A Dragon's Tale Ch. 45

"He did?"

Fiona pressed her lips into a thin line, and shook her head. "I wasn't supposed to be saying that; he was asking me not to be spreading it around."

"Oh, I'd ask but... Well now I understand why you like Lord Delmar so much."

"Well, I'm notliking him, just liking him as a lord." The copper haired girl corrected. "He has been good to me even though he doesn't know me at all, making sure me and my baby were taken care of after my Sean died. He visited me personally, and was telling me that he was sorry for my loss, and he was offering to pay to have me relocate to Karnas and give me a job in the kitchens."

"That's really unusual for a Lord, isn't it?" Sarah asked, thinking that Lord Farbrottan would never do something like that.

"He's an unusual lord." The copper haired woman replied. "He was saying he was doing it because of Hermair, the necromancer that brought the false prophet to the Ten Kingdoms and was hiding in plain sight in his army. He was saying that Sean's death was because of his failure to recognize that there was a necromancer in his army, and so he was wanting to take care of me because he was saying his failures led to my husband's death."

"Really?"

"Aye." Fiona nodded. "I think he was blaming himself and wanting to help because he felt like it was his fault. Anyway, that's how I came to be working in his kitchens. But I would appreciate it if you weren't saying anything about this to anyone. He was asking that I wouldn't spread it around."

"Is that because he was worried about how the people would react if they knew a necromancer was hiding in plain sight in his army?"

Fiona shook her head. "No, he was making a public announcement about that, letting the people know and even giving Hermair's description and that he was a necromancer. The part he wasn't wanting me to share was how he was helping me."

Sarah cocked her head to one side. "Wait, if he did that for you and didn't want anyone to know, I wonder if he has done that for other families and told them not to 'spread it around' too."

"I'm thinking the same; he's a good lord." Fiona said. "Better than most, and I don't know what I would've done without his help. I was really needing it, and he wasn't asking for anything in return."

"Nothing?"

"Well, I was asking how I could repay him. He was saying that I shouldn't be bothering with that. I was insisting though, so you know what he was saying?"

"What?"

"He was asking if I would be praying for his daughter, Rachel." The copper haired girl replied. "He was worrying about her, and was saying that if I was insisting on repaying him -- which I was -- that I could be praying hard for her because she was needing it badly."

"Oh." Sarah would never have guessed Lord Delmar would do that. He had seemed so aloof the one time that she'd met him and he didn't seem the type to care.

Maybe he was.

That was about the time that the innkeeper's daughter noticed the fading light outside the window. "I should go; Lady Ekthros said I could help in the kitchens, and I want to be up early to start."

"Aye, Marge will appreciate that." Fiona said. "Thank you for your help with Conner." She nodded towards the baby sleeping in the crib.

"I was happy to help." She smiled as she got up.

Fiona stood also, and the innkeeper's daughter hesitated a moment before offering a hug. The copper haired girl accepted it, and it was a good hug. Tight, but not too tight.

"Sarah, I think we're going to be good friends." Fiona said when the hug broke.

"I'd like that." Sarah smiled, remembering that the widow even knew about her problem after having overheard her conversation with Lord Delmar.

She wanted to be her friend anyway.

She got slightly choked up as she made her way back to her room, but in the best possible way. She hadn't had a friend her own age since she was little, before her problem. And while Fiona was doubtless a few years older than she herself was, it couldn't be by much. She found herself smiling and not able to stop; not wanting to stop.

* * *

"And that's basically it." Ethan finished relating how the interrogation went with some input from Selene and Kendra. "I'm trying to decide how comfortable I am ambushing them without warning because some of them might not be..." He paused, looking for the words. "Some of them might be like that kid; not malevolent but just following orders."

"That makes sense." Beth said. "Good people being in a bad situation doesn't make them bad people."

Kendra frowned. "What about when good people are asked to do bad things and then do them? At that point they aren't good people anymore."

"But they might not know." The blonde replied.

"And that's different." Kendra said. "I fell into that camp once, so I have a lot of sympathy for someone who thinks we're guilty and is hunting us because of that. These Ivernian soldiers aren't that. Theyknow that our only crime is confronting a corrupt Reeve, and despite that they're still willing to kill us. Theyknow that we're innocent and are trying to kill us anyway. That makes them wicked, and thus I have no problem using lethal force to defend ourselves."

"Don't you think you're being a bit harsh?" Selene asked as she petted Thor, who was sleeping in her lap. "I see your point and even agree somewhat, but there's a world of difference between evil on purpose and being coerced into doing evil."

"The motivation is different, but the actions are the same." The dragon huntress replied. "At the end of the day, I'll judge a man by his actions. Knowingly murdering an innocent person isstill knowingly murdering an innocent person, regardless of whether you did it gleefully or regretfully."

"That doesn't leave a lot of room for repentance." Alana said. "What if someone did something wrong and later repented? Would you still think the same?"

"That's a bit different." The raven-haired woman replied. "I'm willing to forgive almost anything if someone repents -- I'd be a hypocrite if I didn't -- but we know these men aren't repentant."

"How could you possibly know that?" Beth frowned.

"Because they're still trying to kill us when they know we're innocent."

"Oh." Beth's frown deepened and she crossed her arms over her chest, but she didn't reply.

"Innocent until proven guilty." Selene interjected. "That's the cornerstone of justice, so until someone does something that's wrong, that person should enjoy the presumption of innocence. That's important."

"But it could become a bad point if you get stabbed; pun intended." Rachel interjected. "Presuming innocence makes perfect sense in a courtroom, but I won't wait for someone to hurt my friends before I defend them."

"So you would launch a preemptive strike?" Alana was looking at the redhead like she had grown a third eye.

"You didn't object when I air-rammed that fellow on Earth who was drawing a gun on you." The mage countered. "Selene is right that we should presume innocencein a courtroom. On the street, if someone comes at me with a weapon, I won't assume he has good motives; I'll defend my friends and myself with all necessary force."

"That makes sense, I'm just saying that there should be a way back from that." Alana said.

"I have no problem with that, assuming he survives." Rachel said.

"But Rachel, isn't that a bit unfair?" Beth replied. "What if a good person was attacking you and you killed him not knowing that."

"Then Illuminar will let me know at the final judgment." The redhead replied. "The Book of Light allows for self-defense, even using lethal force in self-defense."

"That does bring up an interesting point though." Ethan said, thinking about his first two days in the Ten Kingdoms. "What if soldiers attack you after being misled to think that you're evil? Consider the men who attacked Alana and me the first couple days we were in the Ten Kingdoms."

"Exactly!" Beth said. "That's part of my point."

"So, are you saying that Ethan and Alana shouldn't have defended themselves?" Kendra asked her.

"Well no." The blonde replied, deflating slightly.

"Besides, we aren't talking about the Narlotten soldiers from three months ago." The dragon huntress said, swinging the conversation back to the matter at hand. "We're talking about the Ivernian soldiers that right now are coming to kill or capture us. Would you have us surrender?"

"Of course not, but we shouldn't kill them unless we have to." Beth frowned.

"We have to." Kendra said firmly. "They have their orders and they'll try to carry them out. It's us or them, and I'm going to make damn sure it isn't us."

"But we could avoid them, then no one has to die." The blonde said, her voice rising slightly in both pitch and volume.

"And if we always run from evil men, then we'll alwaysbe running from evil men." The raven-haired woman replied. "Pacifying a bully won't discourage him; quite the opposite in fact."

"Kendra's right." Rachel interjected. "Evil men don't respond to weakness; they prey on it;feed on it. They are only defeated by strength."

"That sounds like something your father would say." Alana noted.

"Narlotten is one of the most crime-free lorddoms in the Ten Kingdoms." Rachel replied. "Just because my father is trying to kill us doesn't mean he's wrong about everything."

"But some of the punishments there are barbaric!" Beth exclaimed.

"But effective." Rachel replied simply.

The blonde's mouth fell open. "How can you say that?"

"Yeah, that sounds an awful lot like 'the ends justifies the means'." Alana added.

"I'm fine with anymoral means to achieve a good end." Rachel countered. "But if you think that Narlotten's punishments are an immoral means, then show me in the Book of Light where they are stated to be immoral."

The wood elf opened her mouth to reply, but apparently couldn't think of anything to say.

"One thing is certain: these Ivernian soldiers arenot using moral methods, but immoral ones." Kendra interjected, and Ethan couldn't help but notice that she was keeping the discussion on the immediate threat as she continued. "They are following wicked orders, and thus we have every right to defend ourselves with all necessary force. Does anyonereally think that we shouldn't defend ourselves?" The dragon huntress looked around, eventually settling her gaze on Beth.

The blonde drew her lips into a thin line, huffed slightly and crossed her arms over her chest again. "Well what if they were just following orders?"

"I don't think that 'just following orders' is a good excuse." Selene said. "Some of the worst things imaginable have been done by men who were 'just following orders'. Remind me to tell you about the Nazis and Auschwitz sometime."

"Not sure what those are, but otherwise I agree." Kendra nodded. "Wicked orders shouldn't be obeyed, and a righteous man wouldn't obey wicked orders."

Ethan was listening to the debate with great interest.

It was the first time he could think of that all his wives were disagreeing with each other about something important. Given how many of them there were, obviously they would disagree about things sometimes. It was interesting to see where the lines were drawn though. However, one of his wives hadn't weighed in yet.

"How about you honey?" Ethan asked the Fey teen on his lap. "What do you think?"

"Yes Tee, I could use some backup." Beth said, sounding relieved.

"Um, sorry Bee, but I think Kendra is right." Taloni replied. "The Book of Light says: 'Do not walk the path with the wicked, lest you be caught up with them in their sins and their judgement falls on you as well.' They know Master is a prophet of Illuminar, and they know we're innocent. I don't want anyone to die, but they are walking with the wicked and trying to kill innocent people. Illuminar doesn't like it when innocent blood is spilled."

Beth stared.

There was silence for several seconds before Beth rounded on him, hands on her hips and a challenge in her voice, as if she was daring him to disagree with her. "Well what about you Dominus?"

He chuckled.

"What?" She asked, clearly confused.

He started laughing harder at the teen who was so clearly irate and possibly even trying to intimidate him into agreeing. His laughter was shaking him enough that Taloni sat up straighter so she wasn't leaning on him, but she didn't leave his lap.

"What's so funny Dominus!" Beth said, her voice both louder and higher pitched than normal.

"You're so mad." He said through his laughter.

"Why is that funny?!" She huffed.

He looked at her; his youngest wife and the one who had the most unbridled optimism about life. He loved that about her. "Beth, promise me that you'll never change." He said with a proud smile.

The blonde cocked her head to one side and worked her mouth for several seconds, apparently not sure how to respond. "But what's your opinion?" She finally asked a bit more calmly.

"I'm just not comfortable attacking out of nowhere." He replied. "I have no problem defending myself or my wives, but I'd like to give them a chance."

"Oh?" All his wives plus Selene said at the exact same moment.

He chuckled. "Yes. First I want to see if they are still following us in the morning. If not, then I don't need to do anything. But if they are..." He pursed his lips and he considered. "If they are, then I'm going to drop in and give them one chance to turn around, go home, and stop threatening my family. If they take it, good. If not, then may God have mercy on their souls..." He looked around grimly. "Because I won't."

Everyone seemed to consider that for a moment, and Kendra was the first to speak up. "I think that's a tactical mistake, but probably the right thing to do." She hesitated for a moment. "If I was in their shoes, I would want a chance too."

"A chance for redemption before judgement." Alana said. "That's a good idea."

"I suppose if you gave them a chance..." Beth frowned and then pursed her lips, but didn't finish the thought.

"I agree with Kendra that it's a tactical mistake, but I also agree that it's the right thing to do." Rachel added.

Taloni yawned, then snuggled into him more. "I think that's very wise Master, I wish I had thought to suggest it."

"Right now, a good suggestion is bedtime." Ethan said, putting his arms under the honey-blonde and standing up. Then a thought occurred to him. "I suppose I could try to issue the warning tonight."

"I would vote on the morning." Alana said. "They might think you're attacking if you land on the ship at night. During the day it would be more obvious that you want to talk, not fight."

"But they would have a much easier time hitting him with arrows because they'll be able to see him well." Beth grimaced.

"A warning might not be necessary if they aren't able to follow the Argo." Kendra said. "You will be more vulnerable during the day, but you might not need to expose yourself at all if they aren't able to follow the Argo. So there's a chance that if you wait until the morning, they might lose us during the night. It's not a large chance since the moon is about to come out and it's a mostly cloudless night, but it's a chance."

"On the other hand." Selene interjected. "If you show up tonight you can easily escape into the darkness with almost no risk to yourself."

"I like that plan." Beth said.

"But they would be more likely to see me as a threat." Ethan frowned. "In the morning, I could fly out holding a white flag. Would that keep them from attacking, at least on the journey to the airship?"

"It should." Rachel said. "Everyone respects the white flag, so you should be able to land safely."

"I'll wait until the morning then." Ethan said after several seconds. "A dragon in full armor showing up unannounced in the dark sounds like a good way to make people panic and think it's a surprise attack. That's the opposite of what I want."

Beth opened her mouth, probably to object, but he headed her off.

"I have my 'dragon-sense' to warn me of danger and armor that can stop an orcish warbow; I should be able to get away safely even if they do attack."

"They probably will." Kendra said.

"That's a chance I'm willing to take." Ethan replied. "For now, it's bedtime." He looked at Taloni. "I do believe it's your night to sleep in my arms."

"Given what happened earlier, it would be her night even if it wasn't her night." Alana said. "But yes it is."

His other wives agreed.

Not long afterwards, they were all in the captain's cabin on the bed. Ethan wrapped his arms around the tiny Fey teen, holding her tightly and grateful that she was still here. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"What's wrong Master?" She asked. She was snuggled up against him, her arms tucked up to her chest and her head resting on his bicep.

"I'm just glad you're okay." He kissed the top of her head.

"We all are." Kendra added, and the others agreed.

"I love my family." The Fey closed her eyes and snuggled closer to him.

"We love you too." He whispered, then closed his eyes. It had been quite the day and he was glad that it was ending. He only hoped tomorrow would be better, not worse.

* * *

Sarah felt the waking world approach and smiled; she would be cooking this morning. She opened her eyes, looking up at the small port hole to see that the sky hadn't quite started to lighten yet. Getting up before daybreak had been normal at her father's inn and she was happy to be doing it again.

She got out of bed, said her morning prayers, made sure she was presentable, used the latrine, and then headed off towards the kitchens.

"You're here early." The head cook, Marge, said when she had opened the door and slipped through, closing it behind her.

No one else was there.

"Oh, am I too early?" She asked with a slight grimace.

The large woman laughed. "Ain't no such thing in cooking."

"I agree." She nodded.

"I like a girl with a good enough work ethic to come in early. I like her even more when she isn't a dunderhead when it comes to seasoning." The large woman said with a faint aura of approval in her tone.

Sarah smiled. "Where should I start?"

"Peeling potatoes." Marge replied. "We're doing potato pancakes for breakfast this morning."

"Okay." Sarah nodded, then went to tie her hair up.

The door behind her opened and she stepped out of the way as Fiona entered, also in the middle of tying her hair up.

"Oh, Sarah, you're here early." The copper haired woman broke into a smile when she saw her.

Sarah beamed back.

Fiona had smiled when she saw her, presumablybecause she had seen her. As Ethan had once said, that made her heart happy. Her heart fell slightly when she thought of him, but considering what Lady Ekthros had told her and how he had hurt Fiona...

She shook her head and then followed the copper haired girl as they went to get some potatoes to peel them.

* * *

The smell of smoke wafted into Rachel's nose as she drifted back to the waking world. She snapped her eyes open, but couldn't see anything smoking. She lifted her head and looked around, but didn't see any smoke at all. Judging by the semi-darkness outside the window, it was too early for Anthiel to have started the breakfast fire too. Where was that faint smoky smell coming from?

Hmm.

She frowned and set her head back down, only to notice the beautifully chaotic mess of chocolate brown hair in front of her. She woke up every morning with the wonderful wood elf in her arms and couldn't believe how lucky she was to have that.

She sighed.

As she looked at her best friend, she had a sudden urge to kiss her on the forehead. She didn't know why, but she wanted to. The brunette had the most beautiful skin; sun-kissed, soft, and smooth. It was strange; during the waking hours the redhead found herself having a hard time looking at the wood elf for any length of time. But now, while she was sleeping... She smiled; she couldn't tear her eyes away.