Dimension Shifter

  ***

  Kyrin sighed and headed up the stairs, already in a dress and with her hair down. She didn’t want to go to training today and especially didn’t want to see Alric mad if Genessa was being punished without his knowledge.

  She cringed when she heard Genessa moan loudly. Doing as she was told, Kyrin turned around and then walked up the stairs to the top floor. She knocked lightly, and Finn opened the door.

  Kyrin walked in and was surprised to see Alric in his room. “She’s getting punished.”

  Alric rushed past her and down the stairs, followed by Finn and four of the knights. Kyrin ran after them, wanting to see what happened to Genessa.

  When Alric opened the door, Falon jumped to his feet, completely naked. Genessa screamed and grabbed for the blanket lying next to her on the couch.

  The knights rushed forward and held Falon still while Alric walked over to Genessa. Kyrin had never seen him this mad, and she wondered if he would kill her on the spot. She peeked around Finn long enough to see where Alric was going but caught sight of the naked man in the room.

  She frowned. “What’s that?”

  Finn gasped and spun, taking her with him. He began to haul her down the stairs quickly. She thought she was going for a punishment too but wasn’t sure why. It wasn’t until they were in her room that she saw Finn’s face and noticed he was blushing and grinning sheepishly.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked him.

  “Nothing, I just… I think we needed out of there.”

  “What will he do to the knight for punishing Genessa then?”

  He looked at her oddly, wondering how she could still think Genessa was being punished after seeing both her and the knight naked. “Well…”

  “I suspect he’ll be hung.”

  Finn almost choked on his own saliva and began to cough violently. Kyrin slapped him on the back. “Are you okay?”

  He nodded, laughing too hard to answer her. When he had his laughter under control, he smiled at her. “I love having you around, kid.”

  She watched him, still not sure what was so funny. “Good to know.”

  Finn sat down to wait and see if Alric needed Kyrin at the trial. He figured they all had seen enough without Kyrin’s account of her involvement. He watched her, confused, as she tried to sit down but stood up immediately.

  “Are you okay?”

  She sighed. “I can’t breathe.”

  “Come here.”

  Kyrin walked over to Finn, and he spun her and reached up under her dress. She jerked and tried to pull away, but he already had a firm hold on the corset and was untying it. She stopped struggling when air flowed back into her lungs.

  When he was done, he pulled the corset out from under her dress, and she sighed. “Thank you.”

  “Bruises does it?”

  “Yes, it bruises where the buckles are.”

  He reached over and tossed it into the trash.

  Kyrin picked it up and brushed off bits of lint. “Genessa will want me back in that.”

  “I’m thinking your time with Genessa is done.”

  “Really?” she asked, looking over at him.

  “Yes, really.”

  “So I can change?”

  Finn nodded and stood up. “Sure.”

  She waited until he walked out and then pulled off the dress and immediately changed into more comfortable clothing. Once done, she opened the door for him and began to tie her hair up.

  “You really should leave that down,” he said, taking his seat again.

  “It gets in the way.”

  “So cut it.”

  “No”

  “Well, I like it down.”

  She turned to the door when trumpets blared from outside. “What is that?”

  “That means a verdict has been reached.”

  “So the knight is being punished?”

  “So is Genessa.”

  “Why? It’s not her fault that Alric didn’t know she was being punished.”

  Finn debated trying to explain the truth to her but figured she didn’t need to hear that from him. “It’s a long story. Want to go see what’s happening?”

  She nodded and walked out of the room. Finn led her up to the courtroom, and they took a spot standing at the back. Falon and Genessa were both standing before Alric. Falon looked terrified, and Genessa was sobbing into a dirty handkerchief. The knight had managed to put on a pair of pants but nothing else.

  The only other people in the room were the four knights who were with Alric during the capture, and Trox. Alric was deep in thought as he watched the two angrily.

  Almost 20 minutes later he leaned forward. “I’ll sentence Falon first.”

  Falon nodded and stepped forward, his eyes down.

  “I’m almost madder at you. You were one of Valhara’s elite! My own knight.”

  “I’m sorry, my Lord,” he whispered.

  “You are hereby stationed to outpost Zeta for the duration of your life.”

  “Zeta?” he asked, his eyes wide.

  “Yes”

  “Sir, it’s often attacked by Qualsax and has no defenses.”

  “I’m aware of that. You will be taken to it immediately.”

  Two of the knights moved forward and escorted him out.

  Alric sighed and looked at Genessa. “I guess I’m just glad we aren’t married yet.”

  “We were never going to get married. Not with… her… around,” Genessa said, glaring.

  “Who?”

  “That girl! You bring in a young, beautiful girl, for what other reason than as a mistress when we are married.”

  Kyrin frowned, not quite sure Genessa was talking about her, but she suspected she was.

  “You are wrong and are hereby banished from Valhara with no possessions. You go in only what you’re wearing.”

  Kyrin had to stand on her tiptoes to see, and then laughed when she saw that Genessa was wearing only a sheet wrapped around her.

  Genessa gasped. “You can’t do that! I’d have to travel through Qualsax!”

  “I’m aware of that, but you are no longer any of my concern.”

  “Don’t do this!” she screamed as two knights came to escort her out. “I still love you! You can bed her while we’re married! I don’t care!”

  “I hereby ban Genessa from these lands, and this incident will never be spoken of again,” Alric said, watching her.

  On the way out the door, Genessa screamed at Kyrin and pointed at her, “You did this! I hope you’re happy, you little tramp! Has he already had you?!”

  The knights pushed her out the door and Kyrin looked up at Finn. “Has he had me do what?”

  “Nothing,” Finn said, and took her arm when Alric motioned them forward. She walked up with him and then glanced back when she heard Genessa scream again.

  “I’m sorry about that,” Alric said to her.

  “What does it mean to bed me?”

  He smiled. “I need to decide how best to explain that. For now, don’t worry about it.”

  She thought for a moment. “Why is she getting banished for being punished?”

  “Again, it will all be explained in time.”

  “Okay,” she said hesitantly.

  “For now, I will take over your training, starting immediately. Things need to return to normal.”

  She froze and pointed at Finn. “He threw away the corset!”

  Finn grinned at how quickly she turned him in.

  “The corset is unnecessary, as is the dress and your hair down. Come as you are,” he explained.

  “Okay,” she said again, but it was obvious that she wasn’t sure about what was going to happen.

  Alric smiled and then stood up and walked to the library. Finn followed with Kyrin, and they all sat down when the doors were shut.

  “I want to start over on your training,” Alric explained. “I don’t know what all Genessa told you, but forget it. It seems she was out
to harm you rather than help you.”

  “Forget it all?”

  “Yes”

  “What if she was right?”

  “Then you will re-learn that with me.”

  “You know I could go take care of her for you, right?”

  Alric frowned. “Do what?”

  “Well, you’re the king. You can’t kill her because it would look bad. I can kill her without anyone knowing.”

  “You have to stop talking like that, Kyrin.”

  “Why?”

  “It’s not right!”

  She thought. “So am I killing her or not?”

  “No, you are not,” Alric said, sighing. “I want to start with some traditions that we’ve noticed over the last two months that are in conflict with what you already know.”

  “Is this really worth it? I’ll be out of here in ten more months anyway.”

  “Yes, it is worth it.”

  “Okay then, what traditions?”

  “Let’s start with children,” Alric said, and then sat back on the couch. It didn’t escape his notice that her nose wrinkled at the mere mention of them. “In Valhara, and even in Qualsax, for that matter, children are nurtured and cared for. They are special in their own right.”

  She frowned. “Here maybe. In my home, and in others, they are vile and disgusting. They are born of an evil act and are punished until they are old enough to be a benefit to society.”

  “Not here. Here, we treat them with kindness and respect, and have patience and understanding with them.”

  “Treat them how you will.”

  He realized this was going to take more than one explanation to get across, so he moved on. “Now marriage.”

  She tensed. “What about it?”

  “Here, and again in Qualsax even, marriage is consensual between both adults. No one is sold into marriage, and wives aren’t routinely beaten or punished.”

  “Why not?”

  “There’s no cause for it. They are rational, thinking adults and the relationship was mutually agreed upon.”

  “It’s still a barbaric practice.”

  He smirked. “You’re calling marriage barbaric?”

  “Yes”

  Finn interrupted, “I’m curious about something though. If marriage is bad, and children are bad, how do you plan on continuing the species?”

  “Nothing I can do will stop either one. I just don’t plan on doing my part,” she said bluntly. “Men love their property, and wives are nothing more than that. They are something to be used and tossed away.”

  “Oh right, thus multiple wives,” Finn said.

  “Multiple wives?” Alric asked.

  “Yes, the rich have more than one wife. They can afford multiple, and if one is disgraced with pregnancy, he has others he can parade around,” Kyrin explained.

  Alric sat back, deep in thought while she looked up among the books.

  “Maybe she needs to talk to my wife,” Finn suggested.

  “That’s not a bad idea,” Alric said.

  “It is a bad idea. I can’t stand listening to what a woman goes through. They should have had a mercy killer before getting married.”

  “Oh right. Death before marriage.”