A Suitable Captive by R. Cooper

A Suitable Captive by R. Cooper

Author:R. Cooper [Cooper, R.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-12-25T18:30:00+00:00


A braided leather cord on the pillow next to him was Fen’s first sight upon waking. It was not a long length of cord, too short for anything practical he could think of. But the braiding was tight and prettily done. Fen stared at it as he sat up, and left it untouched while he tried to straighten out the clothes he’d slept in.

His clothes were… not his own, he realized a day after first putting them on. They weren’t Lan’s either, although the shirt was too big for Fen. Fen had rolled up the sleeves the day before without taking any notice. The bed he was in was Lan’s, which Fen was certain he had not been in when he’d gone to sleep the night before.

He scrubbed a rough cheek, painfully aware that he was blushing, but hoped that would fade after he went to the stream to wash and shave. He combed his hair at least, and neatened the bed he had somehow taken over, ending with another long look at the braided leather on the pillow.

Except for one of the dogs, no one followed him this morning to make sure he was well. Fen had no idea if the hunter’s hound had been sent to do that or was merely curious and friendly, but he petted it by the side of the stream until his rumbling stomach sent him back to the camp, the dog following for a while before heading off in another direction.

The sun had risen. He would see if Ati needed him or if he was needed elsewhere today. He had no other plans, but his steps slowed as he came to the fire where Lan and his family were seated and lingering over their breakfast as they almost never did.

Fen hooked his fingers into the leather cord wrapped tightly around his wrist as he had assumed it was meant to be. Lan’s eyes met his across the distance.

“Fen!” Dol called, seated not far from the rest of them. “Would you believe in our search for herbs for you yesterday, we stumbled upon chestnut trees ready to harvest? Come eat!”

Fen could believe it, though he did think about objecting and saying the herbs had not been for him. But it took some time for him to move his gaze to Dol, and then to Race, smirking next to his husband, and then to approach them. Before he could sit, Tellan sprang to her feet.

“Here you go,” she said, almost too loudly, smiling even more wickedly than Race. “Plenty of work to be done, but there’s time for a moment of quiet first, too.”

“That’s what it’s all about it, isn’t it?” Race asked, not seeming to expect an answer, although Dol whispered one into his ear that seemed to please him.

Fen sat carefully in Tellan’s abandoned space next to Lan, observing Lan without raising his head. Lan pulled a chestnut from a cloth bundle of them and peeled away the shell before handing the meat to Fen.



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