A Dragons Tale Ch 59

Chapter 59: Red vs. Blue

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

:)

* * *

Fiona took a deep breath as she looked up, trying to calm her nerves by focusing on what her two new handmaidens were discussing behind her.

"Hey." Glessie said to her fellow handmaiden.

"Yes?" Nessie replied.

"You ever wonder why we're here?"

"That is one of life's great mysteries, is it not?" Nessie replied. "Why are we here? Are our life paths the product of a random coincidence, or is Illuminar truly guiding everything with a plan for us?"

Fiona smiled as she listened.

"What?" Glesse replied. "No, I meant why are we standing here before dinner? Are we going to eat in the great hall, or is there somewhere else that handmaidens eat?"

Fiona glanced behind herself at the two handmaidens who were waiting at the doors just like she was. Her husband, Lord Delmar -- that was still a strange thought -- had stepped away to take care of something and hadn't returned yet. They were waiting for him so the newlyweds could enter the great hall together for the first time as husband and wife.

After the wedding but before dinner, the couple had taken a moment to stop at the announcement balcony so the citizens could see their new First Lady. The cheers and applause had been thunderous, even more so than during the announcement. It made Fiona quite uncomfortable being in front of that many people, but she had agreed to be the First Lady and knew that was part of her role.

She took another deep breath and let it out slowly; she could do this, she would be fine.

"Fiona." Lord Delmar said as he returned, then he offered his arm and she hooked her hand on the crook of his elbow. It was strange; she could see right through his disguise now. She could see the gossamer outline of his disguise, but she could also see through it like it wasn't there. She was holding the arm of a dragon who was also the Lord of Narlotten.

"Come." He said, then walked forward and two guards opened the doors ahead of them.

"For the first time, I present to you, the Lord and Lady Delmar." Sir Warrick announced as the door opened.

Everyone jumped to their feet and clapped. Most of it seemed genuine, but Fiona wasn't naïve enough to think that everyone was happy. All the servants seemed genuinely pleased though, which she appreciated.

As they approached the high table, something occurred to Fiona: where would she sit? She definitely didn't feel comfortable taking the Lady Helene's chair, partially because it had sat empty for seventeen years at that point. To Fiona, it felt like sitting in it would be a statement; it felt like she would be replacing the Lady Helene and that was the last thing that she was wanting.

"Milord." She said before they'd truly arrived. "Could I be sitting on your right this evening? I'm wanting to thank Sir Warrick properly and Lady Ekthros isn't back yet so there's an empty chair."

He glanced at her and nodded once. "Very well." The corners of his mouth were perhaps fractionally higher than they had been before she'd asked. It was subtle, but she was pretty sure she wasn't imagining it.

That made her smile.

* * *

Alana walked down the streets of Dotmier hand in hand with Rachel as they went to collect the bride and groom since they were rather late for their own reception.

"I sometimes wish my honeymoon phase would've lasted a little longer." Alana said with a sigh as they neared Matthew's house.

"Alternate perspective: every time Ethan marries another woman, the honeymoon period gets extended for everyone." The Redhead chuckled. "So really, you've had the longest honeymoon of any of us."

The wood elf laughed. "It does extend things for everyone a little, doesn't it?"

"A little." Rachel nodded. "And I... I want to participate."

"Yeah?" Alana asked as they stopped at the house matching Ketura's description of Matthew's house.

She nodded. "Can... can you help me?"

The wood elf felt like her heart would grow larger than the town. "Are you asking what I think you are?"

Rachel nodded slowly as her entire face went scarlet.

"Did you have an idea when you wanted to... 'participate'?"

"Um, not with everyone." The redhead squeaked out. "At least not at first. I don't think I could yet. I was hoping it would just be..." She swallowed. "...um, just be... be us. Um, you and I."

Alana couldn't have stopped smiling if she wanted to. "Name the time and place and I'll be there."

"Um, not until after the orc battle and Selene finishes with the portal." Rachel replied. "I would be too distracted and worried if we did it before then. But..." She bit her lip.

"But...? Maybe after?" Alana prompted.

Rachel nodded, her cheeks were still very red, though she had an embarrassed smile on her face too.

"I can't wait." Alana beamed, then knocked on Matthew and Yalia's door. "Matthew! Yalia!" She called through the door.

They heard the sound of movement behind the door for almost a minute, then the door opened. The newlyweds were a hastily-dressed mess. Their hair was all out of place, their clothes were rumpled and not put on quite right, and they both looked exactly how Alana had felt on her wedding night.

"I know that look." Rachel said with a smile and slightly pink cheeks.

Matthew's dopey smile got a bit wider as he scratched the back of his head. Yalia just looked up at him adoringly.

"Come on, it's time to head back." Alana said. "It'll all still work the same way when the reception is over, and I promise it gets better the more you practice."

"Better?" The newlyweds said at the same time, both with their eyes wide.

"Much better." Rachel nodded. "And I promise you can 'practice' more after the reception."

"Oh, we will." Yalia said dreamily as she looked at her husband adoringly, then she went bright red.

Alana and Rachel laughed as Matthew beamed.

* * *

"Would you like to dance, Mrs. Ejder." Ethan asked Kendra as he extended his hand towards her.

"I would love to, Mr. Ejder." The dragon huntress replied, taking his hand.

The reception was in full swing now that the newlyweds had returned. Dinner was good because apparently the people of Dotmier

really

knew how to cook. The chapel was the only large unused building in the town, so everyone had moved the seats to the edges to make room in the center. Ethan led Kendra out onto the dance floor and started leading her in the only dance he knew.

"I assume we're leaving with Lucien tonight to be ready for the orc battle?" She asked as they moved on the dance floor.

"Yup, Anthiel will fly us there during the night." He replied.

She nodded and he spun her. "Good idea, and I assume that--"

"Kendra." He interrupted with a pointed look. "It's okay to relax and just enjoy dancing for a while."

The raven-haired woman nodded and then she did seem to relax a bit. He finished the dance with her and she was grinning silly by the time they were done. She really did love to dance. All his other wives wanted a dance afterwards, and he was only too happy to oblige.

Eventually, the festivities started to wind down.

Someone called for the opening of presents and it seemed like all of Arven's, Ketura's, Matthew's, and Yalia's friends had been holding onto them for a long time anticipating this day. It was wonderful to watch. As he did, Harold Gladstone came up to him.

"My daughter told me about the birthdays." Victoria's father said quietly enough to not be overheard.

"You should know that I only told her because someone asked." Ethan replied.

"I know, she told me about Myla and Thea as well." Harold replied. The man looked at him for a long moment, took a deep breath, and then spoke. "Take Vicky with you, and you have my permission to marry her if you choose her. And no bride price; I'm already in your debt for saving my family."

"I'm not sure that's the safest idea." He replied. "You saw the possessed man who attacked us."

"I did, but I also know how hard it is for her to trust anyone." Harold replied. "She doesn't know that I know she's telepathic -- I have mental defenses because I'm a lawyer -- but her telepathy has been terrible on her. She doesn't like people or trust that anyone is better than 'mostly terrible'. Victoria doesn't like people and yet she likes you and your family."

"I'm glad, but we're talking about her safety."

"You don't have children yet." He smiled sadly. "One of the hardest lessons about parenthood is that you are responsible for more than just your child's safety. Yes, that takes priority when they are young, but once they are older, there are other things to consider. For example, if one of my sons wanted to volunteer at the Wilderness Outpost, I would support him even if it grieved my heart."

"Wilderness Outpost?" Ethan asked.

"It's below The Gap, on the southern side of the Ivernian Mountains where the Wilding Lands meet the thin stretch of land between the southern side of the Ivernian Mountains and the Gulf of Sayora." He explained. "It's the most dangerous military posting in Ivernia, but it also guards a crucial point of attack into Ivernia. It's honorable, noble work to defend your country, even though it's dangerous."

Ethan nodded slowly, trying to imagine what he would think if one of his future sons wanted a posting like that.

"Being a parent is serious business." Harold continued. "There's a fine line between a man protecting his children versus allowing them to grow into who Illuminar created them to be. While I would prefer my children were all safe of course, I won't deny my daughter a chance of happiness by denying her the opportunity to spend time with the one man who she hasn't completely dismissed and intentionally driven away."

Ethan took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I hate to agree, but that does make sense."

"Good." Harold nodded. "You're a good man Ethan, but I think you'll find that being a father will change your view of the world more than you could imagine." He looked at Victoria, who at the moment was talking with some other guests before he continued. "Sometimes, you can hurt someone you love by protecting her too much."

"I think I'll have a hard time learning that lesson." Ethan admitted while thinking about his unborn daughter growing in Alana's womb.

"And that's half the reason I am giving you my permission to marry my daughter; you care deeply about your family and even a blind man could tell."

"They make it easy to care." He smiled, then looked at Harold. "What's the other half of the reason?"

"You're a prophet of Illuminar. They rarely lead easy lives, but I have yet to hear of one who wasn't a good man. Besides, I don't think Illuminar is done with you yet. I think we can expect great things from you Mr. Ejder."

"Thank you." He nodded.

"Do your best to keep my girl safe." Harold said in a forcedly even tone, though his voice hitched slightly.

"I will." Ethan promised, and afterward the conversation turned to more pleasant topics.

A few minutes later, Taloni skipped up to him. "Master, come on; Alana wants you to see the present you gave to Matthew and Yalia."

Harold laughed. "I've often been curious to see what presents I got my children as well."

Ethan chuckled as he followed the Fey teen over to the presents' table where his first wife held something small out to the happy couple. It looked like a small coin purse and he recognized his wood-elven wife's handiwork in the stitching and scrollwork.

"I made and enchanted the purse, Shara and Lyra filled it." Alana said as Matthew took it. Judging by how his hand dropped slightly when she dropped it into his hand, it looked heavy. Matthew's eyes went wide, then he let Yalia hold it for a moment and the young nymph's did as well.

"Well, take a look." Lyra urged, since she, Shara, and Lucien were standing right there.

Mathew undid the two strings that held it shut and the newlyweds looked inside, their jaws dropping as they did so.

"T-that's, t-that's..." Yalia stammered.

"That's more than I've ever seen..." Mathew trailed off.

"Consider it a down payment." Lucien said. "Yalia showed me a portion of your translation of the Book of Light while my family was dining at Arven's house. I would like a copy for the Timarou Library when you complete it."

"We hope this gold will enable you to spend more time working on it." Shara added.

"Just don't forget to have fun being married." Lyra added with a sly grin.

The newlyweds stared at them, mouths agape. Ethan's dragon senses could tell that the coin purse was mostly full of gold. He wasn't sure how much money was actually in there, but he was willing to bet that Matthew and Yalia had just become the richest couple in Dotmier by a large margin.

The newlyweds seemed stunned for the next half hour, much to the amusement of everyone who knew what was in the coin purse, which was limited to Lucien's family and Ethan's family. As the festivities died down, Lucien approached Ethan with a small wooden box.

"For your collection." The lord said as he extended it.

"What is it?" He asked as he took the box.

Lucien gestured to it, so Ethan opened it to see a small, thick metal disc about four inches in diameter with a nearly two-inch hole in the center. It looked to be made of dragon steel and there was a thin membrane of something that resembled water with a subtle reflectance in the colors of the rainbows.

"A portal stone?" Ethan asked quietly.

Lucien nodded. "With the Timarou crest so as not to be confused with the others."

Ethan looked and sure enough, the Timarou crest of a rearing horse was present, engraved into the metal itself.

"This will allow us to keep in contact should it be necessary." The Lord continued. "Shara instructed the Timarou mages to begin work on it when our wives visited Laerten."

"Thank you." Ethan nodded. "I really appreciate this."

"If it was not obvious by now, you are a friend to Timarou; merely say the word and you shall have our aid in whatever noble endeavor you are pursuing."

"I appreciate your friendship even more than the gift." He replied.

"Good." Lucien nodded. "Now come, battle awaits us in the morning and it would not do for late revelries to prevent us from being well rested."

"Agreed." Ethan nodded, then slowly started herding everyone back to the Argo, including Myla, Victoria, and Thea. Lucien also came, since that was the most efficient way for him to get there.

* * *

Fiona took a deep breath as Lord Delmar offered her his hand as he stood up when dinner was concluded. The food was incredible but the bride hadn't eaten a lot, being nervous about the upcoming wedding night. She wasn't entirely sure why she was nervous though. She wasn't a virgin and knew how sex worked. Then again, Sean had always been clear that he found her attractive whereas her second husband had given no indication of a similar opinion.

She took his hand and he led her gracefully from the great hall. Unlike her first wedding, there weren't any whistles or teasing comments from the guests. Both hers and Sean's families had made no secret about how happy they were about the match, and both sides had made both bride and groom blush as they left the reception. She had hated being so embarrassed at the time, but it was a fond memory now.

"This way." He said, turning and heading in the direction of his office.

She followed him through the familiar corridors but he turned before they would reach his office and went down a blind corridor that she had never been down. It was unremarkable except that there were two guards stationed at its entrance. The corridor wasn't very long and he stopped at the end and turned to face his left.

There was a door that wasn't ornate, but something about it seemed different than the other doors in the castle. It looked stronger and perhaps a bit thicker somehow, though that was obviously just her impression.

Most notably, it had no door latch.

Her husband -- that was still such a strange thought -- rested his hand on it for a moment, then pushed it open, stepped back, and indicated that she should enter. She did, not sure what she would find. Apparently, no one except Lord Delmar had been in the room for seventeen years, not since the Lady Helene had died.

The bedroom was large and rectangular with a large bed in the center of it. The bed was large enough that if she laid on it with her arms stretched above her head and tried to touch both the headboard and footboard at the same time, she would probably still be two feet short. It was almost that wide as well. What was surprising was the color and pattern. It was a soft purple velvet with a flowery pattern embroidered into it with purple thread. There were two pillows on the bed, one of which was the same color and the other of which looked like it would've exactly matched the Lady Helene's hair.

On the same side of the room as the red pillow was an obviously feminine dresser with a large central mirror and two mirrors beside it at an angle. In front of it was a chair obviously made for a woman, plus she doubted that Lord Delmar could've fit into it. There was a hairbrush on the dresser as well.

It still had a few red hairs dangling from it.

Fiona felt her throat get slightly tight as she saw that. Beside the hairbrush was what looked like a hairpin and a few other things that a typical noblewoman might have. Honestly, it looked like a woman had just finished getting ready for her day in a hurry and left a few things out in her haste. There was no dust on the dresser or items, and yet Fiona knew their owner hadn't needed them for seventeen years. Perhaps Lord Delmar dusted and put them back?

There was a feminine wardrobe on that side of the room and it also lacked dust of any kind. Nearer to the door of the room, there was a feminine rocking chair situated next to a much larger, more masculine one. Although the masculine one appeared to have collected dust from lack of use, the feminine one looked like it was cleaned regularly.

In fact, if Fiona hadn't known that the Lady Helene had died seventeen years ago, she would've guessed that a woman still lived in this room.

"I had planned to move her things." Lord Delmar said as he closed the door behind him.

She looked at him, her eyes feeling a little moist. Likewise, his eyes appeared to be a bit moist as well. Not enough that most people would notice, but she noticed.

"I'm sorry." She said softly, looking around the room. "I don't think I was quite understanding how you were feeling--" She stopped, then corrected herself. "--how you

are

feeling about the Lady Helene.

He nodded once but didn't reply. He then stepped into the room, which took him past the smaller and more feminine rocking chair. As he passed it, he gently touched it with a few fingers as he passed by. She noticed that the rocking chair appeared to have a significant wear spot right where he had just touched it. Ordinarily, that would be odd since it was on the top back of the chair where its occupant would never touch it.

"I will move them now." He said as he looked at the items on Helene's dresser, but he didn't move.

"Milord, maybe there's no reason that they are needing to be moved." She said after a moment.

"I would not ask you to live in her shadow." He replied.

He still didn't move.

"You aren't asking, I'm offering." She replied. "Maybe you are forgetting that I've lost a spouse too." Her voice cracked slightly. "I'm hating to admit it, but I'm thinking you were loving Helene more than I was loving Sean. I know what my Sean's death was doing to me, so I can't be imagining what this is like for you. Anything I can be doing to be making it easier on you is something I'm happy to be doing."