On Oneday morning, Tom's little caravan turned left at the crossroads of Forest Road and Mill Road. The reports from people who had just traveled from Oak Mill were mostly good—there was no sign of bandits, though there were more wolf attacks than usual. There was actually a bit more traffic on this road than the other, despite Forest Road linking two larger cities. Tom figured it was simply because Oak Mill was not completely self-sufficient, mostly producing lumber and leather, and needing frequent imports of food from the farms that lined the southern edge of the Great Oak Forest.

  At the moment, Tom was driving the front wagon, and Diavla was visiting. Eubexa was awake for a change. The invalid seemed to be doing significantly better. She must have been half-starved, he guessed.

  Diavla presented him with an amulet and heaved a great sigh. She spoke casually in Elvish and Eubexa translated. “That's the last one. All of the amulets are filled. No thanks to you,” she teased, poking his side with her elbow.

  “Hey, I tried,” Tom protested.

  “Why do you sneeze every time I try to teach you?”

  “Maybe magic is like a crop—it makes me a little sick.”

  “You are not allergic to magic,” Diavla told him critically.

  It took a minute for Eubexa to explain “allergic.” Tom hadn't known there was a word for the way certain crops made it hard for him to breathe. It's a big world, I suppose. Lots of things out there I've never heard of.

  “Seems like it to me,” he finally told Diavla with a shrug. She answered him with a question he couldn't understand directly.

  “Why haven't you had any more...saa...” Eubexa fell silent for a few moments. “I'm sorry, it's hard to translate. Saa...special dreams?” she tried.

  “Oh.” Tom grinned wickedly at Diavla. “That's because I haven't been getting enough sleep.”

  “Is that a complaint?”

  “Not in the slightest,” Tom assured her. “Though, once we get to town, I could really use a night or two I can sleep in.”

  “Can I keep you company?”

  “I won't get any sleep then,” he teased.

  “Oh, yes, you will. I can wait a day if it means you'll have more endurance later. Although, I really haven't had any complaints in that area, stud. If anything, I'm glad you have Varga to take up some of your energy, so I can get some sleep.”

  “I see. Should I be holding back, then, while she's away?”

  “Don't you dare.” Diavla gripped his arm possessively.

  “That's all right. I've been thinking it's good you have Varga for the same reason.”

  “She is quite a handful, isn't she?”

  “We all are. I'm young, you're 'newly awakened', you called it, and Varga...is Varga.” Tom winced a bit after his words reminding her of his age. It seemed to bother her sometimes, since elves didn't consider someone adult until age thirty, and Tom was only eighteen. Diavla had said herself that they were of comparable age, but habits of thought were still habits.

  “If we can all get out of this forest together without encountering any demons, it's going to be a pretty pleasant trip,” she conceded after a moment.

  “We'll need to find a good place to spend the winter, since we likely won't make it across the Blue Mountains before the passes close. We'll see how far south we can get before the snows hit.”

  Diavla changed the subject. “Tom, what is it like growing up with siblings?”

  Tom raised his eyebrows at the question, then considered. “Busy,” he decided. “Very busy. I was the oldest, and I always had brothers and sisters to play with. A lot of the time, I had to take care of them, and teach them things. I can't tell you how many times a little sibling tried to be helpful by 'weeding', and started uprooting the crops before I could stop them.”

  “How old were you?” After a moment conferring with Eubexa, Diavla repeated herself in Western for the practice. “How old did...how old were you?”

  Tom shrugged. “From as long as I can remember. Farming is very busy, hard work, and we all helped out when we were needed. Other times there's nothing to do but wait for the food to grow, and my job was to do my best to make sure my brothers and sisters didn't kill themselves or each other by accident.”

  “You...your...mother. She did have one...what was the word...husband? You father? Your father?” Diavla managed in halting Western, with quiet prompts from Eubexa.

  “Yes. Humans usually pair up. A man promises to provide for a woman their whole lives, and the woman promises to help him, and have children and raise them. That is human marriage.”

  “I cannot be a human wife,” Diavla said quietly.

  “True, your ears are not round enough,” Tom teased.

  Diavla seemed serious, though. “You know I mean. I no can...” Diavla sighed as Eubexa corrected her at length. “You know...what...I mean. I can...not...give...to you...one child. Any child. Any children.”

  She then lapsed back into Elvish and grumbled, “Even with a translator, learning Western is exhausting.”

  Tom nodded. “Some human women cannot have children. They are still women, and can still be wives. Not for every man, but for many.” He shrugged. “Everyone is different.”

  If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  “You do...Do you... want children, Tom?”

  Tom grinned. “Not yet. Someday, yes, I think so. But for now, I still want to travel, and meet people, and see new places, and work different jobs. I want...everything life has to offer. I know I can't really do everything, so I'll take it one day at a time and see where I go.” A thought struck him. “Diavla, do you want children someday?”

  “No. It is strange for an elf, but no.” Eubexa coughed and added, “She's right, it is very strange for an elf.”

  Tom thought about having Diavla explain why she felt that way, but decided to leave it alone for the moment. A group of four people was walking towards them along the road. Tom cleared his throat and put on a smile for the strangers. He had questions to ask.

  ° ? ? ? °

  That night, Diavla tried yet again to teach him to meditate. Tom had no idea whether he was doing it right. He didn't know what he was supposed to be listening for, or smelling, or what. My lovely elf has many talents, but magical instruction does not appear to be among them.

  They were about to give up on it, and possibly move on to more fun activities, when Eubexa surprisingly interrupted them. “May I try?”

  Diavla raised her eyebrows. “Eubexa?” The other elf had walked over to them without a cane, moving slowly and carefully, but still, it was real progress. Tom was glad to see it. He was also curious about what the sickly elf had in mind.

  “I learned a lot of different things as a sex slave. Massage to relax the body was one of them. A...kind of massage to relax the soul was another.”

  Tom had no idea what that meant. “Are you going to teach Diavla to give massages?” It didn't sound like it, but he couldn't think of a better guess at the moment.

  “No, it's a way of talking...sort of like a lullaby. It should help you get your soul into the right mood for magic...at least I think it might. It works better with eye contact, but my voice might be enough. May I try?”

  Tom and Diavla looked at each other. Diavla asked a few questions in Elvish that Tom didn't follow and Eubexa answered them. In the end, Diavla nodded.

  “To sum up, she asked if she could listen, and I said that it was fine,” Eubexa explained. “So...Tom...are you willing to try it?”

  Tom shrugged. “Couldn't hurt. Sure.”

  “All right, then, are you comfortable?”

  “Comfortable enough. I don't want to get too comfortable or I might fall asleep on you.”

  “I won't be offended if you do. I'll warn you right now, this is going to be very easy and relaxing, but also very slow and a bit boring. If you will just go along with it and relax, I will do my best to be useful to you. Are you ready?”

  Tom nodded. “Go ahead.”

  “All right. All right. Translating will actually help with this. Translating will actually help with this.” Eubexa continued the same way, and she pitched her voice to be very calm and soothing. “Close your eyes. Close your eyes. Relax and listen to the sound of my voice. Relax and listen to the sound of my voice. Relax. Relax. Focus on my voice. Focus on my voice...”

  “Imagine you are lying on a cloud, that is holding you up somehow, safely and securely, soft and comfortable...”

  “Just keep relaxing and following my voice...”

  “You're now gently sinking safely into the cloud...”

  “This is a natural state of rest for your soul. Everything is easier here, but you don't have to do anything except listen to my voice...”

  “When I say now, Diavla will push her magic very gently towards you, like waves... You don't have to sneeze, Tom. You don't have to do anything except listen to me, and feel the wave of Diavla's magic touching you...

  “I'm going to count down from three, and then Diavla's magic will flow, and you will feel it wash over you, ever so gently...three...three...two...two...one...one...and now...now...”

  Tom was floating inside the cloud, and it seemed to stir slightly, like a puff of wind. It tickled his nose, but not so much that he had to sneeze.

  “Did you feel that, Tom?”

  He could barely move his head, he was so relaxed, but he managed to nod.

  “Very good. Let's do that twice more. Ready? Ready, Diavla? Three...three...two...two...one...one...and now...now...”

  It was very faint, but Tom remembered how it had just felt, and he noticed the wave more easily this time.

  “Did you feel it that time, Tom?” He nodded. “Was it stronger that time?” Hesitantly, he nodded. “Good. One more time...”

  Again, Eubexa counted down, and again Tom felt Diavla's magic wash over him. It felt intimate, as if they were somehow one. Perhaps they were.

  “Very good, both of you. Both of you. Very, very good. Now, Tom, you know how to fight. When you fight, sometimes you take the other person's force and turn it back on them, don't you?” Tom nodded firmly. He could think of three different moves he used to disarm brawlers that worked like that.

  “Good. Now, I want you to imagine doing that with Diavla's wave. The next time you feel her magic, imagine yourself gathering that magic up and sending it back to her. She's touching your soul with hers. You want to touch her back, don't you?” Tom nodded.

  “All right...” Eubexa counted down again, and when he felt that sensation, he sort of turned in place, sweeping it around himself and sending it back. Only it was so faint, he knew she might not feel it, so he tried to make it stronger. He wanted to touch Diavla's soul. He wanted her to feel it.

  “Diavla, (something something) you? Good. Good. Very good. Very good...”

  “You will remember this feeling, Tom. You want to feel it again. You want to share this with Diavla, don't you?” He nodded. “Yes, of course you do.

  “Now, in a moment, you're going to wake up. I know the two of you will want to celebrate this. In fact, I'm sure that you have been politely ignoring your lust for each other this whole time, and now you're starting to realize that it has been slowly building and building all the while. I just know you're going to pounce on each other and have amazing sex in a minute, as soon as you float up from the cloud.

  “I will count up to three, and as I count, you will find yourself rising through the cloud, back to wakefulness, fully alert, feeling rested and invigorated.” Eubexa's voice took on a sultry, amused tone, “And very, very horny, I'm sure. That's just fine. You deserve to celebrate. You deserve to enjoy each other.

  “One...one...rising through the cloud...two...two...sensations slowly returning, approaching wakefulness...and...three. Have fun, you two.”

  Tom opened his eyes and took a deep breath. He saw Diavla do the same a moment later, and she gave him a hungry look that he knew matched his own. He grinned at her fiercely and they grabbed each other in a passionate embrace. Their lips met, and all Tom could think about was having her. He seized her hair and pulled her head back the way she liked, and growled, “Get in that tent.”

  “Yes, Master,” Diavla breathed, scampering into the tent the moment he let her go. Tom followed, determined to give her the best night ever.

  ° ? ? ? °

  A long, wonderful, astounding bout of sex later, Tom finally landed his sweaty body on the bedroll beside his elven love. They lay there a while, panting, giggling quietly together in triumph.

  “That was amazing,” Diavla sighed, her smile radiant. Then, she got a distant look, and frowned.

  “What is it?”

  Tom could see Diavla's soul racing behind her eyes. “It is fine,” she said in Western. “I (something) need to talk to Eubexa,” she muttered in Elvish.

  She turned to him and her smile returned. “Nevahmine,” she told him sweetly. “I do tomorrow. Now, I and you are here.” She snuggled into him, the cool air already starting to dry off their skin.

  For all that Tom was tired, Diavla actually dropped off first. Tom smiled and eyed his beautiful partner. Careful not to make any sound, he mouthed the words.

  “I love you.”

  He closed his eyes. As he let sleep claim him, he almost thought he heard the faintest whisper from her. He was sure it was just a sigh, but in his imagination, she had breathed, “I love you, too.”

  Tom fell into slumber, his happiness complete.