On Trackless Seas

Chapter 06
***

A little over two weeks into negotiations and things were going well, if slowly. In the end, Nia had opted to bring Dravis along as well, to throw the weight of the Popess and the church in with her own political clout. So far, it was working, but not as quickly as I had hoped.

 

Every nation wanted to make a spectacle of the whole thing. Public announcements of the fact that their gods were real, flesh and blood beings descended to the world to save them in their darkest hour. Speeches about how the time of the Great Pilgrimage had come and how the population could best prepare for it.

 

Sure, a lot of it was helpful, necessary even… but every last one of them wanted us to either give those speeches ourselves, or at least be present when they were given. A lot of it was an excuse to put me on display, I knew. Especially when having me there showing them things via hologram projected above the crowd was super effective in convincing people. It helped even more to have Alice bring satellite drones down and have them rebroadcast everything across every town and village in every kingdom we visited simultaneously.

 

Still, it was tedious and felt like it was taking too long. Most of these people could have made do with the information we provided them and use of the drones for an hour.

 

Instead, they each wanted to take two or three days between digesting the information, speeches, and religious celebrations. Apparently even my over-engineered body had limits because I was starting to develop a headache every time some idiot royal or noble opened their mouth.

 

Small hands found my shoulders and neck, before squeezing with just the right amount of pressure to draw an involuntary groan from me. Looking up from where I sat on my bed (made by reconfiguring my smart matter long coat into a structure more like a cot) lost in thought, I glanced over my shoulder and found the dark haired and horned form of Dravis standing behind me, barefoot atop my bed.

 

“When did you get in, Visa?” I asked, annoyed that I had missed the door opening.

 

“Not long.” I could hear the smile in her voice as she spoke. She shifted and the (proportionately) large softness of her chest pressed into the back of my neck as she began running her fingers through my hair, nails scratching away at my scalp in a way that caused my eyes to close and sent a shiver down my spine.

 

“Nia is still in talks with the king. You can guess what he wants.”

 

“The usual,” I grunted. As if being seen standing side by side with one of their gods wasn’t enough, after everything was said and done and we were prepared to leave, half of these people wanted assurances that they—not their people, them specifically—would be granted favor when resettlement commenced. Most of it boiled down to ‘being kept in the manner to which they had become accustomed.’ In other words, they knew they were losing their palaces, castles, mansions, and most of their physical property and wealth and wanted some assurances that some level of comfort would be restored to them on whatever new planet was found for them.

 

So far, only one of them had opted to go to bat for their citizens and request aid in construction for building a new city. That one, the (naturally!) purple haired, glasses wearing elf type queen of the kingdom directly bordering Erulona to the east, I actually liked. It helped that she and Nia got along great. Apparently, they were cousins and had spent a lot of time together as children.

 

Things went so smoothly there that I think that’s why I’ve been so frustrated with every other country we’ve visited. I came to expect the same level of professionalism from them as we had received from Erupatea (or Tea, and I was beginning to see a trend among royals of including ‘Eru’ in their names somewhere). Tea simply set the bar so high that only Nia herself could compete.

 

“Kind of surprised you’re done so early,” I remarked.

 

Normally, Visa spent just as long with her people, mostly trying to convince them that no, I didn’t need a retinue of thirty young, fresh Eru Wives to tag along with us. And that no, I really didn’t want to take my pick of the available Wives to keep me company at night. And no, that it wasn’t because they weren’t good enough to please me or suit my tastes. Also, no, I didn’t prefer the company of male Eru.

 

I swear to God, the dominant religion of the Eru came off as the most prudish religion I’d ever heard of when it came to their own people—the clergy, that is—but once they realized ‘god’ was real it was like the floodgates had opened and all the repressed desires came out at once.

 

Humming thoughtfully, Visa pressed down a little harder into my scalp. At the same time, she shifted a bit and planted her knee in my back and began to wiggle it around, which, while alright, didn’t have the kind of pressure behind it to really do anything.

 

This was not the first time she had gotten physical. After Nia’s almost obsessive hand holding and the blonde constantly riding in front while Visa was stuck on the back of the speeder, Visa had started simply asserting herself without asking. If I took off my boots at night, she was there on her knees to rub my feet. If I sat down somewhere, she sat beside me and pressed her large chest against my arm. And so on. I wasn’t blind or stupid, and while I was still figuring her out, I didn’t dislike the attention enough to ask her to stop.

 

…Okay, look, that little woman is superbly skilled with those tiny little hands and fingers and they work absolute magic any time she applies them. I’d never even had a foot rub before Visa ambushed me with one, but I’d be an idiot to turn her down now that I had.

 

“I tried a new strategy for dealing with them today.”

 

Her answer pulled me from my drowsy thoughts. “Hm?”

 

The scratching at my head stopped as I felt her lean in. Those small, full lips brushed against my ear as her warm breath trickled over my flesh. “I told them there was no need. That you had already claimed me as your lover and I was seeing to all of your needs myself. As a dutiful and loyal Wife should.”

 

Pulling back, she resumed scratching. “This would be easier if you lie down.”

 

I took the hint and shifted around before lying on my stomach. It was not to hide the evidence that her words and voice had gone straight to my dick, I just really didn’t see the point in turning down getting a world class massage if she was offering.

 

“Fufufu,” she chuckled as she climbed up into the middle of my back and began applying elbows and knees in earnest.

 

Yes, an actual, honest to God, ‘fufufu.’ Apparently, it’s not just an anime thing.

 

“It seems your resistance to my charm is weakening. Soon, your resolve will fail entirely and you will be all mine, Lord husband.”

 

“Mhmm,” I hummed noncommittally. Managing to get a few brain cells to rub together long enough to form a thought outside of appreciating the full body massage (her full body, not mine) I was getting, I asked, “How did you get into this whole ‘church’ thing?”

 

The woman above me was silent for a few moments. Long enough that I decided it may be a touchy subject. “Or not. You could tell me how you and Nia met. I’m trying to get to know you better outside of the ‘Popess’ thing. Throw me a bone here, Visa.”

 

Clearing her throat, she said, “The answer to both questions is one and the same. Nia was a very precocious child. Adventurous and outgoing. So much so that she routinely snuck out of the palace to explore the city. We met on one such outing.”

 

Her ministrations slowed as she spoke, her voice growing quieter. “I was a street urchin. A beggar and a thief. My parents died when I was very young—I honestly don’t remember why. I slept under awnings when I could and ate whatever I could find or steal. When I first met Nia, I hated her. She wore commoner clothes but she smelled rich. Spoke like a rich girl, too.”

 

Pausing, both her story and her work, Visa’s voice was unsure as she asked, “Does it not disgust you, knowing I used to eat out of the garbage? Heh.” Her chuckle was self-depreciating as she quietly added, “These hands that dug through the trash for scraps dare defile a god. I should cut them off for the transgression.”

 

Visa yelped when I sat up, causing her to nearly fall off the bed and onto the floor. “So you are—”

 

She went silent when I grabbed her and pulled the much smaller woman into my lap, sitting sideways. “W-what are you doing?”

 

“What’s it look like?” I asked, wrapping my arms around her and planting my chin on the top of her head.

 

“O-oh. I… I see.” Little fingers dug into my shirt and she planted her face against my chest. Visa’s voice came out a bit muffled as she resumed her tale.

 

“I attacked her when she approached me to ask why I was digging through a garbage can. I pushed Nia down into the mud and slapped her. We fought. I didn’t see her again for a while.” Visa swallowed thickly. “So far, I imagine everything you’ve seen of our people has been nice. Peaceful. Polite. We must appear as children to you.”

 

“Not really. Just smaller people.” I almost made a joke about hobbits but I wasn’t enough of an ass to make light of her story.

 

Visa nodded against my chest. “Even though the Eru are mostly peaceful, there is still crime. Cruelty. I… Was cornered by part of the local criminal element. They wanted me to go to work for them in a brothel. I refused. So they beat me and decided to ‘sample the goods’ on the spot for the trouble before they dragged me in anyway.

 

“Nia happened by. This time, she had a guard with her—my fault, I suppose. I met her eyes when she saw what was happening just inside a little nook between buildings. It was strange. She recognized me but I didn’t see any calculation, any sort of desire for revenge. Just concern. She said something and then her guard beat them soundly. They were hanged in the square the following weekend.”

 

Visa’s hands unclenched from my shirt and slowly worked their way around my ribs, at least as far as she could reach. “She took me in. Like a pet. I thought it would have hurt, but I suppose I had no pride left at that point. Nia had her tutors teach me how to read and write. I learned quickly and was soon sharing her classes. I grew to love her as a friend and decided she must be a gift sent from the gods. I wanted to help her as she had helped me. I promised myself that I would find a way.

 

“Then, one day, the pope died. News spread quickly, especially within the palace. It was all anyone could talk about. How the pope had died and the country was in mourning. That without his leadership and guidance, the emperor was lost. That was when I knew what I would do.”

 

Looking up at me for a moment, Visa smiled. “I left my friend and took my vows the very next day. For the next five full years, I studied in every waking hour when I wasn’t occupied with other duties. I achieved a position within the church after my official education and worked my way up from there over the next twenty or so full years. Until eventually, the Popess retired and I managed to claim the position.”

 

Looking down into her young looking face, I frowned as something stood out. “Five ‘full years’ of study and about twenty after that of working for the church, plus however long you were on the street. How long do Eru live, typically?”

 

Visa hummed as an amused smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. “Oh, about six hundred full years, give or take. Don’t worry, Nia and I are both still well within our prime. Barely adults, practically.”

 

The math on that was simple. A roughly twelve hundred Earth year lifespan. Guesstimating each of them around ten when they met, they would be in their mid-thirties by Eru standards, mid-sixties in Earth years, and if taking their expected life span into account… About 2.5 percent through it. Physically mature, but equivalent to around three Earth years old in terms of time lived as a percentage of life expectancy.

 

Long lived races were bullshit.

 

‘How do you measure someone with no end to their life expectancy?’

 

That was a very good question. And I figured that’s why Alice asked it. Telling me, in a roundabout way, that it didn’t matter in the end when you were staring down the barrel of eternity. That helped explain her, just a bit. Even if she wasn’t that old herself, she was still looking at functional immortality, and the idea of being alone for it terrified her. Enough that she had set out to find someone she felt would be a good match to spend the rest of her days with and, when she found that person, didn’t hesitate to scoop them up and whisk them away to perceived safety—because the old trope of someone dying after finding the person you love, or are at least interested in, is based on reality.

 

Visa drew my attention back to her. “It really doesn’t bother you? I won’t give you another chance to turn me down, you know.”

 

I rolled my eyes. “No, it doesn’t. And those two things are completely unrelated. Just because your past doesn’t bother me doesn’t mean I can’t turn you down.”

 

“Yes it does, Lord husband. You have accepted me. All of me. Unreservedly. I am yours without reservation, now and forever. Whether you acknowledge it today or ten years from now. Eventually, I will wear you down.”

 

“If you say so.” Picking her up, I gently set her on the ground and laid back down. ”Weren’t you in the middle of something?”

 

“Oh, yes! Thank you for reminding me,” she chirped before climbing back up and going right back to working over my back.

 

“Think I’ll take a nap,” I murmured, drifting off as Visa worked her magic.

***

Eruzonia opened the door to Kyle’s room and slipped inside. Over the time they had spent traveling to other kingdoms to spread the word, she and Visa had mutually agreed that it was the best place to meet and speak privately at the end the day and spend some time with each other, outside of work-related duties.

 

She was unsurprised to find the captain napping in his bed. After the initial luster wore off, Kyle was thoroughly bored with anything to do with Eru politics. Honestly, that was good, as far as Nia was concerned. It meant that she got a chance to show off how useful she could be in taking care of things he would rather not deal with personally, making her a valuable asset worth keeping around in the future.

 

He had described the ‘cryosleep’ her people would be entering to them and she wanted no part of it. Certainly, for some it would be nice to close their eyes and go to sleep, only to wake with a new home waiting for them. Not for Nia. The moment he spoke of searching the stars upon his ship, she knew that’s where she wanted to be—and she would do anything to ensure her place at his side. It had only solidified the daydream she’d had in the bath into a solid plan of action.

 

What she found today however was a bit different. Kyle laying on his side in the bed made of his coat, with his head laid out in Visa’s lap.

 

 

Nia opened her mouth to make a biting teasing comment, but a closer look at her friend’s face caused her to shut it with a click. There was a look there she had never seen before.

 

No, that wasn’t right. She had seen that look before, many times over the years. Just never on that face.

 

It was the look her mother frequently had when Nia and her brother Erude were young. Or around their father, especially more now that her parents had passed down the throne and settled into retirement. It was lo—

 

 

Visa looked up from where she was running her fingers softly through Kyle’s hair. The look was swiftly replaced by one of teasing amusement. “It seems I’m ahead, Nia.”

 

“It’s not a race, Visa.”

 

“It isn’t?” Her friend asked, smile turning a bit malicious. “Then how am I winning?”

 

Nia’s eye twitched. “I should have left you at home,” was her surly response.

 

“You know you couldn’t do this without me.”

 

Visa had her there, sadly. Things were going about as smoothly as they possibly could, but that was only thanks to the two of them working together.

 

“Don’t worry,” Visa drew Nia’s attention away from where it had drifted back to her friend’s hand in Kyle’s hair. “I’m not trying to usurp your position. I wouldn’t have anyone else as the representative for all Eru to God. I will settle for the position of wife.”

 

“‘Wife’ or wife?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Nia wasn’t sure whether to be annoyed at her friend’s presumption that she would allow it, or annoyed that Visa had seen through her and figured out that it was her plan all along.

 

“When will you break the news to the final member of our little triumvirate?”

 

Nia winced. That was a really good question. Inumi would have to be informed. If she even wanted the role.

 

“Soon. I’ll have a talk with her when we stop in Erulona again.”