Fledgling Demigod Ch. 07

As he silently read his eyes got bigger and bigger until he was openly gaping. He looked up at his goddess in Lucinda form. "Is this, for real?" he asked.

She rolled her eyes and snapped her fingers in his face. "Yes!" she said, turning away from him to walk toward the door. "Now hurry up! They're already at the city gates and about to be escorted straight to the castle!"

He regarded her for a long moment. Little by little his face began to fall. Tears clouded his vision and he choked back a sob. "Lilith?" he asked.

"Ew, no," she said turning back to him. "That's not even close. I-" She stopped when she saw his face. He looked so miserable and crestfallen, but mostly just he looked like a man who'd lost everything he ever loved in his life.

"I can't do this," he whispered huskily. "How am I supposed to just keep going pretending what happened didn't happen."

She approached him and pulled him into an embrace, pulling his head down to her shoulder. "Oh, my Hero; my Champion; my Herald; my Priest," she said with sorrow and love as he began to cry. "My love, whatever I can do for you I will. As a newly ascended goddess my power is limited. However, whatever you need, if it is within the scope of my power, I will give it to you."

He took a deep breath and sighed as his grip on her loosened. "A lighthouse," he whispered.

She stiffened and straightened in surprise. Confused, she asked, "How is a lighthouse going to help you? There isn't any water near."

Pulling back from her he said, "Not that kind of lighthouse." Then he explained. "When I was little I'd spend a few weeks out of every summer at my grandmother's house. There is a song she used to sing every Sunday morning and evening, and Wednesday evening, before church." He chuckled at the memory. "Not saying I believe in God but I swear the words to that song are etched in the side of my skull."

"You should believe in Him," his goddess said. "He's real. But, go on."

"Well, the song spoke of someone who was tossed around life's sea and when they were at the end of their rope, the lighthouse would appear to help guide them back to shore. Or something like that. It mentioned Jesus being the lighthouse for those lost souls." He closed his eyes again as a fresh wave of tears threatened to fall from his eyes. "When I got transported here, I lost the love of my life," he explained. "Then, a new love entered and gave me hope and love. I had a direction, a purpose. Then, I lost that love, too, as well as the future I'd planned for the three of us."

She cupped his cheeks with her hands and wiped the tears as they started to fall again, but she didn't say anything. He looked at her. His eyes were pleading for even the barest hint of hope. "I'm drifting on an open sea with no sail, no oars, and no knowledge of how to sail a ship," he said. "I've got my hand on the helm and seemingly using all of my strength to keep from being washed overboard by waves so big they should have swallowed me up long ago. I need a lighthouse, goddess. I need a direction. I need a purpose."

She smiled at him and kissed him. Not on the cheek. Not on the forehead as a mother would, but on the lips. With that kiss all Galen's uncertainties washed away. Despair was replaced by hope. Pain was replaced with love. Fear was replaced with knowledge. Galen straightened when she'd parted from his lips. The kiss had been sensual, loving, and carried with it a hint of lust that he didn't expect. "Then start with this," she said and held up a piece of parchment.

He looked at it and his face fell again. "I can't-" he started.

"You can," she said, interrupting him. "Nothing you do from this moment forward will take away the pain of losing Miranda and Matilda, much less your unborn children but this," she rustled the parchment slightly to emphasize her point. "will help to soothe those wounds. Bit by bit you'll learn to accept and move on. This will help. Trust me, my Champion."

He gave a resigned sigh and said, "If you're certain."

"I am," she said, smiling wide and kissing him again. Then, doing a complete one-eighty on his brain said, "Now get dressed. Oh, fuck. You're late."

Snapping her fingers Galen lurched forward as if he was going to be sick. He was suddenly on his throne in the Great Hall. Lucinda was just behind and to his right. "My lord?" she asked, placing a tentative hand on his shoulder. "Are you alright?"

Grunting and taking a deep breath he said, "Yes, I'm fine."

Then, as he straightened, mentally he said, ["Physically anyway. What the hell was that?"]

["Later"], his goddess said in his head. ["That pretty much tapped me out, by the way. I'll be here to offer advice if you need it but I'll need the day to rest before appearing again."]

Grumbling, Galen said out of the corner of his mouth to Lucinda, "I need to talk to you, if you're willing."

"Of course, my lord," she said, though she sounded anatomic.

To Galen, she had every right to be pissed. "Lunch when our audience is over?"

"As you will, my lord," she said.

Galen started to reply something to the effect of not my will this time, but was interrupted by the door from the outer room opening. A maid entered and curtseyed. She was shaking from head to toe but managed to get out a brief announcement. "My lord, I present Queen Drag... uh..." she hesitated as she flushed crimson at the mispronunciation. A faint whisper could be heard behind the maid as she tried again. "I present Queen Dru'skila (DRUH-skilluh) of Dragonmount, her daughter, Princess Pru'skila (PRUH-skilluh) of Dragonmount, last surviving members of their species, and their steeds... er... Una (OOnuh) and Ula (OOluh)." The maid curtseyed again then took off like a shot, forgetting to close the doors behind the ladies and their mounts.

"Is it customary for mounts to enter a royal court?" Galen asked Lucinda in a quiet whisper.

"No," she whispered back.

Realizing that's all the answer he was going to get, he turned back to the women that entered the hall. The first that entered, he could tell, was older, yet lithe on her feet. Since she entered first he could only assume she was Queen Dru'skila. She walked with the grace and poise of someone who had visited countless kingdoms. She was petite with bright red hair and crimson eyes. She wore no clothes to speak of but was covered by small luminescent scales the color of her hair on most of her body. Her breasts were small but firm above a well muscled torso and her scales traveled up to just above her breasts, leaving her neck and upper shoulders bare. She had a narrow waist and her hips only marginally flared out past her waist. Galen was also surprised to see she wore no footwear. Her bare feet padded silently on the stone floor.

By comparison, her counterpart, assumedly Princess Pru'skila, looked remarkably similar, although younger and with purple hair, eyes, and scales instead of red. Her breasts were slightly bigger as well and the swell of her hips were slightly more pronounced. She also was almost imperceptibly taller.

"My ladies," Galen said as he stood and bowed slightly. "Welcome to Castle Spellthorn. I hope your journey was a pleasant one."

Queen Dru'skila smiled and bowed in return. "It was, Duke Galen," she said and when her daughter only slightly bowed her head, she shot her a warning glare. The princess rolled her eyes and bowed at the waist. "My apologies for my daughter's lack of proper etiquette," she said eyeing the younger woman.

Pru'skila, for her part, just stood there still as a statue. "It's quite alright," Galen said as he eyed the younger woman with a smile. "These formal customs bore me as well, though I understand proper etiquette must be observed."

Galen's mouth gaped open when the women's mounts finally entered. They were the size of horses, but had the bodies of a panther. They were a dark blue in color with smooth skin. They had no fur or hair to speak of, but had what appeared to be scales that shimmered as they walked, giving the illusion of lights dancing along their flanks. They had long, cat-like tails that swayed lazily behind them.

The only thing that indicated to Galen that they weren't overgrown house cats was their heads. They were draconic in nature with small horns on top of their heads where a horse's ears would be. Their snouts were long and ridged with small spikes protruding out each side of the lower jaw and at a slightly downward angle. One of them yawned lazily as they stopped beside their companions and Galen saw razor-sharp teeth on the upper and lower jaw with a serpent-like tongue.

"Wow," Galen whispered in awe. "They're beautiful."

"Stupid human," Pru'skila muttered.

"Daughter!" Dru'skila chastised hotly, but Galen raised a hand.

The princess' blatant lack of decorum brought him out of his reverie for the beautiful creatures. "If I may, your highness," Galen said. "Let her keep digging her grave."

The purple haired princess snorted. "I suppose you think you're the one that will end my life?" she asked, sneering with laughter.

"First of all," Galen said. "It's figure of speech. Meant to warn the offending party of impending doom. I don't want to have to kill you."

["Please don't,"] his goddess said in his head. ["You can't fuck a dead dragon."]

"Second of-" Galen froze at what his goddess said. He was leaning forward to emphasize his point, his lips still in the moments of uttering the last word he spoke, and with one hand in the air and a finger pointed upward.

His goddess giggled merrily. ["Thanks for that,"] she said. ["I got a trickle of power with that reaction."]

"Did... did we break him?" Pru'skila asked, confused, as she looked at Lucinda. Lucinda's only response was the barest hint of a shrug.

["What did you just say?"] Galen asked the sometimes annoying woman in his head.

["Don't be such a prude,"] she said. ["And you're acting like a bad host. Pay attention."]

Galen blinked and relaxed slightly. "Ahh. My apologies. Er," he stammered, then sighed as he sat back in his chair. "Would it be overly impudent of me to request we dispense with the formalities and speak openly?"

The older woman smiled softly at him. "Not at all, Lord Galen," she replied.

"Where are my manners?" Galen said. "I've not had breakfast yet. Would you care to join me?"

Pru'skila snorted and rolled her eyes. "Your ignorance is astounding," she said. "Are we speaking with a child who's not yet learned to talk?" Turning to her mother, she said, "Please, Mother. Can we just get what we came for and leave?"

"Oh?" the red haired matron said with a snide grin. "So quick to spread our legs are we?" The younger woman blushed slightly but didn't otherwise respond.

["Get angry,"] his goddess said. ["But be respectful."]

["I'm already angry,"] he told her. ["How in the hell am I supposed to be respectful about it?"]

["She thinks you're unworthy to speak to her,"] she replied. ["Show her you not only are worthy, but you're more than a match for her as well."]

["How?"] Galen asked.

["Something simple,"] she said. ["Yet respectful."]

As the silence in the room grew, Galen's gaze hardened. "I propose a demonstration," Galen finally said.

"Oh?" Pru'skila replied with detached disdain. "What kind of demonstration? Are you going to prance around like a happy puppy and bark at us for a treat?"

Dru'skila had her face in her hands. "Daughter," she warned softly.

"No," Galen said, and grinned. "Though I can if you'd like. Perhaps we could smell each other's butts and familiarize ourselves with our scents?"

["Oh,"] his goddess said. ["I like that. That feels amazing."]

"No," Galen said when Pru'skila's face went dark purple in rage. "I propose a simple demonstration of strength. If you win, I let you do whatever it is you came here to do to me. Then, you can be on your way."

"Agreed," Pru'skila said.

"Daughter," Dru'skila said, exasperated. "At least hear the remainder of the terms." Turning to Galen, she said. "I do apologize, Lord Galen. She is young and rather impulsive at times."

"So what you're saying is she's a spoiled little bitch," Galen said.

"YOU DARE!" the purple haired woman roared.

"I can deal with that," Galen said, continuing as if the princess hadn't uttered a word. "If I win, you become my vassal for the period of one year. Agreed?"

"Lord Galen!" Dru'skila said with a gasp.

"AGREED!" the princess yelled.

The Queen of Dragonmount sighed in resignation. "Neither of you know what you're getting yourselves into."

["Oh, this is gonna be goooood,"] the voice inside Galen's head preened.

"Impulsive indeed," Galen said. Turning to Lucinda he said, "How hard would it be to have these chairs brought down to the audience level?"

"It would take six men for each, my lord," she replied. "And that's with sliding them across the cobbles. They're solid gold."

"Huh," Galen said, then looked at the chair on his right, the one Miranda always sat at when he'd held court. His eyes flashed in longing for a moment. Then, picking the chair up with some effort, he carried it down and placed it behind Pru'skila.

Not to be outdone, the purple haired beauty stalked to the chair to Galen's left and lifted it, although with markedly more difficulty, and placed it behind her matron. She looked up and smirked at Galen when she sat it down. In her anger, she failed to realize that a human shouldn't have been capable of lifting either of the chairs. However, he was now walking toward them with his own much larger throne in his arms. He was doing so with incredible difficulty, and the throne clanged loudly as he put it down before the women. Without a word, the princess sat in her chair and huffed annoyingly as she crossed her arms.

"I do hope that wasn't the demonstration you mentioned," she said.

"Not at all," Galen said with a grin. "Lucinda, my love, would you have a table brought in?"

"Certainly, my lord," she said and bowed before leaving the room.

"As to you calling me ignorant," Galen said to the princess. "That's not the insult you intended it to be. I'm ignorant, yes, but I'm not stupid."

"They're one and the same," The princess replied curtly.

"Please, my lady" Galen said to Dru'skila and motioned to the chair her daughter brought for her. The red-haired woman sat, her face flushed with worry, though she kept silent. "Yet another thing you need to be corrected in, princess," Galen said. "Ignorance is the lack of knowledge. Everyone is ignorant of one thing or another. Stupidity, however, is the refusal to act upon the knowledge you possess. Stupid, I am not. Ignorant I will be until the day I die. What about you?"

["Oh I am having the time of my life right now,"] his goddess said happily.

["What are you? The goddess of mischief or something?"] Galen asked.

["Now that you mention it, yes,"] she replied.

Pru'skila scoffed again. "Stupid human," she said.

"Spoiled brat," Galen replied with a good-natured grin.

She fumed at him and turned her head away. Una and Ula, meanwhile, had moved to the side of the room. They watched with seeming curiosity while the stupid human insulted a dragon. When the table arrived and was placed between the three, Galen asked for a meal to be brought. "I'm famished," he said. "Are you hungry?" he asked his guests.

Pru'skila rolled her eyes at him again. "What part of 'Your ignorance is astounding' did you not understand the first time?" she asked with annoyance.

"And what part of 'ignorance is not an insult' did you not understand?" Galen shot back. "I do not mean to insult, your highness," Galen said to Dru'skila. "but wouldn't logic warrant an explanation to relieve me of my ignorance so I don't inadvertently cause a blood-feud?"

"If you must know," the princess said before her mother could even have a chance at answering. "Dragons can go for long periods between meals and we ate just yesterday."

"Very well, then," Galen said. "Thank you for enlightening my feeble mind. Now, to the demonstration of strength?" He placed his elbow on the table and slightly extended his hand to her.

"What exactly are you doing?" she asked.

"It's called arm wrestling," Galen explained, then pulling his hand back he asked, "What's your dominant hand?"

"Does it matter?" she asked. "No dragon has ever lost a match in strength."

"It matters to me," he said. "Indulge me."

"My left," she said curtly.

"Perfect," he said. "My dominant is my right. Your left hand, if you please, princess. Put your elbow on the table and extend your hand toward me slightly." She did as he asked and Galen put his left hand out as well. Grasping her hand tightly he held it in place. "Now place your right hand under and grasp my fingers. Perfect. Now, Lucinda, if you please, place a hand over ours."

"As you will, my lord," Lucinda said and Galen winced slightly at her overly formal tone.

Looking at Pru'skila he said. "When she removes her hand from ours, you pull with all your might and I'll pull against you. The first one to rap the other's knuckles on the table wins."

"A child's game," the princess sneered. "Very well. Whenever you're ready Lucinda."

Strength flooded Galen's body and he squeezed the princess' hand hard enough to cause her bones to ache. Her eyes went wide just as Lucinda's hand pulled off of theirs. Immediately the purple haired beauty pulled with all her strength, to no avail. Try as she might, Galen's arm didn't budge. Galen noted out of the corner of his eyes the queen's eyes glinting with mirth and approval, though she didn't say a word. "Use both hands if you like," Galen said with a playful grin.

"What is this!?" the princess cried in incredulity.

"What you wanted," Galen said. "Proof. Now you have it. Do you concede?"

"Never," she said and she was panting with effort now. The table began to creak slightly under the pressure.

Galen sighed. "I'd hoped to make you give up," he said. "But I'm afraid the table will break before that happens and we'll have to start over."

"How is this... possible?" she asked, grunting with effort.

Galen didn't want to beat her. He wanted her to concede so as to not further shame her, but damn if her pride was going to let him. Sighing, and with little effort, he bent her arm backwards and rapped her knuckles softly on the table. "I win," he said, though he looked and sounded like he'd lost. He stood up and looked down at the astounded woman. "Damn you and your fucking pride!" he exclaimed and slammed his fist on the table, breaking it in half.

Pru'skila sat slack-jawed and stared at Galen. "How is this possible?" she asked again as she turned to her mother.

"Foolish girl," Dru'skila said. "You heard just as well as I what he did the other day, yet you still believe him your lesser? And now you're bonded to him for a year and in a way I had hoped to avoid."

"What do you mean?" Galen asked.

"By taking her as a vassal, you take me as well," the queen mother explained. "We are the last two of our kind, Lord Galen, so far as we know. I had hoped to convince her to the idea of marriage to you so we could revive our species. My plan was to see you two married then go back to Dragonmount to live out my days in peace. She would come home to lay an egg and I would see it hatched and cared for."

"Why would she have to go home for that?" Galen asked.

The princess rolled here eyes and made to scoff but Galen silenced her with an upraised finger. "Dragon eggs can only hatch in extreme heat," the queen explained. "Even those of ice or water, though they thrive in colder temperatures, have to lay their eggs deep inside of a mountain for them to hatch."

Pru'skila went to speak again but Galen cut her off before she could. "You'll not speak again until spoken to," he ordered.

She looked at him with venom in her eyes, challenging him. "I'll not be ordered around by a stupid human," she seethed.