A Charmed Life, Ch 9

The food came not too long after the man with the newly-bloodied nose left. The girl who served them was skittish around Tor, taking great pains to please her and make sure the older woman was happy in every way possible. The owner of the small inn had no desire for trouble, but she would make sure towns ahead knew of the woman's attitude and temper. They could watch out for her, tell her to keep on. She wasn't strong enough to do so.

Tor seemed to barely acknowledge the girl. But, when supper was finished and she had the key to her room, she left a generous tip on the table. The girl was sweet, mousy and very attentive to the table. She had earned it. Tor walked up the stairs to her bedroom and kept one ear attuned to her little passenger. She could hear the soft groans and occasional, suppressed moan of pain. She intended to do something about that. She had ordered a bath and was delighted to find it was set up and waiting on her. She deposited Eric on the bed, dropping her stuff on the floor at the foot of it.

"Strip," she said to her Princeling. "You're going to take a bath."

"I am injured," he cajoled. "How does my aroma offend? I take great care to scrub myself each day with a bit of water from your canteen. I even have a bit of scented soap I retained from my stay with the doctor. I use just enough of that to take away any lingering odor."

Tor rolled her eyes. "If you don't undress, I'm going to dump you in the tub fully clothed," she warned.

Eric eyed her, trying to gauge how serious she was. "You wouldn't."

She smirked. "Don't believe me? Just watch." She reached for him, intent on scooping him up and dumping into the tub just as she had said.

"Alright!" he protested, backing up across the bedspread. He grumbled as she retracted her hand. Dutifully, he undressed. He unlatched the cloak, letting it fall to the bed. He pulled off his shirt and sat down to peel off his boots. It took him a couple of minutes due to his stiff legs, but they eventually pulled off. The young man had to take a minute to catch his breath. Doing something so simple shouldn't take so much effort, but it did. When he had his breath back, he proceeded to remove his pants. Now he remained in only his breech-cloth.

"That's good enough," she huffed with a roll of her eyes. She set her hand down in front of him. "Come on. Into the tub you go." She carried him to the warm tub and lowered him into the water. A little smile played with the corner of her lips when she saw him instantly relax. She promptly stripped down completely and slid into the tub with him.

Eric yelped as he was sloshed to the other end of the tub and back again, only to end up resting against a titanic breast. He gasped and spluttered out some of the water that had gotten into his mouth. He shot Tor a dark look before he realized where he was. His attention then wholly turned to her breasts. He was wise enough not to hump them, but that didn't stop his hands from rubbing along the water-slick skin, groping as much as his miniscule hands. He glanced at her from the corner of his eyes. She had her head resting against the rim of the tub and appeared to be sleeping. He took his chance to plant a series of kisses along the flesh.

The princeling half-floated, half-swam down the length of her breast until he came to the curvature that dipped below the surface of the water. He took a breath and dove down, still feeling along her breast. He came to where the skin softened and smoothed out, going from breast to areola. The young man marveled at it, running his hands along it. He saw the breast jerk back, felt the ripples in the water. He broke the surface of the water and inhaled deeply. The water sloshed around him, the waves knocking him back under.

Tor was laughing. "That tickles!" She slid a little deeper in the water. Her fingers wrapped around Eric's waist and gently pulled him out of the water. She held him aloft and clucked her tongue. "I don't mind you doing a bit of exploring, but don't tickle me. I don't want to waste my money and time by accidentally drowning you. Besides, this is supposed to be a recovering bath for you. They thought I was crazy by ordering a warm bath instead of a hot one." She set Eric back down in the water and smirked when he swam over to her other breast and began "exploring" it.

After a while, Eric's fervor for this heretofore-unexplored-territory faded. He was still in awe of the massive breasts, but he was growing tired. The heat of the water did wonders to ease his aching legs, but they really needed rest. So he settled against Tor's sternum, marveling at her heartbeat. He was half-in, half-out of the water, nestled between her breasts, and utterly warm. The pain in his legs continued to fade, as did his consciousness. Soon, he was out like a light.

The Elder woman watched the little human dozing on her sternum. She sighed softly and looked up to the ceiling. Gods above, why did I take him on as a pet? I've got so much else to take care of without worrying about a crippled human. She would later blame the Creator for the images of her putting Eric in a tree, him falling, breaking his legs, gaining a head injury, all because of her, in her mind's eye. She winced and automatically rubbed Eric's side. "Alright, alright," she muttered. "I'll keep him." Another image of Eric hobbling around with a cane. "And take care of him!"

She sighed again, a big, gusty one, and stood. She kept one hand cupped over Eric as she rose. She crossed to her bed and gently set Eric on a pillow before dressing. With her breasts held in place, she gently slid Eric in between them. They would keep him warm and safe as she took care of Idiot for the evening. She buttoned up a shirt, slid into her jeans and boots and headed downstairs.

Waiting patiently outside was Idiot, right where he had been left. His ears swiveled forward as he watched his owner walk down the steps. He snorted when she scratched his forelock and led him to the livery up the road. He held still when she untacked him and led him over to a stall. He was perfectly patient and was rewarded with affections, treats and feed and water. He immediately set to munching on his supper as Tor watched.

She was quite pleased with his behavior. He was such a sweet boy after a long run. He just needed to work out some energy. She warned the stable manager as she left. "Don't mess with him. He's ornery." The man looked between her and the mustang down the row. "He left a hoofprint in the face of the last farrier that tried to work with him." Now the man was convinced.

Tor strolled back up the street, to the inn and her room. She was pleased to see the tub and water were gone. She pulled a book from her pack and settled in the bed to read.

Eric slept for a few hours before finally coming to. He looked around and realized that he was snuggled into Tor's massive cleavage. He smirked and decided this was his favorite part of her. He stretched and carefully pulled himself from between her breasts. She was reclined at such an angle that he was able to crawl up her chest, out from under her collar and up to her shoulder.

"Good evening, sleepyhead," she jibed. "Sleep well?"

"Very." He smiled up at her. "Think you could let me down so I can do some walking before we settle in for the night?"

Tor hummed under her breath. "I was just about to take us down to supper. You could walk around the table again while we wait for our food. Then around the room when we come back."

Eric sat in thought for a moment before nodding. "That sounds agreeable." Absently, he rubbed his legs and wished he had some more pain medication from a human doctor.

His owner eyed the way he rubbed his legs. She rolled her eyes as she decided to go and get a human doctor for him after supper. She stood and headed downstairs, took a seat at the table and waited for the supper to be brought out to her. Eric walked around the table, taking advantage of the lingering warmth of Tor's cleavage that eased his muscles and the pain. He was on his fifth lap when the same girl from earlier in the afternoon brought out the supper plate. He quickly made his way over to the smaller plate where Tor had portioned out his share of the food.

After supper, he was surprised when Tor left him on the bed and headed for the door. "Where are you going?"

"You'll see," she called over her shoulder. He heard the lock in the door turn with the room key. All he could do was sigh in frustration and start making laps around the bed.

A few minutes later, Tor was pounding down the road on Idiot's back. Very few human wagon trains traveled without a doctor. And she knew of one wagon train that wasn't that far off. It only took her an hour or so to track them down, despite the fading sunlight. She pulled up sharply to avoid trampling a wagon, swinging down from the saddle as she did so. She crouched over the team of tiny, frightened horses and spoke to the man on the seat now fighting to control them.

"Do you have a human doctor?" she ask brusquely.

"W-we do," he answered hesitantly. "I am. But I know so little about giant physiology, I am afraid I would be unable to help you."

"I don't need you. My human does." She reached down and scooped him up. She slid him into the gap of the saddle and swung into it. She wheeled the horse and headed back to town. The poor doctor clutched to anything he could, his fear of heights threatening to overwhelm him. He was unsure of how much time passed before he was roughly plucked out of the saddle and carried inside and up a set of stairs before being set down on a massive bed.

"Please!" he begged. "Please don't eat me. Please take me back. My wife must be terrified. I have children. They need me!" He looked up to the uncaring face looming above him.

"Tor!" Eric yelled as he hurried over to the man. "What did you bring him here for?" He carefully knelt beside the man and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "It's alright. She's not going to hurt you." He glared up at his owner/protector to drive his point across. "Are you?"

She scowled. "I brought him here to take another look at your legs. You keep rubbing at them, even after soaking and sleeping with me."

The doctor gave Eric a shocked look. "You sleep with her?! With a giant!"

Tor's scowl deepened but Eric cut her off before she could say anything. "Yes, I do. Her name is Tor. She is my friend--"

"Owner."

"Friend. And she is concerned. I broke my legs a little over a month ago. A doctor set them and I recovered with him until Tor decided to move on. He gave me some pain medication but that ran out about a week ago. Since then, the pain in my legs becomes overwhelming. I'm sure she just wants me to have some more medication. That's all."

The doctor still looked quite panicked, unable to fully process things. But it slowly sunk into his mind what was being asked of him. "I-I can help. But all my medicine is back in my wagon. I don't carry it on my person."

"I'll go get it," Tor said.

"Wait!" Eric called, utterly frustrated. "Get back here and listen to me for once!" He was pleased when she stopped and turned to face him, even though she wore the biggest scowl he had yet to see on her face. "Thank you. Now, you should not have taken this poor doctor without his permission. And you most certainly may not go and take his wagon. I appreciate what you are trying to do, but, please, let's go about this a different way. Why don't you take us back to the doctor's wagon train? We can stay there for the night while he looks at my legs. In the morning, we can be moving on."

"I paid for this room already!" she protested. "And for Idiot's stay in the stable."

"And the other two who could have helped me paid a higher price." He gave her a dark, severe look. "Now, let's go. I am sure this man's family is worried about him." He helped the doctor to his feet, gently reassuring the man.

Tor grumbled under her breath. "Fine." She held her hand out to the pair of men and waited, impatiently, as they stepped on. The doctor had to be coaxed, but he eventually climbed on. He yelped and dropped to his stomach as she lifted her hand and took a step back. He was trembling as she crouched and picked up her bag, slinging it across her shoulder. She ignored him as she stomped down the stairs and out to the stocky black mustang waiting outside.

"Set us on the saddle, Tor," Eric instructed. "I'll ride with him in the gap. It's still cushioned from my sleeping blankets."

She rolled her eyes and followed his instructions. When they were settled, she swung into the saddle and turned her horse back out of town. She once more urged him into a run, cutting the time down from the last trip. She slid Idiot to a stop and stepped out of the saddle before retrieving the doctor and setting him back by his wagon. A woman and several children spilled out of the wagon and latched onto the man, sobbing and muttering incoherently. Tor grumbled but took a step back, waiting for them to calm down before she put Eric in their midst.

As the doctor explained everything, Tor led Idiot a short ways away and hobbled him before setting up the tent. She untacked and rubbed down her horse, sweet talking him and taking advantage of the calm moment to groom him. She chuckled, kissed his muzzle and was headed back to the camp when the sky rumbled ominously overhead. Lighting flashed in the distance and the wind picked up. She frowned and pulled out a tarp to set up over her tent. She finished it just in time.

Rain spattered on the ground, threatening more to come. She was just about to retrieve Eric when she noticed him, and all the people from the wagon train, at her heels. She glanced between them and her tent and scowled.

"No. They can go sleep in their wagons. Just like they would have if I wasn't here."

"Let them in!" Eric called above the wind. "Tor, you know it is the right thing to do!" He turned and began ushering people inside, despite the massive woman scowling down at him.

"Fine. Whatever. Get my tent muddy," she grumbled as the last human climbed inside. She had to pick her way around the humans to get into her own tent. She plucked Eric up and set him beside her before zipping up the tent for the night.

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Map of the Territory: http://coalwhite.deviantart.com/art/A-Charmed-Life-Territory-Map-660805171

Fanart: http://freakyflynn.deviantart.com/art/A-Charmed-life-Smart-mouth-672526346