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  • Hot Days and Hotter Nights Ch. 04

Hot Days and Hotter Nights Ch. 04

12

Kain - I don't mind you asking me questions at all. Often, when a reader asks questions, it causes me to look at my story with fresh perspectives as the reader might have brought up an issue that I might not have considered before, so if there's anything on your mind, please do not hesitate to comment! I might not always be able to answer the question but I do welcome reader insight, and answer certain questions when I can, whether within the story itself or an author's note. Of course, this goes for all of my other readers as well.

o0o

Sena could not help but feel a sense of anxiety as she moved further and further away from the ocean. Being on it had been her source of comfort as she made her journey across the sea with her new family, especially after seeing how seasick Salamacia became. The older woman would complain about the rocking of the boat, and how impossible it was to sleep, or hold down her food. Though the younger woman knew it was petty, she couldn't help but feel a sense of schadenfreude at the older woman's obvious discomfort with so much water around her, opposite to her Element.

Though water was by no means more dangerous to a Fire magician than an ordinary person, the discomfort they felt was standard for anyone surrounded by their opposite element, like an Air magician would in a deep cave, surrounded by earth which was the very antithesis of air. A restless and irritated Salamacia was a less amorous one, but nonetheless, the Fire Master still had managed to ravish her several more times through the voyage.

Now the tables had turned, and it was Sena who found herself in an uncomfortable position. The carriage swayed just slightly as ht made its way up the slope, and she looked through the window with longing as the ocean became nothing but a sliver of blue-green on the horizon. Dragonslair, the home of House Aracon, was nestled within the low mountains that sat several miles from the ocean, and according to Salamacia, was built near a dormant volcano. That idea did not comfort her, though she could see how such a location would appeal to those who had Fire magic in their blood.

"I can't wait to be home! There really is no place like home!" Salamacia said as she reclined against the cushions that backed her seat, and Sena could only respond with a deadpan stare. It'd been one thing to deal with the dragon when Sena was still on her own family lands, or on the ocean. Now that the dragon was soon to be returned to her lair, how would things be?

"Oh come now, don't be like that. I told you I would take care of you! You'll be cozy and comfortable, and you'll see how delightful it can be to be a bride of a dragon! There are so many things we can do, and so many places I want to show you!" On the ship, Salamacia had been more grumpy and complaining, but now on dry land, she was considerably more cheerful and perky.

"You'd be feeling the same way if you were to make your home on the Silver Isles, I am sure," she shot back at the blonde woman. Salamacia was clad in a comfortable silk dress of bright red, with a sleeveless linen dress underneath of a darker red, its hem visible past the bottom of the outer dress.

"That is true," Salamacia responded with a quick shrug. "Good thing I didn't pick a man, hm?"

"Hmph." Sena crossed her arms and looked out the window again.

o0o

Dragonslair was even more impressive than Sena had imagined, and she couldn't help but let her awe show as she and Salamacia stepped out of their carriage. The homes of the Great Houses of the Ninelands tended to be more impressive than most, and House Teuthi certainly was no exception, but the austere beauty of the Spire paled before the sprawling opulence of Dragonslair. There was one main structure, five stories tall which obviously served as the main residence of the Lord of the Southlands, with plenty of smaller buildings at varying distances from it, either one or two stories high, and ordered nearly as far as Sena could see. All of this was surrounded by a wall with well-fortified guard towers.

Servants milled about, unloading the luggage and spare provisions, carrying them into the main building, reminding Sena of the order and efficiency of ants. Like the buildings around them, she saw plenty of red on the servants in varying shades, from red-orange to dark red, with only an occasional break from the color scheme in shades of yellow or blue. Much of the architecture was varying shades of white to the reddish ochre of terra-cotta, with tiled roofs of red or orange. For someone who was used to being surrounded by green, gray, and blue, the new color palette served as a shock to her senses. This was what she was going to be seeing every day.

"We will be having a banquet tonight," Salamacia explained as she looked at Sena. "Uncle will be wanting to show off the new additions to the family, and of course, the rest of the family will be curious to see what me and Lian brought home." She shot Sena a bright smile.

Sena unfortunately, did not share that sentiment, and her heart thudded with trepidation at the thought of meeting more dragons. She was as unlike Salamacia as... well, night to day. Wait, how many people knew about Salamacia's... uniqueness? It was a subject she'd never directly asked about, though the older woman and Riho had made it clear that while it wasn't something to hide in shame, it also wasn't openly flaunted.

"Yes, Salamacia," Sena replied quietly.

o0o

The bath rooms were clean and orderly like Sena had expected, each chamber neatly partitioned off with panels of wood to give the bathers privacy. There was also a sauna, and a swimming pool with cool water, sitting under a glass dome that kept the water from evaporating in the arid mountain air. Salamacia had given her an explanation of how the system worked to conserve water, gutters running along most of the roofs to collect rainwater into cisterns that would be used for various purposes, like the greenhouses, watering the animals, or washing certain items like most clothing, or floors, or tools. The water used for drinking was cleansed by boiling in large brass cisterns, and bathwater was recycled for watering plants. There were also mountain streams, but Salamacia explained that since Dragonslair was such a large place, they didn't want to overdraw it, and why waste rainwater?

Sena could see this logic, but as a Water Mage, she was uncomfortable with the idea that here, water was rationed and guarded. Having grown up next to the sea and lived with it her entire life, it was hard to get used to the idea that she could no longer take such a simple yet vital liquid for granted. Even of the ocean was saltwater, it was still water.

Salamacia wasn't with her, ostensibly needing to talk with her uncle and parents, so Sena was glad for the reprieve from her company. The hot water did help to calm her somewhat, and Sena relaxed in the wooden tub with her cousin, a washcloth draped discreetly across her lap. Tsune was covered similarly. Communal bathing with members of the same sex was a common practice in the Silver Isles, although modesty and decorum were also emphasized upon, whether it be sharing a tub, or a steam room. Being a stranger in a strange land, Sena was happy for a familiar face, and took comfort in her cousin's presence.

"I know you're nervous about tonight, but just think of it as a clan gathering. We've been to banquets that had far more people," Tsune suggested as she washed herself with a sponge. Sena gave a small huff.

"Why do you insist on being so unhappy?" the black-haired woman asked gently. Sena looked away.

"Insist?" she muttered incredulously.

"Think about it, it could be much worse. I hear in the Crownlands and Greenlands, they often marry off their girls soon after first flowering."

Sena snorted, she'd heard such a tale. Fortunately, the Silver Isles were considerably more pragmatic, and marriage was held off until a girl was in her late teens.

"Salamacia does seem to care about you. I've seen how she looks at you. If you give her a chance, I'm sure the two of you can be very happy together," Tsune argued gently. Sena thought back on Salamacia's promises to take care of her. She hated to admit, but her cousin did have a point. She could be married to someone a lot worse.

"I certainly hope that the dragon takes pride in pleasuring you," Tsune said, her lips curved in a half-smile.

"You... know?" Serna asked, with some shock.

"Lian told me," Tsune admitted. At Sena's groan, she gave her cousin a reassuring smile.

"I know it's hard for you here, with all the changes, and I don't doubt that Salamacia's... uniqueness was a shock. I know it was when I heard it, I almost didn't believe Lian," Tsune said kindly, wrapping her arm around Sena's shoulders.

"At least you wanted to marry Lian!" she pointed out.

"True," Tsune sighed. "But again, it could be a lot worse. Salamacia could be a foul-tempered, cranky old man, old enough to be your great-grandfather, with breath that smells like something crawled into his mouth and died while farting."

Much as she tried not to give in to her cousin's humor, Sena could not help but giggle.

"I was as surprised as you were when Salamacia chose you, especially since I didn't know about... the dragon. Honestly, I thought she might go back home without a groom because it was obvious to me none of the men suited her, and she didn't suit most of them. Now knowing what I do... can you imagine how a husband would have reacted to her on the wedding night?"

"Salamacia would be the one doing the mounting," Sena replied.

"Which would not go over well, I believe. Can you imagine how Raen would have reacted to that?" Raen was one of Tsune's brothers, and one of the candidates that Salamacia had been given to choose from, a tall and strong specimen of a male who was as manly as they could come. Sena had to stifle another giggle, and Tsune smirked as she tapped her chin. "I've been nearly dying of curiosity... is she really as well-endowed as a man?"

Sena blushed at that, and Tsune smirked.

"She says she's more endowed than any male she's ever seen naked," Sena whispered. Tsune let out a loud guffaw.

"Big dragons run in the family, Lian told me. Not that I'm complaining!"

It felt nice to finally discuss her sex life with someone. Sena knew that women often talked about it, albeit in private, though Tsune had seemed shy to broach the matter when they had been on the ship, perhaps sensing the fact that Sena was still somewhat in shock about her whole situation. Sena smiled a little at her cousin's statement.

o0o

Salamacia frowned thoughtfully as Sena pulled a dress out of one of her trunks. She'd noticed how Sena usually wore plain clothes, usually linen with an outer layer of knitted wool for warmth if necessary. Despite House Teuthi's considerable power, she'd noticed an austereness about the clan, even the higher-ranking members of the House usually dressed no more lavishly than many middle-class people in the Southlands.

"Don't you have anything in satin or velvet?" Salamacia asked as she eyed the things she saw hanging out of the younger woman's trunk.

"Why would I need it?" Sena asked, looking over her shoulder. "Such fabrics are... impractical."

"I don't mean for every day! But what about formal occasions and banquets? Don't you care about looking nice?"

Sena scowled at that comment, straightening her back and turning to her, her glare stony. She placed her hands on her hips.

"I'm sorry that I don't live up to your standards, Salamacia. At least I'm not a vain, spoiled brat like you!" she fired out in a defiant, heated tone, which was the first time Salamacia had heard such from the normally taciturn woman. With that, Sena turned back and pulled out a dark gray-blue dress. It was of a thick but fine linen, with silver threading along the collar and edges.

Salamacia was so stunned by this outburst that she was unable to speak for a few moments. "Well! If I'm a vain, spoiled brat, then you're an uptight, boring prude!" she shot back.

"That suits me just fine," Sena shot back calmly, a sharp contrast from her earlier outburst.

o0o

Though Salamacia was far more used to velvets and satins, she had to admit that Sena looked nice in her linen dress, the silver thread lending a simple elegance to the dress which did, in its own way, suit the Water Mage. Despite her earlier defiance, Sena acted properly at the banquet, politely greeting and acknowledging every member of the Aracon family that Salamacia introduced her to, albeit with the same kind of reserve that the older woman had seen in the other members of House Teuthi.

In House Aracon, close members of the family typically greeted one another with hugs, and on occasion, especially from or with women, kisses on the cheek, especially at smaller occasions like this, when the banquet was exclusive to family members. Even the men would hug, though they typically preferred handshake-hugs, or quick hugs while the women would give firmer hugs.

House Teuthi, on the other hand, preferred handshakes in public or clasps to the shoulder, or bows. On very rare occasion did a Silver Isle resident hug in public - such as a mother with her children - for such displays seen as more appropriate for private occasions. Salamacia had seen it only once, with one of Sena's cousins and her young children, and she'd never seen anyone kiss. It was amusing in its own way to see Sena try to deal with the displays of welcome her new relatives were giving her, most of the women pulling her in for a hug, a few giving her kisses, and the men giving her quick or side-hugs.

Sena seemed overwhelmed by it all, and Salamacia could see her struggle between trying to be polite, and wanting to hide from people offering her hugs.

The banquet was as lavish as Salamcia would expect, though she could practically feel Sena's disapproval at what the younger woman doubtless saw as an ostentatious display of wealth and excess. Though the wedding banquet at the Spire was far from meager, it seemed almost like a pauper's meal to what was spread before the Aracon family, the platters piled high with all sorts of delicacies, dozens of scents mingling in the air to tempt even the most reticent of folks into participating in the feast.

Salamacia rolled back the velvet sleeves of her dress, tucking a napkin into the collar of her gown before she bit into a juicy, tender pork rib, glazed to perfection with pepper and barbecue sauce. One of the things taught to the children of Aracon was that they were dragons, not pigs, and though dragons might have large appetites, they were noble creatures as well. Servants milled about, offering refills on wine or water, as well as carrying around finger bowls and napkins.

"Do you eat like this every day?" Sena whispered, cutting into a piece of curried chicken with her fork and knife.

"Of course not! If we did, we'd all be as roly-poly as him!" She subtly gestured with a pork rib to one of her cousins, the fattest member of the House. While he had a jovial personality and was generally welcomed amongst family and friends, his indulgence of food and alcohol was well-known, his ponderous belly pressing against the edge of the table as he laughed at something the man next to him had just told him.

Sena seemed to relax a bit at that reassurance, and nodded, turning her attention back to her food.

"I hope you're enjoying the food," Salamacia commented as she set the rib down and started on another. At this, Sena was still for a moment before giving out an enthusiastic nod, or at least, what the reserved woman would consider enthusiastic.

"Good, good." Satisfied at having made sure of her wife's comfort, she went back to enjoying her food and laughing at several bawdy jokes her cousins were sharing.

o0o

Sena was happy for the quiet that accompanied the end of the gathering. The food, while a bit spicy for her tastes, was delicious, she had to admit. Having grown up on the more modest cuisine of the Silver Isles, she was impressed and overwhelmed with the sheer array of foods that had been available at the banquet.

There was more hugging after the gathering was over, and now all she wanted to do was be left alone. Fortunately, Salamacia seemed to be too full and drunk to want to engage in coitus tonight. She performed her evening ablutions before emerging in sight of her wife. Salamacia was slumped in an armchair, holding her hand over her stomach, which at that moment did look like she'd overindulged at the feast. She was clad in a red satin nightie, and matching robe.

"Well, my mother seems to like you," Salamacia commented. Sena nodded. She'd met her immediate in-laws - Salamacia's parents, her younger brother and his fiance, and another younger brother and sister, all of them golden-haired and golden-eyed, except for their mother who had blue eyes.

"She certainly did seem like a nice person," Sena conceded. She knew that if she was to find any measure of comfort in her new home, she needed to find friends, or at least allies, among the members of the House. "So did your brother." Kuzo looked very much like his sister, but his personality seemed very watered-down compared to Salamacia's own. His fiance was a bland-faced woman from one of the lesser houses that served Aracon. Neither of them seemed very affectionate towards the other. Salamacia's father was polite but aloof, and Sena sensed that the relationship between father and daughter was somewhat strained.

"It's been a long day, and I shall retire to bed," Sena said after several moments of silence. The older woman nodded.

The bed was too soft, but Sena did not find herself too surprised by that fact. She rolled around on the mattress, trying to find a position she could be comfortable in without feeling like the mattress was trying to swallow her up.

When Salamacia came to bed, Sena felt the mattress shift as the other woman climbed into it, and it was as Sena suspected, she was too full and drunk for pleasure. Sena felt an arm tossed across her side, and soon enough, Salamacia's faint snoring met her ears.

o0o

Despite her difficulties with Salamacia's bed, Sena managed to fall asleep, and woke up with morning sunlight streaming in through the window, casting thick beams of warm light on her skin and the blankets. The influx of sunshine illuminated the warm shades that made up Salamacia's bedroom, which displayed the clear tastes of a Fire magician. Magicians of whatever level tended to be drawn to the colors of their elements, and Sena missed her own room, remembering the muted shades of green and blue-green that had once surrounded her whenever she woke up.

The next thing she noticed was that she was alone. She rolled out of bed and performed her morning ablutions before setting off in search of Salamacia. She was not long in finding the blonde, who was out on the balcony, her face tilted towards the sun as if she were a sunflower basking in its rays. Her arms were held out, palms upturned. Sena had seen this several times on the ship, and had seen Riho and Lian engage in the same ritual.

As if sensing her presence, Salamacia opened her eyes and turned towards Sena.

"Good morning, sunshine. Did you sleep well?" she asked.

Sena nodded. It had been hard at first, to be sure, but exhaustion had won over eventually. "So... what do you do for breakfast?" she asked.

Salamacia put her arms down. "It depends. Sometimes I might eat with my uncle, or parents. A few times a month, Uncle likes for all of us to eat together. For family bonding and all that," she said, waving her hand. "But I do often eat alone. This morning, it will be just the two of us. Sounds good?"

"Yes," Sena agreed, happy for a quieter meal.

The meal was taken in the parlor of Salamacia's apartment. To her relief, breakfast turned out to be a quite simple affair - sliced fruit, cinnamon oatmeal, and eggs, along with coffee. The meal was an amicable affair, without any sarcastic or teasing remarks from the older woman.

12
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