Fantasyland 02 The Golden Dynasty (19 page)

Lahn was still snarling at the healer and
the healer was replying.

“She’s right,” I said to Diandra but Diandra
lifted a hand to me and I was quiet, she was listening.

Then she looked from Lahn to me and started
talking and I could tell she was summing it up for Lahn and the
healer said far more words than she translated. “He wants you
fixed, she says she can’t. The Dax isn’t happy, my queen.”

Well, anyone could see
that
.

“Tell him it’ll be all right. I’ve had this
before. I got too much sun during a vacation in Mexico and I just
need to sleep and stay out of the sun a couple of days.”

Her brows knit at my words but she nodded,
turned to Lahn and spoke. He spoke back and then snarled something
at the healer who instantly bent to her box.

“What?” I asked Diandra and she looked at
me.

She shrugged. “He wants you fixed.”

“
I will be…
in time
,” I replied. “Please explain that to him.”

“He doesn’t care, my queen,” she
returned.

“But –”

She stepped forward. “Dahksahna Circe, the
Dax did this to you. He knows it. He feels guilt. This is not a
feeling he understands or knows how to cope with. He might not even
understand what it
is.
Let the
healer put you to sleep. The quaking will stop; he will think it’s
fixed. Just let him think he found a cure for you.”

I stared at her. Then I whispered, “Oh, all
right.”

The healer was at the table, pouring water
and tapping some white powder into it from a folded piece of paper.
Then she set that aside, picked up a squat, bulbous bottle and
tapped some other powder into the cup. Then she swirled the cup in
her hand as she brought it to me.

Again, she didn’t make it. Lahn was there,
taking the cup, more gently this time, sitting beside me, doing the
hand around my neck lifting thing again and he held the cup to my
lips, removing it at intervals for me to swallow, then back and
again until I drank it all. The liquid was bitter and didn’t taste
good at all but I forced it down.

“Shahsha, Lahn,” I whispered when he took
the cup away for good and lowered me back to the pillows.

“Nahrahka, kah Lahnahsahna,” Lahn whispered
back and my eyes slid to Diandra.

“What did she give me?” I asked.

“A sleeping draft mixed with something to
dull the pain. It’s from nature, my dear, not witchcraft. I’ve had
it before. It works fast and it’s safe. I promise.”

I nodded and clutched the hides around me in
an effort to control the shaking.

Lahn handed the glass to the healer and
barked more orders. The man with Diandra, who I was assuming was
her husband, Seerim, put his arm around her and guided her away
after she and I exchanged nods. My girls drifted out after I gave
them reassuring smiles. The healer said a few words to Lahn, left
the squat, green, corked bottle filled with white powder on the
table, she grabbed her trunk and hurried out.

Lahn took his hides off and slid under the
sheet at the other side of the bed. Moving toward me, he turned me
to him and gathered my still shaking body in his arms.

I pressed my hands to his chest and
whispered, “I’ll be all right, Lahn. I’ll be okay.”

“Yes, okay, Circe,” he agreed on a light
squeeze.

I nodded my head against the pillows. “Yes,
honey, okay.”

“Honey,” he repeated on another squeeze.

I sighed.

Okay, Lahn could be a dick, a
big
one, but when you were sick, he
didn’t like that and he didn’t fuck around in finding a way to make
you better.

Shit.

About five minutes later, my lids got heavy
and the quaking turned to mild tremors.

“Okay, Circe, good,” Lahn muttered, drawing
me nearer.

I forced my eyes open, tipped my head back,
saw his bearded chin was dipped down and his painted eyes were on
my face.

“Yes, baby, good,” I mumbled back and fell
asleep cradled in a warrior king’s strong arms.

Sweet

“Kah Circe,” I heard Lahn call softly, my
eyes drifted open and I saw him looming over me, one arm across my
body, hand in the bed, his torso close, his eyes on mine.

“Hey,” I whispered and one side of his mouth
twitched.

“Hey,” he replied then he straightened, his
hand in the bed slid around my neck and he lifted me up as his
other hand came toward me, carrying a cup. He put it to my lips and
ordered quietly, “Gingoo, Lahnahsahna.”

I drank the bitter liquid and knew he’d
prepared another dose of medicine.

Yeah, damn. He could be sweet.

When I was done, he took the cup away, set
it on the ground by the bed and came back to me. His eyes roamed my
face and his hand smoothed my hair back, his fingers sifting
through it as he did. It felt nice, him doing that, really
nice.

Oh shit, yeah. He could be sweet.

And that sucked.

“
You know what sucks?” I whispered to him,
doing it because I knew he would have no clue as to a word I was
saying. “It sucks that you can be sweet and when you’re sweet
you’re
really
sweet.
That sucks.”

He didn’t stop tenderly stroking my hair as
I spoke but his eyes dropped to my mouth and when I was done, they
came back to mine.

Then my heart squeezed when he whispered
back,
“I don’t
understand you, baby.”

There it was again. Sweet.

I lifted a hand and placed it on his chest.
He looked down at it but his eyes came back to mine when I
spoke.

“
Out there, King Lahn is a fierce warrior
but in here,
my
Lahn…
kah
Lahn is sweet.”

His eyes changed, intensity shifting in when
he murmured, “Fierce warrior, sweet.”

I grinned at him. “You’ve sort of got
it.”

“Fierce warrior, sweet,” he muttered
again.

“Yes,” I replied and his hand came up to
mine at his chest, his long fingers curling around, swallowing mine
when they did and then they held tight, keeping our hands at his
chest.

“Anla na neesoo, anka ta linay et na lapay
sahka. Suh Tunak me tunoo et kah Circe me sahka,”* he declared and
I laughed softly.

Then I said just as softly, “I don’t
understand you, baby.”

He shook his head, his lips tipped up then
he bent close. “Neesoo, kah Lahnahsahna.”

“Neesoo?” I asked and he didn’t move back
but his hand stroking my hair moved to my face where he gently
touched each eyelid with a fingertip, my eyes blinking with each
touch, then his fingertips glided down my cheekbone.

“Neesoo,” he repeated softly.

“Rest?” I guessed.

“
Quiet,” he answered then he got closer and
ordered firmly, “loot
neesoo.
”

“Okay, big guy, I’ll neesoo,” I
muttered.

That got me a soft chuckle, something I’d
never heard from him and something else about him that was
appealing.

His fingertips trailed down my hairline from
middle part all the way to my right ear. Then his eyes looked into
mine before he tipped up his chin, his hands left me, he
straightened from the bed and strode out of the tent.

“Neesoo,” I whispered to the tent
ceiling.

Then I closed my eyes and neesooed.

* * * * *

It was late morning and I was sitting on my
bed laughing with my girls. Gaal and Packa were lounging on my bed
with me and even Teetru, who looked uncomfortable but was loosening
up, had seated herself at the edge. Jacanda and Beetus were running
around the cham picking up things or pointing at them and telling
me what they were called in Korwahk. I would repeat what they said
then I’d tell them what it was called in English and they’d repeat
what I said. Then they’d all giggle like English was an insane
language that made no sense and was silly beyond belief (like
Korwahk wasn’t).

I was feeling okay. I’d had a cool bath, the
girls had brought more aloe vera stalks and we’d smoothed the
moisture on my burns. I had a wicked, strange sunburn, crisscrosses
on my feet, bands on my arms where the gold didn’t cover me, pink
at my belly, latticework on my chest and Lord knew what my face
looked like since I was wearing my feathers all day. I probably
looked like a dork but the cool bath and aloe vera worked a treat.
I couldn’t say I felt great but I didn’t feel shit.

I was wearing much what the healer was
wearing last night but mine wasn’t gauze. Mine was a thin, soft
silk the color of a green apple and it went down to my ankles and
had slits up to my hips. I also had on a pair of pale yellow silk
undies. Ghost was oblivious to our game and was taking a baby tiger
nap with her head in my lap.

And I was taking a rest from all the shit
bouncing around in my head – about this world, about my world and
about Lahn. Lord knew, I needed a break and I was giving myself
one.

“Poyah!” We heard and all of our eyes swung
to the cham flaps to see Diandra enter.

Teetru shot off the bed like she was doing
something wrong and the rest of the girls also tensed but I called,
“Poyah, Diandra!” and she didn’t even look at the girls as she
walked to the foot of the bed.

“How is my queen today?” she asked.

“Much better,” I told her with a smile.
“Sorry to call you so early –”

I stopped talking when she waved her hand in
front of her face. “Don’t mention it, Dahksahna Circe. It is an
honor. Seerim is delighted I’m being of service to our new queen,
he feels very important.” Her eyes lit and she went on, “Which
brings me to why I’m here. I have news!”

I grinned at her and patted the bed. She
didn’t hesitate but moved to lounge on it as she said something to
the girls that set them scurrying.

I watched them go, my brows knitting but my
eyes went back to Diandra when she started speaking.

“You will never guess,” she declared.

“Guess what?” I asked.

“Guess what the Dax asked my Seerim this
morning,” she answered and I didn’t reply, just looked at her,
waiting. She pulled herself closer to me and leaned into a hand in
the bed. “He asked Seerim if he knew our language.”

Oh my.

I wasn’t sure this was good.

“He did?” I whispered and she nodded.

“Oh yes, my dear, he did. Seerim does know
pieces but not much.” She grinned big. “And he didn’t know what the
Dax asked him so he came to our cham and asked me. It was of great
import and the Dax expected swift answers.”

“Wha…” I swallowed, “what did he ask?”

A huge smile lit her face. “He wanted to
know what the words, ‘baby’, ‘honey’, ‘big guy’, ‘fierce warrior’
and ‘sweet’ meant.”

Oh.

My.

“What did you tell him?” I breathed and she
leaned back, tipping her head to the side.

“Well, I told him what they mean, of
course.”

Oh God.

I wasn’t sure Lahn would take to being
called “baby” when he knew what it meant. Or “honey” for that
matter. And I wasn’t certain he’d like “sweet” either.

Damn.

“Um… Diandra –” I started.

She shook her head. “Do not worry, my queen.
I explained that in your land, these are endearments, like kah
fauna. Which, I assume, they are?”

I nodded.

Her head tipped further to the side. “Big
guy is an endearment?”

“Uh… essentially,” I muttered.

“Unusual,” she muttered back.

“Did, uh… Seerim explain this to Lahn?” I
asked and she got that wicked, knowing look in her eyes.

“He did, indeed, my dear. He went right back
to him and explained. Then he came back to me.”

Seemed like Diandra had a busy morning.

When she said no more, I prompted,
“And?”

Her eyes lit again. “Seerim tells me he
has never seen the Dax laugh that hard
or
that long. Our king found all this very
amusing.”

Well!

I was
so
sure.

To hide my hurt, I looked to Ghost, slid my
fingers through her fur and whispered, “Well, it’s the way we talk
where I’m from and it’s not nice to make fun of the way people
talk.”

“
Dahksahna Circe, linas please,” Diandra
requested softly and I looked at her. “He has decided he likes
the
meaning
of honey
best but he prefers how you speak when you
call
him baby. He is, of course, a ‘big guy’ and simply
finds it amusing you would point this out. There were several
warriors with him when Seerim explained all this and Seerim reports
to me that they all found your words amusing but not in a bad way.
It isn’t making fun. It’s good that your husband finds you amusing.
Laughter is important to any relationship but it’s especially
important in a marriage. No?”

I had to admit, she was right.

“What did…?” I hesitated. “What did he think
of me calling him sweet?”

She grinned again. “I believe that he
preferred you thought of him as a fierce warrior but he took no
offense to you calling him sweet and, it would be my guess, he took
no offense to this because you called him
your
Lahn before you did so.”

I felt my eyes grow round. “He remembered
that?”

“‘
Out there, King Lahn is a
fierce warrior but in here,
my
Lahn…
kah
Lahn is
sweet,
’” she recited.
“Is this what you said?”

It was and, if memory served, it was word
for word.

Holy moly.

“Yes,” I whispered.