A Dragon's Tale Ch. 46

He sighed.

"What my lord?" She said as she looked at him. Rachel preferred to sleep facing him, while his other wives liked to spoon with him being the big spoon.

"I'm just thinking." He replied. "I should feel so incredibly lucky holding a different amazing woman every night, but sometimes I feel bereft instead."

"Oh?" Her eyes widened slightly and he could almost see the panic behind her eyes.

"I wish I could hold you all every night." He said softly, then gently stroked her cheek.

Her eyes calmed and she smiled at him. "At least you have your wings."

"That I do, and a wise redhead too." He kissed her forehead and she sighed. She tucked her arms up against her chest and snuggled closer to him, and he responded by wrapping his arms a bit more tightly around her. She snuggled her head up under his chin and completely relaxed into him. On her other side, Alana was snuggled with her back to the redhead's back.

*This is so easy with you.* Rachel thought to him, either because her voice would've been muffled or because she wanted privacy.

*Yeah, I know what you mean.* He gently nuzzled his chin against the top of her head.

The redhead hesitated. *You really don't mind if two of your wives are attracted to each other?*

*Not in the slightest. In fact, I think it would be wonderful.*

The redhead nodded. *It's simple with you, but I... I like...*

*You like Alana. I already know.*

*Is that okay?*

*More than okay.* He replied, then started gently stroking her back. Not in an arousing way, but in what he hoped was a calming and soothing way. She let out a soft sigh and snuggled closer, though he wasn't sure how she managed that given how close they were already.

*How's it going with Alana by the way?* He asked.

*I don't know.* The redhead replied. *I don't know what to do.*

*Well, this might help.* He replied. *I'm going to ask you a question, and I want you to reply with the first thing that comes to your mind.* He thought to her.

*Okay my lord.*

*What do you want to happen with Alana?*

Suddenly, the redhead tensed up. He almost smiled; she did tend to get stuck in her head and freeze on emotional issues. He continued his soothing rub of her back and she slowly relaxed.

*What was the first thing you thought of?* He finally asked once she'd relaxed a bit.

She stiffened slightly again.

*Rachel, you can tell me.* He thought to her softly.

There was a several second pause before she replied. *I can't.*

He chuckled. *You can, but please don't feel like you have to."

*Thank you.* The redhead replied.

*Night.* He thought to her, then yawned and closed his eyes.

It was almost a full minute later before Rachel replied again. *I want to kiss Alana goodnight.*

*I know she'd love that.* He smiled, then added impishly. *Especially if you used tongue.*

*I didn't mean like that!* The redhead buried her head in his chest, and he guessed her cheeks were closer to the color of her roots than her hair. *I just meant, you know, a kiss to say goodnight.*

*Why don't you?*

*I... I would have to ask first, and I couldn't.*

*Well, I know you'll make her incredibly happy when you do ask.*

*Really?* She looked up at him, her pale blue eyes shining with hope.

*Absolutely.* He grinned back at her. *She'll be on cloud nine for a week.*

Rachel smiled, and it was one of those 'trying-not-to-smile-but-smiling-anyway' kind of smiles. *Thank you my lord.*

*You're welcome beautiful.*

A part of him wanted to ask Alana on Rachel's behalf, but he knew that was the wrong move. This was something the redheaded teen needed to do for herself. She needed to want it enough to ask despite her embarrassment. He figured it would take her a little while to summon her courage, but he didn't think it would take too long given the longing he could feel from her over their bond.

* * *

Sarah stared at the bit of paper that Fiona had written on. The copper-haired woman had started teaching her to read immediately, starting with the alphabet.

"But why do 'p' and 'h' together sound like 'f'?" The innkeeper's daughter said. "That doesn't make any sense. Why wouldn't you just use an 'f'?"

"Aye, it doesn't make sense at all does it?" Fiona replied. "If I had a copper for everything in the common tongue that didn't make sense, I'd be rivaling the Lord Delmar in wealth." Her accent made 'lord' sound like 'lard'.

The innkeeper's daughter slowly shook her head. "Okay, well at least I know that in advance."

"Aye, 'tis a good thing you're forewarned because it's more confusing later."

"Thank you." Sarah said, trying to remember all the names of all the letters. "I never thought I would ever learn to read, and this is just..." She beamed. "...it's so wonderful and I can't thank you enough."

"I'm happy to be helping." The copper hair woman smiled back. "And it'll be nice to be having someone else in the kitchens who isn't afraid of a little work."

"I really like cooking, and I'm looking forward to it too."

Sarah left Fiona's room not long afterwards, still holding the small piece of paper on which the copper haired woman had written the alphabet of the common tongue. She couldn't remember all of them yet, but she was determined to go over them every possible second until she knew them by heart.

She tried to figure out something that she could do to thank Fiona as she slipped into her own room. The woman had been so kind to her and she really wanted to do something, but had no idea what to do. She thought about it as she got ready for bed, eventually remembering how Fiona wanted to get her deceased husband's letter enchanted to be self-repairing.

That was something she could do.

She could save up her coppers and pay for someone to enchant it for Fiona. She smiled as she slipped into bed, imagining the look on the other woman's face at the surprise. She hoped that would be a good thank you gift, and thought it might be.

* * *

Ethan felt the bed shift under him, which was probably what had stirred him from his sleep. He opened his eye to see that while it was still dark outside, the sky had started to lighten in the pre-dawn hours. He looked around to see Kendra slipping her dress on near the bed, though the rest of his wives were still asleep.

*How's my good girl this morning?* He thought to her.

She jumped slightly, then gave him a smile. *She's...* The raven-haired woman paused a moment. *She's pensive.*

*Oh?*

She nodded, but didn't elaborate.

He looked down to check on Rachel and saw exactly what he expected to see. Her lower half was still snuggled up against him, but her upper half had moved away just enough that she could also snuggle with Alana. The brunette and redhead had rested their foreheads together during the night, and they looked incredibly adorable laying there sleeping.

He smiled, then looked up at his raven-haired wife.

*I was about to do my morning exercises Drago, did you want to join me?*

*Absolutely.* He slowly and carefully slipped out of bed and all his wives seemed to start stirring.

"Go back to sleep." He whispered to them. "I'm just stretching my legs with Kendra."

His other wives seemed to settle at this, readjusted, and then dozed off again. Ethan would never cease to be amazed at the ability of a woman to wake when her man got out of bed. It was almost like a sixth sense.

*Come on.* He headed towards the door and opened it, holding it open for Kendra. She smiled at him as she walked through.

The air was pretty warm for early morning, though that wasn't surprising since it was summer in the Ten Kingdoms. The sky was dotted with clouds but it looked like it would be sunny and warm. Frankly, it was shaping up to be a bit too warm for his taste.

"Hang on Kendra, let me check on Beth." He said, then thought to the blonde. *How are you doing angel?*

His second wife didn't respond for several seconds. *I'm...* There was a long pause before she spoke again. *The airships decided to go home Dominus. The men seemed very nervous and the captain said that he had lost us in the night. I think they might've been able to follow us if they really wanted to though.*

Ethan frowned, not missing her avoidance of his question. *Okay, thanks for letting me know. But how areyou doing?*

*I'm...* She didn't finish her thought for several seconds. *I'm uh...* The blonde trailed off, not finishing her sentence but her tone spoke volumes.

*Okay.* He said, wanting to acknowledge her but not knowing what to say otherwise. *Do you want me to come get you?*

*I would love that Dominus.* She replied. *I don't like it here.*

*Okay, I'll be there soon.* He turned to Kendra.

"You need to go get Beth." The dragon huntress stated.

He nodded. "How'd you know?"

"She helped kill someone for the first time yesterday. That can have a strange effect on a person."

He looked at her. "How about you?"

She inclined her head as if in concession. "I'm a cold-blooded killer Ethan, but I wasn't always one."

"Cold blooded?" He raised his eyebrow.

She nodded. "I don't talk about my past for a reason. I'm not ashamed of it, but it's not the sort of thing I want to advertise to the others because they wouldn't understand. They don't know what it's like to look into a man's eyes as his life leaves him because of your blade. That sort of thing stays with you."

He inclined his head in concession, noting that her tone was casual; like they were discussing the weather.

"If you do it long enough, it won't even bother you." She continued, her tone so neutral that it must be intentional. "That's when it gets scary."

He looked at her for a long moment. "Those scars are more than skin deep, aren't they?"

Kendra nodded.

He nodded his head slowly for a moment, then looked at her significantly. "I still love you, scars and all."

"I know." She gave him a half smile which faded quickly. "Sometimes I don't know why, but I know."

He looked at her for several long seconds. "I never thought I'd find myself married to a former assassin."

The corners of Kendra's mouth twitched up for a moment before she raised an eyebrow and said in a deadpan voice. "Aformer assassin?"

He chuckled. "Why Mrs. Ejder, was that a joke?"

She smiled, and it reached into her eyes. "I am Mrs. Ejder, aren't I?"

"You are." He nodded. "Though I confess whenever I call one of my wives that, I think of my mom."

Kendra's smile widened for a moment, then it faded somewhat. "There's another Mrs. Ejder who needs a ride right now."

"Sorry, I had been planning to exercise with you."

"Another day?" She asked with some hope in her voice.

He nodded. "It's a date."

* * *

Beth glanced in the direction of the Argo every few seconds as she waited for her husband to come get her. She couldn't see the Argo since it had sailed quite far away, but she knew roughly where it was. She paced back and forth on the second airship's deck, the other airship having been disabled and left behind in the forest.

But while she was constantly scanning the purple-hued horizon of the Astral Plane for Ethan, her thoughts were on the previous day.

Her mind seemed entirely consumed with the reaction of the first mage that Ethan had killed yesterday. The look on his face as he had floated upwards towards the light was... she couldn't think of the words. He had asked if she was an angel, but the blonde found herself wondering if she was closer to Illuminar's angel of death, Balyera.

She didn't like that.

Not at all.

Last night had also been disturbing; more disturbing if that was possible. She had lured a man to his death. She had intentionally gotten the last mage into a position where Ethan could kill him. And while she hadn't thrown the javelin, she might as well have thrown it.

She had killed a man.

Three men actually, and the one had genuinely seemed surprised to find out that Ethan wasn't a bad guy. That made her feel sick to her stomach. What if she had helped kill a good man? Good men?

*Hey angel, I'm almost there.* Her husband thought to her.

She almost winced. She had always loved it when he called her angel before. Now... Now it was a reminder of something that she very much wanted to forget. That first mage had thought she was an angel and the association was sticking in her mind. She didn't like that it was, but it was.

She swallowed hard.

*You okay?* He thought to her again when she didn't reply.

*I'm...* She bit her lip, knowing that he hated it when she was less than honest. *I'm not sure I am.*

She looked towards the horizon again and finally saw her husband flying incredibly fast towards her. For some reason, he always flew much faster on the astral plane. Moments later he dropped down on the deck next to her and pulled her close. She didn't resist and hugged him back fiercely.

"I missed you." She said after several moments.

"And I you." He pulled back just slightly to look into her eyes. "How are you doing?"

Beth swallowed and looked down. She wanted to tell him all about it, and yet she didn't want to at the same time. She wanted him to know, and yet she wanted him to never find out.

"I don't know." She finally whispered.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

She hesitated then shook her head. "Not now. Maybe later?"

Ethan took a deep breath -- which wasn't actually necessary on the Astral Plane -- and let it out slowly. "Okay, but I'm always here to talk when you're ready."

"I know, and thank you." She felt her heart lighten a bit and the corners of her mouth twitched up slightly.

"Come on angel; let's get you home."

The trace of a smile disappeared from her face when he called her angel. "Um, Dominus; can I make a really strange request, and can you not ask why I'm making it?"

He scrutinized her for a moment before replying. "You can ask, I can't promise I'll grant the request though."

"Can..." She bit her lip. "...just for a little while, can you not call me 'angel'?"

He stared at her for several long seconds. He opened his mouth to speak and she could see the question 'why?' forming, but he stopped.

"Okay Beth." He nodded, then gave her a piercing look. "But at some point you need to talk about this with someone. It doesn't have to be me -- maybe Anthiel, and Kendra would be a good choice too -- but I can tell this is really bothering you and you should talk to someone about it."

"I know, I will." She said, but she didn't really want to for some reason. It just felt like too much and she didn't know how to process it at all. She didn't know what to think, or evenhow to think about it. She wanted to talk about it with Ethan, but didn't know how to.

Well, that wasn't true.

She knew she could tell him and he'd listen, but she just couldn't bring herself to.

Not yet.

* * *

Ethan swallowed the last bite of breakfast and glanced at Beth for the millionth time that morning. The usually bright and cheerful teen was noticeably subdued and had barely said a word since returning to the Argo. She would answer a question if asked, but not with her usual exuberance. In fact, she rarely gave more than monosyllabic answers all morning.

"Ethan." Kendra spoke up. "I have an idea I wanted to suggest, but everyone would need to agree."

"What's the idea?" He asked.

"Taloni getting shot made me think that one day it might bevery dangerous that only one of your wives is good at healing. I really think we should all be at least proficient. Rachel and I are okay, but we could certainly be better." She looked at the redhead. "No offense."

"None taken." Rachel replied. "It's entirely true; I'm better at breaking things than fixing them."

"I think it's a good idea, though I'm not looking forward to practicing." Alana said with a sigh and glanced at Selene, who'd been regularly getting poked with a needle so she had something on which to practice healing.

There was a momentary silence where everyone looked at Beth, but the blonde didn't say anything and frankly seemed oblivious to the conversation.

"Beth?" Ethan said gently.

"Hmm?" She looked up at him, her deep blue eyes were pools of confusion and something else that he couldn't place.

"Would you be okay learning how to heal yourself and others, just in case something happens in the future?" Ethan asked.

"Sure." She shrugged, but her mind was obviously elsewhere and she was clearly just agreeing to agree. He resisted the impulse to grimace; Beth sounded almost completely disinterested in learning something new.

That wasn't good.

The rest of his wives seemed to notice as well. They exchanged worried glances for a several seconds before Kendra swung the conversation back to the topic at hand.

"It would be good for you to learn as well Drago." Kendra pointed out.

"You're not wrong." He nodded, his mind still on Beth despite recognizing Kendra's idea could be very important in the future. "I can heal myself, but the only time I've ever tried healing someone else was Alana after that incident in Lord Borden's vault. I wasn't very good at it and it took a lot of mana." He looked at Rachel. "You can take care of the teaching aspect I hope?"

"Yes my lord." The redhead nodded.

He looked at Tee. "And since you're brilliant at healing, I'm sure your input would be greatly appreciated."

"Happily Master."

"In other magical news." Alana said. "I was going to start enchanting that strip of dragon leather into a travel bow. I want to make a test version in regular leather first, then get the initial enchantments done on the travel bow either late today or early tomorrow. However, I'll need some donated mana to get all that done."

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and Alana behind a bow is a lot more than an ounce." Selene said. "I vote we all donate mana to Alana so she can get it done today, then practice healing tomorrow or the day after..." She made a face. "...or the day after that."

Ethan chuckled. "Tired of getting poked?"

The Brazilian beauty nodded.

"I never get tired of being poked... sir." Alana grinned slyly at him.

Taloni giggled while Rachel and Kendra exchanged significant looks and slightly embarrassed smiles. Selene just rolled her eyes.

Beth didn't react at all.

"Actually, mana from just one person would be enough to start." The wood elf said, then looked at Rachel. "Would you be willing to help? Donate mana that is?"

*Deep mana or regular mana?* Ethan thought to her with an impish grin, causing the elf to shoot him a look.

"I'd be happy to." The redhead replied.

"Did you want to watch?" Alana asked Beth. "You know, see how it's done?"

"Eh, I'm tired." The blonde shrugged with near complete disinterest. "I might just take a nap."

Everyone stared at her, a fact of which she seemed oblivious.

*She's not okay, is she?* Alana thought to Ethan.

He looked at his first wife with a grimace and subtly shook his head. *Any idea how to help?*

*Not really.* The wood elf replied. *Perhaps Anthiel might?*

*Maybe.* He was trying not to worry about the blonde teen, but it was hard. The worst part was that he didn't know what to do.

"Master?" Taloni looked at him. "Could we take our usual morning fly this morning? We missed it the last few days because of the service and then I was injured; I've missed it."

He smiled at his third wife despite what was going on with his second. "Absolutely."

They left not long after.

It was wonderful.

They hadn't taken their usual morning fly in a couple days and he was enjoying it, but his mind slipped back onto Beth regularly.

"Bee isn't doing well, is she?" Taloni asked once they were away from the Argo, flying relatively low over the range of large hills. They were flying away from the enemy airships and keeping low to make sure they weren't spotted. The odds of that were practically non-existent, but he didn't want to tempt fate.