Chapter 82: Free

* * *

Ethan stared at Sarah for a moment as she clung to him like her life depended on it. He was torn between wanting to jump for joy and cradling his betrothed because of how she looked. She only ever looked like that after her demon had come out and she'd done something truly awful under its influence.

"What happened?" He asked, sure that her demon must've done something, but not seeing how that was possible since there hadn't been any disruptions to the ball.

She looked up at him, her eyes wide and fearful and her lips quivering. "I-I don't want to become Lady Ekthros."

"Become Lady Ekth... Huh?"

Then she told him, or at least summarized what Lady Ekthros had said.

"Ah, gotcha." Ethan nodded slowly. It seemed like a very strange thing for their bitter enemy to say, but he decided not to point that out. Sarah wanted the demon gone, and he wasn't going to do anything that might jeopardize that. "We were planning to head back to the suite soon anyway, so I'll try to cut that mother fucker up as soon as we get back."

"But what about the--" She stopped. "Thea uses an elven word, but I don't remember what it was. It's like a smaller, more intimate party after the ball?"

"Uh, I didn't know about that..." Ethan frowned.

"I would hate to miss it, since she invited almost no one." Sarah explained, then let go of him and started wiping her eyes. "She said she wanted us there, and Ahjah of course, and The King and Queen, and her sister Sarisa, and maybe a few others." She sniffled, clearly trying to clean herself up. "We have to go; I think it would be a huge insult not to go."

"Give me a second." He nodded slowly, then relayed that to the group chat.

*Oh, I didn't realize she was having one.* Alana replied. *It isn't always done, and I figured she would've told us before the party if we were invited.*

*Thea apparently told Sarah, but I'm guessing she's been a little preoccupied and forgot to pass the message along.* Ethan replied.

*Master, is Sarah okay?* Tee asked. *It looks like she just got done crying from here.*

*She's better than okay, sort of.* Ethan replied, then gave them a 10-second summary of what had happened.

Tee's face lit up like Christmas morning.

*We might be able to leave the party, eliminate the demon, then return.* Kendra suggested.

*No, that's a bad idea.* Alana replied. *Quite beside the fact that we don't know how it will go or how long it might take, leaving right now would be a bad idea. If we told Thea what we were doing, and you know she'd ask why we're leaving early, it would hijack the night for her.*

*We can try right after the party is over.* Rachel suggested. *Assuming we're all awake enough.*

*That's probably the best plan.* Ethan replied, then told Sarah, who was starting to look presentable.

*We could help Sarah clean up.* Beth suggested, after which all of his wives hurried over.

Once they were there, Ethan was treated to a stellar example of his wives at their very best. They were consoling, caring, and fussed over her until it was almost impossible to tell that she'd been crying. It was wonderful to see, and it did Ethan's heart good.

* * *

Fiona lay in bed, unfortunately wide awake. She had tried to fall asleep, but no matter how long she tried, her body wouldn't let sleep come. She was even snuggled up against her husband and that wasn't helping like it usually did. Her encounter with Ethan and his wives at Thea's coming-of-age ball earlier that evening was still fresh in her mind, plus their apology, and that probably had something to do with it.

Regardless, she just couldn't sleep.

Even Conner was asleep, and for once hadn't fought it so hard. She had been looking forward to a long, full night's sleep. But no, insomnia seemed to be the order of the night.

She sighed.

"Illuminar, I would love to be sleeping if you could be helping me." She whispered the prayer.

After another few minutes in which sleep remained elusive, it occurred to her to take a stroll on the Helene's deck, and that maybe some fresh air would do her good. She wasn't sure why that would help, but didn't have anything else to do so she got up, slipped a dress on -- for some reason, she always woke up naked when her husband slept next to her -- added a robe over top of her dress since it was early autumn and could be slightly chilly at night, and got up.

"I'm just taking a walk milord." She said to her husband, who was still sleeping. Still, experience had taught her that he would definitely wake up if she left the room without saying something, even while he was sleeping.

It was a beautiful night.

There were only a few clouds in the sky, the moon was shining, and on the docks nearby -- since Lord Delmar insisted on remaining on the Helene instead of taking quarters offered by The King -- the soft light of many lanterns gave the docks a warm glow. Unlike most docks, the wood elven dock never had drunk sailors, even at midnight, and she appreciated that.

She climbed the stairs up to the quarterdeck, then stopped when she saw who else was there.

Lady Ekthros.

She was standing at the rear of the quarterdeck, leaning on the railing and looking out across the dock, though Fiona got the impression she wasn't looking at anything in particular.

"The road less traveled." Lady Ekthros said after several long moments in which Fiona had hesitated, trying to decide if she should find another place to be.

"Begging your pardon?" Fiona asked.

Lady Ekthros glanced at her, then looked back out across the dock. Something about her expression was off though. She was clearly lost in thought, and she seemed less... severe than she usually did.

"You were wondering what I was doing up here in the middle of the night." Lady Ekthros said. "I was thinking about an old poem from my home." Her tone was pensive.

For perhaps the first time, Fiona got the distinct impression that Lady Ekthros needed someone to talk to. Or maybe just someone to stand there while she talked; someone to listen. Fiona fought an internal war with herself for a moment before walking to the railing near-ish to the other woman.

"What poem?" Fiona asked.

"It's called: 'The Road Not Taken." Lady Ekthros replied. "But most know it as 'The Road Less Traveled', which is ironic." She got a small smile on her face for a moment. "A traveler comes upon two paths, and one path looks well-worn and the other maybe less so, but the last line of the second stanza makes it clear that both roads are equally worn. He picks the one that seems less worn at first glance, then finishes by saying that he'd taken the road less traveled, and that made all the difference."

"Okay." Fiona said, not really knowing where this was going.

"I think the poem is actually about confirmation bias." Lady Ekthros mused as she looked pensively out across the docks. "The paths were worn the same, but he rationalized that he did the better thing by taking the one that appeared less traveled at first glance, even though he also noted that they were worn the same. He wanted to take both paths, but once he'd made his choice, he rationalized that he'd made the right one even though he had no reason to think that. I think that's how he lived with his choice to not take the road that maybe he should have taken."

Fiona smiled slightly as she realized what might be going through the woman's head. "I'm sorry, I was never hearing the poem so I'm not sure I can be offering an opinion."

"That's fine, I'm just thinking out loud." Lady Ekthros shrugged. "I spent too much time outside in the sun today, and that always makes me like this."

"It does?" Fiona asked.

She nodded. "I try to avoid it for that reason, because I get more..." She didn't finish the thought, but something about her did seem different. She seemed less... less austere. She seemed softer, kinder, and more -- for lack of a better word -- human.

"I had a long meeting planned with a human delegation." She continued. "It was supposed to be indoors, but one of the servants--" She frowned. "--I can't remember her name, I think it started with 'g', maybe 'ga'? Ga... Ga..." She shrugged. "I can't remember. Anyway, she suggested that we have the meeting outdoors instead, so I spent most of the day in the sun." She made a thoughtful sound. "That's usually a bad idea. I'll be back to normal in the morning, but for tonight..."

Fiona couldn't understand why spending time in the sun would have such a dramatic effect. In fact, the sun was supposed to be very good for everyone, except necromancers of course, because sunlight had a repressive effect on dark mana, but obviously that wouldn't apply to Lady Ekthros. So why?

"Well, for what it's worth, I'm liking this side of you." Fiona said after a moment.

Lady Ekthros got another partial smile that then faded. "You care about everyone, don't you." It wasn't a question.

"I'm trying." Fiona replied, smiling slightly at the compliment.

Lady Ekthros nodded slowly. "You mother everyone, and Narlotten needs that. It has a father in Lord Delmar, but he can be a bit strict. Narlotten needs a mother as well, and I think you will excel in that role."

"Thank you." Fiona replied, smiling slightly herself.

"I'm glad that Mage Weston discovered the will-breaker ring." She said after a moment, again sounding pensive.

"I'm glad too." Fiona replied.

Silence fell for a minute or two after that, and oddly, it wasn't awkward.

"Was there a road you were wishing you had taken?" Fiona eventually asked.

Lady Ekthros got a painful smile on her face. "My magic instructor -- Theo Melek, who's now the court mage of Ivernia -- was fond of saying: 'What's done is done; there's no use wishing you could change it, so it's best to make peace with your circumstances'."

"Well, I'm not meaning to disagree with Mage Melek, but that's sounding like bad advice." Fiona replied. "Aye, you can't be changing the past and need to be accepting that, but you can be working to improve the future or fix the damage from past mistakes."

Lady Ekthros lowered her hand to rest it on her stomach, and it seemed like a subconscious thing. "Sometimes, that's not possible."

Fiona eyed the hand, a suspicion arising in her mind.

"I should get to bed." Lady Ekthros stood up straight, and her mannerisms returned to something a little more normal for her. She then spoke in a slightly more formal tone. "Good night, Lady Delmar."

"Good night." Fiona replied.

Lady Ekthros turned and left the quarterdeck.

Fiona frowned after her for a moment, guessing at what had happened but not sure. It had certainly given her a lot to think on. She returned to bed not long afterward and fell to sleep almost immediately, curiosity about Lady Ekthros's past on her mind.

* * *

Ethan yawned as he and his wives made their way slowly back to their suite. That of course set off echoing yawns in his wives, or at least the ones who weren't already yawning.

"What time is it?" Beth mumbled as she nearly sleepwalked.

"Past midnight." Kendra replied.

"Way past." Selene said, then yawned. "I'll bet it's two or three in the morning."

The 'afterparty' had been glorious fun, but in a very down-to-earth sort of way. It had been a small group consisting of Ethan and his wives, Thea and Ahjah, Thea's sister Sarisa, The King, The Queen, and the other members of the second group chat with their significant others, so Myla and Falkaan, plus Victoria and Colonel Forsythe.

It hadn't really occurred to Ethan before, but the fact that Selene, Myla, Victoria, and Thea shared a second telepathic group chat meant that they would probably end up getting pretty close to each other. Judging by who was at this small party after the ball, that seemed to be the case.

Everyone had been pretty awake as they talked, snacked, and generally hung out. However, it seemed like everyone's steam was running out now that they were heading back. They reached the building and headed to their suites, stopping outside of Ethan's suite, since Sarah's was right across the hall.

"It's time to take care of Sarah's demon." Taloni said brightly, then yawned again.

"I don't think that's a good idea right now." Ethan replied as he tried and then failed to stifle a mirroring yawn. "I'm beat, and that's not a problem I want to tackle while I'm struggling to keep my eyes open."

"Master, I think we should take care of that tonight." Tee replied with conviction.

"Ethan is right." Kendra said. "It's best not to fight a powerful enemy while you're exhausted."

"Yeah, remember the fight at Dotmier." Selene pointed out. "I'd hate to think how that would've gone if we were all wiped."

"I think it's a bad idea to wait." Taloni insisted.

Ethan looked at Sarah. "You'll still want it gone in the morning?"

She nodded vigorously. Oddly, she had been both more talkative and less, taking it in turns. He guessed that she was still feeling awful after what Lady Ekthros had said, but also somewhat more cheerful that her demon would be gone soon.

"Then we'll do it first thing tomorrow." Ethan said.

Everyone nodded except Taloni, who frowned.

"Master, I think that's a really bad idea." She said again.

He looked at her for a long moment. "Is this one of your: 'you-know-that-you-know' kind of things, or more like a strong opinion?"

"It..." She hesitated. "It's the second one Master." He found himself wondering if even Taloni had been tempted to fib.

"Okay, then we'll do it first thing in the morning; I'm just too tired right now." Ethan replied.

Taloni's frown deepened, but she nodded.

* * *

Sarah looked around, confused at the sight in front of her. She was in her suite in Nalatia, but her room from her father's inn had somehow merged into the suite, and it also seemed like part of the room had morphed into the captain's cabin on the Argo. There was also a wonderful portrait of her mother on the wall that certainly had never existed, so was she dreaming?

She hopped off the massive bed -- the one from the captain's cabin on the Argo -- and looked around again. There were birds singing outside in the morning sun on one side, but also the moon shining in through another window.

Definitely a dream.

She frowned; she almost never remembered her dreams. When she did, it was usually a memory of something she'd done while under her demon's influence and she woke up with a start. This wasn't that.

"I thought you might be comfortable in someplace like this." A voice said from somewhere nearby. It was a masculine voice, but something about it didn't sound strictly human. It did sound kind though.

"Who's there?" Sarah asked.

"I will show myself, but please let me explain before you react." The voice replied, and it sounded unsure, almost scared.

"Okay?" Sarah said, not sure what was going on at all.

"Look to the door." The voice said, and she did.

The door opened and she saw...

Huh.

The figure that was revealed was the strangest thing she'd ever seen. It was all one solid color, and it looked like it should've been the deepest, darkest black that she had ever seen, but it wasn't. Instead, it was a dark gray, perhaps a little lighter than Lady Ekthros's eyes.

It was roughly human in form, and larger than she was, but not a lot larger; maybe six inches. Its arms were too long to be human, and its fingers were also long and sharply pointed, almost like claws that were a part of its fingers. With the longer arms and long claws, the claws ended at about its knees.

"You're my demon." Sarah said, and oddly, she didn't feel scared. She felt like she should've, but she didn't.

"I am." It nodded.

"What do you want?" Sarah asked, thinking that there's no way this could be a good thing. Although, it's color...

"You see my color, do you know what it means?" The gray demon asked.

Sarah hesitated a moment, then nodded. "Or, at least I can guess."

"May I sit?" The demon asked, pointing to a chair.

Sarah nodded.

The demon sat down, but it seemed oddly uncomfortable doing so. It was almost like it -- or he? The voice sounded male -- had never sat down before and was trying it for the first time.

"This is my first time being in the mortal world." The demon said, then added. "When you agreed to host me, I mean."

"Oh." Sarah didn't know what to say to that, or really what to do either. She was standing, but that felt awkward for some reason so she sat down in a nearby chair. Only after she'd sat down did she realize that it was a replica of her mother's rocking chair.

"I am a very weak demon." It, or he, continued. "I always tried to come to the mortal world, but stronger demons always prevented me. The day we met, something held those other demons back, but it didn't hold me back."

Sarah nodded slowly, remembering that Gabriella had told her that Illuminar had prevented a stronger demon from possessing her.

"I didn't understand why." The demon continued. "I did what we demons do and tried to ruin your life. But then, something interesting happened."

"What?" Sarah asked. This was the strangest conversation she'd ever had.

"I'm sure you remember Selene saying that both angels and demons have perfect memories." He explained. "That's why we always perfectly remember why we made a decision, and so don't change it unless we learn something genuinely new."

Sarah nodded. "Um, Selene said it was like math, where no matter how many times you add 2 plus 2, it's always 4. And that your decisions are like that, always the same unless someone adds a number."

"Yes, exactly." The demon said, and it seemed slightly excited that she had understood so quickly. "This is my first time being in the mortal plane, and while here, I did see something new; something I didn't know existed."

"What did you see?' Sarah asked, the strangeness of this conversation not lost on her.

The demon leaned forward slightly. "Love."

She couldn't help but smile.

"Specifically, the love that you, the prophet, and the prophet's other wives all share." The demon continued. "I found myself fascinated by this, and as I became so, I felt myself change." He raised his dark gray arms and looked at them.

It was odd, but the way that Ethan and Beth had described demons before was a perfect blackness, like looking into a deep, dark hole. Yet despite this, both Ethan and Beth said that you could 'see' an expression anyway. This demon wasn't quite like that; it was a dark-ish medium gray, and Sarah could see his facial features, though they were hard to see because they partially blended into the rest of his face.

"I don't know if you noticed, but I've been trying to be less disruptive lately." The demon continued.

"You have?" Sarah asked.

He nodded. "I came out to help against Kyrupto, and when you were ambushed in Nalatia to protect you, but otherwise I've stayed bottled up, even when you were scared. When you met Grobozlesh for example."

Sarah cocked her head to one side.

It was true.

Honestly, she had been a little surprised when her demon hadn't come out upon meeting the orc.

"I have been trying to do better." The gray demon explained. "If you hadn't talked to Lady Ekthros last night, you would've found that I would've only come out when you needed me, and never when it might've hurt you or someone you love." He got a strange sort of smile on his face. "Love; such a strange concept, but... well, I like it."

Sarah couldn't help but smile; she liked it too. "So, you weren't going to make my life miserable anymore?"

The gray demon got up and started slowly pacing. "I was going to remain inside you and simply observe, only helping when needed. But Lady Ekthros changed that. I understand that you want me gone, so I appeared to you so I could make a simple plea." He got down on his knees, and there was a hint of desperation in his tone. "Please don't send me back. I can help, I can change, I can get better. Just please, don't send me back."

* * *

"My lord The King?"

The King opened his eyes and yawned, once again internally lamenting the necessity for him to be available even in the middle of the night -- or in the early pre-dawn hours as it was now -- as his position required. He glanced over at his sleeping wife, The Queen. Her beauty never failed to bring a smile to his lips, and her personality never failed to lift his spirits.

"Approach." The King said after ensuring that his wife was fully covered, even though she was clothed.

"My King." Delabor bowed after entering, then spoke. "I have learned something concerning the allegations that your ward made, that Nakhim Nalfigar might wish to interfere with the Conclave's decision in regards to the matter of whether a shamed person's honor can be restored. I wish to confirm if I have heard rightly, might I do so my king?"

The King smiled slightly, the ancient tradition of never giving information to The King of the wood elves in any method other than a question on his mind. "Delabor, it is a strange thing that many fathers ask questions of their children, even when the father knows the answer, and yet we say that The King--" He paused, since the elven word for "king" literally meant 'highest father'. "--and the Father above even The King, Illuminar Himself -- blessed be He -- are apparently denied that convention, universally widespread though it is."

"It is indeed strange." Delabor head bowed.

"In ancient elvish, which words form a question is a matter of context." The King continued, his recently-roused brain mulling it over. "There are many outside the wood elven realm who insist that the God of Light does ask questions, yet we do not say so." He made a thoughtful sound as he considered this. "That too is strange."

"It is indeed strange, my king." Delabor head bowed. "Perhaps the Prophet might address such things?"

"He has said that he would, though, given the large number of acorns in his seed bag, he might have forgotten this particular one."

"That would be unfortunate my king." The herald replied. "Perhaps, if The King commands it, I could subtly remind him?"

The King nodded. "You had something else to say."

"Yes my king." Delabor bowed, then spoke. "I have learned that Nakhim Nalfigar has indeed sent messengers to many of the most senior luminars who owe him some allegiance, and those luminars have begun to discuss with those who esteem them. There is no evidence of any method of persuasion other than words concerning the Book of Light. Their argument chiefly concerns the use of the Sepo Cycle as evidence, that a book written by a Nesteri about himself and his exploits is a poor place on which to establish doctrine." The herald paused. "Is that correct my king?"

The King nodded slowly. "It is not a king's place to interfere in matters of doctrine, for doctrine is in the purview of the luminars, as ruling is in the purview of The King. However..." He thought about it for a moment. "Inform Plesius of this, as he should be made aware of such things happening inside the Conclave." The King smiled. "If he isn't already."

"Yes, my king." Delabor bowed.

"Additionally, it would be wise for you to mention giving the prophet or his young friend, Matthew, a chance to address this before the Conclave makes their final decision." The King said. "Do not volunteer that the idea was mine, nor reveal it if asked a direct question, in which case decline to reveal the source of the suggestion; it would not do to put the High Priest in a position where he would need to consider ignoring a request from The King."

"You are wise, my king." Delabor head bowed.

The King knew his herald well enough to see that something had occurred to him. "Speak your mind, Delabor."

"If The King could ask a question, it would be highly significant what that question was, as it would be the first question asked by a king of the wood elves in recorded history."

"Insightful as ever, my faithful herald." The King again nodded slowly. He had considered that before of course, but hadn't come up with a satisfactory answer yet.

"You do me great honor, my king." Delabor bowed.

"One of your granddaughters comes of age in less than a year." The King said, deciding to reward his faithful herald's service.

"She does my king." Delabor replied.

"Should she wish, I believe The Queen would be overjoyed to assist in the planning and execution of the celebration."

Delabor's eyes widened slightly, he blinked, then bowed low. "You are too generous my king."

"No, perhaps not generous enough." The King replied with a smile. "Now, I must rest; have your granddaughter contact The Queen here at the palace should she wish to involve her."

"I will my king." Delabor bowed, thanked him profusely several more times, then left.

"That was extraordinarily generous." The Queen said sleepily. "His family will be greatly elevated because of that, and you know how much I love to plan such things."

"I do." He leaned over and kissed her forehead.

"There is another thing that I love, and we will both return to sleep more quickly and sleep more soundly when we are finished..." She said, the tiniest hint of a purr in her voice.

As always, his wife never failed to make him smile.

* * *

Ethan slowly returned to the waking world and became aware that there was a warm weight on his chest and a lot of heat around his...

He grinned.

Without opening his eyes, he lifted his hands and felt soft, warm, smooth feminine skin. Let's see, it wasn't toned enough for Kendra or Selene, it wasn't Taloni because she didn't have wings, it wasn't Rachel because the breasts pressed against his chest weren't large enough, so it was Beth or Alana. He raised his hand and gave the woman on top of him a playful smack on the butt, and the feel told him.

"Morning Angel." He said, opening his eyes to see her pale blue eyes looking into his with an impish smile.

"I want to have your baby." She said, continuing to rock her hips around his cock. Damn, she felt amazing.

"I want that too, but there's that little problem of war, and I don't want you to miscarry because we're fighting a war."

"I'm never in danger." She said, adding a twisting motion of her hips, gyrating them around to send the most delightful sensations into his cock. "Thus, there wouldn't be any danger to our baby."

He smiled, then slid his hand along her body on the way to her face. She sighed and quivered slightly as he did so, then he caressed her cheek. "You're forgetting the attack at Dotmier; the possessed man was able to hurt you."

"Oh." She stopped and her face fell. "But... but..." She groaned in frustration, and not the good kind either.

"She's almost certainly ovulating." Selene said from nearby. "I don't know about anyone else, but I get much hornier when I'm fertile. It's nature's way of making sure that we get knocked up by our big, strong, handsome--" She paused dramatically. "Well, big and strong husband anyway." She winked.

Everyone chuckled.

He looked at her, good-natured malice in his eyes. "No orgasms for a week, and you are required to edge for fifteen minutes every day."

Selene's jaw dropped. "What!? But you can't--"

"Edge twice a day." He interrupted.

That shut her up.

Of course, he instantly saw her entire upper body grow slightly redder as her nipples became rock hard and she bit her lip.

"You could be more subtle about how much that turns you on." Beth laughed. Feeling a woman laugh while you were inside of her was always an incredibly weird sensation.

Selene opened her mouth, probably to retort, but she glanced at Ethan first.

He winked at her, then looked at Beth. "I would love nothing more than to spend the rest of the morning making a baby with you, and then everyone else."

There was a collective sigh from his wives.

"But you can't." Rachel said. "It's too dangerous, so instead we'll need to make do with practicing and looking forward to when we can do it for real."

"Fine." Beth flopped down on him, his cock still inside of her. "But can I be next?"

"Actually..." Selene said. "I have a thought about who should be next, and no it's not me."

"Who?" Ethan asked.

"Well--" Selene began, then stopped as they heard a knock on their door.

"Who is it?" Ethan asked.

"It's Sarah." Her voice sounded somewhat urgent.

Beth sighed, slipped off of him, then whispered. "Sorry."

"We'll finish later." He whispered to Beth, who nodded, then looked at the door and spoke loudly enough that Sarah could hear him through it. "What's wrong?"

"Um, something happened last night and I need to tell you about it." Sarah said, her voice more urgent and more insistent.

"Hang on, let us get dressed." Ethan replied. He had promised to take care of her demon first thing the next day, but her tone made him think that something else was going on.

* * *

Selene resisted the urge to frown as Sarah finished recounting her dream the previous night. They were all fully dressed, unfortunately, and in the living room with Sarah.

Ethan took a deep breath and let it out slowly, his eyes fixed on Sarah the whole time and he rubbed his chin. After a moment, he looked around at his wives. "Thoughts?"

"The timing seems convenient." Alana said. "The demon is hours away from being forcibly expelled, and that's when it decides to show up saying it had a change of heart?" Her tone spoke volumes; it wouldn't have been out of place on a mother saying "You didn't eat the chocolate?" when faced with a toddler whose hands and face were covered in chocolate.

"Agreed." Kendra said simply.

"Me too." Selene said. "This sounds like a cornered animal who knows the end is near, so it's doing a Hail Mary."

Everyone except for Ethan looked at her, all clearly confused.

"A 'Hail Mary' is a last desperate gamble with a low chance of success." Selene explained after she realized why they were confused. "Do we just use more idioms on Earth than they do here? You all use some occasionally, but I feel like Ethan and I are constantly explaining them."

"Maybe?" Rachel replied. "Certain cultures use more or less of them. The dwarves rarely use them because they prefer more precise language."

"Oh, that makes sense for some reason." Selene nodded.

"Anyway, Sarah's demon." Kendra said.

"Master, it's a demon." Taloni spoke up. "They are enemies of Illuminar, and I think it was just trying to stop you from killing it."

"But didn't Gabriella say that a demon could change its mind if it saw something new?" Beth asked. "Maybe it really did see something new."

"Do you really think that a being who has existed since before the stars and planets hasn't seen love before?" Selene asked. "Seriously, this demon would be absurdly old. I think what we have is pretty special--" She indicated everyone in their family. "--but there's no way he hasn't seen something at least similar before."

"But if he had never been to the Ten Kingdoms before, maybe he did?" Beth countered.

"And do you really think that a demon has never been here before?" Selene asked.

"Allow me to play devil's advocate." Rachel spoke up, then got a small smile. "Quite literally I suppose. Anyway, it's entirely possible that Sarah's demon -- if it is as weak as it says -- was kept away from any real contact with humans, and was occupied with more servile work." She paused. "That said, I also think it's too convenient and don't think it's telling the truth. Maybe part of the truth, maybe, but definitely not all of it."

"Illuminar is loving." Taloni said firmly and without a trace of doubt. "It's the most important part of who He is, so the demon would have seen love before. It's lying."

"But it wasn't black." Beth pointed out. "Think about Lady Ekthros and her eyes; maybe that means the demon is partially good, or at least trying not to be all bad."

"It was a dream." Kendra replied. "The demon indicated that it had at least some control over the dream when it insinuated that it had picked the location. If it can control the dream, or even merely influence it, then the color could be an intentional deception."

Beth frowned.

"You could easily check." Selene pointed out. "Hop onto the Astral Plane and see what that aura around Sarah looks like. If it's the same pitch black color as you and Ethan have always described, that means the demon is lying. If it's dark gray, then it might be telling the truth."

"I will." The blonde exclaimed, then flopped back onto the couch she was sitting on and closed her eyes. About a minute later, she opened her eyes and sat up with a frown on her face.

"And?" Selene asked, pretty sure about the answer just from looking at the blonde's face.

Beth clenched her jaw and huffed. "It was black."

"Black?" Sarah asked hesitantly. "Are you sure?"

Beth nodded. "Like, pure black. Not like paint, but like the complete absence of light."

"It wasn't gray? Even dark gray?" Sarah asked.

Beth shook her head. "I hate being lied to. I mean, it's a demon so I probably should've expected that, but still..."

"There's an old story from Earth." Selene said. "A scorpion--" She stopped and looked around. "You do have those here, right?"

All of the Ten Kingdoms natives gave her a look.

"Just making sure." She said. "Anyway, this scorpion wants to cross a river and asks a toad to give him a ride. The toad says he won't because the scorpion will sting him. The scorpion replies that he won't, because if he does, they'll both drown. The toad agrees, and halfway across the pond, the scorpion stings the toad. The toad asks why he did it, even though they'll both drown."

"It's in my nature." Kendra said. "The scorpion replies: 'it's in my nature'. We have that same story about faugetons."

"What's a faugeton?" Ethan asked.

Beth got an impish grin on her face and it looked like she was about to say something, but Kendra spoke first.

"Sarah's demon; we need to get rid of it. Now."

Ethan nodded, then looked at Sarah. "Ready?"

"Um..." Sarah hesitated. "But... but what if he isn't lying? What if he really wants to change and then he can't because of us; because of me?"

"Damn, that demon is devious." Selene shook her head. "I'm pretty sure that's exactly what it wanted. As long as you want it there, it can stay."

"Oh." Sarah's face fell and her shoulders slumped. "I want him gone either way, I just don't want to send him back to Saidow's Lair if he wants to repent." She frowned, glanced at Beth, then looked at Ethan. "Could you look too? I know Beth said it's a dark aura, but I want to be sure."

Beth rolled her eyes but didn't seem offended.

"Sure." He replied, then lay down on a nearby couch.

Selene found herself wishing that she could straddle him, but he would probably just make her edge herself instead. She really did have a love/hate relationship with her denial kink; she hated that she loved it so much.

* * *

Yalia leaned on her husband, making sure that her breasts were pressed up against him and then molding the entire front of her body against his.

"You'll be the death of me." Matthew said with a smile.

They were in their suite on the palace grounds in Nalatia, which was an immense change from Dotmier. Matthew's little house could've easily fit inside any of the rooms in their suite with plenty of room to spare. Honestly, it was a little much. Well, all of it except for the bed. The sheets were wonderfully soft and the bed was large enough that she and Matthew had been able to try some things they'd never done before.

"Well, actually, it's more likely to result in life..." She teased into his ear, knowing that he loved the idea of having children with her. She loved it too, and couldn't wait.

He turned to look at her, though she hadn't detached so now her front was pressing up against his front. "Yalia, I love you dearly, but you are going to actually kill me from exhaustion." He was clearly trying not to smile, and just as clearly failing spectacularly.

"Oh." She nodded slowly, then took a few steps back and bit her lip, then played with her neckline with a single finger.

He raised his eye at her.

She shrugged, then pulled the dress down to expose her breasts, wiggled her chest for a moment to make them move just exactly how she knew he liked, then she wiggled her way out of the loose dress and left it in a puddle on the floor.

Of course, the nymph was entirely naked underneath.

"Well, I would be happy to do all the work if you would let me..." She slowly sauntered forward. "You can just lay back and rest those big, strong arms and legs."

"That's not the part of me that's tired." Matthew said, a bulge in his pants growing.

"Then maybe he just needs a little care." She dropped down to her knees in front of him. She had been hoping he'd pick her up and carry her to the bed, but was willing to settle for this. "You know, maybe a kiss or two to help him feel better?"

"I suppose that couldn't hurt." Matthew replied, not even fighting his smile anymore.

Victory!

Yalia loved that no matter how tired he seemed to be, him seeing her naked was always enough to convince him. She wasn't sure why she liked it so much, but she definitely did.

"If you're so tired, you should probably sit down..." She purred, and he did sit down in a nearby chair. She made herself comfortable between his legs, looked up into his eyes, and got to work.

She loved this.

Judging by his reaction to her efforts, he did too.

"I would've married you without this, but wow." Matthew said about twenty minutes later in the afterglow.

She sighed softly and snuggled a little closer. She was sitting on the floor, leaning her head on his thigh while also leaning her body against the inside of his leg. He was slightly slumped in the chair and was resting a hand affectionately against her cheek.

"Matthew, do you think we did enough?" She asked after a few moments. "To help the Prophet I mean."

"I hope so." He replied, then tenderly brushed his finger against her cheek. "I'd be happy to do more, but I'm not sure what else I could do."

She nodded, though she was starting to get slightly cold without her dress.

Knock! Knock!

"The High Priest Plesius to see you." One of the Lightguard called. Since their suite was in the same building as the prophet, the Lightguard was handling their security as well.

They looked at each other, and he was clearly as confused as she was.

"One minute." Matthew replied.

Yalia gave his now-thoroughly-exhausted cock a tiny peck, then hastily dressed.

"Send him in." Matthew said when they were both decent.

The door opened and Plesius entered wearing the traditional garb of a luminar, though somewhat more ornate given his status. He was walking slowly and deliberately, a thoughtful frown on his face, his brow slightly furrowed and eyes slightly narrowed, though not at anyone or anything in particular.

"Welcome your eminence." Yalia said, then curtsied.

Plesius's thoughtful expression gained a nuance of amusement. "That is not a normal title for a luminar, even one in such a position as I. Please, 'Plesius' will suffice."

She nodded.

"What can we do for you?" Matthew asked.

"There are some who disapprove of the argument you made regarding whether a person's shame can be removed." Plesius replied, then looked around and took a deep breath. "I'm afraid I have interrupted some important time between you and your wife; I can return later if it would be more convenient."

"You didn't interrupt anything." Matthew said.

Plesius raised his eyebrow.

Matthew got a slightly sheepish grin and scratched the back of his head. "We um, we were finished."

"Ah." Plesius nodded slowly.

"What was wrong with the argument we made?" Yalia asked.

"It was an excellent argument." The high priest replied. "However, the lynchpin of that argument is a small excerpt from the Sepo Cycle. As you might imagine, evidence from a book written by a Nesteri about his own exploits is viewed with suspicion and contempt by many in the Conclave."

Matthew cocked his head to one side. "I understand, but it wasn't a point of theology that we used the Sepo Cycle for, it was history."

"Nonetheless, there is a contingent of luminars who are attacking that particular point of the argument to weaken the whole, since the rest is strong as iron." Plesius said.

"Would you like to have a seat?" Yalia offered, annoyed at herself that she hadn't remembered to do that earlier.

"Thank you." Plesius said, then took a seat at the living room table. The table was nearly as large as the bedroom in Matthew's tiny house in Dotmier.

Matthew and Yalia both sat down as well, then her husband spoke up. "Why did you offer to come back later? Isn't this important?"

"It is, but what is more important than the family?" Plesius replied. He had an indulgent smile on his face, not dissimilar to Yalia's father, Arven, when she had innocently said something very immature.

Matthew opened his mouth to reply, but paused. "What do you mean?"

"You seek understanding before disagreement; that is wise." Plesius said, then added thoughtfully. "I have lately needed a reminder of that." He looked at them. "The family is the womb in which society grows. If the family is not functioning well, then children will not be raised well. If the children are not raised well, they will not behave well once they come of age. If the men and women of society do not behave well, the society declines." He looked at the two of them. "Very little is more important than a strong family, for without it, the fabric of society cannot be strong."

Yalia thought about that as Matthew cocked his head to one side.

"Man, woman, or child; all are nurtured by a strong family." Plesius continued. "This is the essence of wood elven culture. Matters of doctrine are indeed important, but any man who chooses the pursuit of doctrine over the welfare of his family does not rightly understand the doctrine, nor the requirements of Illuminar -- blessed be He -- of a man toward his family."

Matthew nodded slowly. "That makes so much sense, thank you."

"Yes, thank you." Yalia echoed.

"You are welcome." Plesius replied with a smile, then looked at Matthew. "Do you have a response for those luminars who claim that any argument which uses the Sepo Cycle as its lynchpin cannot reasonably stand in an assembly of luminars?"

"I would need to think about that." Matthew got his most adorable I'm-thinking-really-hard-because-I'm-a-genius expression. Or at least, that's what it looked like to her because he was so incredibly smart. She loved that about him.

"Perhaps, if you are not otherwise engaged, you could do that thinking at my home, over dinner with my wife and myself." Plesius replied. "My wife, Epheny, would surely love the company."

"We would be delighted." Matthew said, surprise, shock, and excitement on his face.

Yalia beamed.

* * *

Ethan opened his eyes and sat up on the Astral Plane, wondering again why the whole place was that damn purple color. He made a mental note to ask Gabriella the next time he saw her and then looked around. He looked at Sarah, and sure enough, the aura around her was as dark as it had been around any of the demon-possessed men he'd ever met.

As yet more evidence, the angelic blade Aharown at his side was glowing just a little brighter than it normally did. It only did that when a demon was nearby.

*Shocker, Beth was right.* Ethan thought to everyone. *It's as dark as any other demon-possessed man I've met.*

Alana relayed this to Sarah who frowned, then replied to the elf. "Um, could you ask him to double-check?"

"He can hear you." Alana replied.

*Will do.* Ethan sighed and then walked around his betrothed, looking for any part of the aura that could be even a slightly lighter color.

It didn't exist.

He even triple checked, but still didn't see anything.

*Yeah, there's nothing here to corroborate the demon's story.* He thought to everyone after a minute.

"What does that mean?" Sarah asked when the message had been relayed to her.

"It means you were lied to." Rachel said gently. "There's no shame in that, nor for believing it because I'm sure the demon has tricked countless older and wiser people since it's ancient, but it happened."

Sarah nodded slowly, then bit her lip.

"What?" Alana asked.

"He was like Lady Ekthros, he sounded so sincere." Her face had fallen at this point, and her shoulders had slumped.

"It just goes to show you how evil Lady Ekthros is that you said a demon is like her, not that she's like a demon." Selene pointed out.

Sarah hesitated, then nodded.

"Do you still want it gone?" Selene asked.

Sarah nodded; no hesitation.

*I suppose we should've predicted that the demon would pull a Hail Mary.* Ethan thought to everyone as he drew Aharown, and the angelic blade seemed to glow just a little brighter as he did so.

Unlike the last time, the aura around Sarah seemed to flinch at the light.

Ethan smiled.

*Tell her to hold still.* Ethan said, even though he knew from the previous attempt that the angelic blade could pass through flesh without harming it, or even affecting it. Mostly, he wanted to be able to aim without her moving.

Alana passed the message along; he couldn't wait to bond with her properly so that wasn't necessary anymore. Sarah took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and a small smile appeared on her face. It was tiny, but definitely held an anticipatory nuance which made Ethan smile.

He gave the angelic blade a slow, leisurely swing through the dark aura surrounding Sarah. Last time, the aura had warped around the blade without being affected.

This time, he got a reaction.

He felt the tiniest bit of drag as the angelic blade sliced through the dark aura like a hot knife through butter... but it wasn't a clean cut. It was ragged, and more like dragging a dull knife over something you wanted to cut, where it made holes, but didn't slice through the material completely.

The moment the aura was cut, a shrieking noise like nails on a chalkboard filled the air. At the same time, the dark aura started healing quickly. It was like watching Wolverine heal from the X-Men movies.

He frowned, then tried the same cut again, trying to deepen the first cut.

Same result.

The dark aura had healed somewhat, and the damage from the second cut ended up with not a lot more total damage than the first cut. Partially because of the healing, but also because the second cut hadn't cut as well as the first cut for some reason. There was more damage, but not a lot more damage.

He growled, then tried to snap the angelic blade back and forth across that same area to make the cut deeper, but quickly discovered that while he could damage the dark aura, he would never be able to destroy it like this. The more he cut, the harder it was to cut anything, resulting in effectively no damage beyond a certain point.

*What's happening Dominus?* Beth asked from beside him, though he hadn't noticed her return to the Astral Plane.

"Fuck if I know." Ethan growled. He paused, then looked at her. "Sorry, I'm not mad at you."

"So..." Beth got an impish grin that resembled Alana's a little too closely for his liking. "...if you figure it out, then can we fu... f...?" She stalled. "You know."

He nodded. "Repeatedly."

"While I'm fertile?" The blonde pressed.

"I'm pretty sure you are right now, given how horny and baby crazy you've been." He replied gently. "But now isn't a good time. If that possessed man hadn't been able to hurt you in Dotmier while you were on the Astral Plane, I'd be sorely tempted. But since you're our scout, I don't want to risk a miscarriage."

Beth's face fell, but she nodded. "I hate that that makes sense. Like, I really hate it."

"Yeah, me too." He smiled at her. "I promise that I'll put a bun in your oven eventually, just not until this war is over."

"I'll hold you to that." Beth replied with an almost Kendra-like note of fierceness in her tone. Man, his wives really did rub off on each other. He suppressed a smile as he realized that was true in more ways than one...

"I expect nothing less." He smiled at her, then looked at Sarah again.

Damn.

"What's happening?" Sarah asked. "Is it gone?"

*Hang on, I'll come back to the normal world to explain.* Ethan replied.

He did, after which Beth added their conversation about getting her pregnant.

"It sounds wonderful, but trust me, you do not want the extra stress of carrying a baby when you might need to fight someone." Alana said.

"What about the demon?" Kendra asked, bringing them back on topic. "Obviously something changed because you can hurt it now, but why can't you get rid of it?"

"Actually, that makes sense." Selene pointed out. "Sarah wanted it gone for a long time and it didn't just up and leave. Sarah wanting it gone now just put her back where she was when we met her. What would've gotten rid of it back then?"

"That's a damn good question." Ethan replied. "What in God's name could be keeping it there?"

Everyone looked at everyone else, but no one had an answer.

* * *

Candice found it a lot easier to move around with the wheeled chair, but she hated needing it. She was in her suite and had just finished a sponge bath, and it wasn't easy to get dressed again and back into the wheeled chair, but she managed it.

She couldn't help but smile when she thought about the previous night. Ellis had been a wonderful dancing partner, even if he wasn't Ethan. He also had really good advice about her distancing herself from Ethan, not that she wanted to listen to that advice. Maybe if she was asked when she was feeling particularly mature, but right now, all she wanted was to be near Ethan.

That was her one regret of the previous night: she hadn't danced with him. On the other hand, it was probably a good thing that she didn't, but she still regretted that she hadn't.

Knock. Knock.

Candice sighed, then rolled herself out into the living room. "Come in."

The door opened, revealing a yawning Thea. "Good morning."

"Good morning." Candice replied, not sure why Thea was here. Obviously she was glad, she just wasn't sure why.

"Would you like to come get fitted for that wooden leg this morning?" Thea asked with a smile.

"Really?" Candice asked.

Thea nodded. "It's criminal that you can't walk, so The King wanted to ensure that you are as restored as elven artisans could make you."

Candice got slightly choked up. "Thank you."

"Come on, I'll wheel you there and you can tell me all about dancing with Ellis..." Thea looked at her pointedly. "...and not dancing with Ethan."

Candice bit her lip. "Am I that obvious?"

"Candice, if you were any more obvious, you'd be shouting it from the treetops." The gorgeous elf smiled.

"It's just..." She sighed. "He's Ethan."

"I know." Thea nodded slowly. "In fact, I now understand what it's like to be very taken with a man, though thankfully I'm betrothed to him."

"I'm not." Candice said almost under her breath.

"Well, I do have one suggestion that might help." Thea said. "I'll be the adopted daughter of The King soon. And while I was able to dodge having a handmaiden or lady-in-waiting because I was his ward, I won't be able to as his daughter." Thea looked at Candice pointedly. "Do you know any young women who might like to find themselves completely immersed in elven culture and moving among the highest echelons of wood elven society?"

Candice stared.

She couldn't mean...

...could she?

Thea just waited patiently.

"You... you don't mean me?" Candice finally said when she found her voice and her brain had unfrozen. "Do you?"

"Oh, I hadn't thought of you, but I suppose you'll do." Thea replied with a cheeky smile, then winked. "It'll mean that you need to come with me on the Nomad's Pride when we leave though, not the Argo."

Candice bit her lip.

She should.

She should jump at the chance. She had always loved the elven culture and it was everything she'd never dreamed was possible. But it would mean being parted from Ethan...

"Tell you what, how about I take you to get your new leg and you can think about it." Thea suggested. "Then, you can start the training and pretend like you're going to accept, at least until we leave Nalatia, which will be when you need to decide."

Candice hesitated. "I want to so much, and thank you so much, but..."

"But Ethan." Thea smiled at her. "Candice, sometimes in life there are things that we desperately want that we not only can't have, but wouldn't be good for us if we did get them. It's a good idea to avoid those things."

"I think Ethan would be a good husband." Candice replied before she could stop herself.

"He would, and is, but Illuminar said only seven wives." Thea responded gently. "He's pressed for time now, and another wife would not only be disobeying Illuminar, but also take even more time away from his other wives."

Candice nodded. "I accept." She bit her lip. "I don't know if I'll be a good handmaiden, but I promise I'll try, and thank you so much."

"You're welcome." Thea smiled. "Now, come on, let's go get that leg for you."

* * *

"Maybe Aharown isn't powerful enough for this demon?" Selene suggested, though there was no conviction in her voice. She thought that was about as likely as Beth deciding that she hated the idea of being a mother.

Everyone looked at her, even Thor who was snuggled on her lap. The notable exception was Taloni, who had conked out not long after they had started brainstorming and had only just woken up.

"I'm just trying to think of something that we haven't already come up with." The caramel-haired beauty sighed.

It was just past lunchtime and they were all still in their suite, brainstorming as they had been for the last several hours. No one had any ideas that seemed even vaguely worth pursuing. Honestly, the idea that Aharown wasn't powerful enough wasn't the worst idea suggested so far this morning.

"I want it gone." Sarah huffed after a moment, then stood up and started pacing.

Selene looked at Ethan, who looked back at her; that outburst was a little unusual for Sarah. Normal for Beth, but Sarah?

*That's a real change.* Selene thought to everyone. *She really does seem to want it gone, and I don't see any reluctance in her that might be the problem, do any of you?*

No one did.

"We've been going at this for hours." Ethan sighed after a few minutes. "There must be something we're missing, but what?"

"Master, I think we should pray and ask Illuminar to guide us to the answer." Taloni spoke up, then yawned and stretched.

Ethan and Selene both sighed at almost the same moment.

"Yeah, probably so." Ethan said after a second or two.

They did.

They all prayed and Selene looked around at everyone when they were done. "Any ideas?"

Apparently, no one had one.

Selene resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She still didn't like the whole 'asking Illuminar for help via prayer' thing. She supposed that it made sense that Illuminar usually waited to intervene until He was asked to. That made sense, but she wished that she didn't need to ask so often. Honestly, she couldn't decide if Illuminar was being considerate by not butting in where He wasn't wanted, or if He was being a jackass by making everyone always ask Him for things.

Honestly, it seemed like a contract where the terms weren't clearly defined. You had to ask, but then He didn't need to reply. She kind of wished that things were spelled out more clearly, like in law, where if you broke your contract, then...

then...

Huh.

She cocked her head to one side as something occurred to her. She played with the idea in her head for several moments before speaking. "What if it doesn't have to leave because it has a contract?"

Everyone looked at her.

"Well, think about it." Selene said. "The demon made a deal with Sarah back when it possessed her. You could think of the deal as a form of contract. If the demon has kept up its side of the deal, then technically it still has Sarah's permission to be there even though she wants it gone."

"Oh, it's the old 'deal with the devil' trope." Ethan cocked his head to one side. "That makes a lot of sense."

"So what was the original deal?" Selene asked. "If we know what it was, maybe we can find a loophole?"

Everyone looked at Sarah.

"Um, the exact wording he used was..." She closed her eyes, shuddered, and then recited. "Then do we have a deal? You'll invite me in and I'll make it so you never need to fear anyone ever again?"

Selene took a deep breath and leaned back in her chair, everything she'd learned about contract law coming back to her from college.

"And?" Sarah asked after a minute.

"There's something there on the tip of my tongue, but I can't put my finger on it." She frowned.

"That damn demon is hanging on tighter than a parasite." Ethan growled.

"It is a parasite." Rachel pointed out.

"Fair." Ethan nodded, then looked at Selene. "Anything?"

"Hang on, let me think for a minute." She replied, sure there was an angle there, but she was having trouble putting her finger on it.

* * *

Candice winced as the elven artificer tightened the leather strap around her thigh.

"Too much tension?" He asked. She nodded, and he relaxed the tension slightly.

She was in perhaps the strangest place she had ever seen. It was clearly the abode of a master craftsman, given the clearly high quality of all the multitude of tools around her. It wasn't just the tools though; the worktables, the design, and even the decoration of the place made it look like something you'd find in a lord's manor. Though, virtually all the decorations were of carved wood with only a few precious metals for tasteful accents.

As a contrast, everything in the shop was a wooden limb.

There were legs, arms, frighteningly realistic hands, hands with hooks, or various other things clearly intended to fulfill other functions. She found herself grateful that both her arms were fully intact. The wooden arms and legs were of all lengths and sizes, clearly designed to fit a variety of lost limb lengths.

The owner, who was probably nearing two hundred given his slightly frail look and white hair, was very articulate and strong despite his advanced age. He had offered her a changing room and a strange garment that fit her amputated leg like a second skin, but covered the other one like a skirt intended for only one leg. However, the actual amputation site and a few inches above it were exposed. She supposed that he needed to see it, but it was still more skin than she was comfortable exposing.

"Whoever did this took great care to ensure it was done properly." The owner said while looking at her amputation, then unbuckled the strap he had attached to her thigh. "I have a leg now that will fit you properly, the socket will only need slight alteration."

"Thank you." Candice replied.

The elf nodded kindly, then went to a workbench and picked up a wooden leg that looked remarkably similar to the one she had lost.

"You have a visitor." Thea said, reentering the room.

Candice draped a nearby cloth over the amputation, then looked at the elf. "Who?"

"Come in." Thea said toward the door, which then opened.

It was Halasses Hamellion, the captain of the Lightguard, who had taken such care when amputating her leg.

"Hello." She said quietly with a small and nervous wave. She was incredibly aware that the stump of her leg was effectively not concealed at all except by a little bit of silk, and thus her missing limb was painfully obvious.

"Good afternoon." Halasses bowed. "I have something rather particular about which I wish to speak to you."

"Oh?" Candice asked.

"I do." He looked around. "How goes the fitting?"

"Um, it's not bad." She replied honestly. "Apparently, it takes a while to fit things properly, but everyone here has been so kind."

"I am unsurprised." Halasses replied. "Do you wish marriage to be in your future?"

Candice blinked at the abrupt change of topic. "Um, yes."

Halasses looked at her for several moments. "Guardsman Ellis Trelane was wise to observe that it is usually unwise to pursue a woman besotted with another man. However, he is human, not elven, and the bonding that accompanies all elven weddings does change the parameters of the situation."

"It does?"

"It does." Halasses nodded. "You are somewhat hopelessly besotted with the prophet." He spoke without judgement or amusement; it was merely a statement of fact.

Candice felt her cheeks grow warm, hesitated, then nodded. "Can everyone tell?"

"The prophet likely misses most of the signs, but otherwise, yes." He replied, again simply stating the facts.

She bit her lip.

"Picture this." He continued. "If we were to marry, you could be the mistress of a home here in Nalatia, living among the culture that I've been reliably informed that you adore."

Candice couldn't help but smile at that.

"I have some human blood in me, my grandmother, and thus it is likely that we could conceive children, should we undertake to attempt conception. Our children would be mostly elven, born and raised here in Nalatia; your own children being half elven and calling you mother."

She smiled slightly wider at that. She thought having babies with adorable pointed ears would be wonderful.

"Neither you, nor your children shall ever want for food or basic necessities." Halasses continued. "Should I cease working today, the coin I have accrued would provide a comfortable life for the rest of our lives." He looked at her slightly pointedly. "Imagine that in addition to those children and house in Nalatia, the pantry was always stocked, your children never complained of hunger, and you never felt the pangs of an empty stomach craving a meal."

She could see it.

She'd never actually seen a full pantry before, but she could imagine what one would look like.

"I have long avoided seeking a wife because my occupation would require one of uncommon fortitude and bravery, both of which you have displayed." He continued. "I admire you for that, but the elves understand love as something that primarily grows after the wedding, after bonding. And, with that bond, you could look forward to, in time, shedding your infatuation with the Prophet and growing in attraction to the elf who would be your husband. Imagine having half-elven children and being happily married to an elf who you are genuinely attracted to, and not to Ethan, who can never be your husband."

Candice swallowed.

Wow.

That was quite the picture he'd just painted.

"Do not respond today." He continued. "Take some time to consider the offer. If it appeals, I shall go about securing your father's permission." He paused. "And I assure you, this is a genuine offer."

"Thank you." She smiled. "That's such a generous--" She got slightly choked up. "Um, thank you."

"You are welcome." He head bowed, and then left the room.

She stared after him, and after a moment Thea stepped into her view.

"You know, he's one of the most highly decorated military men I've heard of." The gorgeous elf said.

"He is?" Candice asked.

Thea nodded. "Probably because he's one of the most powerful elven warriors of our day, so he could protect you."

Candice couldn't help but smile at that. That was something she really liked about Ethan.

"He's considered middle-aged for an elf, but since he's part human, that might mean you'd grow old with him together." Thea paused. "Sort of like Falkaan and Myla, though their chance of having a child is non-existent."

"It is?" Candice asked.

"Yeah, she was barren before she married him, and a full-blooded elf with a full-blooded human makes it really hard to conceive. It happens, obviously, but it's rare."

Candice nodded slowly.

"But, since he's part human, you should have a much easier time..." Thea pointed out.

Candice nodded slowly.

A full pantry, mostly-elven children calling her mother, a life lived in Nalatia, and a husband she loved who wasn't Ethan. She could almost imagine that. She couldn't imagine not loving Ethan, but the rest...

The rest sounded incredible.

* * *

"Then do we have a deal? You'll invite me in and I'll make it so you never need to fear anyone ever again?"

Ethan looked at Selene, who had just repeated the terms of the deal for probably the dozenth time now. She was slowly pacing back and forth along one wall of the room, an adorable, thoughtful frown on her face. Well, on anyone else it would've been adorable; on her, it was gorgeous and adorable. She'd been doing that for the better part of an hour while they had all made suggestions. Nothing had really stuck though.

"So even if Sarah had always wanted to get rid of the demon, it wouldn't have gone because it's deal was still intact." Alana mused.

"Yeah, I thought that Lady Ekthros had really messed things up, but..." He trailed off as Selene snapped her head up and her eyes went wide.

"What?" Sarah asked.

"Lady Ekthros." Selene finally said, then looked at Sarah. "When you left Nalatia, Lady Ekthros drugged you so you couldn't feel fear, then proceeded to scare the ever-living shit out of you." She grinned. "The demon said that he'd make it so that you would -- and I quote: 'never need to fear anyone ever again'. However, you needed to fear Lady Ekthros, but couldn't."

"That sounds like a broken contract." Rachel said, a smile slowly growing on her face. Honestly, it was a little weird to see more than just a small, subtle smile on her. Good, but weird. The change in her after she had talked to her father had been huge so far, and he was hoping it stayed that way.

"So, I can still get rid of him?" Sarah asked, then corrected herself. "Of it?"

"I don't see why not." Selene replied. "Up until recently, you wanted it to stay, but now that you don't, and since it broke the contract..." She frowned. "I have no idea how to evict it though."

"Shouldn't it have just left though?" Beth asked. "It did break the contract, so shouldn't it have automatically left?"

"No." Selene shook her head. "If we're looking at this from a legal perspective, breaking a contract isn't enough. You need to tell the other party that they breached the contract, and that you are annulling the contract because of that. It requires notice so the other party can respond."

"I've got the notice right here." Ethan patted his side where Aharown sat when he was on the Astral Plane, then looked at Selene. "So, counselor, how do we proceed?"

"Um, I have no idea." Selene replied. "I never studied for trial law; I was studying criminal law and had to take contract law as a pre-req."

"Selene, for as unprepared as you feel, you're ten times better prepared than the rest of us." Alana pointed out. "And this is too sensitive to bring anyone else in." She paused. "Well, the other telepaths, but will they know much more?"

"I can ask if no one minds." The caramel-haired beauty said.

"Please do." Sarah said, and no one objected.

Selene fell silent for a couple minutes while everyone else basically twiddled their thumbs. Ethan himself was dying to hop onto the Astral Plane and start slicing and dicing, but with a demon in the mix, caution seemed like the wiser course of action.

"So, the gang was thinking along the same lines that I was." Selene finally said.

Ethan couldn't help but smile at her calling them 'the gang'; he was right, they were getting close.

"Basically, it's probably best if Ethan and Beth are on the Astral Plane." Selene began. "Sarah can then formally ask me to be her lawyer; hopefully that's not a problem, but since it's contract law..." She shrugged. "And then basically I'm going to spell things out to the demon. Hopefully it leaves willingly. If not, I'd have that angel sword drawn." She looked at Ethan.

"Will do." Ethan nodded. 'We ride at dawn!"

Everyone looked at him.

"I assume that's an idiom?" Rachel asked.

"Yeah, sort of." He replied, then laid down on one of the couches. "Here goes nothing."

He closed his eyes, though he saw Beth lay down on a couch as he did so. It took him a few seconds to pull himself out of his body and stand up on the Astral Plane. Beth had beaten him there.

"Dominus, can we try sharing a bed on the Astral Plane sometime?" The currently purple-haired blonde asked.

He smiled. "Yeah?"

She nodded. "I think it would be really fun, and it's something you and I can do together that's special and unique to us."

"Deal." He grinned at her, then drew Aharown and thought to everyone. "We're ready, let's rock and roll!"

Everyone slowly shook their heads or rolled their eyes except for Sarah, who couldn't hear him, and Selene, who chuckled.

*Seriously, I swear we earthlings use more idioms.* She replied.

*There's a demon that needs attention.* Kendra interjected.

*Right.* Ethan squared his shoulders and raised Aharown. *Let's do this.*

* * *

Sarah took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She couldn't decide if she wanted to jump for joy, hide under a table until this was all done, or go have a good, long cry after what Lady Ekthros had said to her the previous night.

Ethan and Beth had just laid down and closed their eyes, so they were almost certainly on the Astral Plane right now, ready to fight for her. A part of her still couldn't believe that they were willing to do that. She appreciated it so much, and she had thanked everyone profusely many times, but it still didn't seem real.

"You ready?" Selene asked.

She took another deep breath, then nodded. "I wish I had some ginger root tea though."

"Why?" Selene cocked her head to one side.

"To calm my stomach." She replied, then took another deep breath. "Is this really about to happen?"

"Yeah, it is." Selene smiled her dazzling smile at her. Not that Selene's smile was any more impressive than anyone else's, but with how gorgeous her face was, the smile was automatically dazzling anyway.

"Okay, then let's go." Sarah said after a moment, her stomach still churning slightly.

* * *

Ethan kept the angelic blade pointed at Sarah, or more accurately, the demon he hoped was about to leave her. Beth was standing well behind him and out of the way, and thankfully he hadn't needed to suggest that.

"So, to the demon currently possessing Sarah." Selene began. "She has appointed me as her legal counsel and I'm here to inform you that you are in breach of your contract with my client. The terms of your contract stipulate that you would make it so that she never needed to fear anyone ever again. However, during her recent departure from Karnas, she needed to feel afraid, but was unable to. Thus, my client demands that you cease possessing her immediately, as the contract is now null and void."

Nothing happened.

Ethan waited several seconds just to be sure, but nothing happened. *Yeah, no dice on that.* He thought to everyone.

"Maybe it doesn't recognize lawyers." Selene shrugged, then looked at Sarah. "You're up."

Ethan would've really liked to hug his betrothed, because it looked like someone had just asked her to host Christmas dinner with about five minutes of notice. She was breathing deeper than normal and occasionally wiped her palms on her golden dress.

"You can do this." Alana said, then came up next to her and took her hand. Sarah seemed to relax slightly after that; it was hard to believe there was a time when Alana was worried about Sarah replacing her.

"Um, exactly what Selene said." Sarah said aloud, though her voice was shaking. "You broke our deal, so you can't stay. I want you to leave, leave and never come back."

Ethan looked at Sarah, expecting something to happen.

Nothing happened.

*I suppose it's too much to hope that the demon would just leave because it's told.* Selene thought to everyone.

*Plan 'B' then.* Ethan replied. *Tell Sarah to stay still.*

Someone did, then Ethan advanced toward her with his angelic blade pointed at the dark aura around her.

That got a reaction.

Finally!

As he got closer, it looked like the dark aura around her seemed to stretch away from the blade. It was no longer centered on Sarah, but looked like it was trying to escape the blade while staying attached to his betrothed. Ethan advanced further, slowly and cautiously, leading with the angelic blade. The dark aura stretched further away.

Finally, the tip of the angelic blade touched Sarah, but of course didn't affect her at all. It passed right through her without affecting her as normal, but something did happen.

Aharown seemed to glow a little brighter, and Ethan could feel that it had cut something. Not because of the resistance, though he could feel a little of that, but because he could feel something else in the blade. Honestly, it seemed a little like -- and he couldn't believe that he was going to describe it this way -- but it felt like righteous light or fire. It was an absurd feeling, though maybe not since he was holding an angelic blade, but it felt a little absurd to think it.

The dark aura moved.

Almost faster than Ethan could track, the dark aura vanished from around Sarah and coalesced into a vaguely humanoid form. It was exactly as Sarah had described, except that it was entirely black. Not black like it was painted, but black like it was entirely devoid of color, like looking into a bottomless pit. It was a little taller than he was, with a large head, long arms, and fingers that ended in what looked like long, very slightly curved claws that reached below its knees.

Honestly, except for the claws, it looked a little like a stereotypical alien, except for the height. That made Ethan wonder about all the alien sightings on Earth, but now wasn't the time to get distracted.

Notably, there was a small part of it that was "bleeding" black smoke. He wasn't sure how else to describe it. Ethan guessed that was from where he'd touched it with the blade, as it did seem to be an injury, though not a serious one.

"You wretched prophet." It spat the final word like it was the most vile curse ever uttered. The level of hate and vitriol in its voice was unmatched by anything Ethan had ever heard or seen, including Lord Delmar, and was equaled only by the other demon he'd seen at Dotmier.

"I am going to enjoy this." It said, its tone dropping with cold fury and implacable malice.

"Yeah, me too." Ethan raised Aharown. "You ruined Sarah's life, or at least tried. I'm kind of looking forward to ending yours."

"Pathetic creature." The demon laughed a high-pitched and disturbing laugh. "You cannot hope to compete here, in my natural domain."

"Try me." Ethan tightened his grip on Aharown.

The demon moved.

It moved even faster than the possessed men did, only not at him. It charged around him, clearly aiming for Beth...

...and Ethan wasn't fast enough to stop him.

* * *

Beth saw him coming. She wasn't fast enough to get out of the way, but she saw him coming. She acted on instinct, throwing her limbs up to protect her face, which now included her wings. Her wings moved far faster than the rest of her, and they ended up between her and the incoming demon.

She braced herself for the searing pain she was surely about to feel, but it never came. She felt something impact her wings, but it hadn't hurt. Then, the area around her suddenly grew brighter for a brief moment, but the light wasn't coming from her.

A moment later, a terrible, horrible, piercing wail filled the air. It sounded exactly like when she had pierced the darkness curse that had been on Ethan in Arcanum all those months ago. She clamped her hands over her ears to drown out the dreadful sound, then slowly lowered her wings to see where it was coming from.

It was the demon.

The claw-like ends of all its fingers had been cut completely off. They were falling in slow motion to the ground and were in the process of evaporating away into black smoke, like the demon's wound and like water boiling out of a pan.

"You shall not pass." A feminine and very familiar voice said.

Gabriella was standing there, gleaming sword drawn and pressed right next to the demon's throat. It was obvious what had happened to the demon's claws.

"Do not move." Gabriella said to the demon, then looked at Beth. "Your wings cannot be harmed by his kind, but neither can they harm. Take to the skies when one is nearby, or wrap your wings about you for protection."

Beth nodded, then made sure she was in the corner with her wings around her, protecting her.

* * *

"Gabriella." Ethan said, his heart still not having calmed down from Beth's near miss. He didn't understand how the demon had been so fast.

"Ethan." Gabriella replied, gleaming white blade still at the demon's throat. "I will release the demon in a moment, his ability to harm you greatly diminished but not destroyed; finish what you started."

Ethan raised Aharown and nodded.

Gabriella withdrew her blade, then looked at the demon pointedly and nodded toward Ethan. It didn't waste a moment. It turned and charged toward Ethan so fast he had trouble tracking it. He raised his blade and tried to hit the demon as it approached, but was far too slow.

Wham!

Ethan went flying. The demon's punch slammed into the center of Ethan's chest and sent him flying into the wall. He hit it with what felt like enough force to go completely through it, but it wasn't damaged at all. He felt like his entire ribcage had been shattered. It hadn't, but it felt like it. He managed to raise his head to see the demon charging at him again.

He hadn't a prayer of blocking the attack. He tried, but there was just no way that--

Suddenly, Gabriella was in front of him, her gleaming blade between the demon and Ethan. The demon stopped instantly, then backed away warily.

Gabriella was holding her sword with her right hand, and she extended her left hand toward Ethan. It began to glow brighter and emit some soft, comforting light that seemed like the perfect cross between a spotlight and a candle; it had the spotlight's intensity, but the candle's warmth. His chest began to feel better instantly, and after a few seconds, it felt right as rain.

"Thanks." He said as he stood.

"You are welcome." She looked at the demon, then back at Ethan and spoke in such a perfect imitation of Morpheus from 'The Matrix' that it was almost disturbing; almost. "Now hit him, if you can."

She winked at him, then lowered her blade and stepped back.

Ethan raised his own blade and faced off against the demon. It was warily watching Gabriella, not him. He supposed that made sense because as little as he liked it, he wasn't really a threat to the demon.

"You can fight him, or you can fight me." Gabriella said to the demon with the exact same cadence and tone that the title character of The Mandalorian used the first time he had spoken in the show.

The demon turned to Ethan, a wicked smile somehow visible on its completely expressionless face. It didn't even have a 'face' in the typical sense, as its whole body was as dark as a bottomless pit. And yet despite that, Ethan could somehow almost see its expression anyway.

It was weird, not to mention creepy.

The demon charged.

Ethan adjusted his approach. Instead of trying to aim an attack, he extended the blade out toward the demon as far as he could while still maintaining stable footwork. He hoped that he would basically be able to make the demon impale itself, or at least deter it.

It didn't work.

The demon was fast enough to dodge the point and Ethan couldn't adjust fast enough to stop him.

Wham!

Ethan went flying again, this time even harder than the previous time. He found himself glad that Gabriella had sliced its claws off, or he would be dead. Again, the demon charged in to finish him off, and again the angel stopped it with her blade, then healed Ethan.

"Ouch." Ethan said as he stood, then looked at her. "Thanks again."

"Oh, don't thank me yet." She replied with a slightly apologetic smile. "Again."

She stepped away and Ethan raised his blade to fight the demon again.

It went about the same way as before.

* * *

Sarah winced as Ethan shook just slightly again. Beth had come back to the normal world to fill them in on what was happening before returning to the Astral Plane, and Sarah almost couldn't believe what Ethan was going through right now. True, Gabriella was there and seemingly protecting him, but still...

"If you ever wonder whether you belong in this family or not, remember this." Alana said to her. "Remember what Ethan was willing to do to get rid of your demon."

Sarah nodded, still not believing it.

It seemed too good to be true.

"Ethan needs this experience." Kendra said. "The demon we fought at Dotmier seemed more interested in running than fighting, but that might not always be the case."

"Well, that's a strange turn I hadn't been expecting." Selene said wryly. "Gabriella is using Sarah's now-expelled demon to teach Ethan how to fight demons."

"It's not fully expelled." Rachel replied. "Or at least, it still has some influence over Sarah."

"How do you know?" Selene asked.

"The magical disguise is still in place." Rachel replied, then indicated Sarah. "That's not what Sarah really looks like, though it's not far off either. She's prettier and in better shape than the demon's disguise would lead you to believe."

"I am?" Sarah asked.

Rachel nodded. "You are."

Sarah smiled at that; she loved the idea that she might actually be pretty. She knew she would never be gorgeous like Selene, but if she could just be somewhat pretty, that would make her very happy.

* * *

Ethan slammed into the wall again, doing his best to roll with the impact to reduce the damage he took. He managed to, but not totally, and where the demon had hit him ached like the devil. He would've chuckled at that, but it hurt too much. A moment later, Gabriella's hand extended toward him and the light that shone from it completely healed him in mere moments.

"How did it beat you?" She asked, her voice a near-perfect imitation of Morpheus from the training scene in The Matrix.

Ethan knew where she was going with this, but thought she might enjoy it if he humored her anyway. He panted like Neo had, then tried his best to imitate him. "He's... he's too fast."

The angel smiled, obviously glad that he'd decided to play along. "Do you believe that him being stronger or faster has anything to do with his muscles in this place?" She looked around the purple Astral Plane around her.

"No, and I don't think I'm breathing air right now either." Ethan replied as he stood up. "How can I get faster though? The Matrix was a great movie, but it's a little light on specifics."

"Is." Gabriella corrected with a smile. "The Matrix is a great movie."

"Fair point. But really, how?"

The angel smiled. "You'll put it together soon, with a little help. I suggest you work on that."

"Okay, but--" Ethan stopped as Gabriella lowered her angelic blade and the demon came charging at him again.

Oh, shit.

Ethan did his best, but the demon once again evaded Aharown and sent him flying across the room, this time with a broken arm. He roared in pain as it cracked, but a little light from Gabriella's hand fixed it right as rain again in mere moments.

"Why don't you use that on everyone who's ever injured?" Ethan asked.

"As much as I would like to, it is only effective on spiritual wounds garnered on the Astral Plane." The angel replied.

Ethan shrugged, then stood.

How the hell could he get faster? His first thought was, of course, the speed enchantment that Alana had been planning to put on his armor. However, he was rubbish at enchanting anything besides himself. Then again, that was a way to improve his muscles, and Gabriella had made it clear that his muscles weren't the problem.

"No, they aren't." The angel confirmed, sword raised to keep the clearly irate demon at bay.

"So, spiritual enchantments for the shallowest level of the spiritual realm?" Ethan asked, indicating the Astral Plane around them.

"It can't hurt to try." The angel replied.

Ethan closed his eyes and tried to do what he normally did to enchant himself. It didn't work very well. Mana seemed far more plentiful on the Astral Plane, but paradoxically, it was less suitable for enchanting than normal mana. The enchantments stuck, but not for long; a minute was enough to reduce them to nothingness.

"Well, technically you were right; it didn't hurt." Ethan said, trying to keep the irritation out of his tone.

Gabriella smiled at him. "Well, I don't lie."

"Yeah, I know." Ethan nodded with a sigh.

Gabriella lowered her sword.

Damn.

* * *

Yalia looked at the entrance to Plesius's house and couldn't help but smile. It was a small 'cottage' made of tree trunks grown together like most elven buildings, and it was situated very close to the Conclave building, probably part of its grounds. She guessed it was the quarters set aside for all high priests, and perhaps was a traditional place for them to live.

There was a large flower garden out front that looked incredibly well-maintained, even by wood elven standards. Yalia was pretty sure that wasn't Plesius though, his wife seemed more likely responsible.

The front door opened and an older, very thin, and slightly frail-looking elf beckoned to them. "Come in, there is no need to stand about the garden."

The young couple entered, and Plesius greeted them as well. The interior instantly made Yalia feel at home; not merely comfortable, really and truly 'at home'. It felt like if the need arose for her to live here for some strange reason, it would really and truly feel like a home to her. It felt almost as comfortable as her parents' house, or Matthew's house in Dotmier.

Plesius introduced the young couple to his wife, then said. "Matthew, Yalia, this is my wife; Epheny Zaluhar, called Blight Survivor."

"Oh, I'm so sorry to hear you had the Blight." Yalia's face fell. Though, her frail state suddenly made much more sense. Honestly, she was doing quite well for someone who had had the Blight.

"I'm fine dear." Epheny's voice was simultaneously frail in volume, but had an undercurrent of strength to it that belied the seeming frailty of the voice itself. "It's best not to dwell on what cannot be changed, and rather focus on improving the future."

Yalia nodded and couldn't help but smile. While her own mother was wonderful, she had always wanted a grandmother since she'd never met hers. Epheny seemed to fill that role like she had been born doing it.

It took less than thirty seconds of polite small talk before Matthew and Plesius began discussing the Conclave and the removal of shame. Yalia chuckled at that.

"Come dear, let's leave the men to their boring talk of grand religion and politics while we--" She stopped and coughed several times. Plesius immediately moved to her side, and she clutched his arm to steady herself while she coughed.

"I am fine dear." Epheny said to her husband, though it had a different nuance when said to her husband, one of appreciative affection mingled with slight annoyance. "Go, discuss your important business while the young nymph and I discuss our important business."

Matthew and Plesius retired to what looked like a study, while Epheny led her into a drawing room filled with embroidered quilts, cozy paintings, and other various knick-knacks that once again had Yalia feeling right at home.

"Now, what do you want to be in life?" Epheny asked when she had served some tea that had been waiting for them.

Yalia opened her mouth to reply, then realized that she didn't really have an answer. She had wanted to help Matthew finish translating the Book of Light, and they had done that. And she wanted to help Ethan and his wives, but she didn't think that's what Epheny meant.

Huh.

* * *

Ethan groaned for several seconds until the light from Gabriella's hand healed his most recent injuries, which included a broken leg and a broken arm.

"Come on, give me a hint?" Ethan asked.

Despite the beating he was taking, he was learning. Despite how fast the demon was and how long its arms were, he had actually managed to use the angelic blade to make the demon miss once or twice. Of course, he'd been hit at least a dozen times, so that wasn't really an achievement.

"How quickly mortals forget." Gabriella smiled at him, and her smile was so warm and comforting that he found it really hard to be annoyed with her. "Ethan, what would Taloni suggest that you do?"

"She would suggest that I pray." He paused. "You're telling me that's it?"

Gabriella nodded. "Illuminar -- blessed be He -- gave this world to mortals, and He takes that gift seriously. However, He will intervene if a mortal asks Him too."

"You know, Selene and I talked about this one time." Ethan replied. "We couldn't decide if Illuminar was being a considerate gentleman for waiting until He was asked, or kind of a jerk for always making us ask."

"Yes, damned if you do, damned if you don't." Gabriella replied. "It's a problem."

Ethan shrugged, not wanting to get into that right now. "So, can Illuminar give me some kind of something that'll make me fast enough to take this asshole out." He jerked his thumb toward the demon.

"You'll need to ask Him." Gabriella replied.

Ethan closed his eyes and sighed. "Really?"

"Do you need help?" Gabriella asked. "If so, why not ask for it?"

He opened his eyes and raised one eyebrow at her.

"What would Taloni do?" The angel asked with a smile.

Ethan sighed again, then looked up. He wasn't sure why, but it seemed like the thing to do. "Illuminar, if you're listening, could you please give me something to help deal with these damn demons?"

Nothing happened.

He looked at Gabriella.

She just smiled at him, then lowered her sword.

The demon charged, but something had clearly changed. Clearly. Before, the demon had moved so fast that it was a little hard to track.

Now it wasn't.

He moved the Angelic blade, and this time, he was fast enough. The demon skidded almost to a stop and jumped backwards, his intended attack vector suddenly about as safe as charging into a concrete wall head-first at full speed.

Ethan grinned.

"The stakes, sadly, now grow higher." Gabriella said with a slightly pained smile. "Remember to ask for help when you need it, Ethan." Her tone changed to be a pretty good imitation of Albus Dumbledore from the Harry Potter movies. "For help will always be given to those who ask for it." Her voice returned to normal. "It will rarely be in the form you guess or ask for, but it will come. Adieu, Mon Capitan."

She snapped her fingers and instantly disappeared.

There was a small flash of light that looked exactly like how the character Q had disappeared in Star Trek: The Next Generation. Exactly like. He almost wondered if that was on purpose, given the angel's love of movies. However, he didn't have time to wonder.

The demon grinned wickedly.

Well, not actually because the whole thing was as black as a bottomless pit, but somehow, disturbingly, Ethan could still tell what its expression was. It raised its hands, the ones where Gabriella had cut off its claws, and snarled at Ethan.

The demon's hands seemed to vibrate slightly, and Ethan saw black smoke pour out of the severed finger-claws. The smoke didn't disappear though. No, it seemed to coalesce and solidify into claws to replace the ones it had previously lost. In mere seconds, its long, wickedly sharp claws were back. Apparently, Gabriella's mere presence -- or perhaps the radiant light she gave off -- had prevented him from doing that sooner.

Well, shit.

Ethan raised Aharown and took up a flexible defensive stance. He had no idea what those claws would do to him, and he definitely didn't want to find out. The demon snarled, then charged at him again.

Ethan had a reach advantage with his angelic blade, but the creature's arms were very long, looked wickedly sharp, and there were two of them to Ethan's one sword. This sword wasn't long like his war sword either, it was about three feet long overall, with about six inches of that being the hilt.

The demon took full advantage of his claws' reach, using one claw to swipe high and the other to swipe low. Not able to block both, Ethan jumped to the side while he cut out with the angelic blade to cover his retreat. He felt some slight resistance as the very tip of his blade bit into the demon's arm.

It howled in pain, and it was a real and literal howl, like a banshee's scream. If he weren't in a life and death fight, he would've clapped his hands over his ears to block the sound out.

"You prophet!" The demon spat like it was the ugliest, vilest insult it could conceive of.

Oddly, the wound wasn't that bad. Or at least, it didn't seem like it would be on a human. On a person, it would bleed plenty and there would be a danger of infection, but not death from blood loss.

"Yeah, well, at least I didn't try to ruin an innocent girl's life." Ethan growled back.

The demon laughed.

The laugh was high-pitched and sounded uncomfortably close to nails on a chalkboard. "I ruined more than her life, I took something else of hers."

Ethan growled. "Whatever it was, you'll be repaid in full." He adjusted the position of the angelic blade to make the point.

"That won't bring her virginity back." The demon cackled with glee.

Beth gasped from nearby.

Ethan frowned. "You lie a lot; why in God's name would I believe you?"

"Check." The demon spat. "She isn't pure, and she never told you."

Ethan narrowed his eyes. "I've never seen a demon die; I'm curious what that'll look like."

He took the offensive, stepping in with a measured swing at the demon, who stepped back and tried to swipe back with its claws. Ethan reversed the direction of his blade and managed to nick its arm again. However, he failed to account for the second claw on defense.

Ethan hissed as pain tore through his right thigh. It felt like someone had touched him with a branding iron and frozen his skin at the same time and same place. He stumbled slightly on his retreat, but he kept his footing and prepared to attack again. This asshole needed to die.

Ethan started forward with quick, measured cuts, ensuring that his blade never got too far out of position to defend himself from counterattack. The demon seemed to get more and more frustrated by this, and it started constantly muttering obscenities.

Finally, it counter-attacked.

It waited until the very end of one of Ethan's swings, then swiped in with both claws; one high, one low. This time though, Ethan was prepared. Using his tail for a counterbalance, he jerked his leg out of the way, which had the side effect of twisting his body just fast enough that he was able to land a solid cut on the demon's lower arm.

The angelic blade cut through the demon's arm like a hot knife through butter.

He barely felt any resistance at all.

The limb didn't fall to the ground as Ethan would've expected though. Instead, it seemed to melt into black smoke as the limb seemed to fall in slow motion, completely evaporating into black smoke before it touched the ground.

The demon shrieked, but apparently decided that discretion was the better part of valor. Like the demon in Dotmier, it began to slowly get smaller like it was getting further away, but it didn't actually move. It looked like it was fading into the distance, but it was as close as ever as it got further away, and got smaller without looking like it was getting smaller.

It was unsettling.

It eventually faded into nothingness, and then Aharown returned to its usual level of luminescence.

Ethan breathed a sigh of relief.

*Ethan, the disguise around Sarah just started to unravel.* Rachel thought to everyone. *It won't be intact enough to maintain her disguise for longer than a minute or two, and I'm guessing that you won't want to miss your first glimpse of what she really looks like.*

*Damn straight.* Ethan replied, then sheathed Aharown and touched his body to return to the waking world.

It took him a moment to get his bearings, and he sat up when he did. He was still in the living room of their suite in Nalatia, with all his wives around him.

"Is it really gone?" Sarah asked, and it seemed like she was holding her breath.

"It is, and Rachel said the disguise it put on you is unraveling." Ethan grinned. "I'm looking forward to seeing what you really look like."

Sarah bit her lip.

"Don't worry, he won't be disappointed." Rachel said to Sarah, and her tone was perfectly confident.

The newly-unpossessed woman nodded.

Ethan took a good long look at his betrothed.

Sarah had never looked particularly physically attractive in his eyes, not that that bothered him very much. Her hair was probably her worst feature; it was clearly too dry and frizzy with no luster or shine to it, and it didn't lay well at all either. Her body was a strange mix of looking like she was too thin in some places, and carrying some extra weight in others. Both were subtle, but noticeable if you were looking. Her eyes were much like Kendra's beautiful brown ones, but something about them looked drab anyway. Her skin looked a little dry and she had hints of acne scars too. Each individual thing wasn't terrible, but the cumulative effect was very noticeable. She just wasn't particularly attractive, though no one would call her ugly.

"Okay, it should start unraveling in a moment..." Rachel said.

Sarah bit her lip.

Ethan grinned at her.

That's when he started to notice some subtle changes to his betrothed. Over the course of several seconds, everything about her slowly changed.

Her frizzy hair seemed to smooth out and got a vibrant, healthy sheen to it. The dryness disappeared and suddenly Ethan realized that her hair was just gorgeous. Seriously, her hair was at least as beautiful as Selene's hair, and probably beat it. All his wives had beautiful hair, but Sarah's was something else.

Further, those too-thin and extra-weight places smoothed out, leaving a normal, attractive, healthy and feminine figure for a young woman. Her dry skin and acne scars disappeared, leaving her with healthy skin.

But perhaps most striking were the eyes.

The brown coloring faded to reveal brilliant green eyes in their place. Something about that seemed to just fit perfectly. While Kendra's beautiful brown eyes fit her perfectly, brown had never fit Sarah, probably because it wasn't her natural color. Sarah's brilliant green eyes fit her perfectly, and that combined with her lustrous brown hair pulled the eyes toward her face.

"You... you're smiling." Sarah said after a moment, hopeful hesitance written all over her expression.

"Yeah." Ethan's grin widened. "Yeah, I am."

A little bit of pink appeared in Sarah's cheeks. "Am... am I pretty? I always wanted to be pretty, even an average pretty."

Ethan beamed at her. Objectively speaking, she definitely was. It wasn't a supermodel kind of pretty, it was something deeper, more real. She probably wouldn't win a modeling competition, but with those eyes and that hair, she could certainly turn heads.

"Yes, you definitely are." Ethan assured her.

"You are." Alana agreed.

"I am?" Sarah asked, her tone indicating that she was worried that they were just being kind.

"Come on, let me show you in the mirror." Selene said with a wide smile, then offered Sarah her hand.

Sarah looked at Ethan as if asking for his permission, and he was struck again by how brilliant and vivid her green eyes were.

"Go for it." He grinned.

Sarah took Selene's hand and stood up, and Ethan got a chance to admire her real figure for the first time. Her body type was hourglass, but not quite as incredible as Alana's figure. Her breasts weren't large, perhaps a full B-cup, but they seemed shapely. Further, the gold dress she was wearing matched her hair and eyes perfectly. The whole package was very attractive, but again, in a wholesome way.

His betrothed was lovely.

*Down boy.* Selene thought to him with a wink, obviously having noticed how at least one part of him was reacting.

Ethan clicked his disguise gem on to hide that particular reaction from Sarah.

Selene and Sarah disappeared into an adjoining bathroom, and a moment later, he heard a gasp. There were several seconds of silence, then a squeal of delight, and Sarah ran out of the room and nearly tackled him in a hug.

"Thank you!" She gushed.

"So, not disappointed?" He chuckled as he hugged her back.

"No." She shook her head vigorously and hugged him.

He deadpanned. "So, you don't want to find another demon?"

"E-than." She sighed.

"Yes, my beloved Sarah?" He replied.

She pulled back slightly to look at him with her dazzling emerald eyes. Damn, she had amazing eyes.

"Can you say that again?" She asked.

He looked into her marvelous eyes, his smile grew wider, and then he spoke. "Yes, my beloved Sarah."

She closed her eyes and sighed, then leaned on him. "Is it really gone? Is it really over?"

"Those gorgeous green eyes of yours seem to indicate it is."

Sarah sniffled, though she was still smiling.

"What?" Alana asked, beating Ethan to the punch.

"I look just like my mother." Sarah replied, her eyes tearing up. "Everyone always said I did when I was young, but I thought I'd outgrown that." She sniffled again, blinked a few times, and he felt a little wetness where her cheek was resting against his chest. "I'm so glad I didn't."

Ethan smiled wider and hugged her tighter. "If you look just like your mother, then she must've been a beautiful woman."

Sarah made a sound halfway between a chuckle and a sob, and she was still smiling.

"I think we should celebrate." Alana said after a moment.

"Agreed." Ethan replied, and the rest of his wives agreed too.

"I'm guessing that you want Thea there?" Selene asked.

Sarah nodded. "Of course, and Ahjah too."

"Hang on..." Selene said, hesitated, then laughed out loud. "She'll be here as fast as she can; expect a Thea-shaped hole in the door."

Everyone laughed.

"Oh, Thea is asking if you want to do it here, or if you want a dinner personally catered by The King's own personal chef..." Selene grinned at Sarah. "...hosted in one of the palace's dining rooms."

Sarah's brilliant green eyes lit up like a Christmas tree. Ethan couldn't help but notice how much more expressive she was without the demon, but he didn't think that was because of a change in her, just a change in what he could see of her.

It was a really good change.

* * *

Beth couldn't help but smile at Sarah's new look and demeanor. Yet at the same time, she couldn't get the demon's accusation out of her mind. What if he had been telling the truth? It was Sarah, so it seemed unlikely, but still, what if...

*Dominus?* She thought to him privately, not wanting to raise the issue with anyone else. *What about what the demon said about Sarah not being a virgin?*

He glanced at her for a moment before replying. *It's a demon; it was lying.*

*But what if it wasn't?* She asked.

*Do you really think that Sarah -- little miss can't hear us talking about sex or flirting without going red -- really jumped into bed with some random guy under the demon's influence?*

*Well, I suppose not.* The blonde replied.

*I trust her.* Ethan added. Beth was going to reply, but didn't get a chance.

"What are you two talking about?" Alana asked rather pointedly.

Beth winced. *Sorry Dominus.*

Ethan sighed, then explained.

Sarah looked horrified. "I... I..." She worked her jaw for several seconds, unable to get anything else out.

Ethan held up his hand. "You don't need to explain. I believe you, and I think the demon was lying."

Sarah looked slightly reassured, but not completely. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure." He assured her.

"What about the rest of you?" Sarah asked.

Both Beth and Kendra were a hair slower in saying they believed her than the rest. And Beth actually felt slightly bad about that because she really did believe Sarah. Well, she was, like, 99% sure.

"Selene could read my mind to prove it." Sarah said after looking at the two of them.

"That's really not necessary." Ethan replied.

"I don't want anyone to wonder." Sarah's tone was quite firm.

Selene looked at Ethan.

He hesitated, then shrugged and looked at Sarah. "If you're sure."

She nodded.

Ethan shrugged. "If it'll make you feel better, sure."

"Um, let me open a door in my mental defenses." Sarah said, paused, then nodded to Selene.

The telepath closed her eyes for about a minute, then chuckled and opened her eyes. "She's as pure as the driven snow." Though she had an amused smile on her face.

"What's the smile for?" Beth asked.

"I'd tell you, but it's not my secret to tell." Selene nudged Sarah, then looked at her significantly. Sarah's green eyes widened a bit after several seconds, then she went bright red.

Everyone chuckled.

"I'm sorry I doubted you." Beth said after a moment. "I didn't really, I just couldn't help wondering..."

"You were being curious." Sarah said. "I know you, and that you didn't mean anything by it; it's okay."

"Oh, thank you." The blonde breathed a sigh of relief.

"You two should probably kiss and make up." Selene said with that same smile on her face.

Sarah went even redder and stammered. "I-I, I don't think th-that-- Uh."

"I meant metaphorically, of course." Selene nudged her.

Everyone laughed.

* * *

Ethan couldn't help but smile at the beautiful young woman he was honored to call his betrothed. Her newly-revealed physical beauty was only part of it, the rest was the beaming smile on her face. She and Beth were currently talking, and Ethan recognized it as the kind of 'relationship repair' talk that women often engaged in after a minor issue between them.

It was good to see.

*So, I got Sarah's permission to tell you this.* Selene thought to him privately. *The reason she turned so red is that as the wedding gets closer, she's been wondering about sex more, and imagining it more.*

*Oh?* He replied, curious what his telepathic wife had seen.

*Yup.* Selene was keeping her face neutral, not giving away their telepathic conversation to others in the room. *She really wants to feel like she's a full part of our family.* Selene paused. *In every way.*

*Every way?* He resisted the urge to react, and instead kept his face neutral. *Is that why you were teasing her about kissing Beth?*

*Yup.* Selene replied. *She's nervous, but she really wants to try everything that we normally do in bed.*

*She wants to, or doesn't want to feel left out?* He asked.

*Both.* Selene replied. *She has some insecurity that since she's the last wife and the rest of us have been through so much together, that she'll be the odd one out.*

*She won't, but okay.* He replied.

*There's one more thing.* Selene added. *She really loves kids. She hasn't said much about it because she knows that she can't get pregnant before the war is over, but she really wants them. A lot.*

*Oh?*

*Yup.* Selene replied. *She's quieter about it, but definitely.*

Ethan considered that for a moment. He really liked that idea, but again, the dangers of war...

He was considering that when the door to their suite burst open and Thea came tearing in, saw Sarah, and made a beeline toward her. The two great friends embraced tightly and Thea began gushing over Sarah's new look, leading his betrothed to get a little pink in the cheeks.

"Not used to so many compliments?" Thea asked.

Sarah bit her lip and shook her head.

"Get used to them..." He looked at her pointedly. "...gorgeous."

Sarah beamed.

* * *

Yalia found herself without much of an answer to Epheny's question of what she wanted to be in life. She thought about it for several seconds, and then bought herself another few seconds by sipping on the tea that Epheny had provided.

"Um, I always assumed that I would be a wife and mother." Yalia finally replied. "I guess I never really thought about anything else."

"Those are wonderful things." Epheny smiled. "However, it is not healthy for your children to have their mother make her life revolve around them. It tends to foster the mistaken notion in children that the world revolves around them. Such children then have great difficulty when they discover that it does not."

"Oh." The nymph frowned as she thought about it. "That makes sense."

"Children are important, and they should be a priority, as should your husband." Epheny continued. "A life in service to others is laudable. However, the tree that waters others, but not itself, withers." Epheny coughed slightly, then took another sip of her tea. "What waters you, Yalia?"

She felt her cheeks get slightly pink at one potential meaning of that, though she was sure Epheny didn't mean it that way.

"Yes, that is enjoyable." The frail elf said with a twinkle in her eyes. "But I meant something just for you. Perhaps a hobby, or a worthy cause, or even something you enjoy to occupy your time, like reading."

"Oh." Yalia thought about it for a moment. "Well, I liked translating the Book of Light with Matthew, but we finished."

"You might want to think of other things you enjoy." Epheny said, then added with a twinkle in her eye. "Not including your husband in the bedchamber."

The nymph chuckled, but nodded.

They spent almost an hour talking, and it was everything that Yalia thought having a grandmother would be like. It was wonderful.

"We should see how the menfolk are getting on." Epheny said during a comfortable lull in the conversation.

"Okay." Yalia stood and Epheny did likewise, but the elf had a little more trouble getting up and moved a little more slowly once she did.

"Do you need a hand?" Yalia asked.

"I'm fine dear." Epheny said as she slowly made her way through the cottage toward the study.

"I still think Yaleed's quotation is the stronger argument." Matthew was saying. "He outright quotes the Nesteri Sepo as part of his argument that men should abstain from fornication."

"Yes, but only as a negative example." Plesius replied. "A positive example would be far better, and more likely to result in the luminars of the Conclave accepting your interpretation."

"All that work we did won't go to waste, will it?" Yalia asked, her heart breaking for Alana because this was all to help her parents.

"I do not believe so." Plesius replied. "If nothing else, the debate has become public and those who take the prophet's position are more numerous than they have ever been."

"Oh, good." Yalia breathed a sigh of relief.

"The question now is, how might we--" Plesius stopped because someone had knocked on the cottage's door.

"Who might that be?" Plesius said, then got up, walked to the entryway, and opened the door.

"Honored High Priest." An elf in a royal guard uniform bowed. "I have come to inform you that the demon in the prophet's betrothed has been exorcised, and I bear a message for the Prophet's traveling companions."

Plesius smiled and waved the man in.

He bowed to Matthew and Yalia. "The King wished me to inform you that the Prophet shall attend a private dinner to celebrate the occasion, and that you have been invited to celebrate this most joyous event."

Matthew and Yalia both grinned.

* * *

Candice tested the weight on her new wooden leg, making sure that she held on tightly to the railing nearby so she didn't fall. The railing had been installed in her suite while she had been at the fitting, which was incredibly generous.

The new leg felt strange. Or more accurately, it didn't 'feel' at all. It was strange to walk on something that she couldn't feel. It had been fitted perfectly to her thigh, so much so that it felt like a second skin. They had magically hardened the leather that her thigh fit into, and had told her that it would need to be adjusted occasionally over the next few weeks as her musculature changed to fit her new situation.

The wooden leg had been sculpted, painted, and stained with some kind of oil to give it depth, and it really did look a lot like the leg she had lost. They had finished the toning job at the workshop, and it was incredibly close. The leg also had a joint in the knee that seemed to want to move like a real leg when she tried to walk. Not exactly like, but similar and it seemed to have some kind of spring system to make it easier.

She couldn't imagine what something like this cost.

It was almost scary to think that she was now learning to walk on something that probably cost more than several years' wages in her hometown.

It was both surprisingly easy to walk with it, and yet also surprisingly hard at the same time. She would assuredly need a cane or something while she was learning to walk with it; she would get used to it, but it wouldn't happen overnight.

Knock. Knock.

"Come in." She called as she stopped and turned toward the door.

It opened to reveal Ahjah. "The Prophet finally eliminated Sarah's demon, and The King is throwing a dinner in the palace to celebrate. Naturally, you're invited."

Candice beamed.

* * *

The King observed the goings-on of the Prophet's party from a balcony above the dining room, a contented smile on his face. The Prophet, his wives, and their traveling companions looked to be in the best of spirits. The laughter and conversation flowed easily between everyone below him, and that was the reason for the smile on his face. He had been invited too of course, and he had joined them for a short time, but his presence did not add to the celebration.

"Your Majesty."

The King turned toward Prince George, who had apparently just arrived.

"Your Highness." The King head bowed.

"My spectral investigator confirmed that the demonic taint is completely gone." The Crown Prince said.

The King nodded; Prince George sometimes walked the line between statements and giving him information when they were alone, and he appreciated that. They both watched the party for several moments as nigh-raucous laughter burst out. More than one person was clutching his side, and several were red-faced from laughter.

"It is rare to see such unrestrained joy." Prince George observed.

"It is." The King agreed. "For all the troubles they have encountered, they have earned such a time as this."

"I cannot disagree." The Crown Prince replied. "My men are hard at work confirming their story, and so far, not one thing has failed the confirmation process."

"I expected nothing less." The King said with a smile.

"In confidence, I am of the same mind." Prince George said. "Partially because none but Illuminar Himself -- blessed be He -- could have assembled seven such wives, and such numerous friends of the quality that the Prophet can claim."

"I cannot disagree." The King nodded. "I only wish that they would have many more such moments as these in their future."

"I expect that they will, despite the trials that await them." Prince George smiled.

The King looked down at the party again, and noticed the newly-unpossessed Sarah laughing as he had never seen her laugh before. It was unrestrained pure joy without a care in the world or the weight of the world on her shoulders. Her brilliant green eyes were sparkling, her mouth displayed a near-continuous wide smile, and she looked...

...free.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Note: This chapter began on day 145 of Ethan's life in the Ten Kingdoms and ended on day 146. I submit new chapters on the last Wednesday of every month, and they usually drop after the 2-3 day review process. Thus I'll submit the next chapter on July 29th, and it'll probably drop on July 31st or August 1st.

I'd like to extend a very special thanks to my editors, and also several of my patrons, two of whom didn't want to be credited by name. So, to both Anonymous patrons, 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