"I don't know," Goddard whispers back. He stumbles to the door and leans up against it.
"H-Hey...is...is that squawking bastard with you? If he's not there...then I'll let you in," Goddard chuckles. "I...I don't want him in here... squawking and stuff..."
"Ah left Oirving up on deck. Com'on, Poppet! Ah know yer in 'ere! Help a p0or soul!"
ReplyDeleteGoddard groans and fumbles with the lock on the door, cursing at how difficult a time he's having with it.
ReplyDelete"He's looking for you then..." he mumbles to Aara. "He calls you poppet...but...but you're mine ok? Ok? Really...I'm serious...I hope he knows that...he can't have you..."
Aara giggles, leaning against the door and pulling him close for a long kiss. "I know who I belong to," she tells him, her voice breathy and low.
ReplyDeleteGoddard finally unlocks the door and stumbles to a table to refill his goblet of wine with a grin.
ReplyDelete"I hope he makes this fast," Goddard takes a gulp of the wine. "We didn't get to unwrapping..."
Aara giggles. "Hush, you. We'll get to that."
ReplyDeleteZorgrat leans against the doorway, looking as dejected as an ogre can. "Ah, Poppet, it's both o' ye. Good. Ah need yer help somp'um a'ful."
"And what can we do for you, oh captain, my captain?" Aara slurs, weaving on her feet.
Zorgrat suddenly looks bashful and wrings his giant hands together. "Uh...Ah need yer help, Poppet. An' ye, Misser Goddar'. Ye seem like readin' folk, an' readin' folk kno' how words whot-nots work."
"Yes...?"
Zorgrat pushes his way into the room and closes the door behind him. "Ah need yer two ta' help me write some pretteh versus fer me Gol'en Hair!" he moans miserably.
"That I do," Goddard says raising the glass and spilling some wine. "I know lots of words and how to use them."
ReplyDeleteHe drinks his wine as Zorgrat speaks. He furrows his brow, squinting at the orge. "I'm sorry...but...I don't think I heard correctly...golem hair? A hair golem? I don't want to mess with any golems."
Aara giggles and sits on Goddard's lap, wrapping her arms around his neck. "He means Golden Hair," she says, nibbling on his ear. "He's talking about Katarina."
ReplyDelete"Aye! Poppet's go' it! Me own sweet Gol'en 'Air."
Goddard spits his wine back into his glass as he laughs. He had enough sense to not spit on Aara.
ReplyDelete"You...you want to write...what...a poem for the witch?" he laughs.
"Aye, I do," Zorgrat says, his eyes a narrow slit. "An' it's so's I can have her meself, don' ye be gettin' any of thems 'ideas' Oirving says ye get. Ye got yer own wench, an'-"
ReplyDelete"Hey!" Aara interjects. "I'm not a wench!"
Zorgrat pats her head with his massive hand and gives her a horrible smile. "Sure an' ye ain't Poppet," he says as if he were talking to a child. "Sure an' ye ain't."
"Hey hey hey hey hey now," Goddard says spilling more wine as he points at Zorgrat. "Don't you dare listen to that big nosed ball of scum...I don't want that witch...you can have her! I like this one," he hugs Aara and smiles.
ReplyDelete"I'm not a wench, and I won't help if you don't take it back!" Aara demands, pointing her finger and bravely yelling at the creature twice her size.
ReplyDelete"Ah could eat ye up in one bite!" Zorgrat warns, shaking his own finger at her. "An' ye'll be sweet ta me Gol'en 'Air!"
Aara crosses her arms over her chest and almost falls off Goddard's lap. "I'm not helping you, you great arse!"
Zorgrat takes a deep breath to yell, but thinks twice. "Al'ight, Ah'm sorry, Poppet. Ye ain't no wench. Now will ye' help me?"
"You bet your ass she isn't a wench," Goddard grumbles, looking at Zorgrat a bit worried the whole time.
ReplyDelete"Do...do you have anything already? What kind of...stuff do you want to say to her?"
Zorgrat straightens up and tugs on the lapels of his coat. "I gots a start," he says and clears his throat.
ReplyDelete"Gol'en 'Air, Gol'en 'Air, ye make me heart trot.
I loves ye gol'en 'air and yer squishy what-nots."
At the last two words, he makes a gesture in front of his chest, clearly indicating breasts.
Aara laughs so hard she has to cling to Goddard so she doesn't fall over. "Oh! Oh! It's perfect!" she cackles, imitating the ogre's gesture.
Goddard laughs and then tries to control himself enough to speak. "Merciful Morr! I have never heard anything so wonderful in all my life! Do you have any more? You're a true master of poetry."
ReplyDeleteZorgrat grins, obviously proud of himself. "Ah worked me brain fer days, but 'hat's all Ah got. 'Hat's why I come to ye." He contemplates sitting on the chair for half a second before thinking better of it and leaning against the wall. "Ah love 'er, Misser Goddar', Ah do. Will ye 'elp me write some pretteh verses fer 'er?"
ReplyDeleteAara giggles. "I don't think we can refuse such a burning love, do you, nuur'eni?"
"Oh of course not," he chuckles. "Anything for the captain." Goddard sits quietly for a moment before his begins to laugh again. "You...you have to mention her ass...since it's so...so..." he laughs some more as he makes a round shape in the air with his hands.
ReplyDeleteZorgrat makes a fist and shakes it at him. "Ah tol' ye, ye can't 'ave 'er! Ye got yer own!"
ReplyDeleteAara raises a hand and tries to compose herself. "Peace, Zorgrat. He was only complimenting her backside. He's not going to try to steal her away."
Zorgrat seems to accept this and calms down. "She does 'ave a right fine arse, don' 'he?" he sighs.
"So...let's see," Goddard chuckles. "We have...ass, lass, big, fig, round found...maybe something about her ass being the most round that you have ever found?" He bursts into laughter and lays back on the bed.
ReplyDelete((druhir))
"I think I'm going to die..."
When he falls back, Aara loses all balance and tumbles to the floor, shrieking in surprise and laughter.
ReplyDelete"Now, Poppet, this 'ere ain't 'bout ye, so ye needs tah focus," Zorgrat scolds. "Fallin' 'bout ain't gonna get ye no more atten'on 'han ye deserve." Looking over at Goddard, he grins. "Ah likes it."
Giggling, Aara crawls over to the table and into the chair, grabbing paper and pen and scribbling down the verses. "So, we have:
Golden Hair, Golden Hair, you make my heart trot,
I love your golden hair and your squishy what-nots,
Your ass is the most round I've ever found,
Your...breasts are perfect, pale little mounds?"
Aara giggles and crosses out the last line. "No, hers are gigantic, mine are the small ones," she laughs.
Goddard rolls over onto his stomach and laughs into a pillow. "She's going to love this. When I first met her, I wanted her, but I couldn't get her...probably because I never used the...the proper words," he chuckles.
ReplyDelete"But this...this is totally different from what I tried..."
Aara gives him a dirty look. "Like he said, don't get any ideas now," she says, taking another drink of wine.
ReplyDeleteZorgrat pats Aara's head again. "Yer jus' like yer lil monkey, Poppet. Jealous an' what-not."
Aara bats his hand away from her. "With good reason," she mutters. "I've heard the stories."
"Ah believe ye, Poppet," Zorgrat agrees forlornly. "Ah try so 'ard for me Gol'en 'Air, but 'he'll 'ave none o' it."
"Hey! I never said I wanted her now," Goddard sits up and falls back over. "I said...when I first met her...that doesn't mean now. It means in the past...a long time ago...not now..."
ReplyDeleteAara brings her pen, ink, and paper over the bed and lays across his stomach, her own backside within easy reach. "Just don't let all this praise of her ass make you regret what you've got," she teases.
ReplyDelete"Aye! Gol'en 'Air is mine! She 'as got a loverly arse, ain't 'he?"
Goddard rests his hand on her backside and grins. "You can have the witch's ass my friend," he chuckles. "And don't worry lecai...I like your ass best."
ReplyDeleteAara wiggles under his hand, laughing with him. "Now, Zorgrat, are you only going to talk about her body? What about her voice or the way she acts and thinks?"
ReplyDeleteZorgrat scratches his head. "Ah...Ah don' know much 'bout 'he way 'he tinks?" he says uncertainly. "Ah jus' wan' 'er te know Ah love 'er! Nuddin 'bout 'er tinkin! A ship's cappin's wench ain't got ter tink!"
"Maybe...maybe something about her thinking and the ship sinking?" Goddard offers with a chuckle. "I don't know. I'm just thinking of words that rhyme right now."
ReplyDeleteZorgrat shakes his head. "Ah don' know 'bout 'hat." After a second, his eyebrows raise up and he squints at them, then around the room. "Are ye drunk?" he accuses. "Ah knew it! Ah knew ye weren't right! Yer drunk an' Ah'm tryin ta write me Gol'en 'Air some pretteh verses!"
ReplyDelete"Ahhh what's that matter! When you're drunk, your true feelings come out. And we're helping! See? Show him what you have so far lecai. She's very good at writing...very very good..."
ReplyDeleteAara shows him, but Zorgrat scoffs. "Ah can't read! 'Ow do Ah know ye ain't writin' som'hat to upset me Gol'en 'Air?"
ReplyDeleteAara sniffs. "Well if you don't like it, I'll just throw it away..."
Zorgrat grabs the paper out of her hand. "'Hat ain't necessa'y Poppet! Ain't 't all! Ye been good ter ol' Zorgrat, 'elpin' me, ye 'ave."
"Ok...we'll read it to you and you can memorize it ok?" Goddard chuckles. "She...we...all of us! We all worked hard on this work of literary art...right? It'll be perfect!"
ReplyDeleteAfter Zorgrat's got it, he grins and shakes Goddard's arm so hard it rattles his whole body. "Yer good people, Misser Goddar'. An' Poppet, too. Ah'm sorry Ah called ye a wench," he says happily. "Ah jus' kno' 'his 'ill win 'er 'eart! I tank ye!"
ReplyDeleteWhen he leaves, humming jauntily to himself, Aara stares after him in astonishment once he closes to door. "Do you think he really loves her?"
Goddard rubs his shoulder, a pained look on his face. "He about ripped my arm out," he whines. "Did...did you see that? You're going to let ogres rip my arms out?"
ReplyDelete"And yes...he's in love...no one starts poems like that just for the hell of it," he laughs.
Aara pouts and straddles him, massaging his shoulder. "I wouldn't let him get away with it," she offers sweetly.
ReplyDelete"Good! Just don't...don't...I don't know. Don't do anything crazy?" he chuckles and sways. "Do we need more wine? I spilled a bunch...but that's ok...right?"
ReplyDeleteShe giggles. "Me? Do something crazy? I'd never," she croons, batting her lashes.
ReplyDelete"You're good," he chuckles. "With...with those," he points to her eyes. "Your eyes...your eyes are like...like...eyes...that I could stare into forever."
ReplyDeleteShe giggles. "We your are like bottomless pools of...of light and dark. One balancing the other," she giggles.
ReplyDeleteHe grins and leans forward, giving her a quick kiss. "Is...is it time for unwrapping yet?"
ReplyDeleteHe suddenly looks surprised and then laughs. "I almost forgot it was your birthday..."
Aara laughs. "It's not my birthday, bit it isn't yours either. But we can unwrap gifts all the same!"
ReplyDelete"But...but how can we have unwrapping if it isn't your birthday?" he asks confused. "Who's idea was this?!"
ReplyDelete"My birthday was eight days ago," she reminds him, sliding his cloak off his shoulders. "And it was yours, nuur'eni." She sinks her fingers into his hair and kisses him.
ReplyDeleteHe falls backward onto the bed with a smile. "I kind of like having lips again," he chuckles.
ReplyDeleteAara falls back with him and rubs his nose with hers. "And a nose too?" she asks, running her hands over his chest. "I'm rather fond of how the spell changed you. It kept all the best parts."
ReplyDelete"Well, now you have to be careful. You might actually cut my nose off."
ReplyDeleteHe closes his eyes and sighs. "You're too sweet lecai...maybe even a little bit crazy," he smirks.
"You have to be careful about where you put your nose," she laughs drunkenly. "And yes, I am a little crazy." Still giggling, she toys with the fluffy end of his tail.
ReplyDelete"You came at my face," he defends. "Right?...Right...I didn't put my face anywhere near the blade. That's the worst place to have your face! I would know...I know..." he opens his eyes and stares up at the ceiling for a moment thoughtfully. "I know...everything," he says laughing.
ReplyDeleteAara snorts. "You don't either. If you did you wouldn't have bothered with Katarina," she laughs. "You don't know anything."
ReplyDelete"But...but...I just said I know everything," he pouts. "Go ahead...ask me something. Anything. Everything."
ReplyDeleteAara lays across him and props her chin on her hands, thinking. "Hmmm....." A grin moves across her face. "What will I do next?"
ReplyDelete"Um...hmmm...kiss me? No no wait," he grumbles. "This isn't fair...I could say what I know you are going to do but then you could always change it so I would be wrong and then you would tell me that I don't know everything when I, in fact, know exactly what will happen..."
ReplyDeleteHer grin widens. "Alright then, something neither of us can affect....hmmm...Who will Koroush choose to be his First Wife?"
ReplyDelete"Someone that reminds him of you," he says. "That...that was an easy one, lecai. Even you could have figured that one out."
ReplyDeleteAara frowns. "I don't know what you're talking about. Why would he marry someone which reminds him of me?"
ReplyDelete"Did he ever have anyone else while you were around?"
ReplyDelete"There were women," she says. "Part of the reason we traveled around was so he could choose wives... You aren't implying he had feelings for me, are you?"
ReplyDelete"Yeah...and...and you specifically were traveling to find him a wife...and he didn't find one? He didn't keep any women around except for you? Yep...he liked you," he pokes her nose.
ReplyDelete"That's nonsense! There were plenty of marriage agreements made, just not for his First. That's a special relationship, nuur'eni, and a love match besides. It's something that can't be rushed." She chews on her lower lip and thinks. "He was faithful to certain women. We'd go back to their homes frequently so he could court them..." She shakes her head. "Nonsense, utter nonsense."
ReplyDelete"But he kept you with him all the time. Yeah yeah sure you tried to steal whatever and such but that doesn't matter," he lazily waves his hand around. "Hey...I think I need more wiiiine," he sighs.
ReplyDelete"I was an investment. And his bodyguard," she reminds him. "A rather good one."
ReplyDeleteWhen he starts whining, she digs in her bag. "It isn't wine, but it is the best bottle of spirits I could find in Had Ganeth," she offers.
Goddard looks at it a while before he finally takes a drink straight from the bottle. "Wow! That's pretty good," he hands the bottle back to her. "Hide that or I'll drink it all, right here right now."
ReplyDeleteAara grins. "What happens if you drink it all?"
ReplyDelete"I'll get more drunk," he laughs.
ReplyDelete"Well that's not so bad." She puts it away anyway and crawls across the bed to him. "We should go get wine."
ReplyDelete"Yes yes. Of course. Wine."
ReplyDeleteGoddard stumbles over to the door and opens it. He takes a step out and then quickly backs up into the room. "Merciful Morr!" he exclaims. "Did...did you know it's freezing out there?" he says laughing, bundling himself up in a cloak.
She laughs and grabs her cloak. "Yes, I knew. It happens when there's snow on the ground."
ReplyDeleteGoddard heads toward the galley but stops on the deck and looks up at the sky. "I kind of hate this place," he mumbles. "Don't you? The cold...the hospitality...the wild life. All terrible."
ReplyDeleteAara wraps his hand in hers and lays her head against his shoulder. "Yes, I do hate it. This place doesn't hold good memories for any of us." She sighs. "Do you think we'll ever be well and truly done with this place?"
ReplyDelete"Nope!" he says shaking his head and chuckling. "I'll be done with this place as soon as you're done with Araby...ugh..." he rubs his forehead. "May...maybe I shouldn't have more wine..."
ReplyDelete"I could easily be finished with Araby. People are mobile and can come to see me."
ReplyDelete"But you will never be finished with it because that is where you are from." He sits down on the deck and then lays down, putting his hands behind his head. "It feels like my brain wants to explode," he groans.
ReplyDeleteAara smiles and sit next to him, moving his head to her lap. "Because of the wine?" she asks, her words still slurring. The gentle rock of the ship makes her head spin, so she closes her eyes.
ReplyDelete