Chapter 41: "A kiss is just a kiss"

I now have an editor, so you all shouldn't need to put up with my typos and poor/dyslexic editing skills anymore. :)

* * *

"Wait, I think I misheard you." Ethan said to Selene as he shook his head. He and his wives had just exited the captain's cabin, and the rest of the crew were clustered around the breakfast fire eating.

"Did you just say that you wanted to bond?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

The caramel-haired beauty shook her head. "Not quite, I said: 'I think we need to bond'; I don't want to at all."

He looked at her for a long moment. "Because of Smithbond and your impending mission to Earth?"

She nodded. "I can't see a way around bonding because we'll need a way to communicate, but I sure as hell don't want a husband who sleeps with other women." She said vehemently.

"It's not so bad." Anthiel said with an amused grin, then took a sip of her drink.

"I don't care; I'm not interested." The Brazilian woman said firmly, then looked at Ethan. "I get that you have an issue when you're bonded to a woman but not sleeping with her. However, I think we can get around that without actually having sex."

"Oh?" Kendra perked up, then cocked her head to one side. "I would've given anything to know how just yesterday, now..." She looked at Ethan and made a thoughtful sound. "...now I'm glad I didn't."

Selene glanced at her, then continued. "Anyway, I was thinking that after we bond, I can, uh... 'hold your wing' while you 'take care of yourself' while we're in different rooms. Physical contact should be enough right?"

"Um, I've never tried." He frowned.

"Oh, I wonder if that would work." Beth piped up. "I volunteer to hold your wing while you try."

"Thank you." Selene said to the blonde, then looked back at Ethan. "And if it works and we bond now, we should be able to communicate telepathically by the time we make it back to the portal, right?"

"Well, I think we'll arrive at the mine tomorrow, right?" He asked Taloni.

"Yes master." She nodded. "Then it will take three or four days to get back to Sarah's inn when we leave, depending on the wind."

"So four or five days total." He said. "And we'll probably spend at least a couple days at the mining town, so maybe a week? Longer if it takes a while to deal with the orcs." He looked at Selene. "Yeah, that would probably do it. I could hear Taloni faintly after about a week, and things seemed to have sped up after that."

"I came up with similar numbers from what I remembered, that's why I suggested now." Selene replied. "The real question is how long it takes before your dragon side gets out of hand."

"You said it took about a week before the dragon really got stronger, right Dominus?" Beth said.

"About that." He nodded.

"Then that should be perfect." Selene said. "And just to make it clear, I have absolutely no intention of marrying you. Ever. I simply can't stomach a man who sleeps with other women."

He frowned. "I never asked you to, nor did I say I wanted to marry you." He didn't dislike Selene in the slightest, but he didn't feel much real attraction to her aside from her frankly outrageous beauty. He had a healthy respect for her, but that was about it.

"Oh." Selene seemed to deflate slightly, but recovered quickly. "Well, I'm glad we're on the same page then."

"So, bonding today if I can jerk off while Beth is holding my wing." He said with a frown. "Wow, I thought those days were behind me."

"No one ever held your wing while you took care of business?" Alana winked.

"Not yet." He chuckled. "Though, I think I'm going to eat breakfast first."

He sat down, and there appeared to be a bit of uncertainty about which of his wives was going to sit next to him. They usually just followed the sleeping order, but Kendra had ended up next to him in the middle of the night, changing the order.

Selene definitely noticed.

She made a face halfway between an amused smile and a grimace, rolled her eyes and shook her head slightly.

"Something you want to share with the whole class?" He asked with an amused smile while his wives sorted themselves out, eventually settling on precedent and sitting in the order they had been sleeping in that morning.

Selene waggled her finger between him and his wives. "Not a problem if you don't have too many women."

"Ironically, I agree." He sighed.

All his wives except Taloni looked at him in alarm.

"I would never get rid of any of you. Ever." He clarified. "But I do feel stretched thin; there's too many-- okay, not 'too many' of you, but..." he trailed off, not sure how to finish the sentence accurately.

"But master hasn't realized that he's a perfect husband to five women already, and refuses to acknowledge that we're all happy." Taloni sighed and gave him a longsuffering look. "Honestly master, please don't sell yourself short."

Ethan felt a smile creep onto his face despite himself. "You know, you're the sweetest thing ever. Has anyone ever told you that?"

The Fey beamed.

"To clarify, I meant that I wish I had enough time to give all of you the attention you deserve." He said. "Realistically, I'd never advise a man to have more than two wives; maybe three at the absolute maximum. I just don't feel like I give you all enough time individually."

"We do have enough time Dominus." Beth pointed out. "Remember, we'll live a long time; much longer than usual."

"True." He conceded. "But on the other hand, people grow and mature as they get older. I would hate not having enough time to really know you all. I mean, the harem fantasy is great... right up until it meets the real world. I'm only one man, and I only have so much time."

"I don't remember ever complaining sir." Alana pointed out.

"Nor I Dominus." Beth added.

"See master, you're doing fine so far."

"They're right my lord."

His first four wives all looked at Kendra, who finished chewing before replying. "Um, I've been married less than twenty four hours, so I'm probably not the best wife to ask."

He nodded and turned to the Brazilian woman. "Anyway, I get your point Selene; I really do. I even agree somewhat." Ethan said, then finally took the first bite of his breakfast.

She inclined her head in confirmation, but otherwise didn't reply.

The talk around the breakfast table was a bit subdued for several minutes while Ethan and his wives ate and Selene seemed lost in though.

Finally, Rachel broke the silence. "My lord, did you want me to write that letter to Elder Goman to let him know about my father being a dragon?"

"Good idea." He nodded, then looked around at everyone. "What else needs doing?"

"I need to finish Selene's strength-enhancing vambraces." Alana said. "I'll need some mana donations from everyone to get it finished before we arrive at the mining town though."

"Thank you." The Brazilian woman smiled. "I really appreciate it."

"My pleasure." The wood elf replied.

"Anything else?" Ethan asked.

"Actually yes." Alana said. "I was thinking about your armor, and how you carry it with that canvas backpack I made." She made a face. "It's kind of ugly, and I think it'll work better if I enchant the armor to stick to itself in a compact stack."

"How do you mean?" He asked.

"Well, I could take the backplate and stack all the smaller pieces on top of it in flat layers, and then enchant them to stick to each other so it would be one solid unit until you needed it. Then they would stop sticking to each other when you summoned them, but be compact until you do. You could then stick it to your back like the backpack, but wouldn't need to carry around that ugly old thing."

"Oh thank Illuminar." Beth said. "It was so ugly."

"Exactly!" Alana exclaimed. "This way, it'll look better and be more functional."

"Oh! And you need to put Illuminar's sigil on the front of the breastplate!" Taloni exclaimed as her wings vibrated in excitement. "Then everyone will know who master is!"

"And it should go on the paldrons and back armor too!" Beth clapped her hands together excitedly.

"Ladies, are you sure that's a good idea?" He asked. "That seems pretty presumptuous of me to go around wearing white armor with Illuminar's Sigil on it."

"Not at all my lord." Rachel interjected. "The weapons that Gabriella the angel designed for you have Illuminar's sigil on them; why not the armor too?"

He opened his mouth to object, but couldn't think of a good rebuttal. Dang, Rachel was sharp.

Hmm.

Wearing white armor with Illuminar's sigil on it did seem a bit 'on the nose'. He pictured it in his head, especially the seven-pointed star with a circular center that represented Illuminar, and had to admit it would look pretty good.

He still frowned.

"What's wrong?" Alana asked.

"I'm hesitant to walk around with Illuminar's sigil plastered all over my armor because then..." He hesitated as he collected his thoughts. "It's like I'm saying that I represent Illuminar and I don't feel like I'd be a very good representative."

"Why not?" Beth asked.

"Nearly everyone here has been around for at least one of my major screw ups." He pointed out. "And since I'm not perfect, I doubt I'll stop screwing up any time soon. I know I'd be pretty pissed if someone was going around claiming to represent me and screwing up as much as I do."

"That's very wise master." Taloni nodded. "But I don't think you have anything to worry about. That's not what the commandment was about."

"What commandment?" He asked.

"Illuminar's third great commandment master." The Fey replied. "The Book of Light says: 'You shall not commit evil in my name, for I will not leave unpunished the man who does evil in my name.' Of course you make mistakes master, and no one expects you to be perfect. But Illuminar didn't say: 'You shall not make mistakes in my name'; He said: 'You shall not commit evil in my name'. You could never do that master."

"I agree with Tee." Beth nodded.

"Our Fey friend does have a point my lord." Rachel conceded.

"She does." Alana agreed.

He looked at Selene. "Thoughts?"

"Why are you asking me?"

"Because you probably have a different perspective."

"I do." The Brazilian woman nodded. "But I'm not sure you all want to hear it."

"Well now we have to." Beth leaned forward, and all of Ethan's other wives looked expectant as well.

"Okay, well you all say that Illuminar picked Ethan right?"

They nodded.

"And He didn't ask Ethan before picking him, right?"

They nodded again.

"Then I don't give a rat's ass what Illuminar wants if He's going around deciding what people are going to do." She said, though without strong emotion. "As far as I'm concerned, He can go screw Himself if He's going to toy with other people's lives and not give them a choice."

The Brazilian woman shrugged and took another bite of her food.

Silence.

All of Ethan's wives stared at her open-mouthed. Even Anthiel and Serif seemed a bit surprised; Raklan was too busy stuffing his face to react.

"He said that I had a choice, but that He knew what I was going to choose." Ethan said.

"Same thing." She shrugged again.

"I'm going to pray for you." Taloni said after several long seconds. "Illuminar is wonderful, and I'll pray that you see that."

"As long as He's controlling everyone, not going to happen." The Brazilian woman replied, but she didn't seem angry about it.

* * *

"And?" Selene asked when Ethan, Beth, and the rest of his wives emerged from the captain's cabin after breakfast. She was hoping her idea would work, little though she wanted to hold his wing while he was taking care of himself at some point in the future.

"Rachel got the letter to Elder Goman written and sent." He said with a mischievous smile. "And we made sure to explain about your mission to Earth too."

"Not what I meant." The Brazilian woman rolled her eyes. "Did it work?"

"Did you ever eat a meal and your stomach is full, but you just don't feel satisfied?" He replied.

"Sure."

"It felt like that."

"So... it worked?" The caramel haired beauty asked.

"Yeah, it worked." He nodded.

"So, bond?" Selene asked, hoping that this would actually be a solution.

He took a deep breath and then let it out slowly. "Um, we can."

"But?" She prompted.

He frowned. "I don't think you realize exactly what bonding involves."

"Moving a little mana around; I can do that now."

"Yeah, it's more than that." He replied. "You still don't have any mental defenses, and before long I'll be able to feel what you're feeling. Likewise you'll be able to feel what I'm feeling."

"Okay, then I'll create some mental defenses; problem solved."

"It's more than that though." He shook his head. "I realize that neither of us grew up with it, but this bonding thing is deep. It's something that I barely understand, but it's more permanent than you might think."

"Right, but a short death and heart restart should take care of that." She countered.

"It does break the bond, yeah." He conceded hesitantly. "But also consider 'the glimpse', for lack of a better term."

"The glimpse?" She raised her eyebrow. "That sounds a little melodramatic don't you think?"

"No." He said simply, and she didn't get the sense he was exaggerating. "Imagine that you could get a snapshot of who someone is; all of them. Every part of them, even their insecurities and the parts they hate; the parts they are ashamed of. Imagine getting that picture burned into your brain so deeply that you can never forget it. Something like that doesn't just go away, even after a short death and a heart restart."

"That's part of the bond though, and death breaks the bond; right?" She countered.

"Yes, but you're not listening." He shook his head. "They call deep mana the seat of the soul, and it took me a while to understand why, but I get it now. Frankly, it's profoundly intimate."

"Profoundly?"

"Ladies." He turned to his wives. "Would you say it's more or less intimate than sex?"

All of them hesitated before answering, which didn't make Selene feel better. She definitely didn't want to sign up for anything near that level of intimacy. Sure he was a good guy, but doing anything intimate with him was the last thing she wanted, even if it wasn't sexual.

"I'm not sure I can compare them." Alana finally said, answering Ethan's question. "It's like food and water; both are nourishment, but they're so different that it's hard to compare them."

Ethan's other wives mostly nodded, except for Kendra who looked pensive. "Careful Selene." The dragon huntress said. "It's hard not to be attracted to him after bonding with him."

The Brazilian woman frowned.

That wasn't good.

Still though, she was the only one who could go to Earth and hope to do something about Gonorran and Smithbond's portal. The last thing she wanted was a closer association with Ethan, but she was the only one who could help with that particular problem. Regardless of how she felt about it, she needed to act. No one else could and the people of the Ten Kingdoms needed her help, regardless of how she felt about it.

"Copper for your thoughts?" Beth asked.

"Is there any way that we can deal with Smithbond and the portal without being able to communicate telepathically?" The ex-FBI agent asked.

"I can't think of one." Ethan replied. "At the very least we'll need to know if you're successful."

"He's right." Rachel nodded. "I hate to send you there without help, but I don't think anyone else could even make it to Earth."

"Then we should bond." Selene said. "I'm not exactly looking forward to it, and I don't want to, but I don't see another way."

"It seems like sending you alone and without backup is a colossally dumb move." Ethan pointed out.

"But what other choice do we have?" She countered.

"Fair." He nodded his head in concession after several seconds. "I don't like it, but fair."

She took a deep breath. "Okay, then let's do this."

He held out his hand, and she took it. She was rather keenly aware of how smooth his scales were and how warm the man-- err, dragon himself was.

Rachel chuckled.

"What?" Selene asked.

"Do you know how to find your deep mana yet?" The redhead asked.

"Oh, I just assumed..." Selene looked around to see that almost everyone had an amused expression on their faces, which made her cheeks feel warm as she accidentally displayed her ignorance of magic.

"It's easier once you've found your regular mana, but still not easy." The teen mage said. "Come on, I'll show you how; it shouldn't take more than a few hours."

* * *

"Elder Goman wrote back!"

Ethan now had enough discipline that he didn't look when his youngest wife shouted from across the weather deck, no doubt burning with curiosity about its contents. Instead, he kept his eyes and senses focused on his dueling opponent. Serif gave him a small nod of approval, no doubt at his refusal to be distracted.

*Hang on angel.* He thought to everyone in response, since they had almost certainly heard the blonde shouting.

He held his sword in a low guard, which he found himself favoring because of its versatility. The attack options were a bit more limited, but it put him in an excellent position to parry and then riposte incoming attacks.

Serif attacked with a lightning fast thrust that Ethan batted aside with the lower half of his blade, simultaneously angling his own point on-line for a counter thrust. His opponent responded by using the force of Ethan's parry to accelerate his sword into a counter blow. He put his thumb on the flat of the blade, whipping it around lightning fast mostly with his wrists, forcing Ethan to abandon his thrust to deflect the attack.

Ethan stepped back after the exchange, still marveling at how incredibly proficient the man was. He didn't hold much hope of ever beating him without his enhanced reflexes and strength enhancing armor pieces. Even then he wasn't confident about his chances.

Serif was just that good.

Speaking of whom, the other man lowered his practice blade and inclined his head fractionally towards the beautiful blonde teen, who was none-too-patiently bouncing on the balls of her feet with a letter in her hands.

Ethan nodded and headed towards her. "Are you excited about something?" He asked with a wink.

She pushed the letter into his hands. "What's it say?"

He took the letter, paused for several seconds, and then looked up at the cloudless blue sky, pausing for another several seconds before speaking. "Wow, nice weather today."

"Dom-i-nus." Beth groaned, pointing insistently at the letter.

*Anyone who wants to hear the response, gather 'round.* He thought to his wives. *And Rachel, go ahead and bring Selene.*

Not long afterwards, they had assembled in front of the captain's cabin and he broke the wax seal and started reading.

"What's it say?" Beth asked, being too short to read over his shoulder.

"It says... hmm." He intentionally put on a very serious expression. "It's bad. It says that a young blonde girl will soon be viciously tickled."

Beth blinked, and then moved too slow as he dropped the letter. He managed to get both his hands around her waist and started tickling before she could react. She shrieked in laughter as she tried unsuccessfully to escape his wandering fingers.

"Gah! Dominus, please--" She shrieked in laughter again. "--please stop."

He did, laughing as his youngest wife tried to catch her breath.

"Not funny Dominus!" She said as she tried not to laugh.

"I thought it was." He chuckled and then turned to Rachel, who had caught the letter. "And?"

"He wants to send an airship with Luminar Kossel and--" The redhead's eyes went wide. "--and they're bringing Gonorran's portal..." Her eyes went wider still as her mouth fell open. "...which apparently Elder Goman had excavated after we left it behind."

"Wait, he's bringing the whole portal?" Ethan said. "That thing is huge; almost the width of the Argo's deck."

"The portal is fourteen feet wide, and the Argo is sixteen, so yeah." The redhead nodded. "Technically he's sending it with Luminar Kossel though."

"What for?" Ethan asked.

"Apparently, it's so all the men and equipment that Smithbond left behind can be sent back to Earth after we're successful."

"Well he's optimistic." Selene said.

"Did he say anything about your father being a dragon?" Ethan asked.

The teen mage nodded as she scanned the letter. "He said it makes sense, and that it explains a few things." She seemed oddly impassive about that, but he didn't need to feel her emotions over their bond to tell she was putting on a brave face. It was a good one, but not enough to fool him.

*Hey, I'm always here if you want to talk.* He thought to her.

She gave him a pained smile and nodded, but didn't respond.

"What else does it say?" Beth asked.

"He wants to know a good rendezvous point where we can meet the airship he wants to send, preferably near the portal that Smithbond is using."

"Sarah's inn." Ethan suggested instantly before he'd even thought about it. "It's only about ten miles from the portal, and he could stay at the inn too."

His wives and Selene all looked at him, identical amused and knowing expressions on their faces.

"What?" He asked, feeling slightly hot under the proverbial collar.

"We didn't say anything." The wood elf replied with a barely restrained smile.

"Yeah well, you were 'not saying it' very loudly." He replied.

"I'd like to meet at Sarah's inn." Selene finally said, sparing him from an awkward silence. "I'd love to see her again before I leave, since I might not be coming back if all goes well."

"We'll need to send him the coordinates." Rachel said, still perusing the letter.

"Can you take care of that?" He asked Taloni.

"Yes master." She nodded.

"I'll write it up and send it to him." Rachel said. Her expression would've looked normal to almost anyone, but Ethan wasn't just anyone.

The rest of the letter's contents weren't nearly as interesting, and he was a bit distracted by his fourth wife anyway. She had an amazing poker face and he probably wouldn't be able to tell if he didn't know her so well. Plus, the redhead would glance away from the letter and at Alana at regular intervals, then either bite her lip slightly or draw her mouth into a thin line.

As Ethan considered that, he realized that although he couldn't help her with her father issues right now, he might be able to help her with something else that was clearly on her mind.

*Alana, meet me in the captain's cabin in a few minutes.* He thought to her.

"Rachel, follow me." He said to the redhead.

The teen mage gave him a quizzical look, but nodded, handed the letter to Beth, and then followed him into the captain's cabin.

* * *

Rachel found the strangest things about Ethan attractive. Like the moment before, he had simply told her to follow him. It wasn't a command or order, and yet it was more than a suggestion. She probably could've said that she didn't want to, and he would've been fine with that. Oddly, that was exactly the reason she wanted to follow him. He was in charge and commanding, but not overbearing. He issued orders, but never without cause or to throw his weight around.

She liked that.

She liked it a lot actually.

He sat down on the bed facing her with his legs hanging off and patted his lap. "Come here beautiful."

She felt a smile creeping onto her face and she walked over and sat down on his lap; not straddling him, but instead sitting across his lap and leaning on him. He wrapped his arms around her and looked into her eyes, a contented grin on his face.

"What?" She asked.

"Just looking." He smiled. "You know, my nickname for you is very accurate."

She smiled at his praise, and her cheeks got just a bit warmer too. "Did you want to talk about something?"

"Two things actually. First, how are you doing with the news about your father?"

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Honestly, I don't know."

"Oh?"

She nodded. "It's not that I'm a dragon's daughter. I mean, I'm married to a dragon so any kids we have will have a dragon father, and Alana's baby--" She smiled. "--I mean, Ruth, already has a dragon father, so that doesn't bother me."

"What does?"

She looked at him as her face fell. "I feel like my whole childhood was a lie."

"Ah." He nodded and gave her a gentle, comforting squeeze.

She gave him a pained smile and relaxed into him more, then told him much of what she'd told Alana on the same topic. He listened patiently and sympathetically, only interrupting to ask for clarification but otherwise letting her talk.

"I just can't help but think: What else in my childhood was a lie?" She said when she had finished.

He nodded slowly. "Yeah, that makes sense. I wish I could tell you that nothing else was, but I can't."

"I know." She cocked her head to one side. "It makes me wonder about my mother too; did she know?"

"Hmm, that's a good question." Ethan made a thoughtful frown. "She must have known, I don't see how she could not know. I mean, dragons are a bit different in the bedroom; different enough to make any woman ask questions."

"True." The redhead sighed. "Sadly, I'll never be able to ask her." She swallowed hard, and in response he gave her another gentle, comforting squeeze.

"Maybe you can ask your father about it on day. You know, when he's not trying to kill all of us."

"Maybe." She nodded, but felt her heart sink anyway. "He disowned me though, his own daughter, and I don't..." Her voice faltered as it started to crack slightly.

"If it helps, remember that Lady Ekthros said that your father refused to allow his men to kill you."

She gave him a pained smile. "I don't know if that helps or hurts."

"Fair." He nodded.

"I'll be okay." She said, wiping her eyes which had become slightly watery. "I really will be, but I think it'll take time. It's all pretty fresh."

"Take as much time as you need, just remember that I'm always here if you want to talk." He grinned as he added. "And I'm sure Alana is too."

Rachel did her very best not blush at that.

"Speaking of, she should be here soon. There's something I wanted to discuss with the both of you."

"Oh?" She asked, feeling her stomach start to knot up. What if he suspected that she might be attracted to Alana? She knew how the dragon would react to her being interested in another man, but what about another woman? What about one of his other wives?

For that matter, was she attracted to Alana? She thought she might be, wasn't entirely sure. She knew she was attracted to her as a friend, but that's very different than being attracted to her romantically.

Was she?

What did that mean if she was?

Was she the kind of woman who was attracted to other women? Was that even okay? Would Illuminar disapprove? Would Ethan? She couldn't help how she felt -- if that's really how she felt -- so what if it wasn't okay? What would she do then?

Ethan chuckling brought her out of her reverie.

"What?" She asked, her eyes going a bit wide.

"You're brain works a mile-a-minute; it's amusing to see." He grinned.

She was trying to come up with a response when the door to the captain's cabin opened and the most beautiful wood elf in the whole of the Ten Kingdoms walked in. Her chocolate brown hair cascaded over her shoulders and down to the curve of her shapely breasts, and moved with her as she turned to close the door. Her rich hazel eyes were reflecting the smile on her face as she looked at the two of them.

Rachel sighed before she caught herself.

Ethan grinned at her, and she blushed.

"You wanted to see me?" Alana asked, looking between them with a slightly confused expression.

"Yeah, I wanted to talk to you and Rachel about something." He replied.

It might've been Rachel's imagination, but it seemed like Alana got just a hair stiffer at that. Did her cheeks get a bit redder too?

"About what?" The brunette asked tentatively.

"Well, it's about..." Ethan started to say, but then paused and cocked his head to one side. He hesitated a moment and then got a strange sort of smile on his face, like an idea had just occurred to him. "It's about Beth and Taloni." He finished, but Rachel got the impression that hadn't been the original ending of that sentence.

"Oh?" Rachel asked. "What about them?"

"Well, something might've happened between them and I wanted to address it, but I wanted to do so in a delicate way because I think it might cause problems if I do it directly."

"Problems?" Alana asked, walking over to sit beside Ethan on the side which was opposite Rachel so they could all see each other.

"Yeah." He nodded. "It's possible that one of the blondes might've kissed the other recently."

Rachel froze.

Alana suddenly looked a little stiffer than before.

"I'm just trying to decide how to handle that." He continued.

"You aren't... aren't mad at them; are you?" Rachel bit her lip.

"Oh no. Not at all." He shook his head with a smile, and the redhead released the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.

"In fact, do you remember walking in on them almost kissing while they were snuggling with me?" Ethan asked her.

She frowned, trying to remember.

"It was about a month ago, after the incident with Kyrupto; the day we told Kendra our story." He prompted. "They were curious what it would be like, and they were just about to try it when you and Alana walked in."

"Oh. Huh." Rachel did remember. Vaguely, but she did. Huh. If she remembered correctly, he'd even told Beth and Taloni that they'd done 'nothing wrong'. Plus, the other wives often kissed each other while they were in bed together. And if he didn't mind that, then he probably wouldn't mind that she and Alana had...

...right?

"But, they were with you at the time." Rachel pointed out. "But what if w-- I mean, what if they kissed without you present? Maybe they're worried that would change things?"

"Why would it?" He asked conversationally.

"Well, uh... I mean, you weren't there so..." She looked down, unable to finish the sentence.

"Sir, I think Rachel means that... that Beth and Taloni might be worried you'd disapprove of them kissing if you weren't around."

"Exactly." Rachel nodded, though she still didn't quite meet his eye.

"I don't care if they do it around me, so why would I care if they kissed when I'm not around?" He countered.

"Um, maybe because... because... um..." Rachel bit her lip, and Alana seemed to be almost holding her breath waiting for the response.

Rachel looked at their husband, trying to discern what he was doing. She could see concern in his face and eyes, but also a bit of amusement. She couldn't detect even the faintest trace of anger or displeasure though -- either on his face or through their bond -- which put her heart at ease a bit.

"Because... what?" He prompted gently.

"You... wouldn't think they were, I don't know, um... replacing you?"

He raised his eyebrow.

"I mean, I know how you'd react if they kissed another man, so--" She stopped short as a low growl escaped his throat, though it seemed more reflexive than anything else.

His expression and voice softened moments later though. "Fortunately, neither Beth nor Taloni are men. Trust me, I checked very thoroughly."

He winked.

The ladies both chuckled nervously, but it was short lived.

"Look." He continued. "Call me sexist if you want, but while I'd rip apart any man who touched you--" Another low growl escaped his throat. "--I really don't mind if two of my wives get more..." He paused, either because he was searching for words or for dramatic effect; she wasn't sure which.

"More...?" Alana prompted.

He grinned. "...more 'intimate' with one another."

The twinkle in his eye drove the point home. Even if it hadn't, the emotions coming over their bond would have made the point clear.

"You really don't mind?" Rachel asked.

He shook his head. "Not at all. In fact, there are very few sights in this world more attractive than seeing two beautiful women who love each other kissing." He said, then added. "Especially if they both love you too."

Rachel slowly nodded her head, trying to process this.

He really didn't mind?

Truly?

She felt a small smile start to grow on her face, and it grew wider as she remembered that incredible kiss with her best friend. Alana's lips had been so soft, tender, and she tasted like... like... it was hard to describe; 'wonderful' was a good start, but that didn't seem strong enough.

Her smile faltered as something occurred to her. "So, you don't think that w-- I mean, that Beth and Taloni would be... I don't know, um... you don't think they would be... uh, competing with you for the other girl's affections?"

"No." He shook his head with a shrug. "Again, I couldn't stand it if it was another man. But among my wives..." He grinned. "As long as they still love me, I don't care if they're attracted to each other."

"Really?" The redhead searched his eyes, finding no trace of the revulsion or disgust that she had expected him to have at the idea.

"Really, really." He said in a strange accent, which she thought was connected to something called 'Shrek' based on what he'd once said.

"Oh." She hesitated.

Hmm.

That was... Hmm.

"You really don't mind?" Rachel asked again, just to be sure.

"Not one bit." He said, and then gave the redhead who was still sitting on his lap a comforting squeeze. "In fact, can I let you ladies in on a little secret?"

"Yes sir." Alana said with bated breath.

"Please my lord." She added, feeling equally expectant.

"I think it might be kind of neat if two of my wives found themselves attracted to each other." He said. "Romantically I mean; that could be pretty cool."

Rachel's jaw dropped.

Alana's followed suit moments later.

"I... you..." Rachel could barely form words. "...really?"

"Are you serious sir?"

He nodded to both of them. "Let me put it this way; Alana, were you happy when I married Rachel?"

The wood elf smiled despite the shock still on her face. "I was sir; so, so much. It was so great to see two people who I love so much fall for each oth--" Her eyes got slightly wider and her mouth formed a perfect 'O' shape. "Oh. Oh, that makes..." She smiled. "I get it."

Rachel could imagine how she would've felt if she had married Ethan before Alana had, and then he had married the wood elf later.

She would've been ecstatic.

Could he really feel that way about her and Alana? Well, maybe about Beth and Taloni... Her eyes went wide and her mouth opened as she realized that he might not be talking about his two youngest wives. The blonde and the honey-blonde were wonderful and clearly enjoyed each other's company, they even liked 'playing' with each other in bed with Ethan, but she didn't think they were attracted to each other like that.

"We..." Her breath hitched and she found herself unable to finish the sentence.

"Go ahead." Alana encouraged as she took one of the redhead's hands.

"Yes, please do." Ethan grinned.

"We're..." She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to calm her racing heart. "We're not really talking about Beth and Taloni; are we?"

He grinned at her and spoke with a note of pride in his voice. "My wise redhead."

She felt herself sitting up straighter as a warm feeling spread through her chest and her cheeks got slightly warm.

"Now, I need to get back to sparring." He said abruptly, nudging her off his lap.

She hopped down mutely, her brain still having trouble latching onto a single thought with all the ones that were flying around in her brain. He hadn't been talking about Beth and Taloni? But then, could he mean her and Alana? She thought so, but he had recently married Kendra too. That didn't seem likely though. Kendra really didn't have much of a relationship with Beth yet, and the dragon huntress's relationship with the Fey girl was more 'older-sister, younger-sister' than anything else. She highly doubted that Kendra had ever kissed either of the blondes.

But that would mean...

Did he know about...?

Could he have meant...?

"Feel free to hang out in here if you want to. The bed is even free." He winked at the two of them before kissing them both and slipping out the door, closing it behind him.

* * *

Sarah didn't feel like her day could get any worse, but the excited glimmer in the old woman's eyes was making her reconsider that feeling. Thankfully the look wasn't malevolent, which was good since she was holding a knife. A very small knife with a blade barely over an inch long, but still.

"What are you doing?" She asked, straining futilely against the iron manacles that secured her hands and feet to one of the bed-like boards in the old woman's lab.

"Research." The old woman said as she leaned over her, but she didn't look like she was going to cut her... yet. "I need a tissue sample, so I'm going to do a biopsy."

"Biopsy?"

The old woman sighed. "Yes, I'm going to take a tiny sliver of your muscle tissue so I can figure out what makes it tick."

"It's the--"

"Demon." The old woman interrupted and rolled her eyes. "Yes, I know you think that, but it must've made your muscles stronger somehow, and I aim to find out how."

"Will it hurt?" The innkeeper's daughter grimaced.

"Well getting cut usually does, but not too much. I have some opium for the pain, but you'll need these first." The old woman replied. She set the knife down and then pulled out two thick leather cuffs.

"What are those for?"

"You'll see in a moment." The old woman wrapped the one around her right arm and buckled it.

All of a sudden, Sarah found it hard to move. Her limbs would barely obey her. Then the old woman attached the other cuff and suddenly she couldn't move.

Not at all.

She couldn't even close her eyes, though curiously she could still blink. She couldn't do it voluntarily, but she could.

"Paralysis cuffs." The old woman said as she poured something that smelled alcoholic onto a small strip of healer's gauze. "It prevents all voluntary nerve impulses, but allows the involuntary ones, otherwise you'd die because your heart would stop beating."

Sarah struggled to reply, but had to strain just to move her eyes.

"They'll keep you still while I get the tissue sample; I wouldn't want to hurt you more than I need to." The old woman said almost absentmindedly, like she was talking to herself as much as the innkeeper's daughter. "That's why I brought the opium. Let me just get everything ready and then I'll give you some so it doesn't hurt."

She rolled up Sarah's sleeve and slipped a cloth under the bicep of her right arm. Then she swabbed her bicep with the alcohol-laden bit of healer's gauze. Next she dipped the knife in alcohol for several seconds, then flicked the alcohol off and wiped it down on the healer's gauze. Then -- apparently forgetting the opium -- she grabbed the knife and started cutting deeply, but also carefully and precisely into the girl's arm.

Sarah would've screamed and jerked for all she was worth if she could have moved.

She couldn't.

The old woman made one long-ish, deep incision with meticulous precision, but it hurt like Saidow's lair as she tried to move for all she was worth... but couldn't because of the cuffs.

She was in more physical pain than she'd ever felt in her entire life. She could almost feel her toes trying to curl and her throat begging to scream. Her brain was begging to do anything to express the agony that the gently cutting knife was inflicting on her poor arm. She wished her problem would arise so she could break free and escape...

...but she wasn't scared.

She knew the old woman wasn't trying to kill her, or hurt her, or even trying to cause permanent damage. That simple fact kept her fear at a moderate simmer, not nearly enough to bring her problem to bear.

But she wanted to scream.

Dear Illuminar in heaven she wanted to scream!

The blood rolled down onto the cloth, but there wasn't as much as she thought there would be. The old woman continued this careful, precise cutting for several seconds before she reached over and grabbed some tweezers. The old woman dipped them in alcohol for several seconds, then stuck the tweezers into the cut.

Sarah felt like someone had shoved a branding iron into the open wound.

She could feel her eyes getting watery and tears slowly flowing down the sides of her face. She almost managed to let out a whimper, even despite the paralysis cuffs. Moments later, the old woman pulled out the tweezers, which were holding a tiny sliver of tissue.

"Muscle tissue." She said absentmindedly as she set it down in a small glass dish. "The blood didn't give me the answers I need, so I figured I'd look at the source directly."

She looked down at Sarah, then at her tears. "Oh I'm sorry, I forgot the opium; I'm sorry about that." She looked appalled at herself for a moment, then shrugged slightly. "Oh well, nothing for it now; I'll just heal the wound."

The older woman reached her hand out over the cut and Sarah could feel it closing as the pain slowly receded. It took a minute or two, but finally the wound was fully closed and she wanted to scream in pain much less. Her tears slowed and stopped, but the wound still ached.

"There you go, that's better." The old woman said happily, like she had just done something nice and was completely oblivious to the pain that Sarah had just gone through.

Seriously.

It was like the old woman had noticed that Sarah was in pain, but it hadn't registered. Not like she didn't care, but like she was almost completely oblivious. It really didn't seem like she was being mean, she just hadn't noticed.

"Here, let me get those cuffs off." She took off the left one first, and the innkeeper's daughter whimpered the moment she could move her body again.

"Was it really that bad?" The other woman asked.

Sarah swallowed hard, nodding slowly as the tears started coming back.

"Oh, I'm sorry. How can I make it up to you?" She hesitated, then removed the other paralysis cuff. "Other than releasing you of course. Obviously I can't do that until I've figured out what makes you so strong. Otherwise, what can I do?"

The innkeeper's daughter felt slightly frozen, except for her knees which seemed to want to knock together.

"Oh come on, what do you want?" The old woman rolled her eyes. "It's a bit cold up in the cells, warmer clothes? A better bed? A hot meal? A walk outside? Give me something here."

Too afraid to say anything else, Sarah just nodded.

The old woman shrugged. "Okay, coming up. Well, in a while. Right now, I want to examine this." She held up the glass dish with the muscle tissue. "You don't mind if I wait, right?" She asked casually, like they were discussing the weather.

Sarah shook her head quickly and vigorously.

"Perfect." She smiled then took the glass dish with her and walked over to one of the strange instruments, humming a strange tune as she did.

The way the old woman was behaving actually reminded Sarah of herself when she'd had a new idea for a meal and was making it for the first time. It was the joyous anticipation of experimentation and discovery, and oddly there didn't seem to be any malevolence in it at all.

Sarah didn't know what to make of that.

* * *

Alana watched her husband leave the room and couldn't think of something to say to keep him in the room until after he'd left. She glanced at Rachel, who looked nearly as stunned as she herself felt. Their eyes met extremely briefly, then both looked away at once.

The silence was deafening.

"Um..." Alana started, but couldn't think of a way to finish the sentence.

"Yes?" Her best friend asked at once.

"Uh..." Her mind scrambled, not helped by the gorgeous pair of blue eyes that were looking at her expectantly. Why did Rachel have to have such amazing, wonderful, and distracting eyes?

The redhead spoke after several long moments. "That's uh... that's an interesting thing our husband just said."

"Uh-huh." Alana nodded.

She had known that Ethan wasn't bothered by her attraction to the redhead, but she hadn't known he would actually find it... what was the word he'd used? Was it 'cool?' Or maybe 'neat'? She couldn't remember. 'Okay Alana, pull yourself together' she thought to herself, and willed her brain come up with something coherent to say.

"So... um, do you think that we-- Uh, do you think Beth and Taloni will be okay?" The wood elf finally asked.

Rachel glanced at her for a brief moment, then looked down just slightly as her fair cheeks got a bit more color than normal. "I think... I think that they might... um, that they..."

The redhead bit her lip.

The brunette waited with bated breath, trying not to get her hopes up too high while simultaneously bracing herself for a heart-crushing disappointment.

"Well, if it just happened the other day, it might be really new to them." Rachel finally said. "I mean, they might not know what to think; it might be too new."

The wood elf wanted to kick herself; of course Rachel would be feeling that way. She herself had taken quite a while to come to terms with the idea that she was attracted to the redhead; of course Rachel would need some time too.

"I completely understand that, it took me--" Alana stopped then quickly covered. "Uh, I can see how it might take a while to get used to some of that."

"Some of it?" Rachel repeated.

"Uh, yeah. It might take someone a while to come to grips with the fact that that she's attracted to her best friend."

Rachel glanced at her, a confused look on her face. However, Alana couldn't help but notice that the corners of the redhead's mouth had pulled upwards slightly. It didn't appear to be conscious either, which made the wood elf smile in return.

"Yeah." Rachel said softly, apparently not able to keep a small and embarrassed smile off her face. "Yeah that could take some time, but..." Her cheeks got red and she looked down. "...but I think it's possible."

Alana felt like her heart was going to burst.

Could a person die of happiness?

Apparently it wasn't possible because she would certainly be dead if it was. She wanted to scream and jump for joy, but restrained herself for the sake of her best friend. She didn't think those reactions would help her, so she let the excitement well up inside of her like one of those 'hot air balloons' Ethan had once described.

"So..." Rachel began to say, but bit her lip and fell silent.

"Yes?" Alana prompted gently.

"Do you think... um, do you think that...?" She hesitated, then took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Do you think that Beth or Taloni thinks that it's weird to be attracted to another woman?" The redhead blushed slightly, then bit her lip and looked down. She looked small, as if she was trying to shrink herself down and wouldn't meet the wood elf's eye.

"I don't think they need to." The brunette replied. "I mean, they might have thought that at first, but Illuminar doesn't say it's wrong. It's not exactly normal, and yeah it might be weird at first; but that doesn't mean it's bad right?"

Rachel glanced up at her, and the look in her eyes was very vulnerable. She nodded slightly in concession, but didn't look entirely convinced. She bit her lip and adjusted her hips slightly.

"I um... I don't know." The redhead replied quietly. "I mean, Beth and Taloni might not have grown up hearing about things like that, so they might find it... I don't know, maybe a bit uncomfortable to consider. Well, not uncomfortable exactly, but maybe they might need some time to get used to it."

"It's okay." Alana smiled.

"Yeah?" The redhead looked up at her with an odd look in her eyes. Hopefulness maybe?

"Yeah." She replied with a comforting smile. "It takes time to get used to some things, and that's okay."

"I'm glad you think that." The corners of Rachel's pulled upward a bit. "I... I don't think Beth and Taloni would handle it well if someone was... well, if one of their fellow wives wasn't understanding. It might hurt."

"I would never hurt you." Alana said, putting her hand on the redhead's hand and giving it gentle squeeze.

"Thank you." The redhead gave her an actual smile, though it was a small and embarrassed one. "I know you wouldn't, I just... I don't really know what to think about..." She frowned. "I don't even..."

"Don't even... what?"

Rachel looked up into Alana's eyes. "How would I-- I mean, how would someone like Beth or Taloni cope with discovering something like this about themselves?"

"So, does it have to be a big thing?" The brunette replied cautiously. "Yeah it's another part of you, and it adds to who you already are, but you haven't really changed, have you?"

"It feels like a big change, for Beth and Taloni of course."

"But does it change who a person is at the core?" Alana asked. "You're still a wonderful, sweet, amazing woman; if you were also attracted to a fellow wife in addition to a husband, that's another facet of who you are, but the rest of you would still be the same, right?"

Rachel nodded slightly in concession. "I suppose if someone looked at it that way, it wouldn't be too big of a change."

Alana smiled.

"But then, what if other people knew." Rachel grimaced. "They might... I don't know, they might think I'm some kind of... of..." She trailed off.

"Some kind of... what?"

The redhead grimaced. "I don't know."

"Well, who will think you're... 'that'?" She paused. "Whatever 'that' is."

"I don't know, people?"

Alana raised her eyebrow. "Just 'people' in general."

"Maybe?"

The wood elf slowly nodded, then pursed her lips. "What about the people here on the Argo; do you think they would think 'that'?"

She shook her head.

"And you already know that our husband wouldn't care, and he would actually like it."

Rachel nodded.

"And most importantly Illuminar; do you think He would be against that? Would He be against two of a man's wives falling in love with each other?"

The redhead hesitated, then slowly shook her head. "I don't think the Book of Light mentions it even once. You would think that it would mention it if it's wrong; if it was a sin." She frowned. "Right? I mean, wouldn't that make sense?"

"It would." The brunette nodded. "So if Illuminar doesn't mind, and your friends don't mind, and our husband would actually like it, then why would it matter if some other people thought... 'that'?"

Rachel inclined her head in concession, but didn't say anything else. Alana found herself wishing that she could tell what the redhead was feeling the same way that she could with Ethan, but sadly she couldn't. Still, her best friend looked a bit calmer about the whole thing than she had before.

Not perfectly calm, but calmer.

Finally, after quite a long pause, the redhead spoke again. "I imagine that Beth and Taloni might need some time to think about all this, you know?"

"Yeah?"

She nodded. "Yeah, it might help them come to terms with it." Rachel looked up at her with a small smile. "And it might be really helpful if they had a good friend to talk it over with who wouldn't judge, and who would accept them for who they are." Her smile got wider. "I think that would help a lot."

A wide smile started spreading over Alana's face without conscious effort and her heart suddenly swelled. "I'm glad to hear that."

"I um..." The redhead hesitated. "I should probably go think about... I mean, I should help Beth and Taloni think this through. Though, I need to help Selene find her deep mana too."

"Well, if they make a breakthrough, or simply want to talk, I'm always here for them... and you."

"I know they would really appreciate that." Rachel smiled, and Alana felt her own smile getting wider in response.

"I'm glad." The wood elf replied.

Rachel stood up, gave her another small smile, and then walked the few steps to the door. However, she paused before opening it and looked back at the wood elf. She seemed to fight an internal battle for several moments, and then finally spoke, her cheeks going scarlet as she did so. Her voice was quiet and almost scared, but she had an almost hopeful look on her face too.

"Alana, you know I wasn't talking about Beth and Taloni, right?"

The wood elf grinned and nodded. "Neither was I."

The redhead bit her lip, nodded slowly, then smiled. It was a small and embarrassed smile, but it reached deep into her gorgeous blue eyes. "I'm glad." She hesitated for several seconds. "I'm really glad."

Then she slipped out the door, closing it behind her.

Alana flopped back on the bed, feeling like this day couldn't possibly get better.

* * *

Ethan took a last look around the deck of his airship -- he grinned; his airship -- before he went into the captain's cabin with Beth, Alana and Rachel having vacated it a while ago. Rachel and Selene were away from everyone at the bow of the ship, the former teaching the latter how to find her deep mana. Alana was enchanting Rachel's staff near the mast, Taloni was talking with Anthiel about airship piloting at the ship's wheel, Serif was adjusting one of the ship's sail ropes, and Raklan was helping him.

"Come on, let's see this angelic blade." He said to the blonde as he stepped into the captain's cabin with her in tow.

She followed him and instantly hopped onto the bed and laid down.

"Hold on there." He chuckled. "You do realize that I've never intentionally entered the Astral Plane, right?"

"Oh it's really easy Dominus, but only since you've been there before. If you hadn't it would be really hard. Just lay down, get comfortable, and then remember the Astral Plane and picture exactly what it looks like. Once you've done that, sit up while imagining that your body is tied to the bed."

"Okay, I'll give it a go." He nodded.

It took him several tries over several minutes, but he was finally able to. He stood up and looked around, marveling at how different the captain's cabin looked in shades of purple. The blonde had already been on the Astral Plane for a few minutes now, and she got a huge smile on her face when she saw him.

"You're here!" She exclaimed, and virtually leapt into his arms. Oddly, he was able to catch and interact with her just like in the physical world.

"Yeah, I heard there was a hot blonde here and I wanted to check her out." He winked, then looked at her properly. "Yup, she's hot alright."

He wolf whistled.

She blushed, or at least that's what he assumed the slight darkening of her cheeks was.

"Not blonde here though." He looked at her and frowned. "I thought seeing you as a brunette was weird, but purple hair... and purple skin..." He shook his head.

"My purple dragon." She sighed looking back at him

"Yeah, just don't call me 'Barney' and we'll be fine."

"Who's Barney?"

"Someone from Earth." He chuckled, then noticed the one thing that wasn't purple hanging in a scabbard at her side. "Is that it?"

"Yes, this is Aharown." She nodded, and carefully drew it from its scabbard.

The sword was just as bright and shining as Gabriella was. It seemed to glow with an inner light, and he didn't think anyone or anything in the universe could extinguish it. It was an arming sword, being about 3 feet long and doubled edged, and it looked exactly like a medieval one-handed 'knightly' sword. The blade was a flattened diamond in cross section, and it had no fuller.

Beth frowned as she held it. "It still really doesn't feel right in my hands; like it's not really mine. I don't feel bad just holding it, but I would feel really weird doing anything else with it."

"Hmm, well let me take a look." He said.

She sheathed the sword, then unbuckled the sword belt and handed it to him. Like the sword itself, the sword belt and scabbard weren't purple, but were colored normally, even on the Astral Plane. However, the belt and scabbard didn't have the same radiance that the blade itself did. The sword seemed more 'pure' somehow.

From the moment he touched the scabbard holding Aharown, it felt good.

He wasn't sure why.

Something about it just felt right in his hands. He unsheathed the sword, holding it with his right hand. It felt amazing in his hands; just as good as his dragon steel sword, possibly even better. He stepped back from Beth for safety and gave it an experimental swing.

He could've sworn he heard the blade almost sing as it sliced through the air. He swung it a few more times, but couldn't actually hear it. Maybe he was imagining it, but he would've sworn...

Hmm.

"How does it feel to you Dominus?"

"Great." He nodded as he swung it again. "It just feels right somehow."

She smiled. "I know what you mean. It felt like that in my hands too until I used it to free you from the dark halo curse. Afterwards it felt like its job was done in my hands and I was just holding it for someone. I guess now I know who."

"I won't complain." He nodded. "With the recent revelation about Lord Delmar or his lackeys having dealings with demons, I'll definitely feel better having a weapon that could hurt them."

He shuddered.

Demons.

"How the hell did this happen?" He shook his head. "Three months ago I would've never dreamed of fighting demons, lords or mages in anything but a video game. Now..." He slowly moved Aharown around again, took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Eventually he sheathed the sword and buckled it around his waist as his youngest wife spoke.

"Don't worry Dominus, I'll be right there with you." She promised.

He gave her a half smile. "I suppose you're the only one who can be; none of the others can enter the Astral Plane."

The blonde grimaced slightly. "I don't want to meet another demon Dominus, but I promise I'll do whatever it takes to help you, even it means meeting one again."

"My brave angel." He smiled at her.

"My purple dragon." She grinned back.

He couldn't help but hear the Barney theme song playing in his head.

* * *

"Elder Goman wrote again!"

Alana heard the blonde's voice, but was too busy floating on cloud nine to pay much attention.

Rachel liked her.

She couldn't have kept a smile off her face if she had wanted to. She was trying to at least do something useful by finishing Selene's strength enhancing vambraces. She'd already added the self-repairing enchantment and the activatable stiffening enchantment, so they would function incredibly well as armor. Now she just needed to finish the strength-enhancing enchantment and they would be ready.

*Gather round if you want to hear ladies.* Ethan thought to all of them. *Rachel, can you bring Selene?*

Alana started walking over to him, doing her very best not let her smile reach her ears.

She was only partially successful.

"What's it say?" Beth asked, almost bouncing on the balls of her feet. Alana noticed that she had a book in her hand too, probably one of the ones she'd gotten in Gralden.

"Well, it's actually from Luminar Kossel." He said as he scanned it, then cocked his head to one side. "He says he has a gift for me when he comes."

He looked up and frowned.

"I wonder what it is." Beth mused, her eyes sparkling like they always did when she was curious.

"He's a Luminar, maybe he got a copy of the Book of Light for you master!" The Fey's wings fluttered.

"I kind of doubt that, but maybe." Ethan shrugged and went back to reading. "He wants to know if we were planning to return to Nalatia after taking care of the portal on Earth. He says he wants to hitch a ride with us if we are."

"Are we?" Alana asked, hoping that would be the case. She'd only talked to her mother and father once each, and desperately wanted to again.

"I don't see why not." Ethan nodded, grinning at her before he looked back at the letter. "He's asking us to write back quickly so he can send a letter to the wood elves asking for entrance." He looked up. "Why would he need to ask?"

"Because it's tradition." Beth replied. "Luminars are welcomed anywhere, but it's considered polite to ask before entering another kingdom, especially if he wants to do anything in a priestly capacity as a Luminar."

"Oh, well he doesn't have to send a letter then." Ethan replied. "He can just send it to us and I'll send it to the wood elven king via portal stone he gave me."

"Elder Goman could send it for him, and probably would do it for free." Rachel replied. "It would be better coming from Arcanum anyway since it's an official request. I'm sure he would've appreciated it otherwise though; mailing letters can be expensive and can take weeks, or longer."

"Ah, perfect." He nodded. "I could've just passed it along though. It would've taken two seconds and... and..." Ethan cocked his head as he trailed off. Several seconds later, a slow smile began to spread on his face. It eventually got incredibly wide and he started doing that slow chuckle thing people sometimes do when they've just had a great idea.

"What?" Alana asked.

He looked around at them. "How much does it cost to send a letter?"

"It depends on how far, but from Arcanum to Nalatia, maybe a silver or two." Beth replied. "Usually you need to employ someone to deliver it too, which adds cost."

Ethan got a sly smile on his face, then looked at Alana. "Do you know how to enchant a pair of portal stones?"

She shook her head. "I only know a bit of the theory, so I'd definitely want to talk to someone who knows more, like Elder Goman, before attempting it. Why?"

"Because I sense a business opportunity." He replied. "Mail service via paired portal stones. If we had portal stones in every major city, and all of them had a pair in a central location, then you could charge a small fee -- maybe a copper or two -- and move letters almost instantly from one place to another."

"Huh." Rachel cocked her head to one side, and the wood elf couldn't help but notice that she had a very slender, shapely neck.

"Yeah... yeah." Ethan slowly nodded his head, like he was talking himself into something. "Like if Luminar Kossel wrote a letter to the wood elven king, then he could put it through the stone Elder Goman gave me, and then I could pass it through the stone the wood elven king gave me. It would take me two seconds to get a letter from Arcanum to Nalatia and cost practically nothing once it's setup. If we could have stones in every major city, all leading to a central location, then..."

"That's brilliant." Selene said. "It would be faster than the mail back home."

"Thank you, though I am home." Ethan said as he fondly looked around at the Argo and all his wives.

Alana led the charge to give him a group hug at that pronouncement, and even Kendra joined in; awkwardly and last, but she did. Ethan looked immensely pleased with himself, more so than Alana would've guessed even though the idea was brilliant.

Beth's boundless curiosity beat her to asking why though. "It's a great idea Dominus, but you seem unusually happy about it. Why?"

"Because of something your father said." He replied. "He pointed out that I've basically been living off his charity, and I absolutely hate that. We only have money and the supplies on the Argo because of him. Ever since then, I've been wracking my brain to figure out a way to provide for you ladies, and I think I've finally found it." He looked at Alana. "That is, if you'd be willing to try making portals once all the craziness dies down."

"For you, anything." She nodded. "I need to learn more about it first, but I would be happy to help once I have."

"Perfect, I would make Luminar Kossel our first test case as a favor, but Rachel said Elder Goman will probably send it for him."

"Oh!" Kendra exclaimed.

"What?" Alana asked.

"Speaking of favors, I keep forgetting to tell you." She looked at Ethan. "Luminar Kossel asked me to call in a favor from you, and he asked the same favor of me."

"I do owe him, what is it?"

The dragon huntress's grimaced. "You won't like it."

He sighed. "Yeah well, I'm getting used to that. What is it?"

"He asked that if it was possible -- and he made it clear that he realized it might not be -- but he asked that if it was possible, we wouldn't kill Lady Ekthros when we fight her, but instead capture her alive and bring her to him."

Silence.

The jaws of half the people assembled hung open slightly.

"Why?" Ethan finally said.

"He wouldn't say, but I got the feeling that it was a personal thing." The raven haired woman replied. "I certainly don't think it was a practical thing at all. When I was talking with Elder Goman and Luminar Kossel in Arcanum, Kossel mentioned that he and Lady Ekthros were 'old colleagues' too. I definitely think it's something personal; maybe he wants to kill her himself?"

Ethan growled slightly.

"He did save you." Rachel pointed out. "He defended you from Kendra in Arcanum when you asked for sanctuary."

"And he was the one who convinced us to get married, and he married us too." Alana added. "But still..." She looked at Taloni. "What do you think?"

"I..." The Fey hesitated, then spoke with her teeth clenched a bit tighter than normal. "I'd rather not say."

"Why not?" Ethan asked.

She took a deep breath and her wings buzzed.

Not fluttered.

Buzzed.

For a moment, the sound wasn't unlike the sound a bee or wasp makes. "Because I don't think Illuminar wants me to use bad language master, and I'm not sure I could properly express how I feel without it."

Ethan chuckled but nodded vehemently. "Yeah, I completely understand."

"I do too sir."

"And I Dominus."

"Me also my lord."

"Agreed Drago, I'd prefer to kill the bitch myself."

All eyes turned to Kendra.

"If someone hurts Taloni, I end him." The dragon huntress spoke as if this was a natural consequence; as natural as thunder following lightning, or gravity sending things to the ground.

The Fey teen looked like she didn't know whether to be horrified or happy.

"That's usually my line." Ethan said.

"And I'll let you help." Kendra said with a straight face. Alana was almost entirely sure she was joking.

Almost.

"Or I would let you help, if I didn't owe Kossel so many favors." The dragon huntress corrected herself with a scowl.

"How do you know him?" Beth asked.

The raven haired woman hesitated a moment before speaking. "I learned a lot of things from a lot of people in my former profession, and had a lot of teachers."

"What did you learn from him?" Beth asked.

"Things." Kendra replied evenly, then turned to Ethan. "I don't know about you, but I owe him too much to not grant this favor. Ekthros can live... for now."

"I hate to agree, but I do." He growled, but nodded. "However, she's an arch mage. I'm not sure we could kill her, much less capture her alive."

"He gave me a modified slave collar to prevent her from harming anyone once it's on." She replied. "It's on my airship."

"That's assuming we can get it around her neck without being killed." Alana pointed out.

"I can think of something I'd like to get around her neck." Ethan growled.

"I can think of two things." Kendra flexed the fingers on both her hands. "Sadly..."

"Yeah." Ethan echoed.

"On a lighter note." Alana interjected, not really liking how this topic was progressing. "I think your idea about portal stones and mail is a brilliant idea sir. If we can make just a few paired portals, say in the largest cities like Arcanum, Nalatia, and the other provincial capitals, you could make a lot of gold."

"And even poor people could afford to send letters if you only charged a copper or two master." Taloni beamed.

"Sounds like a plan to me then." He grinned, though his countenance still bore traces of his displeasure with the previous topic. "I think that's pretty far down the road though. I can't see starting that while Lord Delmar is after us, but maybe afterwards."

"Not to be a wet blanket, but that requires reading; what percentage of people in the Ten Kingdoms can read?" Selene asked.

"It depends on who you ask and where you are." Beth replied. "Some places it's nearly half of men, and others it maybe one in twenty."

"How about Ivernia?" Ethan asked.

"Um, I don't remember exactly, but I think somewhere around one in five?" The blonde replied. "I think it used to be much higher, but from what I understand it became less prevalent once Lord Farbrottan started raising taxes a couple decades ago."

"Yeah, he's a problem that needs fixing." Ethan frowned. "I've almost never met people like those in Ivernia. They're good people, some of them very good." He got a strange sort of smile on his face as he said the last part.

"Like Sarah?" Alana asked with a sly grin.

"Sarah is a very good person master." Taloni said with an impish grin.

Dragons can't blush, but the wood elf was pretty sure he would've if he could've.

"Guys, let the poor man be." Selene interjected. "It's not nice to tease people about things they can never have."

Alana looked at the Brazilian woman and got the distinct impression that she was talking about more than Ethan. The chocolate haired elf caught Rachel's eyes, and she seemed to have noticed too. Of course, the wood elf couldn't help but notice the redhead's gorgeous blue eyes.

Without meaning to, she let out a soft sigh.

Rachel blushed slightly, but gave her a small smile in return.

"We're sorry master." Taloni said as her face fell. "I didn't realize... I promise you I won't tease you about Sarah anymore."

"Thanks." He nodded.

Selene still seemed pensive.

* * *

Sarah almost couldn't believe what was happening.

She was sitting on top of the castle's keep on an actual chair, sitting at an actual table eating an actual hot meal... and it was good. The sun was peeking through the clouds, and the day was warm enough that it was comfortable in the sun. That made quite a contrast to the cold stone cell that she had been sitting in the last several days. Her arm still hurt where the old woman had cut it, but the pain had faded to a dull ache.

"It's the mountains." The old woman said as she looked out over the ramparts, the sun shining onto her through the clouds.

"What is?" Sarah asked as she looked at them.

Not far from the small castle, mountains rose from the fairly flat plains around them and disappeared into the low clouds. She could just make out the snowline on the mountains above, so they must be very high. However, the mountain range ended fairly abruptly and there was a gap of pretty flat ground for several miles before the mountains picked up again. The castle was anchoring the near end of the gap between the mountains, providing a defense against anything that might try to come through it.

"The reason the castle is cold." The old woman continued, sounding pensive. "It's summer in Ivernia, but this castle doesn't get very warm because of the cold air which comes down from the mountains."

"Oh." She replied, not sure what else to say about that. That made sense, and it should be better now that the old woman had given her a warmer dress. The sun and the meal were helping to warm her up too.

"Thank you for the meal." Sarah said, then took another bite.

It was quite good.

"Again, so sorry about forgetting the anesthesia." The old woman said as she stood in the sunlight and looked out from the crenulations on the keep. Something about her tone and body language really did make Sarah think that she was sorry too, or at least more so than earlier. "I was just a bit excited; it's not often that I can examine a woman with super strength."

Oddly, the old woman did seem quite excited. It reminded her a bit of a child who was about to be given a treat and was excited to open and eat it. For some reason, her excitement reminded the innkeeper's daughter of Taloni a bit.

The woman was looking out over the castle, the sun poking through the clouds and landing on her. She closed her eyes as she turned to face the sun, a faint, contented smile on her face as she soaked up its rays. Something about her seemed so incredibly innocent at that moment; like a little girl playing outside, or a carefree young woman enjoying a holiday at the beach.

It stood in stark contrast to what she had done in the lab less than an hour ago.

"Could..." Sarah looked down for a moment. "Could Lady Ekthros join us up here? I think she would like a hot meal too."

"No." The other woman shook her head as the sun's rays illuminated her face. "She's kind of a bitch sometimes; I don't really like her." Something about the way she said it gave Sarah some pause. It almost seemed... personal. Like the old woman knew Lady Ekthros very well and didn't like her because of that.

* * *

Selene took a deep breath. "You ready?"

It was late afternoon and she was standing in front of the captain's cabin with Ethan in front of her and all his wives around them. She had taken almost the whole day to really get a handle on her deep mana. Now that she had, it was time to bond. Not that she wanted to, but she needed to.

"I've done this five times before, so yeah." Ethan replied to her question, then frowned. "Okay, I don't remember a few of them, but I'm an old pro at this."

"I feel like there should be more fanfare if bonding is such a big deal." The Brazilian woman mused.

"Well, I had wedding before the second one, I nearly died before the first and third... and the fourth, and had a proverbial gun to my head for the fifth. So yeah, usually pretty fanfare filled."

Selene resisted saying 'until now'.

"Well, let's get this over with." She finally said.

"And you're sure you want to do this?" He asked again. "I know I said this before, but this is a lot more permanent than you seem to think it is."

She shrugged. "Either we do this, or we walk away from Smithbond and ignore everything that's happening. I couldn't live with myself if I did that, and I don't think you could either."

"Fair." He nodded. "But don't say I didn't warn you."

Selene raised her hand, Ethan took it.

"Last chance to back out." Ethan said, then added in a reasonable imitation of Yoda. "If once you start down the bonding path, forever will it dominate your destiny. Consume you it will, as it did the dragon huntress." He winked at Kendra

The raven haired woman rolled her eyes.

Selene chuckled. "We need to Yoda." She replied, thinking that a quick medical death and a heart restart would undo it.

"Okay, let's do it." He said.

She closed her eyes and focused on her deep mana. She understood how the others had talked about it being 'below' her normal mana now. She wasn't sure how they saw it, but she saw it like a mirror image of her normal mana. Her normal mana was like a river coursing through a complex series of interlocking gorges or canyons. Her deep mana was exactly the same, only inverted underneath her normal mana in a mirror image. At least, that's how she saw it.

She focused on pushing a drop of her deep mana into Ethan's hand.

It took a lot of work.

Judging by what everyone else had said, it got easier as you got more experienced. However, it was damn hard right now. It felt like trying to move a boulder that was twice her weight and only vaguely round. However, she could do it, it just took a damn long time and was really hard.

She felt him push a single drop of his deep mana into her. She could've stopped it easily, but didn't. It dropped into her 'mana river' like a stone, and seemed hard and unyielding. It reminded her of how Rachel had described Ethan's mana before they'd bonded. It took her nearly three times longer than it took him, but she finally managed to push a drop of her deep mana into him.

Then she felt it.

She didn't believe Ethan before when he'd spoken about how profoundly intimate it was.

Now she did.

She felt a part of herself mix with a part of him. It was a strange sensation, like watching two different color liquids mix, only she was one of the liquids and could feel herself becoming a part of the other, even as the other also became a part of her. It felt utterly foreign and alien to her, and was easily the most personal, intimate experience she'd ever had.

She didn't like it.

It felt... intrusive.

For a moment, she almost felt like she was a part of him and he was a part of her. Like they were two arms on the same torso, or either side of a mirror-imaged soul. She felt stripped bare; completely naked before him as he was completely naked before her.

She hadn't really wanted this in the first place, and she felt incredibly exposed; vulnerable. Ethan was a good guy, but she might've reconsidered doing this if she'd known what it was truly like. She could feel the bond finishing its formation and was about to be glad that it was over when it flared in strength as it completed.

Suddenly, she could see him.

All of him.

It was like she was looking over the side of the Argo and he was the scenery underneath; she could see all of who he was laid out before her. She could see every part of him that he was proud of and every part he tried to keep hidden in shame. She saw how he strove to be good, and the darker impulses he struggled against which pulled in the opposite direction.

Something about those darker impulses drew her attention, and she felt that somehow, the intricate maze of canyons or gorges that that her 'mana river' flowed through seemed to line up. Not with his darker impulses, but with her desire to see better. Something about the complex geometry seemed to make it easier to see into him; to see into his mind.

She looked.

Buried in his subconscious -- or perhaps in his dragon instincts -- were unfulfilled sensual appetites that felt very familiar to her. Appetites whose opposite side she had often--

Then it ended.

She blinked.

The glimpse ended, and she was left with only a vague impression of what she'd seen; a strong sense of who he was. He was every bit as good as she had thought he was, though only because he strove so hard against his darker side. Yet in that darker side -- or perhaps his dragon side -- were sensual appetites that she hadn't been able to see clearly, but something about them seemed so familiar and just...

She suppressed a sigh as a faint itch formed in her nether regions.

* * *

Ethan had almost been looking forward to getting 'the glimpse' of Selene; he supposed that Beth's curiosity must be rubbing off on him. Something about the Brazilian woman's mana was a bit... standoffish. Not like she was snooty, uppity, or that she thought she was better than him -- she didn't -- but there was a reluctance that reminded him a bit of Kendra, but without the biting edge that Kendra's mana had possessed.

His view of her was... interesting.

He had never seen or heard of a more driven person. She had this driving need to help people. Not a want, not a desire, a need. She almost couldn't help herself because the impulse was so strong. That's what he noticed most before he got a glimpse of her life, as he had with Kendra. And as with the dragon huntress, he made sure his enhanced reflexes were activated to see the whole show.

The first was a flash of her at maybe five years old, playing in a small pool and blowing bubbles in an angel costume complete with attached wings while someone he assumed was her father roared in laughter. There was a blur of other blissfully happy childhood memories after that.

Then she was about elven and skipping down the sidewalk one evening, holding a Harry Potter book that she adored and she was feeling incredibly happy...

...until she saw the police cars and flashing lights at her house.

The next image was crystal clear -- like it was in 4k Ultra High definition -- and it was her parents telling her that her brother was missing; he'd been kidnapped. The next memory involved a kind FBI agent named 'Luna'. Selene had been expressing how useless she felt to help and asked Luna what she could do to find him.

Luna had said. "You can't help today, but become an FBI agent and maybe you can help another family who will go through this in the future." She had been caring, and probably just trying to make a little girl feel better...

...but Selene had hung on every word.

Instantly, Selene's memories morphed into one long blur of training and study sessions that seemed to have lasted almost until Ethan had met her.

Then it ended.

The bond finished forming and he looked at her. Really looked at her for what felt like the first time. Obviously she was drop-dead gorgeous, but something about her beauty had changed. It suddenly seemed more than just skin deep. He wasn't attracted, but now he saw how someone could be.

Huh.

Interesting.

"You weren't kidding." Selene dropped his hand and pulled hers back. "I'm not sure I'd ever want to do that again."

"Well, I've got one or two more." He replied.

"Wait, one or two?" The Brazilian woman raised her eyebrow, then said firmly. "You have two more; I'm breaking this bond after we deal with Smithbond."

"Fair." He nodded, then grinned. "And just to be clear, I usually take a girl on a date before sharing my soul with her."

He winked.

"Wait, I didn't get a date." Alana interjected, then continued before he could reply. "Running from soldiers and rescuing Beth doesn't count."

"I didn't get a date either." Beth added. "A wedding, but no date."

"Neither did I, but you did save me master." Taloni sighed.

"Not dates for me either my lord, and being captured by Lady Ekthros doesn't count."

Everyone looked at Kendra.

"Unless the date was to kill something, I don't think I'd be good company." The dragon huntress replied with an embarrassed grimace.

"Well, we'll have to try both a 'killy' and a 'non-killy' date and see." He said, giving her a smile.

The dragon huntress stared at him for several seconds before opening her mouth, hesitating, and then finally speaking. "Really?"

"Absolutely." He nodded. "I haven't known any of my wives very long, and I've certainly known you the shortest time. I think you deserve a chance to catch up." He looked at the rest of his wives. "Any objections?"

"Only if we don't get dates too master." Taloni beamed, then frowned. "Though, I don't really want a 'killy' date."

"Me either Sir."

"Nor I Dominus."

"I agree my lord."

He shrugged, then felt a mischievous grin creep onto his face. "Okay, so Kendra gets two dates and you all get one. Done."

Beth sighed. "Dom-i-nus."

"You're so bad." Alana shook her head while Rachel rolled her eyes.

"I would love to go on a date with you master; pick any of the 361 days a year and I'll happily go." The Fey hopped up and pecked him on the cheek.

"Wait, 361 days in a year?" He asked.

"Yes." Beth replied like he was being slow or something. "There's always been that many days in a year."

Selene chuckled. "On Earth there's 365 days in a year."

"Oh." The blonde frowned. "But then, how do you divide up the twelve months?"

Ethan cleared his throat and then recited. "Thirty days hath September, April, June and November; all the rest have thirty-one, excepting February alone, which has but twenty-eight days clear, and twenty-nine in each leap year."

Everyone except Selene stared at him.

"That's terrible." Alana finally said.

"Well, what do you do with your extra day?" He replied. "Twelve months doesn't divide evenly into 361."

"There's 12 months of 30 days each, plus Illuminar's Day." Beth replied.

"What's 'Illuminar's day?" He asked. "Some kind of holiday?"

"Of course." Beth replied. "It's in the middle of winter, on the day with the least daylight to remind us that the God of Light is always present, even on our darkest days."

"I like that." He mused, thinking the symbolism was pretty cool.

"Yeah, me too." Selene said thoughtfully. "I mean, I don't believe in Illuminar or anything; but I like having the same number of days every month, with a single Holiday to take up the 'extra' day."

"It's certainly better than the random month lengths on Earth." Ethan agreed.

* * *

Selene agreed about months, but in the back of her mind she couldn't help but think that they'd moved away from her bonding to Ethan pretty quickly. She felt like an afterthought. Why did she always feel like an afterthought here? Even more concerning, why did her nether lips start to itch whenever she did?

She shook her head and put it out of her mind.

She checked her mana and again tried to push it around a bit, and oddly found it easier than it had been before she'd bonded to Ethan. The difference was very significant too.

Hmm.

Interesting.

She wandered off to see Serif wanted to spar, but he was busy so she settled for Raklan. The hulking crewman was good at fighting, but not as good as a teacher. Still, practice was practice and she could occasionally beat him. She grabbed 'her' shield and 'her' training sword -- both of which belonged to Ethan not her -- and faced off against the large crewman.

Serif had lately been teaching her about reading her opponent's moves; looking at hip, chest, and arm position to predict where he would attack instead of reacting after he did. She checked those points, making sure to conceal what she could of her own body behind the large kite shield.

Then she focused all her attention on Raklan, trying to figure out what was in his head; what he was planning to do. A mere instant before he attacked, it suddenly came to her; she knew what he was planning.

She grinned.

Raklan raised his sword for a fast cut to her head, intending to make her move her shield into a position that would prevent her from seeing a follow-up strike to her legs. Being sure what was coming, she took his bait and blocked it with her shield, but then lowered her shield to block his leg strike and simultaneously counterattacked.

"Gah!" Raklan exclaimed as Selene's sword made contact with him.

She grinned.

"Again." He instructed, looking irked.

She took a few steps back and got into ready position, again trying to figure out what the powerfully built crewman would do. Again, his plan came to her a moment before he attacked. She punched her shield out to intercept his thrust, then ducked slightly as she swung her shield to the side, taking his sword with it and opening a path for her blade to connect with a counterthrust of her own.

Raklan looked pissed.

She was now 2-0, which had literally never happened before with any of her sparring partners since coming to the Ten Kingdoms.

"Again." He growled.

This went much the same the third time, with Selene having a laughably easy time figuring out what he was planning. She focused on what he was planning to do, and it came to her right before he did it. The fourth and fifth time weren't any different either.

"I've got lines to untangle." Raklan said after his sixth consecutive defeat, and he marched off much like a sulking child might.

"Six to zero against Raklan; impressive." Serif said from directly behind her.

She jumped.

She hadn't even known he was on deck. "Thanks. I was really working on what you taught me about reading moves, and it seems to be helping."

Serif made a non-committal sound. He scrutinized her for several long seconds then turned and went after Raklan. His normally unreadable face was even more unreadable, but she got the impression that he had a suspicion that he wasn't sharing.

* * *

"I'm sorry." Sarah apologized to Lady Ekthros as she finished telling her what had happened earlier with the old woman, and how she'd got a hot meal and a new dress. "I asked if I could bring you some, but she said no."

The auburn-haired woman shrugged. "At least you shouldn't be so cold." She indicated the dress that the innkeeper's daughter was now wearing, which was thicker than her old one and much warmer too. While it was pleasant enough outside in the sun, the stones walls of the castle made it significantly colder inside.

"Yeah, I'm glad." Sarah replied. "I'm really sorry; I did try."

"Don't worry." Lady Ekthros said kindly. "You were lucky that she did that, she barely speaks to me." The older woman got a funny sort of smile on her face, as if she was enjoying a private joke of some kind.

"Still, I wish we could get out of here." Sarah sighed.

She was actually thinking that it would be wonderful if Ethan -- the prophet of Illuminar -- found out that Lady Ekthros was missing and came to rescue her. She knew it was unlikely because he and Lord Delmar were enemies, but she thought that was more likely than that wonderful man-- err, dragon coming to rescue her.

"What were you thinking just now?" Lady Ekthros asked with a piercing look, though for some reason she got the impression that the auburn haired woman had already guessed.

"I was just wishing that the prophet of Illuminar would rescue us." She sighed.

Lady Ekthros' lip drew into a thin line.

"What?" Sarah asked.

"The prophet of Illuminar, he's..." She frowned, then grimaced and shook her head slowly.

"What is he?" Sarah pressed. "You've said-- well, not exactly 'said', but you've hinted before that he's not what everyone thinks he is; that he's not good. Why? How could you think that with everything he's done?"

"It's because of everything he's done." Lady Ekthros said darkly. "But I've already said too much."

"Please tell me." The innkeeper's daughter asked. "Please. I don't want to treat him like he's a prophet if he isn't."

Lady Ekthros raised her eyebrow. "And you'd trust me? You barely even know me."

"But after what you did for me..." She trailed off, not even wanting to think about it, much less speak of it. "After that I trust you implicitly."

Lady Ekthros nodded slowly. "I appreciate that, though I'm still not sure I should say..." She made a thoughtful frown, as though she was considering.

Sarah waited with baited breath for several long seconds.

Finally, Lady Ekthros spoke again. "Not... not now. Probably someday, maybe even soon, but not... not yet."

"Okay." Sarah nodded, disappointed but understanding. She really liked Ethan, yet a tiny part of her was really worried that he wasn't the good guy that she thought he was; that everyone thought he was. Nearly everyone in her town had turned out to be different than she though they were after her problem was revealed though, and she had known them for years before getting her problem.

Could Ethan be like that?

She hoped not.

She really did.

Regardless, it sounded like Lady Ekthros might tell her what she thought, and soon. She was looking forward to finally hearing the truth from someone she trusted.

* * *

"So, tell me about orcs."

Beth looked at her husband -- her 'purple dragon' -- and then a thought occurred to her that made her face fall.

"What?" He asked, then took another bite of dinner as the rest of the Argo's crew looked at her.

"We should have had sex on the Astral Plane!" She blurted out. "I bet that would've been--" She abruptly stopped herself as she realized that Serif, Raklan, and Anthiel had heard her, none of whom were part of her family.

Suddenly, her cheeks felt very hot.

"Yeah, we'll have to try that." Ethan said thoughtfully and without shame. "Anyways, orcs?"

"Um..." She scrambled to remember what she'd read about them. Several of the books she'd brought with her were about them, though she hadn't had a chance to read them all yet. "So orcs live in clans. The clans tend to consist of several large families living together. They're nomadic, so all their dwellings are tents, and they eat mostly meat."

"Mostly?" He asked.

The blonde nodded. "It usually makes up most of their diet, though they will eat other things in a pinch."

"So, they couldn't find enough food in the mountains so they start eating people?" Selene asked.

Beth shook her head. "The mountains in the southeast of Ivernia aren't really true mountains. They're at the tail end of the true mountain range and are more like massive hills, so they have plenty of grazing land; it's just rough. In fact, most orc clans keep sheep or other animals for food."

"They do?" Selene asked. "But then, why are they such bogeymen here?"

"Bogeymen?" Taloni asked, beating Beth to the question by mere moments.

Selene explained the concept, and the blonde frowned before answering. "No one really knows. Orcs value strength above everything else, and none of the other mortal races has been strong enough to live among them long enough to know. The few orcs who leave their clans tend to be tight-lipped about their culture."

"Strength huh?" Ethen mused. "As in physical strength or martial prowess?"

"Both, I think." Beth replied. "There's a lot of opinions about what the orcs are actually like amongst themselves, but no one seems to know for sure."

"Hmm, okay. Thanks." He smiled at her.

She beamed back.

She loved it when he was happy with her. For some reason, it just made her feel all warm and gooey inside. Kendra seemed to like that too. She was sitting next to Ethan, and partially leaning on him. She'd been touching him a bit more at every meal that day, and it looked like her stomach was protesting less and less as time went on.

Right now for instance, she was actually leaning up against him slightly and barely looked nauseated. That morning, she looked much the same when just brushing him. The difference in only one day was large, and the blonde was pretty sure that her husband's newest wife wouldn't be bothered much at all soon.

Beth looked around at her family and couldn't help but smile.

Her husband and fellow wives were just starting out in life, but she had a long life with them to look forward to. Children too eventually, and maybe even some boys. She wanted both girls and boys of course, and one day she could almost see them sitting around a large table eating, drinking, and laughing with a ton of kids adding joy to the mix.

She sighed.

* * *

Selene couldn't help but notice the massive smile on Beth's face, and seeing as she was sitting next to the blonde she turned towards her. "What's got you so happy?"

Beth looked at her, her incredibly wide smile reaching deep into her blue eyes. "My family."

"Kendra made that big a difference?"

"It's not just Kendra, it's everyone." The blonde replied. "They're all just so lovely and I feel so incredibly blessed to be one of them."

She looked it.

Outside of newly engaged brides and women who'd just discovered they were pregnant, Selene had rarely seen anyone look that happy. She'd seen anime shows where girls had stars or hearts in their eyes, and she imagined this was the real life version of that.

"I'm happy for you." The Brazilian woman said honestly, if a bit jealously.

She was glad that Beth had found such happiness, she just was beginning to think she never would. Her life was looking like it might end when she went back to Earth to try and deal with Smithbond. Even if she was successful -- which wasn't guaranteed -- she quite likely would die or be seriously injured in the process. Maybe the government would just lock her up forever.

But even if she succeeded unharmed and was let go, she still didn't know what she would do afterwards. She couldn't work in law enforcement or the military ever again because of her discharge from the FBI. She likely couldn't even be a lawyer, or judge, or something like that. She briefly considered trying to be a doctor, but that wasn't really her thing. She wanted to be out there stopping bad guys from doing bad things, not helping the victims afterwards.

The rest of dinner passed without Selene saying much.

She was too preoccupied with her future, and what would happen after she left the Argo and returned to Earth. After dinner, she stood and stretched in the semi-darkness, the Argo's deck lit only by the newly risen moon, a few lanterns, and the coals in the iron firepan suspended above the deck.

"Selene."

The Brazilian woman turned to see Kendra, who had an apologetic look on her face.

"I think I'm going to sleep in the captain's cabin tonight." The dragon huntress said. "I ended up sleepwalking there last night anyway, so I thought I would avoid the possibility of falling off the Argo while sleepwalking." She finished with a wry smile, probably trying to make a joke.

Selene gave her a half smile, but her heart wasn't in it.

"Well, sweet dreams." She replied, not sure what else to say.

"I'll walk you down if you're going to bed." Kendra offered.

"I'd like that."

The two women walked downstairs in silence, the caramel haired woman in front and the raven haired one behind. They walked past the ship's stores, the ballast logs, and the men's sleeping area to duck through the blanket separating the women's area from the men's.

"Well, this is me." Selene said wryly as she looked at her hammock.

Kendra nodded slowly. "Well, good night."

"Night."

Kendra hesitated a moment and then pursed her lips as she tapped her foot on the floor. She didn't seem impatient though, just pensive.

"Was there something more?" Selene asked.

The dragon huntress waggled her head back and forth a moment. "Kind of, but not really."

"Oh?"

"Um..." She seemed uncharacteristically hesitant, almost shy. "Can I... would you like hug?"

Selene stared.

Then she blinked.

"Why?" She finally asked, finding the question rather odd coming from Kendra of all people.

"Um, because it looks like you could use one." The dragon huntress replied. "It's something I picked up from everyone's favorite Fey. I would like to be more like her, at least in that way. I'm really not that good at them, but do you want one?"

"I could take a hug." Selene replied, feeling her eyes get just slightly watery.

It was an awkward hug.

Very awkward.

Probably the most awkward hug that Selene had ever received, no exceptions. They almost bumped heads and Kendra first held too tight and then too loose, probably trying to find the right balance. She also did that awkward 'lean forward upper body hug' thing, then tried to correct it and got a bit close.

It was wonderful anyway, and Selene couldn't help but smile. When their hug broke, Kendra looked about as comfortable as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs.

"Well that was..." The Brazilian woman cast around for the right word.

"Awkward?" Kendra grimaced.

"Yeah." She admitted, then half smiled. "I didn't hate it though."

"No?"

Selene shook her head. "No, not at all."

"Good." The dragon huntress said with the beginnings of an embarrassed smile. "Anyway, night."

"Night."

The other woman turned and slipped out, leaving Selene feeling slightly confused. Still, the hug had been really nice of the dragon huntress. Despite her future outlook on life, she didn't have a frown on her face as she laid down in the hammock.

Almost the opposite in fact.

* * *

Kendra felt rather stupid. Well, not exactly stupid, but something akin to it. She had been trying to be sweet like Taloni. That first hug from her had been one of the most wonderful and transformative experiences of her life, and she'd wanted to give the same to Selene.

Except she wasn't Taloni.

That was okay, but she felt a little foolish for having tried to be. She walked back upstairs and slipped into the captain's cabin, trying not to worry about her fellow wives seeing her scars when she inevitably took her dress off while sleeping. She shook her head; she had fellow wives. She had never thought that would happen.

"--it's just a feeling I have." Ethan was saying, apparently in the middle of a conversation with her fellow wives.

"What's a feeling you ha--" Kendra started to ask, then stopped short.

Alana was sitting on the bed nonchalantly... and she was completely naked. She was sitting in what Ethan once described as "Indian style", her small-ish breasts pointing out towards her husband and only partially covered by her hair. Nearby, Beth and Taloni were removing their dresses, and very shortly they also were as naked as the day they were born.

Kendra gulped and averted her eyes.

Ethan was laying on his side, eyeing his first wife and he looked up -- since his head was facing the door -- and smiled when he saw her. "You're here."

She nodded.

He smiled even wider. "Good girl."

She felt a rush of warmth that had nothing to do with the fact that her cheeks were incredibly red. She still couldn't look at the three naked women as they began to situate themselves on the bed. Rachel was also sitting on the bed, but she was still wearing her dress. The dragon huntress also noticed that she seemed to be determinedly looking at anything other than Alana's naked body.

She couldn't help but grin, even as her cheeks probably approached the color of Rachel's roots.

"Yeah, it's a bit awkward at first." The redhead said, giving her a half-embarrassed, half-sympathetic smile. "And maybe later too."

Ethan sighed contentedly. "I'm willing to put up with a whole lot of awkwardness to have the five most beautiful women in the world here with me." He grinned conspiratorially. "Even if two of them are overdressed."

Beautiful?

Kendra swallowed; Ethan thought she was beautiful?

She had never considered herself beautiful before. Never. Actually, the fact that she was fairly plain looking had proved to be an asset when she'd worked for the Aldmiri; it helped her blend in. By any objective measure, Kendra was the least attractive of Ethan's wives.

It wasn't even close.

"Oh you're just biased because you've bonded to all of us." Alana winked with a chuckle.

"Oh, I've done a lot more than bond with all of you." He grinned back.

His first wife gave him a sly smile. "Really sir? Whatever do you mean?"

"Yes Dominus, please explain." Beth grinned.

"Or better yet, please demonstrate master."

Kendra felt her stomach twinge, but nowhere near the level that it had been. It had actually gotten a lot better since... well since yesterday; her wedding. It still wasn't fully better, but she no longer felt the impulse to vomit when these sorts of things came up. She wasn't even mildly nauseous anymore.

Ethan looked up at her. "We'd have to clean the sheets, wouldn't we?"

"I don't think so." The dragon huntress grimaced.

"We should wait then, if it's okay with you master." Taloni jumped up and her wings became a blur as she used them to set herself down on the floor before skipping over to Kendra. It was really good to see the Fey using her wings as naturally as anyone else used their arms for legs. However, she didn't know what to do with her dear friend being completely and utterly naked in front of her.

She averted her eyes, looking upwards.

"Oh don't worry silly." Taloni beamed as she grabbed one of Kendra's hands. "It's perfectly fine for you to see any of us naked because we're all married to Ethan."

Thereafter, the tiny Fey gently tugged the reluctant dragon huntress over to the bed.

"Um, where should I sleep?" She asked, not even sure about getting on the bed yet.

"Anywhere you want, except in master's arms because it's Alana's turn tonight."

"We decided to keep it simple." Rachel explained. "It was a little chaotic with the previous system, so now it's just in order we bonded to Ethan. So Alana's first, then Beth, then Taloni, then me, then you."

"And it's my night tonight." The wood elf sighed.

"Not that you're taking advantage..." Ethan pointed out.

She dived at him, in a half tackle. He caught her and rolled so she ended up half under him, half spooning with him.

"Now it's perfect." The chocolate haired brunette sighed.

"Oh, and you don't want to get between Alana and Rachel." Taloni said with a grin.

Both of the aforementioned women blushed.

"Why?" Kendra asked, though she thought she could guess.

"Because no matter where they start sleeping, they always end up sleeping next to each other." Ethan explained calmly, not making a big deal about it... but his eyes twinkled.

Both members of the aforementioned couple averted their eyes, but both had what looked like involuntary smiles on their faces too.

"So they have that side, why don't you sleep next to Tee and me?" Beth suggested, seemingly completely unbothered that Kendra could see her entire chest and...

Wow.

She knew that Beth had long legs before, but damn; the blonde was all legs. Long, slim, well-toned dancer's legs. Kendra was jealous. Very jealous. They had about the same size breasts though, so at least she wasn't behind in that department.

"Um, okay." The newcomer nodded.

It took a minute, but they all settled in on the enormous bed under the light covers. There were heavier covers at the foot of the bed, which butted up against the rear wall. The top half of the rear wall was the enormous glass-blocked window that covered the entire upper half of the rear wall of the captain's cabin. The heavier covers would be useful in winter, but were out of the way for the warm weather.

Kendra ended up sandwiched between the two blondes at their insistence, but at her insistence she was still wearing her wonderful purple dress. Beth was closer to Ethan, and Taloni was at the end, firmly curling her naked body against Kendra's arm. It was a good thing that she wouldn't need the arm, because it felt like the Fey didn't want to let go. Beth was snuggled up close to her on the other side, though not as close as the honey-blonde was.

Kendra was in heaven.

Well, not quite heaven but close to it. Actually, she needed on more thing to make it perfect.

"Ethan, can you do that thing with your wings?" She whispered.

"Anything for my good girl." He nodded, spreading his wings over all of them.

Kendra's stomach twinged only a bit at the contact, and not enough that it was actually uncomfortable. It was incredibly mild compared to just 36 hours ago. However, hear heart soared at Ethan's words. She loved it when he called her a good girl. She wasn't entirely sure why, but she did. She liked that.

She liked being his good girl.

"Ethan." She whispered a minute later.

"Yeah?" He replied.

"What were you talking about when I came in?" She asked. "You were talking about a feeling you have."

"Oh, I get the feeling that -- assuming everything goes well with Selene's mission to Earth -- that she won't want to come back here. I think she'll want to stay on Earth and will break the bond."

"Really?"

"Yeah." He craned his neck to look at her. "It's just a feeling I have, nothing behind it, but we bonded today and I got a real sense of who she is. I don't think she'll want to come back."

"I thought she would." Beth said. "I thought she might be your sixth wife."

"Yeah, but I don't see her not staying on Earth." He said, neck still craned around. "I don't know why, it's just the sense I get."

"Hmm." Kendra mused as she looked at him.

Ethan.

Her husband.

She liked the sound of that

He looked back at her for second seconds, then smiled. "Kendra, has anyone ever told you that you have beautiful eyes?"

She blinked, as her eyes seemed to have a bit more liquid than normal. "Nuh." She said, but somehow the sound she had intended hadn't come out since her throat had tightened slightly. She cleared her throat. "No, no one ever has."

"My brown-eyed beauty." He smiled. "Night Kendra." He returned to looking the other way, snuggling with Alana.

"Goodnight Drago." She whispered back.

Brown-eyed beauty?

She bit her lip.

He couldn't really think that, could he?

Taloni sighed sleepily as she snuggled closer. "You do have beautiful eyes."

"You... yo..." Beth yawned, then mumbled. "You do. Night."

"Night." Kendra replied.

The dragon huntress had cried herself to sleep before in her life, but not like this; not these kinds of tears. Her eyes felt like they were perpetually leaking as Beth held her on one side, Taloni held her tightly on the other side, and Ethan's wing was draped over her after he had just called her his 'brown-eyed beauty'.

She smiled, a bit of saltwater slipping into the corners of her mouth as she considered the very real possibility that she might overwork her 'smile muscles' before the night was out.

* * *

Selene was having the strangest dream of her life.

No exceptions.

In pretty much every dream she'd ever had before, she was always herself. Sometimes she was herself with super powers, or herself with slight changes, but she'd always been herself. Sometimes she'd even seen herself in third person like she was floating above whatever was happening, but she was still herself.

Tonight she wasn't herself.

Not even close.

Tonight she was a very large man built like a linebacker. Apparently one that had a really dirty mouth, a taste for beer and hard liquor, and a penchant for violence. For the third time in the dream, she'd watched as he -- or maybe herself through his eyes -- had beaten someone senseless, though thankfully not dead.

Then suddenly, she was seeing through the eyes of a ten year old boy who was being yelled at by a large man that she somehow knew was her father-- No, it must be his father because her own father neither looked nor acted anything like this irate man. She as the young boy -- or maybe her and the young boy together? -- dodged a flagon of ale from his father more than once.

Then suddenly they were running from some large woman -- maybe his mother? -- who was swinging a frying pan. Not really at him, but they were worried about getting hit. The two of them continued to run -- or maybe she was watching him run through his eyes? -- trying to avoid a seemingly endless series of flagons and frying pans.

Then suddenly they had escaped and he -- or maybe they? -- were standing with a beautiful young woman who was looking up at him adoringly. Somehow she knew that this insanely beautiful, completely idealized woman was her first crush.

Wait.

No.

It must be his first crush; she'd never had a crush on a woman before.

"I missed you dear." The woman said, but then her adoring face turned into a sneer as she looked behind him. "But I missed him more."

Selene, helpless to affect anything, watched through his eyes as he turned and saw a tiny little effeminate man that the woman didn't even like sauntering up while juggling bags of gold coins. He too had a sneer, and with a wave of gold, the effeminate man expelled him from the scene.

She -- or maybe they? -- were carried away onto some kind of military ship. That's when she -- or maybe he? -- had beaten several men senseless.

Except for the time as a little boy, she'd been a large man built like a linebacker the entire time. Someone powerfully built and over six feet tall; someone with muscles and fighting instinct built up over a hard lifetime.

Then she turned and saw a whole slew of prostitutes -- no he thought of them as whores -- all of whom had some feature or other that hearkened back to her first crush-- no, back to his first crush. His great love who had betrayed him for money, which made her basically no different than a whore. His crush was perfection personified, so how could any other woman be better?

They must all be worse.

Therefore, all women must basically be whores who'd sell themselves for money. That's all they were. And if all women were whores, then he'd treat them like it. He grinned as Selene watched through his eyes while he tried to decide which of these subhuman fucktoys he was going to screw senseless while imagining that she was his first crush; his first and only love who had--

* * *

Selene jerked awake in her hammock, cold sweat covering her body as she breathed hard. She panted for several seconds as her heart raced, and she did some breathing exercises to calm it down. A minute or two later, her heartrate returned to some semblance of normal.

What the fuck was that!?

She took a couple deep breaths and went back over the dream, trying to figure out what could've possibly happened; how she of all people could've had a dream like that. She'd never had a dream like that before. Ever. It was violent, bloody, unsettling, and downright perverse. She almost wanted to take a shower.

Something about the dream and the thoughts in it felt so... so...

Ugh!

The way that he had viewed those women was just...

She shuddered.

She had been to some incredibly kicky corners of the internet and even enjoyed them, but someone viewing women as 'subhuman fucktoys' made her skin crawl and fists clench. It was utterly repulsive; totally repugnant. It made her want to take a hot shower or knee whoever thought that in the balls.

Ugh!

Where the hell had that dream come from? It seemed utterly alien and foreign to her. No experience in her entire life -- whether in a dream or the waking world -- had ever been anything like that. She'd seen things during the dream that she would've never imagined; things that didn't seem like they could've come from her brain. She just couldn't imagine where the dream could've come from.

What kind of person would have a dream like that?

On the other side of the blanket between the men's area and the women's area, she heard Raklan snoring in his sleep. He usually tossed and turned, and she doubted that he ever got a good night's sleep. Thinking about it, that might partially account for the large crewman's disposition.

She tried to still herself and heard the faint creaking of the Argo, plus a faint but beautiful melody coming from the weather deck; Anthiel no doubt. She laid back in the hammock, the melody helping her to relax as she tried to figure where the dream had come from while simultaneously attempting to ignore Raklan's restless snores.

* * *

Kendra woke to the pitter-patter of rain gently falling onto a window. She didn't move, over a decade of training and practice having conditioned her to let her senses tell her what was going on before she gave any indication that she was awake.

She was warm, just shy of too warm but oddly in a delightful way. She could feel naked skin touching her almost everywhere, except her back which was on the bed.

It was heavenly.

No, sublime.

Maybe transcendent?

No, it was... was...

She couldn't think of the words. Her brain reminded her that it was Beth and Taloni next to her, and Ethan's wing over her. Thankfully, her stomach barely even gave a half-hearted protest before shrugging and going back to normal.

Kendra opened her eyes.

It was still early in the morning, and she could see rain rolling down the large glass-blocked rear window of the Argo. It was a soft, steady, soaking kind of rain; the kind that made for cozy mornings in bed with a good book. The sky was slowly growing lighter, but it would still be a while before the sun rose.

She looked down to see that the Fey was using her left breast as a pillow in a totally innocent way. Her honey-blonde hair was splayed all over everything in a chaotic mess of lovely innocence. On Kendra's other side, Beth was sleeping on her side with her front towards Ethan and her back up against Kendra. Her upper leg had somehow ended up over Kendra's thighs.

She swallowed as she felt her overworked tear ducts start to function again. She blinked, trying to clear her eyes. Why was she crying so much lately?

It was like her eyes just wouldn't stop.

"S'okay, nuffing worf cry'n 'bout." Taloni mumbled. She looked like she was on the edge between awake and asleep. She would probably wake up soon and--

The dragon huntress stiffened as she realized that she was also naked. Her dress was nowhere to be seen, and if the blondes woke up they would see her scars.

She swallowed hard.

There was simply no way to extricate herself from the blondes without waking them, especially with how Taloni was half laying on top of her torso, and Beth's legs were over her own. Her mind raced, trying to figure a way to cover herself before they woke up, but nothing came to her.

"Here." A voice whispered from 'above' her, above meaning towards the door since she was laying on her back.

It was Rachel.

She was wearing her red dress and holding Kendra's purple one up. "I forgot to mention last night, if you take your dress off before you fall asleep, you can have it on hand when you wake up. Otherwise it goes Illuminar-knows-where."

"Thank you." Kendra whispered in reply.

Beth wasn't pinning her right arm, so she reached up and took the dress.

Rachel had kept her eyes averted, and the dragon huntress couldn't help but feel a burst of gratitude towards her for--

"Kendra, wha... wh..." Taloni yawned as she picked her head up and her eyes fluttered open. "What happened?"

Shit.

"I tried." Rachel whispered with an apologetic smile.

"Hmm?" The ever-curious Beth apparently had been on the edge of awake too, and the blonde turned to look at Tee. Kendra made to cover herself, but there were too many scars to cover with just her hands and arms.

"Kendra, what happened?!" Beth cried in alarm as she sat bolt upright.

Fuck.

After that, everyone was awake.

Ever the protector, Ethan was up in an instant and his war hammer hit his hand moments later as he looked around wildly for whatever threat had caused Beth such alarm. Of course, him jumping up threw the light covers off, ensuring that everyone got an eyeful of everyone, whether they wanted it or not. Rachel was clothed, but everyone else was wearing their original birthday suit.

Kendra tried to cover herself up, but there was no way she could. Her cheeks burned red as the numerous imperfections etched into her skin were displayed to the last people on earth that she wanted to see them.

"What's wrong?" Ethan asked, blinking and apparently trying to clear his startled-awake mind.

"It's Kendra." Beth breathed.

The raven-haired woman's heart sank. Was there really something wrong with her?

"She's got-- are you okay?" The blonde asked with genuine concern on her face.

"They look like scars Bee, I don't think she's hurt right now." Taloni said as Kendra wrapped her arms around herself to hide as much of her disfigured body as possible.

"Oh." Beth breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay, I was worried there for a moment." She hesitated for a moment, then her nature reasserted itself. "How did you get them?"

"Ladies." Ethan said. "Not sure if you can tell, but Kendra doesn't really look like she wants to talk about this now."

Beth opened her mouth, probably to disagree, but then glanced at Kendra and stopped herself. "Okay Dominus. Sorry Kendra."

"Maybe give her a little privacy so she can get dressed?" He suggested.

His wives nodded and turned.

Kendra knew they were doing it to be sensitive to her, but she couldn't help but feel like they were turning from her because of her disfigured body. It was ugly, and she hated that.

"Sorry Kendra." Beth said with her back turned. "I was worried at first, and then I just got curious and-- well, I'll try not to ask questions."

The dragon huntress almost chuckled despite everything as she slipped on her dress. It would be a warm day in Saidow's lair before the blonde stopped asking questions, but Kendra appreciated that she would try.

"Thank you." She said as she finished getting dressed.

Ethan hadn't averted his eyes, and the dragon huntress couldn't help but notice how one rather large part of his body had reacted to her nude form. She could feel his emotions of their bond too, which left her in no doubt as to what he thought.

She didn't understand it, but she was glad.

"Okay, I'm dressed." She finally said.

The other ladies turned to look at her, no one saying anything.

Ethan set his war hammer down on the floor and then sat down on the bed Indian style, patting his lap as he did so. "Kendra, would you care to change your seat?"

She swallowed, then nodded. She only had to half-crawl for a moment before she was there, then sat down across his lap. Her stomach barely protested at all, even though she could feel his... she blushed as she realized she could feel it pressing against her side.

He wrapped his arms around her and looked up at everyone else. "Now, I have a very serious question for all of you."

They all shifted uncomfortably.

He took a deep breath, then spoke. "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, how many pickled peppers did Peter Piper pick?"

They all stared.

"It's a joke." He chuckled. "Well, actually more of a tongue twister. I'm trying to lighten the mood."

"Oh." Beth breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh thank Illuminar."

"Yeah, I thought we were in trouble master." Taloni's wings fluttered.

"Not in trouble at all." He shook his head with a smile. "Just, maybe be a little more sensitive about something that bothers a fellow wife?"

"Yes Dominus."

"Yes master."

"I'm okay." Kendra said. "I'm just a bit... self-conscious about my..." She grimaced. "...my scars."

"I get that." Rachel gave her a sympathetic smile, and touched one of her shoulders. Kendra had watched the battle between the Argo's crew and Gonorran from afar, and unless she missed her guess that was the shoulder that had been hit by the necromancer's fireball. It made sense that she had a scar there.

"I'm sorry that they bother you both, but the fact that they bother you is the only reason we would care." Taloni said to Kendra and Rachel. "You are both wonderful women and I feel lucky to have you both, scars and all."

"I couldn't have said it better myself." Ethan looked at the Fey teen proudly.

She beamed.

Kendra looked around at the other women, her fellow wives, and saw them all nodding in assent. They didn't care? Well, she supposed that it made sense because she wouldn't care if they had scars. What really bothered her is that she was horribly disfigured compared to them. Okay, maybe not 'horribly', but she had large scars over much of her body and she felt ugly compared to her fellow wives. Not that she thought they would judge -- they wouldn't -- but it bothered her.

Ethan gave her a gentle squeeze. "Hey, how's my good girl?"

She smiled in spite of herself, and felt a comforting warmth in her chest as he called her that. She wasn't sure why, but she loved it when he did.

"I'm okay Drago." She whispered back. "Waking up this morning was just..." She closed her eyes and felt a smile starting to creep onto her face. "I really liked it."

"Good." He nodded, then looked up. "Now I don't know about anyone else, but I'm feeling a bit peckish."

Beth grinned, then leaned forward and gave him a good hard poke in the side.

He jumped. "I said 'peckish' as in 'hungry', not 'poke-ish', if that's even a word."

"Are you sure my lord?" Rachel asked in a deadpan voice. "I thought I heard 'poke-ish'."

"Me too sir."

"Master, I'm not sure why you're feeling 'poke-ish', but since you are..." The Fey teen lunged forward at almost the same time as the blonde did likewise.

Kendra sprang into action, defending Ethan from Beth while he fended off Taloni. Alana and Rachel entered the fray moments later, and it became an epic 2-vs-4 poke-fest. The dragon huntress had never used her skills at play before, and had to modulate her force, speed, and technique to avoid hurting anyone.

She enjoyed it immensely.

Eventually, the four women basically body flopped on top of Ethan, who had trouble getting up under the weight. He probably could've if was a real battle, but he'd never hurt them. He stuck his arm out and one of his strength enhancing vambraces flew across the room and locked on.

"Hey, no fair." Beth called.

"All's fair in love, war, and poke fights." He said triumphantly, managing to extricate himself as Beth clung to him, trying to bring him down again.

He grabbed the naked blonde and threw her down onto the bed onto her back. He did it with such force that Kendra would've been alarmed if she hadn't known that Ethan would rather die than hurt one of his wives. In a flash he was over her and his hand closed around her neck as she spread her legs. Beth seemed to love it. She was practically doing the splits, and then she reach down and spread her nether lips to make the target more inviting.

"Now, do you want to see a real display of poke-man-ship?" He made a noise that was halfway between a purr and a growl.

"Yes please Domi--" She yelped as he buried himself inside of her fully in a single thrust.

Then he started pounding her.

Truly pounding.

The entire bed was almost shaking with the force and Kendra would've been horrified if Beth hadn't already been reduced to an incoherent puddle of limbs; sighing, moaning, and wrapping her legs around him seemingly trying to get him in deeper.

"Har..." She whimpered. "...arder."

Somehow, Ethan sped up. The blonde's back arched and it almost looked like she would break in half she was so flexible... yet she held this pose for several minutes while he slammed himself into her. Her toes curled and she let out a strangled wail as he thrust deeply inside of her and then held himself buried up to the hilt.

"She likes it like that; rough I mean." Rachel said from next to Kendra. "In fact, that's not the roughest I've seen him be with her."

The raven haired woman felt her eyes widen. "What?"

The teen mage nodded. "In fact, she kind of prefers if she has a few bruises when they're done, since Taloni can heal them."

Kendra stared.

"She does. I don't get it, but she does." Alana nodded. "In fact, one time he--" The wood elf blushed, which wasn't very normal for her on these topics.

"He what?"

"He um..." The redhead also went red. "He once um... 'spanked' her to orgasm."

Kendra stared.

"He did." Taloni nodded shaking her head with smile that was half amused, half embarrassed.

"That's possible?" The dragon huntress finally got out.

"Apparently." Alana's cheeks were a deep shade of crimson.

The raven haired woman grimaced and she almost subconsciously moved her hands to protect her butt.

"He's never like that with the rest of us though." Taloni said brightly. "He knows what she likes, but he also knows what we like."

He did.

Kendra watched in stunned fascination as the incredibly aggressive and rough Ethan of a few moments ago again suddenly changed demeanor. He tenderly kissed Beth as she lay there looking exhausted but happy. Then he looked at the Fey teen.

"Taloni, serve your master." He said in a commanding tone that also conveyed deep affection.

The Fey girl sprang forward before Ethan and Beth had fully parted. He pulled out of Beth and Taloni lovingly cleaned him off...

...with her tongue.

She did it so incredibly lovingly too, like she wanted nothing else in this moment than to be where she was; on her knees pleasing him. She was looking into his eyes as she worked and she was smiling. Ethan had once talked about the concept of a person's 'happy place'; this looked like the Fey's happy place. Oddly, the sight didn't strike Kendra as being erotic exactly, and certainly not lewd. There was something so loving and tender about it that precluded such a word from applying.

"May I please pleasure you master?" She asked when she had finished, glancing at his fully erect cock and biting her lip.

"You may." He replied. He was sitting 'Indian style' as he called it, leaning back a little and supporting his torso with his arms.

The Fey grinned widely, then raised herself up and lowered herself slowly over his cock, taking him fully in one long stroke.

"Your master is pleased with you." Ethan nearly purred.

Taloni's breath caught, like she'd just gotten near an orgasm but not quite there. He almost purred in approval. Kendra watched, unable to tear her eyes away from the sight before her. Every time the Fey made a noise to indicate she was enjoying herself, Ethan did something to let her know he approved. It was always subtle though, the kind of thing that would be hard to notice when someone was enjoying herself as much as Taloni was.

"He's training her." Kendra whispered.

Rachel nodded, but Alana looked confused.

"Every time she does something that she enjoys, he approves." The raven haired woman explained quietly. "He's trying to subtly get her to focus on pleasuring herself because that's what he enjoys."

"I didn't notice." The wood elf cocked her head to one side, then looked at Rachel. "How long has he been doing that with her?"

"As long as I've been married to him, probably longer." The redhead whispered in response, though Kendra noticed she was determinedly looking at the wood elf's face and anywhere other than her completely naked body.

"Huh." Alana smiled at him proudly. "That's my husband."

"Our husband." Kendra said softly, scarcely able to believe it.

Then Taloni came.

Everyone in the room knew it; and probably everyone on the ship too, and anyone who happened to be in the general area. Damn she was loud. She wasn't quite screaming, nor even saying words. It was more like a stream of barely comprehensible... wait, were those Fey words? Kendra cocked her head to one side. She didn't know the language, but had heard it enough to recognize some of the sounds.

Maybe the Fey was saying something?

"You okay honey?" Ethan asked as she flopped onto him, a contented smile on her face as she rested her cheek against his shoulder.

"Mmm, yes mas'er." She mumbled, her wings fluttering and occasionally flicking in a random direction as she came down from her peak.

"Good." He kissed the top of her head and she sighed.

"Ra'h'ls t'rn." The Fey mumbled again as she completely relaxed into him while still being impaled by him.

He sat up and wrapped his arms around her to hold her. "Not yet honey."

"So..." Kendra hesitated as she whispered to the two women next to her. "Do the wives who aren't... uh, 'involved' with Ethan usually just watch?"

"No, I usually play with Taloni or Beth." Alana replied.

"I'm not comfortable with... with that." Rachel said delicately, then blushed slightly. "I usually wait, but I don't mind watching. He's really wonderful with them."

The dragon huntress nodded, not able to disagree.

Ethan held Taloni for almost a minute before she seemed to come out of her sleepy post-orgasmic haze. "You always hold me master."

"I like holding you." He nodded with a grin.

"I like being held." She closed her eyes and smiled for several moments. "But there are others, and it looks like Bee is finally conscious again, and quite a mess..." She grinned at him. "Maybe I should help her with that master."

"Go get her." Ethan grinned.

The Fey raised herself up and appeared to clench her legs slightly as she slid off of him. Then quick as a flash, she made a little jump and adjusted herself with her wings so she landed with her face between the blonde's legs, and her hips over the blonde's face.

"You've got a mess down here." The Fey giggled. "Let me help clean it up." She leaned down and started--

Kendra blinked.

The tiny, innocent, Fey teen was gently and lovingly lapping up the white liquid that had leaked from Beth's slit. However, she was doing it so tenderly that Kendra never could've thought of the sight as lewd. Loving yes, but not lewd.

"Okay, but only if I can--" Beth started to say, then Taloni lowered her hips over the blonde's mouth.

"Of course silly." Taloni said, her eyes went a bit wider and she sighed as Beth adjusted her head closer to the Fey's nether region.

Moments later, the dragon huntress thought she heard a slight sucking or slurping sound from Beth, which was followed by the unmistakable sight of the blondes gently lapping at each other's slits. They looked like they were having fun. It didn't look like a deep romantic or emotional moment for them, it felt more like they were just enjoying something together as friends. It was strange, and they giggled a lot, but they were certainly having fun.

The dragon huntress didn't tear her eyes away initially, not until she heard Alana groan. Ethan hadn't changed positions and was still sitting 'Indian style' as he sometimes called it, and the wood elf had taken Taloni's place. However, they couldn't be more different as a couple.

He was slowly rocking his hips into her, but he couldn't be moving very much. They were looking into each other's eyes and Kendra could tell that they were talking telepathically, but couldn't hear them. Whatever they were saying, it led to the wood elf glowing in contentment, and glowing brighter as the minutes passed.

They kissed both tenderly and deeply for several seconds before the brunette softly groaned. The groan appeared to be a prelude to her orgasm because she trembled and moaned his name as she tried and failed to continue kissing him while she seemed to lose partial muscle control.

"Dear Illuminar that was amazing sir." She panted almost a minute later. "Please tell me this never gets old."

"It never gets old." He grinned, then kissed her cheek. A moment later he looked at the blonde teens. "Who calls dibs on Alana?"

He had barely finished speaking before Taloni lifted her head and said exuberantly. "I do!"

"No fair." Beth managed to mumble, taking an extra second to speak since Tee's slit had been pressed up against her mouth.

"My dear Fey, breakfast is served." Ethan said as he pulled Alana off of himself and flopped her on the bed in one smooth motion, the wood elf yelping and then laughing as she landed.

"Mmm, my favorite!" Taloni beamed as she dived in between the chocolate haired brunette's legs.

"Beth, come here." Alana said, and the blonde obliged.

Not long after, they had managed to arrange themselves so that Tee's mouth was on Alana, whose mouth was on Beth, whose mouth was on Tee. They formed a sort of triangle, and there was a lot of moaning, sighing, and giggling; lots of giggling.

Again, it didn't look like a passionate romantic moment for any of them or anything like that. It looked like three co-wives having some good fun. Honestly, it looked like -- and Kendra could scarcely believe she was about to think this -- but it looked like good clean fun. There was nothing about it that seemed the slightest bit lewd or raunchy; it was just too... too...

Too something.

Loving? Caring? Tender perhaps? It was something anyway. And while Kendra's cheeks were burning as she watched, she didn't feel like she was doing anything wrong by watching. They were very affectionate with each other and it was good to see.

"Come here beautiful." Ethan said gently to Rachel, and the redhead bit her lip.

Kendra could instantly tell that he was handling her with 'kid gloves', and she could tell that the redhead needed that. The dragon huntress had never seen the mage look apprehensive before like she did now. Not because of Ethan, but the redhead looked around and Kendra could tell that she was nervous about being exposed with so many other people around.

Still, she went.

He indicated that she should lay on her back and she did. Then he spread his wings around them so the two of them were shielded from view from the knees up to the shoulders. There was a moment where Kendra was sure he must be pulling her dress up, but he didn't take it off of her.

Moments later, Rachel's mouth opened wide and her eyes fluttered shut as Ethan's hips slowly slid forward. No sound escaped the redhead's mouth except silent gasping, but there was bliss on her face. Ethan started thrusting gently, but probably deeply into the redhead. Kendra could see that Rachel was loving it, but she also seemed a bit restrained too. Like she might react more visibly if it was just him and her.

Her legs wrapped around him, and then he pulled her hands up and above her head. He held them there loosely enough that she could escape, but she didn't. Something about the position spoke of absolute surrender that was also absolutely willing. She was captured by him, being submissive to him, and -- judging by the look on her face -- was blissfully happy to do so.

He thrust inside of her for a few minutes before she screwed her eyes shut and whimpered slightly as she exhaled breathily. It sounded like she was trying with all her might to keep her reactions contained, yet failing.

She didn't make much noise, but she made some.

The look on her face left Kendra in no doubt as to what was happening to her. She looked up at Ethan and the dragon huntress saw a side of the redhead that she'd never seen before. Rachel was fragile, though not in the traditional sense of the word. The teen mage was fearless in battle, powerful in magic, cunning in intellect, and she possessed enough willpower to resist Ethan's compulsions

But emotionally and relationally?

The redhead seemed incredibly fragile in those areas. Not that Ethan ever would, but Kendra was pretty sure that if he ever rejected her, she would shatter into a million pieces that could never be properly reassembled. Of course he'd rather die than do that, but it showed just how fragile Rachel was in some ways.

The redhead stiffened and let out the tiniest strangled moan as her limbs appeared to have a bit of trouble remaining calm, then she relaxed. Her whole body seemed to become peaceful as the tensions drained from her. Her slender legs slipped from his hips, flopping onto the bed as if she'd forgotten to hold them up. Ethan leaned down and rested his forehead against hers. Both had their eyes closed and there was a small contented smile on both of their faces.

They were in their own little world.

It was at that point that Kendra realized she'd been watching her husband having sex with her fellow wives for quite some time now. She blushed scarlet and looked away, but oddly didn't feel guilty. Honestly, it had been beautiful to watch. Embarrassing yes, but beautiful.

"Something on your mind?" Ethan asked, bringing her attention back to the present.

He and his wives seemed to have stopped what they were doing, and Rachel had slid out from under him, her dress keeping everything covered.

They were all looking at her.

"You all really care about each other." She said after a moment, and for some reason her eyes were getting watery.

"And about you too." Taloni pointed out.

"She's right." Ethan said, and all his other wives agreed too.

Kendra swallowed hard as she tried to blink her tears away.

It wasn't working.

"Aww." The Fey teen bounded over to give her a hug.

She was shortly joined by the rest of them, though Rachel looked a bit awkward joining. The group hug didn't help with her tears, which started increasing as she tried to hug them all back at once, but her arms weren't big enough.

"I'm sorry, I'm like a leaky bucket." She said as she wiped her wet cheeks after the group hug broke.

"You never need to apologize for being so happy that you cry." Taloni said gently.

"And I know something that could make you even happier." Beth's eyes twinkled. "Everyone else has had a turn..."

Kendra froze.

"Angel." Ethan said with a slightly amused but sympathetic smile. "She might not be ready for that; she's only done it once, and not with an audience."

Beth looked disappointed, but nodded.

"Consider our wedding night." He added to the blonde. "Could you have done it with an audience?"

Beth shook her head, then turned to Kendra. "Sorry, I wasn't meaning to pressure."

"It's okay, it's just..." She hesitated. "I'm not sure I'm ready for... for that."

"I completely understand." He nodded. "Anyways, I'm feeling a bit peck-- err, hungry."

The blondes giggled and the rest chuckled.

"We'll almost certainly meet some orcs later today, so we should eat up." He said.

Ethan's first three wives went about gathering and putting on their dresses while the others climbed off the bed. It was starting to get a bit tight on floor space with six of them in there and all standing.

"Um, Ethan?" Kendra said as an idea occurred to her; an idea that appealed very much.

"Yes?" He turned to her.

"Um, I want to try something if it's okay with you, but you have to promise not use compulsion."

"Sure, what do you want to try?"

"Could..." She thought about it and her stomach only made a half-hearted attempt to object. It apparently knew it was beaten and was barely putting up token resistance anymore. "Could you kiss me, without compulsion?"

He looked at her for a moment before an incredibly wide smile started splitting his face. "Oh, every day of the week and twice on Sunday. You sure you'll be okay without compulsion?"

She bit her lip, then nodded. "I think so."

He stepped up to her, grinning like the cat-that-ate-the-canary.

"I'm nervous." She admitted.

"Well, if you feel something coming up, warn me." He winked.

She nodded.

"You ready?" He asked.

She swallowed, but nodded.

He was taller than she was, but not by much; maybe three inches or so. He was so close, and he was grinning at her. The look in his eyes was wonderful too. He was looking at her the same way he looked at his other wives while he was making love to them.

She sighed.

"My brown-eyed beauty." He said softly.

She smiled despite her nerves.

"My good girl." He said, leaning closer just a bit.

He was only a few inches away, and she felt her heart warm at the comment. He reached up a hand and tipped her chin up gently with the side of his index finger.

"I'm going to kiss you now." He stated as a declaration of fact.

"I'd like tha--"

Their lips met.

For the first time, she was able to really enjoy it. Not that she hadn't enjoyed it on her wedding day, but there had been so much going on then.

Now...

She felt her eyes close seemingly of their own accord and she kissed him back. He was good at it, though she supposed he had a lot of practice. He was just the right balance of forceful and tender. She could feel desire there, but also affection and tenderness. She sighed as her stomach put up the most pitiful of protests; something so small as to easily be ignored.

It was wonderful.

Both the kiss and the lack of nausea.

They kissed for several seconds before he pulled back slightly and looked at her. "You okay?"

She slowly licked her lips, savoring the sensation that had just ended. She knew that she probably shouldn't be so perfectly and incandescently happy, given that they would probably end up fighting orcs later that day, Lord Delmar was still hunting them, and the general danger of their lives.

But right now, she didn't care about all of that.

She looked up into his eyes, smiled, and replied with complete honesty. "Yeah. Yeah, I am."

TO BE CONTINUED...

* * *

Note: This chapter began on day 90 of Ethan's life in the Ten Kingdoms, and ended on day 91.

Orcs next chapter, I promise! 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 January 25th, and it'll probably drop on January 27th or January 28th.

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