In Which Lonriad's Hopes Are Unfulfilled

June 7, 1169

"Here for a little evening delight, good sir?" She was a small, hatchet-faced woman with a humble bosom, but her red curls were soft and bountiful and her hips looked ample enough.

Lonriad felt a smile creeping up on him; whores in Naroni were so much more polite than their counterparts back in Dovia. "I was hoping to go well into the night."

The woman returned the grin. "That can be arranged." She placed her hand upon his hip and let her fingers dance their way up his side.

"Well, I'll be damned," Lonriad chuckled, taking a red curl in hand and wrapping it around his finger. "How did you know that gets me every time?"

"Oh, just a hunch."

She flashed a mysterious smile that in the dim light seemed to soften her entire face. Lonriad fished some coins out of his pouch and pressed them into her warm hand. "Will that be enough?"

She took a moment to count the coins with her fingers, then slipped them into the pocket of her apron and nodded. "Plenty. I'll take you to the back room now."

"I trust that a fine establishment such as this has rather comfortable facilities?"

The woman replied with a wink. "As comfortable as you want them to be."

That sounded promising; Lonriad took a deep, contented breath. "Perfect."

She giggled. "Then it seems we--"

The door to the back opened with a crash as a second prostitute barged through it. "Forget it!"

The redhead glanced back at her colleague, then rolled her eyes. "Thaya, you know the agreement; it's your turn."

The girl named Thaya slammed the door shut behind her and stepped forward. She was tall, blond, and full-figured, with long legs and daintily exotic features--younger and prettier than the other woman, but a man didn't get to be Lonriad's age without knowing that a smiling partner was always preferable over a scowling one. "I know, Rissa; I did what I had to do."

Rissa shrugged. "Then how can there be a problem?"

"Oh, there's a problem," Thaya insisted in a bitter hiss. "He strolled in here, drunk out of his mind, and paid for one roll in the sack, so I gave it to him. Then, after we're done, he keeps nursing that flask to the point where I have to steal the damn thing, and by then he's so drunk I'm thinking he's forgotten how to leave. Now, he's insisting that he paid for two romps, which he didn't."

The older woman sighed. "Just give him what he wants."

"Rissa, I don't care who he is; I'm not about to fuck a man for free."

"If you could steal his flask, then you can steal the money for a second time."

"But it's the principle of the thing! He can't go around thinking he can come in here and get what he wants without paying for it!"

Nodding apologetically to Lonriad, Rissa turned around to face Thaya. "Honey, if he's as drunk as you make it sound, he'll never remember it."

"Still, what if--"

"Thaya!" Lonriad had to raise a brow at the sound of that voice. "Oy! Thaya! Where'd'ya go?"

His fears were confirmed when Severin stumbled out of the back room, his steps uncertain and a ridiculous expression on his face. "Thaya! Come on!"

"Not until you pay me!"

"I did!"

"You did not!"

Now would have been a great time for heart attack, Lonriad decided; with his luck, though, it never came. "Severin!" He couldn't believe this. He'd thought he had one son--one!--who might turn out better than this. Was that really too much to hope for?

Confused, Severin's gaze shifted Lonriad's way. A few seconds of silence passed; Lonriad guessed he was trying to correct his focus. "Th'ell are you doin' here?"

"I could ask you the same question," Lonriad sighed. "Viridis didn't raise you to spend your spare evenings pestering prostitutes, you know."

He watched as his son shuffled further into the room, a burning sensation welling within his core. Now would have been a great time to wake up; with any luck, this was just a nightmare. "Tell Thaya I paid 'er."

"He did not!"

"Ladies, please." Lonriad took Rissa by the waist and seated her on the bench by the wall. He then did the same with Thaya and proceeded to Severin.

"What the hell were you thinking, kiddo?" he scolded, despite the fact that it was probably useless at this point. "You're better than this; what gave you the idea to get drunk off your ass, then head over here and cause trouble for these ladies?"

Severin tossed back his head and laughed. "I'm not drunk!"

"And I'm the Empress of Byzantium." Lonriad crossed his arms and looked his son over once more. Seriously--great time to wake up. "I haven't seen you so befuddled since you were twelve years old and you and your brother stole the sacramental wine from the chapel. Now, let's just get you home and sober you up, all right?"

"I'm fine," Severin stressed, his grin wide enough to prove otherwise thrice over. "Maybe you're drunk."

"Then how come I'm not the one making an ass of himself?" Lonriad grabbed Severin's arm, worried that he might not be able to support himself for much longer. "Come on, let's go."

"But I paid for--"

"No, son, you didn't." He watched as Severin's pupils dilated and constricted, then shook his head and frowned. "Come along; you need to rest."

Severin yanked his arm from Lonriad's grasp, causing him to sway backward; he caught himself only by a lucky half-step. "I'm fine!"

"Then how come you can't stand up straight?"

"I can!" He looked as if he might try to prove himself by jumping, but luckily, he seemed to have forgotten the required motions. "It's everythin' else that can't."

This was getting out of hand. He expected this sort of thing from Rudolphus, and he had a feeling it was only a matter of time before Sidwein was pulling stunts like this too, but Severin? He had to get to the bottom of this. "Just listen to yourself! Really, you need to just--Severin!"

Thud!

Well, that had been inevitable, he supposed. Lonriad cringed as he looked down at his son's unconscious form. He never thought he'd be here--on his feet, alert and aware, while Severin was passed out on a whorehouse floor. He couldn't remember ever being so disappointed in his son.

Nor could he remember ever being so disappointed with himself.

He reached into his pouch and grabbed a few more coins, tossing them in the direction of the two prostitutes. "Sorry for all the trouble, girls."

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