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SCOUTS-MANY-MARSHES
The fire roared in Hendraheim as we ate. I had spent a good hour making a quick dinner as both Alex and myself were anxious to find out why Alan was here. While my husband wanted to question the bard now, I knew we would get more valuable information if we waited.
Now in front of us were various wines, mostly Spiced Wine, and goat legs with vegetables from Goldenhills Plantation.
“It was ours to worry that there was not enough wine here to satisfy the bard Alan Wake.” I joked as I raised my goblet. “I thought that we would have to order more wine to fill the endless void he calls a stomach.”
“He barely drank two bottles.” Alex replied with a scoff.
“I’m sorry.” Alan said with a voice that was no longer hampered by fear. “Are you calling me a lightweight?”
“A ligh-“ I began.
“He means that he doesn’t need a lot of alcohol to get drunk.”
How many of these phrases did Jash now consider normal?
“It is good that not everyone can drink as much as Alex and Jash.” I teased. “Or else there wouldn’t be enough for the rest of us.”
“Jash could drink an entire liquor store.” Alex said and I could see a small smile threatening to break free. “I might be able to drink an aisle at most.”
Alex turned his head slightly to drink a long gulp from his goblet. In the brief moment his eyes weren’t in danger of looking at either myself or Alan, the bard looked at my husband with a look of pure longing. It seemed as if he was in danger of jumping over the table to kiss Alex.
The moment Alex put his goblet back down on the table, Alan’s face returned to normal. There was not a hint of the look he had given my husband. Just like all the other times tonight Alex had looked away and Alan let slip his true feelings for my husband.
Alex had never told me about this bard before. So he must have just been a friend that my love hadn’t deemed important. But Alex and I hadn’t known each other for long. The love and trust that was important to a marriage had just begun to grow.
It was entirely possible that Alan had broken Alex’s heart and the two were just now repairing the damage. After all I didn’t know my husband well enough to recognize how he would react to a broken heart. It was ours to assume but not know.
My mouth should have remained silent on the matter but I had to know.
“A man like you must have someone back on Earth.” I said with a grin.
“Alice.” Alan replied as if he was talking about the Hist.
“Husband?”
“Wife.”
The way he had said Alice was like the looks he had been giving Alex all night. My husband was now a part of my heart and I could see why Alan would want him. But no one was worth destroying something as sacred as a marriage.
“Why?” Alan teased as he drank from his goblet. “Do you want to meet her?”
“Depends.” I replied and traced the rim of my goblet with a single finger. “Maybe I would have Alice and you could have Alex. That way our husband won’t feel lonely.”
“No.” Alex said sternly. “I could never get that drunk.”
“Never?” I teased as I felt myself swimming into dangerous waters. “You never once had Alan in your bed?”
“Are you joking or do you really want to know?”
I lowered my head in apology and Alex refilled his goblet. With his harsh reply my husband had clearly shown that he and Alan were merely friends back on Earth. I could also tell by Alan’s hurt expression that he yearned to be more than friends with Alex.
Whether that be for a single night or a lifetime I did not yet know.
Alex’s harsh response hadn’t just told me the past between him and the bard, it showed me the future he wanted. He had feelings that went beyond mere friendship with the bard. I would need more time with my husband to understand if he wanted to add Alan to our marriage bed or if he just wanted a one night stand with the bard.
He was a moral man and would never willingly destroy a marriage for his own desires in any case.
A man like Alex would not meditate as Jash did. He would understand only the parts of himself he wanted to understand with no desire to look deeper. So it could be that he did not yet realize how he truly felt for the dryskin bard.
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