the Leathermines

Laun was very ready for Spring.  The Winter had been trying to hold on and every time it seemed to be warming up, another storm would come through and blanket the land.  She never knew what she would see when looking out the window of her room in the tower in the mornings.  She really wanted to be able to see the green that was hiding within the bushes and trees, the flowers sleeping under the dirt that were kept there by the blankets of snow.

That was not the only reason.  The weather was only a small part of what weighed on Laun.  Her baby was only four months along, but it was big.

She was not as big as Nan or the other women.  The protector was seven months along and the rest were about six months.  The babies were going to take over the nursery, which Dreng was not happy about.

“Why do I have to move?  The men and I are comfortable there!”

Bett elbowed him.  “And it has one of the best beds, other than yours.”

King Dreng smiled at his wife and nodded.  “What she said.  I cannot go against her.”

Laun took another sip of milk and made a face.  It did help with the heartburn, but she did not like having to drink it.  The heartburn had been her first symptom of her pregnancy.  She never threw up, though her stomach had made up for it with the constant discomfort.  They had been lucky in the summer to have found the bull in the woods.  The chalk from the healers worked too, but Laun had looked forward to the change to milk when the Guernsey had calved.  She wasn’t so sure of it any more.

“We have a little time, but you have seen how big Nan is.  And then there is Vespis and-”

Dreng held up his hand.  “I get the picture.”  He got up from the padded bench and leaned against the mantle of one of the two large fireplaces in the Great Hall.  He glanced over at the group of people playing Sticks at one of the tables and then back to the people seated next to him.

“Granddaughter, Is there actually anywhere else for us to go in the keep?”

Laun looked at him and tilted her head.  She was thinking and with the smile lightly playing over her face, he knew he was not going to like the answer.  “Well, we have some time and Orgia tells me that my old sleeping chamber could be turned to more... sleeping.”

Dreng had to turn away to hide his blush.  Kings do not blush, especially in front of their women.  “What does our chatelaine say?”

Orgia took her eyes off her sewing and looked up at Dreng.  “It is spring.  Indoor activities are finding their way outdoors.  I know that I can arrange something for you and Bett, and since we have gone through almost all of the supplies in the lower supply rooms, those can be set up for the other nobles.”  She nodded to herself.  “We just have to announce at morning meeting about the change, just so that you don’t get woken unexpectedly.”

Laun giggled and said, “Unless you don’t mind people coming in and having se-”

Dreng made an unpleasant humph and said, “I would rather just be with my wife, thank you.”  He softened his frown and looked into Bett’s eyes.  They smiled at each other.

Laun drained her mug of milk and a hand took it from her.  She looked up and smiled at Ali.  Her boy had blossomed over the winter, coming out of her skin more and more.  She was still more masculine than feminine after having masqueraded as a man for over ten years, but more people knew and the ones who knew supported her in her choices.  Ali was still a stablehand, but more often than not, she was attending their Lady with little things.  Like the empty mug.

“I find that I need to find my way to the privy, again.  If you would excuse me...”  Laun was not as awkward about getting up as many of the pregnant women in the household, but that was because she worked hard to keep her stamina up.  And she was not as far along as the rest.

With the people she stopped and talked to or just touched shoulders of along the way to the privy, she was glad that she had given herself a little extra time to get to the facilities.  No matter how often or not she had liquid, she seemed to have to pee just about every hour.  The household had not made fun of the other women when they would disappear or complain about the number of times they had to go.  For some reason, Laun was getting much more ribbing than she heard going towards the other women.

Then again, the other women were not the leader of the household of Salam-Dir.  No matter where she went, no matter what she did, and regardless of what she was doing, she was the focus of most of the people around her.  They knew where she was almost all the time.  They knew what, or more importantly who, she was doing, too.

Walking to the privy gave her a chance to think about the people she had around her.  She had her group of favorites of the one hundred and forty six people in the household.  Her heart, Edgar and Fount, the men who completed her.  Ali, her boy who always looked after her.  Disa, the handmaid who had become Orgia’s second in command over the winter, and had become the third for their healers.  And Silar.

A wicked smile went over her lips as she thought of Silar.  Ali may be one hell of a body servant, but Silar had become Laun’s body slave.  The prince from another kingdom, another continent, had willingly given himself to her and she...allowed her darker side to come out when they Played.  She had become very proficient in taking the dark, muscular man to his knees with the pressure points he had taught her, to his chagrin.  She had worked through rope to iron manacles made by their smith to restrain him.  He showed her how to use knives and needles on his skin, the glistening blood always making anything they did just that much better.

She had marked him several times, the scars that formed minor in comparison to the ones he had already received from battle and ceremony.  The time she allowed him to mark her flashed through her mind.  It had been both ecstatic and horrendous.  And the scar had blended into her own web of scars after only a week.

Her hand went to her shoulder where his teeth had caught her.  The warmth she felt when thinking of that night went through her again.  They had been talking in the tower room, the afternoon already going dark outside.  She didn’t even remember what they had been talking about.  She was feeling slightly neglected because when she was about three months along, none of her lovers had really touched her for fear that they may affect the baby.

Silar offered himself and Laun did not hesitate to take him up on his offer.  They closed the door to the corridor, a nod from the protector on duty in acknowledgement that Laun did not wish to be disturbed until the door opened again.

He had started out gentle.  His hands massaged her back and hips and then went to her feet.  She had not been able to wear the boots she liked since right before it was discovered that she was pregnant at about two months along.  They were not completely swollen like some of the others, including Nan, but she was always uncomfortable.

He traced along the faint scars on her legs with his tongue, moving up and then in, delving into her fur.  He was again gentle, but did not stay that way.  He used tongue, fingers, hands - Laun had her head back and did not know how he did what he did, but enjoyed all of it.

She remembered one of his hands going up and just laying on her rounding belly.  She really had not shown much, but Silar always seemed to appreciate the changes her body was going through.

She found even that early that it was uncomfortable being on her back and having someone on top.  Silar tried it, but, even just rubbing his cut and pierced manhood on her was just a little too much.  Silar gently rolled her over and she was on all fours, her butt in the air to him.

He was the largest man to have ever been in her.  With the old piercing scars along the shaft and the ring that went through the head, he was painful on her best days, but the pain was good, and different.

She was very wet and he carefully entered her.  The ringed head was in and he paused, listening to her sigh and feeling her relax.  She had started to move her hips, encouraging him to go further in.  It was in small motions, part in then part out and then part in again, but he was going deeper into her.

Laun remembered the flash of pleasure that went through her, the thrust from him that had him up to the hilt in her womanhood.  He had tried to pull out slowly, to delay things for both of them.  Her body had started to touch off already and she needed him to go faster.

She bucked against him and knew how to get him to move.  She learned about her own body easily, especially if it made someone else feel pleasure.  She did the hip move she knew would set him off, feeling that her own peak would be crashing down on her soon.

She had heard him grunt.  In that way.  He leaned over her back and grabbed her swollen breasts.  The fingers pushing into her flesh was enough to push her over that peak.  She knew he could feel her start to contract, to convulse around him.  He pulled at her and she found that she was sitting up on him, his legs under hers and her back against his chest.

The waves of her orgasm went over and through her and she felt he was thrusting up into her faster and a little more raggedly.  She was coming down off of her own waves when he had reached his peak.  He growled into her back and then as he came in her, his teeth had closed around her shoulder.  The pain and thrusting and firm grip on her breasts pushed her to another fast orgasm.

They had collapsed together sideways onto the bed.  His arms were still around her, his manhood only slightly shrinking in her as they lay curled around each other.  And then the flash of the bad darkness had raised it’s head.

Laun remembered Silar’s voice, warmly breathing into her neck and shoulder how perfect it had been.  But what she was seeing, even with her eyes open, were the faces of the dead, of those she had killed, of those who had hurt her before.  Silar did not realize what Laun’s mind had done, where she was, for several minutes until she had not responded to him for a while.

It had not been as bad as several other episodes she had been through.  Silar had been able to roll her onto her back and hold her face and talk to her and bring her back.  His dark face and his slightly worried tone had let her have something to latch onto that was real and she was pulled out of it.

Silar was both proud of the mark he had given her and apologetic for it.  She had instantly forgiven him, for it had been an intense and wonderful time until the darkness.  It took him longer, and several Play sessions, for him to forgive himself.

Unfortunately, thinking of making love to any of her lovers made Laun want more.  Several of the women who were pregnant warned her that it might happen.  Several of the others had scoffed and said that she would not want anyone to touch her at all.  Laun had been ready and willing more often than not since she had been introduced to the pleasures of the body only a few months before.  Now, she hardly had to be touched and she was most of the way to a peak.

Laun smiled.  Time saving, but not as satisfying.

Lady Laun was escorted to her tower room from the privy.  She was tired.  That was one thing about the baby.  It made her pee and sleep.  Too much.  And she had been wearing the heavy woolen slippers for the last month because her feet and ankles swelled whenever she even thought of something more restrictive.

Carrying a baby was hard work.

Laun laid down on the bed, a shawl around her shoulders and a cover over her legs.  Ali had found a crate of oils that had been forgotten and had snuck them up to the tower room for Laun.  Some of the oils were only good for lamp oil.  But some had been good enough to use on the body.  Laun had become addicted to the feeling of the oiled hands on her belly and breasts, relieving some of the tiredness, and fighting against the stretch marks that were threatening to create even more scars on her body.

Laun fell asleep with the motion of the hands on her.  She drifted through a sea of lazy trees that were gently passing her between them, their branches made of feathers.  It was warm and a gentle flower scented breeze pushed her along...

She woke with a bit of a start to a hand on her arm.  She had been completely covered with blankets as she slept, Ali curled up next to her on the bed.  Laun looked up and saw her loves.

Fount was looking happy.  His grey eyes sparked under his just-cut black hair.  He had his hand on Laun’s arm through the covers and was squeezing just slightly.  Edgar was also smiling, the more reserved man standing a little away from the bed but with his hand resting on Fount’s shoulder.

Laun smiled at the two, reveling in her sleepiness and happy that they seemed happy.  And then a kick.  Her face changed and Fount’s hand went to her belly.  Even through the blankets, he could feel the movement.  More hands were on her and Laun giggled.

“Lucaris was wrong, that’s the baby.”  Ali moved the blanket down and put her head on Laun’s belly and listened.  She smiled and said, “He’s a fighter.  I can feel him trying to punch his way out already.

“I think she’s a dancer.”  Heads turned and caught Fount’s shy look as he put both his hands on Laun’s bare belly.  Laun looked at Edgar and saw his wink.

“Well, I think I am having a cow with as much milk as I have been having.  In fact, I think I need more.”  Laun went up on her elbows to help relieve the acid that seemed to be etching into her throat and looked at the roundness of herself.

She had started to wear a halter at all times because of how heavy her breasts had started to become.  She could see her belly under Ali’s head past her breasts, but just barely.  Her nipples had started to change from pink to a light tan, even without sun over the winter.  The one stretchmark she could see on the top of her belly that went from one of her side scars towards her belly button wasn’t covered and made her grimace.

She saw a little movement under her skin.  She was in awe.  “I have a little person inside me.”

“I thought it was a cow, My Lady Love,” Edgar rumbled as he leaned over Fount and tried to kiss her.  Fount took exception and straightened, his head tapping Edgar’s chin before it could go past.  Edgar slapped the younger mans’ head and stepped around him to get to Laun.

Lady Laun kissed her head wardsman with an upturned face.  “I love you.”  Laun said it without hesitation and without a lowered voice.  She turned to Fount and looked him in the eye and said, “And I love you.”

Laun went to one elbow and put her hand on her boy’s cheek, saying, “And I love you.”  Laun could see the tear at Ali’s eye and wiped at it with her thumb.

It took a moment for the feelings to settle between the four of them.  It was not silence, but the quiet was comfortable.

“Lady.”  Edgar’s voice changed sightly, and did not have the low rumble he used to get his way.

“Yes, Head wardsman?”  Laun liked to use titles with people only if they insisted on using them with her.  The more formal of a title they used with her, the more formal she became.

Edgar lowered his head in a half-bow.  “We have returned from the trading post and have installed the first of the protector teams.”

Fount, still with his hands on Laun’s belly nodded in agreement and said, “We were able to bring back some of the food stuffs that had been left after the first snow and took the embroidery that the household had done over the winter.  I am looking forward to the keg of cider we brought back.”

Laun smiled and nodded.  “I wish I could have some, but I understand.”

Many of the supplies that had been stored in the summer and fall after the coup at the Festival had been finished in the last month.  Hunting teams had been sent out to find meat, and some of the early plants had started to pop up and were harvested already.  The animals were at least able to eat some of their scraps, and the livestock had spent a few days hobbled and grazing in the cereal fields between storms.  

The calf that had helped produce the milk in the Guernsey had been slaughtered after only a week.  She had been frail and one of her legs was not right.  It had been sad, but she had fed the household for several days after.

Laun motioned that she wanted to get up and she had hands to help support her as she slid around and had her legs off the side of the bed.  It felt odd not to have the extra mat on that side any more, but having extra bed space was not a high priority at the moment.  The mat on the floor on the other side had stayed, the overflow for when there were more than the four of them.

The shawl was around her, the chill in the air being offset by the heat coming from the floor.  The thaws had made it possible for deadfall gathering and the tower’s ingenious chimney works kept the tower warmer than the rest of the keep.  Having more wood for the various hearths and fireplaces kept the dark away, and the morale of the household up.

“Any sign of...”  Laun looked slightly pained as she could not bring herself to finish the sentence.

Edgar shook his head.  “One set of footsteps through the snow when we went out to the trading post and it just went past, didn’t even stop to pause at any of the farmer’s huts.”

Laun’s relief showed.  “It does not mean it is not possible.  But we have to start thinking of it.”  Laun shivered even though she was warm under her shawl.  “Falmir’s men are out there.”

Font nodded.  He put his hand on Laun’s belly again and said, “Nothing will happen to you or her while I am here.”

Laun leaned into Fount and found she also had arms from Edgar and Ali around her.  “Thank you.”

 

Onto chapter 2