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FennLann immediately handed Jack a white cloth bag the size of his fist. It was quite aromatic and actually smelled pretty good. “Keep that in your interior pocket. Sniff it as required. Now the fun thing!”
“OK. On Earth there is an ancient form of unarmed combat which involves only two opponents. This was used to resolve disputes, win fortunes, and test the strength and fortitude of the warriors. In modern days it has become a sport where the victors are assigned glory and wealth.” The Prince was almost panting with interest and Jack had piqued the curiosity of the two councillors as well. “It requires great mental discipline, strategy, stamina, and above all, strength. No blood is spilled but there is a risk of broken bones. At the Banquet I will demonstrate this ancient art.”
“Fark! I cannot wait!” FennLann blurted and Jack grinned.
“You have only to wait until tomorrow night!” Jack said.Content © NôvelDrama.Org.
“This is the best Treaty Signing yet!” the Prince gushed.
“Until tomorrow?” Jack said.
“Until tomorrow!” FennLann said with a smile. He turned and left, the councillors hustling to catch up with him.
When they were alone Aaros walked up to Jack’s side. “You are going to demonstrate a combat technique to our ancient enemy at a banquet celebrating the signing of a non-aggression treaty? You do see the conflict there, don’t you?”
“There are all kinds of ways to deal with aggression. With a people who are naturally aggressive you shouldn’t try to suppress it. You just need to channel it in a different direction. The Phem Kalos are being bottled up. They need a safe outlet. Maybe this will help.”
He pulled the white bag from his pocket and sniffed deeply. Aaros grabbed his arm. “What are you doing? You don’t know if that is safe to inhale!” she cried.
“The Prince is young, brash, aggressive, and a warrior. A liar he is not,” Jack said as he felt his body relaxing. He began to giggle. “Woo! Sniffed a little too much! That is good stuff!” He tucked it back into his pocket.
Aaros looked at him critically. “You… do seem calmer.”
Jack grinned. “Let’s keep this little development to ourselves, ok? Man, I can’t wait to see the look on Lunnae’s face tomorrow! But tonight I want to see my son!”
The drive to the Queen’s residence took less time than getting through the crowd of press camped out front. When they discovered it was the child’s father finally coming to see his son they pushed forward to get a statement. Jack stared them down then said he’d speak with them after he’d actually been allowed in to see the child. That put enough of them in their place that he was able to get through with Aaros.
Once inside he heard someone squeal his name and he quickly looked to Aaros. “A friendly hug isn’t considered sex, right?”
“Uh, that’s correct,” she admitted.
Jack just had time to turn and throw his arms open when Leffera leapt up against his body. He held her tight. Following Leffera was Karrel who was carrying Alex. Lastly, walking down the hall towards them was Queen Elissa with Max in her arms.
The judge cleared her throat so Jack peeled Leffera from his chest and set her back down on her hooves.
She looked up at him with a smile then burst into a grin. “What happened?!? You look so relaxed!” Her face suddenly dropped. “Did you have sex? Are you being banished?” Tears pooled in her eyes and Jack stroked her cheek with his thumb.
“No! I’m not banished and I haven’t had sex! I told you to have more faith in me!” Jack grinned and Aaros looked cross at him. ‘Later’ he mouthed to her. She still scowled but nodded.
“Let me see my boys!” he said holding out his arms. Karrel put Alex into the crook of his left arm and Elissa put Max in the crook of his right. He sniffed their clean baby smells and nuzzled their faces and kissed their foreheads. The babies cooed and wiggled happily in his arms and tears ran down his face.
“More happy tears Jack?” Elissa said softly.
He was only able to nod as he was overwhelmed by the joy he was feeling.
Karrel noticed the mark on Jack’s throat. “What happened to your throat?”
Aaros looked at the three females incredulously. “Have you not witnessed the attack on the news?”
“Attack?!? We stopped watching after seeing Jack’s victory in the battle this morning because there is so much speculation and noise being presented by those rude people out front.”
They all walked back to the living room and Elissa turned on the display. Jack followed them in but he only had eyes for his sons. He was standing before the windows taking turns kissing each of them and nuzzling each with his nose to make them coo. He noticed there was silence in the room and looked up to see the press on the other side of the fence a hundred feet away. There was an impressive array of cameras pointing at the residence. He turned around and saw four smiling female faces and up on the big screen was an image of his back to the windows. Elissa pressed a button on the remote and the windows went opaque. The display changed to the reporter standing on the sidewalk outside.
“Ah, that was a live feed,” Jack said.
“Yes, now let me find that story. What am I looking for?” Elissa said looking at the judge.
“Try Allsa Komanae attack,” Aaros said.
The ladies gasped and moved towards Jack but Aaros stepped between them. “He still has to get past the challenge.”
Elissa entered the search and they all watched the footage of Jack being attacked. Except Jack. He was watching his babies sleeping in his arms. Once they finished watching Jack scented the spicy heat from the females and decided it was time to leave. Even with the herbs this was straining his resolve.
“I hate to cut my visit short but I think it’s time for me to go home. I will speak with the press on the way out as I said I would. Is there anything you would like me NOT to say?” he asked. The women looked at each other and shook their heads.
He gave Max to Elissa and Alex to Karrel. He gave them all a chaste hug then left with Aaros. They stopped outside the front door and the press pushed forward.
“I will answer questions then I ask that you respect the privacy of your Queen, her daughter, and her daughter’s friend. This intrusive behavior is reprehensible. If you had asked for an interview once we had all been able to meet then you would have received one. Instead you act like this. We understand people want to share in the amazing news but let’s be civilized please.
Jack saw embarrassed faces. He knew this wasn’t their usual behavior and pointing it out seemed to do the trick. He asked Judge Aaros to select the reporters to ask their questions.
They spent an hour answering as many questions as possible and once they indicated they were done the press began dismantling their mobile broadcast stations. Aaros and Jack caught a cab back to his place. Jack took a whiff of the herbs and relaxed back against the seats.
When they got back to his apartment Jack wanted a shower and endured Aaros’ presence once again though when she had hers his erection came back with a vengeance. The herbs were covering his condition but when it returned its progression towards becoming truly debilitating was evident.
He just had to hang on until tomorrow.
Jack had to skip his run as Aaros still had no means to keep up with him. He went to the gym in his apartment complex instead but had to leave halfway through his routine as the spicy heat from the watching females was too much for him. After a quick breakfast they made their way to the Trade Commission office. He had appointments in the morning scheduled around the 10AM battle and the afternoon was set aside for the Treaty Reading and Signing. While he had no responsibilities for that event he had to be there.
Dharma had come through. Hanging behind his door were a few garment bags with the Fitzhenry emblem on it. He quickly tried on the tuxedo and it was perfect! Aaros was impressed with the tuxedo as well.
Jack went through his morning appointments with no surprises then it was time to meet in the courtyard. Jack took a sniff of the herbs then they headed down.
The crowd was twice as big this time around and the press was there in full force. All the mobile broadcasting equipment was lining the wall of the building, dishes pointing skywards.
A cheer went up when Jack and Aaros arrived. A gust of spicy heat washed over Jack and he stumbled slightly as his need rocketed. He was immersed in a cloud of female excitement and sniffing the herbs wasn’t holding it back. This was bad and he looked at Aaros but she had no idea what he was going through. He took a deep snort of the herbs and that got him through the crowd into the inner circle. He looked over at Narelle who gave him a surprised look and a nod. He guessed that she was expecting to see him in far worse shape. They waited and 10AM arrived and went. 10:10AM came and went as well. Narelle was getting restless and was going to make a statement about how much longer they were going to wait when they heard booing and hissing. The crowd opened and there was Lunnae… and another male. Jack’s rage spiked. This challenger looked frightened and confused while Lunnae looked frazzled but determined.
Jack stepped out into the open area and glared at Lunnae. The spicy scent just got denser and Jack knew breathing the herbs in this environment was futile. He was rock hard and throbbing painfully.
“LUNNAE! Did your victim not see what happened to the last one? Are you STILL hiding behind the innocent?” Jack yelled.