A Dragon's Tale Ch. 30

"Oh?"

Gabriella forward and wrapped her arms around Sarah in a hug. Something about the hug -- just the angel's mere presence -- was so incredibly comforting. The angel almost looked sad as she spoke to the girl in her soft, comforting, and almost musical voice. "Your life will become extremely hard soon; harder than it has ever been, and harder than it will ever be again... but. But after the hardest part of your life -- after you feel like giving up because you can see no way out -- things will get so, so much better for you. You will be so happy that some days you will wake up scarcely believing that your life is that wonderful."

"Really?" Sarah asked hopefully.

"Yes, I promise." Gabriella assured her, still holding her. "Illuminar -- blessed be He -- has decided to grant your wish; your prayer. You will be a part of great things which will bring great good, and get a wonderful husband in the process."

Sarah wanted to say something, but she couldn't. Her brain didn't seem to work and she just couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"But... but my father betrothed me to Rindrin." She finally said.

"Yes he did." Gabriella replied, and gave her a tight squeeze. "Perhaps you've under estimated how good of a husband Rindrin would be, or perhaps Illuminar -- blessed be He -- has something else in store for you. Either way, trust Him."

"Okay." She whispered

Still the angel held her.

It was wonderful.

"Why will life get hard?" Sarah asked, feeling like her life had been very hard already, especially given her problem.

"Because you turned to your problem for the solution instead of trusting Illuminar." Gabriella said kindly and without condemnation. "Just like you can't touch a hot stove without getting burned, so you cannot attack soldiers without repercussions. Regardless of how much you love the God of Light, your actions still have consequences."

"But... but they were going to..." She thought about her father and his poor health; he wouldn't have survived.

"Illuminar -- blessed be He -- promised me that your father would have emerged unscathed." Gabriella said kindly. "If you had trusted Him and kept your eyes on me, all would've been well."

"I..." Sarah swallowed. "I tried."

"I know." Gabriella had a nearly heartbreaking look of sympathy on her face. "Illuminar -- blessed be He -- sent me to help to you control your fear so you might have a chance to avoid your actions, which you will end up deeply regretting. He isn't mad at you for trying to resist and failing. But just as you can't kick a hornets' nest without being stung, so you cannot attack soldiers without them retaliating when their comrades learn of it. Actions still have consequences; that's another price of free will."

"So, I ruined everything?" She started to tear up again.

"No dear girl, remember the promise that I just gave you. Illuminar -- blessed be He -- can see the beginning from the end; what is, and what will be. His promises are sure, for He has already seen them come to pass. The free choices of all involved will lead to His promise being fulfilled. If you had chosen to trust Him, their choices would still have led to the same outcome, only with much less pain for you." Gabriella gave her a comforting extra squeeze. "I wish you had trusted; you've been through so much already."

The whole time, the angel was holding her.

She felt loved.

She felt comforted.

She felt safe.

"I wish I had too." Sarah finally said. "Thank you for giving me a chance, even if I didn't take it. I'm sorry."

"Illuminar -- blessed be He -- has already forgiven you." Gabriella said gently, gave her another comforting squeeze, and then the hug broke.

As Gabriella stood, Sarah noticed that her dress -- which had been tattered and dirty -- was no longer dirty in some places. In fact, every place that Gabriella or her clothes had touched her, all the filthiness seemed to have burned away.

She looked up at the angel confused.

"I am a servant of the Sacred Fire; a wielder of the flame of Gan'eden." The angel replied. "As long as I remain in the God of Light's service, darkness cannot affect me. For can darkness overcome light? Rather, isn't it darkness banished by the light?"

Sarah smiled, recognizing that last bit as a quote from the Book of Light.

"Could..." She looked down and saw that Gabriella's touch had removed the stains from her clothing. Could she also remove the stain of her problem?

"No dear girl, I'm afraid I cannot." Gabriella replied.

"Why not?"

"I cannot tell you dear girl, for I don't know; my Lord hasn't told me." Gabriella shook her head sadly. "But He did give me this assurance for you: 'it will all be okay in the end; if it's not okay, it's not the end'. And all His promises are true, for He has already seen them come to pass."

Sarah felt a smile creep onto her face.

That was a promise she could live with.

* * *

Kendra sat in her airship and looked around, wondering what it would be like to still be on the Argo and listening to everyone talking. She'd never experienced anything like that breakfast and the conversation that followed. It had been so... so...

She couldn't think of a word.

'Homey' perhaps.

Certainly it had been comfortable and probably the best breakfast she'd ever had, and not because of the ship's food either. She glanced at the bag full of dragon scales and found herself glad that she would have to return to the Argo at least once more. Admittedly she was mostly glad because of Taloni, but she'd be lying to herself if she said she didn't enjoy being around everyone else too.

Even Ethan.

Having spent several days non-stop in his company, she knew in her bones that he was a good man-- err, dragon. He'd been kind to her too, inviting her back to visit the Argo even after everything she'd done. How could he be so nice? It didn't make sense. She'd never met anyone that forgiving and that kind. She really hadn't. Of course, she'd spent most of her life around unforgiving trainers or working in the field with rough men, so perhaps that wasn't a surprise.

What was a surprise is what Anthiel had pointed out the previous night. She couldn't understand how she hadn't seen it before. How could she not have realized that she had been imagining herself in the place of Ethan's other wives?

She shuddered slightly as her stomach roiled.

Well, at least she was still repulsed by him; that was something. Still, she could put up with his company to be on the Argo with everyone. She had a standing invitation to visit, and it occurred to her that she might actually take him up on that someday.

Maybe more than once.

* * *

"What's wrong?" Ethan asked his bride-to-be. He found himself having to constantly remind himself that despite how powerful and mature she was for her age, the redhead was still only nineteen. She was still a teenage girl. A very mature teenage girl, but a teenage girl nonetheless.

"I don't want to promise to obey you." Rachel replied, though she didn't meet his eyes.

"That's it? Oh, I'll tell Anthiel to drop that from the vows."

She took a deep breath. "It won't matter though. It really won't."

"Well, I'm not exactly ordering my wives around all the time." He pointed out.

"No, but they listen to you all the same."

For some reason, he got the sense that she had more that she wanted to say. "And...?" He prompted.

"I met Gabriella. Did I ever tell you that?"

"No, when?"

"Just after Kyrupto attacked." She replied. "She came to me after I had two dreams, one right after another. The first dream showed me what my life could be like if I married you, the second dream showed what would likely happen if I didn't. Gabriella and I talked about why in a polygynous marriage, the wives will tend to follow the husband, and he will tend to get the final say. It's baked into the sweet roll as they say, but I don't like it. I don't like it at all."

Ethan had been about to disagree, but as he thought about it he saw that she was right. His wives did follow him without him asking them too. He guessed that was partly because of his dragon side, but he highly doubted it was entirely because of that.

"I'm not sure I can 'unbake' that sweet roll." He admitted. "I'm pretty sure that if I ordered my wives to stop following my orders, that's the only order they wouldn't obey."

Rachel made a sound somewhere between an exhale, a chuckle, and sigh. They she looked up at him, emotional walls down and looking very vulnerable. Her deep blue eyes looked large and something akin to scared or hurt, but not quite either. Perhaps scared of being hurt? She opened her mouth to speak, but seemed have trouble finding words.

"Take your time." He said gently, then looked at her pointedly and winked. "I've got a spectacular view to distract me while I wait."

She cracked a smile, but only for a moment. Finally, she seemed to find her voice. "What do you know about horse training?"

"Only a bit, why?"

"Because there's a process that's... do you know how they teach a horse to carry a rider?"

"Only a little." He replied. He had a vague inkling where she might be going with this, and didn't like it.

"It's done by putting a rider on his back and letting the horse fight and buck for all he's worth until he realizes that he can't shake the rider. They literally need to 'break' the horse's spirit to get him to accept a rider, which is why they call it 'breaking a horse'."

He didn't respond, deciding to let her finished rather than assuming he knew what she was going to say. He was pretty sure he knew, but he wanted to hear it from her before he had his say; and hedefinitely had some things to say.

She looked down and didn't quite meet his eye as she spoke. "You need to break the horse before he can be useful, otherwise he'll constantly fight the rider. The horse will be useless and the rider might get hurt if the horse rebels. I can't let that happen, I can't..." He voice cracked slightly. "I can't let you get hurt because I'm... I'm not..." She took a deep breath and didn't seem to be able to finish the thought.

"Broken?" He offered.

She nodded.

"Can I let you in on a little secret?"

She nodded again, and glanced up at him for a split second before looking down again. The fear in her young eyes was almost palpable.

"I don't want to 'break' you."

"But you need to." She whispered, her voice wavering as she spoke.

"I didn't need to 'break' Alana, Beth, or Taloni; what makes you think I need to 'break' you?"

"Because I'm not like them." She swallowed hard. "They don't mind following you; having you be their lord. They wanted it; yearned for it. I... I don't."

"Have you considered that maybe that's a good thing?"

"Oh?" She glanced up, a sliver of hope in her eyes.

"Time and again I've asked you for advice, and time and again you've given good advice. I don't want all my wives to march in lock-step with me because I'm not after drones who make babies. I actuallylike that all my wives have distinct personalities. I actuallylike that all my wives have their own opinions. I have no desire to 'break' them because I like them just as they are."

"Really?" She asked sounding hopeful.

"Well, one of my wives is a virgin and I'd like to fix that, but otherwise..." He winked at her.

She blushed and half smiled.

"But I'm going to fight you." She said after several seconds, her expression becoming vulnerable and serious again. "I'm going to fight you, and disagree with you, and..." She swallowed, seemingly not able to finish her sentence.

"Okay, first of all, I don't mind when you disagree; I really don't. Do you remember when Taloni suggested that she fly out to meet Kendra and I shot that idea down without a discussion, and then you objected to me doing that?"

She nodded.

"That was agood thing. Sure you could've been more respectful about it, but I'm definitely glad you said something."

"Why are you fighting me on this?" She shook her head. "You know what needs to be done, why won't you do it? I know you can make your wives do things just by looking at them. No one should have that kind of control, and I'm going to fight you unless..." She took slow, deep, shuddering breath. "...unless you 'break' me."

He shook his head. "Ain't gonna happen."

"You need to."

"Well I won't. Ever."

She swallowed hard and turned away, but didn't walk away. Instead she took a step towards the Argo's railing and leaned on it, apparently in thought.

"I don't want to be a bad wife." She finally said with her back to him. "I don't want to make things harder for you and your other wives, and I definitely don't want to create tension because I'm the only one who's not following you."

"If I recall correctly, that time you pointed out that I shouldn't dismiss Taloni's idea, you were actually voicing what everyone else was thinking. That doesn't create tension, it actually diffuses it."

She sighed, back still turned. "Why must you make this so hard? You need to do it and I..." Her breath hitched. "I don't like knowing what's coming and being made to wait for it. Can't we just get it over with?"

He walked the railing beside her; close enough to be friendly, but far enough to give her a bit of space. "No, because I won't do it."

"You have to, otherwise -- like an unbroken horse -- I won't... I mean, I can't..." Her voice faltered and then failed her.

He turned and leaned one elbow on the railing so he was facing her. "You know, there's more than one way to break a horse."

She glanced at him confused. "Oh?"

"Yeah, I don't know much about it, but I don't think that they always use the brute force method on Earth anymore."

"How can you be sure?"

"Because I did some website work for a horse business one time." He replied. "One of the services they offered was a 'gentle breaking'. From the short description, it sounded like they introduced things more slowly and gently with the goal of having the horse enjoy being ridden, rather than trying to 'break' the horse."

He restrained a grin at what Alana, Beth, and even Taloni would say about 'being ridden' in a certain context.

"I don't think that'll work with me." Rachel hung her head so that her hair obscured her face.

He sighed.

"Rachel, I'm going to let you in on secret that's not-so-secret; I like you. I like you just the way you are. In fact, if you remained just as you are right now for the rest of our lives, I would still happily marry you."

She didn't respond for several seconds, and her voice was a soft whisper when she did. "Just as I am?"

"Yes." He stated firmly. "We all have room to grow and mature, so I'm not really talking about that. What I mean is that if you stayed the same, stubborn, independent woman that you are now for the rest of our lives, I'd still happily marry you."

She slowly shook her head. "But that won't work; you know it won't work."

"Why? Why wouldn't it work?"

She glanced at him, her eyes sad and vulnerable. "Because at some point -- especially given how dangerous our lives can be -- at some point we're going to disagree. You'll want to do one thing and I'll want to do another."

"And...?" He prompted.

"And what happens then?"

"We'll talk it out."

"What if there isn't time?" She countered. "What if we're ambushed again and you issue some instructions, like you did to Alana, Beth, and Taloni when Lord Delmar attacked. What if you do that, but I don't want to listen?"

He frowned; she did have a point.

"You see it, don't you?" She pressed. "When seconds count, we can't waste them arguing. Militaries need one general, not two generals. Two generals will just fight each other and then nothing will get done and the war will be lost."

"Hmm, I suppose you have a point." He conceded. "However, I'm still not willing to 'break' you. I'm just not. I won't do it; I refuse to."

"A good general disciplines his soldiers." Rachel pointed out.

"I don't see you as a soldier though; I see my wise redhead more like an advisor." He countered. "An advisor with an unbroken spirit seems like she'd be more useful, wouldn't you say?"

"Maybe?" She didn't sound convinced.

"Rachel, I can make any of my wives -- except Alana -- do whatever I want with a look." He pointed out.

"Wait, you can't compel Alana?"

"Nope." He shook his head. "Well I can, but she can fight me off if she wants. She says it isn't easy, but she can. My dragon side tried to use that ability on her once or twice and she beat it. Anyway, do you know how often I've used that ability without my dragon side's influence?"

"No."

"Like, twice." He paused. "Okay, like twiceoutside the bedroom, and inside it's more like foreplay than anything else."

Her cheeks got slightly pink as she nodded.

"I used it to help Taloni with her fear of flying, but didn't make her do anything; I just helped calm her down a bit when she was scared. I also used it on Beth, but again didn't make her do anything. I used it to help her with some... some personal issues. I think that's it, but I feel like I'm forgetting one..." He frowned, then shrugged. "Anyway, the point is that I don't go around compelling my wives, even though I can. Beth and Taloni can't evenhope to resist me and I still don't use that ability very often, and I have no intention of starting with you."

"But you like when they follow you." Rachel countered.

"I won't lie, I love that my wivesvoluntarily follow me and that there isn't a constant struggle for power. I had that with my ex and it was a nightmare. But my wives and I disagree like any other married people do; the difference is that I make sure we talk it out, not just enforce my will on them. I certainly don't go around compelling them all the time; far from it."

"Really?"

"Yes." He nodded. "If you'll pardon the innuendo, I'd rather youenjoy being ridden, rather than 'break' you and have you merely beresigned to being ridden."

She gave him a small smile and her cheeks got a bit pinker as she replied softly. "I don't mind the innuendo."

"Good, because it'll never stop." He winked.

"I've noticed."

There was several seconds of comfortable silence, then she looked at him. Oddly, she seemed both more and less vulnerable at the same time. Like her walls were down but she wasn't so... so raw; so scared of being hurt. Perhaps 'open' was the best way to describe it. She didn't have her constant 'tough girl' persona on, but she didn't seem like she was quite as worried about getting hurt either.

It was good to see.

She bit her lip, then opened her mouth to speak, then closed it again. She frowned slightly, and he knew she was deep in thought. He could almost see the wheels turning in her head, though he had no idea what they were turning towards.

After about thirty seconds, she finally spoke. "So, you want me to be me, and you won't force me to follow you?"

"Yes I want you to be you, and no I won't force you. I'd love it if you chose to follow me, but I won't force you to."

She nodded slowly. "Hmm."

"What?"

"That still doesn't solve the 'two generals' problem."

"Notgenerally, no." He said with a wink.

She gave a half chuckle and rolled her eyes slightly. "Do you constantly tease all your wives like this?"

"Pretty much." He nodded.

She leaned one elbow on the Argo's railing and mirrored his posture. She looked at him for several seconds with an expression somewhere between curious and confused. "You don't want to solve the 'two generals' problem?"

"I'd love to solve it, I just don't like your solution."

She nodded and gave him an understanding smile. "If I'm being honest, neither do I."

"I never would've guessed." He grinned.

She seemed lost in thought for several seconds before speaking again. "You love it if I chose to..." She frowned and then made a thoughtful sound. He wanted to ask what she was thinking, but knew her well enough to let her speak in her own time.