This is a sequel to Mont Rose, which is a sequel to Rajjan Tor. The stories are set in  tegerio's Realm of Faerie universe, as shown in his Zandar's Saga here on FA, and The Ballad of Adler Young.

Also check out  eocostello's Realm of Faerie stories:
The Thin Line
From Whom All Blessings Flow
Personal Diplomacy
The Font of Honour
It's Only Funny Until Someone Loses Their Dignity
. . . Is In Another Castle
The Coin of the Realm

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Blunt Objects
© 2014 Walter Reimer
Art by  tegerio

Part Six.


“Woodbridge?” Farukh Sharpears asked.

“Yes, Father.” Farukh glanced at his wife Hannah before turning back to his oldest son, and Ayyub asked, “Have you received any other letters from Isabeau?”

“No, we haven’t,” his mother said. “If we had gotten anything for you, we would have forwarded it on to Gareth, or to your Lieutenant. Are you worried?”

“You know I am, Mother.” Ayyub glanced down at his booted feet, and looked back up at his parents. “I asked for a leave of absence from Yeomanry service.” His parents exchanged startled looks. “I plan on going up to Woodbridge, and I want to know if you’ll come with me.”

The older fennec smiled. “We’ll all go. Jake’s been asking, and Alys and Lucy might be interested in finding a good boy they can settle down with.”

Ayyub smiled. Trust his father to think about marrying off his daughters. Alys, in particular, had cut a wide swath through the eligible males in the surrounding area, but hadn’t found anyone that suited her. Kamal had been the last one, and fortunately he’d stopped yawping about her punching him in the nose. “Well, Isabeau’s mother and father did invite us,” he said.

“Exactly. If you’re going to marry her, you need to see the rest of the family,” Farukh said. “I remember your mother’s uncles taking me aside and – “

“Oh, Farukh, not that again,” Hannah interjected with an arch look.

He gave her a wry smile. “Anyway, you need to meet her family, so we’ll go as soon as we can get things arranged, all right?”

“Yes, Father.”

“I’ll go get dinner started,” and Hannah got up and left the room. Farukh watched her go, then leaned toward Ayyub, gesturing him to come closer.

“Just be careful around your Great-uncle Zaffir,” he said in a conspiratorial whisper. He left the room, leaving Ayyub blinking.

The next morning a letter was sent to Isabeau’s mother and father, asking them if it would be the right time for a visit. It went out on the regular coach-omnibus run westward, and a response came back three days later.

Farukh flourished the scroll as the family sat down to dinner that night. “Cedric tells me that the family’s looking forward to meeting us, and his sister Katerina has agreed to set aside a few rooms for us.”

“At her house?” Hannah asked.

“No, it seems that she and her husband own an inn, called the Shaded Repose.” Farukh glanced at the second page. “Ayyub and I’ll start making arrangements to have the farm managed while we’re gone, and Alys and Lucy will help you with the packing.”

“What about me, Father?” Ayyub’s younger brother Jake asked.

“You’ll help Ayyub,” and Ayyub understood that to mean that it was his job to keep the younger fennec out of trouble.

One of the senior farmpaws was assigned to supervise the farm while the family was gone, with an increase in pay; the canine was happy to take it, in exchange for an invitation to the wedding. “I’ll look after the place for ya, Ayyub,” the man said.

“You’ll do fine, Godefroy,” Ayyub said. “Anything you want me to bring back?”

A wistful smile crossed the canine’s face. “You can bring Lucy back.”

The fennec blinked at him for a moment before realization dawned. “You . . . and Lucy?”

The man blushed and looked down. “How long has this been going on, Godefroy?”

“Well, um . . . about three, four months . . . “

“And you and Lucy – you two haven’t . . . ?”

The canine gave him a shocked look. “Ayyub! I ain’t anything like that, and neither’s Lucy!” He crested indignantly. “What do you take us for?”

“All right, all right, I’m sorry,” and the fennec held out his paws placatingly. “I know you’re a good Fuma-fearing Elf, Godefroy. When are you two planning on asking my parents?”

Godefroy’s ears went down. “Lucy and I’ve talked about this, we have. She’ll be seventeen after Midsummer – that’s when you and Isabeau are getting married, right?” At Ayyub’s nod he went on, “I plan on asking then. To court her,” he amended hastily.

“How do your family feel about it?”

“Ma and Pa? They’re happy about it. Pa thinks it’s about time I started noticing girls,” Godefroy admitted a bit shamefacedly. He had his paws in his pockets and his tail was tucked in close to the backs of his legs. “I’m putting a bit by, and you know I work hard – “

Ayyub raised his paw. “Hold on a moment. I’m not the one you need to be saying this to, you know.” Godefroy nodded. “Good. Tell you what: When my parents come back from Woodbridge, I’ll help you get things set up so you can talk to them.”

“Bless you, Ayyub. Ma and Pa will want to talk to them too.”

Ayyub grinned. “Of course.”

Two days later the family sat in the courtyard of The Tailless King while the crew of the westward coach-omnibus loaded their few items of luggage. Godefroy had seen them off, promising Farukh that he’d take good care of the property in their absence. That done, he shook paws with Ayyub. “Good luck with your lady friend, Ayyub,” he said.

“Thanks,” the fennec tod said. He said nothing to the canine about his fortunes with Lucy, but the two young men smiled at each other.

“We’re ‘bout ready t’go, folks,” the badger who drove the coach called out.
Ayyub’s sisters and his younger brother practically ran out to the coach and jostled each other for what each considered the ‘best’ seats. They had never been on a long journey before, and the prospect of adventure made all three a bit overenthusiastic. Farukh helped Hannah in, sternly ordering the children to sit down and be quiet. Ayyub climbed in last, ending up between Lucy and Alys.

The dray-ants gronked and the coach-omnibus jerked slightly as it started forward. Ayyub saw Lucy waving at someone, and he craned to look past her in time to see that she’d been waving at Godefroy.

The canine had a silly, wistful grin on his face as he waved back.

Woodbridge was a bit over two days’ ride away, and by the time they stopped at a roadside inn for lunch Jake was squirming in his seat impatiently. “I’m bored,” he complained in a plaintive voice as he finished his lunch.

“Already?” Ayyub chuckled. “Your sisters don’t seem to be.”

The younger fennec grimaced. “They’re busy,” he said, and he was correct. Alys and Lucy had broken out their sewing materials early on in the journey, making embroidery for Isabeau’s trousseau. It was intricate work that required attention to detail. Their mother spent her time reading or inspecting her daughters’ work and giving them advice.

The father would gaze out the windows from his book, looking at passing farms for signs of innovations that he could bring to his own fields.

Ayyub’s ears twitched as an idea came to him. “Tell you what. You want to learn to play cards?”

Jake tipped his head to one side. “Cards?”

His older brother nodded. “Sure. Same game I learned when I started working with the Army. It’s called Conkine. Would you like to play?”

Jake’s eyes lit up and he smiled. He looked up to his brother and thought that Army life was a grand and dashing thing. “Sure!”

“Good. I’ll get my deck out of the luggage, and I’ll show you how it goes.” Conkine was a card-matching game that two Elves could play. Four were required for a game like Ruff, and it didn’t look like their parents were interested in a game. Still, Jake was a well-behaved kit and eager to learn new things.

Ayyub was sure that Lowfolk children (if, in fact, they actually did exist) on a similar trip would be whining “Are we there yet?” or some such nonsense.