Read Online A Tale of Fur and Flesh by Unknown - Free Book Online

were as wretched as her own.
    When a hand fell lightly on her shoulder, Lally
cringed.  Every muscle in her body tightened spontaneously.  With a desperate
yelp, she knocked the hand away and spun around.  But it was not her father. 
Not at all.
    “I do apologize,” said King Aelwyn, remaining at a
safe distance.  “I would have called out your name, but you haven’t told it to
me yet.”
    Lally exhaled with a wave of relief. When she gazed
about, she noticed the guests had cleared a wide circle for them.  She inhaled
the warm night air.  Her heart floated above the tents and streamers and lamps.
All eyes were on Lally and her silver dress.
    “Please, call me Allerleirauh,” she told the king.
    “Allerleirauh,” he considered.  On his tongue, the
name was far less ugly than it had been.  How badly she desired for him to
speak her true name.  But Lally was hidden somewhere, forgotten under layers of
peltry and sparkling gowns.  “A most unusual name,” he continued.  “It means,
‘many layers of raw furs,’ does it not?”
    Did he know she and the hairy animal were one?  No. 
How could he?  And yet…
    “I haven’t a clue,” Lally said dismissively,
scratching her nose.  When she noticed the black soot beneath her short
fingernails, she hid her hands behind her back.  The king seemed perplexed by
her bizarre actions.  Lally wished she could take it back or cover over the
insult somehow.  “Shall we dance?” she proposed, placing her hand upon the
king’s forearm. The warmth of King Aelwyn’s dark flesh reawakened some
forgotten aspect of Lally’s nature.  Her slouched shoulders rolled back.  She
stood proud and upright, propelling herself towards him.  The king smelled of
spearmint, frankincense and tree bark.  All familiar scents, but the
combination enchanted her.
    The king chuckled as though in disbelief that she might ask him to dance. “Formidable idea,” he responded.
    When he placed his large hand at the base of her
back, Lally remembered the feeling of wanting something more than sleep and
table scraps.  His eyes were warm pools.  Sympathetic.  They understood.  Many
months’ deprivation surfaced in her body as an aching void.  She could wait not
a moment longer to relieve the ache.  Reaching up to touch the king’s soft
cheek, Lally pulled him down to her height.  She kissed his softer-than-silk
lips.  The king had chewed spearmint after dinner; she could taste it mingling
with spices in his warm mouth. Her core whirled, even as she stood still.  It
was the dress silvery as moonlight that made her bold.
    King Aelwyn raised his head away from hers.  He
suddenly seemed so far away.  He appeared stupefied, befuddled and besotted. 
“Who are you, Allerleirauh?  I’ve never met a woman so enchanting.”
    Lally placed a hand on the king’s arm.  His jacket
was the colour of a sunset.  “I know not who I am.  I know not where I go.  I
know only where I come from, and that I wish to forget.”
    Her throat gasped for air as Lally pressed herself
close to the king.  They danced, though her face no doubt betrayed her raw
pain.  Could she not feel happy for even a moment without remembering the
past?  There was no justice.  The world was a place of suffering.  Snake knew
suffering.  He died because of her.
    “Allerlierauh?” King Aelwyn said, interrupting her
self-loathing.  Only the pan flute played now, its lilting tones floating into
the sky.  “You are from the South, are you not?”
    A nervous pang hit Lally in the pit of her stomach. 
She could not admit that she originated from a warring kingdom.  “No, of course
I am not from the South.  I am a Northerner like you.”
    The king stopped dancing.  He glared at Allerleirauh
as though he were waiting for something.  He must have known it was a lie. 
Perhaps he knew who she really was.  “Most people call me ‘your highness,’” he
remarked.  Offering a crooked smile, he picked up the