Read Online Futanari Legends: The Frozen Queen (Book 2: Astrid) by Angel Black - Free Book Online

legions. And again, another bit of the old ways relegated to the past, where they belong.”
    I am a bard, and I know my local lore, but this I did not know. There are things even the Bard College hides from its students, as I suspect to keep the Empire off the college’s back, and this bit of knowledge struck a little bit close to the bone for my liking. Mother had never told me about my past, or hers for that matter, and now I suspect that she isn’t telling me everything about herself or our family.
    And her hair was as white as mine.
    I bow my head and lie. “I am loyal to the God-King, and his light. May he shine upon the light of humanity.”
    “No need for pomp and piousness here,” Captain Garrus says. He pours himself some ale and loosens his belt. “You are one of us, ‘bandit’ Icebow, and a loyal Imperial scout. Relax.”
    He said ‘Imperial’ which makes me wonder if the men here are even from Greyrock at all. The men Astrid killed with her fire bore all the resemblance and markings of Greyrock militia, but what if that unit was unique and attached to this effort. What if the scouts were Imperials from farther away, perhaps the South even? Were the scouts trusted more than others? Were all the ‘bandits’ on the same page regarding what we are doing, or are most of the men as in the dark about what is going on here as I?
    Faith smiles, a curl of her black hair across her youthful face, and her presence warm and inviting. “You are said to have a wonderful voice. Please share, Miss Icebow of Mist Valley.”
    “If I may?”
    A wave of hands and a couple here-heres from the Captain, and I am singing again. I stick with traditional hymns and folksy jaunts, and keep my magic notes out of the mix. I stick to the first songs I learned, nothing from the Bard’s College, and hold my magic tongue as I weave my pitch-perfect notes into their ears. Do I miss a couple to keep it real? This is probably my weakness, for to miss a note intentionally might make me slip in a magic note or two to make up for it, and then my pride forbids me from making a mistake. What they hear is near-perfect, and I probably should bite my tongue and flub, but I just can’t force myself to make a mistake.
    Faith looks entranced by my notes, and she sits forward and smiles. She mouths some of the words and sings along, grabbing for my wrist at times, and I hold her hand and let it go at the right moment. Captain Garrus nods and drinks, his pock-marked and unshaven face smiling, raising a toast to me between songs with a toast of ‘well-done.’ High Priest Keller sits back, his expression calm and unflinching as he takes me in, and I begin to suspect if he wonders that I had more than simple choir experience to be so melodious.
    “Absolutely brilliant,” Keller says as I finish a hymn, “and just perfect. Who says we need bards at all with you singing the God-King’s praise?”
    I smile and blush.
    “Have you ever thought of training as a bard?” Keller leans back, taking me in, and I notice a long bulge down his robe that surprises me. The man has an erection.
    Imperials.
    “It’s not common that one could hit those notes so perfectly without formal training,” he says.
    “My mother had me tutored,” I say, and it isn’t entirely a lie, “by bards that came into town, and a teacher or two locally. She thought it my dream, but I stayed with the church and then true to the hunt.”
    “The best of both worlds,” Keller nods, “the beauty of a bard’s voice without any of the manipulative schemings of the College.”
    And in that moment, I knew the obvious. It is true the College has its fair share of manipulative aspects, but the College itself is loyal to the God-King, at least by word and pledge. The rumors of bards and others from the college using their magic to manipulate minds and shift favors is legendary, and it generates a huge amount of distrust of bards in general, especially by the church.
    “Thank