A Dragon's Tale Ch. 29

"What about you Kendra?" Taloni asked.

"It is a pretty land." She admitted. "And the people are very nice here."

"Are they?" He asked.

She nodded. "Lord Farbrottan is a tyrant, but the people are good."

"Well, maybe we could carve out a little space deep in the woods somewhere." He suggested. "Grow one of those tree houses that Alana liked so much."

"They are pretty cool." Taloni said wistfully.

"As long as you all are there -- plus Alana and Beth of course -- I'm good with that." Ethan nodded.

*Even Kendra master?* The Fey thought to him.

*I seriously doubt she'd want that.* He replied.

*But if she did?*

He shrugged. *Maybe.*

* * *

Beth found herself shaking her head in wonder at Selene's dedication. It had been nearly two full days since the Brazilian woman had come aboard the Argo, and for nearly two full days now she'd been training nearly non-stop with Serif, Raklan, and even occasionally Anthiel to learn the sword and shield. The woman was relentless. Even Ethan didn't train that hard.

"What makes someone like that?" She wondered to Alana as they watched from the quarterdeck. They were leaning on the railing and just brushing up against each other. The blonde liked that; the closeness and intimacy.

"I have no idea." The wood elf replied. "My adoptive father made me train like that for some things, but I was neverthat self-motivated."

Beth nodded, watching as the Brazilian woman got up after being beaten for what must've been the hundredth time that day. She was improving slowly and steadily though. She wasn't going down as fast and was learning to move both sword and shield as an integrated whole.

"I wonder if I should be more like that." The blonde mused.

"Disciplined?"

Beth shook her head. "No, well yes but that's not what I meant. I meant capable with weapons. You have your bow and Rachel has her magic, I just feel like I'm not much good in a fight."

Alana chuckled. "Tell that to Kyrupto's eye."

She laughed. "I still can't believe I did that."

"You know, it occurs to me that maybe that's more useful than another sword." The wood elf mused.

"Oh?"

The brunette turned to her. "It would be really useful to have someone on a battlefield who can run around immune to being hurt, but who can advise people of incoming threats."

"Like a scout." Beth cocked her head to one side. "Hmm. I could that. Would that really be useful?"

She nodded. "Absolutely. A surprise attack can be devastating and you can mostly prevent them from happening."

"AGGH!" Selene cried out in pain, dropped her sword and grabbed her finger. Apparently, Raklan's sparing weapon had hit one of her fingers and it was bent at an unnatural angle.

Again.

Antheil sighed from the ship's wheel and headed down the stairs, shaking her head and muttering. "That the third time she's broken a bone today."

"Anthiel is going to run out of mana at this rate." Alana joked.

Beth laughed.

The high elf approached Selene, healed the finger, and then walked back up to the quarterdeck shaking her head. After a minute, the ex-FBI agent picked up her sword and signaled to Raklan to begin again.

"I wonder when we'll see Ethan again." Beth sighed. "It should be soon right? It took us four days to reach Selene and we've been coming back for two days, so if they're also coming towards us..."

"Hopefully before dark." Alana said, looking out across the bow at the horizon. The sun was low-ish in the sky in front of them and off the port bow, since they were traveling mostly west and a little north. Somewhere just beyond where they could see, their husband was traveling towards him.

The two women sighed in unison.

* * *

Kendra had spent the last few days feeling nearly as confused as she felt conflicted. On the one hand, she was now seeing firsthand how Ethan was with his wives, and it was both endearing and nauseating. He clearly cared deeply for them and they for him. Every time he touched them affectionately, she couldn't help but imagine that he was touching her. That in turn made her feel slightly sick.

Yet as warm as his attitude towards his wives was, his approach to herself was somewhat cooler. Not cold, but he seemed to be imitating the distance she was keeping from him. Their talk that night had been strange, especially since he'd asked if he could help her. That didn't make sense.

He didn't make sense.

He actually seemed like he wanted to help, even after everything she'd done. She wished she could understand why, but she didn't. She was shaken from her reverie by Ethan giving a start, then leaning forward and squinting at something far away on the horizon. It must be far away indeed if a dragon was squinting to see it.

"What is it master?"

"I think it's the Argo... I think." He said.

Kendra pulled up her enchanted spyglass, activated the strongest enchantment lens, and then scanned the horizon where he was looking.

"I think you're right." She finally said.

Ethan hesitated as he glanced at Rachel and Taloni.

"Go master, I know you miss them." The Fey said with a smile.

"We'll be fine; see you soon." Rachel added.

He grinned at both of them, then leapt onto the prow of the ship. He crouched, made a great leap into the air and took off flying as fast as Kendra had ever seen a dragon fly.

"He really does love them, doesn't he?" Kendra thought aloud as she watched him fade into the distance.

"He does." Rachel replied. "I realize that it's probably strange for you, having hunted dragons all of your life, but he's different. He's not like other dragons."

The dragon huntress nodded. "Kind of makes me wish he wasn't a dragon."

"Oh?"

"Good men are hard to find." She said simply, but didn't elaborate.

* * *

Selene paused to catch her breath. Her muscles ached, but it was a good ache. She could definitely feel the training equivalent of a 'runner's high' as she panted. Serif and Raklan had been great tutors, the former more than the latter, and she'd learned a lot.

"Again?" She asked when she'd caught her breath slightly.

Serif nodded and grabbed a training spear. He'd been constantly changing weapons on her so she learned to fight them all. It was hard, but she was getting better and losing less quickly. She silently thanked her father for pushing her to learn the Eskrima sticks, as they translated reasonably well to the one-handed arming sword she was using.

She raised her shield to cover herself and slowly advanced.

Serif gave a few experiment jabs towards her face with the spear tip, but she didn't raise the shield to block them, preferring to step back instead. She'd learned very quickly that raising the shield high enough to block her vision was a bad idea against a fast weapon like a spear. It nearly always resulted in him scoring a hit to her legs.

"Wait, stop!" A voice called from behind her.

She looked back to see Alana tearing down the stairs to the quarterdeck like a bat out of hell, followed closely by Beth. They charged past the combatants and ran to the prow of the ship, staring into the distance. In the fading light of sunset, Selene could just see a dark figure flying closer. She was just about to get worried when she remembered that their husband was a dragon.

Not long after, he arrived.

He came in at full speed, pulling up and flapping hard to kill his forward momentum before dropping to the deck and wrapping the two women tightly in his arms like his life depended on it.

She had never seen a hug like that.

It was fierce and tender, yet loving and powerful.

They held each other like they hadn't seen each other in a year, even though it had only been a week. They stayed like that for a long time. Like, a really long time. For the longest time they just held each other like... like... she really couldn't think of a reasonable metaphor. She would've said 'lovers' -- which was accurate -- but that seemed woefully inadequate. It would be like calling the Grand Canyon a valley; it was technically true, but fell far short of the proper scope.

It was lovely to see, if a bit odd because he was a dragon. Yet strangely, it seemed rather natural too for some reason. She wasn't sure why, but those three looked like they belonged together. It was all over the way they held each other; the affection they displayed. She didn't understand it, but hoped she could have something similar someday, though obviously with a man who wasn't already married.

They finally parted slightly, though it was only enough for him to kiss the brunette and then the blonde. It was also strange to see a dragon kiss with his long snout, but she supposed if it worked for them, who was she to judge?

As her father liked to say "Not my circus, not my monkeys."

On the horizon, she saw a small airship approaching rather quickly and assumed that was the rest of his wives. He did seem to be getting rather a lot of them.

Ethan had been on the ship for at least ten minutes before he had eyes for anyone or anything other than his first two wives. He was sitting down on one of the forward structural members that happened to be the right height. Alana and Beth were on his lap, each sitting on one knee and leaning against him, both looking happier than they had since she'd arrived in the Ten Kingdoms.

"Hi." He gave Selene a small wave, and then returned his attention to his wives.

"Hi." She replied, but he didn't respond.

He was too busy holding his wives.

Night had almost fully fallen by the time the smaller airship had maneuvered into docking position and docked. Selene had of course heard about the Fey girl Taloni, but seeing her and her wings was still quite the shock. They looked like a cross between a dragonfly's wings and a butterfly's wings, and hung down to the bottom of her butt when not in use. In use, they were a blur.

She remembered meeting the redheaded girl Rachel, but this time the mage looked deliriously happy. Alana, Beth, Taloni, and Rachel all clustered around Ethan, and he enveloped them all in a group hug, using his wings to pull them all closer, which was quite endearing.

The woman who stepped of the tiny airship last was clearly not endeared.

She assumed it was Kendra, as her jet black hair gave her away. The dragon huntress walked away from them quickly and seemed to size the Brazilian woman up.

"I'm Selene, and you are?"

"Kendra."

They regarded each other for several seconds. The other woman obviously didn't want to be here and obviously was a capable warrior. For some reason, Selene felt a slight kinship with her.

"I hear you hunt dragons."

"Usually." The other woman glanced at Ethan with his wives, shuddered, and then turned back. "Apparently not always." She eyed the blunt sword and shield Selene was still holding. "Training?"

The ex-FBI agent nodded. "This world seems pretty dangerous and I like to be prepared."

Kendra gave her a respectful nod. "I can respect that."

"Dinner is served!" Anthiel called from near to the captain's cabin, which was where they usually ate.

Before long, everyone clustered around the fire to eat. Kendra had hung back a bit from the group, though Taloni had eventually managed to get her to sit with everyone else. Rachel kept herself close to Ethan, but made room for Alana and Beth to be closer, probably because he had been away from them for so long. No one said much and everyone seemed either too tired or too content to do more than simply relax.

Oddly, Ethan barely acknowledged her.

It was strange that for the first time in... maybe her whole life? She wasn't commanding the attention of the men around. Raklan was leering of course, but Serif was purely professional and Ethan only had eyes for his wives. She had no interest in the two crewmen of course, but she couldn't help feeling out of sorts that Ethan barely acknowledged her. He wasn't rude or anything, just seemed completely focused on his wives. She wasn't sure what to do with that because it had never happened before.

After dinner, Ethan yawned and then looked around. "Okay ladies, I'm going to bed."

They all smiled sleepily.

He looked at Selene, yawned again, and then spoke. "I've got a bunch of questions, but we'll talk in the morning."

She nodded.

He stood and offered a hand to Alana and Beth, who each took one and he helped them up.

Kendra stood at the same time. "Thanks for dinner, I'm heading out though."

"Do you have to leave?" Taloni asked.

The dragon huntress glanced at Ethan and the affectionate way two of his wives were leaning on him. She looked a little green around the gills. "Yeah, I think that's best."

"You're more than welcome to stay the night." Ethan offered as he stifled another yawn. "We should have a spare hammock in the ladies area, it'll be more comfortable than your airship, and we'll happily provide a hot meal in the morning."

She looked tempted.

"Where would you go?" The Fey asked. Kendra hesitated just a moment too long so Taloni continued. "You don't really need to go, do you? You just want to get away."

Kendra smiled. "Not from you, from that."

She nodded her head toward Ethan and the affectionate way they were leaning on him. Again, she looked a little sick to her stomach. Oddly, there was no disparagement or condescension in her tone. She didn't seem to be upset that they were affectionate, just not happy about seeing it.

Alana and Beth exchanged glances and then stood up straighter; they were still close to Ethan, but not leaning on him.

"For the woman who saved my husband and returned him to me, I can wait." Alana said.

"Good hospitality demands nothing less." Beth added.

"And I'll give you as many hugs as you want for as long as you stay." Taloni added sweetly. "Just until breakfast. Please?"

"Okay." Kendra sighed, but Selene could tell she was pleased with the offer of hugs if nothing else.

"Ladies, come on." Ethan said as he turned towards the captain's cabin. "I promise we'll celebrate so much you won't walk straight for a week after Kendra leaves, but right now I'm beat."

Alana, Beth, and Taloni -- the latter after giving Kendra a huge hug -- followed him towards the captain's cabin, but Rachel hesitated.

"Coming?" Ethan asked the redhead with a smile.

"Um... could I..." She hesitated and looked unsure, both of which didn't seem normal for her. "I mean, I know we're bonded but we're nottechnically married." She looked at Anthiel.

"I could do it in two minutes now, but wouldn't you rather do it right tomorrow?" The high elf replied.

The redhead nodded.

Ethan looked slightly disappointed, but he smiled as he nodded. "Okay." He walked up to her and gave her a tender kiss on the forehead. She closed her eyes as he did so, looking incredibly relaxed and content.

"Good night beautiful." He whispered softly.

She smiled, then smirked sheepishly. "Goodnight ugly."

They both chuckled while Alana and Beth looked confused.

"I'll explain in bed." He said as he led his wives into the captain's cabin, closing the door behind him.

Rachel sighed wistfully as the door closed.

"I don't understand." Kendra said at the redhead's reaction.

She took a deep breath as she stared after them, then turned to the dragon huntress. "That's because you don't know him like I do." She said with absolute conviction as a contented smile spread across her cheeks.

* * *

Ethan flopped down on the bed and opened his arms for his first two wives. The climbed onto the bed and snuggled up on either side of him, each using one of his pectorals for a pillow as they molded to him.

"Have I told you that I missed you yet?" He murmured as he wrapped his arms around them and pulled them close.

They both sighed.

"I know what you mean sir."

"We missed you too Dominus."

"I haven't been missing you master, but I really missed this." She said as she also climbed onto the bed and snuggled up on Beth's other side.

He looked up, trying to figure out a way to hold her too.

"Don't worry master, Beth and Alana need this. I've been by your side non-stop for a week; I'll be okay not being held for a night."

"Damn girl, if you were any sweeter I wouldn't let you go outside in the rain for fear you'd melt." Ethan sighed, not quite believing that his wives were this wonderful.

"Thank you master."

"Yes, thank you Tee." Alana nodded.

"You're wonderful." Beth rolled slightly and twisted her head around to give the Fey a tender peck on the cheek and then snuggled back up with Ethan.

"Sir, I know that we hinted to Kendra that we would cool it, but what if were really quiet?"

"Please Dominus, I haven't felt you inside of me for so long."

He looked at Taloni, glancing at her powerful vocal chords before raising an eyebrow.

"Um, I'll try?" She winced. The tiny Fey girl was easily the most vocal of his wives in bed. It was a wonder how since she was so small, but she had a powerful set of pipes.

"Here." Alana got up and climbed over the others to one of the two wardrobes on either side of the entrance. She pulled one open, rummaged around for several seconds, and then came back out with a thick handkerchief and offered it to the Fey girl. "Something to bite down on."

The wood elf paused a second, then got a sly grin. "Last one undressed goes last." She said as she started yanking her dress off without warning.

Ethan reached out and put a finger on the hem of the wood elf's dress just as it was about to come over her head, slowing her considerably. The result? Beth and Taloni were gloriously naked before Alana had figured out what had happened.

"Hey, that's not fair!" She exclaimed when she figured it out.

"I didn't set the rules." He chuckled, then looked at her pointedly. "And I didn't try to get an unfair head start."

"Master, I think Alana should go first since you interfered." The Fey said. She kneeling with her butt on her heel. Her honey-blond hair cascaded down one side of her shoulders and obscured one of her breasts, leaving the other pointing out at him. Her wings were just visible, and her figure was as pleasing as ever. She was a vision of innocent beauty, made all the more lovely by her charming personality.

"I'm not sure I could refuse a request from someone so lovely." He said. "You were amazing Tee, you meditated and donated all that mana, and you've been amazing the whole time."

"Actually sir, I think Beth should go first." Alana said, biting her lip. His first wife was sitting with her legs together out to the side and was supporting her torso with one hand. Her chocolate brown hair was hanging down covering much of her upper chest. Nothing could disguise her perfect figure though. The only thing more delightful than her body was her personality.

"Dominus, I think--" Beth started, but he held up his hand.

"You know, you might want to get over here before I start thinking none of you is interested." He winked at her.

"Yes Dominus!" She nearly tackled him.

He took her tackled and rolled with it, ending up on top of her. Her lovely blonde hair splayed over the pillow and she looked at him with her big blue eyes. She closed them for a moment revealing her long lashes and she sighed. He looked down as she wrapped her long legs around him; she had the longest, most incredible legs he'd ever seen and they felt amazing wrapped around him. Being the youngest of his wives, she had a youthful joy and innocence that made her delightful.

She wiggled her hips closer to him. "Please Dominus, I'm ready."

He nodded and pushed his hips forward, sliding all the way inside of her in one long, slow, smooth thrust. The blonde sighed as he did so and so did he. It felt amazing. It felt a bit like coming home. She gripped him with her legs and tried to push him deeper inside of her. She couldn't, as he'd already bottomed out.