A Dragon's Tale Ch. 52

"So you are sitting here wallowing in self-pity because you didn't succeed the first time you tried something?" Lucian asked pointedly.

Matthew frowned for a moment and then nodded.

"Matthew, do you have any idea how common failure is among men?" The lord asked.

"Well, now that you mention it, pretty common." Matthew admitted.

"You speak correctly." Lucien said. "I have failed countless times in my life and I am not alone. I am certain that Arven and Ethan would testify to the same about their own lives."

They both nodded.

"Matthew, you are neither God nor angel, neither perfect nor flawless." Lucien continued. "You will fail countless times in your life even when you give it your very best effort. That is what it means to be mortal, to be fallible. None is infallible except Illuminar Himself -- blessed be He."

"Blessed be He." Matthew echoed.

"The thing that separates the boys from the men -- the mere males from true men of worth and character -- is not if they fail, for they all fail. The thing that separates boys and mere males from true men is their response to their failure. True men pick themselves up after failure and try again. We often need help picking ourselves up, for no man is an island that is self-sufficient and can supply all of his own needs. We often need our family, friends, and allies to pick ourselves up." Lucien leaned forward. "But in the end, all the help in the world is meaningless if you are determined not to take it, as you appear to be now."

Matthew was looking at Lord Kalus like he'd never heard a speech like that before. Ethan personally would never have taken that approach -- it was a bit harsh even if Lord Kalus was entirely right -- but it seemed to be having an effect. The young man had cocked his head to one side slightly, and Ethan could almost see the wheels turning in his head.

"It's time to decide if you are a man or a mere boy." Lucien said, his tone conveying a call to greatness rather than a put-down. "It's time to grow up and become a man. Square your shoulders, admit your failures, get the help of your family, friends, and allies, and then -- if the cause is just and noble -- rejoin the fight. If you are half the man I believe you to be, you will rise to the challenge."

Matthew sat up a little straighter.

His shoulders became a little more square.

The edge of a smile appeared on his face as Ethan saw the lightbulb click on behind his eyes.

Matthew got it.

He really got it.

Ethan could almost see the fire reignite behind Matthew's eyes as he nodded slowly and pensively.

Thor stood up, rubbed against him once more, and then hopped down off the young man's lap, apparently sensing that his services were no longer required.

Smart kitty.

"I take it you've heard a speech or two like this one before?" Ethan said to Taiven, who had been there the entire time, watching and listening without saying a word but with obviously rapt attention.

"Yes sir." He nodded with a smile.

Ethan smiled back, thinking that if Lucien was raising his son with speeches like these, he would probably become a good man. Given that the kid had all but vowed to marry Rachel's firstborn daughter, he found the fatherly part of himself approving greatly.

* * *

Sarah sat on her bed in their room, painfully aware that it would be her last night in the room. She was holding her pillow wrapped in her arms, her head facing one side as she rested her cheek on it. The few possessions that she owned and had with her were laid out on the bed next to her. It was only two dresses and two pairs of shoes since she was currently wearing the third dress she owned. Ironically, all had been gifted to her from Lady Ekthros.

"You can be using this." Fiona offered, holding up what looked like a carpet bag with two straps on it. "You can be wearing it like this." She slipped one arm through each strap so the carpetbag part sat on her back. "It was Sean's, so please be considering it a loan, meaning you'll have to be coming back to return it if you can."

Sarah gave her a small smile. "I'll take good care of it."

"Good, but be making sure that you're taking good care of yourself too." The copper-haired woman replied kindly.

Sarah nodded. "Maybe it's for the best. I'm a betrothed woman; my place is with my future husband."

"How will he react when you get back?" Amy asked. "He won't be upset, will he?"

"No." She shook her head. "He's a good, honest man. He'll let me tell him the story and then say something gruff and blunt and it'll be fine."

The corners of Amy's mouth pulled upwards slightly at that comment. "You said that before; that he's a good man, but very honest and blunt."

"He is; maybe a little too honest and blunt. But at least I won't ever wonder what he's thinking and he won't ever play games with me like--" She stopped, having almost said 'like Lady Ekthros did', but she didn't want to explain all of that to Amy. "--like other people have done."

"He sounds really nice." Amy said with a note of wistfulness in her tone.

"He's..." Sarah sighed. "I think I could learn to love him. I think."

"That doesn't sound hard." Amy said, almost to herself.

Sarah suppressed a smile at the artistic girl's reaction.

"Do you know how you'll be getting there?" Fiona asked. "That's a mighty long way to be walking by yourself, and you'll be needing a ferry to cross the river."

"I know, I have a few coppers from working here, but not much since I haven't been here long." The innkeeper's daughter replied. "Maybe if I could find a trader who is already going that way I could go with him? I know how to cook, maybe I could do that in exchange for food?"

"Maybe?" Fiona replied. "I'm not really knowing. I never did travel much, except to here in Karnas and that was by a Narlotten military airship."

"It will be okay." Sarah said. "I don't know how I'll manage, but Illuminar -- blessed be He -- will take care of me."

"I wish I had that much faith." Amy said.

"Getting it wasn't fun." Sarah pointed out. "But I've learned that He knows what we need even before we ask. I'll be fine." For a moment, Sarah felt a smile on her face.

Then she remembered that she was leaving.

The smile faded.

"I'm going to be missing you." Fiona said.

Sarah nodded. "I know the feeling; both of you."

Not much was said after that.

Amy and Fiona helped Sarah pack what little she owned into the strange carpet bag that fit on her back. After that, there wasn't much else to do except go to bed. Sarah lay awake in her bed longer than was probably wise given that she would be traveling tomorrow, but sleep was slow in coming.

As she lay there thinking about leaving, she could feel her eyes getting watery. With the exception of Selene, Fiona and Amy were the best friends she'd ever had even though she hadn't known either of them very long. She'd only known Amy for a couple of days and already she was feeling her heart ache. It ached even worse when she thought about leaving Fiona. She would never be able to properly thank her for everything she had done.

She thought about the journey, traveling, and even the possibility of meeting Ethan again.

That brought a smile to her face.

Of course, as she thought about Ethan she also remembered the woman who had tried to turn her against him. She still couldn't believe that she'd misjudged Lady Ekthros so badly. The woman was likely trying to create demon-possessed soldiers and...

Sarah frowned as something occurred to her. If Lady Ekthros had told Tia and Mia about the demon, then obviously the 'lady' wanted her out of Karnas. The only question was why. Was she worried that Sarah would say something? If so, would she do something to ensure she didn't talk?

Sarah frowned as she considered that.

Would she do something?

If so, what?

TO BE CONTINUED...

Note: This chapter began and ended on day 99 of Ethan's life in the Ten Kingdoms. I really enjoyed writing the dinner scene and getting together the characters from Strange Bedfellows with our ADT cast. I've also enjoyed showing how Shara, Lyra, and Kalus have matured since SB ended. Hopefully you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it. :)

I submit new chapters on the last Wednesday of every month, and they usually drop after the 2-3 days review process. Thus I'll submit the next chapter on December 27th, and it'll probably drop on the 29th or 30th.

I'd like to extend a very special thanks to two of my patrons, one of whom didn't want to be credited by name. So "Anonymous" and Joseph: thank you so much for your support. I really appreciate it.

STORY TAGS: dragon, magic, medieval, elf, teen, romance, virgin, harem, cuckquean