A Dragon's Tale Ch. 53

Thor let out a decidedly disagreeable meow.

"What? I do." She said defensively as she wiped her wet cheeks again.

Thor gave her what was undeniably a skeptical look before he laid down on her chest and snuggled in between her breasts as usual. She wiped her eyes again, but doing so mid-stream did little to dry them.

That's how she fell asleep, crying as Thor snuggled on her chest.

* * *

Beth sighed as she concentrated on healing the needle poke that Rachel had just given her. Practicing healing was not only painful but also really boring and rather hard. They were mostly donating their mana to Alana to enchant the shields and dresses, but a bit of healing practice had somehow snuck in anyway because they could regenerate their mana faster than Alana and Rachel could make the dresses. The blonde wasn't pretending that she was happy about it. It took a lot of her focus to close the wound and a lot of mana as well. It was after breakfast and the ladies were all practicing their healing skills, Selene included.

Kendra and Selene were practicing on each other and seemed determined to avoid talking about their impending parting for as long as possible.

"You're getting better and faster." Rachel observed when the blonde had finished.

"Thank you. I know I might need to heal someone eventually, but I really hate this."

"Me too." Rachel gave her a knowing smile, then raised the needle again. "Ready."

The blonde groaned, then nodded.

"Actually, hang on." Ethan interjected as he approached. "Beth, can you spare a few minutes to talk?"

"Thank you Dominus!" She jumped up and away from the needle.

He chuckled and then led her away to the bow of the ship. "I wanted to see how you were doing. You were really in a bad way after that airship fight until you talked to Kendra. You seem like you're still doing fine, but I wanted to make sure and also ask what you two talked about."

"I'm okay Dominus." She smiled, then related about her conversation with Kendra and why she had been so bothered, as well as what Kendra had said about sheep, wicked sheep, wolves, and sheepdogs.

"Hmm, wicked sheep." Ethan mused when she had finished. "Interesting. I've heard the sheep, wolves, sheepdog thing before on Earth, but never the bit about wicked sheep."

"That was the part I needed to hear." The blonde explained. "I was worried that I'd helped kill innocent men, but Kendra helped me to see that someone can be wicked without intending to be; someone can be wicked without being malevolent. When that man asked if I was an angel, I... well, I was worried I had helped to kill a good man."

"Ah." Ethan nodded his head. "And that's why you asked me to stop calling you angel. That makes sense."

She nodded. "But, it doesn't bother me now. And I like that you have a name just for me."

"Oh." Ethan nodded his head up and down as if he was thinking deeply, but something made her think that was an act. "Then I suppose it might be okay if I called you that name again."

"It would." She beamed.

"Okay Beth, I can do that."

"I would like that."

"Oh good." He continued the mock-pensive expression. "I'll have to keep that in mind..." He locked eyes with her. "...Beth."

She sighed. "Dom-i-nus."

"Yes Elizabeth?" He replied with a mischievous grin. "Was there something you wanted Mrs. Ejder?"

"I still can't believe that's my last name; I'm a 'Mrs.' now." Beth said, shaking her head as she did so. "That's just so weird. People could call me Mrs. Ejder and that's my actual name. I like it, but it's weird."

Ethan chuckled. "You think that's weird, remember that I come from a place where polygamy is banned. I now have five wives and will eventually have seven; that's just nuts."

Beth nodded and there was a comfortable silence for a few moments.

"Hey, Angel." Ethan said softly.

Beth beamed, her heart inflating and going all warm and gooey inside. "Yes Dominus?"

"I'm glad you're doing better."

"Me too." She looked at Selene and Kendra, who were now gearing up to spar. "Kendra isn't though. Will she be okay?"

"I think so, eventually." He replied. "I know this is tearing her up inside though."

"Yeah." Beth nodded. "She helped me so much, I just want to help her in return."

"I know the feeling." He replied. "She's great on the battlefield, but with matters of the heart..." he shook his head slowly. "I think this is one of those things that we'll have to hope time will heal."

"I wish Selene didn't have to leave." The blonde teen said after a moment.

"Me too Angel, me too."

They sat in silence for a few minutes, not saying anything but just leaning up against the railing next to each other. Her husband looked contemplative as he scanned the Ivernian countryside. Beth didn't know what to think. The idea that Selene might truly leave their lives permanently was just...

Just...

It didn't seem real.

She'd become so much a part of their lives lately that the idea of her leaving just didn't sit right with the teen. She couldn't argue with Illuminar and the birthdays were rather telling, but still... She looked at her husband and he also seemed deep in thought.

"Copper for your thoughts?" She asked.

He looked at her. "I was thinking that without Selene, we're down not only a wonderful woman but also a good fighter." He frowned. "I guess we'll have to be more careful about the kinds of fights we get into. I guess it's a good thing that Kendra gave you that perspective because I might need my angelic scout soon."

"I like that." She smiled at the phrase 'angelic scout'. "For the longest time, I felt like there wasn't much I could contribute, but now I can. I just wish..." She frowned.

"Wish what?"

"Well, you needed to fly me to those airships." She explained. "You also needed to fly me down so I could scout around the orcs when we first met them. I wish I didn't need you to take me everywhere."

Ethan grinned. "Ah, so my angel wants wings."

She smiled. "That would be amazing."

"It's no problem, I'll run to Earth and get you a Red Bull; problem solved." He winked.

"Huh?" She stared. "Why would a bull be able to give me wings, and why would it need to be red?"

He explained the energy drink's slogan and ads, after which she chuckled. "Your world is so strange."

"Not really, you grew up there." He looked at her pointedly.

"You really consider the Ten Kingdoms your world now?"

He nodded. "Almost everyone I care about is here, you ladies are from here, and I'm making friends here. In fact, I have more and better friends here than I ever had at home. I miss my parents, but besides that, I don't miss Earth very much."

She kissed him.

It seemed like the natural thing to do. The fact that he considered the Ten Kingdoms home and didn't want to move back to Earth just made her feel all warm and cozy inside. She added a little tongue to the kiss too.

"Mmm." He smiled when the kiss ended. "Not that I'm complaining, but what was that for?"

"For you being you." She smiled.

"I should be me more often then." He grinned.

She glanced at the captain's cabin door and gave him a sly smile. "You could be you right now."

"You just want to get out of being poked."

"Oh, I really hope I don't get out of that Dominus..." She said with a twinkle in her eye.

He grinned back.

* * *

"It's too sudden. It's too abrupt."

Ethan looked at his fifth wife standing next to him as they stood at the bow of the Argo. She had fallen asleep crying in his arms the day before yesterday, spent almost the entire previous day with Selene, and now they were coming up on the rendezvous point where they would meet Luminar Kossel, not far from the portal and very close to Sarah's inn. He would've been lying if he said that he wasn't looking forward to seeing her again. They had made the two-day sail from Dotmier in near-record time thanks to some excellent wind and now the meeting was imminent.

He could see the airship on the horizon.

"It does seem quick." Ethan nodded. "Hell, it seems so abrupt that it's jarring."

Kendra nodded, but didn't say anything else and her face didn't reveal anything either. She had been like that since she'd woken up the previous day. Her mask was firmly in place. He would've thought she was fine if he didn't know her so well. He had noticed that she had been getting up with Taloni to read the book of light with her in the mornings and that seemed to help a little, but not nearly enough.

"Kendra, I'm always here to talk." He offered, knowing she wouldn't but wanting to offer anyway.

She looked at him, swallowed, tried and failed to smile at him, and then raised her enchanted spyglass to look at the airship on the Horizon.

"That's... That's the Midnight Sun." Kendra said after a few moments.

Ethan trained his dragon eyes on the airship on the horizon as he replied to Kendra. "You know the ship?"

"It's Falkaan's airship." The dragon huntress replied as she stared more intently at it. "I guess Luminar Kossel decided to hire him to make the trip."

"Hmm, isn't that the guy that led those mercs to attack us in Arcanum; you know, when Beth died?"

Kendra lowered the spyglass. "You said yourself that he ordered the men to let Rachel go."

"True, but you're sure he won't turn us in?"

"Not if he's with Luminar Kossel." Kendra replied. "They go way back from their Aldmiri days and they trust each other. Well, as much as two Aldmiri can. Kossel might be infuriating occasionally, but seems genuinely interested in helping us, his request to capture Lady Ekthros instead of killing her notwithstanding."

"Okay, I'll trust you on that." Ethan replied. He wasn't entirely reassured, but he knew Kendra would rather die than put their family in danger.

He turned and walked back towards the rear of the ship where everyone else was. His wives were practicing healing each other again today, which of course meant they were somewhat grumpy right now.

"Dominus, why aren't you practicing healing too?" Beth asked somewhat grumpily.

"Because I've been enchanting myself to increase my speed." He replied. "And I can't just get more mana like you ladies can, you can get it whenever you want."

The blonde grinned mischievously. "I can get'it' whenever I want?"

"Trying to get out of it again that way?" Ethan chuckled and then assumed a mock-fatherly tone. "Not until your healing chores are done young lady."

"Oh, I slacked off on those." The blonde replied in a mock-guilty tone. "I should be thoroughly punished for that."

He chuckled. "later."

"Master, we could donate mana so you could practice healing." Taloni suggested with a grin. "There's no reason you need to miss out..."

He sighed. "Damn, that's a good idea. I can't use donated mana to enchant myself, but I bet I could heal with it." He thought about it for a few moments and then nodded. "Crap; I really should practice that."

"I'll happily donate my mana so you can Dominus." Beth volunteered.

"But that would make you a good girl, and good girls don't get punished." He grinned wickedly.

The blonde playfully stuck her tongue out at him.

"Perhaps you should start training a little later." Rachel suggested. "We'll be in range to dock with Luminar Kossel's airship soon."

"Good point." He looked at Kendra as something occurred to him. "You said he was one of your instructors, right?"

She nodded. "He mostly taught the Book of Light, though occasionally he would teach while we were sparring."

"Sparring? Is he any good?" Ethan asked.

"I tried to punch him once, right after our fight in The Arena." The former Aldmiri replied. "I ended up flat on my back with the wind knocked out of me and no idea how I got there."

He raised his eyebrows. "Hmm, that's pretty impressive." He turned to Serif, their resident nigh-invincible duelist. "How would you fare against him?"

"Not well." The wiry man replied.

"You're kidding." Ethan replied.

Serif shook his head. "Taloni has a greater chance of defeating me than I do of defeating him."

Everyone stared at him.

"I knew he was good, but you'rethe Serif." Kendra looked at him. "He's really that good?"

"We once called him 'Balyeerah'." Serif replied.

Several people chuckled, Kendra seemed surprised, and Selene looked as confused as he felt.

"Um, could someone clue in the non-Ten Kingdoms natives?" The Brazilian woman asked.

"Tradition says that 'Balyeerah' is the name of Illuminar's Angel of Death." Taloni replied in an awed whisper.

"Oh." Ethan said as the full impact of that nickname hit him. The Angel of Death? Luminar Kossel had been nicknamed after the Angel of Death?

That was quite a statement.

"Well, he wasn't exactly the angel of death." Serif said.

"Yeah." Raklan grunted. "He was the guy you sent to kill thefucking Angel of Death."

Serif inclined his head in concession.

Ethan stared at the nigh-invincible duelist for several seconds before speaking. "You're not kidding."

"No, I am not." He replied.

*So, Luminar Kossel versus Chuck Norris?* Selene thought privately to him.

He chuckled, which of course led to him repeating what Selene had said, which then led to them explaining the various Chuck Norris jokes, and then to the Earthlings reciting as many as they could remember. The ladies seemed somewhat confused by them but that didn't stop them from laughing.

"Captain." Anthiel called from the quarterdeck above them. "The Midnight Sun is signaling that we should come alongside to dock."

"Make it so." Ethan said in what he thought was a rather good impression of Jean Luc Picard from Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Not long afterwards, the Argo and the Midnight Sun had drawn alongside each other. Serif and Raklan threw docking ropes to the other ship and then once they were reasonably secure, they threw another rope. The rope was pulled over to the Midnight Sun, dragging a flexible leather walkway with it. Once it was secured to both ships, Serif activated it and it became quite rigid, allowing for easy travel between the two airships. The sides folded up for safety and rigidity and it was wide enough to make travel easy and safe.

Once it was attached, Luminar Kossel hopped onto the far end with rather more spring in his step than most people his age. He looked to be in his late fifties or perhaps early sixties and was in excellent shape. His head was somewhat balding and what remained of his hair was gray. He wasn't wearing Luminar's robes, but rather a set of practical clothes that would blend in almost anywhere.

Perhaps it was what he had just learned, but Ethan thought that there was something rather tough-looking about the man. He reminded Ethan a bit of the rough and tough heroes of the old Spaghetti Westerns. However, the man's eyes were warm and his smile genuine.

He called as he stopped just before boarding the Argo. "Permission to come aboard?"

"Granted." Ethan smiled, trying to remind himself of all that the man had done for him and his family instead of dwelling on what he had just learned. Ethan made the introductions to everyone since Luminar Kossel had only met himself, Alana, Rachel, and Kendra.

"And this is Selene Dawson; she's from Earth like we are." Ethan finished.

"From Earth?" The priest smiled. "Then in that case..." He stood up a little straighter and spoke in a near-perfect imitation of James Bond: "The name is Kossel; Adrian Kossel."

* * *

~~EPILOGUE for Chapter 53

"Here you are Lord Delmar." Fiona said as she set his lunch down in front of him on the desk.

"Thank you." He replied without looking up or ceasing to write. He did that a lot. From what she understood, he used his mealtimes for such writing because the rest of his time was occupied.

"If I may?" She added after a moment.

He held up one finger on his left hand, finished writing a sentence, then struck the ink off the quill, put it in its holder, capped the bottle of ink, and then looked at her. "Proceed."

"I was just wanting to say that I'm really appreciating what you're doing for Sarah; helping her with her journey and all."

Lord Delmar inclined his head in acknowledgment but didn't say anything else.

"That was all, I'll be going now." She curtsied and then turned to leave.

However, she hadn't taken more than a step when the door to his office burst open and Lady Ekthros rushed in, ignoring her and heading straight for the lord's desk.

"My scout just portalled a letter; he's returned." Lady Ekthros said to him, slightly breathless. "He met and docked with another airship that has been in the area for some time now."

"Do you have assets in the area that are sufficient to the task?" The lord replied. Somewhat uncharacteristically, he had leaned forward slightly in his chair at the news.

"My scout isn't and the closest assets are almost a day away when accounting for the time necessary to get a message to them." Lady Ekthros replied.

Lord Delmar made a thoughtful sound and stood. He took a long look at the tapestry of Helene before turning and walking to the window, then staring out of it towards Ivernia to the south for several seconds.

"I will personally see that it is handled." Lord Delmar finally said.

"Personally?" Lady Ekthros asked with surprise in her tone.

The lord nodded once. "Tell my steward to clear my schedule until tomorrow morning."

"It will be done." She replied. "Also, I'm leaving on that fact-finding mission in a few hours; I'll be out of contact for several days."

"Very well." Lord Delmar replied dismissively.

Lady Ekthros hurried out of the room, sparing only a moment for a piercing look at Fiona before exiting, leaving the copper-haired woman alone with Lord Delmar once again.

"You heard nothing." He said after a few moments, still looking out the window towards Ivernia to the south.

"Aye, Lord Delmar." Fiona curtsied and left, saying a silent prayer to Illuminar that the lord would be successful in whatever mission he and Lady Ekthros had been referring to.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Note: This chapter began on day 99 of Ethan's life in the Ten Kingdoms and ended on day 102. I submit new chapters on the last Wednesday of every month, and they usually drop after the 2-3 days review process. Thus I'll submit the next chapter on January 31st, and it'll probably drop on February 2nd or 3rd.

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

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