We kept our conversation light while she shuffled back and forth from the fridge, counters, and stove top. Elana was a hair taller than Zea, but the women had very similar body types. They were both slender with long legs and pert, tight butt cheeks. Elana’s skin was a bit tanner than Zea’s, and her dark hair was slightly curly and cut even on the front and back while Zea had long bangs that hung in front of her eyes. The women also moved differently. Zea was gangly and a bit clumsy in a way that I found cute and endearing. Elana moved with heavy footfalls and broad swings of her shoulders. She was used to walking like a man, and I could see her attempt to soften her footsteps with more gliding motions.
The first course she served me was a seaweed salad with grilled chicken and sesame seeds. It tasted great, and I complimented her until her face was a bright red.
“It is simple to make,” she said as she cleared our plates and poured more aquavit. “I’m hoping you like the more complicated courses just as much.”
The next plate was cut tomatoes covered with a soft cheese, salted ham, and oregano garnish. It was simple, delicious, and it went great with the aquavit. Elana seemed to enjoy her cooking, but it also seemed like she was starting to get a bit buzzed from the alcohol.
The main course was breaded chicken stuffed with more salted ham and cheese. There was a side of steamed green beans and yellow squash that was all drenched in thick butter, and my mouth began to water as she laid the plate out in front of me.
“This looks wonderful,” I said as I cut into the chicken. It tasted better than it looked, and I had to close my eyes as I chewed.
“I am happy that you are enjoying it, my lord.”
“I am,” I said as I cut another bite. “Thank you. Tell me more about your family. Do you have any siblings?”
“Yes,” Elana said, and then she talked for the next hour about her four younger sisters. They were all back in her home sector, and she admitted that she was soon going to ask me if she could bring them to Odin Geirr so that she could see them more often.
“Of course,” I said. “When we get back, I’ll have a ship sent for them.”
“And Leara too?” Elana asked.
“Sure,” I replied. “I got the feeling the two of you were friends.”
“Yes,” Elana answered. “We were actually friends before she married my father. That was how he met her. We were walking down the hallway of his castle one day talking, and then he stopped us and asked for her name. A few days later the woman he was married to before passed away from a mysterious sickness, and Leara was submitting to him.”
“Ahhh, fuck,” I sighed.
“Yes,” Elana said with a shrug.
“Are all the Nordar kings giant assholes?” I asked.
“They were until now,” she said as she gestured to me. “Aasne spoke of her desire to write your saga.”
“Yeah,” I said with a shrug. “I told her she could. She is happy about it.”
“You do not want the attention,” Elana stated.
“She made a good argument for it,” I replied with a shrug. “But all I want is to unite the clans and destroy the Draugr. A song won’t help me do that. Are you and Aasne friends? Last couple of times you have both spoken it seems you don’t get along.”
“We are fine I suppose,” Elana said with a shrug. “She is my real competition. I do not want to be your last wife, so I am looking for ways to win your favor.”
“You don’t need to do that,” I said. “This isn’t a competition.”
“My father didn’t care to have multiple wives,” Elana said after she carefully chewed a bite of her food. “When he got tired of one, he found a way to acquire a new one. I am not saying that you are anything at all like my father, but I’ve been ignored my entire life. How can I compete against the Prime Valkyrie, or Queen Sivaha, or Eve, or Zea, or Paula and Kasta? You have known them all much longer than me, and I feel awkward in my own flesh as a woman.”
“We will have to find something to share,” I said as I smiled at her. “Something that just you and I do together. Deal?”
“Deal,” she said quickly, and then her cheeks reddened again. “You are a good man, my lord. I am very grateful that I am here with you right now.”
“I’m glad you are here with me too.”
“Next course!” she shook her head and then cleared our plates before setting out bowls of mint sorbet. The icey treat helped clear my senses.
“Last course is just berries,” Elana said as she set out a bowl between us. “There is a dry brandy we can drink with them. If you would like.”
“Sure,” I said, and then she poured us small glasses as we picked over the bowl.
“Did you enjoy the meal?” she asked a few minutes later when we were almost done.
“I did,” I answered.
“I like to keep things simple,” Elana answered as she blushed again. “Fewer things for me to mess up.”
“You should be confident in your ability,” I replied. “It was delicious.”
“Thank you,” Elana bit her lip and then glanced down to my mouth. She took a deep breath as if she was going to ask me something, but then she closed her mouth and turned away to begin washing the dishes.
“What?” I asked as I touched her arm.
“Oh, uhhh. Nothing, my lord.”
“Come on,” I laughed. “Spit it out. No secrets.”
“Okay,” she sighed and then cleared her throat. She half turned to me, but her eyes stared at the counter and not my face. “If you do not wish to… for us to be together tonight, I’ll understand. It’s okay.”
“Why wouldn’t I--”
“You mentioned a while ago that you wanted our relationship to grow naturally,” she said. “I know you have other wives who you have been together with longer. I’m sure they know how to satisfy you better tonight. I am just honored that you allowed me to serve dinner with you. If you’d prefer, you can--”
“You are still a virgin?” I asked as I thought about what Aasne had admitted to me last night.
“Ahhh, yes,” Elana answered as she turned a deeper shade of red. “My father forbade--”
“It’s fine,” I said as I reached across the counter to take her hand. “I want to make you happy.”
“It is my duty to please you,” she said. “I am queen, but only because of my submission to you.”
“Do you really want me to just leave you here right now and go spend the night with one of my other wives?” I asked as I raised an eyebrow.
“I want you to be happy,” she said as she crossed her arms.
“Ahh, stop it.” I laughed. “Where is the fire in your eyes that I saw at the wedding? Where is the fierce girl that made the decision to marry me?”
“I’m here,” she laughed, and then she finally made eye contact with me.
“We might not live for very much longer--”
“Then you might prefer to spend your nights with someone else,” she interrupted me.
“Is that what you want?” I asked. “Be honest. Be true to me. I want you to be my wife and not my servant.”
“I… I…” she sighed. “I want you to take me to your bed and make me your wife. I want to know that you love me. I want to tell you that I love you. I want it to feel like we would have made the same decision had it not been political. I want the kind of love that people dream of, but very few ever have.”
Elana glanced away from me then and looked back to the dishes. She turned the water on and began to wash them, but I was already walking around the counter so that I could stand behind her.
Elana shivered when I wrapped my arms around her narrow hips, and she gasped when my lips pressed against her bare shoulder by her dress strap. She tried to turn around and face me, but I held her in place and softly kissed, licked, and bit her shoulders and neck until she was panting.
When I finally let her turn around her eyes were wild, and her skin was flushed. Our lips met with equal parts passion and aggression, and then I picked her up in my arms.
“The dishes--”
“They’ll still be there,” I said as I carried her out of the galley. It was just a few meters across the hallway to the captain’s suite. The room was a muted brown, and about a third of the size of my room on Persephone, but the bed was just as big, and Elana let out a sigh of pleasure when I lowered us both down on top of it.
“Tell me what to do, and I will do it,” she whispered in my ear as I kissed her neck and cheeks. “I will do anything for you.”
“Then take off your dress and lay back on the bed,” I whispered.