Chapter Text
I’d been marching long enough that my feet and legs had given up complaining, but at least the constant motion distracted me from the cold. My borrowed clothing didn’t fit well, but compared to how I’d been dressed when I arrived -- naked as the day I was born -- it was a big improvement. My winged companions made things worse by not being bothered by the biting wind, the shin-deep snow, or the obscuring mist. They made up for that by being nice to look at.
Take the woman next to me, for example. Her auburn hair frolicked in the wind like butterflies at play, and her golden eyes shone with good will. Her voluptuous curves and honey-colored skin were on full display since she had given me her outer two layers of clothes, but she assured me that she would be fine as long as the sun was out. Lucky for me the sun bride, as she had called herself, was about my height. The fur-lined boots were a little tight, though. She smiled at me and asked, “How are you doing, Luca? Do you need a break, or perhaps a snack?”
The petite silver-haired woman taking point in our little march was facing away from us, but I could hear the eye roll in her reply. “Stop asking that, Sablil. He’s slowing us down enough as it is. Humans have no endurance.” I might’ve argued, but the arrow nocked in the bow she held at the ready was a strong argument for keeping my peace -- no surprise for someone who’d been described as a cupid. I didn’t appreciate the mixed signals, though. She had been insulting me for hours, but I’m not so dense that I missed her wiggling her narrow hips whenever she thought I was looking.
“Don’t be mean, Shilmai,” said the woman bringing up the rear. She was the tallest of the group, half a head more than my 182 centimeters, with a muscular physique tempered by womanly curves. She had introduced herself as a valkyrie. Her raven locks shook as she admonished the archer. “Humans can’t help that they aren’t blessed with our physical prowess.”
“I just wish they weren’t so useless that a mere six league march was hard for them,” said Shilmai. “Come on, Solveig. You know we’d be back in town already if we didn’t have to keep stopping for him to rest.”
“It would have been easier if we had flown and one of us carried him, true…” Solveig began, but I finished.
“...but I’m not ready to allow that.” I glanced up at the sky and said, “Speaking of flying, when is the other one -- the ophan, you called her -- coming back?”
“She is already landing,” said Sablil, “But I suppose you can’t hear her over the wind.” As she finished speaking I heard wingbeats above us, and a moment later the final member of our party emerged from the mist with wings flared and landed next to me. “Ah, Sandalphon, Luca was just asking about you. Was your mission successful? And did you bring snacks?”
“It was, and I did!” the returnee said. She handed over a bag of what smelled like roasted nuts, and the sun bride eagerly claimed a handful. Sandalphon was the prettiest of the group to my eyes -- slim of build and about shoulder high on me with bright green eyes and long blonde hair. She seemed to be a girl of about fifteen or sixteen, but Sablil had told me that the ophan was the oldest member of their squad. “The general approved our plan to take care of Luca until he decides what he wants to do.” She turned to me, and her smile was like a second sunrise. “Isn’t it wonderful? You get to live with us, just like we were a family!”
Solveig tutted at the youthful-looking angel. “Slow down, Sandalphon. Luca has been here for less than two days. Give him some time to adjust.” She held out her hand to Sablil, and the sun bride relinquished the snack bag. The valkyrie took some nuts and popped them into her mouth one at a time.
“Yes, outlanders have a custom about going on something called ‘dates’ before getting married,” said Shilmai.
I stopped in my tracks and yelled, “Married?” at the same time that Sandalphon vigorously shushed her squadmate. Shilmai looked like she was about to launch into a tirade, but Solveig intervened.
“Nothing is decided yet,” said the valkyrie. “And the final decision is yours, but men are very scarce here, as we told you. You will be expected to marry.” She tossed the bag to Shilmai before patting my shoulder. “Don’t worry, Luca. No one is going to force you into anything. You will get to choose your wives, both who they are and how many.”
“How many? You mean, I have to have more than one?”
“Well… you don’t have to,” said Sablil. She glanced at Shilmai, and the cupid passed the bag of nuts back to Sandalphon after taking a handful. “But it would be nice if you did.”
I put my head in my hands and groaned. The ladies considerately gave me some space as I let my new reality sink in. When I managed to compose myself I raised my head and asked, “So, how many wives am I supposed to have?”
Shilmai looked off to the side with her face held carefully neutral and said, “Four is a good number.”
I gave a bitter chuckle. “And you four have dibs, eh?”
“I don’t know what ‘dibs’ are, but it’s true that we would like for you to marry us,” said Sandalphon. “But like Solveig said, it’s your decision. You’re welcome to stay with us until you find someplace you’d rather be. But until then, please give us a chance to convince you how good life with us could be.” She offered the snack bag to me, and I was subjected to three hopeful looks and one glare of suppressed longing.
I looked from one woman to the other. It’s not as if I hadn’t thought about being with them. I had fantasized about being nestled into Solveig’s bosom, or having Sablil’s legs wrapped around me, or grasping Shilmai’s narrow hips as I slowly took her from behind. Most of all I envisioned Sandalphon riding me with her wings outstretched. I might not be ready to make a lifelong commitment to women I barely knew, but I’d be lying if I said the idea of having them for wives, or just bedmates, wasn’t appealing. They were all lovely, and they were waiting for my answer, so I grinned as I claimed a handful of nuts from the bag. “I do need a place to stay, so I suppose your place is as good as any,” I declared. “And I know that you four will keep your hands to yourselves unless I’m willing. You’ve been perfect ladies so far, anyway.” I started walking again, and the quartet of angels fell into step with me.
Shilmai rolled her eyes. “Get over yourself. You’re not so cute that a girl couldn’t help herself if you climbed into her sleeping bag and started groping her.”
Sablil arched an eyebrow. “That was oddly specific.”
The cupid shot her a glare and said, “Not now, Sablil.” The sun bride shrugged and just kept walking.
I popped a nut into my mouth to avoid laughing at this exchange and chewed. “Mmm. These are pretty good.”
“Not the nuts I wanted in my mouth,” said Sandalphon, “But they’ll do.” Sablil tittered, Solveig gasped, and Shilmai facepalmed as the ophan realized what she’d said. A blush spread across her cheeks as she blurted, “Forget I said that!”
“Not a chance, Sandy,” I replied. Her blush deepened, but she sidled closer to me and draped a wing around my shoulders. I threw her a questioning glance as she brushed her hair behind her ear.
“I just thought you might be cold,” she explained.
“Thanks,” I said. We walked like that the rest of the way into town, with no sound but chewing and the occasional giggle from one of the girls, and the cold gave way to feelings of warmth for my new roommates.
I’m not ready to have four wives, but four girlfriends? I think I can handle that.