I like how this is depicted. Our main point of entry into this world has been through the nobility and now we get to see them struggle with being displaced in a process that at least some of us (myself included) consider positive reforms. "Nobles lose out on modernization" is one thing when it's a bunch of distant crowned assholes, but quite another when it's the MC's girlfriend and her parents.
The King also doesn't sound like he's entirely a positive bundle of sunshine. Replacing heredity with wealth may tend toward meritocracy but he's just replacing one ruling class with another, while consolidating his own power in the process. Strong shades of enlightened despotism, maybe even progressing into outright Bonapartism with its reliance on civil servants and the military.
Also Iris remains best girl and I like her adorable new squire.
Thoughtful world-building combined with endearing, enjoyable character work. As before: great work as usual.
I think the king's perhaps grossly misstepped just in a machiavellian use of power to maintain power sense, if he's entirely replaced the apparatus of noble court intimates as household servants and all the layers of regal etiquette and kingly ceremony therein with a new civil service.
Keep your friends close but your enemies closer and all that, in terms of trapping them in the inner world of royal court Versailles or Edo style. And if not that then building a new military and administrative nerve center for the civil service to go on without bumping into the old nobility, or simply constantly touring the kingdom with an itinerant court exhausting the resources of potential rebels, or just something.
And there's probably also Outworlder biases and just not quite getting all the subtle complexities of this society in failing to do divide and rule with the baronial peerage and all the other nobility, incorporating minor gentry as the important chiefs of your new professional institutions and using said service nobility of the quill and charter to fracture any such hope of an aristocratic class monolith and keeping the purely bougie clerks as nameless extensions of these real battles within the knighthood.
I like how this is depicted. Our main point of entry into this world has been through the nobility and now we get to see them struggle with being displaced in a process that at least some of us (myself included) consider positive reforms. "Nobles lose out on modernization" is one thing when it's a bunch of distant crowned assholes, but quite another when it's the MC's girlfriend and her parents.
The King also doesn't sound like he's entirely a positive bundle of sunshine. Replacing heredity with wealth may tend toward meritocracy but he's just replacing one ruling class with another, while consolidating his own power in the process. Strong shades of enlightened despotism, maybe even progressing into outright Bonapartism with its reliance on civil servants and the military.
Also Iris remains best girl and I like her adorable new squire.
Thoughtful world-building combined with endearing, enjoyable character work. As before: great work as usual.
As much as Tolkien is a major influence on me, I'm not as conservative in my views as him; the Industrial Revolution was better than what came before even if it wasn't an unalloyed good. Likewise, I'm hoping that Trans Girl Isekai will be able to explore these themes of fantasy medievalism vs modernity from a number of different angles.
The King is our main antagonist, but there's some nuance to him, and defeating him will require more than Iris letting herself be used as the figurehead of a reactionary aristocratic counterrevolution (not that she'd want that in any case!).
I think the king's perhaps grossly misstepped just in a machiavellian use of power to maintain power sense, if he's entirely replaced the apparatus of noble court intimates as household servants and all the layers of regal etiquette and kingly ceremony therein with a new civil service.
Keep your friends close but your enemies closer and all that, in terms of trapping them in the inner world of royal court Versailles or Edo style. And if not that then building a new military and administrative nerve center for the civil service to go on without bumping into the old nobility, or simply constantly touring the kingdom with an itinerant court exhausting the resources of potential rebels, or just something.
And there's probably also Outworlder biases and just not quite getting all the subtle complexities of this society in failing to do divide and rule with the baronial peerage and all the other nobility, incorporating minor gentry as the important chiefs of your new professional institutions and using said service nobility of the quill and charter to fracture any such hope of an aristocratic class monolith and keeping the purely bougie clerks as nameless extensions of these real battles within the knighthood.
I can only imagine what a generic office worker or NEET-style isekai'd king would get up to. Engineer without any social sciences sounds like the worst. Maybe a isekai'd CEO would be even more awful?
the Isekai'd Raytheon engineer heroically saving this earth from the Demon King's plans to Dark Lord of Derkholm this world as yeah Mr. Chesney's Pilgrim Parties Inc., only to turn around and go completely insane as king, all their worst Falling Down Michael Douglas-ass impulses rewarded beyond measure.
As much as Tolkien is a major influence on me, I'm not as conservative in my views on him; the Industrial Revolution was better than what came before even if it wasn't an unalloyed good. Likewise, I'm hoping that Trans Girl Isekai will be able to explore these themes of fantasy medievalism vs modernity from a number of different angles.
The King is our main antagonist, but there's some nuance to him, and defeating him will require more than Iris letting herself be used as the figurehead of a reactionary aristocratic counterrevolution (not that she'd want that in any case!).
Maybe if the King had taken some Humanities courses while getting his engineering degree he would be a little smarter about this.
It really does sound like the King is pretty much Hank Morgan from Mark Twain's "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court," the original "otherworlder overturns fantasy world with modern technical knowledge" story.
In which case, this chapter gives us a nice look at what a "STEM Isekai Hero" would actually look like from the perspective of people who were actually born and raised in that world.
They left Bécancour almost immediately, staying just long enough the next morning for Alessa to reluctantly share her decision with the conspirators. Marie scoffed, and Geoffrey just shook his head, but Sir William Anza offered his hand.
"Perhaps the moment is not right, then. I pray in time you will see the necessity of action, Madame Iris."
Abelard rode with them as they returned to Doncaster; he tended to Stormcloud and maintained Iris' gear, and seemed to be getting on with the other squires like a house on fire. Being defeated by Alexa in the tourney only seemed to elevate her in Abelard's eyes; Iris thought that she would have to keep an eye on those two.
Back at Doncaster, Alessa made her report to her parents. Nothing followed, so Iris could only have guessed that Lord Joseph had chosen to stay neutral. The business still troubled her, though.
As the season turned, the days became shorter, the weather cold and rainy. It could be miserable, and it meant less practicing in the castle yard with Alessa.
On one particularly cold night in late autumn, Iris jolted awake in the middle of the night as she felt something climb on top of her. She was about to panic as she realized that someone was under the covers with her – before the rest of her brain woke up, and she saw Chiri's furry head poke out from under the blankets. The catgirl had crawled into bed and was draped across her torso.
"Chiri? What's going on?" Iris mumbled.
"I'm coooold…" Chiri mewled, clinging to Iris. She sighed and laid back down, holding Chiri close to her as the catgirl did her best to steal Iris' body heat.
After that, the two of them shared a bed every night.
With more people spending their time inside, life took on a different tempo. There were more cold days spent just sitting by the fire, more time spent reading, or telling stories. The food was different – salted and smoked meats, pickled and preserved fruits and vegetables, aged cheeses laid aside earlier in the year. The women of the castle spent more time weaving and sewing – at Alessa and her mother's urging, Iris allowed them to teach her, and she found that while she didn't exactly have a knack for it, it was an enjoyable way to spend the time, not to mention productive.
Alessa's mother had warmed up to her, in a sense. Iris wasn't sure exactly where she stood with the lady, a knight in her service, a favored retainer, a friend of the family. It scared Iris, sometimes, as if she expected Lady Harcourt to snap and tell Iris that she had secretly hated her all along. She did, however, feel like the lady saw some worth in her. They even spent some time alone together – sewing, mostly, in companionable silence.
During one such time, a rainy autumn night, Lady Harcourt broke the silence with an especially cutting question.
"What are your intentions with my daughter?"
Iris froze, almost feeling like she should bolt. She'd been embroidering a new coat for Chiri, and now she stopped her work.
"I'm…I'm sorry, my lady?"
"It is a simple question. I know that you are paramours, and that you are both…involved, in a way, with the Tabbakin girl."
Iris watched her sew, her maimed hand with its two fingers expertly working the needle as she mended an old blanket.
"That's – yeah, I mean, it's complicated but-"
Lady Harcourt looked up at her, her piercing blue eyes meeting Iris'.
"Love always is," she said quietly. Iris gulped and tried to pick up her work again, finding her fingers stiff, the fabric uncooperative.
"I love Alessa. So much," Iris said.
"I'm sure you do," Lady Harcourt murmured. She kept sewing, a series of repetitive motions, economical, precise. "But do you intend on spending the rest of your life with her?"
Iris had just gotten back into the pattern, and now it was lost. She looked around the room, anywhere but Lady Harcourt's face. It was a snug room, a merry blaze going in the fireplace and lightstones set in copper and glass fixtures providing illumination, baskets of yarn and thread everywhere, a huge loom in the corner, and tapestries on the walls. Those were Lady Harcourt's work, apparently, showing battle scenes, desperate fights with goblins in the dark and knights taking the field.
"I don't know," Iris said quietly, after a long, patient silence had passed. "I love her a lot. I don't know what in this world could compel me to leave her."
It was nice to hear herself admit it, at least.
Lady Harcourt nodded – Marie, Iris tried to remind herself.
"That may be enough. I only ask because, as a knight, as our heir, Alessa has…duties. It is not easy, to set aside duty for love, or love for duty." Her voice was quiet, strained by some unplaceable emotion. "Alessa is my beloved only daughter – my only child. In some ways, we indulge her, her chivalric notions. It may be that we will have to indulge her romantic notions as well."
Iris brushed her hair back, blinking.
"All I ask of you and your husband is that you let us have our love," Iris said.
Marie Harcourt sighed and put aside the blanket.
"I love her too much to do otherwise."
"Th-thank you…Marie."
Iris felt hot, she felt small and scared before this older woman, not just her girlfriend's mother but a person with real power over her life…but most of all, Iris could feel the love she had for Alessa.
"Thank you for loving my daughter, Madame Iris Penny." After a moment, she got up from her chair and walked over to the loom. "I'd thought to make my newest tapestry this winter tell the tale of how you and Alessa defeated the wyrm on the Lady's Day. Tell me of your life while I work."
Iris blinked in surprise, but she cleared her throat.
"My whole life?"
"Yes, it will take the winter months to complete, and I will need something to accompany me. Also, it will help me to weave something of your spirit into the tapestry. Tell me of Iowa."
"Well, as you know I was born in a…a small farming village. You know I'm trans-sexed, it's why my mother never taught me to sew, so I'm grateful you eventually helped me learn…well anyway, my mother and I were never close..."
Awww, this was short but sweet. Warmth snuggling! Family bonding! The broader political picture looms in the background, but for now it's just that - in the background.
Meanwhile the goblins in Under-Doncaster are mostly just noticing the dead of winter as the lack of fresh human foodstuffs and the upper keep getting into the cheese-caves and wine cellars too, while they mostly keep trucking with their good old fashioned mushroom and snail farms and olm cave-salamander husbandry.
Meanwhile the goblins in Under-Doncaster are mostly just noticing the dead of winter as the lack of fresh human foodstuffs and the upper keep getting into the cheese-caves and wine cellars too, while they mostly keep trucking with their good old fashioned mushroom and snail farms and olm cave-salamander husbandry.
No lie, I wrote a whole sequence of Iris and her girlfriends visiting Goblintown-Under-Doncaster. There was a bunch of material about the water-powered looms and goblin methods of self-governance, and the way the goblins and Harcourts exist in a tenuous balance that Alessa maintains and negotiates by showing her face and reading the mood, and some background lore about Joseph the Cruel (the one who was stabbed to death in his bed).
Ultimately I cut it, because it was a lot of material that I couldn't find any emotional hook for, or even use it as an excuse for cute character interactions, and it was unlikely to be relevant as anything other than fleshing out the setting.
Lady Marie offered Hildegard the crown of autumn leaves; she scooped it up with the tip of her lance, and Iris watched with interest as she rode towards where the commons were gathered and offered it to a pretty young peasant woman with blonde hair and freckles.
And kneeling right in front of her was a woman with a stern, beautiful face. Smooth, pale skin, with a dusting of freckles and a scar across the bridge of her nose. She was wearing full plate armor, the visor of her helm pushed up to show her face. A few locks of feathery white-blonde hair escaped from beneath her mail coif.
CW: Explicit sexual content. Lilly's back, and she and Iris get a bit messy.
You know how sometimes as a writer you discover that a character will have a mind of their own, that they'll do things you don't expect? Lilly has given me more trouble in that regard than any other character in the story.
That's right, she's such an anarchist she doesn't even recognize the authority of the author.
There was a chill in the air, and frost in the fields. It was late in the afternoon – the days were getting darker, and more fires were being lit, more lightstones set in niches and sconces. Iris found the lightstones amazing sometimes – something so magical, but so commonplace.
"Madame Iris?" a servant asked, breaking her out of her thoughts as she watched Jean-Ambrose cast an illusion of the daytime sky over the great hall. "There's someone to see you in the entry hall."
"To see me?" Iris asked, turning in surprise. The entry hall was where beggars, travelers, and wandering singers were allowed to sleep. Sometimes Lord Harcourt would bring food to them and sit by the fire, speaking to them, hearing news and rumors.
"Yes, a goblin woman – she said she knew you by name."
For whatever reason, Iris didn't make the connection until she actually reached the entry hall, and saw the goblin girl sitting hunched over by the fire. When the goblin raised her head and met Iris' gaze, it all came rushing back.
"Lilly? Lillywick Parser?"
"We meet again, Irispenny," the goblin girl said. She wore a brave smile, but Iris could see the pain, the hollowness under her eyes, the thinness to her. Iris immediately called for a servant to bring food and to fetch Alessa. She sat down by the fire and looked at Lilly, almost not believing her eyes.
"I can't believe it's you," she said finally, "Where were you? It's been so long!"
Memories of Goblintown came back, the furious battle in the night, the burning city, the Wolf-Goddess' battle-lust coming over her. And Lillywick, who had been so willing to ask for help, who had led the revolt, who had been with Iris right to the end.
"I was in the backwoods for a yarn, looking for the odds and ends of my clan," Lilly said, "Found some of them, but they'd got themselves new families and clans. They felt…strangerlike, to me."
"Oh. That's…I'm sorry."
"Ain't yer fault, Iris, I should be happy for 'em. Anyway, what've ye been scheming?"
A servant brought a pot of stew, and Lilly wolfed it down while Iris caught her up on her adventures.
"I live here, in Doncaster now. I'm a knight! I killed a wyrm and…gosh, Bryn Mawr feels like forever ago."
"Aye, sounds like yer a real tin pot now, proper herolike," Lilly said before draining the bowl.
"Also…Alessa and Chiri and I are, sorta, together now."
She wasn't sure how Lilly would take that, but the goblin nodded.
"Thought there was somethin' like that between ye. Happy for ye, Irispenny, sounds like yer comin' up shiny."
Iris stared at her for a minute.
"You should stay here," she said finally, "Enter Lord Harcourt's service too. He has lots of goblin retainers, you could-"
"Nahhh, ye don't need me," Lilly cut her off, "Not sure it's my place."
Iris grabbed her hand, sensing she was about to leave – to walk out into the cold night.
"Please! We fought alongside you, you're – I don't know, a friend? A comrade? Where's your place, if not here, with us?"
Lilly looked at her cautiously, brushed her lank black hair back out of her eyes.
"You really are a shiny fuckin' penny, you...you gutfilled heartbreaking flowermouth!"
That last part was said with a sob, as Lilly fell forward into her arms. Iris rubbed her back in bewilderment. Why had Lilly even come here if not to find a place to stay? Did she really think so little of herself?
Chiri and Alessa soon arrived. Chiri leaned down and peered at her, taking her hand and feeling the thinness of her wrist.
"Goodness, it really is you! Are you alright?"
Iris looked up at Alessa.
"She can stay here, right?" she asked.
"Of course she can! As long as she wants."
Lilly shot Alessa a suspicious look.
"I'm not t'be your maid now, am I? Scraping and serving for my lady?"
"I should think not! You're my friend, and my comrade in arms. You'll be an honored guest."
Lilly nodded. "Good. Had enough of being bossed for a lifetime." She sniffled and started to squirm under Chiri's attention. "Alright, alright, ye busybodies! I'm feelin' proper tended now so you can jump back, if you're feeling kindly!"
***
Lillywick recovered quickly in the following weeks with proper feeding, monitored closely by Chiri. Lord and Lady Harcourt gladly let Lilly into their home, for which Iris was grateful. She was found quarters near Alessa's chambers, no bigger than a closet but comfortably snug for a goblin, and in it Lillywick made herself a nest of cushions and blankets.
In very little time she recovered mentally as well. "Her mind is very flexible," as Chiri said. She avoided speaking of her experiences, save for one night. Iris, Alessa, Chiri, Bors, and Lilly had been sitting by the fire, sharing glasses of mulled wine. As they were all veterans of that same night, the topic of conversation turned to Bryn Mawr and Smivey Demple.
"These days it's like…a bad nightmare," Chiri said. Lillywick nodded.
"Y'can't remember all the details, just the bad feeling over all," she said.
Iris looked into her glass of wine.
"I remember things. Snapshots. But yeah, it's all a blur."
She glanced at Bors. Obviously, Iris realized, the old veteran had been in half a hundred battles, he was certainly used to these sorts of things. As if reading her thoughts, he spoke.
"You do get used to it. You…learn. To sort out the memories. Let them pass you by. They're only memories."
Alessa sighed.
"It's a terrible thing, all of it. I didn't like killing them, even if they did deserve it."
"That's good," Bors said, "It's a dirty business, and those who enjoy it are worse for it."
Lilly burrowed deeper into her chair, scowling. Iris was thinking of her Wolf-Goddess, who delighted in battle. It was something Iris shared with her. She had delighted in her strength, in the fear she struck into goblins who had pushed at each other in their rush to get away from her-
"Smivey Demple was evil," Alessa continued, "But, I still remember his scream when Iris took off his hand."
Iris looked down at her sword hand, flexing it. The goddess had been in her, filling her with strength, and blocking out the stress of battle. She couldn't remember the tearing of bone and tendon, or the scream that followed, though she knew they must have happened. The memories just wouldn't come.
"Aye, I remember," Lillywick muttered darkly, looking into the fire.
The topic wandered from there, to stories of old wars, by and against and between goblins. One by one they left for bed. Bors first, humming an old marching song, then Alessa, swaying from the extra glass of wine she'd had. Chiri murmured her goodnights and seemed to want Iris to follow, but Iris wanted to stay and talk to Lilly alone.
Chiri kissed Iris' cheek and left them, and for a while they stared into the fire.
"I liked it," Lillywick spat, "I fucking liked hearing him scream. I liked killing him. Ratfucking bastard took everything from me and I'm glad he's dead."
The venom, the sheer satisfaction in Lillywick's voice took Iris by surprise, but she couldn't find it in her to judge.
"I felt so…strong. I'd never felt that way before."
Another memory came back, and this one she could feel, in all its pain and betrayal. The first time her father had struck her.
"You were wonderful, Irispenny," Lilly said, looking into her eyes. Her own eyes were yellow and shining in the firelight. "I could've followed you to Hell."
"I did it for you," Iris said, a strange euphoria filling her breast. "I did it to keep you safe."
He had struck her because she had put herself between him and her mother.
Lillywick rose from her seat.
"Seems t'me I never thanked ye proper…" she murmured, crossing the room to stand before Iris' chair.
"Now's a good time," Iris purred as she spared a glance to make sure the door was closed. She and her girlfriends had talked about this, as a possibility, but she certainly hadn't planned on it happening, and now...
As Lillywick wrestled her trousers down past her hips and removed her vest, Iris unbuckled her belt and shimmied out of her pants, her cock lying soft between her legs. She grabbed Lilly's hips and pulled the goblin girl into her lap. Lilly wrapped her arms around Iris' neck and kissed her, and Iris squeezed down on her hips, fingers sinking into the layer of fat over wiry muscle.
Lilly's mouth was wet, and warm, and she nipped playfully at Iris' lips as she started to grind down on her lap. Iris' cock hardened, and then Lilly was grinding against that as well, sliding her pussy lips along Iris' girth. Iris grew bolder, groping and kissing across Lilly's green skin until she was dripping wet and Iris' shaft was slick with her arousal.
"Fuck…why does it feel so…?" Lilly murmured; her brows furrowed.
Iris grabbed onto Lilly, her hands almost wrapping entirely around her waist as she pulled the goblin girl up, the head of her cock pressing against Lilly's entrance.
"C'mon, you can take it," Iris grunted. Lilly squealed happily as Iris pulled her down on her cock, spearing into her. She clapped her hand over her mouth to avoid shrieking as she worked her hips, bouncing on Iris' cock as Iris guided her with her hands. Lilly was tight, her walls gripping Iris' cock, but Lilly kept taking it, wiggling her hips as she sank down further.
"You're splitting me open, you heavyhanded fffucking sword-swingin' killer," she muttered, and then she pushed her hips down just right and screamed, "THERE! There, there, there!"
"So, you don't want me to stop?" Iris asked, feeling all too smug, and Lilly just bit her lip and shook her head. They kept up their steady rhythm, Lilly's ass clapping against Iris' muscular thighs. "Ah, fuck, I'm close," Iris snarled. Lilly clung to her, her nails digging into her skin through her tunic.
"You can do it, I'm so close," she whimpered.
"Okay…okay," Iris gasped, teetering on the edge. Just before she lost control, Lilly pulled off her, shoving a hand between her legs to rub her clit.
"Right there!" she screamed, and Iris genuinely feared someone would hear them. She looked into Lilly's eyes, the goblin's pupils dilated and her breathing coming ragged. When her eyes focused again, she looked down at Iris' cock, still hard and wet with arousal.
"Um. Sorry, killer, lemme help with that…"
She dropped to her knees between Iris' legs. Iris knew her cock wasn't that big, but in Lilly's thin-fingered hands...
"First time I saw you, Irispenny, I thought, there's a girl who I wouldn't mind throwing down with." She winked, jerking Iris off with both hands.
"Yeah? You're fucking – ngh."
Iris grabbed the back of Lilly's head, fingers tangling in her soft, dark hair. She kept it cut short, and with her time in Doncaster it had regained some of its luster. Lilly was quite a beautiful girl, Iris thought, goblin or no…
Iris felt her cock throb in Lilly's palm.
"Shit, shit fuck I'm-" she cut herself off with a muffled groan. When she came, she painted Lilly's face with cum, thick, white ropes draped across her skin. Lilly wiped it out of her eye and glanced up.
"Wonders, Iris, did ye need me that bad?"
Iris slumped in her seat, gazing down at Lilly with something like wonder. She said something like "um," and Lilly laughed at her and sat back on her heels.
"We're both fuckin' messes, Iris. Can you do something about-?" she motioned to her face.
"O-oh, like, clean you up? Yeah, just give me a minute…where are my pants?"
Just saw this pop up as one of the pics of the month, congrats!
It reminded me that I wanted to comment that, oh my God you somehow made short stack goblin girls hotter, by giving them a what I think is a Scotts dialect.
Just saw this pop up as one of the pics of the month, congrats!
It reminded me that I wanted to comment that, oh my God you somehow made short stack goblin girls hotter, by giving them a what I think is a Scotts dialect.
Alessa and Chiri stared at them as Iris explained what had happened over breakfast. Lilly seemed unconcerned; she was peeling hard-boiled eggs and popping them into her mouth one after the other.
"I know we talked about it, but…I didn't expect it to happen like this," Iris concluded. She couldn't bring herself to look at them; instead she stared out the window, where the first snowfall of the year was coming down.
"Iris, what are we going to do with you?" Alessa asked. Iris winced.
"Look, I'm sorry, but I like Lilly…a lot."
"I like y'too, Iris," Lilly said through a full mouth. "Obviously."
Alessa drummed her fingers on the table impatiently.
"Yes, it's just...this changes things."
Iris tried not to shrink down in her chair.
Chiri sipped a glass of fresh milk; she didn't seem bothered at all, which Iris had expected. But she had also expected Alessa to be upset.
And you did it anyway, you stupid fuckup, what is wrong with you?
"Alessa, you should know this doesn't change anything! I still love both of you, I just…I just…"
Words failed her. How could she explain how deep her emotions went?
"That's not quite what I meant," Alessa said. To Iris' relief, the look in her eyes was gentle.
"I think she means th' fact that we're married and all," Lilly said casually.
"WHAT?"
Lillywick sighed in frustration and crossed her arms. She glared at Alessa and Chiri.
"Did neither of ye tell her? Alessa, ye should have known!"
Alessa had that stubborn set to her jaw, but Chiri was…laughing?
"Girls, what is going on?" Iris asked.
"Shoulda' fixed they wouldn't've told ye. Look, goblins don't get married like other folk. If you're sleepin' with 'em and you're livin' together, you're goblin-married. If ye leave, yer not married anymore."
"That's…okay, that's something."
"It's not like marriage among Humans," Alessa said primly, "So it didn't seem important."
"Also, t'be sharp about it, I haven't fucked th' other two yet."
"Yet?" Alessa sputtered.
Iris decided to press on.
"Yeah, but…how does love come into it?"
"Oh, Iris," Alessa sighed. She probably meant it kindly, but Iris flinched. Lilly scratched her nose, her eyes darting to the side.
"Well…I'm terribly fond of ye, Irispenny. You're good company, and a killer in the sack, and I'd follow you into Hell, so I suppose that means I love you. But I know you humans like puttin' words on things, so you can call me whatever ye like. Yer wife or concubine or paramour."
"Girlfriend?" Iris asked.
"Sure, why not, as long as ye know words don't have the same meaning to us goblins." She squinted. "Ye ain't feelin' bad about that are ye?"
"No no. I am…totally cool with it," Iris said. "Uh. I'm sorry, I should be asking about the two of you."
"Well, I have no problem with this," Chiri said.
Alessa sighed heavily.
"I think in the future you really shouldn't do this without asking."
"I won't," Iris said, almost instantly, "I promise I won't, I am so – I promise."
"That being said…" Alessa continued, "Lilly deserves our trust. After what we've all been through together, I think I owe her that much." She turned to face Lilly. "I am…happy Iris has chosen you as our companion."
"Oh, yes, I agree," Chiri purred, "You're welcome here."
Iris picked at her breakfast. She didn't feel hungry, but at least now she felt a little less guilty.
***
Snow fell across the Harcourt lands. The air was cold and sharp, the nights dark and long, and many days it was no use even going outside. Iris was surprised by how warm the castle was – it seemed this world's suite of magic spells even extended to artificial heating.
Lord Joseph, apparently, had a special interest in cheese and wine making. During the short, dark winter days he spent much of his time in the cellars, overseeing the various tasks required. He would include the rest of the household with wine and cheese tastings down in the cellars.
"Now this is a vintage laid down by Joseph the Pious," he said, pouring out a sort of wildberry cordial that he'd paired with a young goat cheese. "Though this cheese pairs well with anything floral."
"It's nice," Iris said. She didn't totally get the nuances of the business, but it all tasted good and was a pleasant way to spend a winter afternoon.
"I've been wanting to get into distilling, but I haven't been able to find the know-how," Lord Joseph continued.
Chiri looked around the cellar thoughtfully.
"Hmm, you know, distilling is a fairly basic alchemical process…I'm sure if you could find me the right equipment, I could help you get started on a still and we could try for a whiskey..."
The catgirl rose very quickly in Lord Joseph's estimation after that.
That winter was a pleasant one for Iris and her girlfriends. Seldom were the four of them together, but when they were it proved a pleasant evening of drinking, talking, and playing games of cards or dice (which Lilly seemed to win most of the time). Lilly seemed to spend her own time playing with the other goblin staff, or with the soldiers in the barracks, or wandering the halls of Doncaster looking for secret tunnels and lost rooms.
Lilly was chatty and energetic – rarely did she sit still, she would sit on top of tables or furniture to put herself at eye level with other people, she scampered everywhere to keep up with them. Her hands were usually busy with something, whether it was shuffling a deck of cards or toying with the hilt of her knife. She had a tendency to steal food off of people's plates when they weren't looking.
"Goblins, honestly," Alessa had said of her, though she rolled her eyes and smiled as she did. Alessa warmed up to Lilly, slowly at first.
Then one night, when Alessa had one too many glasses of wine, she pulled Lilly into her lap.
"Hey! What th-"
Alessa silenced her with a kiss.
"Lilly, you are…a meddlesome little creature," she said, then laughed, then kissed her again. "And I suppose I have grown..."
"Fond of her?" Chiri asked, looking smug.
"After a fashion," Alessa muttered – but she was smiling when she said it, and her cheeks were tinged pink.
Lilly squirmed and kicked and tried to escape, until Alessa's lips moved down lower to her neck, then she whimpered and went limp in Alessa's arms.
Iris watched, feeling the last bit of tension between them finally vanish. Out of everything this world, she treasured her girlfriends the most, and she resolved to never risk things with them again.
"A-alright, alright, ye made yer point, 'lessa," Lilly muttered, "Yer a sweet fruit under all that armor, I gather."
"Also, I want to watch Iris fuck you," Alessa said, blushing so much she had to hide her face in Lilly's chest.
Iris laughed.
Despite that, Lilly ended up sleeping with Chiri the most out of any of them, which suited Iris just fine – Lilly was about the only one of them that could keep up with Chiri, and it left Iris more time to spend with Alessa. It also had some unexpected benefits – like the time the two of them pulled Iris into a broom closet to take turns using their mouths on her.
Iris told Lilly about the Serpent-Goddess, and Chiri told her what they'd learned about the history of Bryn Mawr. Lillywick spat.
"I curse her, then. She put the sword in Smivey Chickenthief's hand."
"We'll be on the watch," Chiri said. "I have a feeling Bryn Mawr wasn't the last we've seen of her."
Iris said nothing.
Midwinter's Week came, a week of gift giving and celebration during the longest, darkest nights of the year. There were daily prayer services in the chapel; Iris was surprised to find that a choir kept up their praises to the Lady of Light day and night, rotating out to sleep in shifts. Iris wondered how people could be fueled by devotion alone like that, although she had to admit that walking through Doncaster late at night and hearing the faint strains of hymns drifting through the halls warmed Iris in a way she could not explain.
The height of festivities came with a banquet. The cellars were opened, and food and drink flowed, and Lord Joseph even invited peasants from the castle town to come and share the tables with the knights and lords. There were stories recited, and Lady Harcourt stood at the unveiling of her tapestry.
It showed Iris Penny, Wyrmslayer, Wolf-Knight, Outworlder. Iris couldn't explain it; it was just an image of her woven into fabric, wearing her armor and holding aloft her sword. But it showed her in such strength, such bravery, that she felt that it was a truer depiction of Iris than her own reflection in the mirror. She almost wanted to weep as she approached it for a closer inspection. The borders of the tapestry were sewn with wolves and serpents, and as she looked closer, she realized that the gold field she stood on was the same gold as the fields of Iowa. Iris raised her hand – and realized that the tapestry radiated with heat. She felt something stick in her throat as it all unfolded, the feelings that she had poured out to Marie and that had been poured back into this tapestry so that it could, literally, warm the people of Doncaster on a cold night.
"Thank you," she said to Marie, tears in her eyes. Marie shushed her and wiped her tears with a handkerchief, checkered blue and white.
"You're welcome, daughter."
***
Winter loosened its grip, and though snow remained on the ground the days were bright and crisp. Iris could once again go outside and feel the winter sun on her face.
Iris started pushing Abelard to train more. She hadn't spent as much time with her squire as she would have liked that winter, not being called to her knightly duties. Abelard seemed to be thriving at Doncaster, perhaps simply because it was an improvement over whatever his home life had been before, but he needed to learn that life could not just be snowball fights with the other squires.
It was good for Iris, too – she had let herself grown lax in the winter months, and drilling Abelard with the sword and shield was a good way for her to get some practice in.
She actually felt proud, the first time he beat another squire in a training bout.
"Good job kid, keep up the good work," she said as he racked his training sword.
Abelard didn't run off afterwards. He was avoiding eye contact, his hands folded in front of him.
"Madame? Um…can I ask you something?"
Iris raised an eyebrow. When he kept hesitating, seeming to shrink in on himself, Iris motioned with her hand.
"Go on, I won't be mad."
"Just…how did you know you were trans-sexed?"
"Um."
Suddenly Iris was looking at the kid in a different light.
"Agh. My apologies, Madame, I shouldn't have asked," he said, bowing his head.
"No, it's…hmm, I just haven't thought about it in a while. I suppose I was…oh, I guess I was your age? I'd never really felt right since hitting puberty," she looked at Abelard again, and he just stared at her blankly, "But I guess I never wanted to grow up to be a man, I was always sort of…afraid of the idea? I cried the first time I got my hair cut."
She frowned, staring off into space, walking back through her memories.
"Madame?"
"Uh, sorry. I guess what I'm trying to say is, I didn't have the words until I met other trans people."
She'd only ever known them online, but she didn't need to explain that to Abelard.
"I see. Thank you, Madame," Abelard said. He stared at her boots thoughtfully.
"Abelard? Was there something you wanted to tell me?"
"Hm? No, I was just curious, I suppose."
Iris stared at him closely. He truly seemed not to have anything more to say on the matter. Maybe, Iris thought, he really had just been curious. Maybe she was imagining things.
"Alright. I…I just want you to know, you can be whatever you want to be."
"Thank you, Madame," he said, not really seeming to understand her.
What a lovely, wholesome update. I get the feeling that if Alessa's dad existed in our world he'd be really into homebrewing craft beer and flying his Pride flag on queer holidays.
"I've been wanting to get into distilling, but I haven't been able to find the know-how," Lord Joseph continued.
Chiri looked around the cellar thoughtfully.
"Hmm, you know, distilling is a fairly basic alchemical process…I'm sure if you could find me the right equipment, I could help you get started on a still and we could try for a whiskey..."
The catgirl rose very quickly in Lord Joseph's estimation after that.
