D'Sheyn
Zalen placed the book back on the shelf, took out the next one and turned to walk back to his chair. And almost bumped into D'Sheyn.
"You know, you really don't need to stand nearby all the time. I will call for you if I need something but for now I'm just going to read."
D'Sheyn curtsied. "Yes, Zalen. I don't mind waiting here."
Zalen sighed. It had already been three weeks since their arrival to this place. And the longer they'd been here, the more time D'Sheyn seemed to spend in his presence.
At least she had given up calling him Master which was a relief but afterwards she was still using the exact same tone when she called him Zalen.
And as he was spending almost every night with either one of his wives or with someone who had asked for the Kiss, she always asked to be allowed to watch. His wives often asked her to watch or to join in, while the new initiates often wanted privacy.
But why? He could of course sense when she wanted sex but she was often still there when she was fully satisfied.
Sindara's arrival cut off Zalen's train of thought.
"What is it, my love?"
Sindara turned to look at D'Sheyn, frowned and then turned towards Zalen again.
"I need to talk to you about something. In private."
"Sure."
"Can you wait here, D'Sheyn? I'll bring him back in a moment."
D'Sheyn nodded. "I'll wait for your return, Zalen."
Following Sindara they ended up in a nearby garden.
"I actually wanted to talk to you about D'Sheyn," Sindara began.
"Ah. What about her? I know she's been spending a lot of time with me lately. A lot more than her punishment would actually require. And I have no idea why."
Sindara gave him a level look.
"Haven't you noticed? That poor girl is head over heels in love with you!"
Zalen's jaw dropped. "Whuh? Really?"
"Yes. Really. And you can't keep going like this!"
"Ah. So you're saying I should -"
"Marry her! She truly wants to become part of this harem. Her month of service is ending soon and she's deadly afraid you're just going to cast her aside after that."
Well, that definitely wasn't the response Zalen had expected from Sindara.
"You do like her, don't you?"
"Well yes, but... Umm... Where I come from you don't just ask a woman to marry you unless you're sure you want to spend the rest of your life with her."
Sindara's lips tightened and she tilted her head.
"Which you didn't get to decide with us."
"Exactly. Well, now I know I love every one of you but I really don't want to ask her to marry me when I haven't even asked her on a date!"
"You're so sweet," Sindara said, kissing Zalen. "But you should do that then. Ask her out. We've already talked about her and none of us mind her joining the harem."
For a moment Zalen just stood there, trying to adjust to this unexpected turn of events.
"None of you would mind? Not even Leilah?"
"Not even her. I think she sees herself in D'Sheyn. And Sumi's been secretly giving D'Sheyn sex tips on how to pleasure you."
Zalen stood there for a while.
"Thank you. For telling me. I probably wouldn't have noticed this at all." Even Vivariel's gift only covered sexual attraction, not love.
"So are you going to..."
"I'll ask her on a date first. The rest depends on how well we truly get along once she's my girlfriend and not just a servant."
Sindara gave Zalen a peck on the cheek.
"Good. I'll go tell the others you'll be busy tonight."
Zalen walked back trying to gather his thoughts.
As he walked back in the small library, D'Sheyn quickly sat down on the chair.
Zalen walked up to her, sitting on the corner of the nearby table.
"D'Sheyn. Would you become my girlfriend?"
The blue-haired woman turned to look at Zalen, her eyes wide and her mouth slightly open.