Chapter 74: The Ultimate Price

* * *

Author's Note: You might want to make sure you can read this whole chapter in a single sitting. Just a suggestion.

* * *

Ethan and his wives were just outside the wood elven palace with Ahjah and Thea, the latter pair looking a bit more nervous than usual. Thea tended to wear her heart on her sleeve of course, but even Ahjah seemed pensive and quieter than usual.

"I wish I could go with you." Sarah said wistfully to Thea.

"Sorry." Thea's face fell. "I would love if you could be there, but..."

"I know." Sarah looked down a bit.

"Honored prophet, fear not." Delabor -- who had met them out front to escort them in -- spoke up. "They will be shown to the same room as your last visit and given refreshments while they wait."

Ethan nodded, a frown on his face.

"We'll be fine." Alana assured him.

"I know that, but you shouldn't have to be fine; you should be able to come."

"The entire court will be assembled." Rachel pointed out. "Perhaps you could ask The King if you could address everyone to bring the issue of shame up?"

"It would be a good opportunity." Thea said. "Though, could you wait until after Ahjah asks? I want my guardian in the best mood possible."

"Sure." He smiled, seriously considering speaking up.

"It might be wise to offer the apology we discussed concerning the public argument with Plesius before you address the ascribing of shame without cause." Ahjah suggested.

"I'll..." He frowned. "I'll keep that in mind."

"You don't want to?" Thea asked.

"Honestly, I'm not sure." Ethan replied. "I could apologize for the personal attacks, but beyond that..." he frowned again.

"I'll pray that you make the right choice Master." Tee said with an encouraging smile.

He smiled right back. "I never doubted that you would."

"Hey Thea, something just occurred to me." Selene spoke up. "What about your coming-of-age ball? Isn't it against tradition or something for Ahjah to ask before you've had your coming-of-age ball?"

"Actually, it's almost the opposite." Thea replied. "There's always at least a month between when an elf maiden comes of age and her coming-of-age ball. The delay is to give friends of the family time to ask for her hand before acquaintances or strangers have the opportunity. It's considered improper and quite rude for someone who isn't close to ask before her ball."

"Oh, that makes sense." Selene replied.

"Honored prophet, the time for the first audience approaches." Delabor said, indicating the sun's position in the sky. It was still relatively early, though after sunrise.

"Right." He nodded, then turned to the Lightguard. "Take care of my wives; they are more precious to me than I could explain."

"We will guard their lives with our own." The closest one replied.

"I hope that's not necessary, but thank you." Ethan replied.

He said a quick goodbye to the wives who weren't coming, then he, Beth, Kendra, Selene, Thea, and Ahjah followed Delabor into the palace and through its gorgeously carved walls to the ornate doors leading into the palace's throne room.

"Come, you shall join the queue at the front." Delabor said to Ethan and Ahjah, then turned to Beth, Kendra, and Selene. "You may join as observers, of course. Remain on the periphery of the room wherever you wish, provided you do not intrude on the proceedings.

They all agreed.

"What about Thea?" Ethan asked.

"I'm his ward; I can come and go freely." The gorgeous elf replied. "I'll probably stand with Ethan's wives, or maybe go stand by The Queen in as proper a manner as I can manage."

Ethan chuckled. "Stranger things have happened." He teased.

She stuck her tongue out playfully.

Ahjah cleared his throat.

Thea sighed, then stood up straight and arranged her face in a proper expression for a lady... but her eyes still had an impish glint. Ahjah looked amused.

Delabor opened the door.

Ethan had only seen the full royal court in session one other time, and this time was no less grand, nor were fewer people in attendance. He wondered for a moment if that was because the 'Prophet of Illuminar' was here, as he highly doubted that news of him coming wouldn't have spread. Indeed, almost every eye was on him, though many looked at his wives as well. Selene especially drew a lot of eyes.

A part of him enjoyed the fact that so many people couldn't take their eyes off of her, but only because she was his, and his alone.

The room was unchanged, though that was hardly surprising. It was still breathtaking though. It was at least fifty feet wide and half that again long. There were two rows of what looked like columns, but were actually trees or branches forming an aisle leading to the throne, which sat on a slightly raised platform. The walls were adorned with stained-glass windows and the ceiling curved inward, made from living trees that had been grown together.

It was breathtaking.

Behind him, Beth and Selene gasped.

He smiled.

Thea steered Ethan's wives to the side of the room, where a large number of wood elves had gathered. Even at 5' 2", Beth was taller than most of the women and several of the men. Thus, Selene, Ahjah, and Thea towered over most of them by several inches. By Ethan's guess, the average wood elf was about 4 inches shorter than the average man, but there also seemed to be less variation in height. The King was about 5' 6" and he was almost the tallest wood elf in the room, though he wasn't in the room yet.

"Do you remember what you should say?" Ahjah asked Ethan quietly.

"Wait, I'm supposed to say something?" Ethan winked back, since they had gone over the proper thing to say that morning.

Ahjah raised one eyebrow fractionally.

"I've got it, relax." Ethan replied.

Ahjah nodded, obviously not relaxed. He wasn't quite tense either, but he did look slightly nervous. Ethan didn't blame him; he'd be nervous too if he was in the elf's shoes.

Not a minute later, The King entered the throne room regally, strode to the throne, and then sat down. "The court is now in session." He said in a loud and clear voice, after which he nodded to Delabor.

"O Great King, live forever." Delabor said with a deep bow. "I bring you Ethan Ejder, called Illuminar's Prophet -- blessed be He -- and also the honorable Ahjah Methkarah, called Golden-Tongue."

"Approach, Ethan Illuminar's Prophet -- blessed be He -- and Ahjah Golden-Tongue." The King said.

Ethan and Ahjah did so.

Then, just as he had been instructed, Ethan bowed and then spoke. "Great King, I come before you today on behalf of my companion, Ahjah Golden-Tongue, to intercede for a noble request he wishes to make of the crown. He is an elf of honor and note, and I ask that you give ear to his request and grant it if wisdom and prudence allow."

There was a general murmur from the onlookers. Not shock, but they definitely sounded interested.

*Thea says that was perfect.* Selene thought to Ethan.

*Thanks.* He smiled.

"Ahjah Golden-Tongue, present your request." The King said.

* * *

When she woke up, Fiona's mind was racing just as fast as it had been the previous night when she had fallen asleep, her mind still not settled about Ethan Ejder. For all that Tabitha frustrated her, and she did to no end, Fiona trusted her laconic bodyguard --uh, former bodyguard and her ability to read people. Tabby could certainly read her like a book, and had done so more than once. Yet despite Tabby clearly being excellent at reading people, she hadn't noticed any trace of deception from Ethan Ejder or his wives. Obviously that wasn't surprising in Sarah's case, but the rest of them?

That was on her mind as she nursed Conner, ate her breakfast, and eventually followed her husband into the captain's cabin so that Tabitha could continue reciting Ethan's story word-for-word thanks to her incredible memory.

"Tabby, before you're starting, how have you been?" Fiona asked.

"Alive." Tabitha replied.

"Come on Tabby, I'm wanting a real answer." Fiona replied with a sigh. "I'm caring about you even if you're trying to make me not care."

"I am adapting to recent changes." Tabitha said after a moment.

Fiona sighed; she hadn't given any more information, but at least Tabby had spoken a complete sentence.

"Resume your recitation." Lord Delmar said.

Tabitha did, and Fiona found herself rather more interested in the story than she had thought she would be.

* * *

Ethan watched as Ahjah stepped forward and bowed deeply to The King, rather excited to see how this would play out.

"O great King, live forever." Ahjah bowed again. "I first wish to offer an apology for the unconventional timing of my request. As you know, your illustrious and magnanimous wife, The Queen herself, requested this audience on my behalf."

The whole room erupted into low-level whispers, leading Ethan to believe that while they knew that he and Ahjah had something to ask about, they didn't know what it was. Apparently, that had avoided the rumor mill. Ethan thought about it for a moment and realized that Ahjah had worded it that way on purpose, disguising The Queen's approval as an apology.

"Many are the requests that my honorable wife has made." The King replied. "It is noted that two greatly honored people in the realm appear to have support for your request."

"Thank you my king." Ahjah bowed again. "It is traditional when making a request such as I will make to present evidence of two things: the character of the one requesting, and also evidence of his ability to provide for a family."

Instantly, the entire room erupted in murmurs and whispers whose sum total created rather a lot of background noise. Apparently, Ahjah's statement made his upcoming request obvious.

"Peace." The King said to the room at large.

The whispers dramatically decreased in volume. They didn't cease, but were no longer distracting.

"Proceed." The King said to Ahjah.

"O wise King, I offer the strongest evidence of my character that is possible to bring in this court: the approval of The King himself. For as you yourself know, you considered my character to be true enough to entrust the apple of your eye into my care, your ward, Pelathea Numiarian Asimentae, called Wild-Child."

"As to your character, the crown does not harbor doubts." The King replied. "There are, however, other considerations."

"You are wise my King." Ahjah bowed. "What noble concern could be greater in a father's mind than the safety and security of his daughter when choosing the man to whom she will be wed? And can a good father do less for his ward?"

There was a general murmur of agreement from the onlookers.

"To security, I offer this." Ahjah continued. "I have a standing offer from Your Majesty's illustrious Diplomatic Corps to return to their service at the rank of--" He said something in elvish that Ethan didn't recognize. "--which, as you know my king, is salary enough to afford even a house in the downtown district of our most beloved and fair capital." He paused. "However, I will acknowledge that the luxury provided by even this salary will not attain to her current level of comfort provided by you yourself, most honored King."

"And yet you wish for her station in life to be reduced." The King replied, his tone skeptical.

"Her station, perhaps, but I would never wish for her happiness to be reduced my King." Ahjah smiled. "As you yourself know and as her title implies, her wanderlust has caused no end of mischief."

Ethan glanced at Thea, who had the good sense to look abashed. She had a tiny smile on her face anyway, but she did look embarrassed. Also notable, her lips were moving like she was speaking, but even his wives next to her weren't listening. Was she praying under her breath?

"My desire for a life filled with travel matches her own, as attested to by my choice of compensation when you offered the choice to me for my services as Thea's custodian."

The King nodded. "The Nomad's Pride is a fine airship."

"Thanks to your generosity, she is my King." Ahjah head bowed. "If I might speak plainly, Your Majesty, I am well aware that I will be the most inferior candidate for Thea's hand in every metric save for one: my ability to bring happiness to her life. As you know my King, I have not the wealth, titles, nor influence that even the most minor of nobles could boast. I do not dispute that, for I do not even possess the titles that are ordinary to seek her hand. I do not possess the wealth that even a minor noble could call upon in a moment. I do not have the influence to affect policy in a single great house, nor even a minor house."

You could hear a pin drop.

Ethan thought it might be unheard of for a wood elf to admit such things, but couldn't be sure.

"However, most wise and noble King, there is one thing I can offer: her happiness." Ahjah continued. His tone was just as polished as before, but there was a note of longing in it. "As the honorable Prophet will attest, Pelathea's greatest joy is being on an airship and viewing a different part of the magnificent creation of Illuminar -- blessed be He -- at each sunrise. I share that joy. As you know, my king, the Nomad's Pride was designed such that it would be possible to raise a family on it, so you know this is my desire. It is Pelathea's as well. I can deliver her heart's desire to her, which no other suitor will be able to offer."

Ethan glanced around to see visible confusion on nearly every wood elf's face. It almost made him laugh... almost.

The King didn't reply immediately.

He sat on his throne with a pensive look, scrutinizing Ahjah for several long seconds before speaking. "Were I to accept that argument and consider your petition, there is still the matter of Pelathea's bride price. As her guardian, I could not expose her to the shame that would result from an unsuitable bride price."

"You are wise my King." Ahjah bowed. "It is true that even a minor noble could offer a bride price of much greater monetary value. However -- as perhaps befits your ward's... unusual inclinations -- I am able to offer something that not a single other noble would offer for her bride price. Something that, while it does not match the monetary value of what even a minor noble could offer, ultimately is of greater value."

"Pardon the interruption, honorable custodian." The Queen spoke up, though Ethan hadn't noticed her arrive. "But I must ask; what might that be?"

Ahjah gave her a respectful nod, then looked at The King. "Everything."

Again, you could hear a pin drop.

Ahjah continued. "As you know, my king, the purpose of the bride price is for a suitor to prove he is capable of accruing a level of wealth necessary to provide for a family. It also provides insurance in case of his death, as the father then has the funds to help provide a fresh start for his daughter should her husband die. Thus, I offer as her bride price something that will allow Pelathea to have her heart's desire even should I perish."

Ethan glanced at Thea and saw her eyes go wide and her mouth fall open.

"As you know, my king, I have not a single possession of notable value besides the Nomad's Pride." Ahjah continued. "It is all the wealth that I possess, aside from some small funds on which I subsist. That is what I offer: The Nomad's Pride. It falls short of the worth of Thea's hand, but unlike even a minor lord, I offer all the material wealth I possess. I could not match the monetary value that even a minor lord could offer, but he would not match my commitment to Pelathea's well-being by offering all of value that he has."

The King frowned. "If you no longer possess an airship, you will not be able to sail with Pelathea as you have suggested she would desire."

"The honored Prophet has solved that conundrum, most noble King." Ahjah smiled. "As you are doubtless aware, He has offered to grant Pelathea and me a room on his airship, and thus we will be able to assist him in his noble task of doing the God of Light's work."

"I did." Ethan confirmed. He glanced at Thea and it looked like she had happy tears on her face.

She noticed him looking and mouthed: "Thank you."

He smiled at her, nodded once, and then looked back at The King, who hadn't spoken yet.

"I offer what no noble would: everything as proof of my commitment to her happiness." Ahjah began to summarize. "I offer a lifetime of Pelathea having her dream fulfilled every day, and the chance to assist the Prophet in his noble work in the service of the Great God Illuminar -- blessed be He."

"Blessed be He." The entire room echoed, including The King.

"So, you wish to impoverish yourself -- and thus my beloved ward -- to attain her hand." The King replied. "Poverty and happiness rarely go hand-in-hand."

"You are wise my King." Ahjah bowed. "But do I not have the offer of employment in your Diplomatic Corps to provide her with a comfortable life while I begin to save for an airship? And alternatively, does not a luminar and his wife command honor and joy from being in the God of Light's service, even though his wages are meager? Would service to the Prophet of Illuminar -- blessed be He -- count for less? Could there be a greater joy than to have your heart's desire fulfilled because of your service to the God of Light?"

"Ahjah Golden Tongue." The King said, a trace of amusement in his tone. "Your title is well earned."

"Thank you my King." Ahjah bowed.

"Pelathea Wild Child, come." The King beckoned her.

She came, wiping her cheeks and blinking, clearly trying to compose herself while grinning silly. "Yes, Your Majesty." She said when she had stopped near the throne, trying and failing to fully compose herself or stop smiling.

He smiled. "It would, perhaps, require a shrewd man with great observational skills to deduce your opinion of the match."

The whole court laughed at his joke, Thea included.

"Your Majesty, might I have leave -- just this once -- to speak as a daughter to her father in the presence of the court?" Thea asked after a moment.

"It is so granted." The King said, his smile extending deep into his eyes.

"You and The Queen have been the best step-parents I could have imagined." Her voice cracked slightly as her smile widened. "I truly thank Illuminar -- blessed be He -- for your intervention after my parents passed, for you have been a light and comfort in my life since then and the source of innumerable blessings." She paused. "And yet, had that tragedy not occurred, my bride price would not be reckoned like that of your other daughters. I fear my honorable custodian has overstated the case for me having a high bride price, as I am merely your ward, though I love you as any daughter would love a wonderful father."

"Well, this is curious." The King got an amused smile on his face, and the expression vaguely reminded Ethan of Thea. "A woman making the case that her bride price should be lower."

The whole court chuckled.

Thea got her trademark half-embarrassed, half sheepish smile as she chuckled too.

"Perhaps we should allow women a say in their bride price; it would save much coin throughout the realm." The King added, his eyes twinkling.

The whole room laughed.

"Both my ward and her honorable custodian are correct." The King said to the room. "Ahjah Golden Tongue's offer of his airship, The Nomad's Pride, is indeed far too meager a bride price, even if it fully demonstrates his commitment to my ward. Yet my ward is also correct that, in certain situations, it is honorable if a lower bride price is accepted."

Thea's eyes and smile widened, hope obvious in her posture and on her face.

"No man would assert that one who had dedicated himself to the service of Illuminar -- blessed be He -- should be denied a good wife simply because the wages of a luminar are not high." The King said. "Thus, as both Ahjah Golden Tongue and Pelathea Wild Child wish to assist the Prophet, I could possibly consider this situation similar to a luminar."

Thea's eyes went wider and she sucked in her breath, obvious yearning in her expression.

"However, such decisions require careful forethought and the weighing of many factors to ensure the happiness of my beloved -- if slightly mischievous -- ward." The King continued, then looked affectionately at her.

Thea again had the good sense to look abashed, but she was still smiling and still had hope on her face. The court likewise seemed more amused by The King's comment than anything else. At least, it didn't seem like Thea's antics had earned her a poor reputation in the court.

"I consider the honorable Ahjah Golden Tongue's offer to be sincere, legitimate, and worthy of careful consideration." The King said. "The happiness of my ward is also paramount and worthy of careful consideration. For that reason, I shall not make my final decision today."

Thea opened her mouth to speak, closed it again, then almost started to speak, then stopped and bit her lip.

"I believe our Thea would like to know when she can expect an answer." The Queen said, looking just as amused as the rest of the court.

"If Ahjah will agree to a more private luncheon with Thea, The Queen, and myself, I believe I can commit to a decision by noon tomorrow." The King said.

"I would be most honored, my King." Ahjah bowed deeply.

*Thea says she should've known he wouldn't decide today.* Selene thought to everyone. *But she also thinks that she and The Queen can talk him into it.*

*Glad to hear it.* Ethan smiled.

He hadn't yet told his wives that The King had planned for Thea and Ahjah to fall in love. He'd wanted to, but thought better of it since several of them weren't very good actresses and he didn't want to give anything away. They would probably be slightly upset, but he also figured that they would understand his reasoning.

* * *

Fiona took a deep breath as Tabitha finished recounting Ethan Ejder's story. She had no idea what to make of it. None. It seemed too fantastical to be real, but at the same time, she couldn't pick out any particular point that made it impossible either.

"Thank you Tabby." Fiona said after a moment, sure this would keep her mind occupied for days.

Tabitha nodded slightly once, but otherwise didn't reply.

"Can you be coming back as my bodyguard?" Fiona asked.

"Not presently." Tabitha replied.

"Perhaps sometime soon?" Fiona asked.

"Perhaps."

Fiona sighed.

"Agent Ellentil; give a more complete answer." Lord Delmar instructed.

"I am on standby for an assignment." She replied. "If I am not activated, I could return. If I am, I will not."

Fiona nodded.

"You may go." Lord Delmar told her.

She did, without another word.

"Thank you." Fiona said to him after the door had closed. "It's sometimes feeling like trying to convince a dragon to donate gold to charity when I'm trying to get her to talk."

He nodded once. "Many in her profession are that way."

"That's putting me in mind of Kendra." Fiona mused. "Are you thinking the story might be true?"

"Without the intelligence provided by Lady Ekthros, I would likely accept that version of events." He replied.

"I'm having my own doubts about her." Fiona frowned. "I don't think Sarah would be lying, and what she said that Lady Ekthros was doing..."

"I suspect that Sarah was compelled into believing a falsehood, as I find it unlikely that she would be willing to lie on such matters."

"Sarah was accusing Lady Ekthros of stone-cold murder." Fiona said. "And of threatening me and my son."

"Perhaps." Lord Delmar replied, clearly not convinced. "That would not explain why Lady Ekthros has recently foiled an attempt on your life."

Fiona blinked. "What?"

"Eleven days ago, her intelligence informed the castle guard where and when an assassin would attempt to gain entry to the castle for the purpose of assassinating you. The would-be assassin was apprehended based on her intelligence, and I personally confirmed that his goal was to assassinate you."

Fiona stared at him. "Why am I just now hearing of this?"

"It was foiled before any danger could result, so I saw no need to worry you needlessly." He replied.

"Oh." Fiona said, feeling like someone had just pulled a rug out from under her. "But why was someone wanting me dead? I wasn't doing anything wrong, and I don't think I was upsetting anyone either."

"There are some in Narlotten who remain loyal to the previous lord, Helene's father." He began to explain. "They view me as little more than a lord regent and wished for a child from Rachel to sit on the throne, thus continuing the previous Narlotten ruling bloodline. However, since neither you nor I are related to him, our son -- the future lord of Narlotten -- will not be of that bloodline. That faction believes that by assassinating you and I, one of the previous bloodline who is more distantly related will be put on Narlotten's throne."

"Oh." Fiona said, not sure what to think about that. They wanted her dead and yet she hadn't done anything wrong. For some reason, that unsettled her more than if she had done something for which they wanted to kill her.

She thought about that for a moment before speaking again. "So, Lady Ekthros was protecting me?"

"She was, and is." He confirmed. "She does indeed find your naïveté frustrating, but she recognizes how vital our son is to the continuity of Narlotten government. She has created a small division dedicated to discovering threats to your safety, primarily because of that faction. It was on her advice that I sought out a bodyguard for you. Though, knowing your discomfort with Lady Ekthros, I gave her no input on Tabitha's selection."

"Well, what about the will-breaker ring she was giving me?" Fiona asked.

"Her safe was examined by Mage Weston, who determined that Lady Ekthros does not have the skill required to disenchant and re-enchant the safe." Lord Delmar replied. "She is a skilled mage, but enchantments are a weakness of hers. Thus, she would not have been able to fabricate the evidence that her safe was broken into."

"Why are you trusting her so much?" Fiona asked.

"She is aware of my... unique situation." He replied, then touched the medallion on his chest that projected his disguise enchantment. "Despite this, she has protected my secret multiple times. She nearly died to save Helene many years ago, has all but eradicated organized crime from Narlotten, all but eradicated corruption from the government, introduced what she called a 'Bill of Rights' for all Narlotten citizens, has greatly raised the standard of living in Narlotten, has discovered countless threats to Narlotten so they could be ended, and she works from before the sun rises to well after it falls for our lorddom. She does this for nearly no pay, for as I told you some time ago, she donates whatever of her pay she does not require for sustenance to the honorable charity, the Sisters of Mercy. She has done more to improve Narlotten than any soul living." He paused. "Possibly including myself."

Fiona frowned.

"The Book of Light prompts us to know someone by the fruit produced in their life." Lord Delmar continued. "Her fruit is exemplary."

Fiona's frown deepened.

"While I will never trust Lady Ekthros as much as Helene or you, she has my trust." He added.

Fiona smiled. "You're trusting me?"

"I saw the entirety of your life when we bonded, including your character and motivations, just as I said I would. Thus, I know you are trustworthy," He replied without much emotion, as if they were discussing the weather, their favorite foods, or some other trivial topic.

She smiled. "I was never expecting to be coming close to Helene in any area. I'm glad I can in at least one."

He nodded once.

Most others wouldn't notice, but she could see the tiny, subtle shift in him at the mention of Helene. An almost imperceptible stiffening of the shoulders, the subtle way he moved his head, and the way his breath caught ever-so-slightly when he inhaled.

"Milord, I'm sorry that you're still hurting that she has passed." Fiona said, her heart melting. "I would be doing something to help if I could."

"Thank you." He replied, his tone subtly off from normal. "I have much work to attend to, if there is nothing else."

She nodded and then slipped out of the office, wondering if perhaps he wanted to be alone because he had been reminded of Helene yet again. She wished she could help him with that, she truly did, but she didn't know how. She had broken down sobbing over Sean the previous day, so she was still healing as well.

"Illuminar." She prayed quietly. "Can you be doing something that would be helping him heal. I'm not knowing what, but I'm knowing you could be doing something. Please do."

* * *

Ethan was highly amused to see a version of Thea who didn't seem to know what to do with herself. She kept adjusting her posture, and the position of her hands, and she didn't seem to know where to look either. She was no longer standing where she had been standing to address the court, having moved back to stand with The Queen. However, she didn't seem to know what to do there either, since she had half-started toward Ahjah a half dozen times, and done the same toward Ethan's wives nearly as many times. Each time, she barely moved an inch before stopping.

Ethan suppressed a laugh as he retreated from his audience to stand with his wives while Ahjah went to stand near Thea, since of course Ahjah was still her custodian.

"Sarah should've been here for this." Beth said to Ethan when they arrived. "She's Thea's best friend at this point and she shouldn't have to miss this."

"Alana too." Kendra added. "She would've loved to be here for this."

"As would Rachel and Tee." Selene nodded.

"Yeah..." Ethan did his best to avoid setting his jaw, remembering what had happened the last time he'd let his temper get the best of him.

Delabor called the next supplicant, an elderly elf who nonetheless looked quite healthy. The elderly elf bowed deeply and then addressed The King. "O wise King, since we have the rare honor of having the Prophet in our court, might I be permitted to give up my audience and request that instead, the Prophet deliver a homily in the time I might have occupied?"

"It is so granted." The King replied, then looked at Ethan. "If you are willing."

Everyone's eyes shifted to Ethan.

"I'd be happy to, but I'm pretty sure you all won't like what I have to say." Ethan replied, thinking about how half of his wives and his betrothed weren't allowed into the building.

"Does not the Book of Light contain many words for our edification, even if some are less pleasant to the ear?" The elderly elf countered.

There was a general chorus of a single elven word from many in the room.

*Thea says that means they agree.* Selene thought to him.

"Honorable prophet of Illuminar." The King stood, then indicated the small, raised platform on which the throne rested. "Please use the platform around the throne as the place from which to deliver the homily." He then stepped down from his throne and turned to face it expectantly.

That's about when Ethan realized that he'd opened his reply with 'I'd be happy to', and they were taking him at his word.

Crap.

*Hey Tee, I'm going to need some of those prayers because I was just asked to deliver a homily.* Ethan thought to the group chat as he headed toward the slightly raised platform.

*Everyone will pray Master.* Tee replied.

*Thank you.* Ethan said as he stepped up onto the small platform. It was only maybe 18 inches higher than the floor, but with how short wood elves generally were, he felt like he was towering over everyone.

*Maybe try that apology that we talked about the other day first.* Rachel suggested, though she wasn't in the room.

*Will do.* He replied, remembering not to give any indication that he was talking to someone. And really, he did feel bad for a few of his barbs at Plesius after learning how hard it had been for him and his wife to have children.

From where he was, Thea and Ahjah stood out to him. She was still beaming and standing at Ahjah's side, instead of him standing behind her as had been usual to this point.

Ethan cleared his throat and spoke. "Is the High Priest of Illuminar, Plesius, here?"

"I am." Plesius stepped forward, though his expression was uncertain.

"First, I want to offer an apology." Ethan said. "Some of my barbs the other day were entirely uncalled for and I should have watched my tongue better; will you please forgive me?"

Plesius blinked.

He cocked his head to one side and it was a full three seconds before he replied. "As Illuminar -- blessed be He -- commands, I will always forgive a man who is repentant."

"Thank you." Ethan said, feeling a little hot under the collar but slightly better anyway.

Everyone was still looking at him.

Right, a homily.

He knew what he wanted to say, he wanted to point out how silly it was that they considered Alana shamed when she'd done nothing wrong. He wasn't sure how to make a persuasive case, but that's what he wanted to do. After a moment of thought -- half of which was spent on his frustration that his wives weren't allowed to be here -- he decided that maybe, he should open with a small compliment to soften the blow.

*Illuminar, if you're up there, please don't let me screw this up and make things worse.* He thought.

Suddenly, he got a strong feeling that he should just open his mouth and say what came to mind. He hesitated a moment, then decided to go with it. However, the words that came out of his mouth ended up being rather different than what he'd been planning a moment earlier.

"You have all dishonored and shamed yourselves with your blatant, flagrant, and willful rebellion against the commands of Illuminar Himself."

Everyone stared.

Shit.

* * *

You could hear a pin drop.

Kendra glanced at her fellow wives, both of whom had their mouths open and eyes wide. They all glanced at each other, the other two clearly stunned into silence and probably not seeing how this could end well.

*Lean into it Drago.* Kendra thought to the group chat, thinking of her training. *If you retreat now, it'll make you look weak. Deliver a strong and stern but even-toned rebuke without wavering; never let them see you bleed.*

Ethan flicked his eyes toward her.

*Trust me Drago, it's the only way forward.* Kendra pointed out.

*Kendra is right.* Selene added. *Remember what The King said: you would've been fine last time without the personal attacks. You can do this.*

He gave his wives the subtlest nod of the head, then went back to looking at the room.

The silence dragged on.

It was getting uncomfortably long, though honestly, that was perfect.

* * *

Ethan took a deep breath, then spoke again. "You heard me correctly; I said that you have all dishonored and even shamed yourselves."

Quiet, whispered murmurs broke out among those listening.

Ethan turned to Plesius. "That passage from the Book of Light that my Fey wife, Taloni, quoted the other day about not holding children accountable for the sins of their parents: could you remind everyone here?"

Plesius glowered at him, but spoke anyway. "Thus says Illuminar -- blessed be He -- you shall not punish a son for his father's sins, for the child shall not bear the guilt of the parent, nor the parent bear the guilt of the child; each man will bear the guilt of his own sin."

"You all know that my elven wife, Alana, was adopted as Alana Tarihowen, and her birth name is Alana Kalon." Ethan continued, remembering to keep his tone even and neutral; neither his temper nor his frustration would help here. "On what grounds is she considered shamed?"

He looked around the room as if daring someone to answer.

No one did.

"Anyone?" Ethan asked after a full ten seconds of silence.

"Her mother is shamed." Plesius finally said, though his tone lacked the vitriol of their earlier encounter; maybe The King had indeed talked to him as well.

Ethan shook his head. "That's blatant rebellion against the command of Illuminar, for didn't you just quote a passage from the Book of Light that says: 'the child shall not bear the guilt of the parent'?" He kept his tone as neutral as he reasonably could to make sure it wouldn't come across as an attack. He might learn slowly sometimes, but he did learn.

"Why would she not be tainted by her mother's shame?" Plesius replied.

"Because -- at the risk of repeating myself -- 'the child shall not bear the guilt of the parent." Ethan replied.

"We are discussing shame, not guilt." Plesius replied.

Something told Ethan not to reply. Instead, he simply raised his eyebrow and looked at Plesius. Sarah had described Lord Delmar doing that before and it had been marvelously effective according to his betrothed. Why not for him too?

"That would appear to be a distinction without a difference." Ahjah volunteered after several long seconds. "Are they not the same in our culture? At least where shame of the moral kind is concerned, though not other kinds of shame."

After a moment, most of the elves around the room cocked their head to one side, or frowned thoughtfully, and a few even hesitantly nodded in concession.

"So, what was Alana's crime?" He asked. "Except for her taste in husbands, I can't think of one." He winked and a few people chuckled at his self-deprecating joke. The rest seemed too pensive to reply. "What was her crime that none of you will speak her name or make eye contact with her? When was the trial? When was the conviction?"

No one replied.

Ethan looked at Plesius. "Please remind everyone what Illuminar requires in the Book of Light to convict someone of a crime."

"Two or three witnesses." The High Priest replied.

"So where are the two or three witnesses to Alana's crime?" Ethan asked. "Let's pretend for a moment that she did do something horrifically shameful; she still hasn't been convicted for it, has she?"

Again, no one replied.

"Did I miss the trial?" Ethan asked. "Was it conducted without her there?"

No one spoke.

"So what we have here is you all condemning a daughter for her mother's shame, and convicting her not only without trial, but without two or three witnesses either." Ethan pointed out, again, keeping his tone calm and even. "Can someone please explain to me how that's not blatant, overt, and willful defiance of the commands of Illuminar in the Book of Light?"

Silence.

Perfect silence.

You could hear a bird fluttering near one of the windows it was so utterly silent. Ethan wanted to pile on with a 'What's wrong with you!' rant, but didn't. The King's rebuke was still fresh in his mind and he didn't want to screw this up.

Inspired by Sarah's stories of Lord Delmar letting silence hang in the air, he did the same. He stood there expectantly, waiting for someone to say something. No one did. The assembled court was starting to look at each other nervously as the silence dragged on for nearly thirty seconds by now.

"If it was disobedience, it wasn't intentional." Plesius finally said. "Perhaps blatant, perhaps overt, perhaps even rebellion against the God of Light's commands, but not willful."

Ethan mulled that around in his head for a moment. "Okay, I'll concede that point..." He looked pointedly at Plesius. "...but surely this command couldn't have been missed by every single wood elven luminar for the last... I don't even know how long; centuries?"

"To the elf looking through blue glass, all the world appears blue." The King said, probably quoting a proverb because a lot of the elves nodded. "Occasionally, mortals look at the commands of Illuminar -- blessed be He -- through such lenses and cannot see the intent."

"Wise words." Ethan nodded, then addressed the rest of the room. "Show of hands; who here thinks it's appropriate to punish a daughter for her mother's shame, or to convict without a trial, or to punish without two or three witnesses?"

No one raised a hand, not even Plesius.

"Then why do you insist on punishing Alana?" Ethan asked, then let that hang in the air.

Many of the elves shifted on their feet, and none met his eyes.

"And this applies to more than just Alana." Ethan added, figuring that he should strike while the iron was hot. "My third wife, Taloni, is literally the sweetest, kindest, dearest woman I know." He looked at his other wives. "No offense."

"None taken, you're right." Beth replied brightly.

"She is." Kendra agreed.

"Yup." Selene added.

"My fourth wife, Rachel, was disinherited, but she was never told for what." Ethan continued. "In fact, it was a surprise to her when she found out."

Many of the elves in the room frowned.

"These all fall into a similar category." Ethan continued. "You are punishing them by treating them as shamed when there was no crime, no trial, and no two or three witnesses either." He paused. "Look, I realize that the wood elven kingdom takes Illuminar very seriously, and that's a good thing. However, that doesn't mean you have everything right. Really, is any one person or any culture perfect enough to get everything right?"

"No." Plesius said.

Ethan raised his arms, palms up, as if to say: "See".

A full ten seconds later, Plesius spoke. "I wish to consult with the conclave, but the point is not without merit." He paused. "It is, perhaps, not certain, but the conclave will convene to discuss this without delay and trust in the wisdom of Illuminar -- blessed be He -- to guide us."

Ethan smiled. "Thank you."

Plesius looked back at him with a strange expression that Ethan couldn't place. His eyes were slightly narrowed, but he didn't look suspicious; he had a frown, but didn't look upset; and his brow was furrowed, but he didn't seem convinced. Oh well, it seemed like a win that he was even considering the arguments.

Ethan stepped down from the raised platform and over to The King.

"Wise words." The King nodded his head respectfully. "And delivered in an honorable fashion."

"A friend helped me with that." Ethan smiled and looked at him pointedly.

The King smiled.

"Thank you!" Thea gushed as she gave Ethan a surprisingly tight hug from behind. "I had no idea that you were willing to let us stay on the Argo!" Her voice wasn't loud, but the excitement was almost palpable.

"I was happy to offer." Ethan replied with a smile, though it was rather awkward that he couldn't hug her back.

Ahjah cleared his throat.

Thea sighed, then let go and stepped back. She gave Ahjah a long-suffering look that was clearly meant to make him back off, but it worked about as well as trying to stick oil to Teflon.

"Should I agree to your marriage to my ward, such looks might, perhaps, become commonplace." The King stated to Ahjah.

"I know, but not all is lost." Ahjah said with a twinkle in his eye. "She has already made such marvelous progress that after a few more weeks and a wedding, she will be suitable for public outings."

Thea's jaw dropped and she made a sound that Ethan couldn't tell whether it indicated mock offense or actual offense.

"A man without a wit or who would be cowed by such looks as the one she just gave would make a poor husband for her indeed." The King said. "It speaks well of your prospects that neither is problematic for you."

Thea's annoyance instantly evaporated and she was suddenly all smiles again, and Ethan didn't think she was pretending.

He chuckled.

"I have many affairs to oversee this morning, honored prophet." The King said with a head bow. "On behalf of the court, thank you for that homily."

"You're welcome."

The Queen arrived at that moment, and The King addressed her. "See to the lunch arrangements, and make them such as you wish."

"Of course my King." The Queen did a small curtsey, then The King returned to the throne and indicated that Delabor should call the next person who had an audience.

Ahjah spoke up. "I have not forgotten that we agreed to speak to Lady Delmar on Sarah's behalf; we shall attend to that today after the luncheon if time allows, or tomorrow if it does not."

"I appreciate that, and I'm sure Sarah will as well." Ethan replied.

"Oh, I have not met the new First Lady of Narlotten yet." The Queen sounded intrigued.

"My betrothed, Sarah, thinks the world of her." Ethan said.

"Then I shall have to make meeting her a priority." The Queen replied, then looked at Thea and Ahjah. "Now my lovelies, we have some time to discuss how we might convince my husband before the luncheon will commence."

Thea beamed. "I'm so glad you want this too."

"If I didn't before, your smile now would have made me fight Saidow himself to make it happen." The Queen replied with a jovial air.

Everyone chuckled.

"I suppose we should return to the Argo for now then." Ethan suggested. "Unless Plesius is still around."

"He has departed, presumably to call a conclave." The Queen replied. "I'm afraid you shan't likely see him or any other prominent luminar again until sunset, when a conclave usually breaks for the day."

Ethan shrugged. "That's fine, it sounds like he's considering things, which is good enough for me."

*Maybe they will have seen reason by the time you're back from the tournament to meet Duke Farbrottan.* Selene thought to him privately.

*One can hope.* He replied, then spoke aloud. "Well, I suppose we should collect the rest of my wives and then get back to the Argo."

The Queen smiled. "May Illuminar -- blessed be He -- guide you on the path of Light as you travel."

Ethan grinned. "And also with you."

* * *

Kendra frowned as she, Ethan, all her fellow wives including Sarah, and the Lightguard walked back toward the Argo; Ahjah and Thea had stayed at the palace for obvious reasons.

Completely unrelated to the couple, something seemed a little off and Kendra couldn't place what it was. She had turned the meeting over in her mind numerous times and didn't think that was it. Her fellow wives all seemed in excellent spirits, so that also wasn't it. Ethan seemed pleased with how his 'homily' had gone, and it objectively had gone well, so that wasn't it either.

She looked around, but nothing seemed amiss. They were on a normal street, with normal shops and normal people walking near them. The railing that prevented people from falling hundreds of feet down to the forest floor below was on one side, and incredibly fancy shops were on the other; all normal for this part of Nalatia.

Still, the feeling persisted.

"You okay?" Selene asked.

Kendra nodded. "I am."

"So, I've been meaning to ask you something because I'd like your opinion; what do you think of having kids?"

Kendra looked at her, not entirely sure where this was going. "What do you mean?"

"Well, um." She hesitated. "I was talking to Ethan about the possibility of him and me having kids, and I..." She took a deep breath. "Well, I've told you what my mom became like after my brother died, and I'm scared that if we did have kids and something happened to one of them, I'd end up the same way."

"You wouldn't." Kendra replied, stating it simply as the fact she knew it to be.

"You sound pretty sure; are you?"

"Yes." Kendra looked at her, that nagging feeling that something was off still in the back of her mind. "As Ethan might say, you have been through hell. Despite that, you came out stronger on the other side. Trials will either strengthen you or break you. You aren't the type to break, not easily."

Selene half-smiled. "You sound very sure of that."

"I am." Kendra replied, then noticed something.

There was a middle-aged elf sitting on a bench nearby reading a book. That shouldn't seem strange, but for some reason it did. Something about the way he was dressed perhaps, or the position of the book, or maybe his body language. Something about it just felt... off.

She looked around and several other people stood out to her for no particular reason. Not one of them should have looked out of place, but all of them did. For some reason, all of them just seemed off.

*Ethan, something isn't right.* She thought to the group chat.

*What isn't--*

Thump!

Something slammed into Kendra's back and a sharp pain radiated throughout her entire upper body as her legs suddenly and inexplicably gave way underneath her.

* * *

*Ethan, something isn't right.*

Ethan frowned at Kendra's statement. *What isn't--*

The world slowed as an arrow plunged into a small gap in the armor on the back of his neck, breaking his neck.

Ethan's enhanced reflexes automatically triggered in response to his 'spider sense' going off. He raised his shoulder and turned his head, which was just enough to cause the arrow to slam into one of the larger plates of armor on his neck.

Thump!

Mother fucker!

He cried out in pain and felt lucky that the arrow's impact hadn't broken his neck. It took him barely a tenth of a second to realize what was happening, and when he did, he whipped around, instinctively summoning his shield from the Argo and cursing the fact that he didn't already have it with him.

Thanks to his enhanced reflexes, he had finished turning around in less than a second after being hit to see what could have been his worst nightmare, but thankfully wasn't. All of his wives were stumbling forward, all of them having clearly just been hit in the torso by an arrow from behind. Thankfully, it looked like the precisely aimed arrows had mostly impacted their cloth shields, which were always draped around them disguised as sashes.

Kendra was the exception.

The arrow that had hit her had clearly hit just under the cloth shield disguised as a sash, impacting only her cut-resistant dress. And while she had caught herself from falling flat on her face, her legs clearly weren't working properly... or at all.

Her spine.

The arrow must've hit her spine.

Or maybe near her spine? The arrow wobbled as Kendra lifted her upper body with her hands to look around, so it couldn't have penetrated very far, even if it had gone through her cut-resistant dress.

Behind her, it looked like someone had thrown some kind of gas bomb at the dozen members of the Lightguard who had been following them. Given how they were hacking, coughing, and covering their eyes, it looked like some kind of pepper spray gas. There was a broken glass bottle at their feet, and the unnatural way that the gas was moving told him that a mage was ensuring it was spread around.

Virtually all of the elves nearby had started to flee, but that was background noise to Ethan when he thought about someone attacking his wives.

He opened his mouth and poured every single ounce of rage he felt into the most terrifying roar he had ever unleashed. He felt a little mana being drawn into his vocal cords and didn't resist it, but rather increased the amount.

The result was terrifying.

His own blood instantly ran cold.

His heart froze in his chest from the sound that he himself was making. Every living being he could see instantly froze like they had been turned to stone. All other nearby sounds ceased. Not a bird chirped and not an insect made a peep.

He ran out of breath and the sound ended.

He curled his fists and growled, looking around for whoever had done this!

*The balcony.* Kendra thought to the group chat and pointed.

Ethan looked at where she was pointing and saw them. They were quite well hidden and relatively far back in the room, but he could see them easily with his dragon eyes. They looked like they had all frozen at his roar, which was good because they looked like they had been in the middle of nocking arrows for another volley.

Thwang!

An arrow sailed from Alana's bow and hit one of them dead center of the forehead.

*Rachel, the bench.* Kendra thought to everyone, then pointed to a fellow who had just cast aside a book and forcefully pushed his hands out toward them.

Rachel mirrored the move and Ethan felt the force of the air-ram be blunted by the redhead... but not everywhere. Beth was a little further from the rest of them, apparently outside the area Rachel was able to protect. The blonde screamed as she was blasted toward the railing, slammed into it, and toppled over the side toward the forest floor that was hundreds of feet below.

With a powerful flap of his wings, Ethan rocketed toward the railing as Alana put an arrow in the mage's eye. Ethan hooked the railing with his hand and used his momentum and wings to accelerate around it and down toward Beth, who was in free-fall.

*BETH! GO SPREAD EAGLE!* He mentally shouted as he tucked in his arms and legs to be more aerodynamic and used his wings as best he could to accelerate downwards toward her, despite the large trees that prevented him from flying properly.

She did.

With her arms and legs spread, her fall slowed slightly. Ethan caught up to her far slower than he would've liked. When he did, he wrapped his arms and legs around her and flapped with all his might to slow their descent before they hit the forest floor.

He was mostly successful.

He tucked and rolled with Beth in his arms as they hit the forest floor, which really meant slamming into some thick bushes. They rolled several times, his arms and legs still wrapped around her to protect her as he used his enhanced reflexes to make sure she wasn't hurt, or at least wasn't badly hurt.

Finally, they stopped.

Ethan groaned as he stood, feeling slightly woozy.

Beth flopped onto the forest floor, blood from numerous shallow cuts and scrapes from the bushes and brambles covering her arms and legs, but she didn't look seriously hurt. "Go, help them!" She urged.

He nodded, then used his powerful legs to leap into the air and grab the nearest tree trunk. There wasn't enough room for him to truly fly, so he kept using wing-assisted jumps to ascend to the sounds of battle above.

* * *

Kendra's legs wouldn't move.

Why wouldn't they move!

The former Aldmiri nearly screamed in frustration, but her training took over. She couldn't use her legs, which meant she couldn't fight well. That didn't stop her from drawing her travel sword as a few of the Lightguard who had extricated themselves from the noxious cloud of gas, plus Selene, took up defensive positions from the dozen or so men who were charging them.

Damn, this had been well planned.

That's when Kendra mentally kicked herself for not varying the route they had taken to and from the palace. Varying routes was a fundamental tenet of her training and she couldn't believe she'd forgotten it.

Damn!

Fuck!

*Alana, the archers.* Kendra thought to everyone as the five defenders around her formed up to protect themselves against the ground threat.

Instantly, Alana turned and nocked another arrow, leading to a second kill on the balcony. The other archers seemed to have taken cover.

"DON'T YOU HURT MY FAMILY!" Taloni nearly shrieked as she pulled out her sling and let loose a stone at the balcony. She missed her target, but given how recently she'd taken up the sling, it was still damn impressive slinging.

"Tee, focus on closer threats!" Kendra shouted. "Alana, keep the archers down! Rachel and Selene, melee support!"

They did.

Selene and the four members of the Lightguard who hadn't fallen to the gas attack formed a protective semi-circle around Kendra and Sarah, the latter of whom was standing frozen.

"Sarah!" Kendra yelled, smacking her leg with her hand to snap her out of it.

Sarah seemed to come to herself somewhat, and then her eyes fixed on the incoming attackers. They went wide and then something about her changed. She shook slightly and then her entire posture and demeanor shifted. She let out a ghastly, beastly, inhuman snarl and charged forward, knocking Selene and one of the Lightguard out of the way, though thankfully, the two recovered quickly.

Sarah barreled full force into two of the oncoming attackers, who apparently thought that their blades would easily cut the demon-possessed woman down.

That was the last mistake they ever made.

Sarah barreled into two of them, knocking them to the ground and screaming an unholy, piercing cry of rage. She drew her fists back and punched them both, leaving a small crater where their heads had once been. However, she didn't stop punching. Kendra was forcibly reminded of Alana describing how Ethan had pulverized a man who had attacked Alana as the Argo had left Gralden for the first time. It fast became a grisly sight, even for Kendra who had seen rather a lot.

Kendra looked away to pay attention to the attackers who were almost upon them.

Tee was now using her sling at closer targets, and had downed two of them. Rachel was air-ramming them to slow them down, but they were coming from multiple directions and she couldn't stop all of them. Alana had downed two more of the archers in the meantime, and Kendra highly doubted that they would make themselves seen again because Alana had put an arrow through one's eye as he had peeked around the corner to see what was happening.

Selene had her cloth shield drawn and sword cocked, ready to meet the four attackers who remained. Sadly, they were smart. Instead of one-on-one battles, they all ganged up on the closest defender, a member of the Lightguard who was at the end of the semi-circle of defenders. The elf fought valiantly, and took one of the attackers down, but he himself went down before the other defenders could save him.

It was at about this moment that their attackers realized how much the odds had changed, and they turned to flee.

Rachel didn't let them.

Thanks to her air-rams and Tee's sling, they didn't get away.

"Leave one alive!" Kendra shouted, still cursing that her legs simply refused to obey her commands, or even acknowledge them.

* * *

Ethan made the final leap over the railing to see that the battle was mostly over. He couldn't have been gone thirty seconds. One of the attackers was trying to flee, but Rachel was blasting him around the street.

"Ethan, the archers on the balcony!" Kendra yelled and pointed.

His blood boiled to see her on the ground with her legs clearly not working. Still, he was sure that Tee could heal her.

"Tee, take care of Kendra." He leapt into the air and spread his wings, glad that Alana had pinned them down so effectively that he didn't have to worry about arrows. He drew his war sword and slipped his javelin -- currently in dagger mode -- into his left hand as he landed on the balcony that led into the room with the enemy archers.

He knew that there must be at least eight of them, since there had been one arrow each for his seven wives, plus himself. Four of them were dead with arrows in their heads. One of them looked like he was nursing a broken hand; perhaps from Tee's slinging?

"Surrender, or I'll paint the walls with your entrails after I rip you limb from fucking limb!" Ethan snarled. Oh, he wanted to slaughter them all, but he wanted to know who was behind this more, and then to do all of that to whomever was responsible.

One of the men blanched.

Suddenly, a wet spot appeared on his pants and the smell of both urine and feces filled the air. One of the others started drawing a sword, and Ethan activated his dagger into javelin mode and flicked it at him. Ethan's aim hadn't been perfect using his left hand, but the javelin still punched through the man's lower torso. He'd been aiming for the heart, but missed his intended target, not that it mattered because maroon blood began to spill out from the wound.

"Anyone else?" Ethan snarled as he raised his sword. "Please, give me a reason. I'm begging you."

The others all dropped their weapons.

"Center of the room, sit on your hands." Ethan barked, not really caring how much it would hurt the man with the injured hand.

They moved, and Ethan properly looked at the room for the first time. It looked like it had been an incredibly nice upstairs dining room for some kind of restaurant not long before. The men moved to the center of the room and all sat on their hands.

"Who's behind this?" Ethan asked, raising his beyond-razor-sharp war sword. "And if I'm not satisfied with how complete your answer is, you're going to meet Illuminar... in pieces."

"No one, it... it was the bounty." One of them replied.

Ethan took a deep, calming breath and then exhaled, though the exhale came out sounding more like a growl than anything else. "Whose bounty?" He narrowed his eyes.

"Lord Farbrottan, since Lord Delmar's bounty specifies 'alive only' for everyone except you and the wood elf." One of them replied, talking very fast. "And I heard a rumor that he changed it to 'alive only' for everyone, so since Lord Farbrotten allowed dead, we..." The man withered under Ethan's gaze and fell silent.

*I need some Lightguard or city guards up here.* Ethan thought to the group chat. *I have several of them alive.*

*They're already on their way.* Alana replied a moment later. *The town guard arrived right after the fighting stopped.*

Of course.

Ethan glowered, but he couldn't reasonably expect them to be everywhere.

A minute or two later, a dozen city guards led by a single Lightguard had arrived and secured the prisoners, so Ethan rushed out onto the balcony and leapt into the air to return to his wives.

Mostly, they looked shaken but okay.

They were all moving a bit gingerly, likely either bruises or broken ribs from the arrows, though they could all heal themselves so he wasn't worried. The exception was Kendra, who was still propping herself up with her arms, and her legs clearly still weren't working. Thankfully, Tee was kneeling by her and looked to be in the middle of trying to heal her.

"Is everyone okay?" Ethan asked.

"Yes, how's Beth?" Alana asked, nearly interrupting him.

"She's fine." He replied quickly. "Some scratches from some bramble, but fine." He looked at Kendra. "How are your legs?"

"I can't feel them." Kendra's tone was almost perfectly calm, but he could hear the slight catch of her voice and hoarseness that was coloring her attempts to sound normal. Her face was a mask, but a mask he could see through. Her eyes were filled with fear. No, something akin to mortal dread.

"It'll be okay." Ethan assured her. "Tee will fix you up and you'll be right as rain."

Kendra swallowed, her voice quiet. "She already did."

"Master, there's nothing left to heal." Tee said, her tone grim. "I was just checking to make sure I didn't miss anything."

"She didn't." Kendra said, and again, her voice was rather quiet.

"Is there a lot of swelling or inflammation?" Selene asked. "I think I heard once that it could cause temporary paralysis if it was around the spine, and magical healing wouldn't fix that."

"Probably." Kendra replied, though she didn't sound sure. "I can't feel it, so I don't know."

"Maybe it just needs some time then?" Ethan suggested, trying to put the most positive spin on it that he could.

"Maybe." Kendra replied, her brave mask mostly covering both her face and tone.

"Um, Master." Tee said. "Can you get Beth?"

Ethan looked around. There were at least two dozen of the Nalatia guard around them forming a defensive perimeter. Thankfully, the Lightguard who had been hit by that gas attack appeared to be coming around as well, so he wasn't worried about another attack, or a second wave of the first one.

Sarah wasn't inside the circle, but it didn't take long to find her. The Nalatia guard looked like they were keeping their distance from her, and it was no wonder why. She was covered in blood. Her gorgeous gold dress, her exposed skin, and even much of her hair were covered in blood.

"I'll get Beth soon, but I think someone else needs my help more right now." Ethan nodded toward Sarah.

Everyone nodded.

"Oh!" Tee said as if something had just occurred to her. "I could get Beth if I had the weight reduction necklace. And I can fly below the street level more easily than you can because my wings are smaller."

"Thank you Tee, and here." Ethan reached into his grenade satchel and handed the weight reduction necklace to her. Other than his meeting with the Crown Prince, he never left the Argo without the grenade satchel these days.

Tee took it and then her wings became a blur as she flew over the railing and descended out of sight.

Ethan looked at Kendra. "Will you be okay?"

"Go, help Sarah." Kendra said, her brave mask still on. "She needs you more than I do right now."

He looked at her for a long moment, then nodded. "You tell me the moment you need me, or I can help."

"I will." She swallowed, and for just a moment, her mask slipped slightly, revealing an expression that wouldn't have been out of place on a lost, scared, and lonely little child.

"I love you Kendra, and no injury will ever change that." He said seriously.

She nodded, but didn't reply.

He leaned down, kissed her on the forehead, then stood and started walking toward Sarah.

* * *

Sarah stood up, her entire body trembling as she came back to her full senses and regained full control of her body. She almost wished she hadn't. She had done some terrible things while under the influence of the demon, but she'd never done anything this gruesome. She looked down and saw her forearms covered in blood.

Her stomach lurched.

She almost covered her mouth with her hand, but then noticed that sticking to her blood-soaked arm, there were several pieces of--

She vomited.

She dropped to her knees as it happened, shuddering as she did so. Thankfully, her stomach was mostly empty so not a lot came out, but it was exactly as unpleasant as vomiting always is. She stood up when she was done, and would've wiped her mouth but didn't have anything to do that with. She looked at her blood-soaked arms, on which were sticking bits of--

Her stomach lurched again,

She closed her eyes and wiped her arms with her hands to get those pieces off of her arm, and was even mostly successful. However, when she looked again, her arms were still streaked with blood. She looked down to see that her dress was too. Her beautiful, wonderful, golden dress that Alana had made for her that she'd worn when she'd gotten betrothed to Ethan.

Ethan...

She swallowed hard when she realized that he had probably seen what she'd done. She hoped he still wanted to marry her after this.

"Sarah?" His voice said from behind her.

She didn't turn around.

She blinked, tears forming in her eyes. She looked down again and noticed her dress. She knew it was self-cleaning, but she hoped, she dearly, truly hoped it wouldn't stain. She wasn't sure it could stain and she didn't want it to. She could feel her heart sinking at the mere possibility that it might stain.

She sniffled slightly as another thought occurred to her; what if she could 'stain', or what if Ethan thought of her as 'stained'. Suddenly, her throat felt tight.

She swallowed.

Hard.

* * *

"Sarah?" Ethan said again as gently as he could since she hadn't replied the first time. At her feet was a grisly sight. The two men she'd attacked would never be identified. Ever. There simply wasn't enough of them left that was identifiable. He looked away from the red mass at her feet to his betrothed and took a deep breath.

She sniffled, but didn't reply.

"Talk to me Sarah." He said gently.

She sniffled again. He could only see her back, but just from what he could see, it looked like she was covered in blood. Really, it was no wonder given the state of the corpses at her feet.

She didn't move.

"Sarah." He said as he stepped up behind her and put his hand on her shoulder.

She flinched.

"Hey, I'm here for you." He said gently. He was only four inches taller than she was, but with her current posture, he would've sworn it was more.

"I..." Her voice cracked and whatever she had been about to say died on her lips.

"Honored Prophet?"

Ethan turned to see one of the Lightguard behind him with a well-dressed elf nearby.

"This honorable businessman is personally known to me, and he owns a bathhouse just up the street." The Lightguard said. "He has offered it for you and your wives to wipe away the blood and grime of this heinous attack, free of charge; your other wives are agreeable if you are."

"I would be honored to have the prophet under my roof and cleansed by the waters in my humble bathhouse." The elf bowed deeply.

"Thank you." Ethan nodded, glanced at Sarah, then the elf. "Can we take you up on that now?"

"Of course, honored prophet, that was the intent." The elf bowed deeply again. "In fact, from this moment on, please consider it available to you from now on, until I meet Illuminar or am forced to close my doors."

"Again, thank you." Ethan replied, then spoke to his betrothed. "Sarah, we're going to a bathhouse."

She nodded mutely, still not turning to look at him. He reached out and took her hand despite it being blood-soaked. She was trembling.

"Hey, look at me." He said softly.

She turned her head slightly and he had to resist reacting in shock; most of her face was splattered with blood. Not covered, but well-splattered. The blood had also ended up in her hair and all over her dress as well. Sarah's eyes flicked to his face and she obviously noticed his shock because she immediately averted her gaze and her posture slumped even more.

"Sarah." He said.

She swallowed and didn't look at him.

"Come on." He gave her hand a gentle squeeze, then looked behind him at his wives. They were all near Kendra, who was sitting on the ground leaning up against Selene. Tee had obviously retrieved Beth since she was there as well, and it looked like everyone had just finished a sitting version of a group hug with Kendra at the center.

"Damn." He sighed, then looked at Sarah. "Kendra is hurt and can't move her legs; I'll need to carry her, but I'd be holding your hand if I didn't need to."

She nodded, then quickly let go of his hand.

*Alana, Sarah needs some emotional support, like right now, while I carry Kendra.* He thought to her.

*Be right there.* She immediately got up and headed their way.

"Alana will stay with you." Ethan said when his first wife had arrived. "And I want you right by my side while I'm carrying Kendra."

Sarah nodded, but didn't say anything.

Ethan and Alana exchanged worried looks and then he went to see Kendra.

"Hey, you okay?" He asked when he had arrived and knelt by her side.

Kendra looked him in the eye, her brave mask dropping for just a moment. "No." She swallowed, then her mask was back on, but he got the impression that was more because of the onlookers than him or his other wives.

"I got you." He reached down and picked her up; it felt incredibly strange how utterly limp the lower half of her body was.

Kendra hooked her arms around his neck and nodded, but didn't say anything.

"Okay, let's go." He said.

The Lightguard surrounded him and his wives while they walked a half block to reach the bathhouse. Around them, at least two dozen of the Nalatia guard created a secondary perimeter. Two of the Lightguard entered the bathhouse to ensure it was safe once they had arrived, then signaled the all clear after searching it. Ethan and company entered, and he was glad to be off the streets where they could be targeted by arrows. He didn't think it was likely right now, but then, he hadn't been expecting the ambush earlier either.

The bathhouse was wonderful and would've put a smile on his face under any other circumstances. It was bright and airy, with frosted windows and pleasant bath scents wafting through the entryway. It had wood-paneled walls with decorative vines with tiny purple flowers that he didn't recognize.

The elf who owned the place looked at them, including Ethan holding Kendra. "Would you like two separate baths, one for the gentleman and one for the ladies, or a combined bath?"

"Combined." Ethan said.

In his arms, Kendra swallowed.

Right next to him, exactly where he wanted her and Alana had guided her, Sarah seemed to be deflating more and more by the moment.

"Come, honored prophet." The elf bowed and led them to a room that had a wooden walkway around a floor-level hot tub designed to seat about a dozen people. The hot tub was made of beautiful marble and had an underwater bench all around the edges that was clearly designed for comfort. The water looked deep enough that a person's torso would be mostly submerged while sitting, but shallow enough that even Alana would still have her head above water while sitting.

"The water will be cycled as you sit, and it contains our best soaps, cleansers, and invigorating salves as well." The elf bowed. "Merely sit and all that can be washed away, will be; both from your bodies and your clothes."

"Thank you again." Ethan said to him, and he meant it.

All his wives echoed the sentiment.

"Honored prophet, the building is secure." One of the Lightguard said. "It would take a thousand aggressors or a forest fire to endanger you here."

"Oh, thank Illuminar." Alana breathed.

"No kidding." Ethan nodded, then addressed the Lightguard elf. "Thank you, all of you. I wish I had more than words to offer."

"They are not necessary, but they are appreciated, honored prophet." The Lightguard elf bowed again, then left the room, leaving Ethan and his wives alone for the first time since the ambush.

With rather a lot of care and using his wings to steady himself, he stepped into the hot tub with Kendra still in his arms. He tucked his wings again and sat down, Kendra ending up mostly on his lap. The water was very, very warm, but not hot. Honestly, it was a great temperature. There was a subtle current in the pool as well, but not circular like a whirlpool. Rather, it felt linear. A quick look revealed that it was being continuously fed from one side and draining on the other.

"I can't feel..." Kendra's lower lip quivered.

"The temperature?" Ethan asked.

"Below my waist." Kendra nodded, outright fear in her eyes now that they were alone. It was unnerving how her legs were just floating there, submerged in the water with obviously nothing controlling them.

"Maybe it's only temporary." He replied softly, hoping that was the case.

She didn't reply, and the fear in her eyes didn't dissipate.

His other wives hadn't slipped in yet, so he looked up at them. "Come on in ladies, the water is fine."

Sarah bit her lip, but Alana gently tugged her down into the water. The blood on her body seemed to roll off in waves, but it was pulled toward one end of the pool where it disappeared. Sarah went toward that end and sat down, probably so she didn't get blood all over everyone else. He almost smiled at that; even hurting as badly as she was, she was so considerate.

His other wives joined in short order, Alana sitting right next to Sarah despite the blood, which was thankfully being washed away rather faster than he would've guessed.

*Can we move over by Sarah?* Kendra thought to him privately. *I've seen what she's going through before and she'll need help; even just being close to her will help.*

He nodded and then moving carefully while supporting Kendra the entire time, slid over until he was sitting right next to Sarah with Kendra still on his lap. Barely a second later, all his other wives looked at each other and then they all slipped in close as well, despite the blood in the water.

"It's in your hair." Alana said softly to Sarah. "You need to slip under and rinse it off before it dries."

Sarah nodded and then almost mechanically, she slipped under the water a few times, splashing water on her face and rubbing her hands through her hair. It seemed like she was doing it on autopilot without any conscious thought. His other wives followed her lead until they were all clean, though not nearly so mechanically, and then they all sat back down.

No one said anything.

There were no sounds except the faint sound of water filling the hot tub on one side and draining on the other.

No one said anything for nearly five minutes.

They just all sat there in stunned silence at what had just happened. Or at least, that's what Ethan was doing. He loved having Kendra on his lap, he loved it with any of his wives, but the current reason... He grimaced. He only hoped she would get better.

She had to get better.

Eventually, everyone had washed up and they all sat down, most of them slouching slightly so only their heads were above the water. The blood had all drained away in short order, leaving Ethan to wonder how they were changing the water so fast. Probably something magical, but honestly, he didn't care enough to ask right now.

They all sat there in stunned silence, occasionally looking at each other.

* * *

Not long ago

Anthiel smiled at what her husband had just thought to her. *Really? You're actually underway? Finally?*

*Indeed, I can see Gralden getting smaller as we rise to cruising height.* He replied, and he sounded as happy as she felt.

*Wonderful.* The high elf sighed; she couldn't wait to see him again, and her fellow wife as well. *How is Mirella taking to her first airship flight?*

*Her reaction might be due to morning sickness, though it's a bit early for that.* There was amusement in his tone as he continued. *I think she'll get her sea legs eventually, which almost reminds me of another beautiful young elf...*

Anthiel felt her cheeks warm slightly as she remembered. *Thankfully, I got better.*

*At many things.* He replied, a note of both flirtation and teasing in his mental tone.

*We worked so hard on that.* She teased back.

*Yeah, those first decades were rough, what with trying to get pregnant all those times...* He teased.

*...and practicing for getting pregnant all those times.* She quipped back. *I hope you and Mirella have been practicing for the next one?*

*She's worse than you were.* He replied with amusement in his tone. *More seriously, I've only been able to have both of you beside me while sleeping twice; I'd like that to be a more regular occurrence.*

*Me too.* She replied. *I hope that--*

Anthiel found herself cut off mid-sentence by a dragon's roar. It was close; very close. Then it got louder and her heart very nearly froze in her chest.

*Ani?* Ralgar thought to her, then added a little more urgently. *Ani?*

*I think Ethan and his wives are in trouble.* She replied when the dreadful sound had ended, then she called out. "Victoria!"

"They were attacked." The platinum blonde said a moment later. "I didn't ask for details because it sounds like Selene is fighting right now."

Anthiel grimaced. *Ral, I have something for you and Miri to pray about.*

* * *

Now

Ethan should've been in heaven. He was, for the first time, sitting in a hot tub with all of his wives there and no one else. It should've been a great moment of laughter and relaxation. However, given events that weren't an hour old yet, it was anything but. There was some tension in the air, likely because no one knew what to say. He didn't know what to say.

Kendra had slid onto the bench beside him in the tub with his help, and she was both holding onto him and he had an arm around her, just in case. On his other side, Sarah was leaning against him, saying nothing. Hardly a sound had left her mouth since it had happened. He wanted to talk to her, but didn't think she was up to it or ready, so he had put his arm around her and had been holding her ever since.

"I'm sorry." Kendra said, breaking the long silence.

"It's not your fault." Ethan replied, mentally kicking himself because he should've seen her reaction coming. Of course she would blame herself, even if it was absurd.

"I didn't insist that we vary our routes." Kendra countered. "That's how they were able to set up such an effective ambush."

"Kendra, you didn't aim those arrows." Selene said firmly. "Therefore, it wasn't your fault."

Kendra opened her mouth to reply, but Alana beat her to it. "This is not your fault."

"I was trained--" Kendra began.

"And that still doesn't change a thing." Ethan interrupted. "They would've just picked another time or place to attack, and we might've had others with us. What if Victoria had been with us? Or Thea? Their dresses aren't 'armor' the way yours are and they could've been killed."

"No, they wouldn't have." Kendra replied firmly, no trace of doubt in her tone. "I recognize the kind of gas they used on the Lightguard; it incapacitates almost instantly, but isn't fatal. They were only looking to kill us, not anyone else."

"They killed one of the Lightguard." Selene said, her voice slightly strained and close to cracking.

Silence fell for a moment.

"Damn." Ethan closed his eyes and slowly shook his head, his heart sinking in his chest.

No one said anything for at least thirty seconds after that.

"Who was it?" Sarah finally broke the silence.

"I don't know his name." Selene replied. "He was the one with the slightly crooked nose and a mole or birthmark on his cheek."

"Afisan." Sarah said quietly. "His wife died a few years ago. His only child, a daughter, recently got married and lives in Nalatia."

Everyone looked at her.

"I..." She swallowed. "I was trying to learn their names and stories while we were walking to Sarisa's yesterday." She looked down. "He... he felt so proud to be able to guard us. He had a huge smile on his face and couldn't believe that Illuminar had allowed him to protect us. He thought it was such a huge honor and thanked me for 'the privilege of allowing him to further Illuminar's work by protecting His prophet'."

"Damn." Ethan said, his voice cracking.

None of his wives had dry eyes.

"He told me that his daughter recently found out that she was expecting a boy." Sarah continued. "He said he was looking forward to telling his grandson all about how he had protected the prophet of Illuminar when the boy was old enough to understand." She swallowed. Hard. "But... but now he'll never even meet..."

She didn't seem able to finish the sentence.

Ethan completely understood.

His own eyes were feeling watery, his throat felt a bit tight, and his heart sunk. "Damn." He said again, wishing he had another word, phrase, or sentence to convey what was going through his head and heart.

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"This won't be the last time someone dies, will it?" Beth asked after a moment, not an ounce of her usual cheerful curiosity present. Instead, her eyes were wide, almost fearful, and her tone was hesitant, almost as if she didn't want the answer. "It'll get worse, won't it?"

"Do you want the honest truth?" Kendra asked.

Beth swallowed, hesitated, then shook her head as her eyes got watery. "I... I think I already know."

"You really don't." Kendra said quietly, almost mournfully. "And I greatly envy that blessing."

Silence fell for some time after that.

Surprisingly, it was Sarah who broke it for a second time. She looked at her hands, which were now completely cleansed of blood. "Did... did I help?"

Ethan looked at Kendra.

Kendra used her hands to adjust herself while her legs floated limply in the water. "If you hadn't taken care of those two attackers, we almost certainly would've lost more people."

Sarah nodded, though her bottom lip was quivering slightly.

Ethan didn't know what to say. He pulled her a little closer and held her, words failing him at the moment. In contrast to the tempest in his mind, the hot tub bubbled cheerfully where the water poured in. The room was bright, airy, and smelled very clean and pleasant. It made quite a contrast to the general mood of everyone there.

About five minutes later, during which almost nothing was said, there was a knock at the door.

"Honored prophet, the honorable Delabor, called King's Herald, wishes to speak with you when you are ready." The elf who owned the place said through the door.

"We're decent, send him in." Ethan replied, realizing only after he'd spoken that his voice sounded tired; world-weary.

The door opened and Delabor entered, his face grim. "Honored prophet, The King has sent an armored intra-city airship with his own personal royal guard and three of his most trusted battle mages to take you wherever you wish, and it shall be at your disposal as long as you are in our fair city of Nalatia. He also offers secure apartments near the palace, inside the very building where visiting lords and kings lay their heads, to ensure the best possible protection for you and your wives, which also shall be yours for your entire stay if you wish."

"Thank you." He said as he and his wives breathed a collective sigh of relief.

"He also wishes to offer his deepest and most sincere apologies, and hopes that the arrangements he has made will prevent another such occurrence." Delabor added.

"I really appreciate that." Ethan said, and he meant it. He looked at his wives. "Does anyone object to the secure apartment?"

"I don't." Alana said. "I love the Argo, but it seems more exposed now than it did an hour ago."

The rest of his wives agreed.

"That's what I was thinking too." Ethan agreed.

"The King will send men to collect your crew and take them to the secure apartments via intra-city airship." Delabor replied. "Your companions on the Midnight Sun will be offered similar accommodations, and The King will station detachments of the royal guard on both airships to ensure they are not compromised."

"Again, thank you." Ethan replied, then thought to everyone. *Selene, can you ask Victoria to grab the portal stones in the captain's cabin?*

*Will do.* Selene replied, then added. *Maybe this is why she felt like she needed to stay with the Argo this morning.*

*Maybe.* Ethan replied.

"The King heard of the honorable Kendra Ejder's plight, and has sent one of the finest mobile-chairs to assist her." Delabor added, then probably at the looks on Ethan and Selene's faces, added. "It is a chair with wheels attached, so that she might move under her own power via her arms."

"Ah, okay." Ethan nodded. "I didn't recognize the term; we call it a 'wheelchair'."

Next to him, Kendra swallowed.

"You'll get better." Ethan said firmly, hoping it was true.

"The King also has his own personal healer waiting at your apartment." Delabor added. "He has over 150 years of experience in healing and is the best in the realm; he will do what he can."

"Thank you." Ethan said.

"Yes, thank you." Kendra said, her face and tone downplaying just how scared she really was.

"Let's get going." Ethan said after a moment. "The sooner we're safe and get Kendra to that healer, the better."

No one objected.

* * *

Selene towel-dried her hair in a private booth and brushed it quickly with a provided brush, marveling at how the towel seemed to actively pull the excess water out of her hair. It was almost as good as a hair dryer and she was sure the towel was enchanted. She slipped out of her dress and gave it a good snap to get the excess water off; being self-cleaning, it didn't need anything else to be almost fully dry. Once that was done, she put it back on and stepped out to rejoin the others, who also had used private booths because of Sarah.

Ethan emerged after the rest, still carrying Kendra.

Selene hated seeing her best friend like that. She couldn't even imagine a world in which Kendra couldn't dance or fight. Ironically, given Kendra's love of dance, the former was harder to picture than the latter.

The King had indeed sent a wheelchair, and it was clearly intended to be a seat of honor. It was very well built with intricate carvings and an air of subtle sophistication that honestly complemented Kendra very well. But it was still a wheelchair. Ethan lowered her into it carefully and lovingly, and Kendra herself had a neutral expression on her face, as if this was no different than getting a sprain or bruise. Selene knew her better though.

*Drago, do you want someone else to push me so you can help Sarah?* Kendra thought to the group chat, then glanced at Selene.

*I'd be happy to.* Selene volunteered.

He looked at her for a long moment.

*She needs you more than I do right now.* Kendra added.

*Okay, but just for now.* Ethan replied. He then fell silent for several seconds, long enough that Selene thought the two of them might be having a private telepathic conversation.

*Any news?* Victoria asked the second group chat.

Selene summarized the situation to the other three, then added. *Give me a few minutes though, unless it's urgent; I need to talk to Kendra.*

The other telepaths agreed.

Selene took hold of the back of the wheelchair, then leaned down and whispered to Kendra. "You want Ethan to take care of Sarah because you don't like him seeing you like this."

Kendra looked at her, swallowed, then nodded subtly. "I thought I was being subtle."

Selene smiled wryly. "The better you know someone, the harder it gets to hide things."

Kendra nodded, then added in a low tone. "If I can't fight, then..." She didn't finish the sentence, and before Selene could ask, Delabor spoke up.

"All is ready." The herald said, then indicated the door.

One of the Lightguard opened it to reveal nearly shield-to-shield defenders lining a path to an airship that looked like it could easily withstand a minotaur's charge. Thankfully, nothing happened as they boarded, nor as the ship took to the skies, nor during their flight to the palace, nor the descent onto a secluded dock right behind the palace. The dock was surrounded by high trees, which not only looked wonderful, but also would prevent ranged attacks.

For once, everything had gone to plan.

It felt like a miracle.

Ethan had remained right by Kendra while holding Sarah's hand the whole time. Selene wheeled Kendra into the building and noticed that the decor seemed to lift Sarah's spirits slightly. Okay, very slightly, but anything was an improvement right now. It was wood-paneled like much of Nalatia, but the patterns were more subtle and soothing than they had been in the palace or the building where they'd met the Crown Prince.

The Crown Prince...

Suddenly, it occurred to Selene that he probably could've prevented this. It was an empire for crying out loud; couldn't the emperor's son force a lord to withdraw a bounty?

She glanced at Ethan to see that some of the signs of mild shock were wearing off. She'd been thoroughly educated in them as part of her training to become an FBI agent, and honestly, all her fellow wives were exhibiting symptoms to one degree or another, even Kendra.

*Couldn't the Crown Prince have prevented this?* Selene thought to everyone. *It's an empire, he ought to be able to get a lord to cancel a bounty.*

Ethan set his jaw, the tiniest edge of a growl in his exhale as he replied. *I was just thinking the same thing.*

Alana leaned over and whispered something into Sarah's ear, probably relaying the telepathic conversation.

"Is there a problem, honored prophet?" Delabor asked.

"I need to talk to The King." Ethan replied, his tone neutral, but forcedly so.

The elven herald smiled. "As you wish; these are your lodgings." He indicated a large, ornate door, which two of the Lightguard opened to reveal The King and The Queen, along with Thea and Ahjah. Behind them, there was an elderly elf who had the look of a healer or mage about him; probably The King's personal healer to look at Kendra.

Thea rushed forward and it seemed like she tried to get all of them in a hug at once. Obviously she didn't succeed, but it was touching nonetheless.

"Honored prophet." The King said, his expression and tone grim. "The crown owes you a debt it can never repay, for these two times now you have been assaulted while our guest. Whatever I can offer in recompense or as a preventative measure to guard against future attacks, I will surely offer, and I will yield to any request for assistance that you direct at me."

"Thank you." Ethan nodded. "I appreciate it, but it wasn't your fault."

"The robbery is the fault of the robber, the unlocked door the fault of the steward." The King replied, and Selene thought he might be quoting some kind of proverb. "Ask what you wish and I will endeavor to accommodate it."

Ethan spoke in a calm tone that had an undercurrent of rage about it. Controlled rage, but definitely rage. "I need to see the Crown Prince. Like, right now."

"He is engaged in an important discussion, but I will notify him immediately." The King replied, then nodded at Delabor.

Ethan caught the herald by the arm as he turned to leave, then looked him in the eye and spoke in that same calm-but-rage-filled tone, though thankfully the rage wasn't directed at Delabor. "Tell Prince George that if he ever wants me to have a good relationship with the imperial family, he'll meet with me right the fuck now." Ethan paused. "And please, quote me on that, would you?"

Delabor looked at The King, who nodded, then the herald spoke. "It shall be done, honored prophet."

Ethan nodded, then let go of the elf's arm.

Selene resisted the urge to grimace. She thought her husband's self-control was much better than it had been in a long time, but with Kendra in a wheelchair and Sarah still shell-shocked, she wasn't sure how well this meeting would go.

* * *

Ethan took deep, calming breaths as he tried to make sure he wasn't stalking down the hallways of the palace on the way toward meeting the Crown Prince. Delabor had returned in less than ten minutes -- about the time it would take to go to the palace and return -- to say that Prince George would meet him right away.

"Take care, honored prophet." Delabor said with what seemed to be genuine concern. "You exhale as a growl; his Imperial Highness's guards might not take kindly to that."

"My wives were just nearly murdered in cold blood." Ethan replied, his blood boiling at the fact. "I'm finding it a little hard to remain calm right now."

"I would not add to their trauma by provoking the Imperial guard." Delabor said as he stopped outside a door. "That would not improve the situation for your wives."

Ethan nodded his head in concession and then did what he could to reduce the rolling boil in his veins to a gentle simmer.

It wasn't easy.

"The Crown Prince awaits you in here." Delabor bowed, then opened the door.

Ethan stalked through, trying in vain to keep his temper completely in check. Every time he thought about the ambush, or remembered Beth being blown over the city railing, or the shell-shocked look in Sarah's eyes, or Kendra on the ground not able to stand... He resisted the urge to clench his fist.

Shockingly, the Crown Prince was alone in the room.

Completely alone.

There were no guards.

It was just Ethan and Prince George.

Ethan stopped short, rather surprised by this.

"Necromancers can have terrible tempers." Prince George said, ceasing what had probably been pacing. "However, they are incapable of becoming angry because someone they love was threatened, for they cannot love." He looked at Ethan pointedly. "That tells me that the odds of you being a necromancer are vanishingly low."

Ethan narrowed his eyes. "Get on the horn with Lord Farbrottan and order him to call off the bounty."

"I am unable to." Prince George replied.

"Bullshit!" Ethan spat back. "You're the fucking Crown Prince! And if you don't have the pull, get your father to. He's the fucking emperor and it's about God-damn time someone did something about that tyrannical prick trying to kill my wives!"

"Despite being the emperor, by Ten Kingdoms law, he does not have that authority either." Prince George replied calmly. "I can explain, or you can keep raging at me about things that neither I nor my father can change."

Ethan clenched his fists and reminded himself that just about the stupidest thing he could possibly do at the moment was to grab Prince George and throttle him, though it was tempting...

"Fine." Ethan growled. "Explain."

"After the Great Civil War, when Illuminar installed my branch of the Calmarane family on the imperial throne, we were warned to rule well or face Illuminar's wrath."

"I already knew that." Ethan replied, trying in vain to keep his temper in check and his tone even.

"But what I assume you don't know is that the prior branch of the family would often give its agents authority to do great evil by giving wicked men a writ of protection that protected them from reprisal by any lord in the Ten Kingdoms. A man with one of these writs could rape and murder an entire family in a town square and the local lord would be charged with treason if he interfered."

"Tell me that didn't actually happen." Ethan replied.

"I would, but Illuminar frowns on lying." Prince George replied gravely. "After the war, the new emperor abolished writs of protection and made a solemn vow to Illuminar that neither he nor his descendants would interfere with a lord who wished to pursue those who had committed certain crimes."

"Crimes like?" Ethan asked, having a guess where this was going.

"An unprovoked assault on officers of the peace." The Crown Prince replied. "And in Ivernia, Reeves are considered such."

"You're kidding me." Ethan narrowed his eyes.

"I wish I was." Prince George replied. "Lord Farbrottan restructured his entire law enforcement system to ensure that Reeves were part of it so he could ensure that the empire couldn't interfere with their work."

"Fuck." Ethan growled.

"Those who directly and intentionally aid and abet such crimes also fall into that category, meaning your wives." Prince George added." Further, assassins also fall under that rule. You gained unlawful access to Lord Farbrottan's home, to his very bedroom, while armed to the teeth. Under Ten Kingdoms law, that can be considered an assassination attempt."

Ethan stared, unable to even contest that because, honestly, despite his intentions, it did make sense to consider that an assassination attempt. He wasn't so angry that he couldn't see that.

"So, you and your father can't force him to cancel the bounty?" Ethan asked. "Come on, even if you can't issue a direct order, I'm sure you could apply pressure other ways."

Prince George shook his head. "The vow covered 'both overt and covert' means of interfering with such persons."

Ethan stared.

For possibly the first time in his life, he found himself almost wishing that an emperor had more power.

"What about Lord Delmar's bounty?" Ethan finally asked. "Those bounty hunters said he had changed his to 'alive only'."

"He has." Prince George confirmed. "However, you have not launched an unprovoked attack on him or his soldiers. The attack on Alana's farm -- given that it was not instigated by Lord Delmar but rather a rogue necromancer who had infiltrated his military -- and your subsequent self-defense falls into a gray area. The Imperial family can claim jurisdiction over crimes of necromancy, and doubly so in your case because you have traveled to multiple lorddoms. However, it would be hard to argue that an 'alive-only' bounty treads on imperial jurisdiction because a lord could claim that he would turn you over to the imperial crown. The whole situation is... complicated."

Ethan took a moment to digest that.

Damn.

That meant that there wasn't help coming from the imperial family, at least in regards to Lord Farbrottan. There was literally nothing they could do. Ethan couldn't even be mad about it because, honestly, the law seemed very reasonable. Lord Farbrottan was surely taking advantage of it, but the law itself made a lot of sense. There wasn't anything he could do to eliminate the dead or alive bounty on Him, Alana, Beth....

Huh.

Ethan cocked his head to one side. "Wait a minute, Lord Borden doesn't seem like the kind of fellow who would take it lying down that another lord has a dead-or-alive bounty on his daughter."

"You aren't wrong." Prince George replied. "Believe me, tensions between Koilas and Ivernia have been high of late."

"You're worried about another civil war." Ethan said after a moment.

"I am." Prince George replied. "Lord Kalus would surely come to your defense, which would make it Timarou and Koilas versus Ivernia and Narlotten; it would be devastating for all those lorddoms, and catastrophic for the empire as a whole." Prince George replied, his tone gravely serious. "I'm hoping it won't come to that."

Ethan pulled out one of the chairs in the room and flopped down on it. When did life get so complicated? How the hell was he at the center of what might become a civil war?

"So basically, I've been making your life hell since I showed up then." Ethan said apologetically after a moment.

"It certainly hasn't been boring." Prince George sighed.

"I could go for a bit of boring right now." Ethan also sighed, then spoke again after a moment of thought, using something Selene had once done as inspiration. "So, I want you to imagine something, hypothetically. Imagine you're in my shoes, a man with multiple wives being hunted for doing nothing wrong. Now imagine that you've just found out there's nothing you can do to get rid of the 'dead or alive' bounty, and that a certain lord will hunt you to the ends of the Ten Kingdoms and beyond. As long as he's breathing, your wives are in danger." Ethan let that hang in the air for a moment. "What would you do in such a position? Hypothetically speaking, of course."

Prince George looked at Ethan for several seconds before speaking in a serious tone. "You don't want to have that conversation right now."

"No, I really think I do." Ethan replied just as seriously.

"You misunderstand." Prince George replied. "Your wives were just attacked."

"I know, I was there." Ethan replied, his voice sounding more like a growl than he wanted it to.

Prince George sighed. "Let me rephrase as a question: How is Kendra?"

"She can't walk, but The King's own personal healer is going to look at her, and probably is right now." He replied, suddenly aware that that's probably where he should be right now.

"Then why aren't you there?" Prince George asked pointedly.

"Because I ran off half-cocked because there was a threat to my family, and I didn't consider that this could wait a few hours." Ethan admitted.

"Go, see to your wife; we can talk more later."

Ethan nodded. "I'll want an answer to my hypothetical question when we do."

"Perhaps one day we can have that conversation, but it will not be today." Prince George replied. "Tempers are running high and your wives need you. See to them; we'll talk another time."

Ethan nodded.

* * *

"How bad is it?" Kendra asked, trying to keep her tone as neutral and casual as possible. Her other fellow wives could probably tell she was putting on a brave face, and of course Ethan and Selene would see right through her. However, she hoped no one else would. She was lying on her front with The King's healer touching her back right where the arrow had hit her spine.

"This healing work is excellent." The healer replied. "Give me his name and I would offer him a spot on my team forthwith."

"That was Taloni." Alana said.

"Marvelous." He mused, then moved his hands down her spine a little. "Truly marvelous. Where did she train?"

"Um, a healer showed me how, but I only helped him for a few months after I learned." Tee replied.

"Oh, impressive, quite impressive." The healer said, then moved his hands a bit lower. Or at least, Kendra assumed he did. She could still feel a few fingers, but not all of them anymore.

Kendra took a deep breath. "How bad is it?"

"The damaged vertebrae appears to be fully healed, or at least as much as magical healing can accomplish." The healer said, then presumably moved his hands lower as she could now only feel one finger. "You appear to have led a hard life young lady, judging from the other scar tissue."

Kendra internally bristled, but tried not to outwardly react. "Will I walk again?"

"Possibly." The healer said absentmindedly after a moment, then the rest of the pressure disappeared from the area she could feel as he probably moved his hands lower. "But spinal injuries are tricky things and can sometimes have unforeseen complications; no two are exactly alike."

"Meaning?" Selene asked.

"The next two days should tell the story." The healer said, then stepped away from the table. "If you regain even partial mobility or sensation anywhere on your lower body in the next two days, then you will likely make a full recovery."

"And if not?" Kendra asked. "And please don't honey-coat it; I want the honest truth."

"If not..." He paused. " Many things are possible; some are probable; and others, time must reveal."

Kendra nodded as she recognized the elven proverb.

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"What can I do to help?" Alana asked as she knelt down by Kendra's head.

"Ethan." Kendra whispered after a moment. "I don't want to interrupt his meeting with the Crown Prince, but I would feel better if he was here."

She glanced to where Sarah was, sitting in a nearby chair and saying nothing. As far as Kendra was aware, she hadn't said anything since the bathhouse. Thea and Ethan's other wives, and especially Alana and Tee, had stayed near her, but she clearly wasn't doing very well.

* * *

Ethan took a deep breath and stood, mentally kicking himself for not staying with Kendra and Sarah when they needed him. What had he been thinking? This could've waited a few hours.

"Take care of those wives." Prince George said as he also stood. "A good wife is worth more than gold, even gold to a dragon."

He nodded. "It's pretty amazing having just one good wife, but more than one is absolutely incredible, isn't it?"

Prince George didn't respond immediately, and he had a look on his face that Ethan couldn't place when he did reply. "A good wife is indeed a treasure."

Ethan couldn't help but notice that he'd said 'wife' singular. Come to think of it, Prince George had mentioned before that his wife -- again singular -- had made him promise to be careful when meeting with a potential necromancer.

Hmm.

Interesting.

"Take care Ethan, and may Illuminar guide you on the path of light as you travel."

"And you as well." Ethan replied and then left, wondering about the Crown Prince's marital situation.

Delabor was outside the room and began leading a pensive Ethan back to his quarters in the building near the palace. He replayed the events of the day in his mind during the walk, from Ahjah's audience with The King, to Ethan's own 'homily', to the ambush, Kendra's injury, Sarah covered in blood, the bathhouse, their new quarters, and the discussion with Prince George.

What a day.

Looking up at the sky, it looked like it was barely past noon. How had so little time passed? It didn't seem possible. He felt like he had aged ten years in the past few hours.

One of the Lightguard opened the door to the building housing their new quarters, and Ethan stopped as he was about to walk through.

"I just wanted to say thank you, all of you, for protecting me and my family." Ethan said.

"It is our honor, honored prophet." The Lightguard head bowed.

"I heard one of you didn't make it."

"It is true." The Lightguard elf replied.

"I'm so, so sorry." Ethan said with a heavy exhale; he just didn't have the words.

"That is appreciated, honored prophet, but you needn't be concerned." The Lightguard elf replied. "The King will ensure that his family is taken care of, and he himself has gone on to his eternal reward. He is enjoying the presence of Illuminar -- blessed be He -- at this very moment, and it is said that nothing in this world can remotely compare to such a joy."

Ethan nodded, completely unsure how to respond. There was a calm and settled confidence about the way the elf had spoken. He was speaking with the same certainty that Ethan would use to assert that the sun would rise tomorrow, or that wood elves cared about honor, or that his wives were wonderful.

"I wish I had your faith." Ethan admitted.

The elf smiled. "Illuminar -- blessed be He -- sometimes chooses the most unlikely men, or dragons, as prophets. The smallness of your faith will grow with time, the important thing to remember is that the God of Light does not make mistakes. Though your faith is little, His purposes will stand and come to the betterment of us all." Again, he spoke with the kind of calm, casual, settled certainty that Ethan would use when asserting that gravity existed.

"Not everyone." Ethan sighed. "Some didn't make it."

"Illuminar -- blessed be He -- did not create death." The elf replied. "When we sin, we become imperfect; and can any imperfect mortal being not decay and eventually die?"

Ethan frowned, never having thought of it that way.

"The God of Light does not promise that we shall never die." The elf continued. "He promises that when we do die, we shall be reborn and renewed to spend eternity in paradise. Thus, even if we die, we shall live again. Death is a door that we all must pass through, ever since Saidow tempted the first mortals. Illuminar did not inflict it upon mortals, but instead saves us from the natural result of sin, death, by giving us rebirth."

Ethan cocked his head to one side. "Huh."

"It will all be put right, whether in this life or the next." The Lightguard elf continued. "I will miss my comrade, but I look forward to reuniting with him in Illuminar's presence -- blessed be He."

"I realize this might sound strange coming from someone who's constantly called the 'prophet of Illuminar', but I kind of wish I had that hope." Ethan replied after a moment.

"You do have it, for it is promised to all who serve Illuminar." The elf replied.

Ethan half smiled, not sure what he thought of that. Obviously it would be stupid to deny that Illuminar existed at this point. However, Ethan wasn't sure he was sold. He wasn't really sure why, but he wasn't.

'What's your name?" Ethan asked after a moment.

"Halasses Hamellion, called Lightguard Captain." He bowed.

"You're the captain of the Lightguard?" Ethan asked, seeing no insignia that marked him as such; he was dressed like the rest of the Lightguard.

"I have that honor." The elf nodded. "We are small in number, thus, insignia is not needed to distinguish between us."

"Well, thank you." Ethan said. "Not just for protecting us, but for the talk as well."

"It was my honor, honored prophet." He head bowed.

Ethan walked through the door that the elf was holding open, feeling slightly better than he had a few minutes ago. He wasn't entirely sure why, but he did.

* * *

Fiona had spent most of the day considering Ethan's story, but it had taken her some time to realize that she didn't know why her husband was so sure that Ethan was a necromancer. She guessed that a small part of it was Rachel, but knowing him, that couldn't be all of it.

During Ethan's story, she also had heard Sarah recount what Lady Ekthros had told Sarah about the evidence against Ethan, but most of the evidence had been circumstantial and she knew there must be more to it. That's why she had come to the door of her husband's office on the Helene just after putting Conner down for his nap.

She knocked softly.

He glanced up, saw it was her through the large window in the upper half of the door, and motioned that she should enter.

She did, closing the door behind her. "Milord, I was hoping you could be telling me what evidence you're having against Ethan Ejder. You've been reluctant before, but I'm hoping you can be telling me now, especially since I was hearing Ethan's side of the story and it's making some sense."

He looked at her for a moment, then nodded and indicated a chair across from him. Fiona hesitated, wishing she could sit in his lap instead -- or even straddle his lap -- but didn't think that likely, so she sat down.

"In Arcanum, he apparently struck Kendra Arant with lighting, then apparently raised her from the dead without using necromancy." He began.

"Aye, I'm remembering that." She nodded.

"One must be in relatively close physical proximity to perform the life-draining spell necessary for a necromantic resurrection." He continued. "Since no other living being was near him in The Arena while he appeared to perform a resurrection, most assume that a necromantic resurrection was impossible. However, The Arena has an undercroft under The Arena's floor. There were several men working down in the undercroft at the time of the contest. While they could not see The Arena itself, they could hear the noise."

"Sure." Fiona nodded, remembering how loud she had heard it was.

"One of the workers was drained of his life force during the false prophet's time in The Arena." Lord Delmar said. "Using auditory cues unanimously agreed upon by the workmen, it appears that he was drained of his life force at the same time that the false prophet resurrected Kendra Arant."

"Oh." Fiona frowned.

"The workmen testified further that no one else was in the undercroft at that time." Lord Delmar added. "Thus, it would appear that the guilty party is obvious, since according to the testimony of half a dozen men in the undercroft, no one else was close enough to perform the spell."

Fiona slowly nodded. "I'm supposing that Lady Ekthros was discovering this?" She asked, having even less trust in her since hearing Ethan's story.

"No." Lord Delmar replied. "That day, one of the Ten Kingdom's most respected Arch Mages, Theo Melek, the court mage of Ivernia, was in The Arena watching." He paused. "Notably, Mage Melek reported this to Narlotten Intelligence long before the false prophet had any dealings with Ivernia, so there is no reason to suspect his testimony. He submitted a written affidavit testifying to this."

"And he was seeing this happen?" Fiona asked.

"Mage Melek sensed dark magic being used at the time the false prophet resurrected Kendra Arant and at approximately the same location, and thus he went to investigate; his abhorrence of dark magic is legendary. That is when he discovered the desiccated corpse in the undercroft that had been drained of its life force. Being the court mage of Ivernia and thus knowing that Narlotten was hunting the false prophet, he collected the names of the witnesses and contacted Lady Ekthros to inform her."

"Why hasn't anyone been hearing of this?" Fiona asked. "That's seeming like it would be important news."

"Magistrate Hagleth." Lord Delmar replied. "He suppressed the news to avoid disturbing the public; it was only Illuminar's providence that Mage Melek learned of this before the magistrate did."

Fiona nodded, that sounding very in-character for Magistrate Hagleth from the rumors she'd heard, and also from what Ethan and his wives had said while telling their story.

"Thus, we have many witnesses." Lord Delmar said. "A highly respected Arch Mage who sensed dark magic being used approximately where the false prophet was while Kendra Arant was being resurrected, the men working in the undercroft who saw their comrade desiccated by dark magic, and the fact that literally no one other than the false prophet was close enough to perform the necromantic resurrection spell. The case is clad in dragon steel."

"That's... I'm seeing how that's a compelling case." Fiona said, then frowned. "But, wasn't Lady Ekthros telling Sarah that Ethan killing and then raising Kendra was an illusion?"

"Indeed." Lord Delmar nodded. "I suspect that she was concerned about protecting the witnesses, which is why she offered an alternate explanation to Sarah." He paused. "I must insist that you keep this information to yourself, as I have concerns about the false prophet locating and murdering the workmen to eliminate the witnesses."

"I can be keeping it to myself." Fiona nodded, but her frown deepened as she thought about how Lady Ekthros had handled it. Regardless of the reason for lying, it seemed obvious that Lady Ekthros had lied to Sarah since she had known about Mage Melek's testimony. Fiona had a hard time believing that someone who could lie so casually and easily could be trustworthy.

"There is, of course, additional evidence." Lord Delmar said. "However, what I have just explained is strong enough evidence by itself. The rest is merely giving armor to a Drago."

Fiona nodded. "Then why isn't the Crown Prince being convinced?"

"That is an excellent question." Lord Delmar replied.

Fiona thought about that for a moment.

The more she thought about it, the more she realized that it boiled down to who you were willing to trust. She had heard enough stories about what living in Ivernia was like, especially from Sarah, to know that it wasn't a good place to live. If Theo Melek was the court mage in Ivernia, then she wasn't sure trusting him was a good idea.

Although, the workers under The Arena...

But then, had Lord Delmar actually talked with them? She was pretty sure not because it would take at least two weeks to sail to Arcanum and back, and he hadn't left Karnas for that long since she'd come to work at the castle. That means that he was trusting someone else who had interviewed them; Lady Ekthros?

But then, Lord Delmar had said that Mage Melek had submitted a written affidavit, so it couldn't only be Lady Ekthros.

"The evidence is dragon-steel clad." Lord Delmar reiterated. "That is why I pursue him so ardently."

Fiona nodded slowly. "Thank you for sharing that with me."

"You are welcome."

* * *

Ethan walked past two Lightguard stationed at the door and into the suite that he and his wives would be staying in for the foreseeable future. Now that things had slowed down a bit, he actually noticed how it was arranged.

The central living area was a large, square room with many pieces of exquisitely crafted furniture. The frames for everything were made of wood of course, and it was all covered with subtle, gorgeous carvings. The room itself was light, airy, and bright, partially because of the floor-to-ceiling window that dominated one of the walls. It looked out onto a garden with lush, green grass, many fruit trees, and several bushes that had been artfully shaped into various designs. There were a few doors in the central living area, presumably leading to the rest of the suite.

All of his wives were there, plus Thea and Ahjah.

Kendra was lying on a table and an elderly elf who nonetheless looked quite fit appeared to be examining her spine.

"Dominus!" Beth said when he walked in, and then she ran to give him a hug.

He gratefully accepted it, and his other wives made it a group hug, but Sarah and Kendra didn't move. Kendra for obvious reasons, but it didn't seem like a good sign that Sarah hadn't moved either. Still, he had five wives in his arms and hugged them tightly after the events of the day.

*Victoria says that she's on her way with the portal stones, Anthiel, and Thor.* Selene thought to the group chat.

*Good.* Ethan half-smiled, but he was looking at his two injured wives; one physically, one emotionally.

*Go take care of them; we'll be fine.* Alana suggested to him privately, then the group hug broke.

He hesitated between the two of them, but Kendra was looking at him with wide eyes while Sarah still hadn't looked up, so he approached his warrior wife and knelt down by her head so their eyes were level.

"Hey, I'm sorry I left; I should've stayed." He said softly.

"You wanted to protect us; I understand." She bit her lip.

He looked at the healer. "What's the prognosis doc?"

The healer raised an eyebrow at him, but spoke normally. "The next two days will tell the story. If she regains even partial sensation or movement in that time, it's likely that she'll make a full recovery."

Ethan tried not to react as he asked the obvious question. "And if she doesn't?"

"She still might recover, but probably not fully." The healer replied. He gathered a couple of things Ethan didn't recognize from the table and put them into a black leather bag. "If that does become the case, then perhaps the Prophet of Illuminar -- blessed be He -- could request a miracle from on high."

Ethan nodded and then looked at Kendra.

She looked miserable.

With the healer not able to see her face from his angle and Ethan mostly blocking the rest of the room from seeing her, she had let her mask slip somewhat. Her eyes were watery, her lip quivered, and her breath occasionally caught.

"Hey, it'll be okay." He said softly, then reached up and brushed some hair off her face.

"But what if it isn't?" She whispered back.

"Wild Child, Golden Tongue." The healer said to Thea and Ahjah. "It would, perhaps, be best to give the family some space for this."

Ahjah nodded, but when Thea made to stand up, Sarah caught her arm.

"Please don't go." Sarah whispered in an almost pleading tone.

*That's the first time she's said anything since the bathhouse.* Alana thought to him.

"Thea, you're welcome to stay." Ethan said.

"I shall be outside." Ahjah said, bowed slightly, then left the suite with the healer.

Kendra looked at Thea for a moment, then apparently decided that she was close enough to family to let her mask fall. "I couldn't protect them." Kendra said softly, her voice cracking. "I was lying useless on the ground and--"

"You weren't useless." Alana interrupted.

"Far from it." Selene agreed.

"You rallied us and organized us so we could defend ourselves." Rachel spoke up. "Without you, things would have gone very differently."

"General Kendra." Ethan teased, hoping to lighten her mood. He even gave her a mock salute.

Kendra looked perhaps a whole ounce less miserable for less than a second. "But if I can't fight, I'm useless to you and--"

"No, you aren't." Ethan cut her off, his tone stern. "Don't ever think that."

"But it's true, I--"

"No, it's not." He said, adding a stern look. "I don't love you because you're 'useful', I love you for who you are."

"I know, but..." She swallowed. "...but I will feel useless if I can't help. I know you hate when I say this, but I owe you so much and if I can't help, I'll never be able to repay..." She trailed off, probably at the look on his face.

Ethan slowly shook his head. "You still worry about that?"

She bit her lip, then nodded.

"Um." Sarah said quietly. "When your life has been hard and someone rescues you from it, um, you tend to worry that you might do something, or not do something, and he... um, you worry that he might have wished he hadn't rescued you."

Kendra bit her lip, then nodded.

"Ah." Ethan said as the lightbulb went on. He nodded slowly, then looked around and spied a loveseat that was just large enough that he could fit the two of them on it with him. He picked Kendra up -- she didn't protest -- and then sat down in the middle of the loveseat and managed to seat Kendra next to him.

"Sarah, come here." He said.

His betrothed hesitated, not meeting his eye.

Thea rolled her eyes and tugged her friend to her feet and over to Ethan, though Sarah didn't protest. She sat down next to him, not saying anything.

He put his arms around both and pulled them closer. "Ladies, I have good news and bad news."

Both looked at him and visibly stiffened.

"You're both stuck with me." He said, paused for dramatic effect, then added: "That's both the good and bad news."

They both relaxed, and even cracked tiny smiles.

"At the end of the day, I'm not letting go of you; either of you." He said, a bit more seriously. "At the risk of sounding possessive, you're both mine and I'm never letting go of either of you."

Sarah's tiny smile got a touch wider. "Um, I don't mind if you're possessive."

Kendra nodded. "I like it."

"Good." He said. "And even if you didn't believe me, you know that the women I bond to become like gold to me, right? They help me get more mana?"

They nodded.

"Really?" Thea's jaw dropped, as they hadn't shared that with anyone in their various tellings of their story for the obvious reason that they didn't want that information getting out.

"Yes." Alana replied. "I'll explain later, but please keep that a secret; we don't want any other dragons learning about it."

Thea nodded

"And do you think it's likely that a dragon would let go of his golden girls?" Ethan asked Sarah and Kendra.

Both shook their heads.

"Kendra, I shared a piece of my soul with you; and Sarah, I'm planning to do the same with you." He continued. "You're both stuck with me. Period. I don't ever want to let you two go." He looked at Kendra seriously. "That includes if you're injured and can't walk, or hell, even if you lost both your legs and both your arms and I had to carry you everywhere and spoon feed you."

Kendra frowned.

"Didn't our vows contain a bit where I promised to 'keep and provide' for you all of your days?" He asked.

She nodded.

"Do you think I'd lie?"

She shook her head. "No."

"On Earth, there's a bit about 'in sickness and in health'." He continued. "That's what marriage is supposed to be. And if you think I'm going to take off just because you got hurt, then frankly, I'm a bit offended." He wasn't really offended, but wanted to drive the point home. "Do you really think that little of me?"

Kendra cocked her head to one side slightly.

"Do you think I would abandon Alana -- or any of my other wives -- because they got hurt?" Ethan asked.

"I hadn't thought of it like that." Kendra admitted. "No, I know you wouldn't." She hesitated a moment, then nodded. She looked slightly better. It was subtle, but definitely there.

He turned to Sarah. "Look, I know that your demon causes a lot of problems. I don't deny that. I also won't deny that I'm a little disappointed in you that the reason we can't get rid of it is because there's a part of you that doesn't want it to leave."

Sarah visibly deflated.

"Sarah, look at me." He said softly.

She hesitated a moment, but did.

"But I also know that you want to protect other people, and I completely understand that." He continued. "One day, we'll get rid of the demon, and I'm looking forward to that. But if we hadn't already promised The Queen that she could be involved in our wedding, and that we'd do a double wedding with Thea and Ahjah, I'd marry you right this moment just to prove to you that I do in fact want to marry you."

"Really?" She asked.

He nodded. "If you want, we can talk to The King and The Queen and get married as soon as they can get a luminar here." He hesitated. "You won't be able to have Fiona or Amy at the wedding if we do, obviously, but yes, I definitely still want to marry you."

"Okay." She smiled at him. It wasn't a large smile, but it was a smile. "I want to wait, but I appreciate that."

"You're both stuck with me." He summarized. "Which, as I said before, is both good news and bad news." He winked.

They both smiled.

Only a moment later, Ethan's ears perked up as he heard the distinct sound of Thor yowling coming from the hallway.

"Victoria is here." Selene chuckled.

"And Thor is missing you." Alana chuckled.

"My guardian arranged for the Argo's other crew to have adjoining suites." Thea spoke up, looking at Ethan and his wives. "He thought you would want to have your own." She looked at Sarah. "Yours is just across the hall."

Sarah nodded.

Selene went and opened the door as the yowling got louder.

"Ow!" Victoria hissed.

Then Ethan heard a soft 'thud' -- probably Thor landing -- and then the unmistakable sound of cat claws trying to gain purchase on a wooden floor. The kitten came tearing into the room, though his momentum carried him forward as he tried to turn and he ended up crashing into the door. That clearly didn't faze him in the slightest though because he made another mad scramble for Selene, who scooped him up.

"I'm okay." The caramel-haired beauty cooed as the kitten seemed to make it his personal mission to rub his face on every inch of Selene that he could reach. After ten seconds of this, he suddenly started pushing away from her, so she set him down.

Thor then ran around to everyone in the room except Thea -- the only one not involved in the ambush -- and started intently sniffing them.

"Your kitten hates me." Victoria came around the corner, her arms having a couple of extremely recent scratches deep enough that they were bleeding slightly.

"He definitely doesn't." Selene replied as Tee flew over to heal the platinum blonde while Thor continued to sniff everyone in the room.

"He's making sure we're all okay." Sarah said.

It certainly seemed like it.

Thor examined Alana, Beth, Tee, and Rachel before making his way to the loveseat on which Ethan, Kendra, and Sarah were sitting. He reached Ethan first, but moved on to Sarah after only a sniff or two. He sniffed Sarah's feet, then sat down and looked up at her.

"Hi Thor." Sarah said.

The kitten jumped up onto her lap and started sniffing, then rubbed his face up against her several times, which made both Ethan and Sarah smile. Thor then started purring and kneading his paws on Sarah's dress, which had Sarah grinning and almost tearing up in happiness very quickly.

Once Sarah was grinning fully, Thor walked across Ethan's lap toward Kendra, but stopped as he touched her legs. He lowered his nose to sniff her leg, then sat down on Ethan's leg and meowed.

"I know, I don't like it either." Kendra said as she petted the kitten.

Thor then proceeded to sniff Kendra's leg, then sat back and opened his mouth. Ethan knew cats did that to help them smell the air better, but it really did look like Thor was shocked beyond all words. Then he shook his head and started sniffing again. He walked all over Kendra's lap sniffing and occasionally looking at her.

"I can't feel it." She said, her tone only mostly controlled.

Thor went back to sniffing, eventually half-climbing, half-falling down Kendra's legs. Once he'd caught himself and was firmly on his feet on the floor, he started intently sniffing her toes; her shoes had been removed while the healer was examining her.

He checked all of her toes one by one until he finally came to the toe next to the pinkie toe on her left foot. This one he sniffed intently twice as long as the others, then sat down and looked at Kendra expectantly.

"I can't feel it, sorry." Kendra said.

Thor meowed loudly, and it had a distinctly negative sound to it.

"I can't." Kendra repeated.

Thor took a step forward and started licking that specific toe with his rough, sandpaper-like tongue.

"I, I can feel that!" Kendra's eyes went wide. "Barely, but I can."

Ethan was pretty sure the shouts of joy could be heard in the next lorddom over.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Note: This chapter began and ended on day 137 of Ethan's life in the Ten Kingdoms.

NOTE: My health has slightly improved. :) I'm still looking a move in the next few months, so again, I might need to skip a month sometime soon. Not yet sure when though. The next chapter will be submitted on a last Wednesday of the month, hopefully October 29, but again I'm not 100% sure. Again, they usually drop after a 2-3 day review process, so it'll probably be the Friday or Saturday after. Again, hopefully October 31st or November 1st, but I'm not sure.

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

STORY TAGS: dragon, magic, elf, teen, romance, virgin, harem, blonde, brunette, redhead