CEPHINE
A soft sound echoes across the courtyard. My dear holds our lantern out in front of us as we stroll about these distinguished gardens.
"Adler, did you hear that?" I ask while stepping back and listening for it again.
"Hear what, Cephine?"
His face hardens as the sound comes again.
"...oh," comes the moan but louder.
A glint forms in his dusty grey eyes. "One of my advisors must be playing with a street whore."
"Brommy was his name? Did he not leave with Greta and have yet to return to your temple?"
His jaw tenses. The lantern leaves his hand as he drops it completely and turns on his heels carrying his own internal flame.
In a rush, I pick the lantern up and run after him.
My heart thuds loudly in my ears. I run so hard until I meet his side. We remain hidden behind the bulk of a bush near the fountain.
I set the lantern down, watching my husband's friend straddling the little child trapped beneath him. Her tunic is only open, thankfully, across her chest.
She should be wearing a proper chest wrapping being a woman but she appears to be without one and perfectly fine with Brommy rubbing the salve over it. The little girl must not know it is only meant for her belly where such worms are known to live.
"Brommy...oh," Greta giggles loudly when his hands cup her chest to fondle the very things she should have covered. "It tickles. When are you going to be done rubbing it in?"
"I'm done now," the sly man tells her.
How dare he touch her in such a sneaky way. Not that she has much to show for now but being a child makes it more appalling for a man of his age...
My dear's fingers fidget as he folds his arms looking shaken by the disturbing scene. A moment later, he's walking right over to Brommy with his barbed whip coiled around his wrist.
"Adler?" Greta gasps while sitting up on the fountain's edge.
She tumbles off of it hearing a terrifying snarl resound from my dear. He yanks her up from the slate floor by the back of her tunic with his teeth and the fearsome rapid jerk of his head.
Brommy stands his ground as my husband stands up straight with the little girl. Greta must be still in fear for her body hangs limp as his jaw unclamps from the back of her tunic to hold her in arm.
"What?" Brommy draws out as if annoyed and not afraid. "She asked me if I could help her put it on. We've all had a lot of wine tonight...you are not thinking straight."
Adler watches him silently for a long moment. Greta peers at me from over his shoulder like a little baby oblivious to the danger stirring between the two grown men. My dear starts yelling. Greta's face twists up like an ugly raisin as she turns toward his head to address him.
I bite my lip watching the little girl yank his hair.
"It's none of your business if h-he wants to help me with my salve or not, Adler. Leave him alone and put me down...please."
"Greta, he is an adult."
"So am-" she begins to say but he muffles her voice by wrapping his tunic around her.
My breath catches, I step back quickly hearing her cry out when my dear hits the perverted advisor anyway with his whip.
"Brommy! Brommy...no! Stop it!"
Her piercing scream is ridiculous and just goes to show how coddled she is.
Adler sets down her little form, letting her run over to the war advisor. She's too young to understand what he was doing and how wrong it was.
Even so, it's scary how old her voice sounds, "You leave him alone!" she yells while blocking the bleeding man from my husband's path.
While she was sick, plenty occasions allowed me to see how hard my dear strikes slaves and unruly guards. He was not using all of his force and only sent the advisor off his feet rather than give him a real beating.
"Adler! Put me down!" she screams when he picks her up again. Her voice breaks into sobs, "You hurt him. He d-didn't do anything wrong," she whimpers while he pets her hair.
My husband watches Brommy stand up. He hands him Greta.
"Don't scare me like that again," he says softly down to her.
Brommy thinks Adler's words are for him.
"I won't, Adler. It was my fault. I wasn't thinking."
"I know you weren't," my dear cuts back. He rubs his chin speaking lighter, "Go now to the hospice. Make sure she gets to bed and understands why I reacted in such a way."
Greta's head pops up.
"I don't care why you hit him!" she spits back with utmost disrespect. Her little hand swats at him when he tries to hug her. "I'm never going to visit you again. You don't want to change. How could you hurt your only friend?"
"Adler!" I say in shock. Did he not raise her any better? "Do not let her talk to you like this."
My words end the child's tantrum. Her mouth shuts as she hides her head, embarrassed, in his son's chest.
"She means well, Cephine."
Brommy appears well off despite his bleeding ankle. He shakes hands with Adler as though no tension remains between them.
"I'll see you on rounds tomorrow then, Adler. Have a good rest of your day-"
"No! Don't touch me!"
Greta screams like a crazed child when Adler tries rubbing her back as a farewell.
He steps back looking puzzled as her head peeks out from Brommy's chest with a glare that sends goosebumps down my back.
"I hate you!" she cries out with puffy eyes.
My dear's shoulders sag as he tries to come up with an excuse, but he doesn't need one. What Brommy did was wrong! Why is he letting this little girl make him feel guilty?
What is wrong with the people here?
"Enough!" I declare while coming to my husband's aid. "Take her to the hospice. She is acting like a spoiled brat. My dear did not raise her as such. Be off, now," I command the war advisor.
The child's dark gaze shifts to me.
Blood shot and rimmed with tears. Her delicate eyebrows draw inward with unspoken anger.
"My limpnut!" Greta cries out seeing the filthy rodent crawl over my foot.
Promptly, I bend down picking its shrieking mass up by the tail. She can't get everything she wants. Otherwise, the child will grow up and be unable to take care of herself.
My husband watches me expectantly as the child reaches, and fails, to grab it from me. I pull it back, its mass of fur swinging behind me.
"You have been behaving very badly, Greta. Adler and I are going to keep the limpnut for a little bit. Brommy did something very wrong and it appears I am the only one not okay with it."
"Cephine-"
Ignoring Adler, I walk off with the shrieking rat in hand. He has the nerve to grab my shoulder.
"Give her it."
"No! I will not," I rebuke while brushing his arm off. "I don't play games with children. This is for the best. If you try and touch me like that again I'll tell Enoch his half-brother was feeling over his future wife."
"Brommy is loyal to me. His touch was innocent," he huffs while trying to snatch the rat. "I reacted out of instinct."
I step back.
"I hope you're right. You know that I am not wrong about her attitude though."
"Yes, Cephine. She got upset, but rightfully. Now, please give me the limpnut so I can give it to her."
"She has plenty of gifts from you."
He rubs my arm affectionately.
"The creature she likes most. I don't want her to be upset with me over it."
I scoff at his stern expression when I don't immediately bend to his charms.
"Then let her be mad at me," I decide.
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