A Dragon's Tale Ch. 24

Rachel felt the specter of jealousy creep up.

She was happy for them.

She was.

But she wanted that too. She wanted that close, affectionate bond also.

In the back of her mind, she remembered the two dreams and realized that one dream would virtually guarantee that she would have it, the other would virtually guarantee that she wouldn't. How she wished there was a third path. Knowing herself though, there really wasn't.

She sighed.

"What's wrong?" Alana asked.

"It's..." She hesitated with Beth there. "It's what we were talking about earlier."

"Ah, well perhaps--" The wood elf stopped as both she and Beth stared into space for a moment.

"Ethan wants to see us in the captain's cabin." Beth said, eyeing the two of them. "I'll go ahead so you two can talk."

The blonde gave the wood elf an affectionate nudge and then walked towards the captain's cabin.

"She's gotten quite perceptive." Rachel commented.

"Apparently, dying will do that to you." Alana chuckled and then looked at the redhead. "So, what's bothering you?"

"Are you sure you can talk? Ethan did just summon you."

"I asked and he said he can wait. He wants you to come too if you don't mind."

"Me?" Rachel felt a slight flutter in her chest, but tried to ignore it. "Why?"

"I think he wanted your opinion, but you're dodging the question; what's wrong?"

"I just noticed how... how tender and affectionate you and Beth have been with each other lately." She glanced away for a moment and lowered her voice slightly. "It's good to see."

Alana eyed her for a moment. "...and you're jealous?"

"Is it that obvious?"

"Only to someone who's wanted that for years."

Rachel leaned up against the railing next to Alana, though not as close as Beth had done. She looked out across the endless fields of tall, golden-brown grass that looked almost blue in the moonlight.

"I think it's partly because of that happened on Ethan's world." Alana said, scooting almost imperceptibly closer. "Ethan, Beth, and I um... 'celebrated' together the night she came back. Ever since then I've... well, I've felt closer to her."

"And by 'celebrated', you mean...?" Rachel prompted, pretty sure what the answer would be, but wanting to make sure anyway.

The wood elf smiled sheepishly as her cheeks turned pink. "We um..." She cleared her throat. "Well, I found out that she's a good kisser anyway."

"Ah." Rachel could feel her cheeks start to get warm as she tried to decide if she should ask anything more. She wanted to, but wasn't sure if she'd be stepping over the line.

After a slightly awkward silence, Alana turned towards her. "You really want to know?"

"I mean, only if you want to tell me."

"I don't mind telling you." The chocolate-haired elf nodded. "She almost kissed me in the shower, and then after you went into the bathroom she did kiss me, and she was... um... I mean, we were both..."

"Naked?" Rachel offered, not sure if she really wanted to hear the rest. For some reason she was finding herself very jealous of Beth right now.

She couldn't figure out why.

"My lips weren't the only place she kissed me though, and it was..." Alana closed her eyes for a moment and soft, almost imperceptible sigh escaped her lips. "It was amazing."

"Where else did she...? Never mind."

"Um." Alana touched her chest, right around her breasts. "And um... lower too."

"Lower?" Rachel felt her eyes bug out, even though she had almost guessed already.

Alana nodded very slowly. "Lower."

"You mean?" Rachel glanced down at her friend's hips, right where her legs met.

"I do mean." The wood elf nodded. Curiously, while the wood elf was clearly turning red, she didn't seem ashamed at all, merely a bit embarrassed.

"Oh by Illuminar..." The redhead breathed.

"Uh-huh." Alana nodded.

"And you liked it?" Rachel asked, not able to stop herself.

Her expression said it all. "Oh yes. Dear Illuminar in heaven yes." She leaned in a little closer and whispered. "If you ever get the chance to experience it, with a woman you're comfortable with of course, I wouldn't turn it down."

Alana only leaned back slightly when she'd finished, and for a moment it seemed like they were the only two people in the world.

"Okay." The redhead nodded, not sure who she would trust to be that intimate with. Obviously Alana, but no one else. Something told Rachel that Alana wouldn't even consider it unless she was married to Ethan. She didn't know why, but she was certain.

The redhead herself found herself curious, but of course nothing more.

Not a bit more.

Not at all.

Rachel really didn't have much of a thing for women, though she knew that some women did. Alana was really beautiful, and wonderful, sweet, and kind, but she wasn't attracted to her inthat way. Okay, a part of her was curious what it would be like to kiss her -- purely to indulge her curiosity of course -- but she didn't want to do anything else. Not even the revelation that the lovely wood elf had enjoyed bedding another woman changed her mind, though for some reason she found herself slightly jealous of Beth.

She wasn't sure why.

Now that she thought about it, it seemed too much of a coincidence that both Alana and Beth were interested in other women, especially since she doubted they were before bonding to Ethan.

Hmm.

That was probably another way he'd changed his wives.

She hated that.

She hated that she couldn't have the husband she wanted or child that she'd dreamed of without also giving herself to Ethan to mold as he saw fit; whether he realized it or not. That's when she realized that Alana was watching her with an amused expression.

"What?"

"You have a beautiful brain, but it does wander sometimes doesn't it?" The wood elf chuckled.

"Yeah." She admitted nodding her head. "I can get lost up there sometimes."

"Well come on." Alana said standing up straight. "Ethan could use a beautiful, slightly wandering brain to give him some advice."

"Let's go." The redhead smiled as she started walking towards the captain's cabin, once again loving the fact that he always included her with his wives when he was looking for input.

It made her heart happy.

* * *

It had taken Selene a few minutes to work out a comfortable way to sleep on the cot with the very pregnant Melinda. She didn't mind, but she did have less bed than she was used to. Eventually, they had lain down so each one had their head on opposite sides. Thankfully, Melinda's feet didn't stink.

The ex-FBI agent lay awake for quite a while, probably the result of sleeping so much earlier in the day while recovering from her now-healed wounds. On the other cot, Jason and Hailey were both snoring very quietly and in unison. Selene couldn't decide if that was funny, fitting, or strange. It was probably all three.

"Are you awake?" Melinda whispered.

"Yeah." Selene whispered back.

"Can I talk to you for a minute? I don't really need advice or anything, I just need someone to listen."

"Sure." Selene said sitting up.

The lights had been dimmed a while ago. While it wasn't dark, it was roughly the lighting level that a Christmas tree would illuminate a room, though a far less cozy hue.

"Have you ever heard of 'compersion'?" Melinda asked.

"No, what is it?"

"It's like the opposite of jealousy." The other woman explained. "You know how most women get really jealous if they think their man is attracted to someone else?"

"Sure."

"Well, compersive women don't. They feel happy for their man because he's attracted to someone else."

"That's a thing?" Selene raised her eyebrow. If she had a man and he was interested in another woman, she'd throttle him.

Melinda nodded. "I heard the term a while back when one of my friends was stupid drunk. She confessed that she really gets off on thinking about her boyfriend sleeping with other women. I thought she was nuts."

"No kidding." Selene agreed.

"I did some looking and it seems like that's a real thing. Apparently, a not-insignificant number of women are compersive. And it's not just a sexual thing. Apparently it's like how you feel happy for a good friend when she's found a wonderful man, even if that man is your boyfriend or husband."

"Compersion huh?" Selene mused. "Yeah, that's total not me; I'd kill him, and maybe her; probably both of them."

"I kind of wish I was me though." The Latina woman looked sad as she glanced at her boyfriend sleeping on a cot with another woman.

"So, not to be insensitive, but didn't you just push them together?" Selene asked quietly, so as not to wake them.

Melinda nodded. "I want to be compersive. I want to be happy for them. I want to be happy that she's back and he still loves her. I really want to be, but I'm not sure I am."

"You're not happy for them?" Selene asked to clarify.

"Does that make me an awful person?"

"I can tell that you're conflicted, but are you really sure that you're not happy for them, or is it something else?"

Melinda swallowed hard. "I'm worried about losing Jason."

"To Hailey?"

The Latina nodded.

"Okay, but really what are the odds of that?" The Brazillian woman pointed out. "The man is clearly in love with both of you, and what man in his right mind would reject a woman he loves after finding out that she's fine with him sleeping with another woman that he loves. Isn't that some kind of male fantasy?"

"I mean, yeah. I see your point."

"And do you think Hailey would ever try to steal him away?"

Melinda shook her head. "She actually offered to leave so she didn't come between us."

"So then, it seems to me that the odds of you losing Jason are near zero, right?"

Melinda made a thoughtful sound. "I mean, I think so."

"So if the odds of you losing Jason are effectively zero, then are you stillnot happy for them?"

Melinda cocked her head to one side and looked up at the ceiling. "I don't know."

"That might be worth considering."

"Hmm." The Latina mused.

She was silent for several seconds while Selene considered the strangeness of her situation. How in the world did she end up counseling a pregnant woman about her boyfriend's relationship with another woman?

Melinda was silent for a few seconds before she replied. "I don't know that I am, but I think Icould be happy for her. I mean, maybe? Hailey would be so miserable without him, and I don't want to do that to her. I know she wouldn't do that to me either."

"Hmm." Selene mused. "It sounds like you both want to be with Jason, and it also sounds like neither of you would be happy if the other wasn't also with Jason. Do I have that right?"

"Huh." Melinda cocked her head to one side. "I guess... I guess you do."

"Then what do you have to worry about?" Selene pointed out.

"I suppose... nothing." The Latina woman smiled. "Thank you."

"Happy to help." Selene returned the smile and laid back down. She was happy that she helped, but also really confused. What woman in her right mind would want to share her husband? If she ever found out a future significant other was wooing another woman, she probably would practice her considerable martial arts skills on him. She was definitely glad that there was no chance of that happening with her.

None whatsoever.

* * *

Rachel preceded Alana into the captain's cabin and immediately wished that she had let the wood elf go first.

On the bed, Ethan was laying over Taloni in an undeniably sexual way, but without touching her. Beth was touching her though, and quite intimately. One of the blonde's hands was resting on the bare skin of the Fey girl's exposed shoulders, and their lips were rather close. The moment the door opened, both girls jumped and Beth reflexively jerked her hand away while Taloni made to sit up.

Ethan was unperturbed.

He had a wide smile on his face and was clearly not embarrassed in the slightest. He had been watching his other two wives with interest. When he glanced up to see who'd come in, there was still a powerful remnant of desire in his eyes. The abject lust with which he'd viewed his two teenage wives didn't disappear when he looked at Rachel herself.

If anything, it grew stronger.

His eyes flicked up and down her body the way men tended to do when undressing a woman with their eyes. His smile grew wider and slyer, almost like he knew something that she didn't. There was something dragon-ish about his expression too.

He had looked at her appraisingly once or twice before, but never like this. Never like she was a succulent morsel that he wanted to taste. For a brief instant, she wanted to let him. She wanted to strike a pose that displayed her best features in an alluring way. No one had ever looked at her like that before; absolutely unapologetic and with abject lust, yet somehow without any creepiness. This certainly wasn't entirely Ethan; his dragon side had clearly come out to play.

Literally.

As he sat up, she got her first glimpse of his fully aroused, fully hard cock. She blushed as her eyes grew wide.

He was huge.

Massive.

Her petite forearm was larger, but not by much. The shaft was near as thick as her slender wrist, and the head was larger still. She couldn't imagine how something so large could even fit inside of a woman.

Then she realized she was staring.

She snapped her eyes shut and turned her head away. "Um, Ethan; your... thing is showing."

Alana giggled behind her and then whispered. "Pretty impressive, isn't it?"

Rachel was pretty sure she blushed scarlet because her cheeks were hotter than the sun, but her best friend wasn't wrong. The redhead's previous glimpse in that bathroom on Earth had only been for a split second, and apparently he hadn't been 'full size' at the time. She had thought it was too large then.

Now?

Now she wondered how he was ever going to fit it inside of her.

Wait, what?

Where had that thought come from? She realized where moment later: the dream. In order for her to have a daughter, at some point she must've... But with Ethan? With his 'equipment' being so large? How was that even possible? Unsummoned, she felt the area between her legs start to tingle. She knew without a shadow of a doubt that she would be getting wet down there soon if she didn't change her train of thought.

"Are you decent?" She asked after a moment, adding as much annoyance to her tone as she dared.

"I'd like to think I'm always a decent fellow." Ethan replied with a chuckle, and she was glad to hear the primal tone she associated with the dragon wasn't in his voice

"He activated the disguise gem... I think." Alana offered, sparing her from having to ask again.

"Thank Illuminar." She said, intentionally rolling her eyes and making sure her tone sounded slightly annoyed. "You all really need to stop calling me into the room while you're doing that."

"Sorry Rachel." He said. "I sort of... I went dragon there for a bit."

"I noticed." She said dryly. "Now, you wanted to talk about something?"

"Yeah." He nodded, sitting down as his wives all made to sit down on the bed near him. She noticed they automatically arranged themselves in a semi-circle around him, with him at the center, all facing her.

He waited until she was seated on the desk chair, then spoke. "It was something that Kendra said, and I wanted a second opinion on it."

"What did she say?"

"She said." He closed his eyes as if remembering. "The most powerful dragons I've fought didn't have hard scales or strong muscles; they had swift hands and fast reflexes."

"That sounds like enchanting advice." Rachel mused.

"Did she say why she gave it?" Alana asked.

"I asked her." Ethan replied. "She glanced at Taloni and told me to 'take care of her'."

"She did?" Taloni looked like she was about to cry tears of joy. "I told you she was a good person master."

Rachel resisted reacting at the Fey teen's pet name for Ethan. She didn't like it, especially compared to how she'd called him 'my lord' in her dream. It seemed too similar to be coincidental and she definitely didn't want a lord over her.

Ethan looked at his Fey wife fondly. "She seems a bit protective of you; did anyone else notice?"

There was a general chorus of agreement.

"So, was her advice real advice, or just trying to get me to enchant myself in a way that wouldn't be helpful?"

"I think she was trying to help." Taloni beamed, wiping her slightly watery eyes.

"She might be right." Beth said.

"Agreed." Alana nodded, then added. "Besides, who couldn't be protective of our wonderful Fey?"

"Aww." Taloni, who was sitting next to the wood elf, turned and gave her a huge hug.

All eyes turned to the mage.

"Any thoughts, O wise redhead?" Ethan said with a wink.

Suppressing a smile, Rachel replied in a mock imperious tone with a mock-dismissive wave of her hand: "Yes, but none that mere mortals such as yourselves would understand."

Everyone laughed.

"I know this sounds strange because it came from her, but I think it's good advice." Rachel answered when the laughter had died down.

"I agree." Alana replied. "It would take a long time and tons of mana to harden all your scales to the level of Kyrupto. However, improving your reflexes would allow you to avoid attacks, and it would probably take a lot less mana, judging by the fact that you've already done it."

Ethan nodded, then cocked his head to one side. "What about precognition?"

"Come again?" Rachel asked.

"So, there's this fictional character from my world with a superpower. He can sense danger the instant before it hits. Is that possible?"

Rachel shook her head. "Predicting the future is the most difficult of all magical arts; even more difficult than telepathy. Even the greatest seers struggle to predict anything accurately more than a few days out."

"But what about a few seconds?" He countered. "I don't need to predict days out, what if I could only do a second or so?"

"That's probably more doable, but it would be incredibly hard."

"Hmm." Ethan mused, then put on a strange accent. "He can see things before they happen, that's why he appears to have such quick reflexes. It's a Jedi trait."

All of the women stared at him.

"Nevermind." He shook his head. "I just think it would be very helpful if I had a Spidey-sense."

More staring.

"Spidey-sense?" Beth asked.

He explained about a 'superhero' from his world called 'Spider-man' who could sense danger just before it the threat would hit him.

"So, this Spider-man is a Jedi?" Beth asked looking confused.

It was Ethan's turn to laugh, though no one else got the joke. After he was done, he explained about a story of a war in the stars that Jedi come from.

Then he added. "I'm just thinking, it would be cool if I could sense incoming attacks like arrows. With some super reflexes, I could maybe dodge them, or deflect them with my hammer or a sword or something."

Alana gave him a smoldering look. "That wouldn't be cool; it would be hot."

Taloni and Beth agreed, and suddenly Rachel felt a palpable change in the air. Suddenly all three women changed from being the most delightful, innocent, lovely women that she'd ever met into being sensual seductresses. They were fully clothed, but the looks they gave him -- and each other -- were enough to make anyone blush.

"That's my cue to leave." She said, realizing that the tingle between her legs that had appreaed when she saw his cock was now becoming a full blown itch.

"Thanks for the insight." Ethan called after her as she turned to leave.

"You're welcome." She glanced back and saw all three of his wives waiting patiently, presumably for her to leave so they could... you know. For a moment, she wished that she was on the bed and going to join them.

Then she stepped outside and closed the door.