Chapter 62: Post Tenebras Lux

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

* * *

Ethan took a deep breath and for the third time ever, silently asked Illuminar for some help. Faced with two demon-possessed men and Lady Ekthros herself while trapped inside Talven and Salma's parents' house, he was distinctly aware of the old saying about there being no atheists in foxholes. At this point, he would take any help from any source he could. His left hand still hadn't fully regrown, and even if it had, he didn't have a prayer of beating even one of these possessed men in a straight-up fight, let alone two supported by an archmage.

"Oh, don't look so scared." Lady Ekthros said cheerfully as she slipped off her horse and walked towards the doorway to the house, though she stopped about a dozen feet from the door, remaining just behind the two possessed men. "I'm pretty sure you'll like this offer."

"You mean the 'offer I can't refuse'?" He raised his eyebrow. "Maybe don't quote The Godfather if you're trying to put me at ease."

"Oh, don't be silly." She chuckled, then spoke in a rather good impression of Miracle Max from the Princess Bride. "I'm only mostly trying to reassure you; there's a big difference between mostly reassured and reassured." She winked.

In any other context, Ethan would've chuckled. Here, he was trying to decide if drawing his sword as a precaution would provoke the possessed men into attacking.

"And why would I believe a single thing you say?" He asked, not willing to trust her just because she had him dead to rights.

She chuckled, then spoke in a mock-serious tone. "I'm in government; obviously I must be a bastion of truth."

"Yeah, well, you know what they say about how to tell if a politician is lying." He retorted.

"His lips are moving." She laughed. Oddly, her laugh reminded him of Taloni's laugh in how it was so joyful and carefree. "I always preferred the 'lie clock' joke."

"Lie clock joke?"

"Yeah." She nodded. "A man gets to heaven and St. Peter invites him inside. Inside the pearly gates, he sees a bunch of clocks and asks what they are for. St. Peter tells him that they are 'lie clocks', and each one belongs to someone on Earth. Every time that person tells a lie, the clock's hands move a little. So the man asks to see the lie clocks of a few famous people, and then asks about--" She stopped. "Ethan, pick a politician who you think is a constantly lying scumbag."

"That's not hard." He replied, looking pointedly at her.

"That'll work." She chuckled. "Anyway, the man asks if he can see Lady Ekthros's lie clock, and St. Peter replies that it's in God's office because He's using it as a fan."

Ethan tried to keep a straight face.

He really did.

But despite himself, he let out a few heavy exhales that an observer could mistake for suppressed chuckling.

"Before I make my offer, I need to apologize." Lady Ekthros said.

He raised his eyebrow.

"I do." She said, and she sounded totally sincere. She was either a world-class liar -- which seemed pretty likely -- or else she was being serious. "I've been unsuccessfully trying to kill you for several months now and apparently, I'm not very good at it." She cocked her head to one side. "By the way, how did you escape that curse I had someone put on the gold cube? That should've been impossible."

"An angel came down from heaven and broke it." He replied sarcastically. That really was the truth, but he wasn't about to tell her that.

"Oh, not you too." Lady Ekthros shook her head. "Is everyone on this whole backwater world a religious nut?"

"That's funny coming from the woman who's currently being protected by two demon-possessed men." He pointed out.

"Demon-possessed?" She sighed and shook her head. "Apparently you are. Anyway, I thought you were just another necromancer and so took charge of the manhunt. It was a while before I realized you weren't, and I'm sorry for the attempts to kill you before I realized that." She paused. "Well, and the attempts to kill you after I found out."

"What the hell kind of apology is that?" He retorted. "And what do you mean you thought I was a necromancer? Weren't you and Lord Delmar the ones who framed me?"

"Oh, that." She winced, looking slightly embarrassed. "That was actually Hermair, the necromancer who brought you here; he framed you. He didn't even tell us about you until evening on the day after you arrived. He lied to the Narlotten soldiers, telling them that you were a necromancer, and obviously he left his role in the whole affair out; I only found that out later when I questioned Drousin. He was very tight-lipped -- probably because of Lord Delmar's stance on necromancers -- but he did tell me that Hermair brought you here via dark magic; that's how I found out Hermair was a necromancer."

Ethan wondered how much her 'lie clock' was currently spinning, but decided to humor her, if only to buy time. "So then why try to kill me if you knew I didn't do anything wrong?"

"Well, you did kill a lot of Narlotten soldiers and later brought two people back from the dead; the only way resurrections happen here is necromancy." She replied. "I didn't know you weren't a necromancer until you used your wing to block the kill spell I sent towards that Fey girl in Narlotten."

"And why did you try to kill Taloni?" He growled. "She was unconscious and posed no threat."

"She was aiding and abetting a necromancer, or at least I thought she was; that's the death penalty." Lady Ekthros replied. "But then you blocked the kill spell. A necromancer wouldn't sacrifice himself for someone else. Ever. It's lucky for me Lord Delmar didn't see that by the way. If you hadn't done that, you never would've woken up, despite Lord Delmar's insistence on holding a trial." She paused. "You would've been 'shot while trying to escape'--" She put that in air quotes. "--instead of spending some time in a cell while I decided what to do with you."

"And forcing Kendra and I to bond? Or sounding disappointed that Lord Delmar wouldn't order Rachel's death? What about that?"

"Well, we did think Rachel was helping a necromancer: you. It was also annoying for... another reason." She replied delicately. "But as for the bonding, I suppose I owe you an apology for that as well. I sometimes have transient vindictive moods ever since--" She stopped. "Well, I'm not always myself when they strike. Sorry about that."

He raised his eyebrow; she was 'apologizing' -- if you could call it that -- as if she had done something trivial, like accidentally bump into someone at the supermarket. Unless her 'lie clock' was really spinning right now, she truly didn't seem to see how terrible she had been.

"Anyway, I had to come up with a new plan once I learned that you weren't a necromancer, since I don't let necromancers live as a general rule."

"What?" He outright laughed at that. "You put a will-breaker ring on Rachel and you're being guarded by two demon-possessed men, and you're telling me that you kill necromancers?"

"You know about the ring?" She shrugged, then asked with what seemed to be genuine curiosity. "How is Rachel doing?"

"Better now that the fucking will-breaker ring isn't on her anymore." He growled.

"Oh tosh." She waved a hand dismissively. "People are always so scared of them, but unless the mage controlling the ring has given a person instructions, they'll behave as ever they did."

He stared at her incredulously.

"Seriously." Lady Ekthros sighed. "Don't you think it would be obvious that someone was wearing a will-breaker ring if they all became mindless, slack-jawed zombies?"

It took Ethan a moment to realize that she had a point.

Hmm.

If a will-breaker ring didn't allow the person some semblance of normal behavior, it would be pretty obvious that they were wearing one. Kendra had said before that the rings were hard to detect, so maybe Lady Ekthros had a point? They were obviously still vile things, but maybe at least there was a tiny sliver of a silver lining to them. Okay, it was a microscopically small silver lining, but that was better than nothing.

"You're admitting to using will-breaker rings and you expect me to believe that you hunt necromancers?" He finally said.

"I do." She smiled and nodded cheerfully. "They make the world a worse place, so it's my job to remove them from the world, by any means necessary."

"Becoming evil to fight evil?"

She shook her head. "I used dark magic exactly one time, and the cost..." For a moment, her eyes softened and appeared to grow slightly lighter in color. He couldn't be sure, but it looked like there was a lot of pain associated with whatever that cost had been.

"I knew better, and I had a good reason, but I didn't know the cost." She took a deep breath, and the inhale had a very slight shudder to it. "I never touched it again, and I never will touch it again. Ever."

"I find that hard to believe given these two jokers." He pointed to the two demon-possessed men. "And that's not to mention Rachel's will-breaker ring."

"Dark magic is like fire; a fearful servant and a terrible master." She replied, not looking happy about that fact. "Necromancers are the worst sort of creatures on the planet because they are utterly self-serving and they care nothing for others. However, dark magic provides access to tools and weapons that are more powerful and insidious than regular magic does. How can you win against such weapons without adopting them yourself?"

Ethan slowly shook his head. "And you trust a necromancer? After what you just said, you should know better."

"Fortunately, I don't have to trust one." She smiled.

Ethan narrowed his eyes for a moment, then the answer came to him; it was the only thing that made sense. "You put a will-breaker ring on a Necromancer?"

Her smile widened.

"Hermair?"

"After he lied about you, yes." She replied. "If you don't care about being subtle, the rings can do their work quite quickly instead of taking months or years. I gave him a choice once I'd captured him; he picked the option that didn't lead to a painful death and voluntarily surrendered to the ring."

"He isn't the only necromancer that you've put a will-breaker ring on, is he?" Ethan asked, thinking that someone must've made Rachel's will-breaker ring.

Lady Ekthros just smiled.

"So that's it; use dark magic to create pet necromancers to do the actual dirty work, thinking that they'll never hurt anyone because of the rings."

"There's a sort of poetic irony to it, isn't there?" Her smile widened. "I'm using the very dark magic they created to bend them to the right side; to fight for a better world."

"I don't think building a better world will ever involve summoning demons." He nodded towards the two possessed men, who both looked like they wanted to tear him apart and yet hadn't made a threatening move... yet.

"Demons; I thought you'd know better than to believe silly religious myths since you were raised on Earth." She rolled her eyes and shook her head, then narrowed her eyes and fixed him with a piercing gaze. "Anyway, that, my dear Mr. Ejder, was your fault." She replied, her tone becoming less than perfectly pleasant for the first time.

"My fault?" He scoffed. "How the hell was that my fault?"

"The portal to Earth." She narrowed her eyes. "There isn't a single army or force in the Ten Kingdoms that could've successfully assaulted the base they set up in the forest. By the time I learned of it, it was too late; they were already too entrenched to remove them with the technology here. You forced my hand."

Ethan opened his mouth to reply, but there was so much wrong with what she was saying that he wasn't sure where to begin.

Then her tone became cold and icy, like a mid-winter blizzard. "Because of you, I had to put a kind and innocent girl through hell to figure out what made her super strength and durability work after one of my agents saw her in action. Because of you, I had to go digging in her head to find the last few pieces of the puzzle needed to create them. And because of you, I had to 'persuade' her to keep quiet so I wouldn't be forced to kill her."

Lady Ekthros sounded angry.

Genuinely angry.

He completely understood that because his blood was boiling at the moment. He didn't know exactly what Lady Ekthros had done to Sarah, but just what she'd said made Ethan want to rip the 'lady' limb from fucking limb. His only consolation was that he'd seen Sarah recently and she appeared to be physically fine. Maybe not mentally, but physically.

Oddly, Lady Ekthros sounded nearly as mad as he felt. She sounded as angry as he probably sounded when talking to someone who had just threatened his wives. Her tone was controlled, but there was no mistaking the vitriol in it. She was blaming him for what she herself did? What the hell!?

"You're insane." Ethan finally said, not sure what else to think and trying to keep himself calm as he tried not to think about what Lady Ekthros might've done to Sarah.

"I'm not insane." She replied calmly, some of the ice in her tone disappearing. "Insanity is trying the same things over and over again but expecting different results. Insanity is trying to fight evil with one hand tied behind your back. I'm not insane, I'm willing to do what's necessary to make the world a better place."

"By murdering people you know to be innocent?" Ethan challenged. "If you're so serious about that, then maybe you should stop hunting me and my family."

"Funny you should say that, because I did say that I was going to make you an offer you couldn't refuse."

"Oh?"

"I can't go back and tell Lord Delmar that you aren't a necromancer; not without revealing some things that he really shouldn't know." She replied. "However, I can offer this: if you leave the Ten Kingdoms, I can make sure you won't be hunted by Narlotten."

Ethan narrowed his eyes. "Explain."

"You do your very best to make the world a better place Ethan." Lady Ekthros replied. "I really am sorry about hunting you because I've learned that you are more committed to helping people than most men I've met in my life. I would like you to keep on being you; to keep flying around helping every random stranger who asks for your help. I just can't let you keep doing that in the Ten Kingdoms because I would need to keep hunting you." She looked at him intently. "So please, leave the Ten Kingdoms for somewhere else; the Southern Lands perhaps, or the Winter Empire, or the Seaborn Kingdoms; I don't care. If you leave, I can stop hunting you and you can keep working to improve the world."

"You're serious?"

"As a heart attack." She nodded. "I really am sorry for hunting you and your family Ethan. This is my way of trying to apologize and do what I can to make it right. I'll admit that it's not much, and certainly not compensation for all the hardship I've brought to you and your family, but it's the best I can offer. Please, I ask your forgiveness and ask that you take the offer." She hesitated, then added in a rather good imitation of Inigo Montoya from The Princess Bride. "You seem a decent fellow, I'd hate to kill you."

He decided to reply with a slightly modified version of the following line. "You seem an indecent fellow, I'd hate to die."

She shrugged, much like Inigo Montoya had in the movie.

He frowned.

"That's my offer, and I'm making it now because I want you to know that it's genuine." She continued. "I have you dead to rights; there's no possible way that you could escape and I think you'll agree that these two could easily kill you."

Ethan inclined his head in concession.

"I'm sure you'd agree that without you, I could easily find and eliminate your airship's crew, along with your wives."

He growled.

"But I don't want to." Lady Ekthros added quickly, her tone sincere. "I want you to live and continue making the world a better place... you just can't do it in the Ten Kingdoms. If you leave, you'll have nothing to fear from us ever again. If you stay..." She raised her hands, palms up as if to say there was nothing she could do.

He narrowed his eyes again, trying to decide how genuine she was. Her 'lie clock' joke was still fresh in his mind, but he couldn't deny that she could easily kill him right now, but hadn't. There wasn't even a need to lull him into a false sense of security because she had such a massive upper hand right now. It didn't make sense for her to lie even though she was certainly capable of it.

Was she really making a genuine offer?

On the other hand, Narlotten still had a rather large bounty on their heads, as did Lord Farbrottan of Ivernia. He doubted that she would rescind the bounty and he knew Lord Farbrottan wouldn't. Thus, bounty hunters would still pursue them even if Lady Ekthros wouldn't. Though, if the 'lady' wasn't hunting them, then the possessed men wouldn't hunt them either. Bounty hunters could be dangerous -- as evidenced by them ambushing his wives in Laerten -- but they weren't even in the same league as possessed men.

Hmm.

"Think it over." Lady Ekthros said. "I know you have the ward of the wood-elven king on your airship and you'll want to return her. Do, but then you need to leave the Ten Kingdoms. I recommend the Southern Lands since Lord Farbrottan's concubine travels with you and she could help you settle in there, but where you go is up to you."

He frowned, trying to see how the offer she was making wasn't genuine. He couldn't, mostly because she had him dead to rights and he wasn't dead.

"Oh, and Ethan; this is a one-time offer." She added as she walked back to her horse. "If you set foot, wing, or sail back in the Ten Kingdoms after leaving, there will be no second chance." She mounted her horse. "Please, for your sake and the sake of your family, take my offer; it won't be offered again."

He didn't reply, honestly feeling a little too stunned to reply.

"Oh, and if you were worried about them--" She waved carelessly at the two possessed men. "--don't be; show him your hands boys."

They both raised their hands; they both had rings on them.

"I don't take chances." She said firmly to Ethan, then looked at them. "Come along boys, leave the nice dragon alone now."

The two possessed men stared pure murder at him, but turned to leave anyway. They mounted the other two horses and the three of them left with Lady Ekthros leading the pack.

That was about when Ethan realized that his mouth was hanging open.

* * *

"So, is that a good enough reason for Rindrin to divorce me?" Sarah asked, doing her best not to sit at the very edge of her chair or look too excited.

Across the table from her in Rindrin's house, Luminar Kossel made a thoughtful sound, leaned back in his chair, and stroked his chin with one hand while crossing the other over his chest. He looked intently at her for several seconds, then took a deep breath. "Perhaps."

"Perhaps?" Sarah inched forward on her chair.

He nodded. "I see the precedent you wish to take advantage of, and your position has some merit. However, while technically you have a claim, the spirit of the story -- what seems to be the obvious reason that divorce was granted -- is clearly absent."

Sarah swallowed, trying not to let her face fall. "But the same thing happened in the Book of Light. That prophet's horrible wife exposed herself fully. I realize I didn't do it on purpose, but that mage who attacked Amy and me on the road here did render me... um, exposed. It's almost the same, isn't it?"

"Ah, but what's missing is the intentionality." The luminar replied. "That prophet's wife was trying to entice the other man into committing adultery with her, you did no such thing. What if you were bathing and a man happened to see you somehow; would that also be cause for divorce?"

"Oh." Sarah slumped in her seat slightly.

"Marriage is a serious affair in Illuminar's eyes, and ending a marriage is even more so." He continued. "Were I to accept your rationale, then every woman who was accidentally exposed could be divorced by her husband."

Sarah took a deep breath. "I... I see your point."

"Let me think on it." The luminar said after a moment. "I lean against writing the certificate, but on complex issues such as this, sleeping on it is usually a wise course of action."

"Thank you, and thank you that you care so much about what Illuminar commands." Sarah said, her throat feeling tight as she realized he likely wouldn't write the divorce certificate.

"You're welcome, and I try." He smiled, though the smile had notes of sadness and sympathy in it.

"Would you like to stay for dinner?" Amy asked. She had mostly stayed quiet while Sarah had made her case, adding only the occasional detail or providing the necessary second witness to the attack.

"I would, but I'm afraid I've intruded too long and need to return to the Midnight Sun." He replied as he stood. "Thank you very much for your hospitality." He looked at Sarah. "Both of you."

"You're welcome." Amy smiled.

"I promise to give this matter serious thought and prayer." The luminar said to Sarah.

"Thank you." She smiled, but was sure it looked more half-hearted than she had intended. He left and she turned to Amy. "There must be something else."

"I don't know Sarah, it doesn't seem like there is."

Sarah let herself flop forward so her head and upper torso were lying on the table. "I'm not going to give up; even if this isn't a good enough reason, I will find one."

"I'm sure you will." Amy replied. "I told you before, I think you could do anything if you put your mind to it."

"Thank you." Sarah replied, still thinking about how she could possibly make herself a single and available woman again.

* * *

*That's... She really said that?* Selene asked after Ethan had finished giving everyone in the group chat the short version of his conversation with Lady Ekthros. Selene had been in the middle of doing something she dearly missed when he'd contacted them; she'd been sparring with Kendra.

*Yup.* He replied. *And honestly, despite the fact that she's a lying snake, I think the offer might be genuine. She could've easily killed me without even breaking a sweat.*

*Leave the Ten Kingdoms?* Beth thought to everyone as she leaned against the door to the captain's cabin, then looked to the northeast where her family lived.

*Master, she's using dark magic and doesn't want you to stop her.* Taloni pointed out.

*Tee isn't wrong.* Rachel agreed. *Sure, we would theoretically be safer, but only if we can trust her to leave us alone.*

*That's a big 'if'.* Kendra frowned.

*Agreed.* Ethan replied. *Alana, how about you?*

*I think we should wait until all your wives can gather and talk about it all at once.* She paused. *That includes Sarah.*

Selene didn't miss the quick glance that Alana and Rachel shared, nor how the redhead took her friend's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

*I would love that, she's still betrothed though.* He replied, and no one would miss the note of hopefulness in his tone.

*You said that she's been working on that.* Selene pointed out. *I also didn't get the impression that she was going to give up until she was divorced and free to marry you.*

*Really?* He asked.

*Absolutely.* Selene confirmed. *I want to be at the wedding.*

*If it happens, I'd love that.* Ethan replied, his tone and their bond undeniably happy.

*Master, I think Luminar Kossel would be more likely to write a divorce certificate if he knew about Sarah's birthday.* Tee added. *I could fly to the Midnight Sun and tell him.*

*I would rather you didn't.* Ethan replied. *We know Lady Ekthros is watching the area and you don't know how to defend yourself.*

*We could send Elder Goman a letter so he could tell him, right Master?*

Selene smiled. *Tee, are you playing matchmaker?*

The Fey teen looked at Selene like she'd sprouted a third nostril. *Of course I am; marrying Sarah would make Master happy, and I want to make him happy.*

*I don't deserve you ladies.* Ethan said with rather a lot of warmth in his tone.

Taloni walked over to Selene and whispered. "I think Master would be very happy to marry you too."

Selene gave her a sad smile. "That makes two of us, I just wish I could."

"Me too." Taloni replied, her wings drooping slightly. "I think he wants to marry you as much as he wants to marry Sarah."

Selene could feel her heart swelling at that thought, but then its inflation was dampened when she remembered that it wasn't going to happen. Ethan's other wives plus Myla, Victoria, and Thea gravitated in their direction as Selene considered that.

"Huh." Selene cocked her head to one side as something occurred to her and she spoke aloud. "Sarah's birthday is on the seventh day of the seventh month, right?"

Taloni nodded.

"So then, what if Ethan marries her before he marries Myla, Victoria, or Thea?"

"That's a good question." Rachel agreed as she stepped closer. "Sarah is still betrothed though."

"I don't think she will be for long." Taloni smiled. "Master will tell Luminar Kossel about the birthdays when he gets back, especially Sarah's. If he truly cares about following Illuminar, I'm sure that will convince him."

"Maybe." Selene shrugged.

"But Master and Sarah will wait to get married until he marries..." Tee trailed off as a frown crossed her face. "Sarah will be Master's seventh wife."

*Hey Ethan.* Selene thought to everyone. *Are you leaning any particular way for wife number six? Or maybe leaning against one of them?* She thought she was pretty good about keeping her tone nonchalant instead of longing and her expression neutral instead of pained.

Apparently, Kendra wasn't fooled.

*That's the second time you've asked today.* Kendra pointed out. *Why.*

*Um, I guess I just want to make sure my...* She tried to find the right word, not liking where she landed. *...my replacement is up to snuff.*

"No one could replace you." Kendra said quietly enough that no one else on the Argo would hear.

Selene smiled at her.

*Honestly, I'm leaning against Myla.* Ethan replied after a few moments. *I really like her a lot, but I'm a bit worried that I'd end up being the 'rebound husband'. Or worse, that she would marry me because I rescued her so she felt obligated, or because I'm the first man to treat her halfway decently since... well, for a long time.*

*So, not Myla.* Selene ran her hand through her hair. *You're sure about that?*

*I've been thinking about it while flying since you asked earlier, and yeah, I think I'm sure.* He replied after a minute. *She's welcome on the Argo for as long as she wants to stay though, obviously.*

*Obviously.* Alana agreed.

That's about when Selene noticed that Kendra had just cocked her head to one side and she had her 'thinking face' on.

"What?" Selene asked.

"Taloni was talking about the Midnight Sun earlier and it occurred to me that I should really invite Falkaan over for dinner. He could use a good meal and being around people he could..." She hesitated. "...well, perhaps not trust, but maybe let his guard down a little."

"Do it." Selene encouraged.

* * *

"And that's about it." Alana said as she finished showing Talven and Salma around the Argo. "I'm sorry I didn't do this earlier, but Ethan was in danger and I was rather preoccupied."

"I completely understand." Salma replied, one arm around her husband and the other clutching their toddler.

"But you said the prophet is okay?" Talven asked.

She nodded. "It looked bad for a few minutes, but he is."

"If he's still at my parents' house, and if you have some paper, could I write a short letter so they know what happened?"

"Sure." Alana replied with a smile that she hoped was comforting. Not long afterwards, he had finished a short letter and they had powered up the portal again to pass it to Ethan, who said he'd leave it on the table.

*I'm heading back now.* Ethan thought to everyone. *I figure I'll fly until it gets dark, then find a nice tree to sleep in, and make an early start of it in the morning.*

*We'll miss you tonight Master.* Tee replied.

*Agreed, but feel free to keep each other company.* He replied, then added. *Unless everyone except Alana and Rachel want to keep Talven and Salma company. I think Alana and Rachel need some time to... talk.*

Alana felt her cheeks grow warm and her heart did the same, though for two very different reasons. All her fellow wives instantly agreed with knowing looks, leading to more warming of both cheeks and heart.

* * *

"Thor, not there." Selene said as the kitten started pawing at the captain's cabin door after dinner. Ethan's wives were all talking amongst themselves or with Talven, Salma, or the children, and she had ended up standing next to Myla, Victoria, and Thea.

"Um, I might be sleeping in your old hammock." Thea said with an apologetic half-smile, half-grimace.

Selene sighed as she looked around the Argo's deck. "I chose to leave, I don't like it, but I did. I suppose I need to be okay with someone else taking my..." She swallowed. "...my hammock."

"I don't think that anyone could take your 'hammock'." Victoria said with a sympathetic smile. "The people here all love you; you'll never be replaced. Honestly, I think you'll leave a hole here that no one can fill. I just hope one of us can be a good successor."

Selene tried to smile but found it difficult. "Thanks."

"Meelas and his wives speak very highly of you." Myla added. "I do not believe they could see one of us as replacing you."

"How about you three?" Selene asked. "How do you all feel about the situation?"

"Meelas rescued me." Myla replied. "I could not think of a better way to repay him than to become his wife."

Selene resisted the urge to frown, especially since Ethan had voiced a concern about that a few hours ago. "I'm not sure he would like that you see it that way."

"I cannot help what is true, though my heart feels happiness if I contemplate becoming his wife." The dusky-skinned woman replied in her slight accent. Damn she was gorgeous, they all were.

"And you?" Selene looked at Victoria.

"I really want to get married and he's the only man I've ever met that actually seems like a good guy." The platinum blonde replied. "Seriously, you all know what it's like in other people's heads; they're horrible."

The other three nodded.

"I'm sure he isn't perfect, but he tries and I like that." Victoria said.

"He does try." Selene replied. Victoria seemed to know about Ethan, and she was right, but she didn't really know Ethan; not like Selene herself did.

"Thea?" Selene asked.

"I think your kitten needs some attention." The elf grinned as she looked at Thor, who was still pawing at the captain's cabin door.

"Not there little kitty." Selene smiled as she watched him. He had stuck close by her the entire time she was on the Argo, even parking himself on her lap during dinner.

"Actually, there's no room left in the ladies' area." Alana spoke up. "We could rearrange things to make it bigger, but you could also just room in the captain's cabin again."

Myla, Victoria, and Thea all looked at Selene.

"Ethan wasn't there." She explained to the three, then looked at Alana. "You're sure?"

"I don't think Thor will take no for an answer." Beth grinned.

Selene chuckled. "Okay."

Not long afterward, Selene found herself laying on the bed in the captain's cabin with Thor snuggled up on her one side and Kendra on her other, though her friend wasn't snuggled up to her.

It felt good.

Really good.

*Ethan?* She thought to him.

*Yeah, what's up?* He replied instantly.

*Nothing much, I'm just sleeping with your wives.* She replied in a teasing tone.

*Mmm, that's an image...* He replied in kind.

She felt her cheeks grow warm but continued flirting. *It's a shame you missed it.*

*It is.* He replied more seriously.

She swallowed.

*Um, good night.* She finally replied after several long moments. There was so much else that she wanted to say, but none of them would change the facts.

*Good night.* He replied, but he didn't say anything else.

She didn't reply. She didn't know what else to say.

* * *

Ethan yawned as he woke, the sky just light enough that a human wouldn't have trouble seeing where he was walking. He could see like it was high noon because of his dragon eyes, a fact for which he was rather grateful. He had found a fairly comfortable tree with a flat spot large enough for him to curl up during the night without worry of falling off.

He had fallen asleep thinking about Selene and their conversation. It was harder making peace with her leaving than he thought it would be. He did his best to push that to the back of his mind though.

As he finished his yawn, he noticed something odd in front of him.

Smoke.

Okay, it wasn't a lot of smoke, but there was smoke. Even more strange, a leaf that was right where his mouth had been looked a bit... singed. Not badly, but a little. Even more strange now that he was paying attention, his throat felt different. He frowned, then swallowed a few gulps of water from the leather water bottle that Tee had packed, but it didn't help. He closed his eyes and tried magical healing, but nothing seemed to be injured.

It took another few moments for his brain to finish waking up and realize what was going on.

He smiled.

He aimed his mouth at the clear sky and exhaled forcefully.

Nothing happened.

Hmm.

That slight tickle in his throat was still there. He remembered Drousin telling him that his 'fire glands' would eventually grow, and apparently they had. Or at least, he thought they had. Maybe they were just on the cusp of growing?

*Sir, are you awake?* Alana thought to everyone.

*Yeah, what's up?*

*Um, we can't find Thea.*

Ethan closed his eyes and slowly shook his head, then took a deep breath and let it out slowly. *I'm assuming that she left the Argo again?*

*That would be my guess.* Rachel replied.

*Any idea where she went?* He asked, surprised but not shocked that the woman with the elven title 'Wild-Child' had disappeared again. The moment he pictured her face, he had a hard time being upset about it though. Something about Thea made it really hard to be upset at her. He wasn't sure what, but something did.

*The only thing nearby is Sarah's inn.* Kendra said after a moment. *She overheard us talking about it yesterday and perhaps wanted to go see a girl who is demon-possessed, rather like she wanted to see the orc battle.*

*Sounds right.* He stood up. *Hey Angel, can you go run and keep an eye on things there just in case someone does show up?*

*Yes Dominus.* Beth replied.

*Kendra, get your airship ready to head that way, just in case.* He added. *I'm still a few hours out yet, so I'll drop this half of the portal on the Argo and then go find Thea.* He sighed. *Again.*

*So, does this make Thea go up or down in the rankings?* Selene asked in a teasing tone.

*That depends on why she left.* He shook his head. *Okay, I'm taking off; I'll see you all in a few hours.*

* * *

"Sarah, pacing won't make the luminar get here any faster."

Sarah stopped pacing for a moment, then groaned in frustration and started pacing in the small kitchen again. "I just want to know if this will work or if I need to figure something else out."

Amy smiled, then rested one of her hands over her womb. "Do you really think...?"

Sarah smiled despite her frustration with Luminar Kossel for being polite and not arriving before the sun rose. "Yes, and you are going to be a great mother to your twins."

Amy made a face that was halfway between a smile and that face people make when they whimper. "I hope so."

"I know so." Sarah beamed. "In fact, I think you'll be such an excellent mother that--"

Knock! Knock!

The two women looked at each other.

"Who could that be?" Amy asked.

Sarah shrugged, then went to the door and opened it. Standing just outside the door in the pre-dawn light was an elf that was several inches taller than Sarah herself. The elf was wearing a turquoise dress that exactly matched her eyes and a traveling cloak with the hood up over that. From what little of the elf's face that Sarah could see, the elf was absolutely gorgeous. She had a wide smile that looked just a bit impish, and it got wider as the elf saw her.

"Sorry for the early visit, but I saw the light and heard talking." The elf said with an apologetic smile. "Hi, are you Sarah?"

"Yes, why?" She replied hesitantly, far more cautious about strangers now than she had been before she'd met Lady Ekthros.

"My name is Pelathia Numiarian Asimentae, called Wild-Child." The elf said with a slight bow. "I've been traveling with Ethan Ejder and I wanted to meet you."

"Why?"

"Well, two reasons." The elf replied, then her grin became sheepish as well. "First, you're like famous on the Argo. Ethan adores you despite your demon and I wanted to meet the woman who captured his heart so completely."

Sarah felt her heart soar, but she wasn't about to let the fact that this elf was saying everything that she wanted to hear make her trust the elf.

The elf's sheepish smile got a little wider. "Part of that is I was hoping to see what he likes in a woman. You know, to get a leg up on the competition."

"Competition?"

The elf nodded. "My birthday is Setas Sixth, which leads me to the other reason I came; I think I might know something that'll help you convince Luminar Kossel to sign that certificate of divorce."

Sarah felt her face pull into a smile. "You do?"

The elf's eyes twinkled.

* * *

Ethan shook his head as he approached Sarah's outpost in the air, having already dropped the portal off on the Argo. He'd given all of his wives a quick kiss except for Beth, who of course was out watching Thea and Sarah right now. Ahead of him, he could see the Midnight Sun anchored near the outpost, and somewhere on it Luminar Kossel was staying. He knew from Beth eavesdropping on the conversation between Thea and Sarah that the luminar hadn't decided whether to write the divorce certificate or not, and he dearly hoped he would.

*Beth, can you give me a sit-rep?* He thought to everyone.

*They are still talking.* The blonde replied. *It seems like most of the reason that Thea came was to tell Sarah about the birthdays so Luminar Kossel would be more likely to sign the divorce certificate.*

*Really?* He asked, a small smile forming on his face.

*Yes Dominus.*

He cocked his head to one side, trying to decide if he should be upset with Thea about this. Yes, she'd slipped off the Argo again, and gone someplace dangerous again -- well, possibly dangerous if Lady Ekthros was still watching the place -- but if that really was her reason...

Hmm.

*Maybe Thea needs a collar and leash so she doesn't run off.* Selene joked.

*Projecting much?* Ethan teased as he touched down and started walking towards the outpost with his disguise gem activated.

*Not really.* Selene replied in a tone that was trying and failing to be casual.

*She went bright red.* Alana thought to him privately.

He chuckled, then thought to her. *Are you okay with all this?*

*You mean with Thea or Selene wearing a collar and leash?* She quipped back.

He chuckled again, but spoke in a more serious tone. *You know that's not what I meant.*

*I know.* She replied equally as seriously. *I won't pretend that I'm as happy about everything with Sarah as I was about the rest of your wives, but yes I'm okay with it.*

He frowned, not wanting her to merely be 'okay' with it.

*Ethan, marry her.* Alana thought to him a moment later. *I'm serious.*

*How serious?*

*You said that Illuminar said part of the reason you would have so many wives is that I wanted to have sisters.* She continued. *Given that, I'm going to trust that Illuminar wouldn't lead you to marry a woman who would come between you and me. I won't pretend that I feel that with absolute assurance, but I do think it's true. Besides, you really want to marry her; I don't want to get in your way.*

*You could never 'get in my way'.* He replied with a smile.

*I know you don't need my permission to marry her, but I also know that because you grew up on Earth you want it.* There was a slight pause before she spoke again. *So, you have my permission to marry her, even though you don't need it. In fact, I am encouraging you to marry her.*

*You're sure?*

*I had Kendra slip a coin purse from the ship's treasury into your bag when you dropped off the portal, just in case you found an opportunity to pay a bride price.*

His eyes widened and he looked into the traveling bag he carried, which mostly functioned as a grenade satchel. Sure enough, there was a small coin purse in it that was heavy with gold and silver.

*Selene told me that Sarah cried when Rindrin paid her bride price because it was so low.* Alana added. *There's over double a common girl's normal bride price in there. Honestly, what's in there would be appropriate for a minor noble.* She paused. *I would rather she cried happy tears over her bride price than sad ones.* Her voice turned more cheerful and slightly impish. *So Ethan, go make Sarah cry.*

He chuckled. *If I get a chance, I will.*

*Good.*

He reached the small outpost in which Sarah's inn was located not long afterward since he'd landed far enough away to walk into the outpost instead of fly. Someone might recognize him, but he didn't want to make the job too easy. Ahead of him, a ladder dropped from the Midnight Sun and Luminar Kossel began to climb down, giving Ethan a wave as he did so.

Ethan waved back, then walked up to Rindrin's door and knocked. Barely a moment later, the door was flung open and a gorgeous sight greeted him. Okay, 'gorgeous' would be overselling it to most people, but not to him. Rachel had mentioned that there was some kind of disguise enchantment on Sarah, probably from her demon. Given that it came from a demon, he doubted it was making her look more attractive, not that he cared.

Sarah was about 5' 4" and honestly, most people would rate her as a 5, maybe a 6 on a good day. Her brown hair looked stringy with lots of broken ends, her face was feminine but not particularly attractive, and her figure was womanly but not particularly fetching.

But her smile...

He felt like everything in his life got a little brighter at the smile she gave him. Her eyes lit up like a kid on Christmas morning and for a moment, it looked like he was going to get another tackle-hug. She stopped moving almost the moment she started, but her smile didn't fade.

"Hi." She said, grinning silly.

"Hi." He replied, his smile matching hers.

They looked at each other without moving for several seconds before she spoke again. "Hi."

His smile couldn't widen so it must've bubbled over into a chuckle instead. "You already said that."

"Oh, then come in." She opened the door and stepped aside, and he accepted the invitation while still grinning silly.

The inside of Rindrin's house, which was in the same building but separate from the blacksmith's shop, looked about like most other buildings in Ivernia; obviously well-cared for but not in good repair for want of funds. This particular room looked like it had recently had a woman's touch as well. He might've suspected Sarah, except that there was another woman he vaguely recognized from when he'd seen Sarah at the inn. She had a bit of a newlywed glow about her, a kind smile, and dark brown hair that was tied up with a ribbon in an artistic knot.

Sitting at the table, Thea looked incredibly amused. She looked to be on the edge of laughing, though she also had a slightly sheepish expression tinged with a bit of guilt. It really was hard to be upset with her when she looked like that for some reason.

"Welcome." The woman with the newlywed glow said. "I'm Amy and I have a question for you."

"You do?" He asked.

Amy nodded, then picked something up and held it up so he could see it. "What do you think of this painting?"

"Um, honestly?" He asked, not wanting to be rude.

Amy nodded and he hesitated because the painting was pretty ugly. He was only mostly sure it was supposed to be a flower, and then only because of the stem. The flower was misshapen and blobby, the colors weren't right, and the perspective was all wrong.

"Um, if I'm being honest, it's not very good. Sorry." He gave her an apologetic smile.

Amy breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you for being honest; you would be surprised how many people lie to spare my feelings, but that just tells me the person is a liar."

"Okay...?" He glanced at Sarah, who was beaming even more widely, if that was possible.

"It's how she tests new people she meets." Thea volunteered. "The person's response tells her what kind of person they are."

"Oh, clever." He smiled.

Knock, knock.

"That'll be Luminar Kossel." Ethan said as Sarah rushed to the door and opened it.

Ethan didn't need to be telepathic to know how the luminar had decided to answer. His face was serious and he almost looked apologetic. Sarah's enthusiasm didn't appear dampened in the slightest though. She let him in and closed the door behind him.

"Before you say anything, there's something you should know." Sarah said before the man got a word out.

"I'm willing to listen of course." He replied. "But unless you have word from Illuminar Himself, I'm not likely to change my mind."

"Well, sort of." She turned to Ethan. "Could you explain about the birthdays?"

He did.

Amy offered the luminar a seat while Ethan explained. When he finished, the man leaned back in his seat with a thoughtful frown and stroked his very short beard. After a moment, he rested his whole hand on his cheek and tapped it with his index finger as he looked from Sarah to Ethan and back. He cocked his head to one side, then after several moments to the other.

"And?" Sarah asked while literally sitting on the edge of her seat.

"That..." The luminar frowned and slowly shook his head, then hesitated and inclined his head, almost as if in concession. "That makes things less clear."

"Is there anything I can do to make it more clear?" Ethan asked. He was standing and having to resist the urge to pace.

"I'm not sure." Luminar Kossel took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "This is a unique, one-of-a-kind situation."

"That means you don't need to worry about other people using this as an example if you allow me to get divorced." Sarah replied almost instantly.

"True, it wouldn't set a precedent." The luminar said, then frowned and made a thoughtful sound.

"Can I point something out?" Thea asked him.

"Please."

"There are a myriad of factors here, but can we look at this in a legal sense?"

Kossel nodded.

"Betrothal is essentially a contract, and according to the precedent in the Book of Light, Sarah technically violated that contract." Thea began. "However, the violation is only a technical one, and the birthday issue complicates the matter, yes?"

"Yes." Kossel nodded again.

"Okay, so the Book of Light never requires betrothal." Thea continued. "It references it many times, and it places a few limitations on how it cannot be done, but it never requires a betrothal as a prerequisite to contract a marriage, correct?"

"True." The luminar nodded a third time.

"So, that places the institution of betrothal into the legal sphere of contracts, not commands from Illuminar, doesn't it?"

Luminar Kossel tapped his finger on the table a few times. "The creation of a betrothal, yes; but this is divorce, which is clearly regulated in the Book of Light."

"Good, I'm glad we agree on that." Thea sat up straighter and smiled. "The incident that Sarah is basing her divorce claim on had two elements: indecent exposure of the woman, and a clear indication from Illuminar that a divorce was allowed, correct?"

"Wait, indecent exposure?" Ethan's eyes widened, and he could feel a not-inconsiderable amount of anger starting to bubble up inside of him, anger that he knew he had no right to feel.

"It's not what you think." Sarah said quickly, then explained.

"Oh, okay. I'm sorry you went through that." He said when she was done, feeling rather foolish.

"I'm not, it might allow me to get divorced." She turned to Thea. "Please continue."

"The problem is that from a religious standpoint, it's inconclusive." The gorgeous elf continued, speaking to the luminar. "You have dubious grounds combined with a signal from Illuminar that is only mostly clear, correct?"

"Yes." Kossel nodded.

Thea grinned. "That's why I mentioned the legal and contractual component. This case has two parts: the religious aspect and the legal aspect because betrothal is contractual, not religious." Thea leaned in slightly, and Ethan couldn't help but notice a good-natured predatory gleam in her eyes. "In law, when one component of a case is ambiguous, you always decide the case by the more clear parts. In this case, the contractual part."

Luminar Kossel looked at her for a long moment. "You are thinking the betrothal contract could be dissolved instead of breaking it via divorce."

Thea grinned. "Exactly. If all parties agree to annul a contract, it can be annulled with no legal problem whatsoever."

"I agree, and Rindrin already agreed, and I'm sure my father would too." Sarah said, speaking the moment Thea finished.

Luminar Kossel slowly shook his head. "There is no precedent for annulling a betrothal unless it was invalid to begin with, which isn't the case here."

"Okay." Thea replied, changing tactics at the speed of light. "But the betrothal is still a contract that sheds light on the less clear religious aspect of divorce. Consider, if the father of the bride, the groom-to-be, and even the bride-to-be wanted to end it, and you have a clear-ish indication from Illuminar that Sarah should marry Ethan, then all parties appeared to want this. Even if the reason for the divorce is only technical, if all parties agree to annul the contract, including Illuminar, wouldn't that be valid?"

Luminar Kossel inclined his head in concession, but frowned all the same. He opened his mouth to speak, but Thea beat him to the punch.

"You're originally from Ethan's world, right?"

"I am." He acknowledged.

"Well, I heard about Ethan's conversation with Illuminar, and Illuminar said that He is known on every world. That means he would recognize a marriage from Earth as legitimate, correct?"

"He would indeed." Kossel nodded.

"So then, He would also recognize a divorce on Ethan's world as legitimate, correct?" Thea pressed.

"I would assume so."

"So then, what if this was taking place on Ethan's world?" Thea grinned. "Would Illuminar recognize it as a valid divorce there? Because to quote the Book of Light: 'I am Illuminar who does not change, the God of light who is the same from nation to nation and sea to sea'. So if he is the same from 'nation to nation', then if He accepts a divorce on Ethan's world as legitimate, He might also accept this one as legitimate."

"You make several good points." Kossel conceded after a moment. "However, Illuminar not changing from nation to nation also means his standards for divorce wouldn't change from nation to nation."

Thea frowned for a moment, then spoke. "But that could still shed at least some light on the unclear religious aspect. There's only a tiny sliver of resistance on the religious side related to intent, and none at all on the contract side. Besides, there are plenty of cases in the Book of Light where intent doesn't matter."

Kossel raised his eyebrow.

"If you accidentally injure someone, doesn't the Book of Light say that you should recompense the man for the treatment of the injuries?" Thea pointed out. "There was no intent to harm, but the person who did the harm is still responsible."

The luminar inclined his head in concession again.

"So in this case where all parties want a divorce -- arguably including Illuminar Himself -- and there's clear contractual precedent for breaking the betrothal contract, and there's cause which isn't explicitly required to have intent behind it, doesn't that make a compelling case? Perhaps not every piece individually, but taken in aggregate, isn't that a strong case?"

"It's certainly not weak." The luminar nodded slowly.

Sarah beamed.

Ethan stared at Thea with a whole new appreciation for the gorgeous and obviously clever elf. Suddenly, he had an idea why he needed a wife with legal training because none of his current wives, even Rachel, could've done that. It reminded him of when Selene had helped him put together an argument for the wood-elven king about how Illuminar forgiving people meant that there should be a path back from being shamed.

Selene...

Luminar Kossel hesitated, opened his mouth, stopped, and then frowned. He cocked his head to one side while he rubbed his short beard thoughtfully as he looked from Thea, to Sarah, to Ethan, and then back again. Finally, he spoke. "If both the groom-to-be and father agree at the same time, I'll write the certificate."

"Thank you!" Sarah leapt out of her chair and ran to the door. "I'll go talk to my father!"

And then she was gone.

"I'll go ask Rindy if he can spare a moment from the forge." Amy smiled and then bustled through a different door, the background sound of a hammer striking metal becoming louder for a moment until she closed it behind her.

"I'll go draw the certificate up so it can be signed." Luminar Kossel said as he stood. He glanced at the door through which Sarah had left and got an amused smile on his face. "I do believe that girl would've found a way regardless of what I did."

"Thank you." Ethan said, offering his hand.

Luminar Kossel shook it. "I wouldn't have agreed if I didn't think the case was compelling, but since I have and since you are thanking me, I will say that the best way you can thank me is by remembering that favor I called in."

Ethan looked at him intently for a long moment, remembering that the favor was to capture Lady Ekthros alive instead of killing her if at all possible. "Some day, you'll have to tell me why you asked for that particular favor."

"I likely will someday, but not today." He replied with an unreadable expression. "Now if you will excuse me, I have some writing to do."

"Thanks again." He nodded.

"You're welcome." The luminar went to the door and was halfway out before he stopped and looked back. "Please, keep my request in mind."

"I will." Ethan replied, not sure what else to say.

The luminar nodded and then left.

"Ethan?" Thea said as she stood.

"Yeah?"

"I have a confession to make." Unusually, she didn't have her trademark half-apologetic, half-sheepish grimace. Instead, she wasn't quite meeting his eye.

"A confession?"

She nodded, then looked around the suddenly empty room. Well, empty except for Beth; she was still here on the Astral Plane. He could see her, but Thea couldn't, although the incredibly sharp elf had almost certainly guessed at her presence.

"Um, a part of me hopes that you think that I came here entirely to help you marry Sarah, but that would be a lie of omission." She said, still not meeting his eye.

"Then why did you come? Curious about Sarah the same way Beth might be in your shoes?"

"I'm curious, but not like Beth." Thea replied. "Beth is curious about how things work and absorbs information like a sponge. I'm not. I don't really care how things work, I want to see new places and new things." She started smiling despite still not meeting his eye. "I want to see mountains, and rivers, and countrysides, and new people, and new places, and new cultures, and different ways of doing things." She paused. "No, I want to experience those things, not just see them. I think Beth appreciates things like that, but I crave them."

Behind Thea and invisible on the Astral Plane, Beth had her thinking face on as she thought privately to him. *I think I agree Dominus.*

*Me too.* He thought back, then spoke aloud. "I believe the term for that is 'wanderlust'."

She nodded. "When you told Myla, Victoria, and me about the birthdays, Victoria asked if we were competing for you, and that she wouldn't like that."

"I remember." He nodded. "I also remember you saying that a little friendly competition might be fun."

"I was joking, or partially joking." She bit her lip. "It's just..." She almost sighed and the edge of a smile appeared on her cheeks. "You live on an airship." Her smile widened. "You travel all over the Ten Kingdoms seeing everything and I want that." Her smile faded slightly. "Part of the reason I came here is because I thought it might, um, give me a leg up in the... the..."

"The 'competition'?" He prompted.

She nodded. "But then I started feeling guilty about that because I realized you might think I was being altruistic when I wasn't."

He resisted the urge to chuckle at how clearly worried she was about this. "Was there a tiny bit of altruism?"

"Maybe a tiny bit." She conceded. "I really do want you to be happy because I hate seeing people unhappy. But what I really wanted was to marry you so I can stay on the Argo and fly with you forever, seeing all the incredible things you see." She paused. "Okay, I could do without the battles and bloodshed, but I want to see everything else."

He looked at her thoughtfully for a moment. "Do you want to marry me because you want to be my wife, or so you can travel on the Argo?"

Thea started looking at her feet. "It's mostly the sights and only partially you." She bit her lip. "You're a wonderful man, and I know I could fall in love with you -- you wouldn't make it hard -- but I'm..."

"You're young and want to see the world."

She nodded.

"As long as we're being honest, I have a confession as well."

"You want to marry Selene." Thea smiled and looked up at him.

"Is it that obvious?"

Her trademark sheepish-but-slightly-embarrassed smile came back as she nodded. "I'm glad she's not my competition; I wouldn't stand a chance." Her face fell slightly. "I really don't want to make it a competition, I really don't, I just..." She trailed off, probably searching for the right words.

"You don't want your guardian to marry you to someone who will make you settle down in one place for the rest of your life."

She nodded.

"Have you talked to him about this?"

"It wouldn't matter." She said glumly. "You should see the two stuffed-shirts that his oldest two daughters are married to; they're the most boring people in the entire Ten Kingdoms. They come from a good family though, so..." She raised her hands as if to say 'what can you do?'

"Are they unhappy?"

She shook her head. "No, I have no idea why, but they both seem very happy." She smiled. "One of them has a little girl that just started to talk and it's adorable being called 'aunthie' because she can't say 'aunt Thea' in the common tongue yet."

He smiled at that. "You know, your guardian might surprise you. It sounds like he did well with his other daughters, maybe he will with you too." He remembered his conversations with the elf quite well and he definitely struck Ethan as someone who would be a caring father and guardian. Ethan was pretty sure that he would do his best to pick a good husband for Thea. Well, if Ethan didn't marry her that is.

"Maybe..." She didn't look convinced.

"You know, it would be a lot easier if you could pick your own husband." He said.

She shrugged. "Honestly, I'm a bit flighty and would have a hard time picking."

Ethan decided not to pursue that particular line of reasoning any further. "Thank you for being honest with me; I appreciate it."

"You're welcome, thank you for being kind to me, and to everyone else." She smiled. "I really appreciate it."

"Would you have helped with Sarah even if there was no chance that we would marry?" He asked after a moment.

"Maybe?" She waggled her head back and forth. "I would've offered, but I doubt I would've snuck off the Argo."

"Yeah, that sounds about right." He nodded, then smiled. "Thank you for helping with Sarah; it means a lot to me."

"I'm glad." Thea beamed.

* * *

"It's a bad idea." Alana frowned at Rachel's suggestion. Their husband had just given them the short version of the conversation and the wood elf had mused aloud that she wanted to be there when Ethan proposed. They were standing just outside of the captain's cabin talking and their fellow wives plus Selene, Myla, and Victoria had congregated around them during the discussion.

"Do you want to be there?" The redhead pressed.

She hesitated, then nodded.

"I definitely want to be there." Selene said,

"He said it would be a while before Rindrin was ready to pause his work." Kendra pointed out. "I could easily fly you both there on my airship."

"Is that safe?" Taloni asked.

"Lady Ekthros had no reason to lie." Kendra replied. "If she wanted to kill Ethan, she could have. Thus, I expect the danger from her is almost nothing right now." She frowned. "That likely won't be the case for long, but I think it is now."

"The only reason we were staying away was because she was watching the inn." Rachel pointed out. "We have a reprieve, no matter how temporary it is, why shouldn't we use it?"

"Pull a Thea and go without asking." Victoria suggested.

Alana chuckled. "I'm not sure Ethan would like that."

"He isn't here." Victoria said with a twinkle in her eyes.

"Meelas would only object to you placing yourself in a dangerous situation." Myla added, a twinkle in her eye and a subtle smile on her face. "I do not believe he would object to your presence if there was no danger."

Alana felt a smile grow on her face.

"And that looks like a decision; I'm coming." Selene grinned.

"I am too, for moral support." Rachel announced.

"I'll get my airship ready." Kendra said with a knowing smile. "Gear up ladies, we leave in five minutes."

* * *

Fiona opened the door to Lord Delmar's office after her morning training session with Mage Weston. Even she could tell that she was getting better and faster at healing, though she didn't like it very much. The mage had told her that they would progress to removing contaminants soon, though he hadn't told her how.

"You were wanting to see me milord?" She asked as she stepped into his office

His office looked the same as ever it did and so did he, but there was a girl there that she had never seen before. The girl had dark hair and her skin was significantly darker than most of Narlotten's other residents. She was wearing a dress that covered almost every inch of skin except the hands and head. It even covered the neck since it had a high collar. She was pretty, though not enough to stand out in the castle. She wore no jewelry of any kind and while the dress was nice, it wouldn't stand out.

The girl looked young too, maybe mid-teens at the oldest, but she carried herself like someone older. There was a relaxed confidence and grace about her that reminded Fiona of a feline predator and she moved with cat-like grace.

Lord Delmar spoke when the door was fully shut. "Fiona, this is your new bodyguard, who will become one of your handmaidens to facilitate her protection of you; her name is Tabitha."

"My lady." The girl gave Fiona a graceful curtsy.

"Bodyguard?" Fiona raised her eyebrows; the girl was smaller than Fiona and Fiona wasn't that large, plus she looked so young.

"Yes, bodyguard." He replied. "She has been trained in combat since she was a child and I personally verified that she is competent to the task of defending you. She surpassed all the other candidates by a considerable margin."

"How old are you?" Fiona asked the girl.

"Older than you." Tabitha replied, but said nothing else. Her tone was entirely neutral and her face was like a mask.

"You are not to leave the castle without Tabitha at your side, no matter the circumstances." Lord Delmar instructed.

"Yes milord, what about inside the castle?"

"You may move about freely of course." He replied. "But do not leave the castle without her at your side. If she believes that there is some form of danger, no one except myself alone may override what she tells you to do."

"Aye milord."

"Additionally, do you remember Guardsman Ellis Trelane?"

"Aye milord, he was the one escorting Sarah and Amy to Ivernia."

"He has returned to the castle and will present a report on his journey in one hour." Lord Delmar said. "Should you wish to listen, return here at that time."

"I will milord, thank you." She smiled. She of course had already read Amy and Sarah's letter on the topic, but she would love to hear Ellis's account as well.

"You may go." Lord Delmar said, then returned to the papers on his desk.

Fiona led the way out of the office with Tabitha in tow. The girl -- or perhaps 'woman' was more accurate since she was apparently much older than she looked -- seemed to make no noise when she moved.

"I should be introducing you to Conner and Nurse Belcosta." Fiona said in the hallway.

"Oh, I already met the nurse." Tabitha replied in a bubbly tone with a smile that was the polar opposite of the reserved and stoic version of the woman Fiona had seen in Lord Delmar's office.

"Well, then you should be meeting Conner." Fiona replied.

"Sure, and please call me Tabby." The girl said brightly, her overall demeanor reminding Fiona more of Glessie than anyone else.

A little unnerved, Fiona led Tabby to the nursery where Conner took his naps during the day. There were two guards posted at the entrance around the clock and Fiona smiled at them as she entered. She recognized them as being on the rotation to guard Lord Delmar's office, his room, and the council chambers as well.

Fiona showed Tabby her sleeping son, beaming at the tiny little life she was looking at. By contrast, Tabby studied the infant for a moment and then looked around the room like she was seeing something that Fiona didn't.

"Problem?" Fiona asked.

"No my lady." Tabitha replied, her tone and body language having returned to the reserved and stoic persona from Lord Delmar's office.

It was almost unsettling.

* * *

Alana stopped outside the door to Rindrin's house and took a deep breath before thinking to her husband privately. *Sir, some of the ladies and I did something that I hope you won't mind.*

There was a slight pause before he replied. *What's that?*

She took another deep breath and then knocked on the door.

A few moments later, the door opened to reveal her husband, standing there with the strangest smile she'd ever seen on him. She couldn't tell if he was worried, happy, delighted, disapproving, or annoyed. Maybe he was all of them. However, as always, he smiled when he looked at her.

She liked that.

Ethan slowly shook his head and then glanced back into the room at Thea, who was wearing her trademark half-sheepish grimace as he spoke with a chuckle. "You're a bad influence."

"If you marry me, you can spank me for it." Thea winked.

Behind the elf, Sarah and a brunette that Alana didn't know both went slightly pink. Alana just rolled her eyes, pretty sure that Rachel, Kendra, and Selene behind her were doing the same thing.

"Come in." The brunette said brightly.

They did, though it was a little tight with all of them in there. The introductions were made and Amy wanted to get the newcomers' opinion on a truly awful painting of hers. They all answered truthfully, though as kindly as possible, after which Ethan explained about the painting.

"You all passed the test." Ethan grinned, then Thea explained about Amy's 'Honesty' painting.

*Why did you come?* Her husband thought to her privately while the others started talking.

*Because Sarah is important to you, and because I want to get off on the right foot with her since we'll be sharing a husband for a couple hundred years.*

*You're nervous.* He stated; it wasn't a question.

She nodded. *But I'm trusting both you and Illuminar; it'll be okay.*

He raised his eyebrow.

*Okay, I might not feel like it'll be okay, but I'm trying to trust that it will be.*

*You're incredible, you know that?* He smiled at her, and the smile reached deep into his eyes. Better, she could tell that he was smiling because he was looking at her.

*Thank you.* She smiled back, though she'd be lying if she said there weren't any nerves behind her smile. She didn't try to conceal them from her husband though. She never needed to hide anything from him.

A nearby door opened and Rindrin entered, accompanied by the faint smell of wood smoke and hot metal. He looked at all the people in his kitchen, then at Amy smiling at him, then he addressed everyone. "Alright, I reckon y'all are gettin' anxious; let's go see Festus."

"I'll go get Luminar Kossel." Selene volunteered, then darted out the door.

Sarah and Ethan looked at each other, all smiles. He reached down and took Alana's hand, which she really appreciated. The large group of them walked across the road to Sarah's father's inn and entered to some strange looks from several people who were already there.

Sarah's father was sitting at a table and he smiled widely when he saw his daughter. She gave him a hug and then sat down at the table. Likewise, several others sat down to fill the table, and the seating arrangement around the round table was Festus, Sarah, an empty seat that Sarah saved for Luminar Kossel, Rindrin, Alana, and Ethan. Everyone else gathered around the table, with Rachel notably standing behind Alana and resting a comforting hand on her shoulder. Only a few moments later, the luminar came in with Selene behind him.

At this point, most of the patrons had stopped whatever they were doing to stare.

"Now that we are all here, let's begin." Luminar Kossel said as he sat down in the empty seat.

"What's going on over there?" One of the inn's guests asked, obviously curious.

Everyone looked at Ethan, even Luminar Kossel, though the luminar seemed more like he was amused than looking to Ethan for direction.

He looked at Sarah. "Do you mind?"

Sarah shook her head, then spoke aloud. "They are deciding if I can get a divorce." She turned to look at them. "I'm Festus's daughter and this is the prophet of Illuminar." She indicated Ethan.

Now everyone was staring at either him or Sarah.

"I don't mean to be accusing you, but the prophet is a dragon." One of the inn's patrons said.

"Disguise gem." Ethan explained, then it clicked off.

Those not in the know jumped, but seemed to recover quickly. Alana was glad that her husband was still wearing his white armor, since she was pretty sure that was the only reason they recognized him.

"Sarah, are you sure you want this?" Her father asked, seemingly not bothered by the patrons staring and more concerned about his daughter. "I want to see you married and happy, and with your problem, I don't know that another man will... you know."

"Don't worry about that." Alana spoke up. "The prophet has someone in mind; she'll be fine."

"Okay." Festus replied as if that was all the confirmation he needed.

Sarah was grinning ear-to-ear and frankly looked nearly as happy as Amy did, and as happy as Alana herself had probably looked the morning after her wedding. Ethan looked no less happy, though under the table he reached a hand out and rested it on his wife's thigh and gave it a gentle and comforting squeeze.

She smiled at that.

"Okay, let's begin." Luminar Kossel said, then laid out the case Thea had made earlier that morning. When he was done, he looked at Festus and then Rindrin. "I have the certificate of divorce written out here, but it will require both of your signatures -- or marks if you can't write -- in order to effect it." He laid a piece of paper on the table that looked quite similar to the one he had drawn up for Myla.

"You're sure?" Festus asked his daughter.

Sarah nodded both vigorously and brightly.

"I can sign it." Rindrin shrugged.

Festus nodded. "Then I suppose I will as well."

Alana could feel the butterflies in her stomach start moving around. She was almost entirely sure that Sarah would be a good wife to Ethan and fit into their family perfectly, but only because it seemed like Illuminar had planned for her to join. Without that assurance, she didn't know how she would feel. Definitely not as calm as she did.

Luminar Kossel set a tiny bottle of ink and a quill pen on the table. Rindrin signed it first and then slid it over to Festus, who looked at Sarah. Before he could ask, she nodded vigorously. He shrugged and then signed it.

"That's it?" Sarah asked, looking back and forth between her father, Rindrin, and Luminar Kossel.

"Not yet." The luminar said, then he signed it and slid it over so it was in front of Sarah. "Congratulations, you are now a divorced woman, technically."

"Technically?" Sarah asked, looking at the piece of paper like she couldn't believe it.

"Technically yes, but this divorce has much in common with an annulment. Thus, if you remarried without your father's permission, someone could possibly challenge the legitimacy of the match. It's not likely, but it's possible."

*Sir, ask Festus if you can marry her.* Alana thought to everyone.

*You're sure?* He looked at her, cautious optimism in his eyes.

She was pretty sure that if she asked him not to, he wouldn't. He was good that way. Rachel gently squeezed her shoulder in an encouraging way and the look in Ethan's eyes...

*Yes, I'm sure. Ask.*

"Festus, can I have your permission to marry Sarah?" Ethan asked.

* * *

"Can I be coming in, milord?" Fiona asked after knocking on the door to his office.

"Enter." He replied.

She opened the door and slipped in, closing it behind her. Her husband -- and that still felt like such a strange thought -- was leaning back in his chair and looking at the ceiling with his eyes narrowed. He looked deep in thought.

"Guardsman Trelane should arrive presently." He said, still looking at the ceiling.

"Is there anything I can be helping with milord?"

"Not at present." He stood and then began to slowly pace, clearly still deep in thought.

Fiona had never spent much time in this room except to deliver meals, and now she found that she wasn't sure what to do with herself. Ordinarily, she might sit on one of the two chairs that faced the desk, but that didn't feel right since she wasn't here for an audience. She looked around the room and spied an armchair in the corner of the room that was set near two bookshelves in the corner. Not sure where else to sit, she moved to the chair and sat down.

It was very comfortable.

Lord Delmar's expression changed as she sat. The difference was subtle, but she was learning that she had to look for subtle with him. It was hard to be sure, but he seemed to get a slightly sad look in his eyes. Yet at the same time, she would've sworn the corners of his mouth moved up a hairsbreadth.

"Something wrong milord?"

"Helene used to sit there." He replied. "I do believe you are the first person to sit in that chair for seventeen years." He paused before continuing. "She wanted a comfortable chair in here so she could keep me company while I worked." He blinked once or twice.

"I can be getting up." She offered, half moving to.

"It is only a chair; you need not move." He replied, then resumed pacing.

She was pretty sure he cared more than he let on, but she didn't get up. Her sitting there had caused the corners of his mouth to move upward, no matter how little. If he had started to frown, she would've moved. However, she wanted him to smile more and this seemed like a good start.

"Milord, would you object if, just occasionally, I sat in here with you while you were working?"

"As you wish." His tone was perfectly neutral, which told Fiona something anyway.

She smiled.

He wasn't easy to read, but she was learning.

It was only a minute or two later that one of the guards outside the door spoke. "Guardsman Trelane to see you my lord."

"Send him in." Lord Delmar replied.

Ellis entered wearing a guardsman's uniform with the Narlotten black dragon emblazoned on the front. He was only a little taller than Fiona, with broad shoulders, sandy blond hair, a short beard, and bright blue eyes.

"Lord Delmar, Lady Fiona." He bowed to them both, then stood at attention.

"Report." The lord instructed.

Ellis did.

His report was a more detailed and complete version of what Sarah and Amy had written to Fiona in the letter. His recounting of the fight was second-hand, and Fiona found herself glad that it was; she wasn't sure she wanted to hear the full version. When he recounted his meeting with the false prophet, Fiona resisted the urge to ball up her fists.

"I might have misread the situation Lord Delmar, but he truly seemed like he wished to avoid killing me." Ellis finished. "He was not using a disguise gem to conceal his eyes, yet they had a normal amount of color. Thus, I suspect that he might not be a necromancer."

"There are disguise gems powerful enough to deceive a skilled mage; we must assume that he has one protecting his eyes." Lord Delmar replied. "The necromancer who brought him to the Ten Kingdoms, Hermair, had a similar but less powerful such item. Additionally, Lady Ekthros believes that he is intentionally softening his actions to improve his image. Necromancers can use even mercy as a tool of deception."

"Thank you for explaining, my lord." He did a head bow. "I do have one more thing to report."

"Proceed." Lord Delmar replied.

"The next day on my return journey, I saw another dragon flying." Ellis said. "This one was copper in color and larger than Ethan Ejder."

"Kyrupto, a Drago from north of Arcanum." Lord Delmar replied. "Lady Ekthros reports that he believes the false prophet owes him a substantial sum of gold."

"Maybe he can be taking care of him for us then." Fiona said under her breath.

The two men looked at her.

"Her first husband was killed by the false prophet." Lord Delmar explained.

"I'm sorry to hear that my lady." Ellis gave her a head bow.

"She is, however, correct." Lord Delmar said. "Dragos are not known for clemency; perhaps he will take care of our necromantic dragon problem."

* * *

Ethan waited with bated breath for Festus to respond.

The man turned to face him slowly and looked at him like he'd sprouted a third wing out of his forehead. "What?"

"I would like your permission to marry Sarah, your daughter." Ethan repeated a little more slowly and a little more clearly.

Everyone in the inn was staring at him, though those from the Argo lacked the stupefied expression. One of the men at another table had been chewing on something like a breadstick, but with his mouth open it fell out and he scrambled to catch it before returning to staring at Ethan.

"You're the prophet, ain't you?" One of the men asked, his tone conveying utter disbelief.

"I have been repeatedly called one, yes." Ethan replied, then looked at Festus again.

"You know that girl's got a problem, don't ya?" Someone else asked.

"I don't care." He replied.

"Why don't ya care?" The man asked again. "Ain't you a prophet and supposed to be dealing with folk like her?"

Ethan growled.

He then stood up and walked over to the man, who was sitting down so Ethan towered over him. Ethan was well aware that he was a dragon wearing full armor and a sword, and he had a pretty good idea of how intimidating that would be as he watched the blood drain from the man's face. On second thought, maybe he should tone it down a little.

"And how would you like me to 'deal with her'?" He asked calmly.

"I-I... I-I just meant..." The man seemed to splutter slightly.

"You meant... What?" Ethan asked, again trying to remain calm.

"I-I, um, that you could remove her problem?" The man finished.

Ethan forced a smile onto his face. "Oh, that makes sense. Because for a moment I thought you were suggesting that I attack an innocent girl for something terrible that happened to her when she was a child."

"N-No, I-I wouldn't suggest that." The man stammered.

"Good, because I'm pretty sure that the Book of Light would have something to say about attacking the victim of a crime, don't you think?" Ethan replied with his fake smile still on his face.

The man nodded.

* * *

Sarah was trying to think of a word to describe how happy she was, but she couldn't think of one. Ethan had just defended her. She felt like her heart was singing and she wanted to dance, paint, and sing all at the same time. She couldn't help but notice the similarity between Ethan and Lord Delmar. Both had come to her defense and she couldn't have stopped smiling if she wanted to.

She didn't want to.

She couldn't take her eyes off of him as Ethan returned to the table and sat back down.

"So, Festus, can I have your permission to marry Sarah?"

Her father stared at him for a moment, then glanced at the man Ethan had just intimidated, then back at Ethan. "You want to marry Sarah?"

"Yes." A wide smile split his face, and not like the one he'd been wearing when looking at the man. Sarah was pretty sure that Ethan had been trying to fake a smile, but it had definitely come off as threatening. Honestly, she might've been a bit scared if he had been looking at her like that.

"But you're the prophet and she's..." Her father cocked his head to one side. "She's the best girl a father could ask for, even with her problem, but are you sure, especially considering her problem?"

"Absolutely sure." He grinned.

Alana nudged him and then looked pointedly at the satchel he usually carried.

"Right." He said, then looked at Festus. "So, apparently I'm supposed to offer a bride price." He reached into the satchel, pulled out a small coin purse, and dropped it on the table. "If that's not enough, I have more on my airship."

Sarah stared.

The coin purse wasn't large, but it had hit the table very solidly. Maybe there was even a gold coin or two in there? Festus looked at the coin purse and seemed to reach for it automatically, then loosened the strings and looked inside.

"Seven gold coins, seven silver coins, and seven copper coins." Alana explained. "For Ethan's seventh wife, born on the seventh day of the seventh month -- three sevens for three sevens -- it seemed appropriate."

Sarah stared.

Seven gold?

Seven!?

She had never heard of any common girl who was worth... She blinked. Seven?! That was over double the bride price of any common girl she'd ever heard of, and he was paying that for her? She blinked a few times suddenly aware that the corners of her eyes were slightly wet. She wiped them as she screwed her face up a little, trying not to cry.

"Sarah." Festus said as he looked at her, his eyes shining as well. "Meet your betrothed." He indicated Ethan.

Sarah's eyes met Ethan's.

His eyes were shining like they did when he looked at his wives; he was looking at her like that. Well, not like that, though that would come eventually. She felt her cheeks get warm as she realized that she could look forward to that with him. But right now, she was just happy seeing Ethan look at her the way he was. It was just... just...

She sighed...

...at the exact moment that he did the same.

She giggled and her cheeks got warmer as his lop-sided grin got even more lopsided and he chuckled. She took a deep breath and let it out as a sigh. Right now, everything was perfect. Judging by the look on Ethan's face -- her betrothed -- he felt the same.

She couldn't describe how wonderful that was.

* * *

*That's wonderful.* Anthiel felt a wide smile spread onto her face at her husband's news. *When did you find out?*

*About forty-five seconds ago.* Ralgar replied. *I've never seen Miri smile so widely.*

*You mean outside the bedroom?* Anthiel teased as she made a minor adjustment to the Argo's trim, anchored though it was.

*Possibly even then.* He replied with a smile in his tone. *She might make a reasonable replacement for the sun if you hung her in the sky right now.*

*It would be a red sky for all the blushing.* She chuckled. *I'm so happy for her; give her a hug from me.*

*I will.* He replied. *She's excited for you to finish on the Argo; she keeps saying that she doesn't know enough about children and the baby will need 'Mama Ani'.*

Anthiel smiled even wider at that. *I love that, and...* The high elf trailed off as she caught something out of the corner of her eye.

*More trouble?* Ralgar asked; this was becoming almost routine.

*I don't think it'll be trouble, but it will certainly look like trouble.* She replied as she tracked the copper shape that was circling the Argo high overhead, high enough that non-elves would have a hard time making it out. *It should be very easy to solve, barely an inconvenience, but...* She frowned. *...but I think it will reveal another and more significant problem that has existed for a while.*

*What other problem?*

*One moment.* She replied as the copper shape began to circle in a slow, lazy, downward spiral towards the Argo.

Like the previous time, the Drago seemed in no hurry at all. Something about its body language and the way he held himself simply screamed that he was the owner of everything in sight, the undisputed sovereign of both heaven and earth. Given how powerful Kyrupto was, she doubted that any mortal within a thousand leagues could stand against him. There was at least one immortal being that might end up helping though.

Anthiel was certain that Ethan would prefer that she sent Kyrupto to him rather than endanger everyone on the Argo, especially since two of his wives were here. And given that he was with Sarah, it seemed likely that there would be an interesting showdown coming.

"Beth, Taloni." She called out loudly.

The two blondes had been talking between the captain's cabin and the ship's mast, and they both looked at her.

"Kyrupto is here." She said calmly, then continued before the two teens could panic. "There's no reason to worry because he'll want to see Ethan, and he's with Sarah right now."

The two teens' eyes widened, and Taloni especially went white as her wings flicked nervously.

"Go into the captain's cabin and let Ethan know." She continued. "I'll take care of Kyrupto."

The blondes hesitated.

"Move. Now." Anthiel said in her 'stern mother' voice.

They did.

She smiled; she would need to teach that to Mirella before her little bundle of joy arrived.

Then she waited.

Kyrupto seemed in no hurry, and she didn't blame him. There was something about him that almost had a repressive effect on the area around him. It was like she and the wildlife in the area could feel the weight of his presence and they shrunk away from it. He appeared to be laying it on thicker than the previous time.

He eventually landed on the Argo's weather deck and looked around with undeniable disdain. His head was so high in the air that she would've been surprised if he could even see the decking.

"How can I help you?" Anthiel asked, having a very good guess of how this would go.

"Ethan Ejder; where is he?" The Drago sneered in return.

"Several miles in that direction." Anthiel pointed towards Sarah's inn. "There's an outpost at a major crossroads; he'll be there."

"At least you know your place." The Drago sneered, then lifted off and began to fly in the indicated direction.

*He's gone.* Anthiel thought to Ralgar.

*Who's gone?*

*Kyrupto.* She replied nonchalantly, hoping she could pass it off as not a big deal.

*Ani, we talked about this.*

*I know.* She winced. *I just don't want you to worry, and if I told you every time I was in danger--*

*Then Miri and I would be able to pray that Illuminar sees you out of it more often.* He interrupted. *You promised Ani.*

*I'll do better.* She replied. *He really isn't a danger unless you stand in his way. He's capricious, not wantonly destructive.*

*You sent him to Ethan?* Judging by his mental tone, he was having a hard time believing her.

*I did. He's with Sarah, that demon-possessed innkeeper's daughter; emphasis on demon-possessed.* She replied. *From what Ethan has said, Sarah's demon is significantly stronger than the ones that Ethan encountered; I don't fancy Kyrupto's chances.*

*Relying on demons?*

*Not me, nor any of the current crew.* She replied.

*You think Sarah is relying on her demon?*

*I can't be sure, but I would guess.*

He didn't reply for a moment. *They still need you, don't they?*

*Taloni isn't ready to pilot the Argo by herself, not under stress or in combat.* She replied. *She's one of the most naturally gifted airship pilots that I've ever met and she'll be ready in a few months at the longest, but she's not ready yet.*

*Be careful Ani; Miri's baby will need her Mama Ani.* He replied after a moment.

*I will.* She promised, then spoke aloud. "Beth, Taloni."

The two blondes exited the captain's cabin, Beth holding a letter.

"Who wrote?" Anthiel asked.

"Elder Goman, he says that Graflex is almost finished with the travel swords and wanted to know if he could send them to Luminar Kossel to give to us." The blonde replied, though she wasn't nearly as excited as she would usually be at such news.

"You told Ethan about Kyrupto?" Anthiel asked.

Taloni nodded, her face whiter than normal and her wings flicking nervously on a regular basis.

* * *

"I want to come."

Ethan turned to look at Sarah and couldn't help but smile; she was his betrothed. That word didn't have a lot of emotional resonance with him, but he knew it was a stronger version of engagement, and engagement had a lot of emotional resonance with him because it meant she would become his wife. That thought made him smile wider despite the Drago that he knew was approaching the outpost. She smiled back, and it looked like one of those smiles where you weren't trying to smile, but couldn't stop yourself.

He liked that.

"Why?" He finally replied in response to her question, though he still couldn't stop smiling.

"You know why." She replied gently. She didn't look proud of the reason, but she didn't look as ashamed of it as she once had either.

He frowned. "When did you get so comfortable with your demon?"

She winced and averted her eyes. "I know it's not good, but it really can help us right now."

He looked at her for several seconds before replying. "Fair, but 'can' and 'should' are two very different things. I talked to a demon once; they are utterly consumed with destroying mortals. Even if you think it will help, I can guarantee that its ultimate goal is to destroy you, me, and everyone else. Any help it provides is solely towards that end and no other."

She nodded.

"You still want to come." He said; it wasn't a question.

She hesitated a moment, then nodded.

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, then ran his hand over the top of his head where his hair would be if he had any. On the one hand, he completely understood her desire to help. It was something that Selene would do and he had to admit that her demon could indeed help a lot in a fight with Kyrupto. On the other hand, he'd seen enough of those creatures to know that even if it helped, it was because it thought that helping would lead to some greater evil later.

On yet another hand, he remembered how his last two fights with dragons of Drago-level power had gone. He wasn't as concerned about himself, but he had no guarantee that Kyrupto wouldn't go after his wives if he was gone, and that wasn't even considering Lord Delmar.

"Please?" Sarah asked. "I want to help and I might be the only one who can."

"I noticed that you'd changed, I didn't realize how much." He said to her softly after a few moments.

She bit her lip and looked down. "You aren't regretting the betrothal... are you?"

He took a step closer and gently lifted her chin with the side of his index finger. He smiled as he looked into her eyes before speaking. "No. I would've paid ten times that price if your father had required it."

She smiled, and the smile reached deep into her eyes. "Thank you."

"A woman should know how much she's worth." He replied softly. "I don't like the whole bride price thing, but I'm glad that at least you know how much you're worth to me."

Her smile widened. "I do."

"We'll have time for 'I do's later." He winked.

She laughed.

She had a great laugh and the sound was slightly musical, making him wonder if she had a good singing voice.

*Ladies, what do you think about Sarah coming outside to help with Kyrupto.* He thought to everyone. *She asked if she could.*

*It makes practical sense, but seems like a very bad idea.* Alana replied instantly.

*I agree Master.* Taloni replied firmly. *We shouldn't rely on Illuminar's enemies no matter what.*

*I want to agree with Tee, but you're all in danger.* Beth's tone was fearful.

*It's the only chance Ethan has to survive if Kyrupto attacks; let her help.* Kendra suggested.

*My lord, I agree with everyone.* Rachel had an apologetic look on her face; she looked as torn as her comment indicated she was.

After a moment, Selene chimed in with a rather good impression of Dame Judy Dench's character Aereon from the Chronicles of Riddick. *Sometimes, evil shouldn't be fought by good; it should be fought by another kind of evil.*

*That's not how the line goes.* He replied.

*I was adapting it, sue me.* The ex-FBI agent replied. *All I'm saying is, Sarah probably won't get hurt and Kyrupto probably will. Given how your dragon side reacts to demons, maybe it'll make him think twice about attacking us again if he knows that Sarah is with us.*

*With us?* Kendra asked.

*Yeah, until I go back to Earth.* Selene replied, though Ethan didn't think that's what she meant.

Kendra eyed her.

*Okay, it was a slip of the tongue.* Selene admitted. *But please, don't make a big thing of it; leaving will be hard enough as it is.*

"Um, Ethan." Sarah said, not entirely meeting his eye. "It comes out when I get scared. If I'm in here, I'll imagine what's happening to you and how badly you might be hurt, and then I'll get scared."

Selene walked up to Sarah and put an arm around her shoulder. "She's got a point."

"Okay, you can come." He said to Sarah.

The idea of her demon coming out inside where his wives and all the civilians would be was actually worse than it happening outside. At least outside, there would be an obvious threat on which she could focus her aggression.

He explained to everyone in the group and Taloni was the first to speak up. *Master, that isn't a good idea.*

*If she's going to lose control regardless, I would rather it happen outside near an aggressive Drago than inside near a bunch of innocents.* He explained.

*I don't think you're wrong Master, but I don't think it's a good idea.*

*Agreed.* He replied, then looked at Sarah seriously. "We're going to talk about this later."

She nodded.

"Here he comes." Kendra said.

Ethan looked at her, confused at how she could tell, but then moments later he did indeed hear something outside.

* * *

Fiona stood up from the council meeting, which was shorter than usual since it was entirely about the impending arrival of Lord Kalus of Timarou. They had mostly discussed the visit and details concerning it. Timarou didn't border Narlotten so there wasn't much in the way of official relations between the two lorddoms. However, that didn't mean there were no concerns.

She had tried to pay attention, but much of it focused on fine details that she would never remember and that wouldn't impact her at all. Instead, she'd found herself glancing at the empty chair that Helene had once sat in and wondering about her, and especially how she had met Lord Delmar. She was wondering that very thing when the scraping of chairs informed her that the meeting was over.

"Fiona, wait for a moment." Lord Delmar said as everyone else began to make their way from the room. When they were alone, he spoke again. "If you have no objection, I wish to seat you next to Lady Lyra at dinner tonight."

"Uh, I'm not having an objection, but why?"

"Because she grew up as a commoner and was thrust into the role of queen without prior courtly education." He replied. "You have previously expressed concern that your lack of training in court etiquette would prevent you from being a good First Lady. However, Lady Lyra is beloved by her people, and as such should serve to assuage any concerns that linger on that topic."

Fiona smiled. "Thank you milord, I'm really appreciating that."

He nodded once in acknowledgment.

"Um, milord." She ventured.

"Yes?"

"Could... perhaps not today or even tonight, but at some point, could you be telling me how you and the Lady Helene were meeting?"

He raised both of his eyebrows slightly and made a thoughtful sound. "I had not thought you would be interested."

"I am interested, very much." She replied.

He regarded her impassively for several seconds. "Why?"

"Well, two reasons." She replied. "First, I'll confess to being curious. But more importantly, I'm wanting to get to know you better. I know you are wanting a purely practical marriage, but that doesn't mean I'm not wanting to know my husband well. She was such an enormous part of your life, so I'm wanting to know about your history with her because I'm thinking it'll be helping me understand you better."

Again, he didn't speak for several seconds. As always, his face was unreadable and besides a single thoughtful noise, she couldn't tell what he was thinking. Finally, he did speak after several moments. "That is thoughtful."

She smiled. "So, could you be telling me sometime?"

He didn't speak for several seconds, so she spoke again. "And I'm meaning the real story, when you two were children."

He raised an eyebrow. "How did you know?"

"When we bonded." She explained. "It wasn't much, but I thought I caught an image of you and the Lady Helene as children in a field of flowers."

Lord Delmar swallowed and suddenly his eyes became a little watery as the corners of his mouth curved upward enough that she felt that she could actually call it a small smile. Well, a very small smile, but anything on his face that could accurately be called a smile seemed like a minor miracle.

The smile faded from his face after only a few moments, but she was glad that she had seen it.

"Milord?" She said when he hadn't replied for at least ten seconds. "Could you be telling me the story sometime?"

"I suppose that perhaps some evening, if it is not too late and we have finished coupling..." He didn't finish his sentence. She wasn't sure she'd ever heard him not finish a sentence before.

"Thank you milord." She beamed.

He nodded once and then left the council chambers, leaving behind a very happy wife.

* * *

Ethan double-checked that he had all his weapons and then kissed all his wives, though he hesitated before he got to Sarah.

"There's the betrothal kiss." Rachel pointed out. "Maybe after you deal with Kyrupto you can announce it officially and then have one."

Sarah and Ethan grinned at each other.

"It'll be my first kiss." Sarah beamed. "My betrothal to Rindrin was never officially announced so I never kissed him."

Ethan grinned wider. "I love that I'll be your first."

"Me too." She replied, her smile growing wider. Moments later, she got a touch of pink in her cheeks, which made him think that certain other firsts might have occurred to her.

His grin widened.

"But first, the dragon." Selene said, then looked at the two of them. "Please be careful."

"We will." He promised, and Sarah nodded.

"Rachel, I want you by the door to deal with fire if it becomes necessary." Ethan said, then turned to Alana. "I realize you won't be able to put an arrow through his scales, but you could perhaps convince him to keep his mouth shut."

She pulled her travel bow out and nocked an arrow. "I will."

He looked at the two of them. "Only intervene if it becomes necessary; I don't want to make you targets."

They both nodded.

He looked at Sarah. "Ready?"

She took a deep breath, grimaced, and then nodded.

"Let's go." Ethan led the way out of the inn and onto the road outside, looking up as he did so.

The copper dragon was circling lazily overhead, clearly taking his time and in no hurry for anything. Kyrupto watched Ethan as he left the inn, but he made no move to land. The Drago's eyes flicked to Sarah and a look of disdain crossed his eyes for a moment, then he narrowed his eyes at her.

Ethan resisted the urge to smile.

He knew exactly what Kyrupto could sense because he could sense the same. He'd been able to sense it since he'd first met Sarah. His dragon side had definitely gotten a bad feeling from her the moment he'd laid eyes on her and it had never fully gone away. He'd long since learned to ignore it because he got that feeling when he thought about Sarah as well, but Kyrupto wouldn't have any idea why he was getting that feeling.

Eventually, the Drago landed and Ethan was reminded of just how much larger the copper dragon was than he was. Well, perhaps not exactly larger -- though he was a little larger -- but the way he carried himself made him seem larger. He held his head regally as he looked down his snout at the both of them.

"Still cavorting with cows I see." He scoffed.

"Damn straight." Ethan replied. "What can I do for you Kyrupto?"

"Pay what you owe." The Drago replied.

"We didn't take a single coin from Havorleth's hoard." Ethan replied. "Not one. I don't see how we could owe you anything if we didn't take anything from you or your vassals."

"You chased him away, allowing someone to steal it." Kyrupto replied as if he was explaining something very simple to someone very stupid. "Thus, you are at fault and I will have satisfaction."

"You might not find me such easy prey this time." Ethan replied. He was wearing his armor and had all of his weapons on him and visible.

"Human trinkets don't concern me, the return of my gold does." The Drago took a menacing step closer.

Behind him, Sarah started breathing a little more deeply and slowly, like she was keeping herself calm.

"I don't have it." Ethan replied. "That gold cube is the most that I have and you didn't want it; that's about all the gold I have."

"You lie." Kyrupto growled. "I can feel the mana from hundreds of pounds of gold flowing into you as we speak."

Ethan considered for a moment.

It seemed like a colossally bad idea to tell Kyrupto that bonding to a woman would effectively turn that woman into a walking mana generation station for a dragon. He was sure the Drago would abuse that knowledge and rather a lot of women would suffer as a result. That put Ethan in a bit of a spot since he didn't have a good explanation for how he was collecting mana right now.

Fortunately, Sarah spoke up. "Ethan wouldn't lie."

"Know your place, cow." Kyrupto snapped, then let loose a small puff of flame in her direction. Ethan stepped between the flame and Sarah, deploying his shield to block it as he did so. The dragon fire dissipated harmlessly on the elven shield thanks to the dragon leather outer layer and fire-resistant enchantment. However, he needn't have bothered as Sarah had already dived out of the way with a yelp.

She hit the ground and slid a bit, but her hands didn't look scraped at all.

Ethan closed his eyes and shook his head to clear it as all of a sudden, his dragon side started screaming for him to flee. Sarah stood up, her motion far from the graceful movements he would've expected. She turned to face Kyrupto with her head facing the ground. For some reason, her hair looked especially bushy and unkempt and she was using it almost like a veil to conceal her face as she started slowly walking towards Kyrupto.

"What are you?" The Drago asked as his eyes went wide.

"You tried to hurt my betrothed." Sarah's voice had changed, and it now sounded like at least two people speaking at once in perfect unison

"Betrothed?" Kyrupto looked at her, clearly unsure what was happening.

"Me." Ethan said, hoping that him knowing that would keep him away forever.

The Drago took a step back, almost certainly at the same impulse that Ethan had whenever he was confronted by a possessed person.

"Leave." Sarah said, her voice again sounding like two people speaking at once.

Kyrupto took another step back, and then seemed to lose his nerve. He opened his mouth and let loose a torrent of flame at Sarah. Ethan started forward to protect her -- a Drago's fire was no joke -- but he needn't have bothered. The possessed girl was already gone by the time the flame reached her.

Kyrupto snapped his mouth shut as an arrow glanced off his now-closed snout.

Alana.

The dragon snapped his head towards the wood elf, taking his eyes off of Sarah for barely a moment. That was a colossal mistake. The possessed girl crossed the distance faster than Ethan would've thought possible and swung her fist at Kyrupto, punching him in the shoulder.

The Drago roared in pain.

He was bodily thrown back several feet by the punch but didn't lose his balance. He responded by pouncing at Sarah as he lashed out with his other claw, swiping at her with the same deadly speed and power that had nearly killed Ethan almost two months ago. Sarah was batted out of the way, but she didn't appear injured. Her dress had a few long cuts in it from his claws, but that was about it.

The possessed girl let out an unholy and unearthly scream as she scrambled to her feet and then charged the Drago again. Kyrupto tried to take off, but Sarah leapt impossibly high into the air and grabbed his already injured leg with one hand and began mercilessly pummeling that same leg with her other hand.

Kyrupto roared in pain.

He contorted himself in mid-air, using his three other limbs to viciously claw at the possessed girl who refused to let go of him. All the while he was beating his wings, staying aloft but not getting anywhere. Finally, after maybe five seconds of clearly desperate clawing at her, he connected. Sarah nearly screamed in rage as she was knocked loose and fell towards the ground.

Kyrupto took off flying as fast as he possibly could.

By the time Sarah had landed, he was too far away for her to jump after him. She picked up a rock from the ground and threw it at Kyrupto, nailing him in the wing from almost one hundred yards away.

Kyrupto went down.

He hadn't been flying very high in the first place, so that small hit was enough to send him tumbling into the forest. Sarah screamed in rage and ran into the forest to chase after him.

"Fuck!" Ethan yelled as he tried to keep up.

It was impossible.

Sarah was just too damn fast.

He sprinted forward, digging his claws into the ground to gain purchase as he gave chase. At least Sarah wasn't hard to follow. The possessed girl seemed to lose all subtlety when the demon took over and she barreled her way through tree branches and shrubs like they weren't even there.

It took less than ten seconds for Ethan to catch up to the fight, which was taking place in a small clearing. Kyrupto could probably put up a solid fight if he had been trying to, but he seemed more concerned with escaping in a blind panic than fighting. Ethan vaguely wondered how long it had been since the Drago had felt true fear for him to react like this.

More worrying, there was red on Sarah's dress.

Not a lot, but his betrothed had several new slashes in her dress. Thankfully, it looked like they were little more than scratches on her skin, and most of them weren't deep.

"Sarah!" Ethan yelled, trying to get her attention.

The only response was a bloodcurdling scream of rage as the possessed girl threw herself at the Drago once more. It seemed like Kyrupto had given up on fighting and was now trying to escape by climbing and leaping through the trees.

Sarah didn't let him.

It was almost like they were playing a game of aggressive tag in the tree branches. Every so often, Sarah or Kyrupto would land a blow, and it made Ethan wince. He wanted to get involved, but both of them could simply pummel him.

Then Sarah got hit.

She had been attacking with seemingly no regard for her personal safety and one of Kyrupto's claws connected solidly with her torso, knocking her off the branch. There was red on the Drago's claw. Ethan sucked in his breath as Sarah began to fall. He sprinted forward but she was too far away for him to catch her.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kyrupto take to the skies once again, flapping his wings for all they were worth. It looked like he didn't ever plan to return.

Sarah hit the ground and began to get back up just as Ethan reached her.

The world slowed as Sarah's fist came out of nowhere and impacted Ethan's armored face.

He tried to react to his danger sense triggering, but he had been running toward her full speed and couldn't stop.

Wham!

Ethan saw stars.

The world spun and even though he was pretty sure he was flat on his back, he felt like he was falling and the world was spinning. His ears were ringing too and he started healing himself on instinct.

"Ethan!" A feminine voice came from somewhere nearby. "Ethan are you okay!"

He groaned.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-- say something!" He felt feminine hands on his chest and face

"I'm going to marry Sarah." He managed to smile, though he felt like one of his teeth was loose. He exhaled and felt something fall out of his mouth.

"You still want to marry me?" That same feminine voice said.

The world slowly stopped swimming as his healing finished and he looked around to see a very nervous woman sitting next to him looking worried. Her clothes had been torn in many places, though not enough that the dress was in danger of falling off or revealing too much.

"Yeah, I do." He replied, then gave her a lopsided grin. "But please, stop punching me."

She chuckled nervously, but smiled. "I promise."

"Good." Ethan felt liquid collecting in his mouth and spat it out. It was mostly red and there was definitely part of a tooth in it.

Sarah winced. "Sorry."

He chuckled. "Don't worry, it matches my hand." He raised his mostly regrown left hand.

"What happened?" She asked.

"Long story, I'll tell you the whole thing soon." He sat up now that the world was no longer spinning. As he sat up, he realized that he had landed on what looked like a woven fence made of sticks tied together with dried grass woven into string. "What is...?"

Sarah looked around and her face fell. "It's my garden, or it was."

He stood up while trying not to crush anything else and looked around. The area had been almost entirely flattened. The fight between Sarah and Kyrupto had crushed and trampled all of the vegetation in the area with the exception of a single lone plant that had survived entirely and almost miraculously unscathed. Other than that single plant, nothing of her garden had survived.

"I'm sorry." He said.

Sarah swallowed as she looked around, then knelt down, touched the lone surviving plant, and spoke to it. "I didn't think you would make it." She looked at him. "I hate pruning, but I needed to because it needed it. The one I thought wouldn't make it survived."

He knelt down next to her. "Funny how things like that turn out."

"This garden was the only thing I would've missed." She sniffled slightly. "Well, I would miss Amy, my father, and Rindrin, but they don't need me to care for them; my garden does... or it did." She got a sad smile on her face. "I would've felt terrible leaving it behind with no one to take care of it." She touched the lone surviving plant gently. "I hope it'll be okay."

"Well, maybe you can take the survivor with you?" He suggested.

"Really?" She looked at him, a smile returning to her face.

"Why not?" He grinned back.

"I don't know how to transplant though." She frowned.

"Fortunately, I know someone who does. Hang on." He then thought to everyone. *Alana, Sarah has a garden out here that was completely flattened except for one plant; would you know how to transplant the survivor so we can take it with us?*

There was a long pause, then Rachel thought to everyone. *She would be happy to.*

*I would.* Alana thought to everyone a moment later. *Just, that brought back some memories of my own experience with a destroyed garden.*

*Oh, I didn't think of that.* He replied, remembering that Alana's staff farm had been destroyed the night he had come to the Ten Kingdoms. He cocked his head to one side, realizing that the parallels were... odd.

*I'll be right there.* Alana thought to everyone a moment later.

"Alana is coming; she used to farm for a living and she'll know what to do." He told Sarah.

Sarah smiled widely even as she looked like she was about to cry happy tears. "You all are so wonderful."

* * *

Alana took a deep breath as she followed the trail of broken tree limbs and shrubbery that clearly marked Sarah's pursuit of Kyrupto. She was carrying a medium-sized clay pot that she hoped would be big enough, seeing as Amy had volunteered it and she hadn't found any others while cleaning up Rindrin's place.

"It will be fine, I'm sure of it." Rachel assured her. "No one could not love you, Ethan would never let Sarah come between you two, and Sarah herself almost certainly wouldn't ever try. You met her and said she was both kind and caring, making it even less likely."

"I know that here--" The wood elf pointed to her head. "--but down here--" She pointed to her heart. "--I'm having a little trouble."

"I could help you with that." Rachel said with a subtle smile and slightly pink cheeks.

She gave her lover a sly smile. "I love when you help there, but I don't think that'll help with this."

"It'll be fine." Rachel smiled.

Alana took a deep breath and let it out slowly as the clearing where her husband and future co-wife were talking came into view. They looked like they were enjoying their conversation. Sarah had a nervous smile on her face that looked subconscious, though some worry as well.

"We're here!" Rachel called out, prompting the clearing's occupants to look at them.

"Hi." Alana waved, trying quite hard not to let her nerves show.

"Thank you so much!" Sarah gushed, then hurried over and gave Alana a tight hug. "I really appreciate it."

"Um, you're welcome." The wood elf replied, rather awkwardly hugging her back.

"Ethan, could I talk to you over there for a few minutes?" Rachel asked with an amused smile on her face as the hug ended.

"Why?" He replied. There was a moment of silence in which Alana was almost entirely sure they were having a telepathic conversation, then he spoke again. "Okay."

Alana's two favorite people in the world walked away, leaving her alone with Sarah.

The wood elf shifted on her feet and then lifted the pot to show the other girl. "Amy volunteered a pot when I mentioned what we were doing."

Sarah smiled, though she looked a bit nervous too. "She's so nice."

"She seems like she is." Alana agreed.

An awkward silence fell.

"I'm sorry about your garden." Alana ventured after at least ten seconds.

"Thank you, I heard you had something even worse happen." Sarah's face fell.

"I did." She nodded.

Another awkward silence fell.

"Um, can I ask you a question that might be slightly awkward?" Sarah said after several seconds of uncomfortable silence.

"Sure."

"Um, you've been married to Ethan the longest, right?"

"I have." Alana nodded.

Sarah bit her lip and hesitated for a moment. "Um, can you teach me how to be a good wife?"

Alana blinked.

Sarah started speaking just fast enough that it sounded like she was nervous. "I mean, my mother died when I was young and I never had any married friends, so no one ever taught me. And I don't know how to be a good co-wife either, so I know it's a lot to ask, but could you help me with that too?"

"You're worried about that?"

Sarah nodded. "I'll be the new wife. You all get along so well, but I don't know how to do that. I mean, I'll try, but I'm worried that I might not fit in, or not get along with one of Ethan's wives, or that I'll take too much of Ethan's attention." She sighed, though she was frowning slightly too. "This is the most amazing thing that's ever happened to me and I don't want to... uh." She hesitated, probably searching for the right word. "I don't want to make things harder for anyone else."

Alana could feel her cheeks pulling into a smile. Her heart felt a little lighter and that nervous feeling in the pit of her stomach faded away. Her smile grew wider as she thought about what Sarah had said.

*Ethan, you didn't tell Sarah what I was worried about concerning her, did you?* She thought privately to him, pretty sure he hadn't but wanting to be sure.

*No, why?*

*I'll tell you later.* She replied to him, then spoke aloud to Sarah. "My dear girl, if that's what you're worried about, you're already halfway there."

"I am?"

Alana nodded. "If you want to get along with everyone else, being concerned that you won't get along and taking steps to make sure that doesn't happen is a great first step. I don't know if you realize this, but that's what you just did."

"Oh, thank Illuminar." Sarah sighed in relief. "I was just talking to Ethan and he mentioned how all of you got along so well, and I started wondering if I would fit in."

Alana was still smiling. "I think you will."

"Good." She smiled. "I'll help however I can. I know how to cook and love doing it. Do you have a cook?"

Alana shrugged. "Anthiel makes do, but she'd be the first one to tell you that she neither enjoys cooking nor is great at it. She's kept us fed for several months though."

"If she doesn't mind, I could do that." Sarah offered. "I just don't want to be a burden."

"Why would you be a burden?"

Sarah looked down. "I was the reason my father's inn wasn't very successful, and then Fiona took me in and I couldn't help her, and then Amy took me in and I couldn't help her much either. I keep having to bother them too because I can't--" Sarah stopped speaking abruptly.

"You can't.... what?" Alana asked.

"Um, I can't..." She took a deep breath. "I can't read."

"Oh." Alana was a bit surprised by that, but fortunately, that wasn't hard to fix. "I can teach you to read."

Sarah suddenly seemed slightly teary-eyed as she beamed. "I would love that."

"But first, let's give this plant of yours a new home." Alana hefted the pot, then looked down at the plant.

"Thank you." Sarah said quietly, her smile reaching from ear-to-ear and deep into her eyes. Then she stepped forward and gave the wood elf a hug.

"You're welcome." Alana replied, feeling slightly foolish. She had spent so much time worrying about Sarah and how the girl would affect her marriage that it hadn't even occurred to her that Sarah might be worried about similar things. It definitely hadn't occurred to her that Sarah would be worried about coming in between Ethan and his other wives, nor that she might ask for help to make sure that didn't happen.

She smiled as she knelt down to take a look at the plant.

Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.

* * *

Ethan resisted the urge to look behind him and see how Alana and Sarah were getting along. His bond with Alana suggested well, but he was quite curious. Rachel was standing next to him with the corners of her mouth raised and an amused twinkle in her eyes.

*Drago, could you come back to the inn?* Kendra thought to everyone. *An old friend of mine wants to talk to you.*

"Falkaan most likely." Rachel suggested.

He nodded at her, then thought to everyone. *Sure, we'll head that way now.*

He led his redheaded wife out of the clearing and back towards the inn, sparing a glance behind him as he walked. It looked like his first and last wives were examining the plant and both looked like they were at least comfortable with each other. He was glad to see that.

Ethan and Rachel walked back towards the inn, leaving Alana and Sarah together. He was truly and dearly hoping that they would bond -- in the non-magical sense -- and get along well. From the emotions coming over his bond with Alana, it seemed like it was going well so far.

"How often do we worry for nothing?" Rachel mused from beside him.

He looked at her fondly; his wise redhead. Her dark red hair still faded slowly to blond at the tips, making it look like her head was on fire in the right lighting. Her young face and keenly intelligent pale blue eyes looked pensive right now as they walked.

"Come again?" He asked.

"Alana was so worried about Sarah for so long, but judging from what I just saw, I think they'll be good friends." She replied as she ducked under a branch. "I was just wondering how much of our lives we waste worrying about things that will never come to pass." She cocked her head to one side. "I think there are even passages in the Book of Light about that."

"There probably are, and it's a good point." He chuckled. "On the flip side, I suppose I really should've been worrying about how to escape necromancers and lords earlier in my life if I was going to worry about things."

Rachel laughed.

She had such a nice laugh. All of his wives did really. He wasn't sure why, but a woman laughing without being self-conscious about it had always been very attractive to him.

"You might want to ask Tee to bring the Argo around." Rachel suggested. "They will want to be here for the official announcement of the betrothal and the betrothal kiss." She glanced at him as they stepped out of the forest near the inn. "And besides, not that this is a good thing, but I don't think you need to worry about anyone attacking with Sarah around."

"Yeah..." Ethan took a deep breath and let it out slowly, then thought to Taloni. *Hey honey, could you bring the Argo around to Sarah's inn?*

*Yes Master.* She replied brightly.

*Thanks Tee.*

*You're welcome Master.*

That done, his mind returned to Sarah and what Rachel had just said, so he glanced at her. "Are you as worried about that as I am?"

The wise redhead met his eyes and nodded slowly with a grimace.

"I suppose once we've set sail, I'll try to use Aharown; an angelic blade should be able to get rid of her demon." He said as they rounded the corner of the inn and walked toward the front door. In front of him, he could see the Midnight Sun was still anchored near the inn, which made sense since its owner and captain apparently wanted to talk to him.

"I hope so." Rachel replied.

"You don't think it will?" He asked as he opened the door for her.

"We'll see." She replied.

"You sound skeptical."

"That's because I am." Rachel replied, but didn't say any more, probably because of the inn's visitors who were in the main room of the inn. Most of them looked a bit rattled and many of them looked at Ethan with awed looks on their faces, but not all of them. Some looked wary and distrustful and seemed to avoid his eyes.

"Drago." Kendra called to him.

"Yes, my brown-eyed beauty?" He grinned at her.

Kendra smiled, though it looked like she was trying not to. "There's someone here that would like to talk to you." She indicated an elf with dark skin and white hair, though he didn't look very old; middle-aged perhaps. He was wearing an overcoat similar to what British sailors wore during Earth's Age of Sail, only the left sleeve had been sewn shut at about the elbow so it didn't swing freely with the obviously missing lower half of his arm.

"Hello, I believe I owe you an apology." The dark elf said.

Ethan narrowed his eyes slightly. "Falkaan, right?"

"Indeed." He nodded. "I am sorry for my part in the ambush at Gralden, in the alley in Arcanum, and for assisting Kendra to hunt you later. I ask for your forgiveness, and apologize that I could not bring myself to apologize earlier."

"I assume you were hunting me because of the bounty." Ethan replied. "But why did you stop?"

"Kendra." The dark elf replied. "I don't hunt the innocent."

*He really is sorry.* Kendra thought to him privately.

Ethan nodded slowly. "I forgive you."

"Thank you." He bowed slightly. "I thus find myself in your debt; if you ever need assistance, Kendra and Luminar Kossel will know how to contact me."

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind." Ethan replied.

"One other thing." Falkaan added. "So you are not caught unaware, you should know that Lord Farbrottan has tripled the already high bounty on you."

Ethan blinked. "Tripled?"

The dark elf nodded. "I believe that you disabled one of his airships and killed many men aboard it near Dotmier. My contacts say that he feels like you made a fool of him and worse, that you might provide an inspirational example to the people of defying him and spark a revolution. He wishes to avoid that at all costs"

"Damn, that makes sense, but damn." He slowly shook his head. "Thanks for letting me know; I guess we'll have to tread a little more lightly in Ivernian territory for a while."

"That would be wise." Falkaan replied. "My sources say he is beginning a full-scale manhunt, including airship patrols."

"Your sources?" Ethan asked.

Falkaan nodded.

"My mentor is almost annoyingly well-informed." Kendra spoke up. "He always has been, though he would never tell me how." Moments later, Kendra thought to him privately. *I've suspected he might even be able to Astral Project, but never bothered to ask because he'd never give anything away.*

*Interesting.* Ethan replied, thinking that would indeed be a powerful way of collecting information and wondering if he'd been underutilizing Beth's skills in that particular area.

"We all have our sources." Falkaan replied.

"Well, if you hear anything else worth passing along, please do." Ethan said. "I can use all the help I can get."

"I shall." The dark elf replied.

* * *

"I told you so." Kendra said to Falkaan after Ethan had walked away.

"How long have you been waiting to say that to me?" The dark elf chuckled.

"Too long." She laughed. "This might be my only chance and I had to make sure I took it."

He looked at her a long moment, much like she imagined that an uncle would look at his favorite niece. "Marriage becomes you Kendra. It gives me hope that perhaps one day, an old former Aldmiri could indeed settle down and have lasting love."

"I know, you're ancient." She quipped with a wink, realizing that she never would've been this playful three months ago. Falkaan was right; marriage had been good for her. "You know, as we were talking about before being so rudely interrupted by the black dragon, it's not too late for you."

The dark elf shook his head and sighed, his eyes looking much older than his face. "And as I said that night, I'm too old for an elf maiden; I've already lived half my life."

"But not for a human one." Kendra countered. "You've let it slip that you wished to grow old with a good woman at least once. If you married a human girl, you could do that together."

Falkaan gave her an indulgent smile. "The odds of an elf and a human conceiving a child together are so remote as to not be worth mentioning. There are not many women in the Ten Kingdoms who would willingly give up their chance to be a mother."

"You never know." Kendra said as a thought occurred to her. "If you could find a good woman who would be interested even despite that, would you be interested in her?"

"I would need to trust her, and at this point in my life, it would take nothing short of a sign from Illuminar Himself that a girl is trustworthy before I could trust her." Her old friend shook his head sadly. "I appreciate you asking, and that you always ask, but I've made my peace with my lot in life."

"So had I before I met Ethan." Kendra countered with a slightly sly smile on her face as a plan began to form in her mind.

"I know that look Kendra, whatever you have in mind, please don't trouble yourself." His expression became more serious. "Even if you could find such a girl, I've had a hard life and wouldn't willingly inflict the wounds from that life on another."

"Promise me you'll remain around the inn until the Argo leaves." Kendra asked.

"Why?"

"Because your favorite student is asking you to." She replied with a suppressed smile.

Falkaan looked around and then put on a mock-frown. "I don't see Tabitha anywhere."

Kendra rolled her eyes. "She might've been your best student, but I was your favorite."

"And you're arguably smarter since you got out." Falkaan conceded. "She was still in the game last I heard, though it's been a while."

"So, you'll stick around for a while?" Kendra pressed, not letting him deflect.

"Until the Argo leaves, but don't try anything."

"I make no promises." She smiled.

* * *

"Meelas?"

Ethan turned to see Myla standing behind him, looking gorgeous as always. He felt a momentary pain of regret about the telepathic conversation with everyone earlier where he said that he didn't want to marry her. His reasons were good, but Myla was a wonderful woman and he wasn't sure what would happen to her. He was pretty determined to make sure she was taken care of though; he felt he owed her that much.

The Argo had arrived not long ago, and its crew -- minus Serif, Raklan, and Anthiel -- had all come down to the inn. The dusky-skinned beauty had sought him out almost as soon as everyone had arrived, which seemed odd to him.

"What's up Myla?" He asked.

She got a subtle smile on her face, then glanced upward, and then replied with a straight face. "A ceiling Meelas." Her face might've been neutral, but the twinkle in her eyes told him she was teasing.

He laughed.

"I wished to speak with you on a matter of some urgency and importance, if you would allow it." Myla said a moment later.

"Sure."

"Selene asked a question of Victoria, Pelathea, and myself last night which caused me to think seriously for much of last night and today."

"Oh?"

Myla nodded. "I do not believe that you should choose me as your wife."

Ethan definitely felt some relief at her words, but they also definitely piqued his curiosity. "Why?"

"I have observed that you prefer your wives to have a great emotional attraction to you before you are wed." She replied. "I do not feel that, and I confess that if you asked, I would feel duty-bound to agree."

"Because I rescued you?" He asked.

She nodded. "Given my experience with Lord Farbrottan, I yearn not for emotional attachment; I only care that my husband is a man of character, as my parents continuously said was the most important attribute in a husband. Love will grow later. That is what my parents had, and it is what I wish to have."

"If they said that character was so important, how did you end up married to Lord Farbrottan?" He asked.

"I fell victim to his flattery and made an impassioned argument to my father, who eventually agreed despite significant reservations." She paused. "I was not always so reserved as I am now."

"I'm sorry to hear that." He gave her a sympathetic smile.

"I believe that my heart would find great contentment as your wife." Myla continued. "But I would not wish to burden your heart with concerns regarding my reasons for accepting, nor to let my emotions cast a shadow over my judgment again. I do not wish to marry for love; I wish to marry a man of noble character who I will then learn to love. You wish love to be present from the beginning. Thus, please choose Victoria or Pelathea; I believe no such reservations would overshadow such a match."

"Is that what you really want?" He asked. "And to be clear, you are welcome to stay on the Argo as long as you like with no pressure either way.

"That is what I desire Meelas." She replied. "And my heart is filled with gratitude that you have renewed your offer."

"You're welcome." He smiled.

Myla did her half-bow, half-curtsy thing, then smiled at him and walked away.

*Drago, what did Myla want?* Kendra thought to him mere moments later. He explained, after which she thought to him again. *Didn't you say that she can't have children? Didn't Lord Farbrottan tell you that?*

*Yeah, why?* He asked, remembering that Lord Farbrottan had indeed said that. The lord had been incredibly crass and insulting to her about it, but it was true.

*You'll see.* She replied but didn't elaborate.

He looked around to see her walking towards Myla.

Huh.

Curious.

Another curious thing was the looks he was getting from some of the inn's guests. Some of them seemed to have cooled their attitude towards him, though he wasn't sure why. He put it out of his mind since he was going to leave soon anyway.

*Sir.* Alana thought to him not long after. *If it's okay with you, I want to take Sarah to the Argo to give her her dress.*

*What dress?*

*I found her measurements the last time we were here and -- being pretty sure you would marry her -- I made a dress for her like the dresses that the rest of your wives have.*

Ethan blinked.

What?

How did...?

What?

*Sir?* Alana thought to him when he didn't respond.

*Um, okay.* He replied, trying to wrap his brain around this new information. *You were that sure?*

*I was.* Her tone wasn't unhappy, which was good because she'd just spent the last half hour with Sarah.

He decided to take the win and smiled.

* * *

"You made this for me?" Sarah said as she stared at the dress that Alana was holding up. They were both on the Argo and in the captain's cabin, and the wood elf had pulled it out from under the bed so Sarah could see it.

"Rachel and I did, yes." She replied. "Go ahead, feel it."

Sarah did.

She stepped forward and touched the fabric; it felt amazing. It was some kind of silk that was so incredibly soft and smooth. She had never felt a fabric like this before, not even the dresses that Lady Ekthros had given her were this nice.

"I can't accept this, it's too nice; it's too much." Sarah said after a moment, scarcely believing that she could ever wear something that beautiful, much less have it be hers.

"You almost need to." Alana replied. "The cloth is enchanted to be self-healing, which also means it's self-cleaning, but more importantly, I also enchanted it to be cut-resistant. It's armor just as much as a way to make you look beautiful." She smiled wryly. "You might've noticed that we lead dangerous lives, and this will..." She paused. "Okay, it might not keep you safe, but it will help with your dress being shredded." Alana pointed to Sarah's dress, which still hadn't fully repaired itself after her fight with Kyrupto.

Sarah felt her eyes get watery as Alana handed her the dress. She clutched it to herself like the most precious thing she'd ever owned. It felt so wonderful on her skin and she just couldn't believe that it was hers. She felt a happy tear escape her eye as she realized that it was hers because she was Ethan's. She sniffled slightly and wiped her cheek with the back of her hand.

"Thank you." She whispered, scarcely able to believe that this was happening.

"You're welcome." Alana smiled back. "Now put it on; I think Ethan will love seeing it on you."

Sarah nodded as another happy tear fell. "Are you sure about the color? I love it, but given that Ethan is a dragon..." She trailed off, not sure how to finish the sentence and hoping Alana took her meaning.

Alana took a deep breath and then nodded. "Rachel and I talked about it a lot, and I think it's the right choice. Besides, it goes perfectly with your skin tone and hair."

"It does." She sniffled and she blinked another tear out. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it." Alana smiled, then opened the door. "I'll leave so you can change."

Sarah nodded and the wood elf closed the door, leaving behind a newly betrothed -- well, newly re-betrothed -- woman who couldn't have stopped smiling if her life depended on it.

* * *

Of all the things Ethan had thought that Kendra was, a matchmaker had never occurred to him. Yet here he was, standing in Sarah's father's inn and having just watched Kendra introduce Myla and Falkaan, only to leave them to talk moments later.

*You're up to something.* He thought privately to her.

She glanced at him from across the room and smiled slyly. *Of course Drago.*

*Why Myla and Falkaan though?* He asked.

*Several reasons.* She replied as she walked up to him. *Falkaan has wanted to have a family since I've known him. His problem is that he could never trust that anyone was a good person. With Myla's birthday and attributes, she could've been your wife, which makes it obvious that she has the approval of Illuminar. That's probably the only thing that Falkaan could trust at this point. Myla might be the only woman he would ever seriously consider, and I know he'll treat her wonderfully.*

Ethan nodded his head in concession.

Apparently, she wasn't done though. *Falkaan also wanted to grow old with his wife, but he's middle-aged so it would have to be a human. However, elves and humans rarely conceive. Myla can't have children, and that means his wife won't have to give up having children, and Falkaan won't feel guilty for making his wife give up having children. Plus, they both have dark pasts. I think they both need someone who understands how dark the world can be because darkness is such a large part of their pasts.*

*You put a lot of thought into this, didn't you?* He smiled.

*They just seem so perfect for each other.* Kendra smiled back at him, then leaned against him. *And personality-wise, Falkaan has never been one for idle small talk; he prefers deep conversation and from what I know of Myla, she does too. He can be a very tender and caring person, and I think Myla really needs someone like that. And more generally, I think their personalities overall match very well. Honestly, they seem perfect for each other.*

Looking at the two of them talking from across the room, they did indeed look like they were getting along well. Myla even had a subtle smile on her face. He chuckled, thinking that if she wasn't careful, she might end up falling in love before she got married.

*Ethan, we're ready.* Alana thought to everyone several minutes later.

"Can I have your attention?" Rachel said loudly to everyone in the room, which at this point was a rather large crowd. Talven, Salma, and their kids had left the Argo to be present, as had the Argo's entire crew except for Raklan and Serif, and for Alana and Sarah who hadn't entered yet. Luminar Kossel was there, as were Amy, Rindrin, Sarah's father, and the inn's guests.

Everyone looked at the redhead.

"In a moment, Sarah will come in and the official engagement announcement will be made, followed by the traditional betrothal kiss." Rachel said loudly enough that everyone could hear.

Ethan's wives plus Myla, Victoria, and Thea clapped, leading everyone else to start clapping as well.

*Alana, bring her in.* Rachel thought to everyone.

A moment later, the door opened and in stepped--

Ethan's jaw dropped.

It was Sarah...

...wearing a gorgeous gold dress.

The fabric truly was the exact color of gold, and it looked magnificent against her skin and hair. It was the perfect color for her. The dress itself had a neckline that was almost straight across but only attached at the points of the shoulder. It was sleeveless and the bodice tapered evenly from the shoulder points down to the waist and then gently flared out over her hips. It was fitted around her hips but then spread out to have a full skirt that reached to mid-calf.

It also had a slightly whimsical pattern in the fabric itself, likely accomplished by altering the color a fraction from the surrounding fabric. Without that, it would've been a purely classy dress. With it, the dress was somehow transformed into the embodiment of classical elegance combined with a whimsical and artistic flair that seemed to fit its owner perfectly.

Sarah was beaming, somehow managing to outshine the dress in the radiance of her happiness.

Ethan just stared.

* * *

Sarah waited with bated breath in her new dress, feeling like she might cry again because she was so happy. Alana opened the door to the inn and Sarah stepped through the doorway to a large group of people. She instantly felt a little self-conscious, but then again, she had literally never felt more beautiful in her entire life. Her eyes searched the crowd for Ethan -- her betrothed -- and it didn't take long to find him.

He was staring at her like...

Like...

She wasn't sure. She had never seen that expression on anyone's face before, and certainly not when looking at her. He was staring at her with slightly wide eyes and an undeniable smile on his slack-jawed face. He looked like he had just been given an entire kingdom, or perhaps spent a moment in Illuminar's presence.

And he was looking at her like that.

Her heart melted and her smile got so wide it almost hurt. Their eyes met and it was like the entire room faded away. They looked into each other's eyes for what seemed like an eternity.

"Sarah." Alana gently prodded her forward.

She went, walking towards Ethan as he also walked towards her. They stopped quite close to each other, closer than they had ever been before, at least outside of a hug.

"Hi." He said with a dopey grin on his face.

"Hi." She replied, sure her expression mirrored his.

"Hi." He said again several moments later.

"Hi." She replied, not able to think of anything better to say since her mind seemed to have gone slightly blank.

Victoria laughed. "Please, let's get to the announcement so they can put their lips to better use."

Everyone laughed, but Sarah was only dimly aware of that. Her father started speaking, but she was too distracted by the way Ethan was looking at her to pay attention.

"Ethan." Alana gently prodded him with a chuckle. "You really need to answer Sarah's father."

He shook his head slightly and looked around. "What was the question?"

Festus laughed, and Sarah could see that her father's eyes were watery. "Will you promise to marry my daughter and treat her with honor until your marriage?"

"I will." He replied, looking at her with a dopey grin.

"Sarah." Her father said.

It took her several seconds to realize that her name was being called, after which she reluctantly looked away from Ethan to her father. "Yes?"

"Will you promise to marry this man and treat him with honor until your marriage?"

"I will." She said, her smile unable to get any wider.

Her father addressed the room. "Since betrothal binds them so tightly together that it can only be broken by a divorce, it's traditional to seal it with a proclamation of love."

Sarah's breath hitched.

She was about to be kissed.

She was about to have her first kiss, and it would be with Ethan!

"That means you should kiss her." Victoria 'whispered' loud enough for everyone to hear.

Everyone laughed.

Ethan took a small step closer. He was so close that their fronts were almost touching, but not quite. He smiled at her, though really, he hadn't stopped since she'd entered.

"I don't know how to kiss." She whispered.

"Don't worry, it's not hard." He replied.

She sighed.

He reached his hand up and brushed her cheek with the back of his hand. She sighed again and leaned into his hand, feeling like her heart would burst. He was so tender and caring, and she knew, she knew in her soul that he would treat her and her heart like he was treating her cheek. She couldn't describe how wonderful that was.

He moved his hand so his fingers were against the nape of her neck. A warm shudder went through her that seemed to both end and concentrate on all the most sensitive places on her body.

He gently pulled with his fingers, drawing her closer to him.

She didn't resist.

He came to within a few hair's breadths of their lips touching and paused, then whispered so quietly that she doubted anyone else could hear. "I love you Sarah."

Then he kissed her.

She melted into him, not quite believing that it was possible for her heart to be so full. His lips felt wonderful on hers. He kissed her firmly but tenderly, with passion and yet with reserve. She instinctively wrapped her arms around him and completely gave herself to the kiss, marveling that Illuminar had created something so simple and yet so divinely wonderful.

After several long moments that were entirely too short, she heard her father clear his throat loudly. Reluctantly, she let Ethan pull back enough that they weren't kissing anymore. He looked into her eyes with the kind of expression that she'd seen on some people when they'd finished eating something she'd made that was particularly good.

He was looking at her that way.

She responded the only way she could think of as he continued beaming at her.

"I love you too Ethan." She whispered so quietly that she doubted anyone else could hear.

The smiles on their faces were a perfect mirror of each other.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Note: This chapter began on day 111 of Ethan's life in the Ten Kingdoms and ended on day 112. 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 October 30th, and it'll probably drop on November 1st or 2nd.

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, elf, teen, romance, virgin, harem, blonde, brunette, redhead