Song of Corruption Chapter 3 & 4

Elven curses echoed down the hallways of Castle Pelnun, the capital of Tordor. The curses for once ruined Erwon’s charm for those around him. He held James’ letter in disbelief, then read it another two times before tearing it in half and screaming in frustration. “How can they do this to me?! They know how much I hate sea travel!“ Erwon groaned in frustration as he slumped down into his chair.

Unfortunately he couldn’t ignore an order from the king, not if he wanted to live. He grumbled and stared at the door as several servants packed his essentials for the trip to Risv. If looks could have killed, his intense gaze would have set the door aflame.

It only took a few hours for the bard to be made ready to leave and the court made sure he was put on a ship out tonight, much against his protests, almost as if they couldn’t wait to be rid of him. As he thought about it on the ship, he swore they were probably throwing some sort of party now that he was gone.

The first few days on the ship he remained below deck, mostly in his cabin. He left only to eat or drink, though it did not stay down for long. By the end of the fourth day he was able to keep his stomach in order as long as he was below deck.

Most of the crew avoided him like he had the plague. It was considered bad luck to have a woman on a military ship, and Erwon certainly looked like one enough that most of them couldn’t tell that he wasn’t a woman. Needless to say, Erwon was bored without anyone to talk to, leaving him to play his harp for another four days.

When they finally docked the crew had had enough of the bard. He was the first one off the ship and his bags sent straight to the castle. He took his time walking through the port to get his land legs back again. He took a deep breath of the salty sea air and waved to a pair of passing sailor. One of the sailors whistled at him while the other made cat calls. Once again he was mistaken as a woman and he could have some fun with this.

Erwon strode over to the two sailors, swaying his hips as seductively as he could with a sweet smile on his face. The two sailors looked him over in an appraising fashion before one spoke up. “What’s a pretty young woman like you doin in a port like this?” The other grunted and shook his head. “She was probably called to keep a king company. You don’t see beautiful skin like that on anyone not in a harem.” The other nodded in agreement and rubbed his chin in thought. “She’s lacking any breasts to be appealing to a king though.”

Erwon giggled girlishly and rested his hand against his cheek. “Actually~ I’m here for a prince, but I’m sure he won’t mind if you two want to help me… warm up a bit” The sailors chuckled and looked at Erwon with lustful gazes. The first sailor put his hand on Erwon’s hip. “Sounds good to me.” The second shook his head and walked around to check out Erwon’s backside. “I don’t know, she’s kind of thin and flat. Not enough curves for my taste. Almost like a…”

Erwon giggled and spun around to give the first sailor a good look at him. “Like a… man?”  He asked in a sing-song and seductive voice.

“Yeah, like a man, a very feminine man.” The second sailor took a step back and narrowed his eyes at Erwon. “Which prince are you here for again?” The first sailor examined Erwon again before snorting in disgust. “I think this is a man!”

“Tordar’s prince of course!” Erwon continued to speak to the two in a sweet, sing-song voice to keep up the illusion of femininity. “So what if I’m a man? Doesn’t stop my prince. He’s such a sweet and gentle lover.” Erwon wrapped his hands around his shoulders, swaying back and forth lightly.

The two sailors made a disgusted face at Erwon and turned to run toward the ships. The half elf cackled as he watched them flee. That certainly made up for the few days of boredom. With a happy sigh he turned around and continued toward the castle.

When he arrived at the castle one of James’ servants escorted him up the stairs to his room. She left him to unpack his possessions. They would be stuck in Risv for another four months while the first expedition was sent out to establish several forts. He asked her where James was, but she only responded with a shrug and a shake of the head. He grunted and laid on the bed, bored and waiting for James to get done with whatever he was doing. At some point he fell asleep.

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During the days after the summit James began to spend his time with the soldiers, practicing his swordsmanship and exercising his horse, a Blonde Sorrel filly that his fiancé had given to him as a birthday gift two years ago. He loved the horse, but she was hardly fit for military service. He wouldn’t take her on the expedition, but rather was spending the morning that Erwon arrived walking her around the town before taking her to the docks to board her on a ship returning to Tordar. From there she would be taken back to the castle and placed in his fiancé’s care.

In exchange, a large armored rowan stallion was lead off the ship and handed over to the prince. The stallion had a horrible temperament, but it was supposedly one of his father’s best horses. As James tried to mount the horse reared up and nearly threw him off. He let go of the saddle and jumped off, grabbing the reigns with several other men to restrain the horse.

When the massive beast was finally restrained, the men had to keep hold of the horse while James grabbed the saddle and pulled himself up. The moment they let go the horse bolted off, galloping through the streets barely under control. He managed to maneuver the horse away from several pedestrians and construction materials. With several forceful tugs on the reigns, the rampaging animal was lead out of the town and into the woods, carrying the prince along for the ride.

For hours James struggled with the horse, fighting for control. It refused to submit, attempting to toss him off at every chance it had. James remained on the horse, finally tiring the horse out. By sundown he managed to get the horse into the stables. The stable hands had little trouble taking off the armor and stalling the horse.

He was covered in sweat, mud, leaves, and twigs as he returned to the castle. The guard stopped him at the door, saying he was not allowed in by the master of the castle until he took a bath. With all the baths inside he was forced to wash up in the cold spring rain water collected in several barrels. He was let in shivering and wrapped in a fleece. He immediately went to his room and dressed, his servant informing him of Erwon’s arrival.

During his time taming his new mount, several of the other heirs had discovered the sleeping half-elf and decided to have a bit of fun with him. When James peeked into the room to check on Erwon, the poor bard was painted up with women’s makeup. White powder covered the entirety of his face while red was smeared around his lips and the tip of his nose. He covered his mouth to stifle a giggle, instead snorting through his nose as he looked Erwon over.

He had no idea who had done it to the poor bard, but he wasn’t about to point it out to him. He would probably receive the blame and a stern punishment. He couldn’t really let other kids take the punishment either since Erwon would likely kill them. He got a rag from one of the servants and wet it with warmed water to clean his face. While tending to him, the two perpetrators returned with several vials of blue ink. The stopped at the door and stared at James with utter shock and dropped the vials as they turned and ran down the hall. James sprinted after them and grabbed them as they rounded the corner at the end of the hall. They squirmed and struggled to get out of his grasp, but he held their shoulders firmly as several people gathered in the hall to see what the commotion was. They were handed off to their parents for punishment and James returned to Erwon’s side.