Fledgling Demigod Ch. 10

10

Galen sat under the canopy a few hundred yards into the open field to the northwest of the kingdom of Redd. The canopy had a white tarp covering it as well as a white flag flying high on a pole sticking out of the middle of the roof. The sun was taking its time rising on the horizon, and he took a deep breath of the cool morning air. He faced the northwest toward where the imperial army was camped just over a small ridge. The small table in front of him had a few documents held down by a fist-sized rock on each corner to keep them from flying away. He chuckled slightly as they fluttered in the morning breeze. "Any rock will do," he said softly to himself.

"My lord?" Priscilla asked from the pole in front of him and to his left. She stood rigid with her back straight, her now blonde flowing freely in the breeze. She wore a simple white dress that covered her neck to her ankles, and her hands dangled loosely at her sides. Her eyes were a radiant blue as she looked at him.

"Nothing," he said. She nodded and returned her attention to the ridge. He looked over to the pole in front and to his right and smiled at the back of his warrior wife. While she wasn't wearing armor, as he'd instructed, she refused to wear anything other than her uniform. Her long braid of red hair snaked down her back to just above her perfect ass. ["Your ass looks amazing in your uniform without your armor,"] he thought to her. ["Did you know that?"]

She stiffened slightly and turned to look at him. Her eyes twinkled, and the corners of her lips turned up in a slight smile. She winked at him and returned her gaze forward. ["She says you look good enough to eat in that suit you're wearing,"] Devi said with a giggle.

["What? This old thing?"] he thought with a chuckle. Just then, the sun trickled golden light across the field, and Galen caught sight of three figures lazily advancing from the ridge line. They were riding white war horses decorated in plate armor. The three figures also wore plate armor that gleamed brightly in the rising sun. The light flickered off of the shiny plate mail as they moved. All three wore matching helms with a white feather protruding from the top of the skull.

["Lucinda is as tense as a rubber band at its breaking point,"] Devi told him, and he looked at his wife. She was indeed so tense she was shaking slightly. ["She wants to know if you're sure it's a good idea to reveal herself."]

["Too late now to back out,"] he thought to them both. ["They'll see it as an act of aggression if you put your helm on now, my love. Just relax. It'll all work itself out."]

Lucinda visibly relaxed, but he could tell she was still anxious about the whole ordeal. The three figures approached, and only the one in the middle got off his horse and removed his helm. He was younger than Galen expected, though older than Galen himself, in this world anyway. The man looked at the two women, and recognition briefly crossed his features at seeing Lucinda. Then, he looked at Galen and bowed slightly at the waist, never taking his eyes off him. "Baron Jaxon Chase, Captain of His Majesty's Imperial Army," he said. His tone was clear, practiced, and professional. "May I know the name of the man I address?"

Galen stood and nodded slightly. He heard Una and Ula bristle somewhat from either side and behind him but ignored them since they were invisible anyway. "Lord Galen Ford, Ruler of the Kingdom of Redd and presiding Duke of Spellthorn," he replied. Lucinda had coached him half the night on what to say and how to act. "I have to ask, Captain, and I mean no disrespect, but I was expecting someone of a bit higher rank to be commanding an army as large as yours."

The man only bristled slightly, and Galen inwardly winced. "My apologies, King Galen," the man replied. "Duke Latham Lanthrey of Whittaker commands the army. He sent me to ascertain the purpose of the parley. Do you wish to surrender?"

"I do not, Captain," Galen replied with a slight huff, and it was his turn to bristle. The man took an involuntary step back. ["Good,"] he thought to Devi. ["They've heard the story, at least."] Then, to the man, he continued heatedly as he picked up one of the rocks on the table he was using for a paperweight and crushed it in his palm, "I only wish to avoid bloodshed, if possible. Inform Duke Lanthrey that if he doesn't see fit to honor a parley himself, then I'll simply eradicate your army myself and be done with it. Though I'd rather not."

The man's eyes went wide at the display of power and the other two men gasped as their horses danced nervously in place for a moment. Baron Chase nodded, bowed at the waist, and quickly retreated, climbing back on his horse. All three turned about and bolted back up the hill. In his haste, the captain had dropped his helm and left it behind. Galen dusted off his hands of the powdered rock and walked out to retrieve the helm. He placed it on the table next to him as he sat back down.

["He nearly pissed himself,"] Devi giggled, and Lucinda stifled a laugh.

Priscilla eyed her with a questioning eyebrow but didn't comment. To placate her curiosity, Galen said out loud, "I do believe he was so scared he almost pissed his pants." She still didn't comment, but Galen could see the corner of her mouth turn up slightly.

Ten minutes later, a small contingent of approximately thirty horses with riders crested the hill and galloped unhurriedly in Galen's direction, Captain Chase among them. "Only thirty?" Priscilla muttered, and Galen cocked an eyebrow at her. As she was facing away from him, she didn't see it.

"Here we go," Lucinda whispered.

"It's okay, love," Galen said softly, reassuring her.

"No one will harm you, my lady," Priscilla whispered softly, and again, Galen cocked an eyebrow at her in surprise.

["You two must be getting along much better than I realized,"] he thought to Lucinda. By way of answer, she just barely flicked her left hand backward in his direction without a backward glance.

["She says they had been talking at length since breakfast yesterday,"] Devi translated. ["Now, shut up and concentrate."]

Galen chuckled as he felt a light tap on the back of his head. ["Yes, mom,"] he said and laughed silently.

As they approached, the main body of the contingent held back some fifty yards away. Only Captain Chase and another approached. Reaching the tent, the two men dismounted. Galen stood and, grabbing the baron's helm, slowly walked it to him. Without a word, Galen handed the man his helm and walked back to the table, turning his back to them. When Galen was back on his side of the table, the two men approached and stood just outside the eave of the canopy. Galen was the first to speak. "Duke Latham Lanthrey, I presume?" he asked in a cheerful tone. "I bid you welcome to the kingdom of Redd. Would you care to join me at the table? I have refreshments prepared if you so desire."

The duke gave a slight sideways glance to the baron before removing his helm. He was an older man, probably in his early fifties. He had red hair peppered with gray and piercing gray eyes. His face was smooth-shaven, and his lips turned down in a scowl. It seemed to Galen the man's face would crack and shatter if he tried to smile. He looked at the two women, and as his eyes landed on Lucinda, he bowed low at the waist, but not so low as to interrupt his sight. "Your Royal Highness," the duke said, and his voice was deep and sure. "I wasn't sure if the baron spoke true when he informed me you were here."

Lucinda bristled. "Well, now you know, Latham," she said, an edge to her tone. "Now, are you going to address my husband, the king? Or have you forgotten the formalities of a proper parley?"

The duke's eyes went wide. His head shot back to Galen, and Galen held up a single piece of parchment. "Fortunately, I don't stand on such pomp and circumstance, Duke Latham, so I'm not even marginally offended," Galen said. Then, with warning in his voice, he said, "Yet."

The duke composed himself and strode forward. He sat and took the proffered document. Galen sat and waited for the duke to verify the document's authenticity. "It seems to be in order," the duke said. "However, the signet seal is that of King Jasper, whereas your signature is on it."

"Yes, well," Galen said as he held up his hand with the signet ring. "You keep what you kill and all that. Until I can have a proper signet ring crafted, I might as well use what the people are familiar with." A servant behind Galen placed a cup before him and poured water into it. "Water?" He motioned with his hand to the duke, offering the cup. When the duke hesitated, he said, "You can inspect the pitcher if you like. We both will drink from the same pitcher, so what you ingest, I will also."

Duke Latham took the offered cup and took a sip. "I think only fair I show you a measure of trust since you did likewise with me," he said. When Galen looked slightly confused, the duke explained, "No one turns their back on an enemy, your highness. Not even under a flag of truce."

"Ah," Galen said. "You might say I'm a trusting sort."

"It'll get you killed one day if you're not careful," the duke said, and surprisingly there was no malice in his tone but one of instruction.

"Perhaps," Galen answered with a shrug. "Another fault of mine, I'm afraid, is impatience. Tell me, Duke Latham, in the interest of parley, what were your orders upon arriving at Redd? Burn the kingdom to the ground in an effort to capture or kill the man who supposedly murdered the emperor's son?"

The duke looked around before answering, taking in the servants behind Galen, unarmed, and the nearly seven-hundred and fifty unarmed and unarmored people at the City Gates before answering. "The emperor's son's murderer must be brought to justice," he said.

"How cryptic," Galen said. "Well, you're looking at him. I'm sure you heard the story just like everyone else."

The duke nodded. "I have. However, no one can give a recorded account of what happened. The emperor's emissary sought out the mage Rodrick, who was assigned to Lord Jasper, but could get no information from him."

"Well, that's my fault, again, I must admit," Galen said. "I ordered everyone present to take an oath of silence on the happenings from the moment I entered the courtyard. On pain of death."

The duke's left eyebrow twitched slightly. "Imagine the emissary's surprise to find out Lillian was ruling the city instead of the king's murderer," he said.

"Oh, certainly you mean Queen Lillian," Galen said, emphasizing her title.

"Of course," the duke corrected. "I meant no slight. The empire has received copies of your proclamations, but it's still difficult for us to reconcile to women ruling."

Galen nodded. "I can understand that," he said. "It takes years for people to finally crawl out from under the muck of ignorance, after all."

The man flinched slightly but didn't respond. Instead, he asked, "I wonder if you'd grant me the courtesy of a personal account of what happened?"

"Certainly," Galen said and told him everything that happened that day, leaving nothing out, until he left the city.

"And you'd be willing to swear an oath of truth to that?" the duke asked.

"I might," Galen said. "To who and to what end?"

["Careful,"] Devi warned in his head.

"To the god Settyx," he replied. "On pain of death."

["No,"] Devi said. ["If you swear an oath to him, it will put me on the radar, and we're not ready for that."]

"Hmm," Galen said. "Not sure how it would work swearing to a god I don't worship."

"Unfortunately," the duke said. "It's the only way I can be sure you're telling the truth."

"Hmm," Galen hummed again as he pondered his options. He didn't want to ruin the chances of avoiding bloodshed, nor did he want to put Devi in the crosshairs of the other gods. In the end, it was a no-brainer. "My apologies, Duke Latham," Galen finally said. "I'm not going to be able to do that."

The duke sighed in disappointment. "I see," he said. "Are you willing to surrender? It's the only way to avoid bloodshed at this point."

["He's lying,"] Devi informed him silently.

At that moment, a roar could be heard in the distance, and everyone jumped up and looked around. To the southeast, a massive red dragon had taken flight and started spitting fire all around the area. The duke jumped up and walked outside the canopy to look. His mouth fell open in surprise, awe, and fear. Armor rattled together as the men behind them trembled. Galen came up alongside the man and put a friendly hand on his shoulder.

"No, Duke Latham, I am not. You see, that's my dragon over there burning the some two hundred troops you sent to try and destroy the duchy of Spellthorn."

The duke turned and gaped openly at Galen. "You... have a...." He gulped before continuing. "Dragon?"

"Two of them, to be exact," Galen replied with an easy smile. "That one there and another one in the city of Redd, waiting for my signal."

"Y-your signal?" the duke stuttered.

"I'm not going to give it, though," Galen replied. "Your men at Spellthorn are being burned to a crisp as we speak. None will make it out alive, I'm afraid. My vassal there tried to reason with them as I'm trying to reason with you." When the man looked at him, Galen shook his head and said, "No, not even the nobles present will live unless they chose to surrender, which I highly doubt."

"Murderer," the duke seethed, his anger boiling over.

"No," Galen replied with a heated gaze as they faced each other. "I'm not the one who sent an army to decimate a city because their piece of shit son got killed stealing and murdering another man's wives and unborn children." He poked the duke in the chest, continuing. "I'm not the one that lied about avoiding bloodshed if I surrendered. Your orders were to burn the kingdom of Redd to the ground in revenge whether I surrendered or not. Go back to your army, Latham, and die like the rest if you choose not to leave. I don't need a fucking dragon to kill all of you with my bare hands." For emphasis, he punched his index finger into the man's chest, denting the thick armor. The duke's eyes widened as he slowly backed away to his horse. "If your army isn't gone by the time the sun sets, Latham, none of them will see it rise tomorrow."

Latham got on his horse and took off like a shot, his contingent of guards following behind. When he was out of earshot, Galen noticed Baron Chase hanging back. "If we surrender?" the young baron asked.

"I'll accept no surrender. You have until nightfall," Galen warned. "After that, anyone left in the camp dies. But consider this, Baron Chase. If you return to the capital, how do you think the emperor will respond to you leaving the army he assigned you to die with while you retreated like a dog with its tail between its legs. Because that's what he'll see."

The baron nodded and rounded his horse to follow after his lord. Priscilla was practically squirming where she stood. "Not fair," she pouted. "Mother gets to burn people while I have to sit back and let a stupid human get all the fun."

Galen grinned at her. "How turned on are you right now?" She shot him a glare. "Tell you what," he said with his hands raised in capitulation. "If your eyesight is good enough in the dark, I'll let you locate any stragglers and zap them like flies, agreed?"

Her eyes lit up in excitement, and Galen could see her breasts heaving as her breathing increased. "You mean it?" she asked.

"I wouldn't offer if I didn't, Priscilla," he said, and she suddenly turned into an excited teenager who had just got concert tickets to see her favorite band.

"Thank you!" she squealed and tackled him to the ground in a hug.

Galen was stunned. Even Lucinda eyed them with concern as the dragon woman held onto him. "Uh, it's not that big of a deal, Priscilla," Galen said as he patted her back uncertainly.

["When did she turn into a capricious teenager?"] Devi asked.

["If you think about it,"] he thought to her. ["She has been since she first walked into the Great Hall."]

["True,"] she replied. ["And Dru'skila did say she's barely out of her youth. Maybe this is the first time she's been allowed to use her breath weapon on anything other than prey?"]

["I didn't think about that,"] he thought as he struggled to get up. ["I just assumed that in fifty years, she's always used her lightning on whoever or whatever she wanted. She certainly acts like it."] He finally got his feet under him and stood, but she wasn't letting him go. Her body was trembling slightly.

"She's an adult now," Lucinda said, coming to the dragon girl's defense. "But you must understand she's practically been sheltered her whole life. She's never been allowed to associate with other sentient species until now."

Galen frowned at Lucinda, then looked at the top of the dragon girl's head. "Seriously? She told you all that?" he asked Lucinda.

She nodded. "Drusilla was afraid of losing her daughter and their only chance to revive their species, so she practically had her imprisoned on that mountain."

He tried to pull back from Priscilla to talk to her, but she had a death grip on his waist. Her body was still trembling as she knelt there holding onto him, and her breath was coming in hitches. He gave up and just started talking to her. "Is that true, Priscilla?" he asked. She nodded into his stomach without saying anything. "No wonder you don't have any social skills," he said, and she stiffened but didn't let go. "I didn't mean that to be offensive," he added. "I'm sorry." She relaxed. "It's just a lot of things are starting to make sense." Then, looking at his wife, he said, "This is what she didn't want me to know?"

She nodded. "Among other things," she replied. "But I'll let her tell you about those when she's ready."

Galen placed a soft hand on Priscilla's blonde hair, and as his hand touched, her hair slowly transitioned back to purple. "I'm sorry, Priscilla," he said softly. "I kind of exacerbated the issue by continuing to call you out on your attitude when I should have been more patient and understanding while trying to genuinely get to know you better."

She sniffled and pulled away from him as she stood and quickly turned away from him. He started to reach out to her but Lucinda eyed him and secretly shook her head. ["She says to give her some space,"] Devi translated. ["You just found out some very personal things about her and she needs some time to process."]

["I can understand that,"] he thought back and Lucinda nodded with a soft smile. "Come on, you two," he said to the women as he turned his back on them and started walking away. He wanted to give Priscilla as much space as she needed because he got the feeling she didn't want him to see her crying on top of everything else she thought he'd not want her for. "We've got a slaughter to prepare for."

Priscilla cleared her throat and composed herself before speaking. "You're really going through with it?" she asked. "That's over a thousand men to kill in one night."

"They made their bed," he said.

"Yes," she replied. "How are you going to do that, though?"

"Speed and precision," he said. "Lucinda, I want their camp scouted. Send as many as you think you need to send to get me any information that will help. I want to know where their sentries are, possible escape routes, how many men are on guard, and how to get to Latham's tent."

"Yes, my love," she said. "They may have gotten here last night and gotten a good night's rest but that's little recompense after a week of marching. They'll be tired and the threat of death after sunset will have them wary. They're weary and more weak than normal."

"Good," he said. "That will make it easier on me. Priscilla, how long can you stay awake in dragon form?"