My men and I walked into the dining hall for lunch and found the acrobats setting up, several of them already interacting with the children, showing them how to do simple moves like tumbles and jumps. The children were delighted, even the older ones. They were all wearing pants and tunics, rolling about, giggling, and cheering for each other.
I hadn't realized what a fantastic idea this had been. As humans living in a small village, we occasionally had merchants come through, even those from other races who weren't above making some coin off humans. But we never had anything like this. This wasn't just a treat for the children, it was also a new experience for all the humans, including me.
The acrobats were mostly Varraen, with a few of the smaller Ladrin races such as Fox and Deer. Humans didn't have time to pursue such careers, and troupes like this would never bother entertaining a human community. We were too small to make them enough money . . . and we were human. But these particular acrobats didn't seem to mind performing for human children here, in the Wraith Lord Citadel. Maybe Taroc was right and things were changing. Or maybe Nex had paid them enough money that it didn't matter what race their audience was.
What did matter were the grins on the kids' faces. I smiled at them as we passed by on the way to the buffet. Their joy was infectious.
“Uncle Ember!” Sally called and raced away from the Varraen man who had been teaching her how to tumble.
“Hey!” I crouched to catch her. “Are you having fun?”
“Oh, yes! Uncle Liael is showing me how to be an acrobat!”
To Sally, everyone who wasn't a child was either an Aunty or an Uncle. It was her way of showing respect. I hoped her teacher understood and appreciated that.
“Really?” I looked over at Uncle Liael.
He had approached while we were talking. So, at first, all I got was an eyeful of sculpted thigh, encased in stretchy blue fabric that coated him like a second skin. I looked up, trying valiantly not to glance at the bulge between his legs. At least it was covered in a flap that extended from his tunic for modesty's sake. That modesty flap may have kept me from seeing the exact outline of the acrobat's package but it couldn't hide it entirely.
Not today, libido!
I stood up, took Sally's hand, and smiled at the acrobat. “Hello, Uncle Liael. I'm Uncle Ember.” I shook the man's hand.
Liael grinned brightly. “It's an honor to meet you,LordEmber.”
“Oh, wow.” I looked over at Rath. “Did you hear that, Rath? A Varraen who's honored to meet me.”
Ratharin stepped up beside me and put his arm around my waist. “I heard.” He met the acrobat's welcoming gaze with a hard stare.
“So maybe be nice to him instead of glaring like that.” I smacked Rath in the belly.
He didn't budge. Didn't even notice my smack. My hand, however, stung.
“Why are you mad, Uncle Rath-rin?” Sally couldn't get all the names right. She called Xaedren Uncle Xae-Xae.
Ratharin instantly softened his expression for her. “I'm not mad, sweetheart.”
“Yeah, his face is just like that,” Kel said as he hung over my shoulder. He stuck his hand out to the acrobat. “I'm Lord Keltyr, Ember's third lover. Don't mind Ratharin and Xaedren, they're lovers one and two, and they can be a bit overly protective.”
I sighed as Liael's eyes went wide.
“I'm sorry,” Liael said as he shook Kel's hand. “Did you just say you're histhirdlover?”
“It's a magic thing.” Keltyr winked at Liael. “Our boy here is special. Blessed by the Goddess.”
“Yes, I've heard. But . . .”
“You haven't heard about his magical . . . heart?” Kel grinned.
Liael cleared his throat. “Uh, it was lovely to meet all of you, but I was just about to show Sally how to jump up from a roll.”
“Go on, Sally.” I gave her a little push. “Uncle Liael is going to show you how to do more tricks and then you can show me what you learned later.”
“All right.” Sally squeezed my hand, then let go and followed Liael back to one of the mats they had on the floor for the children to tumble on.
Liael didn't look back.
“Well damn,” Xae said to Kel. “You're better at getting rid of admirers than we are.” He smacked Kel's back. “Nicely done.”
