"You want me to tell Erika? About us? Now?"
"Now or next week, whenever you want. She's bound to find out sooner or later. We don't need to hide things from Erika. I trust that woman with my life, Lara."
That conversation kept playing again and again in Lara's head, she didn't realize she was already in front of Erika's office. She knocked and walked in after hearing "Come in".
"Something's been keeping you?" asked Erika as Lara settled in her chair.
"In fact, yes. Well..." Lara fidgeted in her seat. She deliberated briefly the best way to break the news, then decided to simply be direct and succinct. "It's about me and Tarok..."
When she had recounted everything that'd happened this morning, Lara saw Erika was visibly intrigued. The old secretary didn't drop her jaw in shock, but modestly intrigued.
"You knew, didn't you? That he had feelings for me? I remembered you asked me what I think Tarok's opinion of me was? You said I need to figure it out by myself," said Lara, feeling dumber and dumber as she spoke. Now it seemed so obvious.
Erika nodded. "I had my suspicion. That night when he pulled you onto his lap—right on my bed behind you—you didn't look scared like a girl being manhandled by her brute master. Instead, you looked embarrassed. Then, there's the fondling," Erika smirked as she reminisced while Lara grew redder, "Tarok isn't the type to care about subtleties. But he keeps appearances around me, cause I'm the only woman around him. And yet, I had never seen him
doting
so conspicuously on a girl like that before." The look that she gave Lara when she said "doting" make Lara wished she could somehow sink lower in the chair.
"It was hard to believe that a minotaur could love. But Tarok is not a typical minotaur, isn't he? He has a human side."
Lara wholeheartedly agreed. This was not supposed to happen. Minotaur did not love. And yet, Tarok was the living contradiction. Lara remembered fondly the way he touched her when she was in his arms, how passion flow through them when their lips touched, how pure the adoration shown in his eyes was when he looked at her. Her innocence prevented Lara from see the true meaning behind those acts before, but now that she had seen, how could she call those things anything else but manifestations of love. And the love she felt from him is entirely human.
"Lara?"
Lara jolted in her seat. "Yes, I'm here," she smoothed her dress and sat upright. "Sorry, I'm still trying to absorb everything. All of this just happened an hour ago."
Erika looked at her, then out of the window. When her eyes returned to Lara, she saw the old women's gaze grew more serious. "Lara, are you sure you want to stay with him? He set you free, and it's a big world out there. You're young, you're beautiful. You still have a life ahead of you. If you try, I'm sure you can find a more fitting match, one with social standing or wealth. Tarok is just a soldier."
"You're right. Being a Verea's faithful, I will have many chances to choose my partner. But of the twenty years that I've been alive, the days with him are when I feel happy the most. A duty of a Verea's priestess is to find a love that is true, and I believe with all my heart that Tarok's the one for me. I want to be with him. I love him, Erika."
If Erika had any more doubts about Lara's intention, the determination in the young girl's voice put them to rest. Erika reached forwards and held Lara's hand.
"Then I'm happy for you. I don't mean to be dismissive of Tarok. I said what I said, because I care about you. If you decide to stay, I'm happy too. I'm glad to have another woman around here. Gods, I've been among men for too long," sighed Erika as Lara beamed at her.
---***---
That day, all the slaves were freed and led by a group of soldiers to the nearest city to be released. There was confusion among the soldiers about this sudden change, but Tarok made his intention clear to all through a speech. In it, he announced from here on, there would be no more raiding and enslavement, and Tarok's band of mercenary would earn money through honest soldier work. There were some grumbles and murmurs among them, but overall, no one voiced any objection.
The muted reaction surprised Lara. Erika explained that slavery was not the way of life for these northern men. Tarok had only begun to own slaves a year ago after he went south, so these men were not accustomed to the practice yet. Therefore, after the speech, the men just shrugged, and life returned to the way it's always been.
Tarok and Lara spent the day separately. He continued with the fortification in preparation for winter while she served as Erika's right hand. As Lara and Erika were the only two women of the camp, they had dinner separately from the men. But as soon as supper was done, Tarok immediately went to pick Lara up from Erika's office and the couple headed to the bedroom. The first time that happened, he surprised both women when he showed up at the door after dusk and said he was waiting for Lara. As Lara bid the old woman goodnight, she couldn't help but flush when she noticed Erika's amused glances at the smitten minotaur, who was too busy eyeing his lover to notice.
Lara of course voiced her protest later in bed. She didn't want Tarok to busy himself with such trivial errand, and she could come by herself to the bedroom. But when Tarok murmured that he "want to see you as soon as I can", the indignation she felt for him disappeared and Lara melted by his side. She edged closer to Tarok and rewarded him with a kiss on the cheek. That drew a satisfied sigh from him.
As perfect as her time with Tarok was, Lara had been thinking about one aspect of their relationship lately, one which would no doubt come up in the future.
The topic of lovemaking had been absent in their relationship. And both knew why.
Lara wondered if Tarok had been thinking about it like she did. He had to be. Tarok had such a strong desire for his mate, and being with him had helped Lara found her too.
However, Lara was still bound by her vow with Verea. There's only one possibility that she could keep her vow and move forward in her relationship with Tarok. The fact was, in these times of uncertainty, Lara was ready to settle, no matter how unconventional a match Tarok was.
---***---
One week later.
"Your wound has healed almost entirely," gasped Lara.
"I told you. Minotaur heals quickly."
Lara was holding the old bandage as she examined Tarok's wound, or what's left of it. It was hard to believe that a wound from a deep-plunging knife would heal in a fortnight. The gaping gash had closed and left behind a formidable scar. Lara put the old bandage aside and wrapped the new one around Tarok's torso. Usually, one of Tarok's medic would treat his wound, but because it was not so serious anymore, he preferred Lara to do it. "Remind me of our night in the forest" was his explanation to Lara. She gladly agreed.
As soon as she had finished tying the knot of the bandage, Lara found his arms snaked slowly around her waist. She giggled when he playfully pinched her skin.
"Does my patient need anything else?" said Lara.
"Well, my neck's quite stiff." Tarok flashed a toothy grin.
Lara smiled knowingly. She knelt in front of him and massaged Tarok's thick corded neck. Having spent so much time with him, she'd learned what made him happy. Apparently, his neck was one of the more sensitive part of his body, and he
loved
having her little dainty hands touching it.
Lara hugged his neck for leverage and give him a peck on the throat. She heard a gasp from him. However, it was Lara turned to be surprised when he lifted her up and dug his muzzle into her hair and sniffed deeply. For a second, Lara scrambled to hold on to Tarok and her hands flailed on the nape of Tarok's neck. Suddenly, his body tensed up, and he exclaimed, seemingly out of pain, and let go of Lara.
"What's wrong Tarok?" asked Lara after seeing the contortion of pain on his face. He rubbed the area under the back of his neck that Lara had hold on to.
"I'm fine. You just found my sweet spot."
"Your sweet spot? What's that?"
"It's the tiny area under the back of my neck that if you touch it, my whole body freezes and I'm unable to move. Calm down Lara, it didn't hurt much, it's only painful when you pressed it hard. You merely brush it."
Lara stared at Tarok blankly. "I have never heard of anyone having a sweet spot before."
"Me neither, but that because I didn't go around asking. It was something I was born with. My mother found out about it when she was scratching my head one day," Tarok chuckled as he reminisced, "it was when I was small enough to lie on her lap and get head scratches. It was the most effective way mother knew to make me stop running around the house so much."
"You like getting head rub, do you?"
"Who doesn't?" answered Tarok, and as if to prove his point, he cupped his giant hand behind Lara's head and ruffled her hair. Lara giggled and pushed his hand away.
"Keep this a secret, will you?" asked Tarok.
"I will."
It was hard to believe, that a big strong warrior like Tarok could be subdued simply by pressing a point on the back of his neck. Then, a mischievous smile appeared on her face, and she chirped, "Does this mean even a girl like me can defeat you in a wrestling match?"
Tarok didn't share Lara's humor however. His face hardened into a serious frown.
"Lara. This is a matter of life and death to me. You are the only one in this world who knows about my sweet spot. If anybody else does, especially my enemy, I could be in grave danger. Do you understand?"
Lara's smile withered. She nodded quickly. "Yes, of course. I promised to never tell another soul."
Tarok's face relaxed after Lara's assurance. "Thank you. Besides, if we were standing up, I doubt you could reach my neck anyway," he said and grinned.
With that joke, the tension in the room dissipated. Lara laughed.
"You have never told this to anyone, not even Erika?"
