A Dragon's Tale Ch. 23

Everyone except Taloni laughed.

"What?" The Fey teen asked.

Ethan explained how he'd had trouble trying to enchant leather on the way to Arcanum. The Fey smiled, but clearly didn't get the joke as well as the others. Rachel supposed you had to be there.

"All right, I'm going to give this a go." He said, and then closed his eyes again.

He sat there unmoving for nearly five minutes.

Finally, he took a deep breath and opened his eyes. "Ithink that did it. Alana, try to see if you can link yourself to the new..." He made air quotes. "The new 'room' I added to my mental fortress."

"Okay." She nodded and closed her eyes. She re-opened barely ten seconds later them. "That was easy."

He turned to his two teen wives. "Okay, now Beth, Taloni, you try."

They did the same thing as Alana, though they took twice as long.

"I did it Dominus."

"Finished master."

"Okay, now Alana, try saying something to the 'room', instead of directly to me." Ethan instructed.

Moments later, the other two girls giggled slightly.

Ethan looked at them, and then all three nodded. He smiled broadly, and then got a mischievous look on his face. Several seconds later, all three women turned red and burst out laughing.

Apparently it had worked.

Sheshould be happy about that.

Why wasn't she?

She was happy for them of course. They were looking from one to the other and she recognized all the signs of people having a conversation, but there were no words. Judging from their body language, they were all speaking to each other...

...but not her.

She felt a profound sense of sadness for some reason. She had liked that they had included her in their group even though she wasn't married to Ethan. His wives had even made her an honorary member of the 'wives council'. And while she found that silly and embarrassing, she had also loved it dearly.

Now...

Now she truly felt like an outsider. She knew if she said something, anything, they would start speaking aloud again just to include her. Heck, she figured they'd soon realize that she was being left out and start speaking aloud again just to include her. She was grateful for that. But now they had something together that she could never share. Well, she could never share it without marrying to Ethan.

"Rachel." Alana said, breaking her out of her reverie for the second time that afternoon.

"Thank you so much." The wood elf said. Then she got up and opened her arms to offer a hug. The redhead hesitated only a moment before getting up and hugging the shorter wood elf. Moments later, she found herself in the center of a "wives of Ethan" group hug.

"Thank you Rachel, so much." Beth said.

"It was so good of you to help, thank you so very much." Taloni added.

Ethan stood up also. "I really appreciate everything you've done and everything you continue to do. I think everyone in this room owes you their life at least once, some of us more than that. You are a wonderful woman and I can't thank you enough."

"Thank you." Rachel blushed.

Standing there, being hugged by the three most delightful women she knew and being complimented by their husband, she felt happier than she had since... Okay, since that first dream and maybe that time at the restaurant that. But besides those two incidents, she couldn't ever remember feeling this happy.

"Now, I know you want to become an Arch Mage; if there's anything we can do to help, let us know. We're behind you one hundred percent."

"I'll um, I'll let you know." She replied, not sure what to make of his offer given her two dreams.

Ethan's wives let go, smiling broadly at her.

They all liked her.

She knew they did, and she liked them. Heck, she liked Ethan too. But even for all of this, she didn't want to give up her autonomy. She didn't want to promise to follow and obey someone. Knowing Ethan, he'd probably strike those words from the vows if she asked him too, but it didn't matter. Being merely 'one of his wives' while he was her only husband created an immense power imbalance.

It had to.

Even if he wasn't a dragon, it would create an imbalance. His wives would be vying for his attention while he was deciding where to put it and who to pay attention to at any given time. That put all the power in his hands.

Over time, she could see all of them 'molding' to suit his desires as a natural consequence of sharing the same husband. They would change to suit him, probably without meaning to or even realizing it. He wouldn't even do it on purpose, but it would happen. It was human nature. It was feminine nature.

She didn't want that.

She didn't want someone telling her what to do.

She didn't want a lord.

She was even struck by a mild annoyance that they could be so happy having one. The more she thought about it, the more it bothered her.

* * *

Alana had spent enough time around to Rachel to tell when something serious was on her mind. The redhead looked pensive at Ethan's comment, and most people would've probably assumed she was thinking about it.

Alana knew better.

Oddly, the redhead had also started to look slightly irked not long after, but she wasn't sure why.

"Now, second order of business." Ethan said. "If Kendra really is tailing us, then we need to know more about her intentions."

Everyone including the wood elf gave him their undivided attention, even apparently Rachel. His wives sat back down on the bed and Rachel sat back down on the chair. She wished her best friend was sitting on the bed as one a fellow wife, but that seemed to be a ways off yet.

"So here's the real question: how do we go about finding her and contacting her, preferably without anyone being shot?"

"I could put on the weight reduction necklace and see if I can't fly out and find her." Taloni volunteered.

"Absolutely not." Ethan said firmly. "I'm not putting you in danger by putting you in Kendra's path."

Alana, Beth, and Taloni all nodded, accepting his decision. Personally, the wood elf didn't think the Fey girl would be in any danger and thought he was being unreasonable by dismissing the idea so fast, but wasn't sure how to say that without being disrespectful.

"Ethan, can I make a suggestion?" Rachel asked, and judging by her tone she had gone from a bit irked to downright aggravated.

"Yeah."

"Change your attitude." She said through gritted teeth; if she was a dragon it might've come out as a snarl. She stood up and glared at him. "Your wives practically worship the ground you walk on. So before you go snapping and dismissing their ideas out of hand, realize that if you tell them not to voice their opinions, they probably won't."

"I didn't-" He started to say, but it appeared Rachel had worked herself into a bit of a tizzy.

"No, you didn't." She cut him off. "They'd probably jump off a bridge if you asked them to, and you have way more power over them than anyone should have over another person. So maybe, once in a while, shut your mouth and hear them out."

She glared at him for a moment, then turned and stalked out the captain's cabin, slamming the door behind her.

Everyone stared.

Alana felt like the sun had set at noon. She wasn't sure she'd ever seen her friend lose her temper like that, not at any of them. Well, not since getting the will-breaker ring off. This was totally unlike her and she had no clue where it was coming from.

Ethan, Alana, Beth, and Taloni stared for several seconds after the redhead left. Her husband opened his mouth, worked it for a moment, then closed it and cocked his head to one side.

"May I go talk to her?" Alana asked.

"Um..." He seemed torn. "Can you wait a minute?"

She nodded.

"She's not wrong." He hung his head slightly and turned to Taloni. "I'm sorry I just dismissed your idea. I should've at least heard you out and your reasons for it. Will you please forgive me?"

"Of course master." The Fey teen smiled.

"Thank you." He said looking relieved. "And all of you, if you think I'm making a bad decision, I want you to say something.Always. Doesn't matter the topic, please feel free to speak up. Do it respectfully, but please do."

"I will sir."

"I would be happy to Dominus."

"Of course master."

"Thank you all, and again, I'm sorry." He turned to Alana. "Go ahead."

She nodded, slipped off the bed and went out onto the weather deck. It was early afternoon and the sun was presently hidden behind a small patch of clouds in the beautiful, mostly-cloudless blue sky. There was a warm breeze and they were sailing low enough that she could hear the birds singing below. The cheery weather made a nice contrast to the chaos of the morning.

She looked around the weather deck for her friend and spotted a patch of flame-colored hair near the bow. The redhead was looking out across the vast sea of tall grass that was under them. Apparently they'd truly crossed into the Great Plains. Alana walked up to Rachel and leaned up against the railing a few feet down from her; close enough to be near, but far enough to give her some space.

"Let me guess,he asked you to talk to me?" She said with a scowl.

"No, I asked if I could."

Rachel scoffed. "That's part of the problem."

"What is?"

"That you asked." She shook her head. "Don't you get tired of that? Don't you get tired of answering to him?"

"What do you mean?"

"He says 'jump, and you ask 'how high'. I know he's your husband, but would it kill to not be so... so..."

"...so... what?" Alana asked, not understanding where this was coming from.

"I don't know." Rachel shook her head and looked out across the Great Plains. "The way you, Beth, Taloni treat him is so..." She sighed. "I couldn't do it."

"No one's asking you to." She countered. "We all wanted to marry him; we signed up for this."

"Beth didn't. Not really. Her father promised her in marriage to whoever would rescue her. He didn't even consult her on it. She didn't get a say or have a choice."

The wood elf frowned.

What was going on here? It very unlike Rachel to act this way. She was usually the one who was calm when everyone else was panicking. And what she was saying... She thought about it for a moment and saw a common thread running through what she'd said so far.

"So..." She said choosing her words carefully. "Do you feel like you don't have a choice in something? Or that someone is telling you what to do?"

Rachel made a sound somewhere between a snort, a chuckle and a sigh. "Something like that."

The redhead didn't elaborate, so Alana merely leaned up against the railing and looked out of the great golden-brown waves of tall grass that covered the Great Plains. She wasn't sure what she could say, so she tried to just be there for her friend.

"I have a choice, but I really don't." Rachel finally said.

"Oh?"

"I can choose to be happy, but what good is happiness without autonomy? I can choose autonomy, but what good is that without happiness?"

"Sounds like you're stuck between a troll and golem." She nodded.

Rachel turned towards her, confusion written all over her face. "How do you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Call him 'sir'? Be so damned deferent all the time? I don't understand. You treat him like he's your king. How can you do that?"

She smiled. "Because he treats me like a queen."

"That would be nice." The redhead conceded with a sigh. "But not all queens have kings you know."

"Yes, but I can't be treated like a queen by my husband without having him as my king."

"I hate that you're right." Rachel said sourly. Her displeasure didn't seem to be directed at the wood elf, so she scooched a bit closer.

"I want to be treated like someone's queen, I just..." She trailed off.

"...you just don't want someone to be your king." Alana said as comprehension dawned. "Ah."

"Yeah..." She sighed. "Is that horrible?"

"No." Alana replied. "Is that why you got so upset? Because you think Ethan acts like our king?"

"A little." She admitted. "But it's not really that. I just... I just don't know if I could do that."

"Did someone ask you to?"

"Not directly." Rachel replied, but didn't elaborate. She looked out across the Great Plains for another minute before speaking again. "I need to apologize to Ethan, don't I?"

"Do you feel like you need to?"

"For snapping at him like that, yeah." She nodded, then looked at Alana. "I'm a bit jealous of how happy you are, but I'm not sure I'd be happy in your situation."

The wood elf smiled. 'Fortunately, you can choose your own way to be happy."

"Yeah, maybe..." Rachel trailed of and got a distant look in her eye for several moments.

Alana suppressed a smile.

One of these days, she knew that Rachel would stop fighting her attraction to Ethan and fall for him very hard. She knew it wasn't the right time now, but she was absolutely sure that time would come. She knew it in her bones with a certainty she couldn't explain. She was looking forward to that day, but for now, she just wanted to help her best friend.

"If there's anything I can do, let me know." Alana offered.

"Thank you, I will." The redhead replied softly.

Alana scooched closer and put her head on Rachel's shoulder, which was easy because the redhead was nearly six inches taller. Rachel reciprocated by resting her head on the wood elf's head.

Alana remembered waking up next to Rachel in the hammock. She was sure she'd have that again someday, only Ethan would be right there too. It had been wonderful, and somehow she got the feeling that eventually, her dream about the two of them sharing a kiss would come true.

She knew it would take time - perhaps a lot of time - but knowing it would happen made the journey more fun.

* * *

"Because it's contained." Ethan explained.

"But, how does that help?" Beth looked very confused, which looked very cute on her. "A person doesn't get stronger when they're contained, so why would an explosion?"

"Uh..." He considered; that was good point but a flawed analogy. "Remember the grenades and how powerful they are? Now imagine you put that in a steel cup with a plug at the open end, and then tried to stop the explosion from pushing the plug out."

"Yeah, I can see that." She nodded. "But only a few drops of this 'gas-o-line' stuff? That's all it takes?"

He nodded. "Yup explosions are really powerful when contained."

"Wow, I can't believe you can make a horseless carriage - I mean a 'car' - move with a few drops of liquid."

"It's like... like..." Taloni seemed to be searching for the right word.

"Magic?" He suggested.

The Fey teen shook her head. "No, that makes much more sense."

He burst out laughing.

Beth and Taloni stared at him. One set of violet eyes and one set of blue eyes wondered at him as they both looked extremely confused. The dimples on both their cheeks were adorable when they smiled.

"That's an expression from Earth. When we can't figure out how something works we say 'it's like magic'."

"But magic makes a lot of sense." Taloni replied while Beth giggled.

*Hi everyone.* Alana's voice rang out in the mental chamber that allowed them to speak to each other telepathically all at once.

Rachel's suggestion had been a good one. It had taken him a while, but some instinct - probably from his dragon side - had guided him. He had created a round chamber "below" the mental fortress around his mind. It was connected to his mind by a short stone hallway like the ones that he had created going to the minds of each of his wives. These mental hallways ensured that no one could overhear their conversation.

He had then told his wives to create hallways going to this chamber.

When they directed their thoughts to the chamber, the messages then could go to the central chamber and spread to everyone else. They could also talk directly and privately to him through the original passage as they had done forever, which he would've hated to lose.

*Ethan,* Alana continued saying to everyone. *Rachel wanted to talk to you and I suggested that talking down in the hold might be more private. She said she'd meet you there.

*Okay, I'll be down in a minute.* He replied and then turn to his teen wives. "Well ladies, you can finish grilling me on how cars work later. I'm going to talk to Rachel and then I'd like us all to come up with a plan to talk to Kendra... and I'll listen to all the ideas that are presented this time." He added at Taloni.

She beamed at him. "Thank you master."

He gave them both a quick kiss and then stood and left the captain's cabin. It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining over a nearly cloudless blue sky, the air was warm but not too warm, and gentle breeze wafted across the deck. Alana was walking towards him with a smile on her face. She was grinning ear-to-ear as if she was trying not to.

"What's got you so cheerful?" He asked.

"You'll see." She replied mischievously. "It might take a little while, but you'll see." She slipped past him, brushing her fingers across his chest as she did so, and slipped into the captain's cabin. The emotions from their bond were filled with happiness and anticipation, but she seemed to enjoy the aura of mystery, so he let it go.

He shrugged and then headed down the flight of stairs to the Argo's lower deck. The portholes in the side let in enough light to easily see, especially with his dragon eyes. He headed towards the forward hold and saw Rachel sitting on a large oak barrel. She was swinging her legs slowly so they tapped the barrel's sides at a regular interval.

She looked nervous.

"Alana said you wanted to see me?"

The redhead nodded, bit her lip, and looked down for a moment. That might've been the first time he'd ever seen her look sheepish. He had to remind himself that despite her incredible maturity for her age, she was only nineteen. A very youthful, beautiful nineteen at that.

"I'm sorry I snapped at you." She finally said.

"I forgive you." He replied, and he meant it. He couldn't imagine holding anything against her.

"Thank you."

"You weren't wrong though." He added. "I apologized to Taloni and I'm going to be better about that. You're right; they really do listen to me whenever I tell them to do something. I need to be more conscious of that."

"Yeah..." Rachel sighed. It wasn't an exasperated sigh, nor a wistful sigh, nor a contemplative sigh, though it contains elements of all three.

"If I may ask, why did you get so upset? Your comments were spot on, but you're usually much more calm and reserved."

She glanced up at him, then down again. "I was hoping you wouldn't ask."

"You certainly don't need to answer."

"Yes, I do." She said quietly. For perhaps the first time since he'd known her, the redhead looked small and vulnerable; almost frail.

She glanced at him again and there was a strange look in her eye. Loneliness perhaps, maybe mixed with confusion. "I like you Ethan. You're a good guy and you were willing to give up..."

She blinked, and it almost looked like she was holding back tears.

"I mean, what you did for me earlier with Kyrupto." She finished. "No one had ever been that good to me until I met you. No one. I lived in a lord's manor with endless servants attending to my every need and no one ever really cared about me."

She took a deep breath before continuing. "I was literally trying to kill you when we first met. But despite that you..." She touched the black mark on her finger where the will-breaker ring had been. "...you saved me. You took me in and gave me a home and the best friend I could imagine on a ship full of wonderful people."

She cocked her head to one side. "Except Raklan, he's pretty terrible."