A Dragon's Tale Ch. 28

Selene found herself wondering what kind of problem Sarah could possibly have that could bring such ruin on the small outpost. Regardless, she was a kind, sweet girl who really didn't deserve all this misery that was being heaped upon her. Besides, Rindrin's story strained credulity to the breaking point.

"Yeah, I see you not believing me and all." He shook his head when she didn't answer. "He is a good father though, and where his fortune went proves it. He spent it traveling with her to every major temple of Illuminar trying to help his little girl."

She frowned. "Why temples and not doctors?"

"Cause what ails her needs a holy man to fix. Ain't no doctor that can do much good for her."

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She didn't know much about the medieval period, but it seemed like they spent a lot of time blaming perfectly normal things on superstition and then punishing people for it. Burning witches at the stake came to mind. At least no one was trying to do that to Sarah. Still, Rindrin was being an ass about his future wife.

She scoffed. "You know what could also 'do much good' for her'? Her betrothed being more considerate."

"I am being considerate." He replied firmly. "I do feel bad for her, and that's part of why I'm doing this thing here, marrying her and such. You know what'll happen to her if I don't?"

"Oh, this'll be good." She retorted.

"No, it really won't." He shook his head sadly and picked up some other metal tool and began working it slowly with the file. "She's too nice and her father isn't in good health. I give it five years before he croaks and leaves her the inn. She's too sweet and naïve to be much good at running it, and some fellow or other will cheat her out of it before the year passes."

Selene pursed her lips; he probably wasn't wrong. Her father didn't look healthy and she could certainly see Sarah being taken advantage of that way.

Rindrin continued. "So then she'll have no income, no marriage prospects, and she's already not welcome at any temple or monastery in the land on account of her problem. Word of her has gone out, so no one will be taking her in either. She'll be out in the cold, all alone, and will probably starve to death. Iam being considerate; I'm marrying her to save her life."

"You're kidding me." She glared, but didn't detect any untruthfulness in him.

"Believe what you want." He shrugged. "You don't like me so you won't hear me 'cause you a woman, and thinking with your emotions instead of your brain. Frankly, she's lucky to have me, cause ain't no one else going to marry her on account of her problem."

"I'm not sureshe's the one with the problem."

He glanced up at her, frowned, then pulled the bent poker that had come from the inn out and dropped it on the ground at her feet. "You tell me that ain't no problem."

"It's a bent poker." She replied. His implication that Sarah had bent it was obvious, but also ludicrous. The girl had petite arms and no muscle definition to speak of. It simply wasn't possible that a girl of her size could've bent the iron poker.

"I wish your brains was as good as your body." He shook his head. "Still, you shouldn't have a hard time finding a husband with them looks. You probably won't make smart kinds though."

The ex-FBI agent set her jaw, reminding herself that the local constabulary would probably frown on murder. She didn't have her sword anyway, and he wasn't worth wasting a bullet.

A part of her was tempted though...

"She'll make a good first wife, and I figure I'll marry a real looker later. Now, I won't divorce Sarah nor nothing and I'll be real good to her cause I do like her a bit, and Illuminar says husbands should be good to their wives. Plus, she'll be a good homemaker. I figure that I'm a pretty good guy for marrying her, what with her problem and not no one else being willing to. I already told you what I'm saving her from, and I don't appreciate being made the bad guy for doing good."

He looked at her pointedly. "And you'd see that if you had half a brain."

That was the point where Selene decided she needed to leave before he said something that pushed her over the edge. She didn't want to find out firsthand how they punished homicide here. She turned without a word and walked outside. She took a few deep breaths to calm down and remind herself that murder wasn't the answer to terrible people.

No matter how appealing the idea was.

It was getting towards evening, and the sky was just starting to turn the pretty pinks and purples of sunset. She watched for a moment, trying to figure out how to help Sarah.

The sad thing was, she wasn't sure Rindrin was wrong about the girl's marriage prospects, not if everyone else thought what the monks did. Despite the rude manner of delivery, everything that he'd said made sense on balance. Her father certainly wasn't in the best of health, Sarah probably would be cheated out of the inn, and if she really wasn't welcome in any temples or monasteries because of 'her problem' -- and if no one would take her in because of the gossip about her mysterious 'problem' -- it was possible that the girl could starve. Maybe Rindrin was actually saving the girl's life by marrying her.

Maybe.

Hmm.

He was still an ass though and she thought that Sarah deserved someone better.

The Brazilian woman clenched her fist. It didn't seem fair that a sweet girl like Sarah would be stuck with an ogre like Rindrin. Probably the best thing she could say about him was that he seemed honest and didn't look like the type to abuse a woman. That wasn't exactly high praise though, and unfortunately it wasn't hard to imagine Sarah being somewhat neglected. That went double if he got a second wife. Plus his terse, brutally honest manner could really hurt the girl emotionally. She highly doubted he would do it intentionally, but also highly doubted that it wouldn't happen.

She took a few deep breaths, calming herself and resisting the urge to go back in there and pound him.

It was tempting.

She glanced around and saw the bird that had been shadowing her since that first morning sitting on a nearby rooftop. As usual, it was staring at her. It gave her the feeling of being watched and she didn't like it. However, there was nothing she could do about it. Hitting a target that small and that small away was hard under ideal conditions, and she didn't want to waste a bullet.

A minute or two later she saw someone ride up to the inn, and figured she should go start her first night at her new job. At least it would provide a much-needed distraction. She shook her head as she walked; she had a master's degree and was basically a waitress on an alien planet.

She sighed.

Wasn't life strange?

* * *

It had taken Beth until twilight to do a quick run through every airship at the docks. Being able to run through walls and not needing to breathe or rest on the Astral Plane had sped things up considerably. She wasn't sure what she could do once she found her husband, but shewas going to find him. The obvious place to start looking was Lord Delmar's airship, but he didn't seem to have one at the docks. At least, not one bearing his flag. Rather annoyed by this, she simply started checking every airship one by one.

He wasn't there.

Not in any of the airships.

She plopped herself down on a convenient wine barrel that was waiting to be loaded onto an airship. As she sat down, the sword that Gabriella had loaned to her -- Aharown -- tapped against the barrel and the blonde looked at it. She dearly wished she could find everyone and free them. Sadly, a sword -- even a sword that had been loaned to her by an angel -- didn't do much good without an opponent to fight or bonds to cut.

*Well, now I don't know what to do.* She thought to everyone. *He's not in any of the airships at the dock.*

*Hmm. That makes sense I suppose.* Ethan replied. *Even while docked the Argo moves slightly. Now that I think of it, I haven't felt that. Sorry for not thinking of that earlier.*

*It's okay, but where am I going to look now?* She said. *I can't look in every building in Nalatia; that would take forever.*

*Maybe you could narrow it down?* Alana suggested. *He probably isn't holding them near heavily populated areas.*

*Unless he had enchanted the wood paneling to not let sound through.* Taloni countered. *Then we could be anywhere.*

*Ugh, I just wish I could find you!* Beth huffed. She really missed feeling his arms around her and it had been an entire day now.

*I miss you too angel.* Ethan replied mournfully. *And you too princess.*

*Very funny.* Alana replied. Her tone was slightly amused and slightly annoyed, but mostly concerned. *hang on.*

*What's wrong?* Ethan asked.

*Nothing is wrong, but a runner just came up to the Argo with a message. Hang on.*

A minute later the wood elf spoke again. *It's a letter that was portalled here from Arcanum.*

*Who's it from?* Ethan asked.

Another pause, and then. *It's from Elder Goman. It says... Oh wow.*

*What?* Ethan, Beth, and Taloni all asked at the same time.

*It says we need to check the portal stone that he gave us more often; apparently we haven't responded to a few letters.* The wood elf replied, talking slowly as if she was reading something. *Hang on, let me go look.* There was a minute's pause, and then the wood elf continued. *Yeah, there's a recent letter alright. It says..." She trailed off.

*Says...?* Ethan prompted.

Beth sighed. She couldn't sense Alana's emotions at all since they weren't bonded, but Ethan could. That made it somewhat confusing when he reacted to an emotion that she couldn't feel.

*Um, apparently there's another portal to the Ten Kingdoms from your world.*

Stunned silence.

*What?* The blonde asked.

*It says here the Elder Goman has had people watching anther portal for a long time now. Apparently he'd used it go to Earth decades ago while he was experimenting with portal research.*

*That makes sense.* Beth nodded. *He's probably the Ten Kingdom's foremost expert on portals.*

*Oh? I didn't know that.* Alana mused. *Anyway, some people came through the portal a few days ago, he says we might now know one of them, who apparently mentioned you. Her name is... Oh wow.*

Beth didn't need to be bonded to the wood elf to tell she was shocked. *Who?*

*Her name is Selene, she's drop-dead gorgeous, and has caramel-colored hair.*

There was stunned silence for several seconds, then Ethan replied. *You're kidding.*

*Who's Selene master?*

*She's law enforcement from my world.* Ethan replied. "But how the hell did she follow us here?Why did she follow us here?*

*I don't know.* Alana replied. *Apparently she was kidnapped, knocked out, and only woke up after a long ride. Thus she has no idea how to get back to the portal. Oh, and she took a job at an inn.*

*Selene is here?* Beth wondered. *But how did she get the mana to open a portal?*

*Gonorran.* Ethan said after several seconds. *It must be right? We took the control stone for his portal, so no one else went there after we left. Plus, what are the odds that someone unconnected with our visit just happened to send her here?*

*She's working with a necromancer?* Taloni said faintly; she sounded scared.

*Hmm. Something doesn't add up.* Ethan mused. *What else does the letter say?*

*Elder Goman asked if we could go investigate and gave her location.* The wood elf paused. *Anthiel says she knows the area and can get us there. It's about a four day journey with a normal wind.*

*But we can't leave without Ethan.* Beth said, her heart sinking at the mere thought of being separated from him for four whole days; eight counting the return journey. She slumped on the wine barrel.

*Master will think of a way to get us out.* Taloni said with absolute confidence. *Plus Kendra has a fast airship, I'm sure she'd be happy to give us a ride.*

*I wouldn't bet on it.* Ethan countered. *You've seen the looks she's been giving me.*

*There's a bit more to the letter.* Alana said after several seconds of rather awkward silence.

*Go ahead.* Ethan replied sounding tired. Unless Beth missed her guess, he wasn't fully recovered from having his deep mana nearly obliterated.

*He says that Selene is stranded and by all indications she never wanted to come to the Ten Kingdoms in the first place. He says she could really use some help.*

Beth sighed, stood up, and started walking. *I'm heading back to the Argo.*

*I'll tell Anthiel to make read to sail.* Alana added.

*Have a safe trip, I hope we'll see you soon.* Taloni offered.

*Uh, ladies.* Ethan said sounding slightly confused. *We haven't made a decision yet.*

Beth stopped as she realized that was true. *Dominus, I think we just assumed that you would stay true to form and help her.*

*True to form?* Ethan asked, and Beth could just imagine him raising his eyebrow.

*When have you ever turned down someone who needed help?* The wood elf asked.

*Plenty of times.* He replied.

*Can you name one?* Beth asked, not able to recall one herself.

*Uh... Um...* He mused.

Then silence.

*Master, we all love that about you; how you want to help everyone. It's okay, we would never want you to change, even if it's hard sometimes.*

*She speaks truthfully Dominus.*

*I agree too sir.*

There was a momentary pause, then he spoke. *Yeah, I guess you're right. But wait for the cover of darkness to leave; I don't want Lord Delmar or his men following you. And hurry back.*

*We will Dominus.* Beth said vehemently. *I don't want to be parted from you for a moment longer than I have to be.*

There was a general chorus of agreement from everyone.

* * *

"And you're sure you don't mind?" Selene asked as she tipped the last of the dinner leavings into a small barrel to feed the chickens in the morning. Turns out they ate almost everything, at least according to Sarah.

"I'd love it." The innkeeper's daughter assured her. "I always wanted a sister, and while you're not quite a sister, you make it easier to imagine having one."

"Well, I won't turn down a bed." The Brazilian woman chuckled slightly, grateful to not be curling up on the stone floor next to the kitchen fire that night to sleep. A few minutes later, Selene and Sarah were tucked into the latter's tiny bed, which wasn't much larger than a twin-sized bed on earth.

"I'm going to say my evening prayers, is it okay if I say them out loud?" The girl asked.

"It's your room and I'm a guest. Please don't let me stop you."

"Okay, I just want to make sure I won't bother you."

"You won't."

"Okay." She closed her eyes and folded her hands. "Dear Illuminar -- blessed be you -- please make me a good person, and thank you for bringing my friend here to stay for a while. Please help her wherever she goes, and with finding her friends. Amen."

"Sarah, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure." She turned to face her while smiling brightly.

"Why do you ask that God will make you a good person?"

Her smile faded. "I... Um..." She bit her lip and fell silent for several moments. "Because I want to be." She finished quietly while not looking Selene in the eye.

"Are you sure you're not a good person already? You seem like a good person to me."

"You only say that because you don't know." Sarah closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I hope you aren't afraid of me when you find out."

"Why would I ever be afraid of you? You're a really sweet girl and I doubt you'd ever intentionally hurt so much as a fly."

"I..." Her voice seemed to fail her and she fell silent.

Moments later, she turned away from Selene to sleep on her side. The Brazilian woman got the distinct impression she had turned to hide her face, not to be standoffish. For some reason, Sarah seemed determined to think that she was a terrible person and Selene couldn't figure out why. The girl also seemed to think that she might be afraid of her, but Selene couldn't imagine how that was possible.

The one clue was the bent iron fire poker. However, it strained credulity to imagine that Sarah had bent it. The only other clue was Rindrin saying that her father had taken the brown-haired girl to temples because she needed a 'holy man' to fix her problems. She rolled her eyes at that. Even if Selene had believed in God -- and she didn't -- the idea of a 'holy man' fixing something like this was laughable.

* * *

Rachel gradually returned to consciousness feeling much better than the last time. Much of the reason was that her body no longer felt like death warmed over. Clearly Ethan had donated more mana to her while she was sleeping because she was nearly full on deep mana. There was a little ways to go, but her body would naturally take of that rather quickly, even if she didn't speed it along.

The rest of the reason she felt good was Ethan.

She couldn't help but smile as she felt his shoulder against her cheek. She'd fallen asleep that way and slept better than she had in a long time. Her neck felt slightly achy because of the angle, but otherwise... otherwise it was wonderful. She was beginning to understand why his wives were always in such a good mood if this was how they woke up regularly. It reminded her of that time in the restaurant on Earth, or the time in the lower deck of the Argo.

She just felt better.

Her extremely active brain started reminding her that pretty soon, she would have to deal with the new dynamic; the inevitable loss of her personal autonomy. Pretty soon, she would need to talk with Ethan about how that was all going to work. She decided that 'pretty soon' didn't mean now though, and pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind.

"Good morning." Ethan whispered, and then she felt his lips press gently against the top of her head.

"Morning." She mumbled back, then started to yawn.

"How are you feeling today?"

"Much better." She said as she snuggled a bit closer to him.

It was true.

Her mana was nearly completely replenished. She couldn't imagine how that was possible unless Ethan had donated a ton. Sure enough, she could tell that much of her current deep mana had once been his. Unlike last time though, his mana didn't sit hard like a stone; it mixed freely and unreservedly with her own. However, despite how full she was, he didn't seem drained. So how...?

She opened her eyes and saw an exhausted looking Fey in a lilac dress slumped against Ethan. The mage could tell just from looking at her that she must be beyond exhausted. She'd heard someone use the phrase 'sleeping like the dead' before, and this was the first time she thought it applied. The redhead reached out and touched her, checking on her health. She was in perfect health and her deep mana was nearly full, just like hers and Ethan's. She must've been cycling deep mana for a long time to first replenish Ethan's mana and then produce enough for the dragon to replenish her own.

"Thank you Taloni." The redhead whispered.

"She's pretty incredible, yeah." Ethan said fondly as he gently stroked the sleeping girl's honey-blonde hair. "I finally had to order her to stop and rest. She was doing that well into the night."

"Night? What time is it?"

"About an hour past sunrise." A sullen voice came from the opposite side of the cell. Of course, that meant the dragon huntress was only about ten feet away, but that was as far from Ethan as she could get in this cell.

"Are you sure?" Rachel replied

Kendra gave her a look, but didn't explain herself.

"She says it was part of her training." Ethan frowned at the dragon huntress, then turned to Rachel. "So, we never really got a chance to talk since... the other night. Thank you."

"You're welcome." She smiled, but didn't have anything more to say on the topic.