Ekleipsis (Fantasy Romance - LGBT, manXman)

5.9.

Time passed, and the lassitude of their days started to get even to Ithildin. He had no disturbing visions, so they were safe for the moment. After months of fears and hardships, the relaxed atmosphere of the Tamani estate was enjoyable, and it was so nice to sit with a book by the fountain and chat about beauty and eternity to the accompaniment of birdsong. The only thing that bothered him, was what was happening between Alva and Bakhriyar.

It was only to be expected that their host would fall deeper and deeper in thrall of Lady Alanis with every passing day. Never in his life had he met a woman so at ease with herself, so witty, clever and unrestrained in word and deed. In villages, the Arislani women still hid their faces and did not leave the house unaccompanied. Even in the capital, the custom of wearing the veil still persisted; and it held not only for young women, but even for boys, as it was meant to shield beauty from the evil eye. Marriages were still quite often arranged, and many girls met their future husbands for the first time only at the wedding. It was not surprising that a woman as outstanding and independent as Lady Alanis had bewitched the Arislani.

Ithildin could judge neither Bakhriyar nor his own lover. It could not be even said that Alva was shamelessly flirting. Quite the contrary: he was being far more restrained than he would have been at any Trianess ball where Ithildin had seen him. And the Arislani's bed hardly appealed to him all that much. Still, everything about Alva – his speech, his manner, everything – simply oozed temptation, and he was completely unable to reign in his sex-appeal. On the other hand, for an uptight Arislani many Creedan customs would seem the height of depravity. Bakhriyar was far more liberal than many of his compatriots, but he, too, was inclined to take even Alva's most innocent gestures as attempts to seduce him.

The other difficulty was Alva's complete lack of self-restraint when it came to sleeping with anyone he liked. And he obviously liked Bakhriyar very much, even Kintaro saw that. They had corresponded for so long, and now they had a great deal to say to one another. And it's not as if Alva could talk poetry with anyone else, certainly not with Kintaro, or, even, Ithildin!

It was as if Alva became so easy in Lady Alanis's skin, he had no problem with how much he was concealing from his friend: his own name, his sex, and his two lovers.

The elf felt a little sad to see how much time those two spent together, and how Bakhryiar immersed himself more and more in this impossible infatuation. The elf pitied Bakhryiar and missed Lielle. They were alone only at night, and even then had to be wary, and could only steal a bit of pleasure and conversation. The moaning had to be restrained, the doors locked, stealth was the by-word, words were whispered, and any love was to be made with a view to preventing the bed from creaking.

Other things, much more mundane, were missing too. The elf realized, for example, that he missed his bow and arrows. He even worried some of the skill would be lost. For perfect aim, regular practice was imperative, and he had not taken up the bow since the memorable fight with the Enqins on the day of the eclipse.

Ithildin could not bring himself to leave behind his elven bow, that he had brought from Greyna Thialle, and took it along without the string, but had not risked even unwrapping it. Besides, if anyone saw the elf shoot, his inhuman speed and precision would have given him away.

Kintaro, Ithildin had noticed, in battle preferred to use his sword, throw knives or a short spear; still, the barbarian had taken his bow with him just in case. The bow of the steppe nomads was long and heavy, resembling the Creedan siege bows. The elf had nearly reached out for it when Kintaro was showing the bow to Bakhriyar. Ithildin was certain he'd be the only one, beside Kintaro, to be able to draw it. Neither Bakhriyar nor his Huntmaster managed to, even after much trying, and Alva did not try, his lady's guise not permitting.