Perilous Jaunt Chapter 24
Chapter 24
Peter
I woke up to the sounds of birds chirping and discovered that my face was buried into a soft pillow. Gently, I rubbed face against it, tickling my nose as I did so. Why are pillows so soft when you wake up?
_ _ "Good morning to you too, Peter," a voice chuckled above me.
Esme? I pulled my face up and, instead of opening my eyes to a nice fluffy pillow, I saw a soft pink nipple.
Suddenly, I felt afraid to look up and, when I finally did, I found Esme looking down at me with a smile. "Sleep well?" she asked, teasingly.
I let out a scream and rolled off to the left of Esme, who began to laugh. A bed sheet was over both of us, so only our chests and everything above them could be seen. "Why are you naked?"
Esme got on her side to face me, forcing me to hold my hand slightly over my eyes so I couldn't see her boobs. "It's not like you're dressed for church, either,"
The moment she said that, I noticed that the fabric of the bed sheets were touching parts of me that they shouldn't have. I quickly grabbed the sheet over me and pulled it up to my neck, holding the material so tightly that it felt like my fingers would break.
"Oh, my god!" I gasped.
"God had nothing to do with it," Esme said. "That was all us. Well, us and the wine,"
"The wine!" I screamed. "Shit! I shouldn't have drank so much. I get really frisky when I'm drunk,"
"Me too," Esme added.
"But," I said, regret washing over me, "you didn't just...go down on me? I don't remember doing anything else,"
"I did blow you for a little bit," Esme said. "You didn't last that long, but I was kind of expecting that, since you were a virgin,"
"Then, what?" I asked, fearing that I may have been the one who initiated whatever else we did.
"Well," Esme said, "I asked you to return the favor, but you got all nervous about it, so you finished the rest of the wine by yourself to calm down,"
I nearly jumped out from under the sheet in surprise. Actually, I probably would have if I weren't naked. "I finished the second flagon all by myself?"
Esme nodded. "Yep. Chugged the whole thing. After that, you put your mouth straight to work,"
"And we...?" I asked, unable to speak about the conclusion to Esme's story that I already could guess.
"Oh, yeah!" Esme laughed. "Twice,"
"Twice?" I said. "That doesn't sound like me,"
"What do you mean?" the kangaroo wondered, her ears twitching.
I shrugged and looked up at the ceiling. "Usually when I'm...taking care of myself...I just do it once and fall asleep,"
"Peter," Esme said and shook her head, smiling to show just how amused she was. "Playing with yourself is a lot different than fucking. It's really exciting to do the things you fantasize about with somebody else, so you usually have more energy,"
"That makes sense," I admitted, after a moment of consideration. "Wait. Why are we talking about this?"
"Fucking?"
"No. Well, yeah. But why don't I feel embarrassed talking about this stuff with you?"
"Wow," Esme said, as she shifted onto her back. "You really weren't lying about being a virgin. Basically, I've found, after you get your brains fucked out by somebody, there's this veil that disappears. You don't have to play mind games anymore because you've already done it with that person. Does that make sense?"
"Yeah," I answered and grew quiet, afraid to ask the question on my mind.
"What's wrong?" Esme asked me, her voice growing soft and comforting.
"Can I...get dressed?" I asked, fearing that my eagerness to get out of the bed might offend her.
Surprisingly, Esme gave a casual shrug and didn't seem to mind. "Knock yourself out,"
I was about to crawl out of the bed, but then I remembered that I was naked. "Could you not look?" I pleaded to Esme, hoping she wouldn't take it the wrong way.
The kangaroo gave me a puzzled look. "You do know I've seen you naked already, right?"
"Yeah," I tried to explain my embarrassment, "but we were drunk and now...it's kind of awkward,"
A moment and a frustrated sigh later, Esme shut her eye. "Fine. Get dressed,"
"Thanks," I said and hopped out from under the sheets.
I scampered over towards the table and began looking for my clothes. Although, the only things on the table were the empty glasses and flagons. Then, my left paw stepped on something and I looked down to see my trousers. I picked them up and hung them over my right arm before looking for the rest of my things.
My tunic and parka were sprawled out on the back of the chair I had been sitting in the night before, yet I didn't see my belt or loincloth anywhere nearby. I picked up my wrinkled tunic and parka before discovering that my belt was underneath them with my sword's sheath still tied to the leather.
After putting my tunic, parka and belt over my arm, I looked under the table to see if my loincloth was on the ground. It wasn't.
"Hey, Esme," I said, as I rose from looking underneath the table.
"You dressed?" Esme asked, impatiently.
"No," I answered, as I turned towards the bed. "Do you know where my loincloth is? I can't find it,"
Esme chuckled. "You don't remember?"
"Remember what?"
"You gave it to me,"
"What do you mean, I gave it to you?"
"You said," Esme recalled with a smile, "'I want you to have it, Esme. Keep it to remember me',"
"That doesn't sound like me," I said, suspecting that maybe she was just playing some kind of sick joke.
"If you don't believe me, go look by my clothes," she said, pointing to the right side of the room. "I put it in the pocket of my trousers,"
I went to where she was pointing and found the pile of her clothes on the ground, shoved up against the wall. I approached the mangled mess of clothes and pulled her trousers out from under her tunic and belt, which all were covered with her scent. Then, I reached into a pocket and pulled out my loincloth, which had been crumbled up into a ball.
"Holy shit," I gasped.
"Told you," Esme said behind me, still lying in the bed.
I turned around to glare at her, but then began to unfold my loincloth when I saw that she still had her eye closed. "I just can't believe I gave it away,"
"That's what bothers you?" Esme asked. "You chugged almost an entire flagon of wine. For an otter, that's insane! I wouldn't even believe it if I hadn't seen it myself,"
I trotted over to the table and threw my parka, tunic, trousers and belt next to the empty wine glasses. After that, I picked up my legs, one by one, placing them in the leg holes of my loincloth, and pulled my loincloth up. Once the waistband wrapped around my tummy, I dragged my trousers off the table and began to put them on as well.
"Esme?"
"Yeah, Peter?"
"Could we not tell Dante about this?" I begged, picking up my belt and tying it around my trousers.
"Are you ashamed?"
"A little bit," I said, as I buckled my belt. "But I don't want him to know because you're his best friend. I wouldn't want him to get upset or freak out,"
"Peter," Esme said, "Dante's not gonna care. It's not like he's never had a one-night stand before. Remember that whore he was with back in Ulpis' Kingdom?"
The memory of the slaughtered boy, only a year or two younger than me, flashed through my mind. I remembered his body being painted with red cuts that oozed out blood and revealed his insides. It took all of my willpower not to shudder.
"I know," I said, picking up my tunic and sliding my head through the opening. "But, what if he does get mad? I mean, I'm supposed to be his prisoner and I just slept with his friend. You don't even think he'd be even a little pissed off?"
"No," she answered. "Not really. We were both really drunk. It's totally understandable,"
Finally, after putting on my parka, I was fully dressed and turned back to face the bed. "Okay, Esme, You can look now,"
Esme opened her eye and sat up in the bed. "Wow. You clean up nicely,"
"Gee, thanks,"
Esme then turned to the right and dangled her legs off the side of the bed, only to step out onto the ground and stand up, every inch of her body becoming visible in the sunlight that poured in from the balcony.
"Uh," I said, trying to think of something to say. "I need to go pee,"
I then walked into the privy and waited for Esme to get dressed.
"Sure you do," Esme laughed, as I left her alone.
After going into the privy and staring at the chamber pot for a moment, I realized that I actually did have to pee, really badly, too. I quickly began to loosen belt. Damn wine.
_ _ "Sure you have to piss?" Esme called to me from the other room. "I don't hear any drops,"
I couldn't tell Esme that I had left her to change because I was embarrassed. She probably would have laughed. I'm not going to give her the satisfaction. My belt came loose and I pulled down the front of my trousers and loincloth. I smiled as the first drops began to fall in the chamber pot. "It takes me a second to start after I wake up,"
Esme's laughter could clearly be heard from the next room. "I know what you mean,"
There was no more talking while I peed, which I was grateful for. After pulling up my trousers and loincloth, I re-did my belt before walking into the bedroom, hoping that Esme was dressed. Thankfully, she was.
Esme sat at the table in my chair from the night before. Her right leg was bent and her boot was set on the edge of the table, her fingers tying the laces. "Welcome back,"
"Thanks,"
"I found your boots," Esme announced and motioned towards the bed with her head.
I glanced over and, at the end of the bed, saw my boots standing next to the pile of Dante's new clothes. After snatching my boots up, I sat down in the chair across from Esme and began to put them on, keeping my paws under the table at all times.
"Where were they?" I asked, sliding the first boot on and beginning to tie the laces.
Esme finished tying the laces of her boot and left it on the table as she leaned back in her chair. "In the bed,"
"Really?" I asked, as the knot I had tried to tie collapsed in my fingers.
"Uh-huh,"
I began to re-tie the knot, making every pull on the lace tight and sharp. "How did that happen?"
The kangaroo glanced at me over the tip of her boot. "Who knows? The sex was really good, so I wasn't really thinking about my boots,"
Finally, I finished tying my boot and slid on the second one. "I was that good?"
"You were pretty good...for a virgin,"
"And a non-virgin?"
Esme shrugged. "If you weren't a virgin, I'd say you were just all right. Good with your mouth, though. Who'd have thought a talker like you could be such a good pussy eater?"
"I guess there's nothing wrong with being average then, when you put it like that,"
"Nope," Esme agreed. "Say, I've been meaning to ask, how did you get that sword?"
My second boot was finally tied and I sat up in my chair after setting my leg down. I then touched the freezing handle of my sword. "This?"
Esme's ears twitched and she gave me a mocking look. "You see another sword here?"
Repressing a chuckle while I released my sword, I answered her. "I got it from one of the Talth that attacked us,"
The kangaroo whistled. "How'd you manage that?"
"Pushed him down and took his sword," I said. "Then, I stabbed him with it and ran back to help you guys,"
"Damn,"
"Yeah," I said, still hardly able to believe it myself. "When I got back, I killed one of the guys fighting Dante and he took care of the other,"
Esme was silent and stared at my sword, as if she were trying to picture me actually using it to stab somebody.
"Do you think he'll take it from me?" I asked her, breaking the silence.
Esme snapped out of her thought and looked up at me. "What?"
"Dante," I told her. "I'm his prisoner. Don't you think he'd take the sword away from me?"
Esme's one eye blinked and she looked over my shoulder to think. Then, she looked back at me. "No. After what happened yesterday, I think Dante would like you to have a sword, just in case. He might only want you to use it if you can't run, but I don't think he'll mind,"
A little piece of joy began to sprout inside me. "Really?"
"Course," Esme nodded. "And, if he doesn't, he'll have to deal with me,"
My ears sank behind my head in surprise. Does she really mean that? "You'd do that for me?"
"Hell yeah!" she said. "It's the least I can do. After all, you did save Dante when you came back, so he completely owes you,"
I looked down at my lap and felt my cheeks starting to burn. "I couldn't just leave you guys,"
"Like I said the other night," Esme reminded me, "you've changed. You don't act like I'm the biggest bitch in all of Alpis and you talk to me like I'm a person. The Peter I met outside of Tynas would have left us to die in the snow. But, here we all are, together and alive, all because you saved Dante, the same guy who's taking you back to your father,"
"Still, you guys aren't bad, like I thought you were. You've actually taught me a lot, unlike the stupid tutors my father got for me,"
"Speaking of Lord Small-Prick Gannish, what will you do when we get you to him?"
I laughed at the nickname for my father, which I knew she hadn't thought about for very long, not that it mattered. "I think I'll..."
Wait. What would I do once I got back to Lowpive? I definitely couldn't run away again. My father would probably have a whole army of knights watching me day and night. I guessed that I could have waited him out. After five or six months, my father would probably have started to trust me again and have fewer guards watching me. Yet, I had no desire to stay in Lowpive that long.
"Peter?" Esme interrupted my thoughts.
"Sorry," I sighed. "I haven't really thought much about it. I... I don't know what I'll do. I could run away away in a few months, once my dad has less knights watching me. But...that's such a long time to wait,"
Esme tried her best to comfort me. "Well, whatever you do, I'm sure Dante would let you travel with us once you get away,"
"What?" I gasped, feeling my heart nearly stop.
"I'm sure he wouldn't mind," Esme said. "He likes you, Peter. Not in the sense that he wants to fuck you or anything, but he likes having you around. Look at how he talks to you. If he hated you, would he have spent all that time last night trying to explain why he likes tits?"
I took a moment to consider what she was saying, then spoke. "Makes sense,"
"Of course it does!" Esme said. "We'll wait for you to get away from your dad. We've got a couple friends in down south we can stay with until you come find us. Besides, we need a place to lay low for a while, until the Talth give up their search,"
I had to admit, it sounded very nice. Traveling with Dante and Esme had been better than I had expected, so I wouldn't have minded doing it for a little longer. Esme was the funniest drinking buddy I ever had and Dante was always fun to have debates with. I could even be myself around them. They not only accepted me, but also kept acting like themselves, regardless of who or what I was. There were no "sir's" or any of that other formal bullshit I hated so much. We were all just ourselves. Honestly, traveling with the two of them was everything I wanted when I was growing up. Well, the stabbing and the fighting were the only parts I didn't like very much. But I wasn't complaining.
"Sounds good to me," I said.
Esme smiled with pride. "Bitchin',"
A knock came from the door.
Esme and I then turned our heads to stare at the door, quiet and unsure of how to respond. Slowly, I slid my hand down to my side and gripped the handle of my sword.
"Are you two awake?" a voice came through the wood of the door, Dante's voice.
"Yeah," Esme shouted, as I released my sword. "Come on in,"
The doorknob turned and clicked. Then, the door swung open to reveal Dante standing in the hallway. The colors of his eyes appeared to be almost faded from exhaustion.
"So, when are we leaving?" Esme asked the wolf.
Dante shut the door behind him and plopped himself down on the end of the bed, just beside the pile of his new clothes. "Santel said the knights escorting us will fetch us in half an hour. They need to gather provisions and prepare their horses,"
"Horses?" I asked.
Dante smiled at my enthusiasm. "Yes. We'll be riding until we get to the bottom of the mountains. That shouldn't take more than two days at most. Wait. I almost forgot. Did the servants deliver our new clothes?"
"Yeah," I answered. "They're right next to you."
After glancing down beside himself at the end of the bed, Dante noticed his new clothes.
"Oh," he said. "How did I not see those?"
Dante then picked up his clothes and set them neatly on his lap, not daring to unfold them.
Out of nowhere, the emotion behind Dante's eyes seemed to change. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but, whatever it was, he seemed to feel very strongly about it.
"I have news," Dante said.
"The queen's pregnant and you gotta marry her?" Esme guessed, smiling.
"Yeah," Dante snorted. "King Dante. It kind of has a ring to it,"
"What's the news?" I asked, curious to hear what he had to share.
Dante's eyes focused on me, their gaze hot as fire. "Capres killed Lant,"
I tried my best not to smile. It was the hardest thing I ever had to do. Good.
_ _ Esme sat up in her seat at the news. "What?"
Dante nodded, wearily. "He's got all of Lant's men now and is set on starting another war with the South, too. Santel told me he's up in Leler right now, trying to get King Danil to agree to fight with him. He also sent Santel a message, telling her that he'll be here in six months to ask her to join him,"
"Makes sense," Esme said. "Danil has almost as many ships as Gannish does,"
"Shit," I cursed. "First the Talth give us trouble and now Capres is on the move?"
"It seems that way," Dante said. "And he's even sent letters to all the Northern kings about how we killed three of his men,"
"He won't catch up to us," Esme said. "Most of the Southern Kingdoms are small, so in six months we'll already have been to Lowpive. We'll be long gone by the time he gets his army all the way up here,"
"That may be true," Dante said, "but, if Capres is declaring war on the South, I'm sure people will quickly start pledging allegiance to him, even the commoners. That might mean more trouble for us,"
"We'll make it," I promised, trying to lift the wolf's spirits. "We just need to be careful,"
"Yeah," Dante said. "I hope you're right,"