The Fifth Beast (ManxMan Chinese/Celtic Fantasy Story)

Chapter 35

In the huge feasting hall of Ath Luain Castle, deathly silence fell at the sight of "Finn the slave". Niall watched avidly from under his eyelashes, which of the fennids had their jaws dropped in surprise, and which of them narrowed their eyes in jealousy. It was the word Daire used, fennid, to call the warriors-hunters of his retinue, and all of them was fianna.

Some of them Niall even recognized by sight, he remembered them from his previous visits. A couple more he was not sure about. Still, mortals changed a lot with time, unlike the immortal Elemental Lords. But even those who had never seen Niall Mac Nechtan could not miss the downright criminal resemblance of the new Daire's cupbearer to a Lord of the Tuatha Dé. The height, the perfection of face and body and the braid could not be hidden by any spells.

One of the youngest fennids, a handsome black-haired lad, jumped impulsively from his seat, bended one knee and blurted out, "Milord! Your new slave looks too much like the Steward of the North. Isn't it dangerous to keep him in At Luain?"

Niall looked at the lad more closely. His skin was as white as snow and his hair as black as a raven. A wonderful scarlet blush bloomed on his cheeks, and his whole appearance was filled with youthful, innocent ardor. Niall mentally licked his lips and swore to himself to seduce the lad.

"Yes, I admit, there are some similarities," Daire remarked casually, dropping into his huge chair carved from a gigantic oak stump, at the head of the table. He snapped his fingers, "Hey, Finn, pour me some wine. Now listen up, everyone! Anyone who dares to talk about my new cupbearer anywhere outside of this hall will lose his tongue. Anyone who dares to touch him with even a finger will lose not only a finger, but the entire arm up to his shoulder. You can look, but not too closely, otherwise you can also lose your sight from his unearthly beauty!" Daire laughed, and the fennids echoed him. Simple, peasant jokes were trendy here.

And so it begun — the traditional feast of Daire Mac Cormac's castle, during which a monstrous amount of game was eaten and a monstrous amount of wine was drunk. Among the skills needed by a fennid of Ath Luain, not only a strong hand was required, but also a strong head and stomach.

The usual deference of the Tuaths for their masters was not popular here. The fennids, of course, called Daire 'milord,' but they toasted him as Daire Mac Cormac, addressed him without much ceremony, sincerely laughed at his jokes, made all sorts of risky remarks and generally behaved like one big and close family with a penchant for incest.

Everyone, except the master of the castle, sat on wide benches covered with skins, so convenient for hugging one's lover or even lying down with one's head on his lover's lap. There were almost as many cupbearers as there were fennids, and there were also servants who carried trays of food, all dressed up in the same way as Finn the slave, in short white tunics, only without jewelry. The fennids lewdly pinched them in various places, slapped their buttocks, and sometimes snatched a kiss when a cupbearer bent down to pour wine into their cup.

Those were the ways of Ath Luain Castle under Daire Mac Cormac, and once Niall thought them sweet and funny. But not this time, when a tipsy Daire slapped him on the ass with such force that Niall stumbled and almost fell to the floor along with the wine jug. Then Daire shamelessly put his hands under his tunic, and Niall wanted to pour the jug of wine over his head. The fact that the fennids no longer paid much attention to Niall, preoccupied with drinking, a table neighbor or a pretty servant, was no comfort at all.

The fact that only Niall in the entire hall was wearing a slave collar, also wasn't pleasant. Daire was openly proud of everyone serving him voluntarily. Why, from all over the neighborhood, handsome sons were dragged to him by their parents as soon as they came of age. And no wonder! Taking a young lad into his service, Daire gave his family a cow, and if the lad became a fennid, then his family was set for life, and he himself would left the service with expensive weapons, a horse with a full harness, rich gifts and a personal herd of half a dozen heads of various cattle.