The Sword
He makes a ritual of it, summoning the servants and the guards as he places a two-edged sword in the center of his bed before lifting her hand to his lips. "Until I return," he says, and she curtsies, saying nothing. He smiles, pulling down his helmet, not touching her, not caring that she does not reach for him, or even the helmet.
They have done all that, he tells himself, the night before.
When he returns, the sword is still there, untouched. He smiles.
He is pleased enough to do it again, and again, and again. Each time his wife curtsies, saying nothing.
When he returns from the fifth trip, however, the sword is gone.
"On my orders, my lord," she tells him.
His lips twist into a snarl. "Your orders."
Enjoying this story? Don't miss the next one!
SUBSCRIBE TO DSF
"When your sister most kindly agreed to share my bed," she says. "To protect my virtue, and for warmth."
The snarl remains. She takes a deep breath and steps to him, placing a tentative hand upon his shoulder. "Surely you would not wish steel between your sister and your wife?"
"No," he says after a moment. He takes her face into two firm hands. "No. But you will take no other into your bed."
"No," she whispers. "That I can swear."
He releases her, striding off: he has much to do on this return. And so he does not see their smiles, or the way their hands and mouths meet, not entirely for virtue, or for warmth.
The End
This story was first published on Thursday, February 22nd, 2018
We hope you enjoyed
The Sword by
Mari Ness.
Please support Daily Science Fiction by becoming a member.
Daily Science Fiction does not have a paywall, but we do have expenses—more than 95% of which are direct payments to authors for their stories. With your $15 membership, less than 6 cents per story, we can continue to provide genre fiction every weekday by email and on the website to thousands of readers for many years to come.
Support Daily Science Fiction
Please click to rate this story from 1 (ho-hum) to 7 (excellent!):
Please don't read too much into these ratings. For many reasons, a superior story may not get a superior score.
4.5 Rocket Dragons Average
Please join our mailing list and
receive free daily sci-fi (your email address will be kept
100% private):
