“It’s from Karim.If you want privacy, I will go back to my book on the sofa.Whether you choose to drink the tea or pour it into the river drain over there, I will never know.And it is none of my business.Do eat all the food, though; it is not everyday that I cook spinach lasagna.”
He was up and halfway to the exit before I could realize he was leaving, inhuman speed and all.
“Tis!”
He stopped and looked back at me, his grinning self back.“No one calls me Tis, human.Except Karim, and only when he wantsme to kill something.And, lately, also when he wants me to be carried around by a gargoyle.So noTis.Tisvali will do just fine.”
I smiled back.“Got it.But the same goes forhuman.Call me Jasmine, please.”
“Fair enough,” he bowed his head, “Jasmine.Just don’t expect me to call youPrincessafter you get braid-linked to our Prince.”
“Gosh, no!”I laughed at the very idea of me having a title.
I was impressed that Karim had already told his friend the news.Or had Tisvali known all along, just like Deidre, that Karim and I would get together?
“I’ll leave you to your meal.”
“Tisvali, you still haven’t told me what this last tea is for?”
There he went again, trying to hide behind the free-falling locks of his green hair.“It’s from Karim.”
“Which means?Sorry, but you know we humans are so unknowing.”
“You’re going to make me spell it out for you, aren’t you?”He sighed.“You want Karim’s seed to take hold and bear fruit?You throw the tea away.You want your garden watered but nothing growing there as a result?You drink that tea within one day after all the watering has been done.”A deep exhale.“Please tell me I can go now?I need privacy myself after this.”
His reaction to the topic of contraception was funny, but I let him leave without a word.Not only because I didn’t want to embarrass him further, but also because I was too dumbfolded.At my own stupidity.
Apparently, when it came to Karim and me, I wasn’t just acting like someone inexperienced, blushing and being shy and all.I was also being completely careless with the consequences of my actions.I hadn’t once stopped to think about what happens when you have unprotected sex with an elf.
Karim, on the other hand, had considered the matter.Despite the Queen’s wishes, he was giving me a way out of the situation.Thefreedom to choose.
The choice of whether to have a child wasn’t mine alone, however.I believed Karim and I had to take that decision together the next time we made love.Then, if we chose, the seed would be planted knowingly–to grow in the right conditions and bloom at the right time.
As for the case at hand… “Bottoms up.”
Once I drank the morning-after tea, I downed a full glass of water to wash the leafy aftertaste.Then I called Tisvali over, because I didn’t want to have breakfast alone.He didn’t seem to mind keeping me company and was pleased to see his cooking skills were much appreciated.
I offered him half an egg, but he refused.I ate it with gusto, just like I did his vegan lasagna.
“Jesus, Jasmine.You want to get me mauled?If Karim comes home and hears the sounds coming from the food chamber, he’ll think the worst.”
I giggled and kept moaning around each mouthful.
When Karim eventually returned, he found me on the moss and Tisvali on the ground next to the bed, playing dirty.
In other words, we were playing cards with dirty tricks throughout the game.Not surprisingly, those cards had been stolen from trespassers.
“You are good at this,” Tisvali was saying.“If the Prince finds out, I won’t see you anytime soon.”
“Why?”
“Because, my flower,” sounded from the entrance, “you will be too busy playing cards with me.”
“Karim!”
How did he always appear out of nowhere, not a single sound made, every time someone was talking about him?Yet another of the Kingdom’s mysteries that I wanted to unravel.But right now I was more focused on the heated look he was giving me.Yes, I missed you,too.
“He calls himself the best player in all the kingdoms,” Deidre proclaimed as she peeked over Karim’s shoulder.“But that’s only because there are a handful of elves who know how to play this human game.”
