Michael Manning - Mageborn - The Blacksmith’s Son

“I will do as I please Mordecai Eldridge, and neither death, nor dukes, nor doctors will keep me from you.” I might have cried then, but I was far too weak and my body was dry. A thousand responses ran through my mind, but I had neither time nor strength to say them.

“Thank you,” I answered simply, and I closed my eyes again as she slipped into the bed behind me. I wanted to talk to her, to explain many things but instead I fell asleep, safe within her embrace.

I awoke hours later, near dawn. I had somehow managed to roll onto my side, which must have been painful but I didn’t remember doing so. I could feel Penny breathing softly against my neck. Of all my childhood fantasies to think this would happen and I am completely unable to take advantage of it, I thought to myself. I shifted a tiny amount, just enough to give me a better feel of her against me. I’ll admit it, even near dying I’m a dirty dirty man.

After a while I became aware of her looking at me. She had woken quietly and was avoiding moving. She must think I’m still asleep, I realized. “I’m still alive,” I said.

“I know,” she whispered into my ear. Half dead as I was it still sent electric tingles down my spine. She kept her arms around me, and for my part I didn’t complain. Thirty minutes went by and I found I had to ruin the moment.

“Penny…”

“Yes?” she replied.

“I need water, my throat is so dry I can hardly swallow, and then I think I need some privacy for a moment.” My bladder was finally making its demands known, despite loss of blood and lack of fluids. She brought water and I drank an amount that was probably unwise given the state of my stomach. Then she looked at me.

“So how are we going to do this?” she said.

I knew what she meant, “We? I may be an invalid but I’ll be damned before I let you do that with me.” That led to an argument, which I lost, but we finally worked out a compromise. I draped a sheet over myself and stood near the window, leaning against the wall for support. She stayed a few feet behind me, ready to catch me if I started to fall.

Several embarrassing minutes later I was back in the bed. I thought surely at this point she would dress and leave. She still had a job after all. I was wrong; she slid back under the covers next to me. I thought of her kiss the night before and wished dearly I was in better health. The wish fairy ignored me.

We didn’t sleep then, instead we rested, wide awake. Well I did anyway. I’m not sure what her reason for being in the bed was at that point. “The doctor said you would die,” she told me.

“I hope he’s wrong more often then,” I replied. “I think I would have, but I managed to fix some of it last night.” That got her attention, and I spent the next few minutes explaining what I had gone through during the night. After a bit I had a question of my own.

“I think Rose left you a night dress, I saw it on the table,” I hated myself for mentioning it.

“She did.” It was a statement.

“Why aren’t you wearing it?” Stupid never dies, I must be getting better to have regained my idiocy so soon.

“Are you afraid you’ll do more damage to my reputation?” she asked.

That made me tense up, but she still seemed relaxed, “Yes. Wait no, that’s not what I mean.” My general lack of eloquence that always seemed to appear around Penny was back in full force.

“He may have taken my innocence, but I will always have this time, even if only because you were too weak to escape me.” Her voice measured equal parts anger and sadness.

“No he didn’t Penny. I’ve been trying to tell you for days.” I said.

“What? How would you know something like that?” she replied, starting to become angry. I worried this was about to turn into a repeat of our conversation of the previous day. If only I could show her, to get past all the misspoken meanings and misunderstandings. Then an idea hit me. Looking back now, if I had known of the dangers I would not have tried it, especially given my inexperience.

“Let me show you Penny. I think I know a way, do you trust me?” I gave her my most emphatic look, unsure how she would react.

“Magic?” she asked.

I nodded thinking she would surely refuse, but she didn’t.

“Ok, what do I do?” she answered. I rolled over then, which made me ache all over, but I wanted to see her face. Being a complete novice in bed I hadn’t thought of how our arms and legs would work in that situation. Naively I had thought she would simply scoot back a bit to give us room to face one another without having to touch, as in the innocent days of our childhood. Instead she slipped one leg beneath mine and draped her arm across my waist. Thankfully the covers were still drawn, since I was starting to feel well enough that the intimacy caused me to feel a stirring below.

I did my best to suppress those thoughts and took a deep breath. The ache that caused did an excellent job of returning my mind to business. I looked into her eyes before she said, “What next?”

“I need to touch your face for a moment, I think that will be enough.” She nodded at me. I had only learned one word in Lycian regarding the mind, but I thought it might be enough to help me do what I intended. “Mirren,” I said, stretching my mind out to touch hers. I raised my hand to touch her face, but she didn’t wait for that, and as I moved she leaned in, kissing me suddenly.

The world vanished. The sensation was similar to what had happened to me with Marc’s horse but different. There was no sudden plunge as I had experienced then, and I didn’t leave my own body. Instead our minds melted together, co-mingling our thoughts and feelings. I could sense her body in much the same was as my own, but it was still ‘hers’, unlike what had happened before. In one sense it was less complete, yet it was infinitely gentler.

Words were no longer effective, in our hearts words are merely a veil that lies thinly over the reality of our experience. Instead I relived the memory of what had happened that night, what I had done, how I had found her, and the emotions flooded through me as if it were happening again. In turn she showed me her own memories, before and after, when she had awoken. The pain she had gone through afterward made me ashamed to have done so little to find her and explain, but I felt her telling me to let go and forgive myself. Her own feelings had shifted from the panic and terror of the experience to a warm acceptance of my part in it. In particular her mind kept returning to the point at which I had laid her gently within her bed that night. She was tasting it, feeling the emotion that had run through me as I looked at her that night, lying frail and beautiful in her bed.

Vaguely I was aware that we were still kissing. Throughout the entire experience we had remained locked in that embrace, though we hardly moved, except to breath. I could feel her awareness as well, and her heart quickened. Excitement built within me, such that I almost lost my link to her, but I adjusted quickly… I didn’t want to lose her yet. I could sense the changes in her and she knew mine. The stirring in me before had grown beyond my control yet she did not shrink away.

She could feel the aches in my body as surely as my emotions. Carefully she eased me over on to my back and worked her way up over me. The foolishness of what we were doing made me hesitate for a moment, but I felt her mind then, serious and intent. I need this Mort, I need to erase the fear he left in me. There weren’t words, but that was the meaning that crossed between us.

I cast my doubts aside and what followed was both painful and joyous. Ironically I felt more pain than she did, which might have made a fine joke if there were ever anyone we could tell it to. The next hour was one I am sure neither of us will forget, for we kept our minds entwined throughout, until at last I became too tired and sleep overtook me.