleasant smile as if she hadn’t been fighting for her life only a few days earlier, as if her father hadn’t almost been killed by a dragonbane atop the shade wall, as if she hadn’t slept with Str—

Tauri sighed deeply and stared at her reflection in the mirror. “What are you doing?” she muttered.

A seductive whistle answered. “Just enjoying the nice view.”

Tauri spun around in surprise. “Plum!? What are you doing?”

The drow leaned on the doorway with a lewd smirk and pushed her glasses up, “I came to make sure you were okay, but I didn’t expect to find you like this.”

Tauri curled her lips in a wry grin. “You’re not so bad yourself.”

“Oh, this old thing?” Plum glanced down at her blue dress. “I had it lying around.” She leaned in, looked around as if they were being spied on, and whispered, “Some maids dropped it off on my bed, I’m pretty certain they got the wrong room.”

“It’s a gift. From my mother.”

“Really? I thought she didn’t like me.”

Plum had been staying with them ever since she had arrived with Tauri on wolf-back a few nights ago. They had fended off a few valley warriors from the manor’s gates, though in truth it was the goblin honor guard that had dispatched most of them. Tauri had tried to fight but it had taken almost everything she had just to not fall off her frost wolf.

Not her most glorious moment. Tauri couldn’t help but chuckle at the memory. “My mother doesn’t dislike you, she appreciates your help during the siege. The dress is her sign of approval. It means she wants you at the party tonight.”

“Parties aren’t really my thing, but someone needs to watch your back.”

Tauri raised her eyebrow. “Oh, is that right? Last I checked, I was the master battle mage here.”

“Last I checked, I also flunked your class, but my point still stands.”

“Which is?”

Plum grinned proudly. “I can say whatever I want in front of those nobles without ruining my non-existent House’s reputation. Like, if someone you don’t like starts hitting on you, I can just tell him to go fuck himself.”

“Point taken.”

“I knew you’d be happy.”

“Happy, huh…”

“You okay?” Plum asked worriedly.

“Yeah, it’s just…” her voice trailed off.

“You haven’t told your sister yet, have you?”

“Elena can be— delicate. Every Katag is trained in the martial ways as well as magic if they are mageborn. When we graduate from one of the academies we are sent to one of my House’s armies to learn the way of the soldier. It helps us get a good grip on what this realm can really be like, but Elena is still in the mage academy. She hasn’t been tested under pressure and we all know she doesn’t cope well in stressful situations.”

“I don’t think anyone copes well with their sister sleeping with their fiancé,” Plum said off-handedly.

Tauri slammed the door shut and hissed at her. “Shh! Be careful where you say that!”

Plum shrugged. “Look, all I’m trying to say is that no matter how you try and put it, no one will react well to the good old ‘cuckold.’ Or cuckquean, I think? Look, doesn’t matter. My point is, you should just tell your sister the truth before things go too far. Besides, I think you underestimate your sister. If she is anything like the Katags I’ve met, she’s stronger than you know.”

Tauri bit her lip. “Maybe I just don’t say anything. I don’t have to tell Elena I slept with Stryg. In fact, Stryg will probably speak with my parents tonight and we can sort things out with them, no need to mention the sex.”

Plum crossed her arms. “Uh, leaving it up to Stryg to handle any kind of ‘talking situation’ is a recipe for someone ending up dead.”

“I’ll be there to guide him.”

“You don’t want your secret coming out from him. It’s best if you tell it to your family yourself. You really don’t want Stryg talking over dinner about how he clapped your cheeks.”

Tauri rolled her eyes. “Right, and you’d know all about that because you're such an expert.”

“I mean, I did get a pretty good view of you two going at it—”

“Plumela, if you say another goddamn word about that day I swear I’m going to—”

She held up her hands in surrender. “Please don’t hit me, I bruise easily.”

Tauri sighed, “If you don’t have anything better to say just leave, please.”

“Just one more thing.” Plum scratched her cheek and the usual mirthfulness in her eyes was nowhere to be seen. “My mom… she hated goblins. She blamed one for my father’s death. So when I became friends with Stryg I didn’t know how to tell her about him. I didn’t know how to tell Stryg about her either. It was easier just to pretend like I didn’t know anything. So that’s what I did…” She took a shaky breath, “If I had the courage to tell them the truth, then maybe my mom would still be here.”

“Plum…”

She shook her head and cleared her throat. “You should tell your sister the truth, especially if it has anything to do with Stryg. Even if it hurts, I’m sure it’ll be better if it comes from you than someone else.”

Tauri nodded solemnly. “I’ll try.” 

Plum wiped the corner of her eyes and forced herself to smile. “Good. I’ll take my leave, Lady Katag.” She bowed with a haphazard curtsy and walked out of the room.

“Plum?”

She paused and glanced back. “Yeah?”

“Thank you.”

Plum shrugged with a soft grin. “Don’t mention it.”

~~~

Tauri went searching for Elena but her sister was nowhere to be found. She wasn’t in her bedroom or her favorite spot in one of the parlors. The manor was one of the largest in the city and Tauri felt like a mouse within a labyrinth. As she walked through the seemingly endless halls she spotted two of her brothers sparring in the courtyard under the soft blue light of magestone lanterns.

Niko rushed his older brother with the fervor of a battle-hungry warrior. Lucas deflected the wooden sword with minimal effort from his shield. Before Niko could pull back for another swing Lucas stepped forward and lightly poked him in the chest.

“Dead, again,” said Lucas, satisfied.

“Yeah, yeah. One more time,” grumbled Niko.

“What are you two doing?” asked Tauri.

Niko smiled abashedly, “Hey, Sis, you look radiant.”

“Save the flattery, what are you doing?”

“We were just sparring a bit,” Niko admitted.

Tauri crossed her arms, “The guests will be arriving any minute now, and your sparring?”

Lucas smiled. “Just a short round. Niko loses quickly.”

“You got lucky,” he grumbled.

“Why are you two even sparring to begin with?” Tauri snapped. “Niko, I understand, he’s an idiot—”

“Hey, I’m still your older brother.”

“By two months. But you, Lucas, you’re the eldest of us all. Your Father’s heir, the future of House Katag. You should be there next to Father and Mother when the guests arrive.”

“You’re right.” Lucas hung his practice sword on the weapons rack. “Which is why I sparred with Niko. He promised to keep the women off me tonight if I won.”

Niko shrugged and tossed his arms in the air. “Gods, I love how your mother wants both her eldest children to get married but both of you refuse.”

“Whereas your mother is struggling to keep your sexual escapades from reaching the gossip mongers,” said Tauri flatly.

“What can I say? I’m the second son of the second wife. I don’t have to worry about stuff like the marriage duties of the heirs,” said Niko with a wink.

“For now,” said Lucas in a grave tone.

“Oh, come on, knock it off,” Niko pushed his shoulder.

Lucas grabbed his arm, “I could have died in the siege. If I had, then—”

“Then Tauri would have taken over the House, she is the second eldest child of Lady Evelyn.”

“You are Father’s second son,” replied Lucas. “You would be heir. The leader of House Katag has always been traditionally male. You need to prepare yourself for that possible outcome.”

Niko shrugged. “Maybe, traditions change.” 

“Perhaps, but when Tauri gets married to the lord of another House then any chance of her taking up the mantle of leadership disappears.”

“If she gets married.”

“Are you two done yet?” said Tauri impatiently. “Hurry up and get ready, the guests will be arriving soon.”

Niko broke into a wide grin. “I heard the Ebon Aspirant will be coming tonight. What’s he like?”

Tauri blinked and felt her cheeks grow hot. “H-Huh?”

“The Aspirant. You were his teacher at the academy, right? What was he like?” asked Niko excitedly.

“W-Well…”