Ravish Me, Oh Great Wizard King!!!

"So why does nobody call you King?" Vara picked at the fabric of his robe.

"We have been hiding the fact that Father can no longer protect the Ashryan Empire, so he has outwardly retained the King's scepter all these years. I have been dutifully registered as King of the Northern Realm for most of my life, but as you see, my main palace is here in Jade City."

"What are your plans now?"

"I find it more important that Father continue the administration of the daily chores. This allows me to roam freely throughout the empire and do things that I would not be able to do if I was stuck in a court, running daily affairs of the kingdom."

Seated on his lap, Mira snaked an arm around his neck and snuggled into the familiar fresh gentle mint and sandalwood scent of his body.

This Wizard King amazed and titillated her to the core of her being. The fact that he also felt the same about her filled her with amazement. She was just an ordinary woman from an ordinary place like Earth, where no magik exists, and everyone was human. And yet somehow, she had been given the opportunity to be close to him. Her heart filled with gratitude.

"Speaking of roaming freely...you should open this one next." Zander spoke again. He picked up a long tube-like box and handed it to Mira.

"This looks like a scroll," she rolled it around in her hand, and then gave it a gentle shake.

Zander laughed. "Open it."

Mira wasted no time tearing the ribbon off and peeking inside.

For a moment, she was flabbergasted. "Zander, I don't know how to read Ashryan writing."

"Would you like to learn?" He nibbled on her lips. "I could teach you."

"It would take me forever to learn…"

"I could take my whole life to teach you. Would that be enough time?"

Mira smiled through misty eyes. "Yes," she whispered.

"Open it, my love."

She pulled the scroll out.

It was a map of Ashrya! It looked similar to the map she was trying to draw earlier, but this map had been drawn by a highly skilled cartographer! More importantly, the cartographer had mimicked her chicken-scratch English writing to label all the major cities. She actually had a working copy of Zander's world.

"I was trying to make a map for myself…"

"I saw it. There were so many missing parts from your hand-drawn map, so I had it redrawn just for you."

"How on Earth did you get this done in such a short amount of time???"

Zander grinned. "I ordered ten cartographers to work with no breaks so I could give this to you on our wedding night. But the map is not the real gift." He tapped at something on the map. "This is the real gift to you, Heart of My Soul."

"Oh my God!" She squealed. "You drew in all the portals!!!"

"Yes. This map details most of the known important portals, as well as some that are not so known. One of them is actually even a state secret." He tapped at another place on the map.

"Tourmaline Bog!!!"

"There is a spot in the middle of that marshy area of Tourmaline Bog that will take you back to your world. When Daran returned with Erick, he fixed that portal so it would stabilize enough to get himself back to Earth afterwards."

"Why did Daran need to go back?"

"He wanted to go back for Carol."

"Ahhh. So now, anyone can go to my backyard if they accidentally stumble through that portal?"

"Of course not. First of all, it is in the middle of a bog. When I first created it, I was not looking for a perfect spot, one that I could easily recognize and return to. I was simply trying to get Erick to safety, and that spot just so happened to be right where Gobi was randomly standing. That rift is in a completely arbitrary place. Unless you are a wizard, you will never be able to find it."

Mira opened her mouth. Then she closed it again. "But...doesn't it...like...buzz?"

"What do you mean?" He gave her a sharp glance.

"You know...it buzzes--I mean...I get a bit of a headache, and I get a buzzing in my ear whenever I get near that portal."

"That--is something we will have to...explore together...to determine why you are able to feel the buzzing sound of portals. Most people cannot feel it, only wizards with plenty of training."

"Don't you also have to wave your arms around a bit? I saw you do that to get back to Ashrya."

Zander laughed. "Once a portal is fixed, there is no need to 'wave your arms around'. It is basically a doorway. You just need something that will unlock the door."

"Well that will effectively keep me from ever going through any of those portals."

"That would be correct," Zander smiled, "...unless you have this." He picked up a square box and handed it to her.

Inside the box were some pieces of metal, as well as a round metal object. "I don't know what this is."

Zander took a piece of the ribbon that she had just discarded and looped it through her hair, tying it back in a loose ponytail. Then he picked up the metal pieces, fitted the round metal object into place, and slipped the ends of the metal around her neck.

"Oh it's a choker necklace. But it's all in pieces. How--" she had barely begun her question when he raised his finger and zapped the ends of the metal pieces. She reached up and touched the necklace. It had fitted itself around the base of her throat, in classic choker fashion.

As her fingers slid around the flat metal that was warming up from the heat of her skin, she realized that there was no way to remove the choker. It had formed itself around her throat without a seam.

"It's...it's on me forever?"

Zander flicked a finger at her nose. "Of course not. If you ever want to take it off, just tell me and I will remove it for you."

"But how will you remove it without damaging the necklet? There is no fastener or hooks that are holding it together. It's seamless."

"It is held together by magik--my magik, to be precise. No other wizard will be able to remove it but me."

She touched it for a bit. "This choker necklet looks familiar. I think I've seen it somewhere before."

"You have," he reached out and shook his hand in front of her face. On his middle finger was the ring he always wore. "It is a matching set with my wizard ring. You see, I am not just a King. I am a Wizard King. As my wife, you not only share the crown, which is now on your head. You also share in the power of the Wizard, which is now around your neck."

"And what does this necklet have to do with portals?

"The necklet will open the portals for you to travel through."

As his words reverberated around her head, Mira's jaw dropped. She reached out to touch her choker with reverent fingers. This was something so precious, so powerful...and he had given it to her.

"My wife, I have just given you the Keys to the Kingdom."