#finalle

Blood For Gold 

Chapter 24

The next day Sierge got dressed and came to Mirador Manor to call on Lody only to be met with Loreiris who looked like she just woke up only a few moments before he had come but was pleased to see him all the same. 

“You’re early, I thought you would have slept in.” Loreiris appraised as she walked him into a sitting room. 

“No, I came as soon as I woke up to talk with Lody before she left.” Sierge admitted. 

“Well then you’re several hours too late. She left right after the wedding, she’s probably still an hour away from home, she flew all night to get home as soon as she could.” Loreiris informed him apologetically. 

“What? Why?” Sierge paled as panic gripped his chest, scared that he had scared her away by kissing her as he was instantly regretting that decision even though in the moment it had felt more than right to do so, especially when she had kissed him back. 

“As Lody was packing up to leave I asked her what she wanted me to tell you when you would come. And she insisted that you be told the truth because she felt you had been lied to more than your fair share and didn’t want you to be lied to any more, especially by her or on her own account. And I love and respect Lody enough to do that for her. It is because her genuine attraction and affection for you and the fact that you seemingly returned it- scared her and she did the best thing she could do in response, which was leave, to keep you both out of temptation which can have negative consequences and she was hoping that her absence would shield you and save you from such consequences and you would be protected, which is what she is trying to do, protect herself and you. Although, it warrants mention that just because someone is wise, doesn’t mean they’re that mature, she is still young and such a reaction is actually quite common. She didn’t want to chance becoming a hypocrite by moving too quickly with you which is what her own desires were demanding of her. Despite your own cool, collected composure, we all knew that Benny mauled you, but you must understand that someone has also mauled Lody, not that long ago either by the way she was talking about it last night. So when she was advising you about what you should do, she was just repeating the advice given to her and it is why she recognized your hurt and empathized with your hurt as well as she did.” Loreiris disclosed. 

“Well in all fairness, it’s not like I didn’t make myself an easy target and practically thrusted my throat into Benny’s maw. It only serves me right. But who would do such a thing to her? She’s...she is the opposite of me in the best of ways because she is exquisite in every sense, I can’t imagine her ever doing anything I have done and if anyone is undeserving of such treatment, it’s her. Who would dare maul her? Unless they were just especially vicious and just..the worst kind of person.” Seirge demanded feeling anger and rage start to boil over in his chest as a sense of injustice flared in his mind as a protective possessiveness roared to life on Lody’s account.   

“Apparently, his name is Finn, she didn’t give a last name. Which Finn she was alluding to when she spoke of it last night, I don’t know. Finn is a really common name in Dorierra, specifically, the Moura Aquatartic Quarter though. But she didn’t want the flames of her desire for you to consume her, nor your own flames of desire to consume you either just in case they came with disastrous results, well what was left of you after the mauling you sustained from Benny and Lody didn’t want you to sustain any more damage than you already had and she couldn’t bear to hurt you any more than her absence would inflict, because she was certain that if she did stay and there was anything else that would have happened, that you would swear off mouras forever and make things difficult for Audra and Calla who are her closest friends. So she flew the thousand plus miles between here and there in an effort to turn the flames down to smoldering embers to both preserve you and her and keep you both safe from any further harm you might unintentionally cause each other. Whether she succeeded or not, I won’t know until I return. All mouras react to true love differently. But whatever she told you, you need to follow her advice because the person who gave her that advice to begin with, is her own grandmother, and a very dear friend of mine.” Loreiris suggested. 

“I actually stayed up and wrote it all down.” Sierge confessed as he was both happy and thrilled that she returned his feelings but sad that she left before he could really tell her. 

“Do you have it with you?” Loreiris asked. 

“Yes.” Sierge confirmed as he pulled the pages from his coat pocket and handed them to her as she read them over and smiled proudly. 

“Very good words to live by. So, here is what is going to happen. The family will leave at the end of the week and I would gather- your family will as well, since I overheard how Tzane and Calla will want to be married from Dorierra and I know for certain that Jenniverre and Javyn will too, sooner than later. So my advice, get all your business affairs in order before we leave and bring as much money as you can with you. Because, while these words are true- and you should live by them. You don’t actually have the time she told you that you do. Because if her price got settled yesterday, tomorrow she will start to see suitors, because I know her mother, and her mother will see to it that she is married off before Benny has a chance to fuck up anything else which will probably be the end of the month at the soonest, so go into this knowing that you both have to heal the other but you’ll be better for it and Lody probably didn’t tell you about her own wounds because she didn’t want to burden you more than you already are. But where others have failed, here’s where you will succeed, I will vouch for you- to her grandmother, if you will swear to me that you will do right by her and live by these words and any other advice she will give you.” Loreiris brokered as she handed the papers back.  

“I swear on my life I will.” Sierge readily promised. 

“Good, now go, you have a lot of work to do. Also, don’t wash off that henna. Let it stay with you as a reminder of her.” Loreiris suggested. 

“Will do. Thank you Sultana Loreiris.” Sierge thanked her gratefully. 

“That’s Grandma Iris to you, Sierge.” Loreiris teased before she got up and hugged him tight before she saw him out and grinned proudly just as Anavia came down the stairs. 

“And?” Anavia asked as she came to stand next to Loreiris in the doorway as they watched Sierge get back on his horse. 

“And Lody will have quite the groom. I told him I would vouch for him to her grandmother.” Loreiris said. 

“Good, I will do the same with Lody’s mother.” Anavia offered as they both smiled schemingly at each other. 

“So, breakfast.” Anavia prompted before the two of them came to the dining room to eat breakfast. 

The next day, Sierge got a call on the family’s messengerari from Dorierrra. 

“Yes?” Sierge answered. 

“Hello, my name is Lady Shilun, I understand that you had a bad experience with a Princess Benyana Shiwarna, can you tell me about it?” She asked calmly. 

“Of course, but I wish to take this call privately, if you can hold on for just a moment, I’ll take this call in my office.” Sierge requested before he put the call on hold and went to his office and sat down at his desk then redirected the call to his own messengerari on his desk before he very calmly told her truthfully everything that had transpired and the circumstances around what had happened and took the offered apology with grace in return and offered the idea of Benny being better suited to espionage considering her skill set and her ability to find and use leverage in a very short amount of time which surprised Lady Shilun as she made more notes about that and was happy to hear that Sierge did not take Benny and her conduct as indicators of how all moura brides were and actually used that moment to request a formal meeting with Lody as a potential suitor and made no mistake of his intentions towards her and repeated that Loreiris would vouch for him which surprised Lady Shilun to hear and Sierge requested to know what Lody’s price was and was delighted to learn that it was half of what he thought it would be but he was warned that Lody already had great interest and that a bidding war could always happen and her price could always double or triple, but even if that happened, he had enough funds for it. 

Sierge happily agreed to those terms and paid in advance for not just a meeting fee with Lody, but at least two whole days of her undivided attention on all day dates, where a couple could be with each other all day instead of only for a meal or a tea service or an outing or something like that and of course to meet her family and informed her that his own family was coming in a week’s time and would be there by the end of the month as Lady Shilun promised to put him on the books and went ahead and made plans to send him the appropriate application paperwork and ended the call. 

It only took two days for the paperwork to come and once he got it, Loreiris, Anavia as well as yourself and Calla all insisted that you all help him fill it out “correctly” so that nothing on the paperwork side of it would disqualify him from the classification of brides that Lody was in as well as the classification above and below she was in- just in case Benny’s behavior had a negative impact on Lody as yourself and Calla, Loreiris and Anavia all provided character references and sent those with the application via certified mail and interviews via messengerari as Calla also had the the same things for Tzane as your grandmothers and even your parents gave character references for Tzane as his own application process was also filled out and sent with Sierge’s.  

A few days later, which was a week after your wedding- Demsey and yourself along with Sierge, Tzane and the rest of their family all boarded the train to Dorierra since Tzane and Calla had wanted to be married from Dorierra, as did Ramsey, Octavia, Drina and Axal as your whole family reboarded the train too along with the rest of the Raymonds, all the griffins going into train cars so that they didn’t have to fly the whole way home. But what surprised everyone was to see every other orc gentleman in the gentry board the train for Dorrierra too. 

“So why are you going to Dorierra Whitesale?” Sierge asked Viscount George Whitesale as they sat in the train at a dinner table as Sierge sat with his peers to leave Demsey and yourself to sit with the other couples at the other larger, longer table as the train first travelled south through the tunnel to the mainland and then would be travelling south east towards Dorierra. 

“It seems Princess Benyana offered me and my family something of great importance and then left before she could give it.” George answered. 

“I see, well you should know that the Princess is more of an espionage agent than a moura bride, in fact she was simply posing as one for the purpose of the ruse. She was sent here by the stable masters to learn about my sister in law’s poisoning. Which- she had a hand in solving that mystery, and found that the poison came from the Morrigan’s family doctor- Dr. Rickets who was consumed with the same madness his patients got. Some kind of murderous hysteria.” Sierge explained with a dismissive wave of his hand. 

“How would you know?” George asked as the others were trying to disguise their keen interest. 

“Because it was settled in their majesty's private court. Demsey of course, being her fiance at the time, was there and I was there supporting him through it so I got to see it all and hear it all with my own eyes and ears.” Sierge answered firmly. 

“So the rumor that they went mad is true?” George asked. 

“Oh yes, very mad indeed. Audra was blameless and the perfect moura bride and they were consumed with mistrust, fed to them by Dr. Rickets himself who himself was begrudged against Audra’s natural self healing abilities.” Seirge supplied. 

“Oh how awful.” George scrunched up his face in disgust. 

“So you see if the Princess offered you leverage, it was most likely the lies that I told her about my family, in particular about my brother to throw her off of him because he is the heir and will hold the title and I couldn’t risk her damaging him or our family’s reputation and instead tried to keep her contained to myself, because I would rather sustain injury than him. Her clandestine work is about secrets and finding leverage against everyone to tip scales in other’s favor. She was furious to find out that I fed her lies, which is why she left in the first place because I could tell she was being disingenuous which of course caused me to keep my guard up and of course, feed her lies disguised as half or even quarter truths. So if you’re going to Dorierra to confront her, I’m afraid you’ll find disappointment, because agents do as they’ve been trained to do. It would be better to just simply go there for the strict purpose of finding a moura bride. Because I can tell you that’s why I’m going. But not the Princess Benyana, but another entirely.” Sierge offered. 

“Who?” George offered. 

“The Princess Benyana has a cousin who is nothing like her cousin, she came for Audra’s wedding because Audra and herself are very close friends and very similar in temperament and disposition and Audra is herself, surprisingly sweet and gracious and kind, despite how the Count and Countess Morrigan treated her.” Sierge answered. 

“And what’s her name?” George pressed further. 

“Adrilody, Lody for short, before she left after the wedding, she gave me some invaluable advice.” Sierge answered before he handed the now sacred words he had written down. 

“She sounds like a scholar, or perhaps a nun. Totally not your type.” George teased him as he passed the papers around to the other gentlemen who read it and had to blink in surprise at the wisdom contained in them. 

“Well she’s actually quite the artist, which is why she references art so much.” Sierge informed them as he took them back and put them back in his vest pocket over his heart to safeguard it.   

“When you go, you’ll see, true moura brides are like works of art and beauty is of course always in the eye of the beholder, but I think we will all find at least one that strikes our fancy, I know I already have.” Sierge insisted. 

“To moura brides, the real ones anyway, and not spies parading around as them in the first place.” George offered. 

“Here, here.” Sierge readily agreed as they toasted and continued to enjoy a wonderful dinner. 

Of course the week it took to travel the whole way to Dorierra felt torturous for Sierge as he was feeling anxious to see Lody again but once at the outermost gates which there was a very high wall surrounding the outermost lands, which protected all of Dorierra’s farmlands, Sierge and the rest of his family and the other families from England took sight of Dorierra. They stared in awe. 

Dorierra was built somewhat like a roundish octagon with a second layer of skyland above the outer rim, with waterways doing a spiralling spiderweb through it and the skyland, the waterfalls coming from the skyland casting the skies in almost constant rainbows and watering the outer rim farm lands below them as the sky lands were rotating, so that the waters covered the lands below them on rotation so that no one area got overwatered or underwatered as the altitude of the skylands meant that breadseed grew abundantly on the skyland and 75% of that breadseed actually went to the orcs who used the breadseed just like regular grains to make borrer, the orcish version of elven waybread. But borrer made elven waybread look like a puff pastry and it was almost single handedly why the eight clans of orcs that protected Dorierra were so gigantically huge because nutritionally it was like a bomb but it needed to be digested very slowly to get all the nutrients out.  

Meanwhile, just inside the outermost wall in one of it’s many gates, there were millions of acers of orchards and other rich farmland surrounding the quadruple walled city. The first outer layer of walls, also inhabited and protected by the eight clans of orcs- protected the farmland which fed not just Dorierra but the eight clans of orcs before you got to the second wall and the lands between the second wall and the third actually belonged to the eight clans of orcs that each took up a side of the city and those walls were the highest walls anyone had ever seen. They were massively thick and high and were taller than the walls surrounding the farmland so that the orcs could see from far away if anyone was going to come against Dorierra besides the steady stream of goods and commerce and others traveling to and from. 

Yourself and Calla explained to the Voyambis that the country was obsessed with food so that even the soil was engineered to produce it’s maximum while utilizing every inch of soil was of use both at ground level, the skyland level and the middle earthan level were the moura dwarves resided. And that the soil was tested constantly to see what it needed to be balanced, and perfect to grow whatever it needed to grow, using ancient farming techniques to grow certain crops in a specific order to pull and put back in all the nutrients good soil needed along with a complex watering system in addition the the skyland waterways so that all the soil and thus vegetation would be well watered and how there was many water reserves in case of drought and how all the food was subsidized since it was a right of every citizen of Dorierra and the food belonged to the people and that very little ever went to waste and that the prices of the food was also subsidized so that not only was the food of the highest quality but also very affordable for everyone, from the poorest to the richest.

Especially since every family with a child, male or female, drew a government supplied income so that their basic necessities were met, but encouraged each person to really throw themselves into their preferred fields, arts in all of it’s forms, be it with a paintbrush or with architecture or anything and everything in between, that just because you could come from a family of jewelers, if you wanted to be a glass blower or a glass artisan, it was easy to do so, to chose for yourself what you wanted your career to be and could be passionate about whatever they wanted to be. How the farmers were into farming because they honestly had a passion for it, how some farmers devoted their lives to growing an abundance of produce or wanted to perfect a particular kind of something, be it beans, or melons, or lettuce. And how there was even farms where the produce wasn’t even planted in dirt, but in highly nutritious water, and how hydroponics was the latest cutting edge in food production and that there were each family home had their own hydroponic farm to grow things like lettuces for salads, or herbs for cooking for their daily needs. 

Dorierra sat above natural hot springs and cold springs and used their near limitless supplies of water to their benefit. And how each quarter had a rivalry for which quarter had the best bathhouse since each quarter could have hundreds of bathhouses, but one main, big one to show off to potential grooms. And how in these bathhouses, it was a spa, you could sit in a sauna, get massaged, scrubbed, lotioned or oiled, moisturized in every sense and leave as glowing in your complexion as the sun itself. 

Dorierra was outright majestic. As they came through the gigantic orc fortresses surrounding it, Dorierra was divided by quarters, like patchwork honeycomb shapes of a quilt and you could clearly see the differences in aesthetic between the different quarters as the other Englishmen had never seen so many different kinds of moura beings in their lives and each one prettier than the last as they were eager to return the friendly smiles they received. 

The Kamoba battle arena was massive and next to the heart of the country which was the high counselors palace and the whole country was built up so that there were three levels of roads, the highest roads leading straight to the heart of the city so that you could look down from the high roads down into the other quarters, with ramps that you could get on any level of road from any other.

The most magnificent building, the center of the country, was the high councilor’s palace, it could be seen from miles away since it was dozens of stories high, with massive elevators to move people and goods up and down all the floors since Dorierra was governed by the councillors and not a royal family since all the royalty was in it’s citizens. The palaces were exceedingly opulent. Even the country houses in the farmlands were spacious, and almost palatial. 

There were massive bridges over the natural rivers and other engineered waterways and the orcs that surrounded Dorierra were some of the largest in the world, most assumed they were part giant. Sierge himself felt like a toddler compared to the still massive and large orc guards who guarded all the gates and the city itself and even though these orcs were wearing armor, it was shining and almost glittering and fabulously rich in it’s style and the entrance into Dorierra from outside of the farmlands, and the orc fortresses, on it’s main gates sat between two sides, protected by two different clans of orcs, gigantic reddish orange orcs on one side, gigantic indigo violet orcs on the other, the distinct differences between the style of their hair, tattoos, piercings, armor and clothes poignant. But to see these, by comparison, little mouras walk past them and waive up to them and greet them by name and to see these giants look down and smile and waive and very gently shake their hands and give little gentle hugs and greet them back in a friendly manner was wonderful as even Calla and yourself remembered the names of the guards and greeted them from the windows of the carriages as they smiled and waived, their bright white smiles almost blindingly white, their loud, booming voices practically being felt in your bones. 

Everything was dripping with luxury and on a scale that made anything and everything they had ever known, even London, England seemed a small, quaint village compared to Dorierra, where the whole country was basically one big city and the newcomers were pleasantly overwhelmed. Everywhere griffins, dragons and other flying creatures flying between the tall towers and all around and all manner of animals and carriages on the roads and they had a train system that made the new railway system in England, look ancient and antiquated. 

They perceived mechanical wonders and technology and harbors, waterworks with all manner of boats in the many canals and the many different markets and restaurants and the myriad of smells was intoxicating and the sheer brightness of all the colors was almost dizzying but it all seemed to center around white marble, inlaid with all manner of stones in a vast array of styles and patterns. 

Your parents had insisted to the Voyambis and the Raymonds even before departure that they would all be staying at your own family’s palace and once arrived inside the third gate the surrounded Dorierra started to head towards the Hanging Garden Quarter which was one of more lusciously green quarters because of all the trees and other plants, punctuated by gorgeous blooms with heavenly scents wafting through the air, the heaviest of all the notes being lilac, gardenia, jasmine and dragon flower as Seirge and his things along with his family and their things boarded onto yet another train headed towards the Hanging Garden Quarter and then once there, they were unloaded from that train into carriages and driven to your home, The Kalina Palace, while Jenni took Javyn to her home in her own quarter to meet her parents and the other Englishmen were taken to the groom section which was in the heart of the city by the head counselor’s palace inside the last and final wall and gate system to be interviewed, have their money exchanged and begin the potential groom process. that Tzane and Sierge had already gone through and passed with flying colors thanks to Loreiris, Anavia and others vouching for them and assisting them with the paperwork. 

If Sierge had thought his family’s estate of Whydah had been large and impressive or even the palace of Windsor was large and impressive. It didn’t hold a candle to your family’s Kalina Palace, as Sierge barely got unpacked before he was practically chomping at the bit to meet with Adrilody as the Raymonds sat down to the many stacks of paperwork to get Octavia, Drina and Axal all married in a way to Ramsey since polycules were a whole different application process and unfortunately much more complicated, if not expensive. 

“Be patient. She is meeting with another suitor right now, it would embarrass her and her family if you barged right in and it would give a bad impression to whoever is meeting with her now and possibly have negative consequences, your turn will be in only a few days. You must wait for your turn. But if she does well, you may have to pay more than her price and if the other suitors have been waiting around for her, a bidding war may break out. But for now, I must go with Anavia and vouch for you to Adrilody’s mother and grandmother, for now, when the groom representative comes, have Audra and her mother help you with the exchange rate, since you will be getting the friends and family rate instead of the usual.” Loreiris advised Sierge since Anavia and her family had returned to their own estate in their own quarter. 

“Stay by a messengerari. That is how you will be informed of things one way or another. When we come back, and have news, we will tell you.” Loreiris suggested before she left to do just that. 

Meanwhile Adrilody was sitting patiently as she was barely paying attention to the suitor who was talking her ears off about ‘how his grand estate was and how luxurious his accommodations in said estate were and how many servants would be waiting on her and how much her weekly allowance would be and what freedoms and delights she would enjoy, blah, blah, blah’ and all Adrilody could notice was how he was over twice her age, had very low standards of hygiene, and doubted half of what he was telling her would prove true as her thoughts drifted back to Sierge and how she wondered if he had arrived yet and as much as she was adamant that he needed time to work on himself, she doubted she had that kind of time to wait on him.  Because the moment she had gotten back and rested and recuperated physically to a degree, it was a barrage of suitors, each one more disgusting than the last and some of them had liked the henna, others had thought it was unseemly and this current suitor was one of them so she was covered up head to toe to keep it from being seen and she was sweating because it was too hot in the room to be this covered up. 

Adrilody’s mother Fontara and her mother, Lody’s grandmother Galura were listening with rapt attention as an attendant was writing down everything the suitor said while Adrilody’s father was in the other room but within earshot and line of sight of his daughter and supposedly reading that quarter’s newspaper along with a stack of other newspapers from the other quarters next to him as he was watching his daughter’s reactions to this suitor and could clearly and plainly see his daughter’s disinterest and how she was trying quite hard to be polite but how she desperately wanted to be anywhere but where she was. 

When the suitor finally finished and left, Lody pleaded to go back to the bathhouse to get cleaned up again because she had sweated so profusely that she was sure that she stunk like a skunk which her mother allowed and Adrilody had left not five minutes before Loreiris arrived with Anavia who had barely gotten home and changed back into her preferred method of clothing and met with Loreiris outside Lody’s home, missing Lody by mere minutes.  

“Loreiris! It’s so good to see you!” Galura greeted as she hugged her old friend. 

“It is good to be back on home soil.” Loreiris answered before she sniffed the air and scrunched up her nose as Anavia did the same. 

“Who was just here? I smell an old, aged dank and dirty body odor?” Anavia asked as she tried to waft the smell away before an attendant came and burned some incense and opened the shutters on the windows and turned the fans up to disburse the odor as Fontara and Galura both grimaced. 

“Oh Lody’s latest suitor. Lord Emile, here from the Cantania Straight. 

“Ah a wealthy merchant of some kind.” Anavia deduced. 

“Yes, he is only Lody’s senior by 34 years.” Fontara- Lody’s mother answered. 

“And does Lody like him much?” Anavia asked. 

“No, she hasn’t liked any suitor so far. She is becoming too picky.” Fontara sighed tiredly as Lody’s father grinned smugly behind his paper because he knew differently. 

“Well then it’s a good thing Anavia and I found a good suitor for her then, and one that she already approves of and most importantly likes very much and unless she has already met another she likes more, he will be the suitor to beat.” Loreiris revealed. 

“Oh? She didn’t tell me about meeting any eligible bachelors while she was there, granted all she has said about her last minute trip to England was all about Audra’s wedding and of course Jenni’s success in courting a suitor, but she must have met someone because she has been acting broken hearted but she won’t say a word about it to anyone.” Fontara said as Anavia and Loreiris both looked to Lody’s father who’s expression showed that she had at least talked to him about it as a smug smirk grew and danced on his lips as he continued to read his paper and subtly watch things unfold around him. 

“You should call Chikati over to have tea, we wish to discuss this suitor with all of you.” Loreiris suggested. 

“Wow, he must be quite something then.” Fontara smiled excitedly before she used her messengerari and called her inlaws over to the house. 

Lody had barely washed her body and her hair before she hastily got dressed in something different and much more comfortable and went directly to the Kalina Palace to see if you and your inlaws had arrived and was overjoyed when she saw you. 

“Lody!” You squealed when you hugged her as she was shown in and you had investigated to see who had come to your home. 

“Audra!” She squealed back as the sound of the interchange had piqued Sierge’s ears up as he practically ran to the front door. 

“Lody!” Sierge cheered when he saw her from the balcony of the foyer and rushed down the stairs. 

“Sierge! Ah! Don’t break your legs running down the stairs!” Lody urged him with a cackling laugh of relief and delight when she saw him rush down the flights of stairs to greet her since it showed how eager he still was towards her as she left you in an instant and ran to him and rushed up the stairs and met him at the middle landing and didn’t stop until she practically collided with him and was instantly crying tears of happiness and relief to be reunited with him as he was in a similar state.  

“Oh thank the gods you came!” Lody happily cried into his chest as she hugged him tight as he did the same, finally feeling relief from all the anxiety that had been building all the way there. She was here, she was safe and sound and in his arms and holding her felt better than anything ever had before in his life.  

“No god could ever keep me away from you.” Seirge answered her. 

“Why did you leave so soon?” Sierge asked. 

“To keep myself from doing this.” Lody answered him as she pulled away just barely to be face to face as she grabbed his face and kissed him quite impassionedly as Sierge kissed her back with equal passion and fervor until the need for air arose and they finally had to break apart to catch their breath. 

“That should have been a reason to stay honestly.” Sierge answered her which got them to laugh. 

“It’s the reason you came though right?” Lody implored. 

“You are the reason I came. The kiss is a bonus.” Sierge grinned before he kissed her again, happy to feel her cling to him and kiss him back.

“Well sadly, when you are formally meeting with me in the next few days you won’t be able to do it much because there are rules for how each meeting with each suitor has to go.” Lody tried to warn him. 

“Oh so are you saying I should pull away?” Sierge teased as he tried to take a step back before she pulled him flush against her again. 

“Not now!” Lody complained as she frowned at him. 

“Not now.” Lody repeated in a heated whisper before she kissed him again and smiled into the kiss to feel him wrap her in his embrace once more. 

“But later, there are so many suitors right now, it’s the height of the season here and there are many who have expressed an interest in me and when we go out, they will of course be free to watch the date from afar and if I show too much interest in you, it could start a bidding war and some of these other suitors have millions of gold bullion to play with and you will be outbid. I have to wait until after your dates with me are over before I can call “cease”. But even when I call “cease”, I still have to endure all the other suitor’s attempts on the rest of my calendar. And my calendar extends out for the next few months, are you absolutely sure you can afford to stay that long?” Lody asked.   

“Does it cost me to stay here?” Sierge asked. 

“Nope! Because you’re a guest in my family’s palace.” You called back from your place at a respectful distance as you kept on the lookout for them which got the pair to smile. 

“But it will cost you when we go out, going to any events, to go out to restaurants, clothes and of course the fares on all the transportation and unlimited passes are expensive but can be worth it if you will be here for a while.” Lody explained. 

“Whatever it takes. I’m not leaving Dorierra without you.” Sierge vowed. 

True to Lody’s warning, when Sierge did finally meet with Lody officially, it was restrained by protocol and procedure but the bright beaming smile on Lody’s face was unmistakable and mirrored by everyone around her, especially her father as was Sierge’s and Lody’s family and his own got along quite well and thanks to Loreiris and Anavia vouching for Sierge and thanks to Sierge’s suggestion of Benny going into the clandestine espionage, Benny had immediately changed her tune about him to the family because with Sierge’s insistence, Benny finally got out of the bride system and into her dream work, which she was much better suited for. 

Sierge was so grateful when Lody woke up extra early the next morning and officially put in her cease as soon as she could as Sierge waited patiently for Lody to finish out seeing all the suitors on her calendar, which was another three months as did Tzane who had to do the exact same thing for Calla, whose own courting calendar had been filled for a few months out. 

However, it was not that way for Javyn and Jenniverre. Upon entering Jenniverre’s house and announcing her successful betrothal to Javyn and his intentions to marry her as soon as possible and immediately began the process which would be expedited which incurred more cost, which Jenni had tried to partially warn Javyn about. However what took Javyn by complete surprise with the stable masters came to initiate process- is when someone beded a moura bride before going through the whole process, her price goes up drastically and almost exponentially for a multitude of reasons. One was- if she came to be with child, which Jenniverre proved true upon arrival, meant that he was now going to pay through the nose for his future parental rights to keep his bride and your future offspring with her. It was also considered one of of those ‘you break it you buy it’ principles but also because the stable system “sued” Javyn for all the fees that would have been raised in her meeting other suitors as Javyn was “sued” for all of Jenni’s courting suitor calendar that was already on her ‘books’. Which was actually six months out, before she could come home and claim cease. And it was much more than he had brought and so he had to sign away a percentage of his business and it’s profits to help pay off the rest of the suit and would be paying Dorierra for years to come for the honor and the priveledge of not only bedding his wife before courting her, but getting her pregnant before she could even come home to make ‘cease’ and while Javyn was initially a little disgruntled and offended by exactly how much Dorrierra was going to make him pay, just looking at Jenniverre and the love in her eyes and the memories of their quite impassioned albeit brief history, his anger and resentment melted away and was able to marry her by the end of that week. 

However, for Tzane, thanks to Calla’s dowager status, she could dismiss her other suitors in quick succession, often meeting with many of them over messengerari to save them the expense of having to travel there and meet her in person, which they appreciated but many were still going to be coming but going to be pursuing all the other brides that were still on the market and in the system because they wanted the experience and the travel. 

But for Lody, she had no such power and so she had to continue with the process of meeting her suitors through the system over the next three and a half, very long months, spending every free moment she had with Sierge “unofficially” in private so that she didn’t have to be in public and under such scrutiny and you and Demsey assured as her official chaperones, that nothing untoward happened between the pair. 

But in those three and a half months, your baby bump and Jenni’s both seemed to grow in size as Calla was also came to be with child only a week after marrying Tzane only two months into his stay there, as the other Englishmen had also quickly fallen for other moura brides and were in the same boat Sierge was, waiting for the process of their brides to call cease and going through the rest of the calendar as everyone came to really understand that the whole country was one, very big, but very lucrative business and how many suitors often paid just as much staying in Dorierra at the many hotels in the different quarters and all their meals at the various restuarants and other opera houses, theaters and other attractions- as they did just for their brides. What it really was, was an experience. 

Calla and Lody had done everything in their power to save Tzane and Sierge from the price that Javyn had to end up paying and in a way, you had done for Demsey as well. Because you knew that without Edward buying you- your freedom from the bride system when he married you, Demsey would have also been a “player” in such a high stakes and very expensive game and it was also one that Ramsey was now taking on as well for Axal, Drina and Octavia’s sake since Drina and Octavia were also now with child, having gotten pregnant back in England as their baby bumps grew with yours as Axal and Ramsey were both over the moon that half of their polycule was with child which for polyamory, was almost expected but they were just as penalized financially for it as Javyn had been. 

Tzane and Sierge had never counted themselves more grateful for such excellent fiances, ones that loved them so much, that they would do everything they could to protect them and their family and their family’s fortunes, it spoke to their genuine feelings they had towards them, and that they were really and truly loved by their spouses, either current or future. 

And in that time, while Sierge and Lody’s henna eventually faded, their feelings of love and adoration had done nothing but grow stronger and shine brighter and Seirge was adamant that he would wait as long as he needed to, because Lody was absolutely worth whatever he had pay and however long he had to wait for her and thanks to his patience, and good negotiation skills, Lody’s price thankfully didn’t increase and he didn’t have to enter into a bidding war because he waited out all the other suitors that Lody had since the others simply found other much more interested and eager brides. 

Sierge, Tzane and Demsey however had all taken their time in Dorierra to good use, learning as much as they could from such a wondrous place and if Demsey felt like he had a good idea before, they all had even more now, for so many things as they all soon began to have a much deeper appreciation for all things moura, Dorierran specifically and their ancient but rich culture and traditions but very forward thinking and ideals of embracing and building the future instead of repeating the past. 

When the day finally came, you reapplied bridal henna to Lody and Seirge. This time, making the henna extra potent at Lody’s request as you yourself were inspired to make a new twist on a familiar design, just for them that took hours to apply but both were now each a part of one big masterpiece and your best work yet, making the pair into a pair of tigers. Sierge taking on Lody’s stripes and leaving the mane from the lion behind and you had never thought Sierge wore such a thing with more pride than he did that henna and his own wedding suit and because they had taken their time to plan and prepare, it was such a wonderful and beautiful wedding. 

“I told you, I was not going to leave Dorierra without you.” Sierge cooed to Lody as they boarded the train home with everyone else. 

“You did. And I have never been so happy to leave it behind, if it means I get to embrace you as my future.” Lody returned. 

Only four months after returning to England, you went into labor, as Demsey never left your side and helped you push through the labor. 

“You can do it my Love, just a little more.” Demsey coached you as he held onto your hand tightly as you took deep breaths and then pushed when the midwife told you to as the baby’s head was crowning and pushed through the pain and pushed until the head was out as the midwives then reached in to make sure the baby’s shoulder’s would slip through and not get caught on your tailbone or your pubic bone before in just two more pushes, the baby was out before he took his first breath and let out his first cry with ease. 

“It’s definitely a boy!” The midwife announced as she cleaned him up as you waited until after the cord stopped pulsing before it was tied off and then cut before you expelled the afterbirth before you put your son to your chest to get him to nurse as the afterbirth was taken away and the bloody rags taken to get washed as new, fresh, clean ones were applied to your womanhood. 

“So, do you still think he’s still a Kadota?” You asked Demsey since that had been your absolute favorite kind of fig that you had craved in your pregnancy.

“If there ever was one.” Demsey smiled proudly as he kissed you sweetly. 

“Our own, sweet Kadota.” You cooed to your son before you kissed his head.