Beyond the Prison There Is Fun

Just the normal disclaimer. Any sexual acts by anyone in this story are 18 years old or older.

Beyond the Prison there is fun.

The next few days I settled into a routine. Spending several hours, a day at the police stations. There ended up being seven in this city. At first, I was met with some resistance but after trouncing every officer that wanted to fight, I was given a grudging respect. After a couple weeks I was given full acceptance.

The rest of my time was spent at the Academy either enchanting or working with Sonia. I found a small cadre of officers that were martial artists themselves and I was working with them to train up their ability to use Ki. Sonia started joining my martial arts training, so I was working with her in both spellcasting and martial arts.

Things were going pretty well. I had amassed a small fortune from my enchanting. The Magnus Academy was flush as well. I made sure that he got his cut of all my enchanting as well as part of my fees for training. Magnus was concerned about the amount of money I was giving him from my enchanting, but I told him that he earned it by giving me a place to work out of and the fact that I was relying on his name. We were both relying on each other. The fact that my enchanting was top rate meant that Magnus was gaining a reputation for fair prices and timely delivery.

Days turned into weeks and weeks turned into a month. I began casting my anchoring spell on the first day of every month. I really enjoyed living in this world.

As a side note, in this world most of the top positions were filled by elves. Due to their long lives and their strong affinity for magic, they usually fill the positions of mayors of the cities, presidents of the companies and most of the top government positions. The only reasons elves hadn't taken over everything was because of their low birth rate. Elves had very long lives, in fact they were practically immortal. They never died of old age.

This meant that elves didn't have the sex drive that the shorter-lived races had. Most Elven females only had one or two children. There were rare exceptions to this but for the most part elves always figured they could have their children tomorrow or next month or next year or in 20 years.

Because they were usually in the higher Stratus of society, I wasn't surprised I hadn't met an elf yet. I didn't think much of it, but that changed in the middle of the second month I was teaching the police officers.

I had been careful to keep my pheromones in check. I had several policewomen that had come on to me, although I had been careful to let them know that I was dating. Sonia and I were a couple. I was happy with our current relationship. I was beginning to get used to the peculiarities of living with a cat girl.

Then the elf girl showed up. Silvertree was sent by the central government. Her mission was to learn the sonic scream spell and also to learn everything she could firsthand about the capture of the demon.

Teaching her the sonic scream spell took all of 10 minutes. It was truly a waste of her time; she could've learned it from any of the other officers that would come from the central government to learn it. She, however, was bound and determined not to leave my side except when I decided to use the restroom. She invited herself to come with me when I went to the school. She stayed with me as I taught magic and martial arts to Sonia and even tried to get us to invite her home with us for dinner.

After that first day of her being with me, I was tired of her. It wasn't that she wasn't good-looking, she was beautiful. Elves always are. She, however, had a haughty disposition that grated on me. When I was teaching magic or martial arts, she would look at me with a condescending smile. Never saying anything but looking as if she were about to tell me a better way of doing whatever it was that I was trying to teach.

On the second day she made the mistake of correcting me during a martial arts lesson. I had been taught martial arts on another world. She didn't feel that the way I was teaching was the way she had learned it. I explained that she had probably learned a different martial arts style than what I was teaching. She simply told me that her way was better. I had had enough so I called her on it and asked her to show me on the mats.

She acted as if she had been waiting for this opportunity. We were only going to spar but that lasted for all of two or three seconds. She tried a move and I countered. She tried a second move and I countered. She threw several punches which I evaded. Then I slipped her guard and tapped her lightly on the face. I did this because we were supposed to be sparring. She lashed out, having lost her cool, and she grazed me.

After that it was all out. We blocked and dodged and traded strikes and counterstrikes. She had scored a couple of hits to my body, and I had put several strikes to her face. She realized she was getting the worst of this, and she became angrier. She charged up a Ki strike and I formed a Ki barrier around me. I was trying to hold off using Ki in my strikes because I didn't want to injure her. She tried several times to sweep my legs, but I stopped her. The next time she tried, I swept hers first and dropped her flat on her back. I had my fist pressed against her temple and I told her that this match was over.

She had given me a run for my money, but she hadn't taken me seriously. She knew that she was so much better than me that she totally underestimated my ability. Then I cast a healing spell on her.

This kept her subdued for the next day or two. Magnus was of the opinion that she was sticking so close to me so that she could find out how I did my enchantments. The elves did a lion's share of the enchanting that was done in the world. I had such a massive amount of mana; I was able to make instant enchantments that a normal enchanter would have to take weeks or even months to enchant. I was wondering why Magnus had not asked me to do any enchanting since she had gotten here and now, I realized that he was trying to protect me. We really didn't know if we could trust this elf. Being an elf didn't mean that they were good or benign. Elves had the same self-interest as humans did. She very well could be scouting out a business rival.

That night Sonia invited Silvertree home for dinner. Sonia and I had baked a fresh batch of elf bread and I hadn't even made the connection. Sonia was having me cook some of the Dragon steaks that I had taken from a dragon I'd killed five worlds ago. I ended up with almost half a ton of Dragon meat and my companion at the time was a fairly skilled butcher. He had helped me cut it into steaks, roasts, sausages, stew meat and even hamburger. Dragon had a rich flavor that Sonja had fallen in love with immediately. I usually didn't get it out except on special occasions because the Dragon meat could enhance your magical power for a day or two after you ate it.

We served the Dragon steaks with vegetables and mashed potatoes and had fresh elf bread as well. Silvertree smelled the elf bread and became incensed. Asking how we had come into the possession of the elf bread? Sonia was cool and collected as she offhandedly mentioned that we had baked it yesterday. The elf now was almost apoplectic. She said that the recipe for elf bread was a highly guarded secret known only to the elves.

Silvestree's demeanor and bearing were completely inexcusable. At least to the Elven people. She had broken the Elven rules of conduct that I understood. I had lived with the elves on several worlds. And they were always very close to identical in their cultural taboos.

In the Elven tongue, I told Silvertree that she was being a very poor guest. She fired back in their own language that we had broken her cultural taboo. I told her that I had lived for many years among elves on several different worlds and her behavior would have caused her elders to put her outside the village for at least a week. This was kind of like putting a five-year-old in timeout in a corner.

Silvertree immediately went red as she realized that I did understand her culture. She realized this indeed was something the elders would do to a misbehaving Junior. I quickly asked her age, and she quickly mumbled 32. In Elvish society she was still a teenager.

I told her that I had saved an Elven village once and they gifted me with the recipe for elf bread. I took the recipe out of my storage. It was written on the leaf of the world tree of that world. The leaf was silver on one side and turquoise on the underside. It was the size of a wall calendar. In beautifully golden script, the recipe was written on the silver side of the leaf. The leaf was still supple and showed no signs of age or deterioration. There was a note of thanks stating why the recipe was given and my name was prominently attached as the recipient.

Her voice caught in her throat as she told me that this named me an elf friend. I told her that I had known and loved many elves. As a people they were noble and kind and honorable.

She wanted to leave now, having a full realization of her guilt. She had broken her customs as a guest. I quickly took her by the shoulders and moved her back over to the table and told her to sit down. The food was going to get cold. Sonia wouldn't hear of her trying to leave too early after the meal was over, either.

Silvertree wanted me to tell her stories about the elves that I had known. Sonia was also tickled to have me tell stories about my travels. Usually, I don't speak too often of them. Here and now, I felt it was probably for the best to tell stories that Silvertree would be able to relate to. I spoke of how we had done Guardian duty in the forest. Hunting down the different fell beasts that wandered into the area. Thinning packs of wolves and helping a unicorn who was having difficulty giving birth to her foal.

As Silvertree listened to my stories, she began to get a far-off look in her eyes. I believe that all elves were tied to the primordial forest and longed for that life of Forrester.

After a couple of hours Sonia told me to walk Silvertree home. I asked where she lived, and she told me she was staying in a room at the police station. The upper floors had a few guest apartments for visitors. I told her it wouldn't be a problem and I opened a gate. It was a massive display of magic, but I thought it was appropriate to drive the point home that I was not a normal mage.

She stepped through the gate and was there at the police station. I had stepped through with her and I shook her hand and said good night. I stepped back through the gate and canceled it.

Sonia had a big grin on her face. I told her that she had set all that up on purpose. She said that she had. She said that she and Magnus had talked about it. She said that Silvertree would probably hot foot it back home now. She now had what she probably had come here to find out. She said that if she hung around now, it would mean that she wanted me to breed her.

I was totally shocked. Sonia said that humans could knock elves up unlike cat people. This was a totally unexpected turn of conversation. She asked me if I knew that I'd never get her pregnant and I told her I did. She told me that she knew that we would never be able to stay together, someday she would want a family and that would mean she would need to find a husband of her own species. She said it was okay though. We had plenty of time. Once she was a true mage and I released her from my service, she would go back to her own territory. She would conquer her old village and take a mate worthy to give her children.

We had never talked about anything like this before. I told her that it was true that I might get hauled away to another world if my anchoring spell failed. I never thought that she and I would be mates, but I hadn't realized I was keeping her from realizing her dreams. She slapped me on the arm and told me I was a dummy. She told me I wasn't keeping her from her dreams. I was empowering her. I was the reason she had her magic. I was teaching her martial arts. If she ever fulfilled her dream, it would be because of my training, mine and Magnus' training.

She told me that she would always love me. I, however, should start thinking about spreading some of my seed to a few females that could bear children from it. The elf girl could bear a child. Several of the girls at the school want a chance at having your child. I've seen the way some of the policewomen look at you.

I started telling her that I wasn't sure I could do that. I had been taught that once you were a couple you didn't stray. She told me that in this world, that was not totally feasible. There are way more women than men. Even if men still were predominant in the police force, how many business owners were usually women?

I started thinking. The restaurant owner was a woman. Our apartment manager was a woman. The street vendors were mostly women. I hadn't ever seen another man in our apartment building. There were quite a few men at the Academy, but there were a lot more women. Why had the apartment manager thought that I was going to leech off of Sonia?

I realized that I hadn't ever seen prostitutes on the street, female prostitutes. I have seen some young men loitering about. The gangs usually had a few male leaders, but the majority of the followers were female. The little girl in our building had been protecting the two males she had with her. She was the one that spoke to me.

Jeannie took this opportunity to tell me that she was waiting for me to pick up on the obvious. She streamed the statistics of the last census. Birth and death rates. The numbers made it obvious. Men made up a third of the population of this world. Then Jeannie told me she was going back to studying the Internet. She said she'd be there if I needed her.

The next day Silvertree showed up with an older elf male in tow. She introduced him as her father. He was part of the mage council of this world. After her introduction she quietly deferred to her father.

The older elf began speaking to me in the Elven tongue. He was using old Elvish. It was their language for formal ceremonies and other formal occasions. He told me that his daughter had dishonored me in my own residence. He said that she needed to make a restitution. I answered him that she had labored under ignorance. He said that she had labored under arrogance. She needed her arrogance brought under control. Therefore, he was going to leave Silvertree in my possession until she could bring her father back my child.

This was quite a humiliation for Silvertree. This made her my chattel. She wasn't exactly my slave, but she wasn't free either. She would have to serve under me in any way I wished. I didn't have the right to injure her, but otherwise she was now considered breeding stock. The old man was very slick. Under Elven custom I couldn't refuse. The condition of bringing my child to him meant that I would be obligated to impregnate her. Silvertree didn't have any say in this either. If she wanted to remain his daughter, she had to fulfill this formal request.

I was wondering if Sonia had the gift of prophecy? I had known people with the gift of foresight, being able to see glimpses of the future. They had been very rare. People with this talent were many times killed by people who feared them.

I had no choice. I formally accepted Silverleaf as my responsibility until I could give her the gift of my seed. I looked at Silverleaf and was wondering if she was as unhappy about this as she was trying to put on.

Silvestri, Silvertree's father then asked if he could see the leaf from the world tree. I immediately produced it and put it into his hands. To an elf, this was a sacred item. I didn't know if the world tree had been destroyed in this world are not. Most worlds where elves were not flourishing, the world tree had been destroyed. Silvestri handled the leaf and then brought it to his face to smell the aroma that subtly hung on the leaf.

He reverently gave the leaf back into my keeping and I stored it back away. He said that he never thought that he would ever see a part of the world tree. I asked him if the world tree was lost on this world, and he said that part of the Elven race had taken the world tree and retreated from existence.

That meant that they had probably shifted out of phase with this reality. They were still here on this earth, but they weren't in our phase. I could probably show you the math, but you wouldn't understand it. It was all part of my thesis where I had published my unified dimensional theorem. That was what I did for my first doctorate in physics and part of my doctorate in mathematics that I received when I was 16. My parents were so proud of me. I was so excited I had to prove that I could shift into other dimensions and then come back. My theorem was only slightly flawed, I could shift into other dimensions, but I would never come back.

Silvestri then put his hands on my shoulders. He bent and kissed me on both of my cheeks. This meant that I was accepted as his child. I now had to make a quick decision. If I knelt and kissed his hand I would except his adoption and I would be treated as an elf in this world. It, however, came with responsibilities and duties to Silvestri and his clan. If I took his hand and bowed over it shaking my head, it would mean that I was honored but could not except his adoption.

Jeannie was quickly in my mind telling me to accept. I asked why, and she said she would fill me in later. I knelt and kissed his hand.

Silvertree gasped. Silvestri turned to her and told her that I had already been named elf friend. I should have a clan in this world. He told her that she would bear my children. I didn't miss the fact that he said children instead of child. Neither did Silvertree. I could see that she was troubled. I quickly spoke in normal Elvish to her, telling her to take the long view.

She was only 37, she hadn't begun to think about the big picture. 100 or so years ahead. Elves could be married three or four times in their lifetime without their partners ever being killed. When elves stopped feeling love for their spouse or met someone else that they like more, they would end their marriage and take a new spouse.

Silvertree said that she hadn't been given a choice. I told her sharply that neither had I. Silvertree cast her eyes to the ground realizing she had precipitated this whole encounter.

Silvestri told me he would have to have us come and meet the rest of the family, sometime in the near future. That could be anywhere within a few months or a few years. Elves didn't do anything very quickly unless it suited their purposes.

He hadn't even waited a day! Silvestri hadn't even waited a day! That wasn't like elves unless it had all been planned. I looked at Silvertree and she was looking at me. I told her that we should probably break this to Sonia. I asked her when we should expect her luggage and she said that it was on its way.

Silvertree and I were having a casual discussion. I was trying to get to know the woman that Silvertree was. We were waiting for a break in Sonia's classes. Sonia came out of her classroom and spotted me. Her face broke into a small grin as she saw Silvertree as well. I stood up as she came to me and immediately embraced me and kissed me. I felt a bit of heat from Silvertree. We had just effectively been married.

Sonia said that we would need to get new living quarters. She said that our building had some family residences up above the apartments and we could probably rent or buy one of those. It was a single residence that took up the entire floor of the building. The first four floors were apartments, the four upper floors were residences.