A Dragon's Tale Ch. 70

Chapter 70: I've been here before...

* * *

Fiona took the opportunity afforded by Conner napping to head down to the castle's dining hall for breakfast, Tabitha in tow as always. Ever since the crown prince had 'outed' Tabby as a bodyguard, everyone had kept a bit more distance from her than they might normally. Well, everyone except for Fiona's hyper handmaiden, Glessie.

This morning, as Fiona reached the door to the castle's dining hall, she stopped.

"Problem my lady?" Tabitha asked.

"No, I'm just thinking..." She looked toward a hallway that led to the kitchens as a thought occurred to her. "I'm not feeling like eating in the dining hall this morning. And since Mage Weston is busy and I won't be having a magic lesson, I'll be having extra time..." She thought about it for a moment, then headed down to the kitchens.

No sooner had she opened the door and been noticed than everyone stopped and gave her a respectful bow.

"Lady Fiona." Marge grunted as she worked a lump of dough half the size of her large-ish torso.

"I'm wondering, could I be eating in here and then helping?" Fiona asked.

All of the cooks stared at her, especially some of the younger ones.

"I'm kind of missing being useful." Fiona added to the thunderous silence that had followed her request.

Marge shrugged. "As long as Lord Delmar don't care, I don't." She looked around at all the cooks. "Alright, quit lollygagging; put your eyes back in and get back to work." She turned to Fiona. "Those onions need dicing."

Fiona smiled, grabbed a knife, and started happily slicing away, glad to be doing something useful again. Not that growing the heir to the throne in her womb wasn't useful -- it was -- but this felt more like she herself was contributing. When she had been married to Sean, she'd had a whole house to take care of as well as a newborn. Now that she didn't have a house and had a nurse, doing something useful to keep busy was wonderful.

* * *

"Jason, you may kiss your brides."

Ethan joined the others on the Argo's deck in clapping as Jason kissed them both. He got the distinct impression that the kisses would've been much longer without an unknown airship heading toward the Argo on an intercept course. As such, the entire wedding had been a hurried affair. Though, given that Ethan and Selene had gotten married in the exact same spot the previous day, it was still quite nice.

Ethan and his wives helped the other newlyweds and also his parents collect their things and get them down to the portal below decks. They hadn't brought much because of the short visit, so it didn't take long. Of course, Ethan's parents had all of their things together as well.

"I'm sorry that us constantly being attacked is cutting your trip and wedding short." Selene said as she gave each of the departing ladies a hug.

"We are too, but thank you so much for letting us get married here." Hailey replied.

"Thank you for letting me crash at your place for so long; I really appreciate it." Selene said to them.

"It was our pleasure." Melinda replied.

Ethan turned to his folks.

"You take care of your family." Richard said seriously.

"I will Dad, I promise." Ethan replied equally as seriously.

"I'd tell you to get started on some more grandchildren, but I think you do that regularly." Ruth winked.

"Something like that." Ethan replied, his mother being the last person on Earthor the Ten Kingdoms that he wanted to talk to about that.

He gave both of them a hug and then all of his wives hugged them, and the rest of the goodbyes were said.

"My lord, it might be best if Beth uses all of her mana on the portal and then the rest of us just use a little each to finish powering it." Rachel suggested. "She won't need hers in a fight, but the rest of us might."

"Sink me, you're a poet and you didn't know it." Richard said in an exaggerated French accent.

"What makes you think I didn't know it?" Rachel's eyes twinkled.

Everyone chuckled.

"Okay, here I go." Beth put her hand on the portal, followed by all Ethan's other wives when she was done. The Earthlings said another quick goodbye once the portal had finished opening and then they filed through.

"That was quick." Ethan sighed as the portal began to close after them.

"We should return to the deck, meditate to restore the mana we lost, and prepare for a potential fight." Kendra said.

He looked at her fondly. "Aye, aye general."

Beth, Taloni, and Sarah sniggered.

"Come on, you heard General Ejder; it's time to move out!" Ethan barked in a mock military tone.

Everyone chuckled, then a curious kind of silence fell.

Ethan was well aware that the incoming airship might not be hostile. In fact, it might be friendly. However, there was no denying the very real possibility that they might be fighting for their lives in less than an hour. It was a sobering thought and the reason that he himself was silent.

"Come on." He waved toward the stairs to the weather deck. "Stay frosty and we'll get through this."

"Um, Tee?" Selene looked at her. "Could you maybe ask Illuminar to help?"

Everyone stared at her, including Ethan.

"What?" The Brazilian woman said with a tinge of defensiveness in her tone. "It worked when I asked Him for help; that's why I'm here now and married. Why not ask for help with other things too?"

"Why Selene Ejder, are you a convert?" Alana teased.

Selene shrugged. "I'm not sure I would go that far, but we know He's up there, so why not ask for help? The worst that could happen is that He'll say no."

Ethan had to admit that his wife -- Selene was his wife! -- had a point.

* * *

Fiona set the knife down and picked up the cutting board to carry the freshly chopped veggies to the next stage of their preparation. It felt really good to be doing something useful again. She was glad that she didn'thave to do it, but at least this morning, she was enjoying doing it.

Tabitha was next to her of course and impassive as ever, but Fiona thought she might be even more watchful than usual, probably due to the number of people with knives in the immediate vicinity.

Fiona took a few steps toward an adjacent counter, and those steps took her past a side door that burst open just as she walked past. She barely missed the door, but someone very nearly collided with her. Whoever it was had their arms forward, almost like the plan was to reach for Fiona, but then, maybe it was because the person had just been pushing the door open.

Fiona had just enough time to register how odd that was since the servants had been taught never to fling doors open, when--

Wham!

Theyalmost collided

The only reason they didn't was Tabitha. One moment, Fiona was sure they would collide. The next moment, Tabitha almost magically appeared between her and whoever had burst through the door, and her bodyguard gave Fiona an impossibly strong push away from the newcomer.

Fiona was flung bodily backwards as the cutting board and veggies went flying.

It looked like Tabitha and the newcomer would collide for a moment. The next moment, the newcomer was on the ground with Tabitha on top of her. The bodyguard had a knife pressed to the other person's throat. Fiona had no idea where the knife came from...

... then she hit something semi-solid.

"Ooph!" Fiona winced as she landed on several bags of flour that were waiting to become bread, Tabby almost magically having flung her both strongly enough and in the right direction to miss the stone floor.

"Who are you?" Tabitha asked, her knife still at the newcomer's throat.

It was a young woman, probably not much younger than Fiona if she had to guess. She was wearing a very nice dress that somehow didn't seem to fit her quite right. Well enough, but not quite right. She had brown hair and her face was white as a sheet, though that was probably because of the knife at her throat.

"Oh, don't worry about her." Marge said to Tabitha, stepping forward to help Fiona to her feet. "That's Vera, she's been coming to the kitchens to eat breakfast here since she arrived a couple weeks ago; this is the first time she's barged in though."

Tabitha had been pressing the blade lightly into the woman's throat, but she removed the pressure at that statement. Not the knife -- that was still pointed at her jugular vein -- but it was no longer touching her neck.

"Husband? Family?" Tabitha pressed, her tone somehow menacing and almost devoid of emotion as well. Or maybe it was menacing because it lacked emotion?

"B-Bar-Baron Dramel." The woman stammered. "N-no f-family. I-I'm an or-orphan."

"Tabby, let her up." Fiona said firmly.

The bodyguard didn't move.

"She comes through that door almost every morning at this time." Marge said.

"Why?" Tabitha asked the woman she had pinned to the ground, her eyes piercing.

"I... I d-don't like eating in th-the gr-great hall." Vera stammered.

"Why?" Tabby's eyes narrowed.

Vera gulped. "Th-the first morning, the ladies of the court were... were..." She moved her mouth but no words came out.

After a moment, Tabitha's knife disappeared -- seemingly into thin air -- and she stood up. She took a step away and resumed her silent and impassive vigil as if nothing had happened.

"Are you okay?" Fiona stepped forward and offered Vera a hand to help her get up.

The woman looked at Tabitha for a moment, hesitated, and then slowly -- very slowly -- accepted Fiona's hand, never taking her eyes off of Tabitha while she did.

"Don't be minding Tabby now." Fiona said in what she hoped was an encouraging tone. "She's just being overzealous when it's coming to protecting me."

"Okay." Vera replied, her tone mousey and quiet.

"Are you okay?" Fiona asked.

The other woman nodded, but didn't reply. She seemed almost afraid to open her mouth.

"Well, if you're ever needing anything, let me know, okay?" Fiona said, again trying to make her tone encouraging and comforting.

The other woman nodded, then turned and almost fled the room, giving Tabitha a wide berth as she did so.

"Tabby, were you having to be so... you know?" Fiona asked as she started picking up the cutting board and fallen vegetables.

"Yes." Tabitha replied without emotion.

"Well, you could've at least been apologizing." Fiona gave her a stern look.

Tabitha seemed uncowed and she certainly didn't display any emotion on her face or in her tone. "There was a potential threat. Had she been an assassin and I reacted with less force, you would be dead."

Fiona sighed and decided to talk to Tabby about this later because she had a feeling it would go much better without an audience. She also made a mental note to make sure that Vera was okay later.

* * *

"Ahoy!"

"Ahoy!" Ethan called back at the small, canoe-sized airship that the incoming airship had launched. Now that it was closer, Ethan could see that the occupants were all a bit short and had pointy ears. The elf to which he was currently talking was using a cone-shaped piece of metal to focus his voice. Ethan had kept his disguise gem on though, just in case.

"Greetings, honored airship of the honored dragon." The elf called back. "Our honored King sent us to escort you through The Gap and into Nalatia. As long as we remain in formation with you, the Ivernian Military will not waylay you."

"Thank you very much!" Ethan called back, remembering that they would need to cross Ivernian airspace for a short time as they passed through The Gap, which -- as its name suggested -- was a gap in the mountains that covered almost all of Ivernia's southern border. The Gap was almost directly south of the wood-elven capital city of Nalatia, so the escort would be nice.

"We are honored by your escort and faithful service." Alana added loudly to the other airship, her five-foot-frame able to produce a surprising amount of volume.

"May Illuminar -- blessed be He -- guide you on the path of light as you travel." The elf replied.

Ethan was about to reply when Rachel nudged him and whispered to him. "And may the God of Light direct the winds in your sails."

"And may the God of Light direct the winds in your sails." Ethan hollered to the airship, which seemed to please the elf greatly judging by his expression. Ethan turned toward Rachel and grinned at her. "My wise redhead. "

She beamed.

"Sir, now that we know we aren't about to be attacked, there's rather a lot of business we should discuss." Alana said.

"Aye, indeed there is." He looked around. "We should get everyone together and talk about it, but there are some people missing who should be here."

"Master, do you want me to dock the Argo with the Midnight Sun?" Tee asked.

"Yeah." He nodded. "Falkaan and Myla should be here for this."

"Master, did you want Talven here as well?" Taloni asked.

"Um..." He frowned thoughtfully, then looked at his wives. "Thoughts?"

"I think it's a good idea." Alana volunteered.

"I agree Dominus."

"Illuminar put him in your path for a reason Master."

"My lord, I think it would be good for him."

"I agree Drago, and he knows Ivernia well."

"Your Precious agrees." Selene said, since only him and his wives were close enough to hear.

Sarah had a huge smile on her face as she spoke. "I think it's wonderful to include him."

"Tee, let's get docked and discussing important business." Ethan said.

Not long afterward, the Argo had docked with the Midnight Sun, and Ethan, all his wives including Sarah, plus Falkaan, Myla, Victoria, Thea, Talven, Salma, and even Anthiel were all sitting in a circle on the Argo's weather deck. They had invited Luminar Kossel as well, but he had declined.

Thor had gone around to everyone and sniffed them all, then walked to the middle of the large-ish circle and flopped down. Notably, he seemed to approve of them all. He licked a random spot on his side for a moment, then curled up and closed his eyes. He was purring softly.

"We need a table." Ethan said as he looked around at all of them.

"A round one." Selene winked at him and he chuckled.

That of course led to the two Earthlings explaining about King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. When they had finished, everyone had amused and slightly indulgent looks on their faces, like a parent who was humoring their child's fantastical story.

"It was oval." Rachel finally said when no one else spoke.

"What?" Ethan asked.

"Moragana the Fey mentioned that table in her account of the other side of the portal." Rachel explained. "The table wasn't round, it was oval."

"But, I thought that was only the first table, and they were building a second table -- a round one -- when Moragana left?" Beth spoke up, then added. "It's not in the histories, but in Moragana's letters to Merlinus."

"I didn't read the letters, only the histories." Rachel frowned.

"Perhaps we can find a copy later." Kendra spoke up. "For now, there is some business to attend to."

"Right." Ethan nodded.

"Prophet, might I speak first and present my report on Duke Farbrottan and Colonel Forsythe?" Falkaan asked.

"Oh yes, please tell us about the colonel first." Alana said, then looked pointedly at Victoria.

Everyone else around the circle had knowing looks and suppressed smiles on their faces except for Victoria herself. The platinum blonde's face was stony and her expression just shy of a glower.

"Did anyone else see him making eyes at Victoria during the wedding reception?" Bee asked slyly.

"He was?" The platinum blonde asked, looking genuinely surprised.

"He was." Alana confirmed.

"Dang, I missed that." Ethan frowned, then looked at Selene with a smile. "I must've been distracted."

Selene smiled her dazzling smile at him.

"Okay, let's start with the good colonel." Ethan said to Falkaan.

The Dark elf nodded once. "By all accounts, going back to his governess at age four, he is a man of impeccable character."

"His governess at age four?" Victoria raised her eyebrow

"Falkaan isvery well connected." Kendra replied.

Myla looked at her husband fondly, a proud smile on her face.

"He attended Ivernia's finest military academy." Falkaan continued. "He graduated with honors and only a single demerit."

"Demerit for what?" Victoria asked, though her tone didn't seem accusatory, but rather curious and cautious.

"There was a woman to whom he had been attracted for some time, and he even discretely inquired as to what her bride price might be." The dark elf replied. "He showed a school project to her at her request, and she then shared it with two of his classmates, which she had been planning to do when she asked to see the project. They turned in his work as their own, unbeknownst to him. He was reprimanded for copying when he turned in his own project."

Victoria bit her lip. "She was beautiful, wasn't she?"

Falkaan nodded. "She was, extremely so, and still is."

It didn't escape Ethan that Falkaan knew the current attractiveness level of this woman. That in turn made him wonder if he or his contacts had gotten this story from the proverbial horse's mouth.

"His mother passed away shortly after." Falkaan continued. "His father married a woman barely older than he was soon afterward, and she could not abide a stepson in the house. He was evicted and went to live with his uncle, the Duke Farbrottan, and served in his armed forces."

Victoria's face fell at this, then she bit her lip and looked down, a bit of red appearing on her porcelain cheeks.

"Let me guess, also a very beautiful woman." Ethan ventured, knowing the colonel's distrust of them.

"Indeed." Falkaan nodded. "The colonel had a similar misfortune with a baron's daughter that he met while living with his uncle. She used him to make another noble jealous, succeeding in overcoming his guardedness about women. However, she then treated him cruelly when the true object of her affections reciprocated."

"The baron's daughter also possessed great beauty." Myla added.

Victoria was intently examining the decking at this point.

"The colonel then began to take part in Duke Farbrottan's goal of reducing taxes on the Ivernians." Falkaan continued. "He had been insulated from their effect on the people, and once he saw such effects, he spent a large portion of his time furthering his uncle's goal, often at the cost of alienating those who could further his military career."

"He sounds like a good man." Victoria said quietly after a moment.

"If I were human and had a daughter of the appropriate age, I would consider myself fortunate if he expressed interest in her." Falkaan replied.

Victoria's posture became ever-so-slightly more slumped.

"What about Duke Farbrottan?" Selene asked.

"He is more complicated." The dark elf replied. "I do not believe that he possesses the strong moral fiber of Colonel Forsythe. He appears to desire the lordship of Ivernia, and desire it quite strongly. However, he also believes that the best way to maintain power is to cultivate happy and content subjects. To that end, he has spent rather a lot of time ensuring these qualities in his duchy, up to the limits set by Lord Farbrottan."

"So, could we get Colonel Forsythe to be lord instead?" Selene asked. "The duke sounds like he'd work, but I prefer altruism."

Everyone except Ethan looked at her in much the same way that a parent would look at a child who'd just said something silly but adorable.

"What?" She asked.

"The rules of succession in the Ten Kingdoms make that impossible." Rachel replied. "The lord must be blood-related through a man, not a woman. Colonel Forsythe is the son of Lord Farbrottan's sister, so he can never be in line for the throne. The Duke Farbrottan is blood-related to the current lord since their father was also the lord of Ivernia."

"The colonel could perhaps be a lord regent, ruling until a man descended from the male line comes of age, but he could never be the true lord of Ivernia." Alana added.

"Oh." Selene frowned. "Okay."

"There are exceptions for if the lord has no sons and no brothers." Rachel added. "For example, if I hadn't been disinherited and had a son, he would be next in line for the throne." Her tone was even as she spoke, but Alana took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze anyway.

"Anything else on Duke Farbrottan?" Ethan asked, partially to change the topic for Rachel's sake.

"I have many additional specifics if you would like them." Falkaan replied. "However, I believe what I have shared provides enough information for our purposes at this time, with one exception. Duke Farbrottan's commitment to secure power through a happy and content populace is high enough that he does not allow bribes to sway his mind. He believes that anything that would adversely affect the populace would weaken his power base, and so rejects such things with remarkable consistency."

Ethan chuckled. "Oh, the irony."

"Someone so committed to gaining and maintaining power that he resists corruption." Alana laughed. "I've never heard of such a thing, but it does make a certain kind of sense."

Most everyone around the circle nodded or agreed verbally.

"Okay, so, show of hands: who thinks Duke Farbrottan is good enough?"

Almost everyone raised their hands.

"Anyone opposed?" Ethan asked.

No one raised their hands.

"Okay then, that sounds like a tentative plan for now." Ethan said. "Next order of business, I would really like to meet him, and I want some of you there when I do."

"Meelas, might I suggest Alana, Rachel, Kendra, and Selene might be best suited to such a meeting?" Myla spoke up. She didn't have a loud voice, but she no longer sounded as mousy and small as she had when she first joined the Argo. It was wonderful to see.

"Your reasoning?" Ethan asked, though he'd been thinking along similar lines.

"I would suggest Selene because she possesses telepathy." Myla replied. "He will possess mental defenses, but it is likely that many of those around him will not, thus, she will be able to ascertain much from them."

"Makes sense." Ethan nodded.

"Along with Selene, Alana, Rachel, and Kendra all possess both great insight into others, and also great martial prowess." Myla continued. "Thus, should you be accosted, together you should prevail."

Falkaan looked at her proudly.

"That's solid reasoning." Ethan nodded.

"And my airship will maneuver quite well with four." Kendra added. "Especially four who are so lightweight."

Ethan nodded. "I'd love to have Beth along on the Astral Plane running scouting duty, and she could be further away to do that."

"But also completely exposed and in danger while she's on the Astral Plane." Kendra countered.

"I'm kind of exposed anyway." Beth sighed, then she seemed to realize what she'd just said and chuckled. "I'm no good in a fight, and I'm not sure I want to be; I much prefer the scout role."

"I could anchor my airship some distance away and she could hide in it." Kendra suggested. "But it's a huge risk because again, she wouldn't even be aware of potential threats while she was on the Astral Plane since she would be away from her body."

"I'm not willing to take that risk." Ethan frowned, then looked at Beth.

The blonde shook her head as well. "I don't think it would be safe Dominus."

"Agreed." Ethan nodded. "Now, Victoria's future husband--" He winked at Victoria "--said that Duke Farbrottan hosts a tournament every year, and he said that would be the best time to meet him."

Victoria gave him a look and then rolled her eyes, but didn't protest.

"When is it?" Beth asked.

"Less than two weeks." Ethan said. "It takes place over three days, and thankfully, it's not too far from the wood elven kingdom's borders."

"So you'll want to leave us in Nalatia for a few days?" Alana asked.

"I'd prefer to have some of you with me, as Myla suggested." Ethan replied, then looked at Beth, Taloni, and Sarah. "I won't like being away from you ladies for what might end up being nearly a week."

"Especially since my father will likely be in Nalatia for Thea's coming-of-age ball." Rachel pointed out.

Ethan grimaced. "Good point."

"I could ask my guardian to house them in the palace itself." Thea volunteered. "Or if they still aren't allowed inside the palace itself, there are nearby buildings that are inside the palace security zone. I'm sure he would agree and there's hardly anywhere safer in the entire wood-elven kingdom."

"That'll help." Ethan nodded, then thought to the group chat. *But that won't matter if he decides to show up as a dragon.*

*I don't think he will, not for just your wives.* Rachel spoke up. *Maybe for you, but he won't want witnesses, so...* She cocked her head to one side, then spoke aloud. "Thea, could The King arrange for an escort for Ethan and us while we're in Nalatia? No one should attack us if we have enough protection."

"He was already planning to." Thea smiled. "He has been scouring the entire kingdom for the best fighters, and only the ones most faithful to Illuminar."

Ethan couldn't help but smile at that. "I knew I liked him."

Thea got her characteristic half-sheepish grimace. "I kind of feel bad for sneaking away after everything he's done for me; and not only me, you all as well." She indicated Ethan and his wives.

"We'll put in a good word for you." Alana volunteered, beating Ethan to the punch. "We'll tell him how helpful you've been."

"I would appreciate that, but I'm not sure it'll matter." Thea said glumly. "I'll be stuck with a summoning bracelet like a pet and some elderly elf will be assigned to make sure I never go anywhere I shouldn't ever again." She sighed, her normally perfect posture slightly slumped and her eyes downcast.

"I don't know him very well, but he seems like the type to care a lot." Ethan pointed out. "I don't think it'll be as bad as you think it'll be."

"I hope not." Thea said, her face still downcast.

"You didn't read the letter he sent back to us when we told him you were with us." Alana said kindly. "He cares about you deeply."

Thea smiled, though it wasn't without a hint of glumness. "Okay."

"Speaking of the wood elven king." Rachel spoke up. "The last time we were there, you made quite a good argument that he -- and wood elves in general -- should be able to address shamed people if they hadn't been convicted of a crime."

"I did, thanks to my bride." He grinned at Selene, who grinned back, and then he continued. "He seemed open to the idea, and actually rather in favor of it."

"What was the argument?" Talven asked.

Selene spoke up. "That since the Book of Light requires two or three witnesses for the conviction of a crime, and since there weren't two or three witnesses to any crime committed by Alana -- or his other wives -- that they shouldn't be punished without a conviction."

Talven smiled. "Clever."

"Meelas, might I venture to suggest that -- as it concerns your wives -- there is another layer of argumentation that should bear fruit." Myla said. "If perhaps you revealed the connection of the birthdays, then I do believe those who consider your wives shamed would be forced to admit that they were chosen by Illuminar Himself."

"Damn Myla, that's brilliant!" Victoria gave her fellow telepath a thumbs up.

"My heart is filled with gladness that you approve." The dusky-skinned beauty replied, then looked at Selene. "Please, continue."

She did. "Ethan also pointed out that Illuminar is willing to forgive pretty horrific crimes if the person is truly repentant, so why should the wood elves not have a way back from being shamed."

"I really hope that one sticks." Ethan said, then looked at Alana. "I'd love to help your folks get married."

"Um, that won't happen." Thea said. "Not while Kalaya is shamed. The head of House Nalfigar would never allow it. Ever."

"What would it take to get him to agree?" Ethan asked, pretty damn tired of how this one particular aspect of wood-elven culture was ruining lives.

"Um, there would need to be a formal, probably ritualized way to remove someone's shame." Thea said after a moment. "Something public; very public. Basically, Kalaya would need to get up in front of the entire court, admit her fault, and then there would need to be some ritual to acknowledge that her shame has been cleansed. After all of that, hemight consider it." She paused. "Maybe." She frowned. "At least, I hope he would."

"That doesn't sound very optimistic." Selene said with a sympathetic look at Alana.

"I wish I could help more." Thea replied. "I know my sister would help though. My father left behind a small fortune and she would spend every penny of it to get Kalaya's shame removed."

Ethan nodded slowly. "Would she have a better lay of the land then?"

Thea nodded vigorously. "She and Kalaya were the very best of friends right up until Kalaya was shamed, and she hasn't stopped trying to get in touch with her since. I think because of her persistence, they're able to exchange letters."

Ethan nodded slowly, thinking that it was quite unusual for a wood elf to spend so much time and energy trying to contact a shamed person. Although, Thea was only half wood elf -- the other half being high elf -- so her sister probably was too, and that likely explained it.

"I have contacts in the wood elven kingdom." Falkaan spoke up. "I can compile a report on Alana's paternal grandfather to aid the cause."

"Thank you." Alana said, her tone absolutely sincere.

Falkaan looked at his wife for a moment before addressing Alana. "For what you and your family have done for me, I cannot thank you enough. It is the least I can do."

"Thank you anyway." Ethan echoed his first wife.

Falkaan nodded.

"So, we should probably make meeting your sister a priority." Ethan said to Thea after thinking about it for a moment.

"I think you'll all like her." Thea said. "Everyone does, though she's a bit shy. I'm a bit jealous though; she got our mother's pretty red hair, rather similar in shade to Rachel's actually." She gestured at the redhead.

Ethan nodded again as an idea about Kalaya and Thea's sister occurred to him, but he dismissed the idea as outlandish immediately.

"Did Ethan's argument that there should be a way back from shaming have an effect?" Alana asked Thea.

"I think it did." The gorgeous elf replied. "I know there were some heated debates among the luminars about it before I left, and I don't imagine they have quieted down."

"That's likely good news." Rachel spoke up. "If everyone agreed that the idea didn't have merit, there wouldn't be heated arguments."

There was a general chorus of agreement and nodding of heads.

"I think my guardian might like to help too." Thea said after a moment. "I'm not sure how much he can do, but I think he would like to."

Ethan and Alana looked at each other, both smiling as he spoke. "That'll help alot."

"Ivernia borders the wood elven kingdom." Kendra pointed out. "How will the wood elves react to us meddling in Ivernia?"

Everyone looked at Falkaan.

"Their relationship would most accurately be characterized as 'cordial'." The dark elf said. "They harbor no great love for each other, nor does any significant animosity exist. Generally, the wood elves find the Ivernian government's policies distasteful."

"Are they likely to interfere if we move on Lord Farbrottan?" Kendra asked.

"I cannot be certain of course, but as long as civilian casualties don't rise to significant levels, they would be unlikely to interfere." Falkaan replied.

Kendra nodded slowly. "What about the other nobles and military leaders in Ivernia? How loyal are they to Lord Farbrottan?"

"He has generally kept them quite wealthy, so most are loyal to him." The dark elf replied.

"Most?" Ethan asked.

"Indeed." Falkaan replied. "Some have not fared as well under his leadership, but most have and Lord Farbrottan ensures that they remain relatively happy with their situation. Some are extremely happy and quite loyal, foremost among them are Duke Kranton and Baron Martel."

Ethan nodded, recognizing those names. Duke Kranton was the one who had sent a couple of airships after Ethan which they'd battled near Dotmier, and his men had burned Talven and Salma's home to ash after Ethan had threatened the corrupt Reeve in his duchy. Victoria had grown up in Baron Martel's barony and apparently, he was among the worst barons in Ivernia.

"Most of Ivernia's highest-ranking military leaders are personally loyal to Lord Farbrottan." Falkaan continued. "A great number of those in the middle levels of the military are unwilling to challenge the status quo. Some are personally opposed to the policies, most are apathetic, and very few would openly defy their lord." Falkaan looked at Victoria. "Colonel Forsythe is a notable exception."

The platinum blonde bit her lip and nodded.

Ethan took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Okay, so what do we have on our side?"

"Illuminar; we have Illuminar Master." Taloni replied immediately. "I know it seems impossible, but if Illuminar wants you to do this, it's possible."

Ethan was saved from having to answer by Kendra speaking up. "More practically, We have two airships, a master of intelligence--" She indicated Falkaan. "--and quite possibly our 'secret weapon', we have four telepaths."

"But almost everyone of any importance will have mental defenses." Beth pointed out. "How does that help?"

"They can communicate with each other." Falkaan replied. "Do not underestimate the strategic importance of securely and instantly transferring information over vast distances. Such abilities are subtle, but supremely powerful when carefully employed."

"And as a matter of importance on that topic." Myla looked at Selene. "It would behoove us to form telepathic bonds around Meelas's newest wife, similar to how he communicates with his wives."

"I'm game." Victoria replied.

"I am as well, given that Selene is now a wife of the prophet of Illuminar." Thea added.

Ethan grinned at his Precious and she grinned back; she was his wife and he couldn't be happier about that.

"If I may venture a suggestion." Myla spoke again. "I suggest that we form such links at the present time."

The other telepaths agreed and they all closed their eyes for a minute or two, then opened them again.

"All done." Selene announced.

"As of this moment, we have an advantage whose value is difficult to quantify." Falkaan said. "Properly utilized, it could provide a decisive advantage in the coming conflict."

Ethan nodded as he thought about it. He was so used to living in a world with cell phones that he hadn't considered how lop-sided this advantage could be. He wasn't sure how to use it best yet, but he was surrounded by a lot of smart people and he was pretty sure they would come up with something. Probably a lot of somethings.

"Speaking of the coming conflict." Kendra looked at Ethan. "How is your progress on enchanting yourself so your joints can take the stress of a speed-enhancing enchantment?"

"I finished my spine, hips, and shoulders." Ethan replied. "I started doing my knees, and I'll probably do my elbows after that, although..." He cocked his head to one side. "I should probably do my wings at some point as well."

"Alana, you said you would enchant his armor with an activatable speed-enhancing enchantment when he had finished his spine, hips, and shoulders." Kendra said, looking at her.

Alana frowned and spoke hesitantly. "I did."

"But?" Ethan prompted.

"I don't think you realize how hard it can be on the body, especially combined with the strength-enhancing enchantment you're already using." The enchantress replied. "I can do it, but if you're forced to use it before you've finished enchanting the rest of your body to take the strain, you might need to cut those parts off and regrow them again because I doubt they'll heal correctly, if they heal at all."

Ethan winced as he looked at his regrown left hand and wrist. "I think that's a risk I'm willing to take." He said after a moment, and then continued to head her off. "I would much rather lose limbs that I can re-grow in a life-or-death fight, than lose the fight and die."

Alana swallowed, bit her lip, then nodded. "Okay. I hate that we have to think about that sort of thing, but okay."

"I do too." He said softly.

"I'll get started on it once all your wives are full on mana again." She finally said. "It's a pretty involved, mana-intensive, and complicated enchantment though, so it'll be at least several days before I can finish, likely more."

"Okay." He replied, then caught her eye and spoke seriously. "I promise I'll be careful and only use it if it becomes absolutely necessary, at least until I can enchant the rest of my body to take the strain."

"Thank you." She nodded.

"Is there anything else that we could use to protect Master?" Taloni asked.

"Dragon skin armor is already almost the equivalent of a steel plate, and much lighter." Rachel said. "There are gaps of course, but those are unavoidable."

"What about enchanted chainmail?" Sarah asked. "Could that protect the gaps?"

Alana shook her head. "It would need at least two enchantments and elven steel can only hold one. You would need dragon steel chainmail, and I don't even want tothink about how expensive that would be."

"Plus, chainmail clinks, it's bulky, and pretty heavy." Ethan added. "It wouldn't summon very well, and I'd lose any chance of stealth whenever I was wearing it."

"What about cut-resistant fabric, like our dresses and cloth shields?" Selene suggested.

"It's pretty common for nobles to wear cut-resistant and self-healing clothes for defense, so I don't see why not." Rachel said. "However, there is the problem of summoning them since even the best cloth can only take two enchantments, and you need cut-resistant and self-repairing..." She cocked her head to one side. "... unless..." She looked at Alana and grinned.

"Two layers." The wood elf completed the thought. "The outer one would be cut resistant and self-healing, the inner one self-healing and with the summoning enchantment?"

Rachel nodded.

"How much of that double-enchantable fabric do we have left?" Selene asked.

"Several yards." Alana replied. "The Kalus family was very generous with how much they gave us." She looked at Rachel. "Do you want to help me design some fabric covers that our husband can use to protect his joints?"

"Of course." The redhead smiled back.

"Perhaps you could also consider adding wards to his armor." Falkaan suggested.

"What are wards?" Ethan and Selene asked at the same time, then looked at each other and grinned as everyone else chuckled.

"I could, but I don't actually know how to." Alana replied to Falkaan.

Everyone looked at her.

"You don't know how?" Ethan stared at his first wife, the grower of staves for enchanting and the seeming mistress of enchanting. She had figured out how to make a bow that released at a higher poundage than it drew, which was unheard of. She had never even expressed doubt about enchanting something before now.

"It's an absolutelymassive enchantment in terms of enchanting volume." Alana explained. "You can't even apply it to normal materials because it takes up so much 'room' in terms of the room for enchantments. My adoptive parents never had any dragon leather or dragon scales lying around, so they couldn't actually show me how to do it. We talked about the theory, but obviously I couldn't practice, and it's such a complex enchantment that they couldn't even show me a partially completed one."

"I know there are enchanters in Nalatia that know how." Thea volunteered. "In fact, I think producing a ward is one of the requirements to earn the title of 'master enchanter' in the enchanter's guild."

"But what is a ward?" Selene asked, beating Ethan to the punch since he was quite curious as well.

"An armoring ward repels all physical objects." Alana replied. "It's like how two magnets can repel each other, only it repels literally every physical object."

Ethan cocked his head to one side. "So it doesn't necessarilystop something that's incoming, but it slows it down."

"Yes." Alana nodded. "And if the enchantment is on your armor, it would have a similar effect if you were thrown into something. It would greatly reduce the impact force because it would be spread over a longer time because it repels everything."

"Wait, wouldn't it repel Ethan himself and his armor then?" Selene asked.

"Not if it's done correctly." Alana replied. "Thankfully, they are 'sided' enchantments so they only repel on one side of the enchanted item." She looked at Ethan. "They can be made as a set as well, so your own armor won't repel itself. And with a bit of deep mana, it can become a bonded enchantment that won't repel the person it's bonded to, so it won't interfere with your movement."

"Good." Ethan nodded. "How much defense are we talking about here?"

"I once saw a demonstration at Karnas where a merchant wanted to sell my father a warded dragon-leather cuirass." Rachel said. "One of the strongest men in the castle was invited to hit it full force with a war hammer, and he did. There was a slab of ribs under it and while the meat was obviously bruised, none of the ribs were broken."

"That sounds wonderful." Ethan mused. "Blunt force can be devastating, and taking the edge off of it would be a huge advantage." He cocked his head to one side as something occurred to him. "How well do wards protect against arrows?"

"Both very well and terribly at the same time." Alana replied. "If the arrow comes in at an angle, it'll most likely deflect harmlessly. However, if it comes straight at you, it won't be repelled much because of the small cross-section and thus will hit at essentially full force."

"That makes sense." Ethan nodded slowly. "What's the catch? It seems too good to be true."

"The downside is that you can only fit one other enchantment -- invariably a self-repairing enchantment -- so it doesn't make good armor by itself." Alana said. "However, if I fused it on top of your current armor, you could get the warding without sacrificing your current enchantments."

"That sounds great." Ethan grinned. "That's alot of additional defense."

"Yes, but a traditional armoring ward that repels physical objects doesn't repel fire or block magical attacks." Rachel spoke up. "There are wards that do both, but all wards are mutually exclusive with all other wards because they take so much of an object's enchanting volume."

"And all of them are devilishly complex, takemassive amounts of enchanting space, and insane quantities of mana as well." Alana added. "From what my parents said, a ward takes as much enchanting space as three normal enchantments, and at least two or three times more mana than a normal enchantment as well."

"Wait, can't dragon leather hold four enchantments?" Selene asked.

"Yes, so self-repairing would be the obvious fourth enchantment since it's armor." Alana replied.

Ethan nodded slowly, thinking about that as protection against Dragos like Lord Delmar. Rachel's story about the warded cuirass was great, but that man definitely didn't have dragon strength. Wards would go a long way toward protecting him, but against a threat like a Drago, or even a minotaur, it wouldn't be foolproof.

"However, I still don't know how to create a warding enchantment." Alana said with an apologetic expression, then she looked at Thea. "Do you think some of the elven enchanters would be willing to teach me?"

"Um, probably not." Thea replied with her trademark half-sheepish grimace.

"Why?" Beth asked.

"Um, I don't know if you know this, but a lot of people in the wood elven kingdom were rather upset that you and your adoptive parents were using what they learned from wood elven enchanters to sell enchantable staves to the general public." Thea replied.

"Oh." Alana frowned. "I didn't know that."

"Sorry." Thea said, her trademark half-sheepish grimace taking on an apologetic nuance as well. "It gets worse; while guilds aretechnically independent of the great houses, House Nalfigar has so much influence in the enchanter's guild that it might as well be part of House Nalfigar. Thus, they would need to get permission from the head of the house to share that kind of information with anyone who isn't already part of the guild or house."

"All roads lead to..." Ethan paused. "What's his name?"

"Nakhim Nalfigar." Thea replied, pronouncing the 'i' like 'ee' in tree.

"Nakim." Ethan repeated.

"Not quite, the 'kh' sound is a bit guttural." Thea said, then pronounced it again. It sounded slightly like she was clearing her throat when she pronounced the 'kh' sound. "It's a loan word from Fraelian, it roughly translates to 'crafty' or 'shrewd'; you could also accurately translate it 'devious'."

"Well, it seems like all roads lead to Nakkhhim." Ethan said, causing Thea to laugh.

"No, that's too much guttural; it's more subtle: Nakhim." The elf corrected, and this time he paid attention to the sound. It sounded almost like the famous, or infamous, modern Hebrew letter that sounds like clearing the throat.

"I'll figure it out eventually." Ethan said.

"Good, because he lives up to his name." Thea replied.

Ethan sighed; why couldn't it ever be easy? Why was the elf whose name meant 'devious' at cross-purposes with them?

Alana gave him a knowing and sympathetic look.

"So, to recap: the first thing we should do when we land is talk to The King, and maybe get the lay of the land." Ethan began to summarize. "Then we should talk with Thea's sister and see if she can help with Kalaya's situation. Then we'll need to talk to the luminars and convince them that the position that they've held forever is stupid. Then once we've overturned centuries of cultural tradition and gotten Kalaya's shamed status removed, then we need to talk to Nakhim--" He looked at Thea to check his pronunciation.

She nodded.

"--then we'll see if we can't get Alana's parents married." He continued. "Then once we're in Nakhim's good graces, we need to get someone to teach Alana warding, even though they're pissed off at her. Somewhere in all of that, I need to sneak off to a tournament and also marry this lovely woman." He put his arm around Sarah, who was sitting on his right side while Selene was on his left.

Sarah beamed.

"Did I miss anything?" Ethan asked.

"How will you compete in a tournament when anyone with a modicum of magical talent will be able to see through your disguise gem?" Falkaan replied.

"Oh." He let his head flop forward. "Right, that."

*Elder Goman?* Alana thought to the group chat. *Basically no one can see through his disguise gem. I doubt we'd need anything that good, but maybe he could make something good enough to pass a casual inspection?*

*Good idea, could you send him a letter after the meeting?* He replied to everyone.

*Will do.*

*And I'll... help.* Rachel's expression hadn't changed, but her eyes twinkled.

Ethan and his wives chuckled, then he spoke aloud. "Sorry, we're trying to get better at that."

Everyone else looked amused.

"Anyway, I think I know someone who can help with the disguise gem problem." Ethan said. "What else?" He looked around.

"Beth, how are those wings coming?" Victoria asked.

"Slowly." The blonde replied glumly. "It'll take weeks at this rate."

"That long?" Ethan asked.

"Okay, maybe notthat long, but it feels like it's taking forever."

"At least you have them." Victoria countered. "That's an incredible blessing, even if it takes time and is uncomfortable."

"True." Beth perked up a little.

"Okay then, I think that's everything?" Ethan looked around.

"Oh no, there's one more thing." Beth said, her eyes lighting up. "Thea's ball! What are we all going to wear?!"

Ethan chuckled as he rolled his eyes and slowly shook his head.

"And just for that, you don't get to know." Alana said with an impish grin. "The ladies will discuss it and decide amongst ourselves; right girls?"

All of his wives plus Victoria and Thea nodded enthusiastically, the other ladies looked a bit more hesitant before nodding cautiously.

"Um, I don't know how to dance at a proper ball." Sarah said, just barely loud enough to be heard by everyone.

"That's not a problem." Thea said brightly. "It's not that hard to learn and you'll have many willing teachers, myself included."

Most of the other ladies who didn't grow up as nobility asked for lessons as well, which quickly led to the institution of a 'dance night' that evening so everyone could learn and practice. Ethan had a sneaking suspicion that the 'dance night' would become standard for a while.

"Speaking of learning." Kendra said when the plans were finalized. "Everyone onboth airships should learn how to heal themselves at the very least, and heal others as well, and eventually learn to purge toxins too."

"Really?" Salma gasped. Notably, it was the first time she'd spoken.

"Everyone." Kendra confirmed.

"It would make my heart happy to teach you." Myla said to Salma. That was the point where Ethan realized that Myla and Salma were the only two women on the Midnight Sun, and so they probably had been getting to know each other better.

"And mental defenses as well." Rachel added. "That should come first, otherwise a certain telepath in my father's court might be able to pluck certain details out of our heads."

"Why do you think I sent Raklan downstairs?" Anthiel's eye twinkled.

"Well done." Ethan gave her a thumbs up, and she nodded in return.

"It would be best if everyone learned basic self-defense and the use of a sword as well." Kendra added, then looked at Sarah. "Especially you."

Sarah nodded, then her face brightened and she looked at Kendra and Selene. "Could you both teach me?"

Ethan's two warrior wives looked at each other and grinned.

"Of course." Selene said, her grin still ear-to-ear.

"Is there anything else?" Ethan looked around at everyone.

"My husband, Ralgar, has been discharged from Lord Borden's military." Anthiel said, then looked at Ethan. "If you don't object, he would like to bring his recently acquired airship to join us in what is becoming a small fleet." She waved at the Midnight Sun and the Argo.

"Will Mirella be coming too?" Selene asked, her face lighting up.

Anthiel nodded with a smile. "She's looking forward to seeing you again too."

"I definitely have no objection." Ethan replied, then hesitated and tried to keep a straight face. "Well, there is one."

"What?" Alana asked as everyone looked at him with obvious confusion on their faces.

"I don't like getting my ass whopped at penté." He winked.

Everyone laughed.

"More seriously, I'd love to have him along." Ethan said.

"And you also might appreciate that he is bringing some of Lord Borden's most elite guards." Anthiel added. "Technically they've been discharged and so are at liberty to travel freely, but in reality, Lord Borden volunteered them to help ensure Beth's safety and they still work for him."

Beth beamed.

"I definitely won't say no to more help." Ethan breathed a sigh of relief. "We have some incredible fighters here, but not many of them." He looked at Anthiel. "Thank you, and please thank Ralgar for me as well."

"He says that you are most welcome." She replied after a moment. "It will be some time before he arrives, so just be aware of that."

"I'll keep that in mind, and thanks again." Ethan said.

"Someone reputed to be a prophet gathering multiple airships to his cause will attract attention, especially ones with such connections." Falkaan said. "Certainly it will attract the Aldmiri's attention that you are gathering such strength."

Ethan frowned. "That's not good."

"One of the Emperor's sons will be at my coming-of-age ball, possibly even the crown prince." Thea spoke up. "You might be able to talk to him and see where the empire stands concerning you."

Ethan nodded slowly, his frown deepening slightly. "I'm not a fan of the idea, but I might need to."

"I could try to find out for you?" Thea suggested. "I'm The King's ward so it won't be hard for me to get an audience and I'm a pretty smooth talker; maybe you won't need to talk to him at all?"

"Thank you." Alana said.

"Yeah, I really appreciate that." Ethan agreed, wanting to avoid the emperor and his family as much as possible.

"I should point out that youare the prophet of Illuminar." Thea said. "He'll want to meet you eventually, especially once everyone agrees that you are a prophet."

All of his wives looked at him, and he sighed. "So, what are the odds that I'll be able to retire from a prophet's life, start a business, and raise my family in peace?"

"I don't think they're very good Master." Taloni spoke up. "But I also don't think you would want them to be."

"Oh?" He looked at her.

"You say you want to settle down Master, but you like having something to do." Tee explained.

"I agree my lord." Rachel spoke up. "Despite how hectic our lives have become, don't you prefer that? Don't you feel better when there are things to do?"

"I do." He conceded.

"That's one way you and I are alike." Selene spoke up. "We both want to help people and I don't think you'd be happy sailing into the sunset with your adventures at an end."

"Agreed." Alana nodded. "You'd love it for a week, maybe two, then you'd be itching to get back out there."

"You would." Kendra nodded.

"Fortunately, prophets always have interesting lives Dominus." Beth said.

"I would like interesting." Sarah said, and all his other wives agreed as well.

"I feel like our family will be able to settle down Master." Taloni said. "But I also don't think our adventures will end when we do."

Ethan smiled.

One of the most underrated things about marriage was just how well his wives knew him. They understood him in a way that other people just didn't and better, theyliked him for who he was, just as he knew them intimately and liked them for who they were as well. He'd never really had that before with the women he'd dated on Earth. Now that he had it, he wouldn't trade it for the world.

* * *

Sarah took a deep breath and slowly extended her arm, rotating her forearm slowly and making sure that she made a fist the way that Selene and Kendra had taught her. She touched the knuckles of her index and middle finger to Selene's open hand as her slow-motion 'punch' landed.

"Good, just like that." Selene smiled. "Now, again, just as slowly."

Sarah repeated the motion just as slowly, though it still felt strange to her. She, Selene, and Kendra were forward of the Argo's mast, and they had been for a while so Sarah could learn the basics of hand-to-hand combat. She didn't enjoy it much, but she had a smile on her face the whole time anyway as she worked with two of the women that she would spend the rest of her life with.

"Okay, again." Selene said. "This time, alternate between your right and left hands."

Sarah did. She was facing Selene with her knees slightly bent and forearms level with the ground at her side, and then proceeded to slowly punch out with each hand in turn.

"It's so slow." Sarah said when Selene had told her to take a break.

"That's the point." Kendra replied. "It's better to learn slowly andcorrectly rather than going fast and learning bad habits. Learn to do it correctly and speed will come naturally with time, try to do it fast and you'll never do it correctly."

Sarah nodded.

"Now, do that a thousand times with each hand every day for two weeks and we can move on to other strikes." Kendra said.

Sarah stared at her. "A thousand times a day!"

"One thousand times every daywith each hand." The former Aldmiri corrected. "One thousand is easy; I was required to do far more."

"Um, okay." Sarah finally replied. "I can try."

"Now, let's start on basic blocks." Selene suggested, and they did exactly that.

They trained for another twenty minutes before Ethan came up to watch them, leaning against the mast as he did so.

"What?" Sarah asked when he hadn't said anything.

"Nothing, just watching." His eyes twinkled and he winked at her.

She blushed.

"Okay, so that's not entirely true." He admitted. "We're coming up on The Gap, and I'm a bit nervous about crossing into Ivernian airspace since apparently, they always have airships stationed there just in case the Wildings try something. I want everyone ready just in case, though with our escort--" He waved toward the elven airship escorting them in. "--we should be fine... theoretically."

Sarah nodded, then she, Kendra, and Selene cleaned up and headed up to the quarterdeck with Ethan. On the starboard side, the Ivernian mountains loomed large. However, just ahead of them she could see the large drop off where The Gap was, the mountains ending rather abruptly and remaining near ground level for several miles before the mountain range started swiftly rising again.

A large stone wall at least twenty feet high, probably higher, and at least fifteen feet wide stretched across The Gap. On the Ivernian side of the wall, there were regular guard towers and what looked like military barracks which she assumed were to defend the wall if it was attacked. There were Ivernian soldiers patrolling the entire length of the wall, crenelations all along it, and very large crossbows -- or perhaps small ballistae -- spaced at regular intervals. She assumed those were to defend against giants, causing her to shudder and look away.

She frowned as she looked at the nearby mountain, the last one in the mountain range before the Gap.

Something about it looked familiar.

Very familiar.

Eerily familiar even, but she couldn't place it.

"Problem?" Ethan asked her.

"No, I just feel like I've seen this before." She frowned as she looked around. "But I've never been south of the Ivernian mountains before, so I don't know why it would."

"Let me know if you figure it out." Ethan said, then turned his attention forward, where a small Ivernian airship fleet was coming into view. There were six of them, five smaller ones about the length of the Argo but much wider, and a single ship that was significantly larger than the Argo in every dimension.

Sarah took a deep breath and then looked at the wood-elven airship that was escorting them. "Are we safe?"

"I think so." Ethan replied. "If it comes to it, I can always fly at them and dragon's breath their sails so they can't follow us."

Sarah nodded.

For the next few minutes, everyone watched the Ivernian airships. Nothing appeared to be happening with them though and they hadn't reacted to the Argo's presence.

Eventually, Selene cocked her head to one side and then looked at Kendra. "Falkaan says to look at the largest ship's aft section, mostly hidden."

Kendra frowned, then retrieved her spyglass from her canoe-sized airship and started looking.

"Looks like a small airship, about the size of yours." Ethan said to Kendra as he looked, his incredible dragon eyes able to easily see what a human needed a spyglass to see.

"It's the class of airship that matters." Kendra said after a moment. "I recognize it; it's used by the Aldmiri."

"Is that good or bad?" Sarah asked.

"Likely good." Kendra replied. "I'm guessing that the emperor dispatched an agent here to ensure that no one bothered us at the border while we crossed Ivernian airspace. If the Ivernians attacked the Argo with Thea on board, it could causemajor problems between Ivernia and the wood elves; the emperor would want to avoid that."

"Makes sense." Ethan nodded, then breathed what Sarah was pretty sure was a sigh of relief.

"It also means that the emperor has someone following us." Kendra replied, then turned and pointed her spyglass at the sky behind the Argo. "It's what I was doing when I followed the Argo, but I'm not an elf so I had to follow much closer than a specialized Aldmiri tail would, since they're all elves. An elf with an enchanted spyglass can follow from an incredible distance."

Ethan frowned and started searching the skies behind the Argo as well.

"So, they've been watching us?" Sarah asked.

"Yes." Kendra said, still searching the skies. "However, they would be too far away to see anything that happened. They would mostly just report our position regularly."

"It could be worse; they could've been waiting to attack us." Selene pointed out.

"This is good news." Rachel said after a moment. "My Lord, you've been worried about how the emperor might react to you, but this tells us quite clearly."

"He's unsure." Alana finished the thought. "That's why he has the Aldmiri following us."

"I can live with that." Ethan nodded. "If he's unsure, then I might be able to convince him, or one of his sons, that I'm a decent guy." He paused. "Well, assuming I get to him before Lord Delmar does."

"I doubt they're that gullible." Rachel said. "By reputation, neither the emperor nor the crown prince is dumb."

Ethan nodded in concession.

Sarah looked around as Ethan and Kendra continued searching the skies behind the Argo. Anthiel even joined in. Sarah's eyes were drawn to the mountain they were passing now, and she just couldn't shake the feeling that she'd seen it before.

"You okay?" Selene asked.

Sarah nodded. "I would swear I've seen this place before, but I don't know where or when."

Selene slowly nodded. "Let us know if you figure it out."

"I will." Sarah replied, then beckoned Selene to follow her as she took a few steps away from everyone else, then she lowered her voice. "Um, I don't want details, but... but how did um... how did everything go last night? Well?"

Selene got a huge smile on her face and a tinge of pink in her cheeks. She sighed wistfully and then said in a slightly dreamy voice. "It was perfect."

"Good." Sarah smiled. "Even with all the... things you like?"

Selene's smile got wider and her cheeks pinker as she nodded. "Especially with."

"Good."

They talked for a minute and then returned to the group, Sarah regularly looking around since she couldn't shake the feeling that she'd seen this area someplace before. However, it wasn't until they had completed the long, slow turn and started heading straight north that she looked down and suddenly it clicked.

"Oh!" She exclaimed. "I know when I've been here before!"

* * *

"Tabby, I'm ordering you to tell me why you weren't willing to apologize." Fiona said to her bodyguard. They were alone in the nursery and Fiona had been thinking about it all morning, and especially Tabitha's refusal to apologize. That didn't sit right with her.

Tabitha looked at her with her unreadable expression and eyes.

"Tell me, or I'll be figuring out how to make your job protecting me harder." Fiona threatened, and she was even serious.

"I am a weapon who follows orders." Tabitha said after a moment. "I was ordered to use all necessary force to protect you. I did."

"Yes, fine." Fiona resisted the urge to growl in frustration. "But after you were using all that force, you could've been apologizing for scaring an innocent girl half to death."

Tabitha didn't reply.

"Marge was telling you who she was." Fiona pointed out. "You could've been getting your information from her instead of threatening Vera further."

"Marge can be deceived." Tabby replied without emotion. "Questioning the assailant directly under threat of death provided more opportunity to gauge if she was truly frightened or merely pretending."

Fiona was just about to tell Tabby what she was really thinking when something the bodyguard had said hit her. Tabby had called herself a weapon; was that all she saw herself as?

Hmm.

"Tabby, what are you meaning that you're a weapon?" Fiona asked.

"I am." She replied without emotion.

"But weapons are things like swords and bows, not people."

"With enough conditioning, people can become weapons."

Fiona cocked her head to one side and frowned. It was interesting that Tabitha had said 'conditioning', not 'training'. That seemed significant. "Tabby, are you seeing yourself as anything more than a weapon?"

Tabby didn't reply.

However, unusually, this time Fiona felt like the lack of response was significant. Suddenly, rather a lot about Tabitha made sense if that was true. If she really didn't think of herself as anything more than a weapon, then... Hmm.

"Well, I'm wanting to be making sure she's alright." Fiona said a moment later. "Are you at least willing to help me with that?"

"Of course my lady." Tabby said as if nothing was wrong and nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

"Then can you be finding out where she lives so I can go see her?" Fiona asked. "I'm wanting to make sure she's okay after that fright you gave her, so please make arrangements for me to see her, and don't be frightening her again while you do."

"Yes my lady." She bowed slightly, then left the room.

Fiona looked at the door for several long seconds, mostly thinking about Tabby. There was no denying that she was very good at her job. However, it was seeming like she'd paid a terrible price to become so. Fiona would've loved to help her somehow, but she didn't know how.

She set that aside for now to think about what she would say to Vera when Tabby found her. She was still thinking about it several minutes later when the door opened and her husband walked in.

"What's wrong milord?" She asked, never having seen him in the nursery before. Though, she wondered if he had been in here more often when Rachel was a baby.

"There is no crisis at present." He replied. "How familiar are you with formal dances, especially formal elven dances?"

"I was enjoying all the dances in my hometown, but I must be admitting that I'm not very familiar with more courtly dances, and I'm not knowing anything about elven dances."

"Then unless you have an objection, I shall arrange for an instructor so you shall be properly prepared for the coming-of-age ball for the wood-elven king's ward."

"Oh, thank you." Fiona smiled. "That was quite thoughtful."

"You are welcome." He nodded once and turned to leave.

"Milord." She called after him before he left.

"Yes Fiona?" He turned to face her again.

"Thank you for coming to say something personally; I know you could've been sending someone." She didn't add that he usually did, so this was unusual. Wonderful, but unusual.

"You are welcome." He nodded once again, and then left.

Fiona smiled after him.

* * *

Ethan spun on his heel at Sarah's exclamation. "When?"

His betrothed rushed to the Starboard side of the ship and pointed down to a small castle built into the wall that stretched across The Gap. "That's where Lady Ekthros was holding me prisoner." Her eyes were wide. "I recognize the castle, and the mountain from this angle."

"You were held here?" He asked as the rest of his wives plus Victoria and Thea gathered on the quarterdeck, likely drawn by her exclamation.

"Yes, I'm sure of it." Sarah nodded as she looked around more. "I recognize everything. She took me to the top of the castle once for a hot meal to apologize for..." She bit her lip, then glanced at the bicep of the arm that Lady Ekthros had cut into to extract a tissue sample.

"Why here?" Kendra said a moment later as she looked at the small castle.

"It's remote?" Rachel suggested.

"It's not remote Master." Taloni spoke up. "Lots of airships from Nalatia and further north travel through The Gap to get to the Southern Lands. I don't think anyone comes here on the ground, but many airships fly through here regularly."

"Selene, can you tell Myla so she can tell Falkaan?" Ethan asked.

"Already did." His bride smiled at him.

"My wife." He smiled back, then began rhythmically summoning then not-summoning her 'wedding ring' in reward. She jumped slightly the first time, then hid her reactions afterward. Well, all except the smoldering look in her eyes.

"Maybe because it receives almost no foot traffic?" Rachel suggested. "It's remote for ground traffic, but the air traffic makes it not seem remote. Thus, it could be an ideal place to hide something or someone, like a lovely innkeeper's daughter." Rachel smiled at Sarah, who looked like she tried to smile back, but was having trouble.

"Possibly." Kendra frowned, then tapped a finger on the spyglass that was still in her hand.

"You're not convinced?" Ethan asked.

She shook her head. "The only reason to have a small base here is..." The former Aldmiri trailed off as she looked beyond the small castle into the Wilding Lands beyond it.

"Oh." Selene's eyes widened. "Falkaan says that maybe--"

"Lady Ekthros has a base in the Wilding Lands." Kendra finished.

"Yup, that's what he said." Selene nodded. "Is that possible? I thought they hated humans."

Thea shook her head. "They hate Ivernians, but that doesn't mean they hate all humans. The wood elves don't deal with them often because of the mountain range, but there are a couple of passes through it and as long as you aren't an Ivernian trader, they'll deal with you, even if you're human." She paused. "Well, some also blame Narlotten because Narlotten did help Ivernia during the war, but most Wildings don't hate Narlotten, not like they hate Ivernia."

"That would make sense." Rachel said after a moment. "I'm not sure how else Lady Ekthros could've kept everything she was doing from the intelligence services of the various lords, and especially the Aldmiri."

Kendra nodded. "They only keep a token presence in the Wilding Lands, and only then to monitor the largest clans to make sure there isn't a large buildup of forces. It wouldn't be hard to avoid the Aldmiri in the Wilding Lands, especially if she has any skill in subterfuge, which she obviously does."

"Falkaan just said something like that too." Selene added. "Though, he added that he has not even a handful of contacts there, and none will be a lot of help."

Ethan looked out over the wall that spanned The Gap and toward the Wilding Lands beyond it. Just from looking at them, he could almost see how they had earned their name. While the Ivernian side of the wall was all lush green rolling hills, the terrain on the other side of the immense wall was very different.

The Wilding Lands weren't dry or brown, but they weren't as green as Ivernia was either. They had a somewhat scraggly appearance and the almost prairie-like grass was dotted with trees and bushes that were slightly bent and twisted. There was a decent amount of both forest and plains, and both looked more untamed than the Ivernian side of The Gap's wall. It looked like a rough sort of place where one had to be hardy to survive; an untamed wilderness the likes of which only existed on Earth in the Australian Outback, or Sub-Saharan Africa, or maybe a rainforest somewhere.

In the truest sense, it looked like a wilderness.

Raw.

Fierce.

Untamed.

"That's where Lady Ekthros is making the demon-possessed men?" Taloni asked in an awe-tinged scared whisper.

"I think so." Ethan put his arm around Tee, pulled her close, and kissed the top of her head.

"We have to stop her Master." Tee whispered a moment later. Her wings were fluttering and occasionally flicked unexpectedly, and her lower lip trembled a bit. He could feel her trembling slightly, though he could also see determination in her lilac eyes as she looked at him.

"She's right." Sarah said quietly. "We should do something and I don't think anyone else can."

Alana put a hand over her womb, took a deep breath, then nodded. "I agree Sir."

Rachel took her hand. "I don't want to agree, but I do."

Beth nodded. "I do too Dominus, but I wish I didn't; evenI don't want to see that."

Kendra nodded. "No one else knows -- and we could fix that by telling Lord Kalus and maybe The King of the wood elves -- but even if half of the Ten Kingdoms knew, I'm not sure they could stop these possessed men, and especially not in the Wilding Lands." The former Aldmiri looked around at them. "I don't want my family in danger, but some threats are too important to ignore."

Ethan looked at Selene, whose eyes were slightly unfocused. "Sorry boss." She winked. "I'm coordinating another conversation at the moment, but I agree. Hell, this might even be the problem that Illuminar brought you here to solve."

Ethan nodded his head in concession, then looked at Victoria and Thea. "You two?"

"Um, I can't fight and I don't want to say that we should go because I would basically be saying that everyone else should go into harm's way." Victoria said. "But if I could fight, I would say we should go because those things are awful."

"Like Victoria I can't fight well, but I can try to help other ways." Thea said. "I can also talk to my guardian and I think he would be willing to help."

Ethan nodded slowly, then looked over at the Midnight Sun, where Falkaan and Myla were talking to Talven and Salma. Talven was pale and Salma looked white as a sheet.

"They're discussing it." Selene volunteered. "Falkaan and Myla are willing to help, but Talven and Salma's kids are on the Midnight Sun, so..."

"I completely understand." Ethan looked at Alana, who put a hand over her womb, and then he looked at the rest of his wives. "I can't wait until this is all behind us and we can settle down, start that paired-portal-based mail service, and raise a family."

Everyone nodded, but none of them were smiling.

A few took deep breaths.

"Fortunately, we won't need to go to the Wilding Lands for a while." Victoria pointed out. "Yes, it's a dark cloud on the horizon, but we're going to Nalatia to do some wonderful things, and attend a ball too. There's a lot of wonderful things coming, and if we focus on the dark cloud beyond them, we'll miss the good because we're afraid of the bad."

"You have a point." Ethan half-smiled at her. "I'm sure the good colonel will appreciate that when you're married."

The platinum blonde gave him a look.

"We should still have that dancing party tonight." Alana said after a moment. "Victoria is right, we can prepare, but we shouldn't let the impending war ruin our enjoyment of the present."

Everyone nodded.

"Falkaan and Myla say that they're with us, but they'll need to keep the Midnight Sun far away from danger because of Talven and Salma's children." Selene said.

Ethan looked over at the other airship and gave Falkaan a thumbs up, then looked at Selene. "Please thank him for me."

"I already did." The gorgeous Brazilian woman smiled at him, and he rewarded her by playing with her 'wedding ring' for several seconds.

"Okay, so dancing tonight and Nalatia the day after tomorrow." Ethan nodded.

He took a step toward the railing and leaned on it, looking out toward the Wilding Lands that were slowly growing smaller as the Argo headed north away from them. His wives gathered on the railing next to him, all looking out as he was.

"How did it come to this?" Selene said in an obvious accent, but he couldn't place the movie line. "A country full of necromancers, and demon-possessed men." She took a deep dramatic breath. "Everything will change. Everythinghas changed."

It took him a moment to place it. "The Patriot?"

She nodded. "Yeah, but the line was about 'rabble and peasants'; that didn't seem appropriate."

He nodded slowly, then looked at the seven women on either side of him. "Everything has changed, but some of the changes have been pretty wonderful."

"They have Master." Tee sighed with a smile.

Sarah sighed as well, and the rest of his wives smiled.

"Okay, dancing tonight, and we'll worry about the Wilding Lands another day." He said after a moment.

Everyone else agreed.

For himself, he looked out at the Wilding Lands and considered what they would face out there. They were used to being on their own, but this was outside the Ten Kingdoms and away from many of their friends and allies. Though, quite beside the Midnight Sun's crew, they might have Anthiel's husband and his crew with them by then.

As Ethan thought about it, for as many enemies as they'd made, they had made some equally good friends and allies as well. Victoria was right; it was a good idea to focus on what they did have. Thinking about it right now, and despite the challenges coming their way, he thought they had rather a lot.

That made him smile.

* * *

Fiona climbed into the carriage with Tabitha as one of the guardsmen who had escorted her and Shannon into Karnas sat in the driver's seat. Beside the carriage, a familiar face was double-checking the horse's harness.

"Ellis, it's good to be seeing you." Fiona said to him.

"Thank you ma'am." He turned and gave her a respectful head bow. "I would like to thank you; Lord Delmar has assigned me to your security detail for when you travel to Nalatia because of what you told him."

"Sarah was saying good things about you when you were escorting her home." Fiona replied. "She and everyone else were saying that you're a good man, so I'm glad to be having you."

"Thank you ma'am." He did another head bow, then climbed up next to the driver and they started off.

"And she's expecting us?" Fiona looked at Tabby to confirm.

"Yes my lady." She replied, and oddly, her bubbly tone and demeanor were back.

Fiona raised her eyebrow.

"We're outside the castle now." She said with a bright smile. "Who knows what anyone has heard?"

Fiona shrugged.

The carriage ride was only five minutes long before they stopped at a small mansion in Karnas's wealthiest district. The funny thing about being married to Lord Delmar, he didn't seem to care for the trappings of wealth or surrounding himself with finery. He lived in a stone castle; it was beautifully decorated, but it wasn't ostentatious and it was still a castle.

This was amansion.

Fiona knew that Baron Dramel was in charge of the barony that Karnas was in, so of course he was wealthy. However, Fiona had a slightly difficult time imagining the mousy girl he had married living here. The opulent wealth didn't seem like it would foster a mousy girl like that.

She shrugged and got out of the carriage into the massive courtyard that was impeccably manicured. One of the servants led Fiona and Tabby inside and led them towards a sitting room. The entire walk, Fiona found the contrast between the castle and this mansion quite interesting. Gold and silver adorned most of the surfaces here, as did expensive-looking works of art, while the castle -- though still beautiful -- was far less adorned with the trappings of wealth.

The servant directed her to an ornate door inlaid with gold and silver, and then opened it for her. Inside, the woman from that morning was pacing, but she stopped when the door opened. It looked like she was about to hyperventilate. She was holding what had probably once been a paper fan in her hands, but it had been twisted beyond recognition, and the reason was obvious as she was wringing her hands around it now.

"Good afternoon." Fiona smile.

"G-good aft-afternoon." She stammered, her eyes flicking to Tabby.

"Tabby, could you be waiting outside please?" Fiona asked.

The bodyguard scanned the room, then nodded and took a step back, closing the door behind her.

"I-I'm sorry about th-this morning, Lady Fiona." The other woman stammered.

"Oh, don't be worrying about that." Fiona said with a smile. "I was wanting to make sure that you're doing alright."

"Y-you were?"

Fiona smiled. "I was, are you?"

The woman swallowed, then her eyes flicked to the door beyond which Tabby was standing, then looked back at Fiona. Finally, she nodded slowly and cautiously.

"Well, it was sounding like you weren't enjoying eating in the castle's dining hall." Fiona said after a slightly awkward silence. "And it was sounding like that's because the other ladies of the court weren't being nice to you?"

The other woman hesitated, then slowly nodded. Fiona was about to say something when Vera started talking rather quickly. "That's why I burst through the door, I saw a few of them coming and didn't want them to... to..." She trailed off, clearly not sure how to finish the sentence.

"Why aren't they being nice to you?" Fiona asked.

"Um, uh..." She bit her lip. "I'm... I'm just a baron's wife without noble birth and they... well, they're the wives of Dukes, Earls, Nobles, and..." She swallowed. "And I didn't grow up with this kind of... um, I don't know how to... to fit in."

"Well, then how about this?" Fiona nodded slowly. "How about if you're joining me tomorrow morning for breakfast as my personal guest? Then all the ladies can be seeing that you're friends with the First Lady of Narlotten and they might be leaving you alone."

The other woman stared.

"Well?" Fiona asked with a smile.

"I... I could do..." She moved her mouth but no words came out for a moment. "Did... did you say 'friends'?"

"I did indeed." Fiona smiled.

"Why?"

"Because you're looking like you need some help." Fiona replied. "I'll be seeing you in the morning when breakfast is served, yes?"

She nodded slowly, then opened her mouth slightly, hesitated, then closed it and bit her lip.

"Were you wanting to say something?" Fiona asked.

"Um, thank you." Vera said, visibly relaxing slightly.

"You're welcome." Fiona gave her another smile, and then left. She returned to the carriage with Tabby in tow, hoping that she'd make it back in time for her dancing lesson. As she climbed into the carriage, she found herself wondering what Sarah was doing.

* * *

Of all the things that Sarah had done on the Argo -- not counting Ethan kissing her forehead of course -- this might've been her favorite. Nearby, Anthiel was playing a slow tune as Ethan held his betrothed and they clumsily moved across the 'dance floor'.

"Ow!" She winced as one of them moved the wrong foot in the wrong direction.

"Sorry." Ethan said for the... um, Sarah had lost count.

"You're both getting there." Rachel, their resident dance instructor, said. "This is the foundation for most elven dances, so if you can get this one, the rest will be easier."

"It might be a cold day in hell..." Ethan grumbled, then took a deep breath and Sarah's hand again. "Ready?"

"Always." She beamed at him.

"Ok, and... back, left, right, forward, turn." Rachel said, speaking in time with the music. "Back, left, right, forward, turn. Back, left-- "

"Ow!" Ethan winced as he moved the wrong direction and Sarah accidentally hit him in the shin. He looked at her apologetically. "Sorry."

"My lord, why don't you take some of that mana you've been using to enchant yourself and use it to help your memory or your muscle memory?" Rachel asked as she shook her head.

"I don't mind, this is wonderful." Sarah sighed.

It was getting to be nightfall and they were dancing in the twilight with the Argo's lanterns casting a warm, flickering light on everyone. They had eaten an early dinner to make time for the dance party and it was in full swing. The Argo and midnight Sun were docked again, and Falkaan, Myla, Talven, Salma, and Luminar Kossel were all on the Argo. The luminar turned out to be a good dancer who knew these dances, so he was helping Rachel, Kendra, and Alana teach them to everyone else.

It was currently Sarah's turn with Ethan, which Alana seemed to make sure happened more often than his other wives. Sarah had tried to protest once, but Alana had merely replied in a low tone. "We sleep next to him every night, you don't; go dance." Then the wood elf had winked and pushed her out onto the dance floor.

"I suppose I could do that." Ethan replied to Rachel's suggestion as he cocked his head to one side and a thoughtful frown appeared on his face. "That speed will be a game changer in combat though."

"It's not always wise to specialize too highly, especially in combat." Kendra said from nearby. "Besides, it's dancing." She got a subtle smile on her face, and Sarah remembered just how much she liked dancing.

"Um, switch?" Sarah asked Kendra. Not because she wanted to, but because she knew how much Kendra loved dancing.

Kendra full-on smiled at that. "Thank you."

Sarah stepped away and her betrothed at least had a harder time accidentally hitting Kendra's shins because the former Aldmiri had much better reflexes than Sarah did. She had been watching them dance for a minute when Alana came up and put an arm around her.

"Remember the day you got betrothed to Ethan, when you asked me to help you be a better co-wife?" The wood elf asked with a wide smile.

"I do, why?" Sarah asked.

"Because congratulations, you're already doing fantastic." She flicked her eyes to where Ethan and Kendra were dancing.

Sarah beamed.

Twoalmost leg collisions later, Kendra stepped back from Ethan. "Drago, please? It'll help you learneverything more quickly, not just dancing. It will also help you learn combat more quickly, and possibly even more effectively."

Ethan waggled his head back and forth for a moment, then nodded. He closed his eyes for a minute, then opened them. "That took most of my mana, and I'm not sure how much it'll help."

It did help.

Perhaps not a lot, but definitely some. Shortly thereafter, his footwork improved to the point that he wasn't hitting shins anymore, which made Sarah smile. He wasn't exactlygood, but he did seem to start improving a little more quickly.

* * *

Ethan blinked and yawned as he slowly returned to the waking world with Selene in his arms. His wives had all agreed that the bride should get more than just one night in his arms after Taloni had suggested it, and without needing much convincing either. They really were wonderful women and he felt incredibly blessed to call them his.

He smiled and a contented sigh slipped out.

"You're awake." Alana said from somewhere behind him, as he was sleeping on his side.

"Yea.... Y..." He yawned. "Yeah." He lifted his head and looked around to see that all of his wives except for Beth were both there and awake; Beth was still out like a light. She probably had stayed up late trying to grow her wings. More than once, she had scratched her back enough that it had looked a little red and Taloni had healed it.

He looked around at all of them and smiled. "I'm the luckiest man in the world, intwo worlds."

All of them beamed, and not a few of them got pink cheeks.

"Really?" He chuckled. "Pink cheeks for that? You do know what we've all done right here on this bed, right?"

His wives mostly giggled nervously, though Alana just looked amused as she gave Beth a gentle shake to rouse the sleeping blonde, who sat up and yawned after a few moments.

"It's the sincerity my lord." Rachel said after a moment. "It is sometimes hard to accept that you feel that way, even if ample evidence has been presented."

Ethan nodded slowly. "Okay, so what can I do to help all of you accept it more? For that matter, what can I do to be a better husband?"

His wives' 'thinking faces' were all adorable.

It was funny, but despite being in bed with six naked, beautiful women, he didn't feel inclined to start anything. Oh, he'd be game if one of them did, but he was finding more and more that the sex was just the cherry on top of his marriages. The more important part, the more rewarding and more enjoyable part, was simply having them in his life.

"I'm not sure Sir." Alana finally said.

"If the current war wasn't a consideration, there would be one thing." Rachel said. "However, that particular thing takes nine months to arrive after being given." Her fair cheeks got a hint of pink in them, but one might not even notice for the wide smile on her face.

"Perhaps not all at once though." Alana suggested. "It might be fun for Ethan to--" she made air quotes. "--'give the gifts' all in one night, but think about us all going into labor around the same time."

Ethan frowned, as did the rest of his wives. "Yeah, that wouldn't be good."

"Perhaps we could stagger them then?" Rachel suggested. "Perhaps a month in between?"

"But then, in what order? Who has to wait?" Beth asked.

All of his wives looked around at each other.

"We'll figure that out when the time comes." Ethan said, not wanting to solvethat particular problem at the moment. Though, as he looked around at the most wonderful women on two worlds, he thought it was a great problem to have.

Selene looked around the room for a moment, then made a thoughtful sound.

"Problem?" Ethan asked.

"No..." She said hesitantly. "Not really, it's just..." She looked around again. "Something is missing."

Ethan's mind instantly went to a lovely woman who was likely making breakfast at that very moment.

"Not something, someone." Taloni said. "It doesn't feel right without Sarah here."

Everyone else nodded.

"Even with Sarah having a demon?" Ethan asked his most devout wife.

Tee frowned, hesitated, then nodded. "She's... I didn't know her very well when she joined us Master. After getting to know her better, she's hard to dislike."

"She is indeed." He replied with a wide smile. "And I bet she would like to hear you say that."

Tee nodded.

"This is the most wonderful thing in my entire life." Selene said, indicating everyone in the room. "But I feel like it's like a jigsaw puzzle that's missing the final piece to make it complete."

"Does anyone else feel that way?" He asked. He did, but hadn't wanted to say it in case Selene -- the woman he'd just married a few days ago -- took it the wrong way.

Everyone else either nodded or verbally agreed.

"I didn't want to say anything because Ethan just married Selene, but now that Selene said it, I agree." Alana said.

Selene smiled. "I want Sarah here too. She was so nice to me when we first met, and she's one of the first genuinely kind souls I've met."

Again, everyone agreed.

"Technically, nothing is stopping us from getting married now." Ethan pointed out. "We were waiting because she's supposed to be my seventh wife, and since the sixth onefinally pulled her head out of the sand--" He winked at her and she rolled her eyes as he continued. "--there's technically nothing stopping us."

"I sense a 'but' coming." Alana said.

"But, I want to make her wedding special and hopefully grand." Ethan replied. "She's been stuck thinking she's nothing special and has been overlooked her entire life and that needs to end."

"That's it." Rachel said softly, a subtle smile on her face.

"Huh?" He asked.

"You asked how you could be a better husband; that's it." Rachel explained. "You genuinely care about us and our needs. While I'm sure there are ways that you could be a better husband, as I'm sure we could be better wives, that is the one thing that matters more than any specific suggestion we could make."

"I'm glad to hear that." Ethan smiled. "But if you do think of anything specific, please mention it."

"Oh, we will... Boss." Selene said with a wink and not a little sass.

"Careful, I might need to remind you of your place." He replied with a mostly straight face.

"You mean under you?" She replied with no less sass. "Or riding you, or bending over in front of you? Is that my place?"

"Actually." Alana spoke up. "Right now, your place is anywhere you don't need your dress because everyone should be full up on mana again, and your dress doesn't have a cut-resistant enchantment yet. We need to fix that as soon as possible, especially since we'll arrive at Nalatia tomorrow."

"Well, if I must be naked..." Selene grinned as she laid back, spreading her legs and giving a slightly exaggerated sigh as she ran her hands up her flawless body, now on display for everyone to see, especially Ethan.

He grinned.

* * *

Fiona was waiting by the doors to the dining hall for Vera, who she hoped would be a new friend. Since Sarah had left, she had been missing having a female friend and her options were limited. Her handmaidens were too young to be true friends, and of course, Tabitha would barely speak a word without being forced. Her bodyguard was standing right beside her as always, and her expression was unreadable as usual.

"Tabby, can you be moving a bit further away this morning; I'm not wanting to scare her."

Tabitha looked at her for a long moment, then took a single step further away. It was a large step, but only one. Fiona sighed. A few minutes later, Vera came around the corner slowly. A nervous smile began to form on her face when she saw Fiona, but then her eyes moved to Tabitha and it faded.

"I'm glad you were coming." Fiona smiled and stepped forward to say hi.

"Hi." Vera waved nervously, and her eyes flicked to Tabitha.

"Tabby won't be bothering you." Fiona said, then took the girl's arm and led her into the dining hall. Fiona stopped as she realized that while her seat was free, there wasn't another free seat next to it. She frowned for a moment, then turned to her guest.

"Where are you usually sitting?" Fiona asked.

"Um, there." She indicated an area right near the bottom of the table. Importantly, there were several open seats.

Fiona led the way over to that section and sat down, indicating that the other woman should sit down next to her. She did, though she seemed a bit on edge.

"What's making you so nervous?" Fiona asked.

"Um, I don't want to get in trouble because you sat next to me." She said quietly.

"And why would you be getting in trouble?"

"Um..." She swallowed, hesitated, and then her eyes flicked to where several ladies of the court were eating before she looked in Fiona's direction. She didn't meet her eyes though.

"You have nothing to be worrying about." Fiona assured her.

"Um, but what if the other ladies of the court don't like that I'm having breakfast with you?" She asked. "What if they--"

Fiona held up her hand. "If anyone is giving you trouble, just let me know. I'm the First Lady of Narlotten, so I can be making sure that they'll leave you alone."

The girl nodded slowly, hesitated a moment, then spoke tentatively. "You'd... you'd do that for me?"

"I would." Fiona replied with a kind smile. "No one should be needing to fear bullying in this castle."

Vera smiled. It was a small smile, but she did.

* * *

Alana watched the elven capitol city of Nalatia scroll by underneath the Argo from its bow as their airship and the Midnight Sun sailed towards the Nalatia dock, where there would be docking berths waiting for both airships. She took a deep breath to try and calm the butterflies in her stomach.

Yesterday, she'd been able to distract herself by enchanting Selene's dress, not to mention everyone on the Argo preparing for this meeting and practicing the various social niceties they would need. However, now that the time had come, those butterflies didn't want to stay still.

"It'll be fine." The loveliest woman in the Ten Kingdoms assured her. They were at the very front of the Argo leaning on the railing.

"You don't know that." Alana replied. "There's so much that could go wrong with my parents and very few ways that everything could go right."

"Even if they do go wrong, we'll find a way to put them right." Rachel replied kindly, then put her arm around Alana's shoulders and gave her a gentle squeeze.

"Thank you." Alana leaned into her wonderful best friend who was also so much more than a best friend.

They stayed like that for a little while before she stood straight again and looked out at the city. Something in her heart just sang to see the houses, streets, and just life in general incorporated into the trees. Even the broad thoroughfares on which carts traveled had been formed by careful sculpting of the enormous trees to support a wooden road on top of them, and it was beautiful.

"That's our berth." Rachel said sometime later as Taloni expertly piloted the Argo into position to dock.

"And the welcoming committee." The wood elf added, looking at the large group of people on the dock, all of whom were resplendently dressed and had their noses rather higher in the air than most people would.

"And I think The King as well." Rachel said, though she didn't point.

Alana nodded. "This could be a very interesting meeting."

"I wonder if they'll use our names this time?" Rachel asked.

"Maybe?" Alana shrugged. "I guess we're about to find out."

Not long afterwards, Ethan, his wives including Sarah, and also Victoria and Thea congregated near the main mast while Serif and Raklan moored the Argo to the dock. Ethan had suggested that Falkaan and Myla join them, but they had declined. Alana suspected that was because neither liked the attention, and Falkaan probably had contacts that he wanted to see as well.

"It's not normal for The King to greet visitors, is it?" Ethan whispered to Thea as Serif and Raklan started putting the gangplank into place.

Thea shook her head and replied quietly. "He would do it for the emperor, maybe the crown prince, and a prophet of Illuminar; that's it."

"And probably his ward." Alana looked at her pointedly.

Thea didn't reply, and Ethan led the way across the gangplank onto the dock.

*Remember to bow.* Alana thought to everyone, though it was mostly intended for Ethan. Even so, everyone from the Argo respectfully bowed to The King.

The King was tall for a wood elf at five and a half feet. Ethan had often said that he looked like "a young Pierce Brosnan", though Alana wasn't sure who that was. He had a very regal demeanor and was wearing robes of deep brown that resembled a tree trunk. On his upper torso, they were green and resembled the canopy of a tree. He had a short, well-groomed beard and short-ish hair; both of which were a light brown color.

"Welcome, honored prophet and his wives." The King said in a loud, clear voice, then bowed deeply, and his entire retinue followed suit. Alana didn't miss that he hadn't said 'and hishonored wives', as would usually be the proper way to address un-shamed wives. Still, he had acknowledged them, which seemed like a good sign.

"Pardon me prophet." The King said when the bow ended, then he looked at Thea and beckoned her forward. "Come here child."

Thea hesitated a moment before walking forward and stopping in front of him. He gave her a pointed look, which probably would've had more effect if she wasn't three inches taller than he was. His expression was slightly stern for a moment, but it softened quickly.

"I'm sorry." Thea said, her voice quiet and just shy of mumbling.

"You are forgiven." He replied immediately.

Thea hesitated. "I thought you would be mad."

"My anger has passed." He replied gently. "But, as I have always said, there must always be consequences."

Thea bit her lip and nodded.

The King turned and beckoned an elf forward. He was clearly not a wood elf since he was quite tall, an inch taller than Thea. He was probably five or ten years older than Alana herself and moderately good-looking, though not enough to stand out. She had a good impression of him for some reason. Something about him reminded her of her adoptive father, and maybe Ethan's father a little.

"This is Ahjah Methkarah, called Golden-Tongue; he will be your custodian." The King said. He pronounced the 'j' sound in Ahjah's name much like the 'z' in 'seizure', or the 's' in treasure.

The King looked at his ward. "Present your wrist."

Thea nodded slowly, her shoulders slumping. She hesitated only a moment before lifting her arm with her wrist limp. Ahjah stepped forward and put an ornate leather cuff on her wrist. Alana could feel the activation from where she was, and it seemed like it was a spell similar to Thor's collar, where when paired, someone could use it to locate Thea wherever she was.

*Putting it on in public?* Rachel thought to everyone. *In wood-elven culture, that's almost worse than the cuff.*

Alana nodded, feeling a little sorry for Thea. She understood that The King was upset -- she would be too if her daughter had absconded -- and this was a pretty normal way of dealing with such things for the wood elves, but still...

"My Wild Child." The King said with undeniable affection in his voice. "I pray that Illuminar -- blessed be He -- will grant you contentment in your heart."

Thea nodded slowly, then her arm dropped limply to her side and she stepped forward and took what looked to be a usual place behind and to the side of The King, her new custodian right behind her. Despite her downcast look, there was a tiny edge of a smile on her face.

*Thea says it could've been a lot worse.* Selene thought to the group chat. *Apparently, this was about the lightest respectable discipline that The King could have honorably leveled.*

"Honored prophet." The King addressed Ethan again. "I submit my most humble apologies for the behavior of my ward."

"Honestly, she was a joy to have around." Ethan said. "And not only that, she was a huge help on more than one occasion. Maybe she shouldn't have snuck out, but I'm glad she did."

"The prophet of Illuminar expressing joy at wickedness?" An elf dressed in the robes of a high priest said. "Would any true prophet of Illuminar do such a thing?"

Plesius.

Alana resisted the urge to frown. The seedy high priest seemed to have it out for Ethan ever since they had met, which had been when Ethan had snapped at him after the high priest had insulted some of his wives.

Ethan looked at him, scoffed, and then looked back at The King. "Thank you for receiving us with such honor, most noble king." He bowed again, and Alana resisted the urge to grin at how well he'd pulled off that greeting.

"Many nights we have looked and prayed for your safe return, honored prophet." The King said, though Plesius had a stony expression.

"Honestly, I missed you too." Ethan smiled. "I was being serious about Thea helping us though. I wouldn't be betrothed to this wonderful woman without her."

He beckoned Sarah forward, and she came with only a little shakiness, then she bowed just as she had been practicing on the Argo for the last few days. Alana felt a warmth in her heart as her newest co-wife did it so well.

"I... um, I'm honored to meet you." Sarah said when she had finished bowing.

"Honored betrothed of the honored prophet." The King gave her a head bow.

Sarah smiled nervously. "Thank you."

The King inclined his head in acknowledgment.

"And this is Victoria Gladstone, who joined us on our travels as a friend." Ethan indicated the Platinum blonde, who also bowed.

"Welcome." The King said to her as well. "Refreshments await the prophet, his companions, andall his wives at the palace."

Alana smiled in spite of of them.

The last time they had been in Nalatia, Alana herself, Taloni, and Rachel hadn't been allowed in the palace because of their status as shamed. Apparently, the argument that they shouldn't be considered shamed without a conviction and two or three witnesses had had some effect.

The others in The King's retinue all had welcoming smiles that suddenly didn'tquite reach their eyes.

* * *

"Thank you again Lady Delmar."

Fiona smiled and looked at her pointedly. "You're welcomeBaroness Vera."

The other woman bit her lip.

They were standing in the castle's courtyard talking after a late breakfast, the baroness's carriage standing ready nearby. Fiona smiled whenever she thought about their first breakfast together the previous day. She had enjoyed herself immensely, and Vera had almost interrupted Fiona in her haste to agree to eat breakfast together again today. They had talked for some time after breakfast today, and it was near lunchtime at the moment.

"I never thought the First Lady would ask me to call her by her first name." Vera said after a moment.

"Well, I'm guessing you aren't liking being called 'baroness' either." Fiona countered.

Vera shook her head. "It's too new; it feels wrong."

"Aye, I'm knowing what you mean." Fiona nodded vigorously. "I've not been married to Lord Delmar a whole month now and it's still feeling strange when people are calling me 'Lady Delmar'."

"I love that you understand that too." Vera smiled. "Thank you."

"We're two common women who are finding ourselves wed to nobles." Fiona replied. "It's nice to be knowing someone who understands so much."

Vera nodded. "The baron, um, my husband I mean, he was hoping I would meet someone at the castle who I could be friends with, that's why he told me that I needed to start eating at least one meal there every day." She smiled nervously. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, and I'm glad he was telling you that as well." Fiona paused a moment, then asked. "How were you two meeting? It's not often I'm hearing of a woman growing up in an orphanage who was marrying a baron."

"Um, do you know about the Narlotten military's orphan program?" She replied.

"I'm knowing it exists, but not much else about it."

"Well, Lady Ekthros set up a bunch of orphanages throughout the lorddom." Vera started explaining. "When the orphans come of age, if they aren't adopted, the boys can join the military if they want. But the girls obviously can't, so they have a matchmaking program. If the girls want, they're taught everything they'd need to be a good wife and they can be married to a Narlotten soldier of proven character, and the soldier gets a good wife for a greatly reduced bride-price. Almost all the girls choose it, and I rarely hear of one who regrets it."

Fiona resisted the urge to frown at that information; she didn't much like Lady Ekthros, but Fiona had to admit that was a wonderful program for orphaned girls. Fiona knew that orphaned girls in other lorddoms were often exploited, and it spoke well of Lady Ekthros that she was making sure it didn't happen in Narlotten. It didn't make Fiona like her any more though.

"But wait, the baron isn't in the military." Fiona said.

"But my first husband was; I'm a widow." Vera replied. "We were only married two weeks, and I met him the day we married. Anyway, his father is a close friend of the baron. And since a mage said I was with child, my father-in-law wanted me taken care of. Um, the baron doesn't have any sons to be heirs, so my father-in-law convinced him to marry me."

Fiona nodded slowly. "Are you liking being married to him?"

She smiled. "He spends at least ten minutes every day talking to me; just me, even though he's really busy. And he really listens, and remembers what we talk about." She smiled. "I've never had that before and it's wonderful."

"Aye, it is." Fiona replied, thinking about her own conversations with Lord Delmar every evening.

"I should get back." Vera said a moment later with a smile on her face. "He promised to be home for lunch and I like eating with him."

"Enjoy." Fiona said.

They said their goodbyes and the baroness got into her carriage and left, Fiona watching after her. After a moment, Fiona turned to Tabitha.

"Tabby, what would be making you smile like that?" Fiona indicated the departing carriage.

Tabitha didn't reply.

"Tabby?" Fiona prompted.

"An answer would be outside the scope of my protection duties." The bodyguard replied.

Fiona sighed. "Well, I suppose I should've been expecting that."

Tabitha didn't reply.

Fiona sighed and then went back into the castle, heading toward the nursery since Conner would be waking up from his nap soon. They arrived and she saw one of Lord Delmar's errand boys waiting at the entrance.

"Lady Delmar." He said with a bow when he saw her. "Lord Delmar asks you to see him in his office at your earliest convenience. It is not urgent."

"Aye, I'll be heading there right after I'm feeding Conner then." She replied.

The errand boy gave her a head bow, then departed. Fiona headed into the nursery, fed Conner, then strapped him to her chest and went to see her husband.

"You were wanting to see me milord?" She asked after entering.

"Yes." He nodded once. "The wood elves have portalled a letter; the false prophet has arrived at Nalatia and thus The King's ward's coming-of-age ball will commence once all the invited guests have arrived. Thus, we will depart for Nalatia tomorrow at midday."

"Aye milord." She nodded. "Thank you for arranging those dancing lessons; I'm getting better."

"The instructor will accompany us if you wish it." He replied.

"Thank you, I'd be loving that."

He nodded once, then returned to his work on the desk.

"Milord?"

He paused and looked at her.

"Thank you for marrying me." She said, thinking about her conversation with Vera. "I was feeling so lonely before you did and I'm feeling much less so now."

Both of his eyebrows went up fractionally and he made a thoughtful sound. "You are welcome."

She smiled at him, then left the office to let him work. She stopped a few steps outside the office and cocked her head to the side as a thought occurred to her. She didn't have much else to do this afternoon and Conner seemed happy enough on her chest, so maybe...

She looked back at the office door, hesitated a moment, then went to it, opened it enough to stick her head through, and softly knocked. "Milord?"

He looked up at her. "Yes?"

"Would you be minding if I was reading in here?" She asked, nodding her head toward the comfortable chair that Helene had once used to keep him company.

"I have no objection." He replied, then went back to his work.

Fiona smiled, then slipped into the room and closed the door behind her. She looked at the bookshelves in the same corner as the chair and realized that most of the books probably hadn't been put there by Lord Delmar. They were mostly novels with some non-fiction topics mixed in, and all of the topics were the sort of thing she could imagine Lady Helene being interested in, but couldn't picture Lord Delmar having an interest.

"She loved 'The Anthology of Dragons', and was quite fond of 'Tales from the First Emperor'." Lord Delmar said from his desk when she hadn't picked a book in over a minute. His tone was absent-minded and he hadn't looked at her when he spoke, but his suggestions made her smile anyway.

"Thank you." Fiona said, her smile not fading. She found the latter book first, pulled it out, sat down, and began to read.

* * *

"How are you doing?" Sarah quietly asked Thea as the large group made their way to the palace.

Thea glanced at the leather cuff around her wrist and then at Sarah. "Okay." Her tone was glum. "It was wonderful while it lasted, and I'm so glad I got that chance to see so many things; I'll treasure that forever, even if I never get to do it again."

"I'm glad." Sarah gave her what she hoped was an encouraging smile.

"Perhaps I should clarify my role." Thea's new 'custodian' said, since he was easily close enough to hear. His voice was pleasant to the ears and sounded quite sincere. "My function is to ensure that Wild Child does not abscond. As long as she remains in Nalatia, or even the wood elven kingdom at large, she is free to travel as she wishes." He addressed Thea. "I have no desire to prevent you from moving about freely, as long as you remain within this realm."

"No honor language?" Thea asked.

He smiled. "It might be hard to tell with my height, but I'm not fully a wood elf; my mother is a high elf." His eyes twinkled.

Sarah chuckled since he was several inches taller than The King, and even taller than Thea by about an inch. Thea managed a weak smile, giving him one of her apologetic grimaces. "I'm really sorry in advance for all the times I'll give you the slip. You seem like a decent elf and I don't want to get you in trouble, but..." Her apologetic grimace deepened.

"You're going about this all wrong." He replied with a smile. "If you really wish to escape my custody, then you should behave as a model of decorum until I'm so sure that you won't run that I let my guard down; then you'll be able to run further and faster."

Thea opened her mouth to reply, frowned, then spoke. "You're just trying to get me to behave."

"Of course." He hadn't stopped smiling. "You see, you want to be free and I want you to behave in a way that reflects well on my services as a custodian. If you follow my suggestion, we'll come as close to getting what we both want as two people who are at cross-purposes reasonably can. Wouldn't that be better than constantly engaging in a battle of guile and intrigue all the time?"

Again, Thea opened her mouth to reply, hesitated, then spoke with an amused smile. "Ahjah Golden-Tongue; I see your title is well-earned."

"As is yours, Wild Child." He replied. He was still smiling and his eyes were twinkling. "Your guardian believed that since you are adept at mischief, perhaps someone skilled in speechcraft might help you refrain from said mischief since those skilled in guardsmanship obviously could not."

Thea chuckled.

"Here is my bargain, Pelathea Wild Child." Ahjah said. "If you will remain inside the guidelines set forth by your guardian, I will endeavor to let you have as much freedom as those guidelines will allow. I will not even include a true attempt at escape in the bargain either, so long as you do not attempt to abscond for minor reasons; that way, you might agree without foreswearing yourself."

Thea chuckled again. "You are indeed skilled in speechcraft to make me even consider such a bargain. Perhaps with an addendum?"

"Such as?"

"Airships aren't off limits as long as I remain in the wood-elven realms." She replied.

"As long asthe airship does not cross the borders of the wood elven realms." Ahjah countered. "You know as well as I do that some airships -- such as those carrying diplomats -- are considered sovereign territory of the wood-elven realm, regardless of where they lay anchor." He raised his eyebrow. "With that amendment, and another that prohibits you from boarding one without me also present, I will agree to your terms.

"Then we have an accord." Thea turned and raised her right hand, palm facing toward him.

He mirrored the motion, setting his hand against hers. "We have an accord."

Both wrapped their thumbs around the other's hand for a moment, then their hands parted and Thea smiled as she looked at Sarah. "Maybe this won't be so bad."

Sarah smiled for the same reason that Thea had, but she also smiled for quite a different one.

* * *

Ethan noticed that on the trip, the high priest Plesius would occasionally cast a withering glare at him. This wasn't unusual, but the look in his eyes was both anticipatory and spoke of ill intent. That didn't seem good. Still, Ethan doubted there was much the high priest could do in the middle of the streets of Nalatia.

Speaking of, he had forgotten just how beautiful the elven city was. Almost everything he saw had been sculpted from wood into an artistic and functional shape. It was remarkable how everything caught the eye in an unending array of magnificent sights. It was almost like the entire city was a work of art, or perhaps an art gallery where every building was an exhibition.

On the way, The King had engaged in the sort of idle chit-chat that Ethan often had when there was something he wanted to say, but didn't want to say it with an audience. He hoped that was what was going on here. He'd telepathically mentioned it to the group chat, and Alana and Rachel had agreed it was possible, even likely.

As they neared the palace, many in The King's retinue started to exchange nervous glances. They didn't look scared, but they did look uncomfortable.

*Are you seeing this my lord?* Rachel asked.

*How uncomfortable everyone is? Yup.* He replied and left it at that so he wouldn't distract anyone and give away the secret of their group chat.

When the palace came into view, Ethan was reminded of how incredible it was that the wood elves could make a large number of trees grow together to form a single building. The palace was 'constructed' this way -- though 'grown' was probably a better word -- and it was vast in scope. He could only assume that they had planned the trees' layout long ago and planted them where they would need to be dozens, perhaps hundreds of years later to make such a sight.

They were only about a hundred feet from the steps -- wooden of course -- when Plesius spoke up. "Pardon my king, but should shamed women be allowed in the Palace?"

The King stopped and turned to him. "Speak your mind Plesius."

"As you know my king, some of the prophet's wives are shamed." The high priest said, his face now the very personification of contrition and humble piety. "Our grand palace is a seat of virtue, and can virtue house shame without bringing dishonor?"

"And where's the evidence?" Ethan replied, having had a mock version of this conversation with his wives several times yesterday to practice it. "You say they are shamed, well, then produce the record of conviction for a crime or the required two or three witnesses; otherwise, shut the hell up."

He could almost feel the long-suffering sigh from Alana and Rachel at the embellishment he had added at the end.

"Your first wife was born in shame." Plesius replied instantly. "Many witnesses could be called and none would deny it."

Ethan let a sly smile creep onto his face. "Have you never even read the Book of Light?" Ethan asked the high priest of Illuminar.

The look on Plesius's face was priceless.

"Tee, please educate this neophyte on what the Book of Light says about that." Ethan continued.

Taloni swallowed, but stepped forward and spoke in a loud and clear voice, though her tone wavered slightly as well. "Thus says Illuminar -- blessed be He -- you shall not punish a son for his father's sins, for the child shall not bear the guilt of the parent, nor the parent bear the guilt of the child; each man will bear the guilt of his own sin."

"Her shame is her own." Plesius snapped back, his face red and a vein in his forehead standing up slightly.

"For what crime; being born?" Ethan countered.

"She is shamed." Plesius insisted.

"For. What. Crime?" Ethan repeated calmly. He wanted to lash out, but watching the other man come apart at the seams was satisfying enough that it wasn't hard to remain calm.

"She was conceived in iniquity." Plesius replied, calming down somewhat.

"Andthat was her crime?" He asked. "If you think a baby is responsible for her own conception, I think you might need a reminder on how babies are made."

"I have children." Plesius spat back.

"Then you should know that Alana's birth circumstances weren't her fault. Period." Ethan replied cooly. "You can't charge her for that crime any more than I could charge you with a crime for being an idiot." He paused for effect and then cocked his head to one side. "Although..."

"You wish to bring shamed women into the palace." Pleasius nearly hissed at him. "You would defile the sacred seat of power of our fair city, polluting it with their shame!"

"What shame?" Ethan replied. "Where are your two or three witnesses to the crime? What was the crime?"

"Lord Delmar's daughter was disinherited." Plesius replied, gaining back some of his composure.

"And again, what crime did she commit?" Ethan sighed, mostly for effect.

"She was disinherited." He repeated.

"Then where in the Book of Light does it say that a woman commits a crime when her father disinherits her?"

Plesius opened his mouth to reply, but no words came out.

"That's what I thought." Ethan said. Plesius's eyes flicked toward Taloni, so Ethan headed him off. "And don't even start on that stupid 'Winter Court versus Summer Court' thing with my Fey wife. Because again, I'm pretty sure we just established that being born isn't a crime."

"And I'll testify that Taloni is a sweet, kind, loving, and caring woman." Beth spoke up. "Thus, she is undoubtedly one of the Seelie Fey of the Summer Court, not the Unseelie Fey of the Winter Court. And I'm not shamed, so you can't just ignore my testimony." She looked at Kendra, Selene, and Sarah, his other wives whose honor status wasn't in question.

"I will testify to the same." Kendra said.

"As will I." Selene said.

"She's very kind; not at all like what I've heard about the Unseelie Fey of the Winter Court." Sarah said.

Ethan looked at the high priest and raised his hands, palms up, as if to say: "See."

Plesius smiled, and it didn't look like an amused smile. "Isn't your betrothed the demon-possessed innkeeper's daughter?"

Sarah bit her lip and averted her eyes.

Ethan took a long, slow breath and resisted the urge to clench his fist.

The corners of Plesius's mouth twitched up for a microsecond before his face turned into a look of outrage. "You would bring the servants of Saidow into the sacred palace of Illuminar's most faithful?"

*Ethan, please calm down.* Alana thought to him privately.

Despite clenching his jaw tightly enough to make him wonder how strong dragon's teeth were, he managed to keep his face mostly neutral and not snap at the insufferable high priest. He was trying to decide how to reply when he noticed Thea take a step toward Sarah out of the corner of his eye.

* * *

Sarah bit her lip, her entire body and especially her cheeks feeling hot as she looked at the wooden street beneath her. She blinked a few times trying to get control of herself. Because of her, they wouldn't be let into the palace. They could leave her behind of course, but she was sure Ethan wouldn't stand for that. He was good that way.

"Sarah." Thea whispered from beside her. "Illuminar Himself chose you to be a wife of the prophet, so stop moping, hold your head up high, remember what Lord Delmar said to you when you were accused in Karnas, and don't let Plesius get to you." Thea's tone was firm and contained a note of challenge.

Sarah glanced at her, but Thea just flicked her eyes pointedly at Plesius and then she whispered again. "You can do this."

"I..." She swallowed.

"Speak up." Thea urged in a whisper.

"I um..." Sarah said a little louder, looking at Plesius. "I might have a demon, but um..." She swallowed again. "What is my crime?"

"You have a demon." Plesius replied as if he was trying to explain something very simple to someone very slow.

Sarah hesitated, trying to remember what Lord Delmar had said in her defense on that day in Narlotten. He had been so convincing, but she couldn't remember exactly what he had said.

A moment later, Thea slipped a hand into Sarah's hand and gave it a comforting squeeze. "You can do this." The elf whispered.

"I got the demon when I was five." Sarah finally managed to get out. "I went all over Ivernia with my father visiting various temples of Illuminar trying to get rid of it." She took a deep breath, taking a bit of strength from Thea's help. "You can ask any of them, I did everything they asked to try to get rid of it."

"And she's done everything she can think of to get rid of it since coming to the Argo as well." Ethan spoke up.

"It does not matter." Plesius replied. "Demons taint whatever they touch, and could one tainted with a demon not do so?" He looked at The King. "My King, would not knowingly allowing a demon into the palace taint it forever as well?"

The King scrutinized Plesius for a moment, then looked at Sarah, then finally at Ethan before speaking. "Tradition would indeed prohibit knowingly allowing one bearing a demon into the palace, however..." He looked back at Sarah for a moment.

She tried not to look nervous as she held her breath, awaiting his decision.

"Delabor." The King said a moment later.

The king's herald stepped forward and bowed slightly. "Yes, my king."

"Send a messenger to the palace and have The Queen join us here." The King said. "Then go to the finest restaurant in the city and inform its chef and current patrons that The King will have exclusive need of its finest room. The patrons may sup at the palace this evening in compensation for altering their dining plans."

Delabor bowed his head, then looked at the rather large entourage. "How many will be dining there my king?"

"Myself, The Queen, Pelathea and her custodian, the prophet, all who travel with him..." The King waved his hand toward the members of the Argo's crew who were there, then flicked his eyes toward Plesius before speaking to his herald. "... and no one else except my faithful herald." He looked at Delabor.

"Thank you my king, it will be done." Delabor head bowed and then hurried toward the palace.

Suddenly, the look on Plesius's face was stony, his mostly failed attempt at a smile at odds with the venom in his eyes as he looked at the Argo's crew.

Sarah felt a tiny smile form on her face.

Had The King done that for her? So she didn't need to be excluded? That was... She couldn't believe it. She looked at The King and a moment later he looked back at her, then he gave her a very small nod of acknowledgment.

Her smile grew wider.

The King had intentionally made sure she could be included. Ethan caught her eye and smiled at her, which made her heart flutter slightly. She would be able to stay with the rest of them; she would be a part of this conversation and wouldn't find herself on the outside. She didn't want to be excluded, not again, and now she didn't have to be.

Thea gave her a satisfied smile and a gentle squeeze of the hand before letting go and whispering. "Well done."

Sarah beamed.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Note: This chapter began on day 131 of Ethan's life in the Ten Kingdoms and ended on day 133. I submit new chapters on the last Wednesday of every month, and they usually drop after the 2-3 day review process. Thus I'll submit the next chapter on June 25th, and it'll probably drop on the 27th or 28th.

I'd like to extend a very special thanks to my editors, and also three of my patrons, one of whom didn't want to be credited by name. So "Anonymous", Joseph, and "Veron De La Morte": thank you so much for your support. I really appreciate it.

STORY TAGS: dragon, magic, elf, teen, romance, virgin, harem, blonde, brunette, redhead