Wanderlust - Chapter 18: Chapter 18

They made it to West Draulin in good time. Tanden's back healed well, and it wasn't long before he was pestering Soren. Soren managed to stop him every time, not because he wanted to, but because the ship didn't provide enough privacy. Tanden might not have cared, but he certainly did. So they returned to their home berth, both them of them looking forward to whatever seclusion the city would provide.
Even after mooring, there was plenty to be done before the crew could leave. Tanden gave them instructions about organizing the cargo and cleaning the ship before beckoning Soren to follow him into his quarters.
Soren shut the door behind them. "If this is about—"
"Contrary to what you seem to believe, I do possess some self-control." Tanden leaned over his desk and flipped open his ledger. "We need to deal with this, and the crew, and then some boring pleasantries with my brother, and then I'll have my way with you. See?" He flashed Soren a grin. "Self-control."
"Only because you know I'd stop you otherwise."
"You can be incredibly boring, did you know that? Get over here."
Soren rolled his eyes but joined Tanden at the table. Tanden pointed at one of the many lists. "Our cargo should be fine to stay onboard. None of this is going to go bad."
Casually, Soren turned the book so that it was facing him. It wasn't something he had ever imagined he'd ever feel comfortable doing around a Captain, let alone a Tandran. He ran his finger down the list as he read it. "It'll keep," he agreed. "We're selling the dried fish from Crele here though, aren't we?"
"Yes, but you're going to be handling that while I'm busy with diplomacy," Tanden said. "And it can wait a few days, anyway. My main concern now is to make sure everything is stored correctly. We'll need to double check before we let the crew leave." He slid the ledger back to its usual spot and turned to the pages listing the crew's wages. "It always—"
There was a knock on the door. Tanden closed the book. "Come in!"
The door opened and a man stepped through. He was tall and wearing the kind of light armour soldiers often wore when they weren't on active duty. A sword hung from his belt. His long blond hair was shaved on the sides with the top tied back and his nose was crooked as if it had been broken a few times. He glanced around the room and Soren felt just a hint of haughty judgement.
Soren had never met Tanden's other brother, but this man looked nothing like the rest of the Tandran family, so Soren assumed he wasn't Lord Tandar. He glanced sideways at Tanden, waiting for some sort of reaction.
Tanden smiled. "Acell. Well met. Which one of my brothers thought it would be a good idea to send you? I know you didn't come on your own."
Soren's attention snapped back to the knight, suddenly making sense of who he was. He could instantly tell why Tanden would have liked the man. He was handsome in a rough way, and as Tanden had said on Crele he preferred handsome men to pretty ones. To his surprise, Soren didn't feel particularly threatened by the presence of an old lover. He was just curious.
The knight shrugged. "You know how they are, sir. Sir Tandar insisted that if you were going to be in West Draulin for an extended period of time you needed to be assigned a guard. Lord West Draulin insisted that if that were to be the case, he might as well gather and reinstate your old guard. So here I am. I'm to escort you to the castle once you're ready."
Tanden chuckled. "I'm not surprised. You're looking good, Acell." He walked around his table with open arms and the two men hugged. "Not having to run around after me seems to suit you well."
"Running around after you wasn't that bad of a job."
"Granted, I made it worth your while, didn't I?" Tanden walked across his quarters to start packing, while still talking. "So, have you missed me?"
The knight scratched his head. "Well, I'm married. Wife and children. We've got a nice farm villa an hour's ride from the city."
"Good news, but not exactly what I asked."
"Yes, I miss you. How could I not?" Acell leaned back against the door. "But don't get any ideas, sir. I'm committed to my wife and nothing you do or say will change my mind on that."
"Acell, do you really think I'm the type to break up a marriage?" Tanden dropped his bag onto the desk. "Soren, mate, have you packed anything yet? I'd like to leave as soon as we dismiss the men, if possible."
Soren was momentarily caught off guard. "Aye, don't exactly have much."
"Excellent. Let's give them a bit longer to finish up, then we'll check on the cargo. Acell, are my brothers expecting me for anything in particular?"
"They want you for dinner tonight, just the three of you. Other than that I think you're free to take your time."
"How generous of them." Tanden sat down and propped his feet up on the desk. Soren couldn't remember ever seeing him actually use the chair at his desk. He was always moving too quickly, glancing at his ledger or making a quick note before moving on to his next task. "So what do you think of my beautiful ship?"
"I guess the ship's nice, as nice as they come," Acell replied. "But it doesn't seem quite fitting for a lord, does it?"
Tanden laughed. "What did I tell you, Soren? He has no interest in travelling the world."
For the first time, the knight paid attention to Soren. "You're his newest conquest, I assume?"
Tanden frowned. "Conquest? Is that what you considered yourself? Let me remind you, you're the one who made your interest clear by watching me change. I wouldn't have tried anything if you hadn't been so obviously attracted to me. And Soren's my partner, not a conquest."
"Didn't mean any offence by it, sir," Acell replied.
"Yes, well... let's get the men." Tanden abruptly stood up and strolled out of the room, leaving Soren and Acell to follow him. He was annoyed, although it was hard to tell exactly why. Soren hung back as Tanden hopped onto the bulwark and called the crew. The knight stood beside Soren and crossed his arms.
"Honestly, I meant nothing by it."
Soren wasn't sure what to say. Acell's comment seemed to have bothered Tanden more than it bothered him. "Reckon he's just caught off guard by seeing you again, sir. You're not..." he hesitated uncomfortably. "Jealous? Of me, I mean, for, uh... being with him?"
Acell shook his head. "I knew what I was getting into. I never expected a proper title or any recognition. There was a time I thought maybe he'd get married and I'd remain a favourite companion. But the man doesn't settle. He can't. And I suppose that's part of what drew me to him."
The words floated around in Soren's head. Settling implied stillness, which could hardly be used to describe Tanden. He cleared his throat and spoke quietly enough that he knew no one but Acell would hear him. "He just needs someone willing to keep up."
"Sounds exhausting," Acell said.
Soren shrugged. He didn't realize that he'd missed the whole speech until a moment later when Tanden abruptly joined them.
"Ivern said the cargo is stored properly and I trust him, so you're coming with me." Tanden briskly herded them to his quarters. Once inside, he hoisted up the ledger and dropped it into Acell's arms. Acell stared at it, puzzled, until Tanden put a pouch of money on top of it. "Handle the salaries, will you? Thanks, mate." He ushered Acell out the door before the knight could protest, and locked the door behind him.
Soren leaned back on the desk. "All right, Captain?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow.
Instead of replying, Tanden quickly closed the distance between them, grabbed Soren's head, and pulled him forward for a kiss. Soren slipped his arms around Tanden's body. When Tanden pulled back from the kiss, he rested his forehead on Soren's shoulder.
Soren leaned on the desk once again and pulled Tanden closer against him. "What was all that about self-control?"
Tanden groaned. "A lie, evidently. Acell caught me off guard." He raised his head for another quick kiss. "You must see why, though."
"Aye. He's handsome," Soren agreed. "But, like he said, he's married. So there's really no use pining."
"I'm not pining," Tanden said. Then he sighed. "I guess we should go up to the castle. They might not expect me until dinner but they know we're here and they'll be offended if I don't make an appearance as soon as possible. Maybe we'll get some free time before dinner." He grinned. "Maybe you can give me another one of those fantas—"
"Maybe," Soren interrupted.
Tanden laughed. "Are you worried Acell will hear me?" They could hear him just outside the door, working through the list of crew members to pay. "He isn't going to care. He wasn't particularly good at it. Anyway, go help him with the salaries and then get your bag." Tanden kissed him again then stepped away so Soren could go to the door.
"It's about damn time!"
Tanden was suddenly swept into a nearly bone-crushing hug. He endured it for a moment then wacked his brother's shoulder. "Tandar. You're going to kill me."
"What do you expect? You don't write, so we never have any idea where you are. And then I find out that you were in West Draulin and you didn't bother letting me know? And where's your sword?"
Tandar had met them at the gate. Tanden hadn't even made it into the castle yet and he was already being lectured. But as annoying as that was, he was happy to see Tandar. His brother was just as huge and imposing as always, but there was something missing.
"Where's your sword?"
Tandar glanced at his belt as if looking for it. "I've been in the castle. I don't need to carry it around."
"And I've been on my ship. I never carry a sword around," Tanden pointed out. "And now that you and Rael have decided to have me trailed by my guard again, I won't be carrying one around here, either."
"You're going to get yourself killed one day," Tandar grumbled. "And we'll never know."
"Nonsense. Soren will send word, I'm sure," Tanden said, flashing Soren a quick grin. Then Tandar draped an arm heavily over his shoulders and started leading him towards the castle. "Ow. Are you incapable of being gentle?"
"You're tough, you can handle it," Tandar chuckled. "So, Rael's busy in a meeting. Clairia and Brilana are in one of the sitting rooms, and the children are..." He paused and waved his other arm. "Somewhere. Rael wants the three of us to sit down for dinner tonight."
"Why, exactly?"
"I don't know. I don't argue with Lord West Draulin."
"That's a lie."
"Well, I don't argue with him very often," Tandar conceded. "What are your plans for the afternoon, then?"
He couldn't very well tell Tandar that all he wanted to do was drag Soren to his chamber. His brothers were supportive and he knew how lucky he was to have them, but that didn't mean he wanted them to know everything. He ducked away from Tandar's arm. "I don't have any plans. There are a few errands I could run for the Wanderlust, but I left the afternoon clear in case you and Rael had arranged anything." Tanden hesitated and resisted the urge to glance at Soren. "It would be nice to see Brilana."
"I'm sure she'd like to see you, too. She still thinks you're some dashing explorer and I can't convince her otherwise."
Tanden grinned. "I'm charming. I can't help it."
"You're a pain in the ass, little brother."
"Well, if it's any consolation, if she thinks I'm attractive it's probably only because I look like you," Tanden pointed out. "Albeit younger and—" he paused when Tandar narrowed his eyes, "—weaker... is what I was going to say."
"Hmm."
They walked in silence for a moment, then Tanden cleared his throat. "It has recently been brought to my attention that I have a habit of flirting with everyone I talk to. So if I've ever flirted with Brilana, I'm sorry. I know I can be a bit much, sometimes. But I'd never encourage anyone to cheat on their husband. Or wife. You know that."
"I know," Tandar said. "I just don't understand how you do it. How do you manage to make everyone love you?"
Tanden shrugged. "I'm fairly certain a lot of it has to do with being a Tandran who isn't bogged down by responsibilities."
"I suppose so," Tandar agreed. "Well, I have half a mind to interrogate you until dinner, but I'm sure Rael will want to be there for it, so my questions will have to wait. Let's go find the ladies, shall we?" At the castle doors, he stopped to talk quickly to one of the guards, and Tanden took the opportunity to step back and speak to Soren.
"Sorry, mate. I know what I said about taking you to my chamber but getting away from Tandar isn't going to be that easy. You can head out into the city for the afternoon, if you'd rather not follow me around. That said, I would like you to come to dinner."
Soren replied in a whisper. "I thought dinner was just supposed to be you and your brothers."
"And servants. These things aren't private, and I'd appreciate your presence."
"Then I'll be there."
Tanden smiled. "Thanks, mate." If they hadn't been in out in the open, he would have kissed Soren. Tanden settled for clapping him on the shoulder. "Take some time off first, though. There must be something in the city you'd like to see."
Soren nodded. "Aye. Reckon I'll meet you at your chamber sometime before dinner?"
"Perfect. Thanks, mate," Tanden repeated before following his brother into the castle.