Page 47 of Tristan
We’ve been at sea a full day and we are into another night. The sky is dark and the stars twinkling. I wonder what my family is doing on this night as I ride across the open ocean. I decided to take a walk while Corrik met with some of his guard, I see he’s sent Diekin to check up on me.
“Obviously. You’re here.”
“Very good. You’re catching on.”
“Is he worried I’ll fall off the side of the ship?”
“Perhaps. Or perhaps it’s those dangers I spoke of lurking about.”
“Okay, spill it Diekin. What’s following us?”
“I cannot tell you,” he says with mock sincerity. “Corrik will tan my pretty little hide.”
“You’ll deserve it—you shouldn’t have teased me about it.”
“All right, but only because I could use a good hiding—by thetime I see my mate again it will have been sixteen weeks,” he says and the large Elf smiles. “Not to mention,you’llowe me one.”
“Fine—out with it.”
“Other Elves;RogueElves.”
“Rogue Elves?”
“Yes, Rogue Elves,” he repeats as we walk further toward the bow. “Elves that were once of Mortouge but were banished long ago. Over time their numbers have grown—they have become a problem.”
“Is that who was discovered following us several weeks back?”
“Yes, but it’s a bigger problem than that—they shouldn’t have been able to follow us, Kathir. We’ve got protective magic weaved around us; we should be invisible to these Elves. That we are not means either that our protection magic has failed, or they have found a magic source stronger than ours.”
“So naturally, Corrik has become overprotective.”
“Aren’t you a sharp one?”
“Diekin.”
“Hey, I can make fun all I want—I’m going to be the one with the sore arse for telling you.”
“Youwantto be spanked.”
“No one everwantsto be spanked—not exactly anyway. We desire the resolution the spanking brings. To be spanked, well, I wish that part wasn’t necessary—except for in fun and when I’m a good boy.” He waggles his eyebrows at me.
“Why is it necessary?”
“That’s a tough one to explain and every time I try, words don’t seem to be enough. It’s a thing inside, the way I am wired. Ditira expects me to behave but understands that sometimes I need her help. Spanking seems to connect to that place inside of me and bring instant calm.”
“Corrik seems to think it’s better experienced.”
“It is hard to put words, I guess. For those of us who need it, we understand that we do. It always existed for us and in Mortouge we honor this part of us, this need, rather than analyze it too closely. Likehow some people enjoy the sky without worrying about where its beauty comes from. If you insist, I put words to it…” He thinks a moment. “It is a few things. It is repentance you can qualify when you feel you’ve done something that needs forgiving, and it is freedom. Oddly, it feels easier to surrender and let go when there are boundaries versus when there are not.”
The words alone relax me, and I can’t deny that I relate.
“Everyone lives within boundaries of some kind—what if Markaytia had no rules?”
“There would be utter chaos,” I say.
“Exactly. There must be rules—even for adults. People like you and I like prefer people like Corrik to make rules for us so we can relax into the freedom of following the rules. You must trust him to know your chaos and steer you from it.”
“How can I trust him when I don’t know him?”
