Page 42 of A Tale of Mirth & Magic

One year later

L ook what I found!”

I yawned and stretched, trying to wriggle out from the heavy woven blankets that covered our bed. Barra perched on the edge. His weight sank the mattress, and I rolled toward him, squealing. He caught me and pressed a kiss against my forehead, then waved a colorful blur in front of my face.

“Uillos! There were only two left, but the vendor said they’d still give me a good deal.

” Barra handed me one and I sat up, rolling the vivid purple fruit in my hands.

And they probably charged him double the cost , I thought.

Uillos weren’t rare in this part of the world.

They were a little out of season, though I was sure the vendor would be back with another full cart tomorrow.

But I didn’t say anything, of course. He was so excited. And is there anything sweeter than a man bringing you breakfast in bed?

Barra cut into the large, richly colored fruit with his belt knife and held the first slice out to me. I opened my mouth. He placed it on my tongue, a fire sparking in his eyes as I chewed and swallowed, licking the zingy tang off my lips.

He cut another piece and fed me again.

“Did you intentionally try to match our breakfast?” I asked, holding one of the uillos up to his lavender skin.

He placed the knife on the nightstand and took a ferocious bite of the half he held. “I tried to find something that would taste nearly as delicious as you do, love. But I fear I failed again.”

“Hmm… perhaps we should compare? Just for the sake of fairness,” I said, sliding fully out of the blankets.

Coming up to my knees on the bed, I kissed him deeply, savoring the sour-sweet taste of his mouth.

His skin was still chilled from being outside, and I cupped his face in my hands to warm him.

With a pleased rumble, Barra wrapped his arms around me, picking me fully up before landing us back among the cushions.

His body was a heavy, comforting weight.

After a few more kisses, he pulled away, moving down my body.

I protested at first, missing his lips, but stopped as he bit at my underwear and dragged the flimsy fabric down with his teeth.

When his tongue delved into my folds, I let my eyes—still hazy with sleep—fall closed and drifted into this waking dream of his hot breath against my most sensitive skin.

Firm fingers wrapped around my thighs and hips, pinning me in place even as I writhed, chasing that delicious need. He licked me until I was begging him. “Don’t stop, don’t you dare stop .”

My fingers gripped his long tied-back hair, a green ribbon hanging on for dear life as I yanked, eventually gasping my way into a most beautiful morning orgasm. “Oh, goddessssss,” I groaned as I fell back, sinking into the plush pillows.

Barra came up to his elbows and crawled toward me, kissing his way up my soft stomach, giving double kisses to the two rolls in my belly. Lifting for a few seconds, he quickly ripped his clothes off and tossed them away.

“Well?” I asked. “What’s the verdict?”

He pressed a kiss into my jaw. “No contest. Not even close.”

Barra’s chest rumbled against me as he spoke, and I could feel the hard length of his cock against my leg. I shifted my body a bit, rubbing against him. With a groan, he grabbed me with both arms and flipped us over so that I was straddling him.

I let the straps of my nightgown fall, revealing my breasts, and Barra surged forward to claim them one by one. Tracing the thick, cool links of my necklace around his throat, I guided myself onto his cock and began to ride him, slow and steady.

“ Fuck , El,” he breathed against me, leaning back on the headboard. I wrapped one hand around the long chain, tugging experimentally. Barra’s pupils flooded his brown eyes. His large hands grabbed as much of my ass as they could and massaged mindlessly.

“Can you—can you do that tighter?” he said, staring at me intensely.

“Safe word still ‘blueberries’?”

He nodded, muscles tense in anticipation. “Or I’ll pinch you.”

“All right, then,” I said with a vicious smile, tightening my grip a little. He gasped in pleasure and said, “ More .”

I obliged, feeding a slip of my magic into the metal chain. Willing it slightly tighter around the sides of his neck, my hands were free to roam across his broad chest, his shoulders. Power flowed through me, perfect and filled with light. I felt invincible, complete.

Grinding into him harder, I released the chain’s hold for a moment.

His hips kept rising to meet me in perfect rhythm, again and again.

I closed my fist, choking him lightly once more.

Hands that palmed my ass stilled abruptly for a split second, squeezing hard.

With a roar, Barra came, releasing himself into me.

I let my magic flow back into my body, emptying the necklace’s hold, and slid forward onto his chest with a satisfied smile as he panted.

When he’d caught his breath, Barra reached up to brush soft circles on my back and thighs. He kissed me gently, eyes sparkling.

“That was new,” he said, beaming and looking slightly bashful.

I nibbled his earlobe and said, “You are full of surprises, my dear.”

“Oh, speaking of—I found a perfect place for us to stay next week.”

“Really?!” I bounced on top of him, making him chuckle and nuzzle my neck.

We’d been winding our path back south for the past month.

In this northern land, cold and filled with welcoming but very small halflings and humans, it often proved hard to find accommodations that Barra and I could fit in comfortably.

Luckily, over our past year of travel he’d discovered a useful network that has accepted him into their ranks, made up of half-giants, orcs, dragonborns, and other larger-bodied people who were passionate about traveling the world.

Whenever we crossed paths with one, they were able to give recommendations on the inns, rentals, and restaurants that could accommodate their size well.

He compared maps and notes with them, learning and sharing valuable information that allowed us to have restful, comfortable travels.

“Met an orc at the smithy who had just come up from central Kurriel. Bit of a prickly fellow, but he was full of information. Pinpointed a few inns for me, so we can take that longer route back to Nepu along the coast if you still want to.”

“Definitely! It’s beautiful this time of year. I can’t wait to see you swimming in the ocean,” I said, reaching for the uillo on my nightstand and taking another delicious bite. Barra licked a drop of stray juice off my chin.

“Want to try that little café before you start working today?” he asked. “I’ve heard they have this rare northern drink called ice tea. Not iced tea—it’s still hot. But it’s made from these tiny white flowers that only grow deep in the ice caves, hundreds of miles north of here. It’s a delicacy.”

“You’re such a loon for tea, and I love it,” I said, giving him a peck on his nose.

Rolling off him, I padded over to our chest of drawers and rifled through it for something to wear. We’d been staying here in the city of Iwwo for about a week and a half, and despite Barra’s best efforts to keep things tidy in our room, my belongings somehow always ended up strewn about.

“As long as they also have black tea and those little sugary pastry balls, I’m happy to make a morning detour with you, my dear. Aha!” I cried, finding my favorite red corset hidden underneath the couch cushions.

Pulling on a simple light pink blouse and my warmest skirt—a beautiful creamy wool local style that I’d treated myself to after a huge commission last week—I sauntered back to Barra so he could do up my laces. Once that was done, and he was dressed again, we headed out into the chilly morning.

Wrapped in our thick cloaks and fur-lined gloves, we walked hand in hand along the quiet city streets. I was going to miss this place when we moved on next week, with its ice-lined buildings and kind people.

In our short time here, Barra and I had already become quite well-known.

It wasn’t hard to become a minor celebrity when almost everyone else was under four feet tall.

Our innkeeper, a fellow half-giant, confessed once when they were in their cups that locals had begun calling Barra the “Lavender Lover” because of how he doted on me as we cavorted around town—which had me howling in laughter and him blushing and scowling for the rest of the night.

It was a lovely city, and I found myself wishing we could stay for at least a few more weeks.

Barra adored it too, silly nicknames aside.

He’d even come back from the shops the other day wearing a cream wool shirt that was embroidered along the buttons in a popular floral Iwwon design.

He said the shopkeeper had bullied him into buying it, that he’d asked for his standard brown.

But I knew custom work when I saw it. And I’d caught him checking himself out in our mirror later, with the small, happy smile on his face that always made my heart squeeze.

Sadly, our time here was soon coming to an end. We had to head out next week and begin traveling our way back south and then east, if we were going to make it in time for little Ariane’s first birthday.

Over the past year, we’d journeyed back to Nepu twice. Once in the early summer, to welcome Monty’s newborn, sweet Ariane, into the world. The next, to wait out the harshest weeks of winter and to meet Sassura, Barra’s sister who traveled during the warm months with her dance troupe.

The first trip, I was utterly nerve-racked, sure that his family would reject me.

Despite his constant reassurances that they’d fall for me immediately, I barely slept in those days leading up to our visit.

Barra kept saying we could put off the trip, go a bit later when I was maybe more ready.

But I knew I was never going to truly be ready—I just had to throw myself into the fire and hope for the best.

I pushed us on. And when we arrived at Barra’s family home, a large, short gray-haired woman ran out the front door and down the path toward us.

Barra got on his knees to hug her—which was as adorable to witness as it sounds—before she finally swatted him away and turned to me where I stood frozen, clutching Dewdrop’s reins like they were my anchor in a wild sea.

“So. You must be Elikki,” she said with a warm, broad smile on her lined chestnut-brown face.

Brushing flour-dusted hands on her apron, she reached for my free hand and gently tugged me up the path toward her house.

“I’m Ma Wren. And you look like you need a thick slice of cake and my biggest pot of tea. Come along, dear.”

Her hand was warm and strong, and I let myself be led through the front door and into the kitchen, Barra trailing behind us after he tied the horses to the front gate.

After that, it was a stream of desserts and many, many cups full of strong tea.

Ma Wren chattered as she bustled around the kitchen—plying us with more treats, opening another window for a breeze, plopping a soft, snuggly kitten in my lap.

Before I knew it, I’d found myself relaxing and chatting back.

Relief, warmth, and safety crept bit by bit into my mind, and Barra stayed at my side, his presence steadying.

After a while, we left to rest at Barra’s house before the big family dinner in the evening. As we said our goodbyes, I gathered Ma Wren up in a hug, bending down to her. “Thank you,” I said, my voice thick.

“You’re a sweet girl,” she said, patting my cheek affectionately. “So strong and lovely—my Barra really lucked out. Finally!”

“Maaaa,” Barra groaned as she and I giggled. But he smiled too, pressing a kiss into my hair.

After that, everything felt so much less terrifying.

A long nap and a bath helped too, and when we returned to meet the rest of the family later, I was…

if not ready exactly, at least not scared stiff.

Everyone was, as Barra had promised, thrilled to meet me.

The evening was nothing but fun, and full of laughs.

In fact, the whole trip went smoothly. Once I started to believe that, yes—these people actually seemed to want me here in their homes, their family, Barra’s life—everything came together.

I talked metalsmithing with Ma Reese and Telen, helped Ma Wren in the kitchen, and held Monty’s baby.

Barra and I recounted the last few months of our travel.

And then, to a rapt audience, we retold the now-famous tale of how we got together: road trip, bounty hunters, magic, kidnapping, and all.

Some facts of the story had to be reestablished, as it seemed that Telen’s version had her heroically rescuing me from an evil wizard while Barra was off looking for a sword he’d dropped somewhere in the forest. Much good-natured arguing ensued, and the night ended with all of us laughing and the baby spitting up on Telen’s shirt.

The rest of our week was wonderful, and the second trip was even better. Now, as I walked the streets of Iwwo recalling it all, that new, glowing feeling suffused my chest. The feeling, I was starting to recognize, was the warmth of family, of belonging. I couldn’t wait to go back.

Barra and I talked often about the future.

What we wanted for our lives. Our dreams and goals.

For now we both wanted to keep traveling and having adventures.

He had taken surprisingly well to life on the road and had a long list of places he wanted us to visit together.

Someday, we thought, we may decide to put down roots in Nepu again, or perhaps a town nearby.

Or spend half of the year there and the other half traveling.

But for now, it was a time of adventure.

Ducking into the little café, I bought a large black tea, Barra’s deliciously scented ice tea, and a bag of my favorite local treat, these small round balls that tasted like almond and burnt sugar.

We found a bench near one of the blue magefire heaters scattered around the city’s public gardens and sat pressed together, looking out over a quiet pond.

The strong tea warmed me from the inside, and I chased it with a sweet almond ball to balance out the bitterness.

Barra opened his mouth. I popped one in, laughing as he almost immediately opened up for another.

His arm snug around me, we sat in peaceful happiness, drinking our tea and watching snow rabbits scamper in the frosted earth.

I felt a bone-deep contentment. Sugar on my tongue and magic thrumming in my core.

We would have a thousand days that felt like this, and we would have joy I’d never imagined.