Messenger (Patreon)

While leading the march’s army on a campaign to rid the borderlands of slavers, Marchioness Avala Halcyon Granleon and her father and general Margrave Consul Harkinien Granleon receive an urgent message from home.

Just shy of 5,000 words.

It was late in the afternoon, the lowering sun just beginning to bring out the long shadows. A messenger entered the camp riding with a banner of pale blue and with a golden lion. The symbol of the family Granleon, and of the army for it is the company of her grace Marchioness Avala Halcyon Granleon on campaign. The tents were large enough for a man to stand in, but simple one-room affairs except for one. The tent of the marchioness herself, only marginally taller but far larger with actual rooms within. The messenger correctly assumed who it belonged to and moved to the entrance. Standing outside of the tent he called out “I am Willem Hurst, messenger from the castle guard in Verana seeking to deliver a message to his honorable consul Lord Harkinien Granleon!”

A woman’s voice responded “Enter.”

He assumed it would be best to come before the marchioness when looking for her father, and that he would likely be with her at this time of day. He was correct, as his eyes adjusted to the limited light in the room, he saw the marchioness in golden scale with a tabbard of light blue standing at the war table with the former marquis and her father, the margrave consul. He broke from describing how they would infiltrate a slaver cant to turn to the messenger. His round face with graying rose-colored beard looking odd in the immense suit of black and gold armor he wore.

“Speak up boy, If you got a message from home, we need to hear it!”

“Umh, excuse me sir, but it is sensitive. We should speak in private.”

“Nonsense! If there’s anything you need to say to me you can say it in front of your marchioness!”

“But sir, its about Lady Sharlene and Lord Fenton.”

“You mean the marchioness’ mother and brother. SPEAK.” The magrave consul’s voice took a sternness that seemed unreal from his cherubic face.

Ava simply smiled into her hand. It was always hilarious to her when father showed the side of him that made him choose him as the general of her army. Especially in the face of a soldier who hadn’t yet internalized that she wore the iron crown.

“If you insist m’lord. But please do not shoot the messenger. Sir, within hours of you and the marchioness heading out on crusade your wife took carriage to Lord Fenton’s manner in Whitebridge.

“So? The manor in Belama can get loney even when we’re both there.”

“N.. no sir. You see… she had gone there to surprise him when returning from campaign. And it’s the nature of the surprise that the chamberlain felt you must know of immediately… can we do this in private please?”

In a voice, cold and strong but also soft and pleasing that sounded not unlike a sword wrapped in velvet, Ava spoke. “What is mom and my little brother fucking or something?”

The messenger’s face turned beat red, he stammered.

“AHAHAHAHAHAHA! FUCKING HELL! REALLY?!” Harkinien burst out into a raucous laugh, almost doubling over were it not for the armor itself making him impossible to trip. Ava eyed him confused.

“What is it father?”

Collecting himself, he wheezed and fell into laughter a few times. “Messenger, you’ve delivered it, you can go now. I need to talk with my daughter.”

The messenger quickly left.

Harkinien willed the armor to leave him, its chest opening, and him stepping out of it losing  over a foot in height as his smaller frame climbed down from the suit of enchanted super-heavy full plate. He quickly moved to a chair and sat down.

“Father? You’re not bothered by this? Isn’t… you know. Disgusting?”

“It would be if we were almost any other family. But I’ve known for a while that Fen inherited Lene’s curse. It’s in his eyes.” He took out a pair of round-framed reading glasses and placed them on his face to look at some of the smaller notes on the map.

Ava took a seat at the table near her father. “What kind of curse? Mother’s a master sorceress she should be able to get rid of something like that?”

“Not the same kind of curse, Lala. It never showed up in you so we assumed it probably wouldn’t in Fen, but when his eyes filled in like Lene’s I knew he had it. It’s not really a curse tho. Just, like a bloodline thing. They’re Haetera.”

“Wait what? You mean those priests who’d have sex with the gods in the old ways?”

“Yeah, basically, and it comes with a massively expanded sex drive.”

She furrowed her brow thinking of the harem her brother’d build up “That explains the dragon maid, the ooze mage, and that skinny bitch.”

“Hey hey, Ennyo is a good girl. She’s related to one of Raikov’s knights. Your mom is looking to get her and Fen married eventually. Speaking of, do you have anyone you’re-”

Ava cut him off with a cough and spoke “So you’re not bothered by them being this intimate?”

“It’s unfortunate really that he inherited her curse, but at my age, better him than me. I’m almost seventy and without a lick of magic I’m really showing it. But your mom, she’s gonna stay that age for a good hundred more years. I’m just glad she’s found someone we can trust and who can keep up with her.”