Strange Bedfellows

Shara felt her heart get much lighter after apologizing, even though she hadn't gotten the apology out before he'd forgiven her. She was also getting very used to being called 'Katia' and the name was starting to grow on her.

The rest of the afternoon passed mostly in silence, but it was a comfortable kind of silence. She rode next to Kalus, and Lyra rode next to her for about a half hour before the ash blonde moved to ride on Kalus's other side. No one said much, but that seemed okay to her since she needed to think.

Kalus was a good man.

He was also the enemy.

She desperately wished that at least one of those statements wasn't true -- especially the second one -- but unfortunately they were both true. She wasn't sure what to do with that. Kalus had said several times before that he wished they had met under different circumstances so he could court her properly. That didn't sound nearly as bad as it once had.

They broke the march for camp just as the sun was starting to set, and when they did Kalus called for his herald.

"Spread the word." He said Kyselius. "The men are to sleep in their armor with weapons at hand tonight. I want one man from every squad awake and alert at his squad's tent for every watch of the night. Torches or a fire are required; I want anyone who reconnoiters our portion of the army to think half of us are awake and ready for a fight. Also, no drilling or alcohol tonight; I want the men as rested as possible and ready for action."

Kyselius gave Kalus a sharp salute, then rode off to perform his heralding duties.

"Why so cautious husband?" Lyra asked, and Shara was glad that she did because she was curious as well.

"The enemy..." He trailed off and looked at the princess, though obviously he didn't know that she was a princess. "Well, it's entirely possible that we might be ambushed during the night."

"Oh." Shara said, thinking about how odd it was to consider being attacked by her own people.

With Kalus and his men skipping their customary drilling to keep the men rested, Shara found herself sitting down to eat dinner much earlier than usual. As usual, Kalus made sure virtually everyone in his portion of the army had been fed before he sat down to eat with the grizzled veterans that formed the core of his command staff and war council.

She noticed Titus, the old man who had been instrumental in sparing her from the lash, and gave him a grateful nod of respect, which he returned.

"The men will sleep in armor tonight." Kalus announced once they were all served, himself last of all.

"Prudent." Titus nodded. "The few thousand enemy soldiers left could hardly challenge us in the field, but ambushes are another matter entirely."

From nearby, Shara heard the sounds of raucous laughter, some of which sounded quite drunk.

" Commander Marcellus clearly doesn't share your concern." Titus scowled as he looked in the direction of the raucous laughter.

"At least he's not the rear-guard." Kalus replied. "I'll be glad to be rid of this forest, when do the scouts say we shall pass through at our current pace?"

"Tomorrow at around noon." One of the other men replied. He looked thin, sinewy, and tough as nails. He had the look of a scout about him.

"Thank you Scoutmaster." Kalus said, then frowned. "Were it up to me, I would've double-timed it through the forest and then taken a day of rest once we'd seen the back of it."

Titus frowned. "There are some in our army that couldn't keep that pace."

The others chuckled, and Shara got the distinct impression that they were referring to their slightly overweight king. This was seemingly confirmed by the significant looks and chuckles the men shared.

"Commander." The scoutmaster said. "Might I suggest pulling several squads near the command tent as extra protection?"

"For what purpose?" Kalus asked. "We have enough sentries to alert of any possible attack."

"To prevent a determined charge from cutting off the head." The wiry scoutmaster replied. Kalus started shaking his head, but the other man plowed on. "Before you reject the request, please realize it is only partially for you." He glanced at Shara and Lyra. "Women have no place in a battle and I would prefer to ensure their safety."

Kalus hesitated a moment. "I would not feel right ordering my men to do so."

"You don't need to." The scoutmaster replied, then raised his voice. "Octavian, Pernilus, Asikan; approach."

From some distance away, three men wearing the helmet of a centurion approached, saluted respectfully, and then stood at attention.

"At ease." Titus said, then took another bite of his meal as the centurions relaxed a bit.

"These men have volunteered their centuries to guard the nucleus of the camp, including your wives." The scoutmaster continued. "Is anyone opposed?"

Not a single one of Kalus's council objected.

"Commander, my men jumped at the chance to guard you and your wives sir." One of the centurions said proudly. "They threatened to mutiny if I didn't make the offer."

There were chuckles around the campfire, and Shara got the feeling that she was missing something. It took her a moment to realize how harshly mutiny would be punished; surely the man was exaggerating.

Kalus set his plate down, stood up, and shook the man's hand. "Thank you Octavian." He then turned to the others and shook their hands as well.

"I'm happy to do it; I'd be dead twice if it wasn't for you sir." One of the other centurions said.

"At least then we'd be spared the sight of your ugly mug." The last centurion said with a grin.

Everyone laughed.

Titus stood up. "I charge you centurions: under no circumstances shall you leave these women unprotected tonight, save the order of Kalus or the king himself."

"Yes sir!" The centurions said in union, then gave a sharp salute as one.

"Dismissed." Titus said, then sat back down. The men gave a respectful nod towards the ladies and then turned smartly and left.

Kalus sat down, and he had a proud smile on his face. "They volunteered?"

The scoutmaster nodded. "As soon as Kyselius spread the orders for the evening, which they assumed were to protect against ambush."

Kalus looked at Shara and Lyra, a proud smile on his face. "Those are my men."

Shara almost couldn't believe it.

She could, but...

Wow.

They really loved him. She'd heard hints of that before, but there was no denying it now. In the background, she saw a few hundred men breaking camp to move closer; probably three hundred men since a centurion was the captain of 100 men. They were moving closer to guard him, plus her and Lyra for no other reason than they were his wives.

Wow.

"Thank you." Shara said to Kalus, and she meant it.

Lyra got a sly grin on her face. She set her empty plate down and walked -- no slinked -- towards him. She sat down sideways across his lap, and scooted closer until her hip was definitely touching his groin.

"Thank you husband." She purred, then kissed him in a manner that Shara would've never considered doing in public. She wasn't actually being inappropriate, but she was definitely on the edge of decorum.

"And I'll thank you properly later tonight." She 'whispered' loud enough for everyone else to hear.

Shara bristled slightly; that was over the line.

Way over the line.

Kalus clearly could tell too. His response wasn't exactly loud, but it wasn't whispered. "Not tonight Lyra; it's Katia's turn."

Lyra had the good sense to look a bit embarrassed.

They finished eating, though the conversation was mostly between the military men and concerned the affairs of the army. Lyra ate while sitting in his lap, though she refrained from doing anything scandalous and mostly just looked like a new bride enjoying closeness with her husband.

"We should retire soon." Kalus said to his wives after he had finished eating.

Shara nodded and downed her last bite, then stood up. Lyra hopped off his lap with slightly pink cheeks and didn't meet anyone's eye.

He led them into his tent and closed the flap behind them, then turned to Lyra and spoke softly, but firmly. "I appreciate how affectionate you are and wouldn't want you to change that, but that was too much in public."

"Yes husband." She nodded her head. "I'm sorry."

"Good, because I would hate to turn you down in the future." He replied kindly.

"Really?"

"Did our detour from the path earlier not make that clear?"

She smiled.

He turned to Katia. "I know that you aren't interested in coupling, but there's still King Tyso's threat to contend with."

"That Saidow Spawn!" Lyra hissed quietly enough that no one outside the tent could hear.

"My thoughts exactly." The princess-in-disguise nodded.

"Language." Kalus said with a significant looked at Lyra.

"Yes husband." She nodded. "I'll have to get used to that; Pa'pa never cared if I was a bit... coarse with my tongue."

"You have a wonderfully smooth tongue." Kalus replied evenly, though the corners of his mouth twitched up. "I'd prefer it stayed smooth and not coarse." His eyes twinkled slightly.

Lyra blushed. "Yes husband, I'll try."

"Now, I will be sleeping in my armor. You two will sleep in your dresses with your shoes on, and with a shawl, coat, or wrap near-to-hand in case we are ambushed."

They both nodded.

"However, right now..." He looked at Shara. "We have something we need to do."

Shara looked down, swallowed hard, and nodded slowly. "I..."

"I know." Kalus said softly. "The moment I can be sure you are with child, I shall trouble you no longer. But until then..."

Shara sniffed slightly, then nodded.

"Um." Lyra raised her hand. "Katia, when did you last bleed?"

"Perhaps two weeks ago? Somewhere around there; I have lost count."

"Pa'pa taught me to sense the mana in a horse and how to tell the difference between a mare and foal so I could tell when a mare is pregnant." The horsewoman continued. "I'm rubbish at any other magic, but I can do that if you both don't mind."

Kalus looked at Shara and raised his eyebrow.

She nodded.

He nodded at Lyra.

"May I touch your stomach?" The ash blonde asked the amber-haired girl, who nodded.

Lyra put her hand on Shara's stomach, closed her eyes, and concentrated for around thirty seconds. Then, a small smile began to spread across her face. She adjusted her hand and put the other hand over Shara's womb. Her smile grew much wider about a minute later.

The horsewoman stood up and beamed at the two of them. "Congratulations."

Shara held her breath as she looked at Kalus.

His face was impassive for several seconds, then a smile broke out that slowly became the widest she'd ever seen on him. He looked at her, she looked back at him. He reached out a hand and placed it gently over her womb as if he couldn't believe it.

Shara reached down and placed a hand over her womb also, right beside his and both of Lyra's.

She was pregnant?

Already?

She supposed the timing was right for it to be possible. Her mother's family was famous for having many children, plus she was young so quite fertile, but still... She was carrying a child? She was going to be a mother? Almost on reflex and without her conscious thought, the corners of her mouth started to pull upwards. However, the happy expression had just barely started to form on her face when it faltered.

It was also his child.

He was a good man, but also the enemy. She was literally carrying a baby from a commander of the army that was invading her land. A good commander -- and a good man -- but still... She slowly shook her head, but couldn't keep the smile entirely off her face either.

She would be a mother.

If only he wasn't the enemy.

Then another thought occurred to her. Shara was her father's only daughter and he had no sons. If her child was a boy, then she was carrying the heir to the throne; the heir to her country's throne. Even more strangely, the heir to her country's throne had been fathered by the man who was conquering it.