A Dragon’s Tale

Rachel couldn't help but tear up slightly as Anthiel finished the service. The diminutive Fey bride looked adorable, beautiful, and blissfully happy. Likewise, Ethan -- though disguised -- also looked very happy. There was no doubt it was genuine either.

He was really happy.

Rachel looked around at all the people who'd turned out. It seemed like the moment Prayla mentioned that Taloni needed help with her wedding, everyone had dropped whatever they were doing to help. It was obvious that everyone here loved her.

Half the women in the camp had started baking for a feast afterward. One of the men had volunteered a wild hog he'd hunted earlier that day as the main course. Most of the younger girls had scattered at the call for flowers and returned with enough to supply a good-sized shop. Ethan had been running around, talking to Alana and Rachel herself the whole time as they had helped him set this up.

It was really amazing what everyone had put together for the blissfully happy Fey teen.

Alana was watching next to her with a very proud look on her face, and it looked like she had teared up in joy at one point in the service. Rachel couldn't pretend to understand why the wood elf had worked so hard to help Ethan get another wife, but she looked radiantly happy. Rachel had watched closely as the couple said their vows and they both looked just as happy.

It made the redhead slightly jealous.

She couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to walk down the aisle in white. She tried to imagine the man who would be waiting for her, but she couldn't. She thought of all the marriageable men she'd known in her life, but none of them quite measured up to Ethan. One came close, but--

Wait, what?

She shook her head slightly.

Since when had Ethan become the standard by which she measured men?

She had a high opinion of him, but she hadn't realized it was that high. She frowned, feeling slightly disturbed at the subconscious change that had taken place in her thoughts.

Hmm...

Everyone broke and started moving the tables into place for the wedding feast afterwards. There was no rhyme or reason to the seating, and she ended up at a table with some of the more taciturn miners. They were polite, but barely spoke to each other, let alone her.

She spent most of the meal feeling alone at a crowded table.

The food was good, and she found herself continually glancing over at the center table. Ethan and Taloni both looked very happy and she felt another slight twinge of jealousy. The Fey teen was only a year younger than she was, and she wished she could walk down an aisle in white soon. Sadly, there were no suitors on the horizon and none were likely to appear because she was a fugitive.

She sighed; that was life.

Feeling lonely, she looked around to see what the rest of the Argo's crew was up to. Hailey had engaged Thaltien in conversation and even seemed to get more than terse replies. Anthiel was mingling like she was born here. Raklan had engaged some of the burlier men in a drinking contest. Serif was involved in some sort of game that resembled the ancient and noble game of chess.

She didn't see Alana, but since the wood elf was so short that didn't bother her. What did bother her was the wood elf's acceptance of sharing a husband. Taloni was a nice girl, but she felt like her friend deserved better than merely being one of several wives.

She grimaced and shook her head.

"Hey, are you okay?" Alana asked as she walked up, which shook the redhead out of her reverie.

"I'm... I'm not sure." She replied honestly.

"Oh?" The wood elf said as she sat down next to her.

"I don't understand; how are you so happy about Ethan marrying another woman?"

She smiled mischievously. "Let me flip the question on its head; why shouldn't I be happy?"

Rachel opened her mouth, worked it soundlessly for a moment, and then finally spoke. "I don't even know how to answer that."

"Why?"

"Because I literally can't imagine why anyone would want to share a husband."

"Yeah, I couldn't until recently either." Alana acknowledged. "But I have to admit, the idea has really grown on me."

"Why?"

"Um, a couple of reasons." The chocolate-haired elf replied. "First, I never had siblings growing up. I always wanted that familial connection and I never had it. I realize that Taloni and Beth aren't my sisters, but I think they're the closest I'll ever come to having them."

"But don't you worry that he'll be too busy with his other wives and he'll have less time for you?"

"Not really." She said simply. "Ethan really cares about me. I'm certain that even if he ended up with a dozen wives, he'd do everything possible to make time for each one of them."

"But with three women -- assuming he can bring Beth back -- don't you think you'll get less time with him?"

"I probably will." The wood elf conceded. "But if I felt like I wasn't getting enough time and I needed to talk to him, don't you think he'd make time for me?"

"Yeah, he would." The redhead conceded.

"Me too, so I'm not very worried about that."

Rachel raised an eyebrow. "So, what are you worried about?"

Alana bit her lip, then glanced away. She took a deep breath, then looked back at her. "I know it's silly, but I'm worried I won't be a good wife and he won't want me anymore."

Rachel had to work hard to not laugh out loud and it apparently showed on her face.

"What?!" Alana said defensively.

"You do realize you're basically his dream girl and you're working to help him bed other women right? What man could say no to that?"

"I don't know." She shrugged. "I just... I want to be wanted."

"Trust me, he wants you."

"I know, and I don't mind if he wants other women, as long as he still wants me." Alana said, and Rachel got the feeling this particular insecurity had nothing to do with Ethan. Possibly because she was adopted? Maybe she was wondering if her parents had wanted her and was subconsciously transferring that to her husband? Rachel wasn't sure, but didn't press for more information because that would be rude.

She looked out over the crowd to where Ethan and Taloni were. He had just whispered something into her ear and she had gone a brilliant shade of red. The wood elf released a subconscious sigh of contentment as she watched her husband with his new bride.

Rachel shook her head, not understanding at all. "You said there were other reasons that the idea of sharing a husband has grown on you?"

"Um, yes."

Alana's cheeks got slightly flushed and she didn't meet Rachel's eye for a moment. The redhead knew that whatever she said next probably wasn't what she had just been thinking about.

"I like the idea that I'll always have another woman around to talk to, no matter what."

"What do you mean?"

"Um." She thought for a moment. "Well, friends move and change over time. My parents knew a few people who drifted away over the years and others who eventually didn't want to associate with them anymore. I always worried that if I had friends, they'd do the same. But if we're both married to the same man, that won't happen."

"You'd be stuck together, even if she was horrible." Rachel countered.

"I suppose that's true." Alana admitted. "But Ethan's a good judge of character and I don't think he'd marry anyone truly awful. I'm pretty sure I could get along well with most people, but that's not what I meant."

"Oh?"

Something changed on the wood elf's face. She looked softer, kinder, more gentle; there was a yearning in her expression that the redhead hadn't seen before. "Imagine that Ethan married just one woman who I was really close to; a true friend. I would know that we would always be together because we were bound together by our husband. Doesn't that sound wonderful? To have a close, intimate girlfriend who you knew will never leave..."

She sighed.

"Hmm." Rachel mused at the thought.

"That sounds heavenly to me." The elf sighed again. "We could get so close and I could trust her with anything, and she could trust me. I would probably be friends with his other wives and we'd get along. But with this one, I could be truly close without fear of losing her to time, distance, or just that we'd drift apart."

The smile on Alana's face said it all.

She was trying to be calm, but Rachel could tell that this idea held incredible appeal for the beautiful wood elf. She seemed to light up at the idea that she could always have a close friend who would never leave. Come to think of it, that didn't sound too bad to Rachel either.

"Does that make sense?" The chocolate-haired elf asked.

"Yeah, it does." The redhead conceded, having never considered that before.

They were both silent for a moment while Rachel pondered it. It really didn't sound too bad. She still wasn't crazy about sharing a husband, but the idea of having a friend who was sort of tied to you through marriage with a shared husband sounded wonderful; except for the shared husband bit.

"You really don't mind sharing your husband?" Rachel finally asked.

"I would rather have part of Ethan than all of another man." Alana replied simply. "That may sound strange, but it's true."

Rachel shrugged.

Ethan was a good guy, but the idea of marrying him wasn't nearly attractive enough to make up for the idea of sharing a husband. Sure it was attractive, but it wasn't nearly attractive enough.

"Oh, and there's one more thing." Alana said. "It would be really handy to have another woman around to help with housework and kids."

"Huh?" Rachel said.

"Well, it's hard to watch kids while doing chores like dishes, laundry, and things like that. But with other wives around, one of us could watch the kids while the other does the housework, and we could trade days, or maybe split it up depending on who likes what. They could even watch the kids if I wanted some time alone with Ethan, or I could watch the kids if they did. Doesn't that sound convenient?"

"Um, yes?" Rachel resisted the urge to chuckle. "But you do know you could hire a maid to do the housework and a nanny to watch the kids if you needed time, right?"

"Oh." Alana cocked her head to one side. "I hadn't thought of that."

Rachel did chuckle this time. "It would've been my first thought; Lord's daughter."

"Ah, good point." The chocolate-haired elf replied. "But am I making sense?"

"Um, a little." Rachel conceded. "But I'm not sure I could do it. I don't think I could share my husband with someone. I want him to focus on me, not split his attention among several wives."

"Do you though?" Alana raised an eyebrow. "Do you really want that?"

"Yes."

"Hmm." The wood elf mused. "So, how did you like the people at your father's court focusing their attention on you?"

The redhead grimaced. "I hated it. I couldn't stand the simpering fools who made their lives revolve around me. They had no backbone and no spine; they were weak men and I had zero patience for them."

"How about the suitors that courted you?"

"They were worse." She rolled her eyes. "They seemed to think the best way to get me to fall for them was to follow me around like a puppy trying to get my attention. It was so..." She saw the look on Alana's face "What?"

The wood elf was looking at her with a barely concealed smile. "So, you didn't like them because they focused too much on you?"

Rachel opened her mouth to reply, then caught what she was smiling at. "Touché."

"I'm just saying: What woman really wants a man to make his life revolve around her?" She asked. "Isn't that kind of off-putting?"

"Yeah, a little."

Alana opened her mouth, paused, her cheeks turned slightly red, then she closed her mouth again.

"What?" Rachel asked confused.

"I'm just saying, perhaps it's better if your husband isn't entirely focused on you. Men like that are just so..."

"...weak? Simpering? Contemptable?" The redhead suggested.

"...unattractive." Alana finished. "Ethan will focus on me, but not exclusively on me. He has other concerns and while I know he'd charge an army for me, he doesn't suffocate me by making his life revolve around me." She smiled contentedly. "I like that."

"I suppose that makes sense." Rachel conceded with a sigh. She still didn't want to share a husband, but at least the wood elf wasn't blindly doing whatever Ethan wanted.

"Besides," Alana added. "I thought you wanted to become an Arch Mage. How would you do that if your husband was absorbing all of your time?"

"True."

"I'm just saying, life being married to a man with other wives has its upsides."

Rachel raised an eyebrow. "Says the woman who's only done it for what, an hour?"

"True, but I have a feeling it'll grow on me very quickly." She smiled.

"You're serious." Rachel said, trying to wrap her head around the idea. "You actually like the idea of being part of Ethan's... harem?"

"Absolutely." Alana let out a sigh that was so small and soft it must've been unconscious.

She did look happy.

Very happy.

Rachel didn't understand it, but she did.

The redhead nodded. She definitely didn't want the same thing, but at least she could see why it appealed to her friend so much. Some of those reasons even appealed to her, though not enough to share a husband. Alana seemed to be doing her best to make the idea attractive though.

Rachel chuckled. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you're trying to convince me to share a husband."

She laughed at her joke, as did Alana. However, the wood elf's laugh was slightly awkward, forced, and possessed an uncharacteristic lack of genuineness.

Hmm...

Alana cocked her head to one side as if listening to something, then turned to Rachel. "I need to go." She stood up and rushed off.

The redhead was rather conflicted as she watched her best friend leave. At least Alana had actual reasons, but she was still worried the elf was being unduly influenced by Ethan, or at least his dragon nature. The influence seemed to be limited to her tolerance of him marrying other women, but that didn't mean it wouldn't exert influence elsewhere given time.

Rachel looked around again.

Hailey was still talking with Thaltien, and Anthiel had joined them. Taloni's former owner was moving his hands in the air as if he was showing them something on an invisible map, possibly even giving them directions.

Serif and Raklan were both still involved in their respective games while Alana was jogging toward the Argo. Ethan and Taloni had moved a short distance away from the others at the wedding feast. Despite her misgivings, they really did look happy.

She was a bit jealous.

All she had to look forward to tonight was an empty hammock. Another lonely night without another person there to keep her company. She was used to it, but that lonely ache in her soul never seemed quite satisfied. She wished it could be though, if only for one night.

She sighed.

If only.