Thank you everyone who is sticking around for this little (hah!) erotic jaunt. I know it's been a slow burn, but I just can't resist a bit of character building. This chapter contains the true beginning of lewd. I do promise, the rest is coming, and soon.
My publish goal is to get a chapter out at least every two weeks, faster if I have the free time and inspiration. Eventually more stories of different kinds will come.
For now though, it's all Gobbo, all the way.
--
Life felt different now. It was almost more real than real. As if the last two years had been lived in a gray fog.
The 'carriage' trundled along the road, bumpy but steady. Occasionally Thix would shade her eyes and peek out between the curtains at the countryside as it passed. For the first time since she had set out on her journey so long ago, she was able to marvel at the greenery of unfamiliar trees and the lush grassy hills.
The days traveling had been full of new experiences. Even that first morning after her rescue. She had awoken in a strange but comfortable bed at her own hour. Gerard had been nowhere to be seen but returned shortly after with his usual bright smile and breakfast consisting of eggs, more cheese, and delicious cured meats. Neither of them had brought up the conversation the night before, though it had remained on Thix's mind. Before their leaving he had returned with the red cloak and watched with ill-concealed amusement as she wrapped the excess length around her waist and legs before knotting the bottom.
The hood was a blessing, allowing her to hide her face and providing some comfortable shadow. She was still wrapped in it now. Caressing the unbelievably soft fabric between her fingers, examining the way the light and pattern of the cloth changed depending on the way her fingers ran along it. A pair of Gerard's oversized shoes lay on the floor of the carriage, he'd allowed her to borrow them to keep her feet clean.
Then there had been the lessons. Thix had asked to learn his tongue, Galtes. To Thix's happy surprise, despite the difference in sounds and pronunciation, Ruvic and Galtes were very much alike. Gerard did a good job of demonstrating the parallels. Trying to teach her the proper 'gramaire', the way the words were used, was something else. It quickly became clear that Thix had years of bad habits to break. Gerard was perhaps being polite in saying that she could make herself understood, but would simply make a better impression if she could speak both languages properly. Tenses were something that she had known existed, but between her father and the passing human traders she had picked it up from, her education in the Ruvic language was made of incomplete pieces.
Essentially, she was learning two languages at the same time. The only mercy was that they were pronounced rather differently, and so far she wasn't mixing up her words. It was exhausting, but not at all a bad way to pass the time. In-between hard to translate explanations of the languages themselves, he took breaks and taught her words for things in Galtes. The day before Gerard had knelt on the floor of the carriage in front of her, still at her eye level, and pointed down at the cloak she wore.
"Rouge. Like your eyes, yeux."
Thix pointed with her fingers to show she understood. She tried to copy the unbelievably smooth way he spoke, but it sounded so harsh and raspy coming from her throat. "Rouge. Yeux."
"This is a manteau. The cloth, fabrique, it is called velours."
She stumbled on the last word, Gerard applied a very slight rolling sound at the end that she just couldn't get and it started him laughing. She hadn't been able to stay mad for long. Today Gerard was riding outside with the driver. She felt bad about that. He had protested that it was no trouble to sit in the darkened space with her, but kept yawning and eventually excused himself. Humans needed light. They were people of the day. She knew that much, but he'd absolutely refused to let in the sunlight.
They were traveling to the city of Lumis, in the country of Galta. Gerard's home. They weren't from the border, but it would be further still to Lumis. The slavers had taken her further south than she'd even realized, to the very edge of Saksarland. Thix wished she could look a map to get her bearings, maybe she would ask Gerard about that. She did found herself a little excited, as she knew only a little about Galta. A kingdom that had weathered war after war but despite that had fared well in the aftermath. It was a fertile country, famed for wine and the richness of their crops. That was about it. She would also see a human city for the first time.
Thix remembered the first time she had journeyed along the mountain paths, and then down, deep down, to the city of Alark-Gho'Urkum. How the luminescent fungi and uncountable candles had made the halls beneath the earth look like the starlit sky. How there were so many of her people, all busy. Plying their trades, living their lives, sharing news among each-other with such intensity and swiftness that it had boggled her mind. It had been so different from the comfortable pace of home and it's hidden caverns.
A sudden knocking interrupted her thoughts. It was enough warning for Thix to shut her eyes and hide her face beneath the deep hood of her cloak. Even so, the brightness lit up the wooden floor of the carriage and she watched as Gerard's polished brown boots settled into place and the door was once again shut.
"We are making good time. We may stop, if you'd like to use your legs."
She pulled back her hood so she could look at him properly. Gerard seemed a bit more lively for having sat up and absorbed some daylight. It must have been comfortable out for him, he'd left the coat in the carriage and was wearing a yellow-brown shirt. Unlaced to show off his chest and the fine light hairs. Thix considered and shook her head.
"No. Thank you." A thought occurred and after deliberating she added. "Tonight, when it is dark, will you walk with me? I know I should not be alone."
"Of course, but you may not need me with you. No inn tonight. We will make camp."
That was both disappointing and a bit of a relief. No need to be stared at or treated with suspicion, but nothing could replace a small room and a soft bed. Even if the stuffing had been hay and a couple layers of wool. Was she getting so spoiled already? Maybe it had just felt so luxurious that she wanted more of it. It also meant they wouldn't be alone together.
It wasn't that Thix disliked their driver. Theo was courteous, and quiet. He clearly took his work of caring for the horses and tending the carriage seriously. Once, he had even offered her an apple from a tree they had passed. A very nice thing to do indeed! It was just...
Yes. She had become spoiled. Worse... she thought she may be experiencing a feeling she'd only heard about, and been warned of. Heart-hunger. It was a dangerous, bad thing. Thix didn't want to share Gerard. Even if it was only the three of them. She had come to treasure that time, at the end of the day when Gerard found them a room. When they could be alone. Just the two of them in that close, safe, space. Eating wonderful food. Talking. Laughing.
The other day it had stormed. The lightning had stung her ears, and as the cracks grew closer and louder Thix had clamped her hands over her sensitive ears and trembled with each rumble. The horrible stories of the Svallander's ancient god of vengeance came to mind.
When they finally had reached a town, Gerard lifted her in his arms against her protests and carried her down the cobbled street and up into the inn. The reaction from the patrons and host was a noisy one, and the two of them were rushed out and directed around to the back. It was the third time so far she'd wound up naked in front of him. This time he didn't wash her. Which she supposed was respectful. It certainly seemed to be in the spirit of respect. Thix knew she was unreasonably disappointed when he handed her the soap and went to fetch dry clothes.
He returned with an old and plain gown that was much too long for her. Then he'd started to undress. The shirt went first. Leaving his bare chest still damp from the rain. Thix had been far more interested than she suspected was normal. He was just so... big. Humans were. Of course. It was a wonder to watch him in motion. Then he began removing the upper layer of his bottoms. The rain had soaked right down to them too.
Thix's eyes had almost strained with the effort of taking all of him in, knowing the whole time that she should stop. That it was rude, especially after what he had done for her. The generosity and compassion. Yet, here she was. Ogling the shape of those long strong legs, the outline of his buttocks and where it curved into his spine. Watching him struggle out of the wet fabric while keeping a hold of the underclothes. The thinner fabric stuck to his thighs and...the...the shape of... oh... blessed Vorkah. That wasn't fair.
"Thix?"
Lost in her daydream. Thix was yanked firmly back to the present. "Mhmm?"
Her response was almost a squeak behind her closed lips. Nope. Nope. Please no. The momentary split-second memory of Gerard's manhood, tortuously obscured beneath his damp underclothes was still burned across her mind. She prayed silently to herself that he couldn't read her face, or tell what the flush of darkness on her ears and cheeks meant.
"You were far away." Damned metaphor. It took a moment. Thix tried to think of anything to say that would be appropriate. That conversation surfaced, making her heart beat more swiftly in her chest again. She wondered if maybe she should feel offended at what he had suggested. She didn't. Though, there was still too much she didn't understand. Thix had been avoiding thinking about it, but there was nowhere to hide from those words in this small space between them. Less so, with what was on her mind. At least now would be the time to talk of it, if they were going to make camp. While they had some privacy.
"Gerard. Why do, no... why did you... What we spoke of, that first night, teach me more. I want to understand."
