Chapter 4: Reconsideration
*****
Here's another short chapter. Hope you ladies and gents are still enjoying this. I definitely still enjoy writing it!
Content Warning: Lesbian, MFF-threesome
Comments and criticisms welcome!
CCG
*****
This can't be good.
Mark thought as he approached the gates of the White Keep.
It was Wednesday. The past day and a half since he had last seen Amanda was a whirlwind of meetings and negotiations and paperwork. Mamet's House Norfald is definitely up to something. Almost a third of their ruling families were forcibly removed, while three of their top five generals were suddenly found to be plotting a coup, and executed. In addition, his agents within the other Mamet houses reported that Norfald representatives have been trying to drum up support for an unified...
something
. The only silver lining of this whole situation was that whatever that
something
is, didn't involve an army... yet. Before he had left to meet Amanda this morning, he had just signed off on more money to try to bribe some other Mametian official to figure out what this
something
actually is.
Mark thought that he could avoid all that headache by coming to see the elf girl but the situation in front of him made that seem less and less likely.
"No! I want it to be here!" Amanda yelled at Ellisa. "Just tell them!"
"That's outrageous, my lady," her guardian responded with as much courtesy as she could muster. "There isn't nearly enough time to plan for that. Even if you had decided this when you first came, it would still have been outrageous but at least there would've been time!"
Amanda was about to say something back but she caught the sight of Mark out of the corner of her eyes and promptly stopped herself. She only narrowed her eyes at Ellisa. "We'll talk about this later."
By the time Mark had walked up next to them, Amanda already had a smile on as she hugged him.
"Is everything alright?" He looked at her, then at Ellisa, who scowled at him.
"It's nothing," Amanda replied, pulling him in the direction of her home. "Don't worry about it."
They filled their walk with mindless chit chat, but on occasion when Mark looked around to check his surroundings (as he often does when he's with Andrew), he always noticed Amanda's two guardians staring at him: Ellisa with suspicion, and Linae with what could only be described as a simmering anger.
When they reached the mansion, Amanda ran upstairs to bathe, as usual. While normally he would place himself in the sitting room and read or converse with Ellisa or Linae, the signs he's been getting indicate that it may not a good idea today. So instead, he sat down in the kitchen hoping to strike up conversation with one of the maids.
"Mr. Raven," Celistra smiled a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. She was preparing to boil some hot water. "It's good to see you again."
"It's just Mark," he replied. "It's good to see you again as well, Celistra. How are-"
"Celistra." A voice behind him said. It was Ellisa.
Without a word or acknowledgement, the elf maid walked out, closing the doors behind her.
Mark turned towards her. "Ellisa," he said.
"Mr. Raven," said the elf. "Did you have something to do with this." It was an accusation.
"Did I have something to do with what?"
"Her decision. To stay here."
"What?" he frowned. "She told me she'll be here for a year. It's barely been five months. Isn't it a bit early for that kind of decision?"
Her expression visibly softened at his confusion. She sighed. "Yes, but before she came, she had planned on making a trip back to Luminare to see her family in about two month's time, at the end of July. Now she's decided to stay here instead."
"Hmm. She's never told me of such a trip," he shrugged.
"I can tell," she stated flatly. "Regardless of whether or not you had a direct hand in affecting my lady's decision, I must advise you this: For your own sake, and the sake of my lady, do not get too close to her. She is still young and immature, and I do not wish for her to make a mistake that she will regret later in life. Unlike you, we elves do not have the luxury of burying our mistakes with us every century or so."
And with that, she turned and left.
Mark stood there in stunned silence.
What the fuck?
He seethed. For just a moment, he could almost understand why some Mametian Houses hates elves so much.
For my own sake? Burying our mistakes every century? Well fuck you, and the high horse you rode in on, bitch!
He wanted to yell after her.
Clenching his fists, he strode outside into the back yard. Falalie was tending to a small flower patch but he didn't even acknowledge her greeting.
He sat on a stone bench and stared at a small fountain. Furious words and images bubbled through his thoughts.
Many minutes later, he finally felt calm enough to go inside again.
"Please forgive Ellisa for her behavior earlier."
Mark turned to look at the source of the voice. She had short brown hair, streaked with blonde and blue, hazel eyes, and surprisingly pale skin for someone whose job was to tend to the gardens. Falalie held out a porcelain up to him. "Tea?"
He looked at the cup with suspicion.
"It's not poisoned, I promise," she joked.
Mark accepted the cup but pointedly did not drink from it. "So you heard? I thought you were outside."
"I hear everything within the premise," she smiled.
They stared at each other for a long moment.
"Mr. Raven, despite Ellisa's hostility, which I truly apologize for, we will never harm you unless my lady wishes it."
"Do you wish it?"
She shook her head. "No. I realize that at her age, it is normal for her to want to experience... all kinds of things. My lady seems to trust you and we have deemed that you are trustworthy as well, in most ways."
He raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?"
"She is my master's youngest and only daughter. Understandably, she has been very sheltered her whole life. To make matters worse, while she didn't have any of what one might call 'best friends', she did have friends and acquaintances that she can talk to; but here in Rancer, she has nobody. My lady has been keeping herself busy, and does seem to be genuinely enjoying it but there are still moments when I can tell that she wishes for the company of others."
Mark shrugged. "What about you? And the other women in this household?"
Falalie laughed. "My lady understands that while we do provide her with some sort of companionship, our primary purpose here is to protect and observe her. There are doubtlessly some things that she wishes for someone to speak to that she does not want her father finding out about."
"So that someone is me?"
"Perhaps, if you wish it to be. I do not hold the majority opinion on this but I believe it's good for her to continue this relationship with you, if only in the short term, so as to satisfy her curiosity," she put up a hand to stop his question. "Now, I don't know what she has done with you but I can infer from certain things she does to, lets say, relieve stress, while bathing. I can almost guarantee that my suspicions are correct, though: she did come home with a different pair of underwear than the one she had on when she left on Monday."
He frowned at the implications. "Does she know of your suspicions? Do your colleagues?"
"No, I have not told her and I doubt I will in the future. It would embarrass her unnecessarily. Although if she really thought about it, she should realize that I know," she chuckled. "I'd just chalk that one up to her being young and inexperienced. As for my colleagues, of course I have not told them. Most would definitely disapprove, including Ellisa."
"Thanks," said Mark. He felt a small sense of relief but something was still missing. "Why are you telling me this, though?"
Falalie smiled, finally sitting down on the bench next to him. "Because I wanted you to know that I'm not your enemy. Well, in truth, despite Ellisa's harsh tone in the house, none of us are. But I want you to know that I do not disapprove of your relationship with my lady, and I'm only saying this with the best of intentions for you both: Please be gentle with her and when the time comes for you to part ways, let her down gently.
"Now, I don't know if she's just another fling for you, and even if she is I'm still not necessarily against it, but I'm just concerned about her. You are the first man she's been with, so this may mean much more to her than to you. And despite what she may wish, she will have to return to Mise after the year is up and she will not be able to see you afterwards."
"I don't plan on just tossing her after I've had my fun with her, if that's what you mean."
"Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that about you or your character," she apologized. Mark decided that she sounded sincere enough. "I'm just saying that the first relationship always leaves a lasting impression and in a century's time, I want her to be able to look back to this fondly. When the time comes, whether by yours or her choice, or by the limit of her stay here in Rancer, please be considerate of her feelings."
Mark took a long look at her, and nodded. "Don't worry, I'll let her down gently when the time comes."
"Thank you. You don't know how much this means to me."
Looking at the cup in his hand, Mark finally took a sip of the tea. It was perfect. He smiled.
By the time Amanda came down to find him again, he was in a much better mood. Ellisa argued briefly with Amanda regarding her daily activities but eventually relented. Amanda had obviously not told them of her plan to spend the day with him beforehand. Ellisa gave him an icy stare, which he shrugged off. Linae, on the other hand, seemed actively hostile.
As they turned the street corner, Amanda reached for Mark's arm.
"Wait."Mark spoke.
Amanda looked up at him, confused. "Hmm?"
"Keep walking. Don't look back. We're being followed."
"I'll just tell them to go back, then!" She said, but followed his orders and kept walking forward.
"No, that's not going to work. You already told them to stay the first time. This time won't make a difference."
"Then... what do we do?"
Mark offered her a smile. "Just keep up and leave that one to me."
---
It took them almost half an hour longer than normal to get to Jita.
"You should wear hats more often," said Amanda as she removed her straw hat, releasing her long tresses hidden beneath. She then removed a small hair clip, restoring her hair to their natural blonde color. "You look
fabulous
."
