For the first time in her life, Max gambled by playing dice. She mixed in with the crowds to watch a street performance, tried beer that had a musty odor and tasted a pie which had a beef-tasting filling. When her stomach was filled with these exotic peasant foods, Max was egged by Agnes to participate in a javelin toss.
Agnes threw a javelin to demonstrate as she explained nicely to Max. “You have to hold the back part of the javelin to toss far. Hold it here and angle it properly for the right projectile before you release.”
Max stumbled onto the platform and swallowed, Riftan was watching her from a distance with his arms folded. She hoped that if she performed well with the javelin, he would trust her ability and worry less about her. Max threw the javelin with a determined look on her face, and yet, instead of reaching the flag, the javelin bounced off the floor in less than five cubits* (1.5 meters) from her feet. Her face turned hot. Even the twelve-year-old boy who played before her had done better.
“Miss, you need to aim your pole upward!” a scraggly-bearded spectator laughed. He handed her the javelin again.
Max was still embarrassed. She wanted to run away from the platform, but knew that if she fled, the crowd would only laugh harder. She closed her eyes and threw the javelin again. This time, it sailed in a high arc and passed by the second flag finely. Max looked back to get Riftan’s attention, but her excitement quickly left her.
Two women in flamboyant, typical Romani clothes were writhing their bodies around Riftan and Knight Karon in a curious way. As one of the two Romani moved closer to Riftan, Max felt her insides boil. She went down from the game platform and rushed to his side in a cold fury.
“Ri-Riftan!” she yelled.
He had an annoyed look on his face from garnering the strangers’ attention and he was still standing with his arms folded, but he was now looking heavenward above everyone’s heads. At Max’s call, four pairs of eyes met hers at once. Although she was briefly intimidated, she soon wedged herself between Riftan and the Romanis. She gave a strict look at the women.
“Wh-why are you ap-approaching my husband?”
“Omo, omo! Did husband and wife go together to the festival?”
The two Romanis clapped their hands and laughed without fear, they had a strong smell of alcohol about them. Max frowned and stepped back. The women began circling her slowly, grinning playfully, like cats preying on a fish.
“I envy you. To have such a handsome man as your husband”, one said. “Hmmm, can you share? Just lend him to us for a little bit”,added the other.
Their impudence made Max blush. She had been taught that all ladies had to be modest, so she was baffled at how those strange women could get drunk in public and approach a married man like that.
The devilish prostitutes then tried to catch the dragonslayer’s attention, the same one who could not usually be sidetracked. Max clung to Riftan’s arm.
“No, I can’t share him!”
“Oh, don’t be like that, let us borrow him for a little while.”
“A-absolutely not. Not even for a little bit!” Max cried, trying to catch Riftan’s eye. She wanted him to be on her side.
Riftan, who had been still as a rock, moved his eyes in a frenzy and passed a hand roughly over the side of his face. His neck, which was usually a crisp copper color from being sunburned, was now turning red.
“Er, yeah”, he muttered, looking away from everyone. He struggled to find something else to say. “She says… you can’t borrow me.”
It was such an odd statement that Max stared at him in disbelief. Suddenly, someone laughed out of nowhere.
“Huhuhu!” Agnes laughed nonsensically. “No one’s going to believe this. That the Mahgo could say something this stupid…”
The princess, who had pursued Max, grabbed her sides and kept laughing loudly. Through her blurry tears, she made eye contact with the drunk Romanis.
“Huhg! I wanted to enjoy a good man, but it looks like this one has two women”, one of them said, breaking eye contact with Agnes. She shrugged and coolly stepped back, as if the game wasn’t fun anymore.
“There’s nothing we can do, sister. Let’s go over there and enjoy some more drinks”, the other said.
The Romanis sighed from discontent and waved their arms before turning away. “It was nice to meet you all”, they chimed. “If any of you men change your mind and want to have some fun, we’re staying at the Reddin Inn.” They left smoothly with their bums moving, as if they were cats wagging their tails in the wind.
Max squinted at their retreating backs. How dare these women try to seduce a married man so impudently?
Agnes, who still somehow exuded the cocky demeanor of a princess while doubled over laughing, approached Max. Her shoulders were still hunched as she tried to catch her breath.
“It’s not uncommon for women like that to approach Riftan. Strong men are popular these days.”
Agnes wiped the tears from her eyes and pulled Riftan’s hood over his head. “You’re the one who needs to cover your face, not me or your wife. You’ve made Maximilian jealous, Riftan.”
“What the hell do you mean?” Riftan shouted and turned to look at Max. “I was telling them to shove off, but they were more stubborn than I thought.” Max returned his look, doubting him. “It’s true, I was telling them to leave!”
His expression seemed to be half-embarrassed and half-joyful. She raised her eyebrows, studying his face. When she saw the corner of Riftan’s mouth lift upward, she grew angry and pulled on Agnes’ arm.
“W-we should just enjoy this f-festival. And Riftan, you c-can do whatever you want.”
Before he could reply, she rushed off with the princess. Agnes giggled before following in-stride.
“That’s a good idea, Maximilian. Let’s have fun, just the two of us.”
The women ran like the wind, leaving Riftan and Sir Karon to dwell on their humiliation. They headed to the green field where music was playing.
Young women adorned with the traditional Uigru fabrics tied around their waists were dancing on the plush, green hill. Without missing a beat, Agnes took Max’s hand to join in.
“We’re dancing too!”
Max fell in and was swept away by the other women who danced around her. They spun around and around, hand-in-hand; Agnes, peasants, and noblewoman alike. The dance consisted more of jumping than your typical waltz, but the moves were fun and natural to dance to. All the ladies seemed to dance from pure joy to the sound of the music. Without much thought, Max followed the group along the hill to a field.
The melody began to become grow more fast-paced and slightly unrefined, unlike the soft, elegant music present at Croix Castle. The lively, traditional beating of the drums, the soft echoes of the lute, and the whistling sound of the pipes blended to create a lovely melody. It sounded like thick reeds blowing in the woods. The ladies’ footwork began to speed in time to the music, as the notes echoed in the sky.
Max felt the soft yet rough melody go through her body and felt joy from dancing for the first time in her life. The women laughed when the tambourine began to play. Even the bystanders started to tap their feet strongly in time to the beat. Someone began to sing nicely along to the lute:
And so, the knight picked up the broken body
As the spirit flew away
The oak tree spirit that he loved
Only he remained alone on the hill
The wind shaking the gentle branches of the oak tree
Beside him
Darling, when the snow melts
And the season changes
New leaves will sprout from my body
And I will sing a song for you
Ah, the wind is my voice
That I hope will relay to you
It was a song strangely familiar to Max. Perhaps because it was about the story she had heard before, about the legendary Sir Uigru and the dryad who loved him.
The maidens with the traditional fabrics around their waists sang along to the sad lyrics. It was a stark contrast to the playful melody the instruments continued to play. It all sounded so odd together, that Max began to laugh out loud until her body shook and she felt dizzy. She had never remembered laughing so hard like that.
Her heart strummed quickly to the drumbeat, and her blood seemed to flow through her veins more quickly throughout her body, all the way to her fingertips. She felt free. Had it always been this pleasant to stand under the sun and move freely just for the fun of it?
“Maxi.” Someone grabbed her arm.
She looked up only to see Riftan with his hood over his forehead. He was staring at her with burning eyes and Max suddenly felt aroused to see his desire showing on his taut face. He led her out of the crowd while Agnes, who was still dancing with the other maidens and enjoying the festival activities, did not even look their way.
Max began to breathe raggedly as she kept up with Riftan. The music and voices of the festival participants were fading behind them. He held her by the waist and looked around them urgently, as if trying to find a seclusive spot. She felt his enthusiasm vibrating, as he leaned her body against hers. Max began to heat up, suddenly thinking of his touch or a kiss. This was all a new experience for her. Even her slight anger towards him seemed to fuel her passion.
“Ri-Riftan…”
“Here.” He pulled her into a densely covered area and kissed her roughly, as if he could not hold back anymore. His hot breath swept over Max’s lips as he pushed his tongue in.
It wasn’t enough. Max began to desire him more, as if she were drinking him in, but only tasting salt water. Riftan groaned as she reciprocated his lust and pushed her against a tree. She wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned her back against the rough bark. Their moist lips overlapped again, and his hot, soft tongue began to eagerly explore her mouth.
Max groaned and laid her hand by Riftan’s collarbone, feeling his pulse from the neck. His soft tongue, which was the only soft part of the man, continued to pursue hers, as if searching to taste all of her sensitive parts. Max was feeling dizzy from her inability to breathe.
“Ri-Riftan…” she said again.
Her lungs were swelling up as if desperate to explode. He pulled her up by her thighs and Max felt his touch over her thin dress. She shuddered as her legs wrapped against his hard body.
It was hard to believe they were acting like that in public while close by, the festival was still going on.
Have I lost it? Max caressed Riftan’s chest and shoulders, then grabbed his clothes and pulled him closer.
Riftan reacted like a hungry dog, dribbling kisses along her neck. He pushed her dress slightly upward and stuck his hand underneath her clothes. His hot palm and callused fingers felt rough against the sensitive areas of Max’s breasts.
She sighed, thrilled by his warm touch, and rubbed her forehead against his shoulder. Riftan pushed his hardness against her stomach as he kept massaging her breasts. A warm sensation began to spread through Max’s body, as if a flame was burning in her stomach.
She spread her legs further when she felt the familiar ache to accept him and desperately tugged at his robes, rubbing herself to him, as giving him permission. Then Riftan grew intense, as if he demanded to feel more skin, and his body seemed to shake from excitement as he lifted the hem of her dress.
At that moment, a loud roar emitted in the sky.
Note – Nymeria: Okay first of all, Riftan that “you can’t borrow me” sounded SO stupid, I was dying from laughing. Second, a very steamy scene after a long time!