Aurelia laughed at the way people hurriedly ate in the presence of Zinjo. Everyone left and Zinjo, The Queen, and Aurelia remained. The werelion was dangerously close to stealing her heart. Since they’d met, Zinjo had done nothing but lift her and made her feel like a person again. It bothered her that people hoped to see her miserable. It bothered her that everyone waited to laugh at her next mistake. The queen kept watching her with a strange look on her face.
“Something wrong mother?” Aurelia asked.
Zinjo sniffed the air and kept the raptor yellow eyes on the wall, “Hmmm.” his ears twitched.
“No,” she put her hands down and folded her hands on the table. “Tonight was not what I expected...is he okay?” Sophie pointed to Zinjo who now walked along the wall, his nose in the air. His eyes narrowed and he stood in front of the roaring blaze, arms crossed.
“I don’t know him that well, but I want to know everything about him, good and bad,” Aurelia’s face wore a goofy grin and her eyes rested on Zinjo with affection. “He’s been so kind and supportive.”
Sophie nodded and took a sip of wine, “I noticed. I thought he would be a savage thing. As it turns out he’s more civilized than half the nobles. He certainly is pleasant to look at…”
The werelion centered himself and raised his fists, “They come,” Zinjo said. His hand gripped a curious necklace for a moment. The sound of stone grinding on stone caused him to growl and snarl.
“Zinjo what's going on?” Aurelia said in a worried tone.
“The prey tries to become the hunter,” He said as he shifted to his massive feline form.
Sophie rose from her chair, “Come, Aurelia, it’s not safe here.”
Too little too late the fireplace twirled open and three men with lethal smirks on their faces entered. “I told you this job would be easy. We get in, kill the queen and...oh, no”
A paw gripped the nearest would-be assassin and threw him into a wall. In a flash of gold fur, his fist slammed into the face of another. Zinjo growled at the third, “Surrender and face justice.”
A bizarre laugh came from the third and his clothes ripped and fell off his body. The laughter rattled the brain, and sent chills down aurelias spine, the face twisted in a deadly smile of fangs and while smaller than Zinjo, Aurelia sensed the newcomer was far from defenseless. The spotted coat shook with mirth. “You are far from home, lion. We ended the conflict between our peoples long ago, do not throw it away for an old woman.” he tried to slide by Zinjo who caught him by the back leg and threw him back to his original position.
“I cannot let that happen,” Zinjo said. He held his ground and stood tall. His tail twitched back and forth. “We both know which species is stronger,” A low growl escaped from his face.
The queen stared at Aurelia, “I was horrible to him, why is he putting himself at risk?” She quickly crawled towards the door, as did Aurelia. If the people could see their leaders now, crawling on their hands and knees to escape their assailants.
The reasons did not matter to Aurelia, each time her hand pressed against the cold stone, she found admiration and pride in her future husband, “I suspect it’s because you are my mother. He was next in line to be chief you know.” Aurelia said.
The hyena man charged Zinjo and knocked him down, “The prey is mine,” sinister laughter caused panic in the queen and Aurelia who found their feet and streaked toward the door. In a flash of spotted fur the Hyena man blocked the door, “Now, be good prey and die.” The bestial man raised his fist with a dagger made of glassy obsidian.
Sophie closed her eyes tight and refused to give the assassin the satisfaction of her screaming. She expected pain and not a powerful golden paw, that gripped the hyena by the wrist and halted the dagger's progress, “Run,” Zinjo said in a fierce growl.
A pale young hand gripped the older wrinkled one, “This way mother,” Aurelia yanked her in the direction of the servant's door. She watched Zinjo locked in combat with his enemy. The obsidian dagger clattered against the stone. Zinjo slammed the hyena against the wall, and his balled fist followed. Something snapped and crimson liquid poured from the nose.
The hyena countered with a vicious kick to the gut and knocked the larger zinjo back and then pounced. The pair tumbled to the floor. Aurelia clutched her mother tight as the hyena rained blows on Zinjos face. “We have to get him help,” She cried.
There wasn’t time because the onyx dagger gleamed in the pale light of the room, and descended toward Zinjos heart. Aurelia cried into her mother's shoulder and closed her eyes to spare herself the pain of death.
“Not today, wretched hyena,” Zinjo growled in determination. He ripped the dagger from the hyena’s hand and drove it into the beast's throat. A rain of crimson dowsed Zinjo as he drove it deeper and deeper into the offending party’s throat. The body slumped over and a naked man replaced the twisted form that was.
The body hit the ground with a thwap, and Zinjo placed a foot on the fallen foe and roared in victory. Then he did something strange. He knelt next to the body and closed the empty eyes, “You died well and fought with courage and conviction. May you find mercy with the creators, for crimes against others.”
He turned and faced Aurelia and Sophie, his mane soaked in the blood of his enemies. Aurelia pushed her mother away and tried to put her arms around him. He shook his head, “I am unclean from violence, let me wash up first.”
Sophie pulled the velvet rope to summon a servant, “I’ll prepare a bath.”
The queen urged Zinjo to bathe before they spoke again. Aurelia led her future husband to the tub area where a fresh bath awaited him. He began to strip in front of Aurelia who closed her eyes tight and put up her hand. "Zinjo, you could've waited for me to leave." She fumbled around and almost fell in the tub. Zinjos' strong hands guided her to the chair in the corner, "You smell embarrassed," He commented as he sat her down. "I'm not embarrassed, I've never seen a man naked before," Aurelia stroked the muscular chest and felt dizzy with excitement. Apart of her wanted to join him in the tub. A part of her said to savor the first steps i
Aurelia found it odd to have any man sleep in her room. Even if that same man was technically her future husband. Zinjo did not try to force his way into her bed, even though a part of Aurelia desperately wanted him to. To fill the long awkward silences she asked the gorgeous man about his life. “Why do you think the Hyena man attacked my mother?” she asked. Aurelia spent much of her time trying to divine their purpose but lack of information saw her come up empty. Zinjo laid out a bedroll for himself next to the fire, “It will depend greatly on how many more remain. If this is indeed an isolated incident, we can close the book on it.” “And if not?” “The hyenas are like the lions, if it serves the whole tribe, then it is an action worth taking.” “You think there is more?” “I smelled many different hyenas on t
Before they left the market in search of the Hyena's origin, Zinjo armed himself. The polished bone and Ivory shoulder guards highlighted the silk tan face and hair. Interlocking plates made up the chest guard and shin protectors. Zinjo turned to Aurelia who was dressed in her usual black and red silk gown, and hair in a tight elegant bun. “How do I look?” he asked while he gingerly cradled a rolled-up blanket. Aurelia's whole body reacted to the werelion's appearance. Her hands shook with excitement, and then a thought crossed her mind: What if she removed the armor and they stayed in versus going to the market. “I am more than proud to walk beside you,” She gripped his hair and pulled him down for a kiss, the image of the last one was fresh in her mind, and her loins begged her to take another. “What's in the blanke
Down in the sewers, Aurelia and Zinjo stalked their prey. Well, Zinjo stalked, Aurelia clung to his back like a tree trunk as he waded through the murky smelly water. Despite the low light, Zinjo negotiated the stone maze with ease. He stops and sniff the air and would adjust his course according to what his nose told me. Aurelia couldn't help but question how he could smell anything over the stench of human feces and excrement, “How do you know which way he went?” Zinjo gave a throaty chuckled, “The thief does not smell as bad as this tunnel,” He turned down a much larger tunnel and growled, “There are many bad men down here, I can smell them. Do you know how to fight?” “No, I was raised in statecraft.” “Foolishness, every leader should know how to protect themselves. Guards can be bought, best friends can become enemies in the blink of an eye, enemies can
It took several baths to get the stink of the sewer off of Aurelia. Zinjo waited patiently in the next room for her to finish. Despite being immersed in the putrid liquid the lion man didn't smell at all. Her lady in waiting, Madeen scrubbed her hair, “How are things with the beast?” Aurelia took offense to the term, “Zinjo is a man, a good man, his kind are nothing like werewolves at all. Not to mention he is our only link to the Hyenas. He thinks that Mshindi is not alone. I'm inclined to agree.” “You intend to get involved in the affair?” Maddens hands were like magic to the scalp and Aurelia felt the tension in her body release. “Yes. It's about time I stopped moping aro
The afternoon sun warmed the streets of Shadowfen. The people's attitudes toward Zinjo remained petty and suspicious despite the fact a goddess had chosen him for Aurelia. It bothered Aurelia at first until Zinjo shook his head. “I thought you didn't care what they thought?” Zinjo gestured to a bench and leaned his partisan against the stained wood. His massive calloused hands cradled Aurelia's with a gentleness that belied his size. “I try not to, but it seems like I can't please them at all,” Aurelia spoke in a glum tone. “You are the best thing to happen to me, and nobody wants to be happy, not even my mother. You saved her life, shed blood for this kingdom and its future, you deserve better.” &
A cloud of smoke and boisterous conversation hit Aurelia's ears the moment she entered the Seaside tavern aptly named, the Cracked Oyster. Men with pipes smoked by the fire and swapped tall tales, while the younger and more virile arm-wrestled on patchwork tables. Unlike the local populace, the sailors didn't bat an eyelash at Zinjo or Aurelia. “Stay close,” Zinjo said quietly. One last look around the leathery faces and missing teeth made Aurelia nervous enough to cling to Zinjo's arm. “I didn't plan on leaving your side,” She lifted a drink to her nose, it smells like sour lemons and whiskey, “Eww what is that?” “The sailors called it Grog,” Z
Before they hit the road to Brismond Aurelia undid the latch on the chest. The lid squeaked open and soft wool and the smell of tanned leather entered her nostrils and she tingled with excitement. Inside was a set of leather armor and a matching outfit. She held up the breastplate and then turned it upside down, “Ummm, how do I...? I've worn such a thing before.” Zinjo grinned wickedly, “I know-how. If it is proper to you, I shall dress you.” “That would imply I have to get naked,” Aurelia felt her loins boil over at the thought, while her mind worried her bare form would drive Zinjo away. Girl “Your slender form pleases me, dark princess.” the werelion blushed,