A Dragon's Tale Ch. 25

"Good observation, O' wise redhead." Alana said with a wink. Beth giggled and Rachel rolled her eyes, but smiled anyway.

"I think I can do that." Ethan mused. "I'll make it so the reflexes are always improved except when I intentionally turn them off. Let me try."

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He barely moved or spoke for several minutes, but his facial expression shifted occasionally to a look of deep concentration.

"I think that did it." He said, then looked at Serif and Raklan sighing. "Oh well, back to getting my ass kicked all the time."

"You mean kicked more." Raklan grinned wickedly.

"You are improving at a prodigious rate." Serif said. "If you keep practicing as you have been and keep improving your reflexes, you will be extremely powerful."

"That's the plan." He nodded.

* * *

Kendra felt a gentle touch on her shoulder and she jumped awake, reaching to draw her sword as she did so. It wasn't there. She sat bolt upright only to discover that she had no idea where she was.

She was in a large room that was beautifully lit by the late morning sun streaming in through the windows. It had a light, almost airy feel and something about it was very warm and welcoming. She was laying in the largest bed she'd ever seen. It looked easily large enough for seven or eight people and was very comfortable.

Along an adjacent wall were seven different bassinets, none of which were currently occupied. Several of them of them had recently been adorned with fresh flowers that hadn't yet started to wilt. Each also had a small gemstone embedded in it. She could make out the first five -- emerald, sapphire, lilac kunzite, garnet, and amethyst -- but couldn't make out the other two for some reason.

Kendra smiled at seeing the amethyst; they had always been her favorite gemstone. Oddly, the lilac-hued kunzite and the purple amethyst didn't seem to clash, but rather complemented each other perfectly.

"Hello Kendra." A melodious voice said from behind her.

The dragon huntress whipped around to see a woman clad all in white from head to toe. It was the brightest white she'd ever seen and seemed to shine like the sun, but with the warmth of a flickering candle. The woman herself looked young and beautiful like a woman in her prime, but also had the eyes of someone ancient and full of wisdom. Her heart shaped face was the picture of perfect femininity and she had a smile that would've calmed an angry dragon.

"I've seen you before." Kendra mused. "In that dream."

"My name is Gabriella." The luminous woman nodded. "I hear you have been feeling awful since just before you fell asleep."

That's when the guilt rushed back.

Ethan.

Her attempted murder.

What Illuminar must think of her for attacking an innocent man...

"Actually, that's why I'm here." The angel said.

For the first time in a very long time, Kendra felt real, true dread flood her soul. She was being visited by an angel just after realizing that she'd been hunting -- persecuting -- an innocent man.

"I... I..." She tried to say 'I'm sorry', but the words just wouldn't come.

"Kendra, relax." The luminous woman said in a tone that seemed to sooth Kendra's worries away. "Have you not read what's written in the book of light?"

Kendra was afraid to reply.

The angel smiled kindly and then quoted. "But if a wicked man turns from all his sins, and observes my commandments, and practices justice and righteousness, he shall surely live and not die. All his sins which he has committed will no longer be remembered against him."

The dragon huntress sniffled. "It says that?"

The angel nodded. "Kendra, I've come to tell you that Illuminar -- blessed be He -- is not mad at you."

"He isn't?" She felt herself start to tear up again, but for a different reason.

"No, He isn't." Gabriella shook her head. "You have acknowledged your error and repented of the evil you were doing. Therefore -- just as the Book of Light says -- He, the Great and Merciful God of Light, will no longer remember your sins against you."

The luminous woman stepped forward and placed a gentle hand on Kendra's shoulder. "You sins are forgiven Kendra; God Himself has forgiven you."

"Really?" The dragon huntress barely whispered.

Gabriella nodded and smiled kindly. "God isn't mad at you; He loves you."

Kendra broke down crying.

The tears started and simply wouldn't stop. She cried and sobbed while the angel held her and comforted her. The dragon huntress wasn't crying from sadness, but relief. She felt like a huge weight that had just barely begun to settle into her soul was lifted. She still felt guilty over what she had done in attacking Ethan, but the guilt was no longer soul-crushing. It hurt and badly, but she didn't feel like she was drowning anymore.

"Only one thing remains." Gabriella said when Kendra had pulled herself together a little.

"What's that?" She replied, whipping the tears out of her eyes.

"What does the Book of Light say you should do when you've wronged someone?"

Kendra shrunk back and shook her head. "I can't. I can't face him again, not after what I've done. He'll never forgive me anyway."

Gabriella gave her a strange sort of smile. "You never know until you try."

"Will he forgive me?" She asked, and then bit her lip.

"Kendra, whether he will or not, isn't it important to ask?"

She nodded.

"Then do, and you might be surprised at what happens afterward; how your life's path will become clearer." Gabriella had a strange sort of knowing smile on her face, and one that simultaneously reassured and intrigued the dragon huntress.

She was still trying not to shake in nervousness though. Were it not for Taloni, she would've thought there was no way Ethan would ever forgive her. Maybe the Fey girl could convince him? It seemed her only hope.

"Speaking of Ethan's delightful third wife, my Lord would like you to deliver a message to her; an answer to a question she hasn't asked yet."

"Oh?"

"The next time you see her, tell her that my Lord says answer to her question is 'a most emphatic yes'. Doing so will make her very happy."

"Okay, I will."

* * *

"But... but... but I'm not ready." Taloni spluttered as she couldn't believe her ears. She had come up to the quarterdeck for more sailing lessons just as the sun crested the horizon, which is when the high elf had broken the news.

"My dear girl." Anthiel replied. "You're a natural airship pilot and you've been practicing almost non-stop for quite some time. I think it's time you took all that practice and put it to good use."

"But..." She looked around the quarterdeck hoping for some support.

Master was standing there looking both sympathetic and amused. "Honey, if Anthiel says you can do this, you can do this."

The Fey gulped.

She didn't want to disagree with Master, but she didn't feel like she could dock the Argo in the wood elven capital of Nalatia. The butterflies in her stomach were doing a fast-paced jig. For a moment, she felt like she was in danger of losing her breakfast.

"Hey." Master walked up to her and pulled her into a hug. "I know you're nervous, but you're so much more competent than you are confident. Anthiel will be with you every step of the way and I'll be cheering you on. You really can do this."

"Really?" She asked.

"Absolutely." He looked her in the eyes and she was struck by how much emotion and feeling for her were in them. He seemed absolutely confident that she could. She wasn't sure she could, but his confidence in her definitely made her feel better.

"I'm really nervous Master." She admitted.

He half chuckled and said with a wink. "I couldn't tell."

The Fey took a deep breath.

"Being nervous isn't bad when doing something new." Anthiel said. "It'll keep you focused and help prevent you from making too many mistakes."

"She's right." Master added. "I'd like you to try, even though you're nervous. Especially because you're nervous. Courage isn't the absence of fear; it's being scared or nervous and doing it anyway."

"Okay, I will." Taloni said, her mind made up the moment Master said that he'd like her to try. She knew he was pushing her to grow as a person by facing her fears and she loved him all the more for it. That didn't mean she was less nervous though.

"Good." Master said. "I'm proud of you for trying."

She beamed as her heart swelled to roughly twice its usual size.

*Now, if I could get all my ladies to gather in the captain's cabin, there's something we need to discuss.* Master thought to all of them.

"We'll be getting into position to dock about around noon." Anthiel said, looking to the horizon and then turning to the Fey teen. "Make sure you're up here by then."

"Okay." She replied, still feeling nervous but glad that they had urged her to try.

She followed Master down the stairs and into the captain's cabin, where Alana, Beth, and Rachel were already waiting. It took a moment for the Fey to remember that the redhead wasn't one of master's wives. That really was a shame. Rachel was so beautiful, nice, and clever, not to mention powerful. She really would make an excellent wife for Master.

Oddly, Alana looked uncharacteristically nervous and anxious.

Knowing exactly how she felt, though not why, the Fey teen slipped onto the bed next to her and wrapped her in a hug. The wood elf looked very grateful and hugged her back tightly.

"Whatever's wrong, just let me know if I can help." The Fey teen offered when their hug broke.

Alana smiled, her eyes slightly moist. "Has anyone ever told you that you're the sweetest thing ever?"

"She is." Beth agreed.

"Aye." Rachel nodded.

"Couldn't have described her better myself." Master said with a pleased and proud expression.

The Fey teen beamed.

"Now, Alana had something she wanted to say." Master said as all eyes turned to the wood elf.

"So, I told you all that my mother's last name is Kalon, and that she's the king's niece by marriage."

There was a general murmur of agreement.

"I don't know the whole story or exactly what happened, but here's what I do know." The chocolate-haired elf paused, looking nervous. "My father is the oldest son of House Nalfigar."

"Oh wow." Rachel said.

Beth whistled.

"Um, isn't Nalfigar the other Great House in the wood elven kingdom?" Taloni asked. She remembered hearing that, but wasn't sure.

Alana nodded. "They are rumors that they were going to be betrothed to unite the Great House for the first time, but..." She took a deep breath. "But they ruined that possibility."

"How?" Master asked.

"So, you need to understand how important bonding is to wood elves. It's the foundation of marriage and one of the most sacred things in the culture. But my parents they..."

The wood elf took another deep breath, shaking slightly in nerves. "They um, uh... 'made me' without being bonded to each other."

"And I take it that's bad?" Master asked.

"Yes Master." Taloni said while feeling her heart break for the lovely wood elf. "The Fey view bonding much the same as wood elves, and for two people to sleep together without being bonded is... well it's..." She thought for a moment, trying to think of a way to describe just how detestable that was in their culture.

"So your parent's were shamed." Rachel said quietly. "Are they pariahs?"

Alana shook her head. "Only my mother. She refused to name my father as the elf who had... had..."

"Had what?" Master asked.

"Um, the technical term is 'defiled' Master." The Fey teen offered, trying to spare Alana the pain of having to say it out loud. "It means she gave her virtue to a man to whom she wasn't wed, meaning bonded. There's no coming back from that; not in the wood elven or Fey culture."

"A woman can barely come back from that among the human nobility." Beth said while looking at Alana sympathetically. "I can't imagine how it must be among the Fey and elves."

"Okay, I'm confused." Master said. "Just for sleeping with someone she's not bonded to, she became a pariah?"

"A woman's virtue is her most precious asset." Rachel nodded. "Good men won't look twice at a woman that another man has taken. If a woman wants a chance at a good husband, she must keep her virtue. Otherwise her prospects sink to common men who have no standards."

Master stared at Rachel as his jaw went slack.

"What?" Rachel also looked confused.

"Nothing." Master replied. "It's just a bit different where I come from."

"Oh." Beth said as if something had just occurred to her, then she looked at Alana. "Because she's a noble, she can't be wed to a commoner in the wood elven culture or she would dishonor her family. But since she's--" The blonde paused, clearly trying to avoid the word 'defiled'. "--not a virgin, she can't find a noble husband either."

"There are always a few." Rachel said. "Other nobles who have dishonored themselves in one way or another."

Beth got a look on her face like she'd just tasted something sour. "Those aren't the kind of men you'd want to marry though."

"Agreed." Rachel nodded fervently.

Taloni had listened to the entire exchange, but was watching Alana. The normally happy, contented wood elf was looking very conflicted and rather green around the gills. While the other girls weren't wrong, it must be hard to have parents so shamed as an elf.

"Hey." The Fey teen leaned against Alana and put an arm around her shoulders. "How can we help?"

"I don't think we can." Alana replied sadly. "I know it's silly, but I'd like to meet my parents while we're here. If that's okay." She looked at Master.

"Absolutely." He said almost instantly. "We might have come here because the king invited us, but my priority is first and foremost my wives."

Alana, Beth, and Taloni sighed as one.

Rachel looked like she had started to, then caught herself.

"There's something else you should know." Alana said. "I might not be allowed into the palace, or to see the king."

"What?" Master growled, though not at his wife.

"I'm the daughter of a..." She closed her eyes. "...a 'defiled' mother." She opened her eyes and the Fey could see a deep pool of pain in them.

"Yeah, the wood elves are very particular about that kind of thing." Rachel set her jaw, leaving no one in doubt as to what she thought of that.

"So you're telling me that they won't let me bring my wife with me into the palace to meet the king?" Master looked shocked. He was also clenching his fist.

Alana nodded.

"I have half a mind to turn this ship around right now." Master growled, though again not at her. "No one insults my wife."

"No, please go." Alana said. "It could be wonderful to have an ally against Lord Delmar and the black dragon. After that fight with Kyrupto, I think it's obvious we need all the help we can get."

For the next several seconds, various growly, brooding sounds came from Master. Finally he spoke. "I hate that you're right."

"One thing." Rachel said. " It probably wouldn't be wise to bring up her parents with an audience. The wood elves are very sensitive to mentioning anything that they think might dishonor them. If you're going to bring it up, it's best to bring it up in private."

"Okay." Master growled, still clearly not pleased about this turn of events.

* * *

Kendra adjusted the cant of her sails by a couple degrees to make sure they caught every last bit of wind possible. She'd deployed every single sail on the ship, and even considered holding blankets up to get her incredibly fast airship to travel even faster.

Ever since waking up from the dream she'd felt like she had a singular purpose, though it was one she dreaded. The last thing in the Ten Kingdoms that she wanted to do was apologize to Ethan. Literally the last thing. She would've preferred going toe-to-toe with Kyrupto, or perhaps a nice torture session, or perhaps...

She cocked her head to one side.

Okay, maybe not the last thing she wanted to do. Being forced to carry a dragon's child would be worse; okay,any amount of intimacy or affection with a dragon would be worse. She shuddered as she thought about how Taloni had kissed Ethan so affectionately on the cheek. She'd rather swim through a shark infested lake while bleeding than do that.

But apologizing to Ethan was a close second.

She tried to plan out what she would say, but everything she thought of just seemed so lame; so inadequate, so meaningless compared to what she had done.

She adjusted the sails a fraction more and hoped this would all end quickly. The last thing she wanted to spend any more time in that damn dragon's company than absolutely necessary.

* * *

"For the record: I hate this and think it's a bad idea." Selene said, thinking the last couple days of preparing for this horrible idea could've been better spent coming up with another plan.

"Noted." Smithbond replied dismissively.

She scowled and turned towards the now-intact portal. It was about ten feet wide on the inside and fourteen on the outside and made of wood. It had a steel ramp leading up to it, so she couldn't see the bottom eighteen inches of empty space in the center of the ring. All around the side of the ring facing her were strange symbols; she counted thirty-nine. Seven Large gemstones were embedded into the ring at equidistance points, but they were arranged as if there was an eighth one that was out of sight below the ramp.

She looked around the room, which was a converted helicopter landing pad. Everything was made from concrete or steel and there were a lot of very bright lights around the room. There were also a lot of men in white lab coats running around check various equipment, most of which looked like some kind of sensor and were pointed inwards at the ring.

Off to one side was Gonorran standing beside a pen containing several goats. Selene shuddered as she remembered that this portal ran on some kind of 'death magic'. She couldn't imagine that anything good could coming from that.

"What do you hope to gain from going there anyway, and don't feed me a line of crap about threat assessment." She asked the distasteful agent next to her.

"Magic." He said simply.

"What kind?"

"Any kind that will give us an advantage against our enemies."

She sighed. "Such as?"

"You yourself saw the optical stealth ability that made a dragon look like a man." Smithbond counted off on his fingers. "They had contact with a team of paramedics whose house and phone we bugged. It seems like one of them could manipulate fire, they can freeze people for later revival, and even heal wounds using magic."

Selene had to admit that those sounded like pretty cool abilities.

"We're ready." Yvonne said from behind her. The purple-haired tech whiz was sitting at a bank of computers and monitors so large and complex that Selene wasn't sure how she made sense of any of it.

"Sergeant Hollins, front and center." Smithbond barked.

One of the four men with whom she'd been crossbow training marched up to Smithbnond. He was dressed in loose garb that resembled something you might see on a poor-ish person in a movie set in medieval times.

At least it was better than what she was wearing.

Under great protest, she'd been pressured into wearing a simple dress with a leather belt around the waist and a leather pouch attached to it. She had no problem with simple, but they had a few 'requirements', like that she couldn't wear a bra. That was too 'Earthlike'. So instead she'd been given a long strip of cloth and a video on how to wind it around her breasts to give them some support.

Apparently underwear was also out because it was also too 'earthlike'. Unfortunately, they hadn't seen fit to provide her with a replacement. So right now -- for the first time on her life -- she was going commando in a dress. Luckily the dress came down to mid-calf and wasn't particularly flowy, so it wasn't likely that she would be exposed. It made her uncomfortable anyway.