A Dragon’s Tale

"Good night Ethan." Beth whispered back, though she knew he couldn't hear her.

Moments later, his breathing patterns changed and she was sure he had fallen asleep. She watched all three sleeping, wishing that she had her body back so she could join them on the bed. It was strange, she had married Ethan almost a month ago. Back then she would've been livid at the idea of him sharing a bed with another woman.

Now...

She had watched their encounter with interest, trying to understand what Alana had done to get such a reaction out of him. She was certainly jealous, but not because she didn't want him to enjoy them. Rather, she wanted to be right there with them and couldn't be.

They lay on the bed without a blanket or sheet as the warm summer air and shared body heat meant they didn't need either. The two women were nestled up against Ethan's side. They were both holding him almost possessively, though not selfishly. The combination was very interesting and just seemed right for some reason.

Before long, both of the women seemed to get a little uncomfortable in their clothes. They both were pulling and tugging at their dresses in their sleep. Over the next few minutes, the dresses were pulled up higher and higher until they both sat up -- still asleep -- and pulled them off, before laying back down next to him completely naked.

They were both so beautiful.

They were even more beautiful snuggled up naked against her -- no 'their' -- husband. Strangely, she wasn't jealous; she only wished she could be with them right now.

"That's because you're maturing." A familiar melodious voice said from behind her. She turned to see Gabriella, still radiantly white, unlike the purple hues that covered everything else on the Astral Plane.

"Thank you." Beth replied. "And it's good to see you again."

"It's good to see you too." Gabriella gave her a tender hug, then stepped back. "I can't stay long, I just have a quick message from my Lord."

"Oh?"

The other woman nodded. "He suggested that after you return to your own body, you should properly apologize to Alana before you go to bed with Ethan.

Beth considered. She definitely could've been nicer to the lovely wood elf, but certainly wasn't mean. She couldn't really think of what she needed to apologize to Alana for. At least, nothing specific. Her general attitude though...

"I probably should." She admitted. "I could've been nicer; more kind."

Gabriella smiled radiantly, though Beth wasn't sure the woman knew how to smile any other way. She was slightly jealous of how wonderful the woman's smile was.

"My Lord also had a suggestion for how to properly apologize to your husband's first wife."

"His first wife? But I thought..." Beth stopped, cocked her head to one side and stared at the angel for a moment as realization dawned. "Oh, because he bonded to her first. She's his first wife and I..."

"Oh." The blonde teen covered her mouth. "Oh no. I was the second... She was already married to him and I... I took him away from her; them away from each other...."

"Go on." Gabriella nodded. Strangely, while the other woman was acknowledging her obvious error, she didn't feel condemned.

"I acted like she had no right to him when I was the one who was intruding." Beth turned to look at the sleeping wood elf. "And through all of that, she was only ever perfectly nice and kind to me."

"All true."

"I don't deserve him." Beth felt tears collecting at the corners of her eyes as she looked at Ethan sleeping with his other wives. "Alana and Taloni are so wonderful, so selfless, so caring; and I'm just... I'm just me"

"Beth, calm down." Gabriella said. It wasn't quite a command, yet it was more than a suggestion. "It's not a question of 'deserving'. No one can 'deserve' to have the affection of another. Don't you think Ethan has made mistakes? Alana? Taloni?"

Beth nodded.

"Of course you don't 'deserve' Ethan; no one does. Just as no one 'deserves' Alana, or Taloni, or anyone else for that matter; you included."

Beth looked down and couldn't meet the angel's eyes anymore.

Gabriella bent over slightly so she could look at Beth anyway. "You can't deserve someone else. But I will say this, Illuminar Himself -- blessed be He -- guided Ethan to you."

Beth glanced up. "He did?"

"He absolutely did." She nodded. "Illuminar -- blessed be He -- has great plans for Ethan. He has plans for him so great that the man would run if he learned them now, which is why He's letting Ethan's own choices lead him there. The Great God of Light -- the all-knowing, all-loving, all-wise God who created the world and everything around you -- He Himself decided that out of all the women in the entire land, you would be a good wife for Ethan. He decided that you -- Elizabeth Ejder -- were a crucial, vital part of Ethan fulfilling his destiny. And He decided that you could help him achieve incredible things."

"He did?" Beth asked weakly. She felt like crying again, but this time for an entirely different reason.

Gabriella beamed. "He did."

"But why me?" Beth said shrinking back slightly. "I'm nothing special. I'm barely more than a child; I was playing with dolls a few years ago. Surely there's someone older and wiser who can help."

Gabriella shook her head. "That's not what worries you, is it?"

Beth averted her eyes again and shook her head.

"Say it out loud."

"I can't."

Gabriella chuckled. For some reason, that was the perfect thing to do. The angel's laughter was a soothing balm on her frayed nerves and anxieties.

"I'm afraid..." Beth bit her lip. "I'm afraid that I won't be good enough. That I'll fail and drag Ethan down with me."

Gabriella sat on the edge of the bed and motioned for Beth to sit next to her, on a spot that Taloni's leg had conveniently vacated only moments before. Beth broke down crying as she sat next to the luminous woman.

It was too much.

It was all too much.

Gabriella pulled her into her arms as the tears started to fall. The blonde teen couldn't believe how badly she'd messed things up with Alana. The wood elf had been so nice and she'd reacted so badly. Plus there was all her time on the Astral Plane and all the mistakes she'd made here. And finally, there was Ethan.

Dear, sweet, kind, Ethan. She knew he was a good man, but she had no idea of the plans Illuminar had for him. She wanted to help; she wanted to help so much. But what could she do? She was barely out of her child years. She wasn't especially kind like Alana, or powerful like Rachel, or wonderful like Taloni. She was just... her. What could she possibly do to help Ethan?

What if she wouldn't help?

What if her youth and inexperience would lead him astray from the plans that Illuminar had? What if she got him hurt -- or worse -- because she was so young and naïve?

"Beth." Gabriella said kindly after the teen had cried herself out. "Illuminar -- blessed be He -- chose you. You may not have confidence in yourself, but He does. Who do you think is better qualified to decide if you can help Ethan: You or The God of Light?"

"He is." She sniffled.

"Then trust His judgement. You may not understand His reasons, but you don't need to. Besides, do you want to be separated from Ethan?"

"Never!" She sat bolt upright with a horrified expression, then she let her shoulders slump slightly. "I'm just worried I'll mess up and ruin everything."

"Oh, let me put your fears to rest." The angel said. "You will mess up; repeatedly just like everyone else because you're mortal... but you won't ruin everything."

Beth breathed a sigh of relief. "Promise?"

"Promise." Gabriella replied, then added with a wink. "Unless you eat pickles on a Thursday; then Illuminar -- blessed be He -- will be totally powerless and the entire world will come crashing down around you."

Beth chuckled as she wiped her eyes. "So, it'll be okay?"

The other woman smiled. "It will all be okay in the end; if it's not okay, it's not the end."

The blonde teen breathed a sigh of relief. "And I won't mess everything up?"

"My dear girl," Gabriella said with a motherly 'you-should-know-better' expression. "You simply aren't that powerful."

"Okay." Beth looked over to see Ethan and his other wives snuggled up on the bed. Her eyes were drawn to Alana as the wood elf slept peacefully. "You said your Lord had a suggestion on how to apologize to her properly."

"He does. He said to: 'use your words, and then your lips and tongue'."

"Huh?" The teen shook her head. "I don't understand; what does that mean?"

"You'll understand when the time comes." Gabriella said standing up. "Until then, think on it. I must go."

"Do you have to?"

She nodded. "My Lord calls and your husband needs you. You'll feel his arms around you by midnight the day after tomorrow."

Beth sighed. "I can't wait."

"Just remember, it would be best to fully apologize to Alana before Ethan takes you to bed."

"Okay." Beth replied, still trying to figure out what the cryptic instruction meant.

* * *

Taloni slowly felt sleep fade despite her best efforts. She had been having a wonderful dream. Ethan had returned and set her free, Alana had helped with her wedding, she'd flown with Ethan before he made love to her in the sky, she'd woken up next to him, spent an entire day with him, then used her mouth to please him before falling asleep next to him.

She dreaded waking up and going to the mines. She hated the dingy makeshift medical area and hated going down into the mines even more. She loved the grass-covered earth, the trees, and the people, but the dead underground was just awful.

As she slowly woke, she realized she could feel a bit of a draft on her back. Wait, what about her dress? And she could feel bedsheets. She reached around with her left arm to feel her back was entirely naked... and her butt... and her legs. She moved her face, and that's when she realized she wasn't leaning against her makeshift pillow made of old clothes.

She opened her eyes.

She pinched herself to make sure she wasn't still dreaming.

She wasn't.

She was looking at Ethan. His head was flopped at a strange angle and his long draconic tongue was hanging out of his mouth slightly, but it was him. Her head was resting on his upper chest, almost onto his shoulder, using his strong pectorals for a pillow.

Opposite her was a beautiful head of chocolate-brown hair, which was attached to a peacefully sleeping wood elf. Her pointed ears poked out of her hair and she wore a contented, peaceful smile on her face.

"Please don't be dreaming, please don't be dreaming." She thought to herself repeatedly.

It seemed too wonderful to imagine that her dream of the previous two days had actually happened. That she was actually married to Ethan. That Alana had accepted her, and that they had both pleasured him the previous night.

She lifted her head and looked around.

She was in the captain's cabin of the Argo. The dark blue-grey light of the pre-dawn hours was just seeping in through the massive bay window.

As she looked backwards over her shoulder, she saw her beautiful wings. She tried to move them, and her surprise and delight, they actually moved. She played with moving them for several moments, enjoying how they caught the light in beautiful rainbow patterns.

She also noticed that both she and Alana were naked.

Completely naked.

The Fey felt a surge of embarrassment as she noticed the elf's cute little bubble butt and shapely, toned legs. The embarrassment wasn't so much from noticing them, as from noticing how attractive they were.

Deciding to protect both their modesty, she used her foot pull up the bedsheet and cover herself and the elf. The movement seemed to have disturbed Ethan, who grumbled slightly. She froze, trying not to wake him. However, after few moments later he yawned, blinked, then opened his eyes and looked down at her.

*Good morning.* He said, but his lips didn't move at all.

She opened her mouth to respond, then closed it. She started mouthing soundlessly, trying not to wake Alana up.

He smiled. *We can communicate telepathically, just think of what you want to say and direct the thoughts toward me.*

*Like this?* She said doing as he instructed.

He nodded. *Perfect, now we can talk and won't wake Alana up.*

She looked at him in disbelief. *Tell me I'm not still dreaming. Tell me this is real and I don't need to go back to the mine again.*

*You're not dreaming.* He confirmed, then looked at her and Alana. *In fact, this might be my dream.*

*Then I'm glad I get to share it master.*

*Me too.* He smiled, pulling her close and putting his arm around her as she rested her head on his chest and she felt him kiss the top of her head.

She sighed.

She was so glad that he had decided to let her call him master. It made her feel so safe and protected when she did. She loved the idea of belonging to him and knew he would protect her.

She liked that.

No, she loved it

She'd never really had that before; someone who was willing to protect her just for her. Thaltien would because she worked for him, but Ethan took care of her just because he cared about her.

She really liked that.

They lay there snuggling for several minutes before Alana began to stir. She raised her head after a minute. She was bleary-eyed and her hair was a bit of a mess, but in a beautiful way.

"Good morning." She mumbled to them both, then flopped her head back down on Ethan's chest.

"Good morning." He replied, putting his arm around the wood elf too.

"Good morning Alana." Taloni said tentatively.

The chocolate-haired elf looked up at the Fey with her sleepy hazel eyes. "I don't bite you know."

"I know, I just sometimes have a hard time believing that you're okay with sharing Ethan."

She shrugged and put her head back down. "He's not mine to share or not share; I'm his."

"I've never met a woman who thought that way before." The Fey replied, though she certainly thought the same way herself.

"Well, last night I was encouraging you on when you were..." She went slightly red. "...were using your mouth, so no; I'm not jealous and I don't mind. Well, as long as I get a turn regularly. We'd have a serious problem if you tried to keep me away from him."

"I wouldn't dream of it." Taloni said fervently, and she meant it.

"Then there's no problem." Alana smiled. It was a genuine smile that reached into her eyes.

Taloni couldn't help but be both surprised and delighted. "Thank you." She reached out and gave the elf's hand a little squeeze.

"I am so glad you two get along so well." Ethan said. "This could be hell if you didn't."

"Well, this little Fey is cute as a button and very charming too." Alana beamed. "I don't see any reason we wouldn't get along."

Taloni blushed.

"It's true." Ethan nodded, then glanced down. "And damn sexy too."

She blushed even redder.

Alana glanced down to where the sheet was hugging the Fey's curves and got a mischievous grin on her face. "It looks that way from here too."

The Fey buried her face in Ethan's shoulder and then pulled the covers up over her head. Ethan chuckled, rolled toward her, and put both his arms around her. His laugh was calming for some reason, though her cheeks still burned fiercely.

"You know we're just teasing you, right?" He asked as he held her.

She nodded and was even happy they were. But that didn't mean she wasn't embarrassed by it. Like, really embarrassed. Of course, after what she'd done the previous night with Alana watching -- and what she'd watched Alana do -- she probably shouldn't be embarrassed. But the previous night she had been incredibly horny, which went a long way toward lowering her inhibitions.

And there was the fact that she was naked...

"Um, Alana, could you turn around so I can put my dress on?" She said half into Ethan's shoulder. She peeked up to look at the wood elf, who looked surprised, but wore an indulgent smile.

"Of course." She turned around and Ethan let the Fey teen out of his arms.

Taloni slipped out of the bed and -- staying low just in case -- picked her dress up from the floor and pulled it on. It always took her longer than other women because she needed to fasten the ties or buttons at the top of her dresses which allowed for the twin slits through which her wings poked out.

When she was done, she stood up feeling slightly more comfortable. At least until Ethan nudged Alana and they both looked at her with amused smiles on their faces.

"What?" The Fey asked.

"I don't know if you noticed, but we fell asleep with clothes on and woke up with clothes off." Alana replied. "I get the feeling that waking up naked will be a regular occurrence." She paused, then added with a confused and thoughtful expression. "I don't mind for some reason though. The idea of being naked around you doesn't bother me too much."

Taloni was sure that half her blood must be in her cheeks. She must've looked like that 'Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer' character that he had explained the previous day. Part of her embarrassment was because she didn't mind the idea of being naked around Alana either, she just couldn't bring herself to do it... yet.

"It doesn't bother me either." Ethan said, then turned to the Fey. "But it's perfectly fine if it bothers you. We--" He gave Alana a look. "--won't pressure you either way. Do what you're comfortable with."

She nodded.

Alana sat up, holding the sheet so it didn't reveal her small but shapely breasts. "So, I think we can agree that it's best if we sent our husband off to meet this necromancer with as clear a head as possible, right?"

Taloni nodded.

"So that means we both need to take care of him, and I haven't had this man inside of me in nearly two days." She looked at him mournfully before looking back at the Fey. "I don't want to make you uncomfortable, so how about this? How about you use your lips and then I'll use my hips."

The wood elf gave Ethan a smoldering grin before turning back to the Fey. "And you don't need to stay for the hip action if you don't want to, or if it'll make you uncomfortable."

She nodded, wanting to stay but realizing that she was too embarrassed to stay. She knew she would be able to eventually -- and soon -- but not yet. A part of her wanted to though.

It wanted to very much.