Preparing for the Ball

Marcus woke up feeling refreshed, he was in his own bed, in his own house. The feeling that gave him couldn't be described. Just to have a space all to yourself makes one feel content. Sif was laying on top of him, although he had made her her own space in his room, she always found her way on top of him in the middle of the night. He didn't really mind, she was still small enough to not take up too much space, but he had noticed that she had been getting bigger.

Today was the day for Marcus and Clair to go to the ball. She had rented a horse and carriage to take them to Baron Estebon's manor, he was the city lord. Clair had told him that the carriage would arrive about an hour before dusk, so he had the whole day to do whatever. It had been two weeks since his interview with Lord Bishore. He was offered the job, so he subsequently took it. They would leave one week from now, Marcus had already prepared everything, so all he had to do was wait.

Marcus walked over to his wardrobe that he had purchased, and picked out a pair of wool pants. They were just plain black pants with pockets on the front but not the back, nothing special. He put on a pair of cotton socks, then his leather boots. During the last two weeks, Marcus had been buying a lot of different things, mainly stuff for his house. He'd gotten the rest of his reward for clearing out the mountain serpent nest, so with that and what Sir Tobias paid for the golden medallion, he had enough to pay Clair back with about twenty-five gold coins left over.

So along with all the furniture that he'd bought, he also got pots and pans, new clothes, new boots, and everyday items such as soap and towels. There were still things that he needed, like decorations, but he would pick those up after the upcoming mission. He would be gone for maybe more than four months, so there was no point in doing it just yet.

Sif gave a big yawn, exposing her large razor sharp teeth. She watched as Marcus got dressed, and when he was finished, she climbed atop him like usual. Marcus wasn't wearing a shirt, so Sif's scales felt cool against his skin. It was a refreshing feeling that he enjoyed quite a bit. They both made their way out the back of the house to the garden. It was part of their daily routine to train in the mornings, at least since they moved into the house.

The sun was just starting to rise above the horizon, so the air was still cool and crisp. Sif climbed the large tree that was in the middle of the garden. For the last couple of days she would climb to the top, spread her wings fully, and try to catch the wind. She still wasn't brave enough to try to fly, but she was beginning to get the feeling for it.

One of the things Marcus had purchased were some custom made barbells. There was no such thing as a gym or weight lifting in this world, so Marcus had to make some drawings for the blacksmith to go by. He had to pay two gold coins for all the iron that the smith had put into them. The biggest barbells weighed about five-hundred pounds, the smallest one-hundred pounds. Marcus wished that he could have gotten heavier ones, but there was a limit to what the blacksmith could do.

Marcus would do a myriad of different exercises while he watched Sif flapping in the tree. After about two hours, the sun was beating down in the sky. Marcus had a healthy sheen of sweat on his body, making his bulging muscles stand out even more. No one from the street could see into his garden, so he really didn't have to worry about voyeurs too much. Although he did notice that the curtains from the house across from his garden would move ever so slightly whenever he was training.

Being just moved in, he hadn't met any of his neighbors yet, so he didn't know who lived across from the back of his house. Marcus stood there, letting the warm breeze take most of the sweat off his body. Sif was still in the tree, she seemed to be flapping a little more than usual. She had a determined look on her face as she spread her wings even further out. She waited for the breeze to pick up just a little, as soon as it did, she sprung from a high branch letting her wings catch the breeze. Being a dragon and not a bird, her bones were not hollow, so she weighed maybe two hundred pounds.

Marcus looked on in awe as Sif floated in the air for a second before she began to gain altitude. She flapped wings again, pushing against the air. She shot up even higher, it was beautiful watching her serpent like body, together with her wings, move through the air. She was now maybe three-hundred feet high, clearly visible to most people going about their day. She was doing aerial acrobatics, spins and flips, truly enjoying the liberating feeling of flight.

Marcus was smiling as Sif finally landed, she gently touched down next to the tree. She was cooing incessantly as she slithered her way over to Marcus, excitement clear in her eyes.

"That's just fantastic Sif. Good job. Tell you what, we'll go to the butcher's and get you something good to eat to celebrate, how's that sound!"

Sif's cooing rose an octave high, she really enjoyed orc meat. It was a little expensive, but Marcus wanted to spoil her. Sif climbed up Marcus happily swaying this way and that, ruffling her wings as she did so. Marcus just chuckled at her antics, he really thought that anything she did was adorable.

"Let's get cleaned up first, then eat a light breakfast. Afterwards, we'll go get some steaks for lunch." Marcus said, walking back into the house, patting her head.

Marcus had a bathtub, but he didn't feel like heating up that much water. Not only would he have to carry buckets in from the well, he'd have to start a fire and heat up all that water; it was just too much work. He would just wipe himself off with a wet rag, making sure to get all the sweat off. Before the carriage came to pick him up he'd make sure to take a proper bath.

.................

"How do I look?" Marcus asked Sif as he adjusted his tie.

He was dressed in a victorian style suit that he had bought just for this occasion. Sif was sitting on the bed watching him get dressed. Sif cooed, telling Marcus that he looked great, at least that's what Marcus was thinking. He couldn't really understand Sif's cooing and other noises, so he just translated it in his mind. With all the rest of his clothes, he had to pay extra to have this suit custom made. He was twice the size of an average man, so it was more than twice the price.

It was dark blue with a white undershirt and a small amount of gold thread lining the cuffs and seems. His tie was a lighter shade of blue, but matched the rest of the suit perfectly. It was form fitting, so his physique was on display, even covered by the suit. Marcus thought that he looked great, and he couldn't wait to see what Clair would wear for tonight.

"Are you sure you don't want to go? I'm worried about you staying here by yourself." Marcus asked Sif another question.

Sif couldn't talk, but was still very vocal in other ways. Marcus had told her all about the ball tonight, and she showed no interest in going, everytime he brought it up she would snort and shake her head. She did the same this time he asked. He didn't mind her staying behind, but was worried about her safety. It was like leaving your only child home alone for the first time, all you can think about is them hurting themselves or getting kidnapped.

"Alright, if you say so. I don't know when I'll be back, there's still some steaks leftover from this afternoon. They're wrapped up in the cloth on the table. If anything happens, just fly off ok. I don't want you hurt." Marcus said in a worried tone. He might have been overreacting, but he just wanted Sif to be safe.

Sif just cooed as she lifted her head up and rubbed her face against his. Marcus smiled and gave her a hug. They had been getting closer to each other everyday, this will be the first time they will be apart since she hatched. While they both were enjoying a warm embrace, a knock came from the front door downstairs. Marcus let go of Sif, gave her one last pat on the head, then walked downstairs and opened the door.

A well dressed man was standing in the doorway, a carriage pulled by a single white horse was behind him. The man gave a low bow, and spoke.

"Good Evening sir. I am here to drive you and Miss Clairissa to the Baron's ball." The man said clearly.

Marcus nodded, closed the door behind him and locked it. He followed the carriage driver to the carriage, he opened the door for Marcus. Marcus looked inside and paused, what he saw inside stunned him.

Clair was sitting inside, she had a red form fitting dress on that went down to her ankles. The color was the same shade of red as her hair. A slit was in the side of her dress, exposing her long, slender leg all the way up to almost her butt, just below her panty line. It was sleeveless with a deep-v cut, showing her ample cleavage. Her hair was done up on a french braid, and her light makeup made her an ethereal beauty.

Marcus swallowed hard, he had seen her completely naked before, but an outfit like this was even better than showing everything. It complimented her body greatly, making him want to skip the ball altogether. He stood there like an idiot, staring for a solid thirty seconds before Clair finally giggled then yelled at him to get in.

"I thought you'd gone brain dead for a moment." Clair said, smiling wide.

"I was just taken by your beauty." Marcus said with a little red in his face.

It was Clair's turn to be red in the face, she looked away from him, still smiling. The carriage jolted to a start, making her cleavage jiggle as they moved, Marcus couldn't help his eyes from wandering, earning him a punch to the shoulder. Every bump they happened to hit they bounced, Marcus didn't think he would make it to the ball without getting his eyes poked out.

"Did Sif not want to come? She's always by your side." Clair asked after her arm had grown tired from hitting Marcus.

"Yeah, she showed no interest in coming so she stayed behind." Marcus replied, staring at the roof of the carriage.

"You can look at me, my goodness." Clair said with a laugh.

"It's not like you haven't seen it before, just be more polite once we arrive."

Marcus laughed, then made a point to stare right at her chest with an exaggerated look on his face. This garnered a loud sigh to escape from Clair's mouth, she crossed her arms and scolded Marcus.

"You're like a child sometimes, you know this right?"

"Sorry, sorry. I couldn't help it." Marcus started laughing even harder. Clair laughed along with him. They then continued to have idle chit chat until the carriage reached the ball.

...................

"What have you discovered?" Lord Bishore asked Commander Yuri.

Lord Bishore was dressed very fancily, he was expected at the ball tonight. He was going to go with his daughter. This was her first ball since coming of age, so she was extremely excited. He wanted to be a good date, so he would pull out all the stops to make that happen. He was just putting on the final touches to his outfit when Commander Yuri knocked, then entered.

"Everything that he said in the interview has been confirmed. I traced him back to a little farmstead not too far from the city. The farmer there told me the same story that he gave. After helping the farmer for a week, he came to the city and registered as a mercenary. After completing a few escort missions, he completed an impossible task by himself. He cleared a nest of mountain serpents."

"Yes, Howard did mention that." Lord Bishore said, nodding.

"It seems that he is also in a relationship with Clairissa Redding, the owner of the Healing Root."

"Really, I did not think that she would find anyone else after her husband died. Those two leeches have been heavy handed in trying to secure her store."

"Yes my lord, you are right. One of them tried to have him killed, but he managed to survive."

"That's very impressive. So, did you find anything that would put my daughter in danger?" Lord Bishore asked with a heavy tone.

"No my lord. There are rumors that he did have something to do with Lord Reflick's son's death, but nothing proving that he did."

"No matter, even if he did that boy was an embarrassment to us all. To allow your son to run around doing as he pleased, making enemies out of everyone, is asking for trouble." Lord Bishore had met Shaun just one time, and that was enough. He was rude, condescending, and very arrogant. He even tried to grab his daughter in a sexual manner. If he wasn't the son of another noble, he would have had him executed on the spot.

"I've made my decision, if you believe he is of good character, offer him the position of my daughter's personal guard during her trip. I want him to be by her side at all times, do you understand."

"Of course my lord."

"I'd have you do it, but your duties lay here in the city." Lord Bishore let out a heavy sigh, he was worried about his daughter's trip. If it were up to him he wouldn't allow her to go, but after she had begged and pleaded for a whole year, he finally relented.

"The ball is starting soon, I must go retrieve my daughter. You are dismissed, make sure to come to me if any new information comes to light."

Commander Yuri gave a deep low bow, turned around and left. Lord Bishore stood still in front of a mirror, inspecting his outfit. His face didn't betray the angst he was feeling in the pit of his stomach. He had never been so worried, he just had a feeling something terrible would happen to his beloved daughter.