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DKP 7-10 Who is the empress of your heart?
🕑 Added 2021-09-11 17:28:13 +0000 UTC“What are you fools doing?” Mingfe scolded as she arrived on the back of Shadros.
“We are teaching our broodlings how to fly,” Sarah answered.
Mingfe urged Shadros closer as she tried to identify the two small dragons. “Half the kingdom thinks the city is under attack because of you!”
“Oh dear, I had assumed they would recognize us,” Sarah exclaimed.
“You should have told somebody before circling the city for an hour!” the dark skin woman scolded.
“What are these little dragon-like things?” Shadros asked as his eyes narrowed on Thayle.
“It is us, Shadros,” Gersius called out as he flew closer to the black dragon. He did his best to fly level, giving the dragon a chance to look over him carefully.
“Gersius? How did you do this?” he asked at last. “You have very dragon-like features.”
“It is part of the dragon gifts. They can shape change like we can, only it is a partial form,” Lilly answered.
Shadros lifted his head to regard Mingfe and gave her a snort. “Can you do this?”
Mingfe looked shocked with her eyes wide and her mouth open. “I cannot. I do not want to do it!”
Thayle flew up alongside Mingfe and spread her wings wide. “Yes, you do! You can’t believe how much fun it is to fly!”
Mingfe studied Thayle closely, her face locked in a scowl. “You are covered in scales!”
Thayle stuck out her tongue playfully and flew off, leaving Mingfe in shock.
“I think they look better,” Shadros suggested.
“You do not need to think! And they need to think more! You have panicked the people below who think more dragons have come to attack. Come down and put your city at ease!”
Sarah flew in closer, her massive wings darkening the sky as she joined the conversation.
“Surely they have seen us enough to know who we are,” she insisted. “One of us flies over the city every day now.”
“It is the little ones they are interested in,” Shadros answered. “From the ground, it looks as if you are fighting one another.”
“Oh, for divines sakes!” Sarah rumbled. “These humans have to be introduced to every aspect of our kind slowly, or they make wild assumptions.”
Thayle closed in and tried to keep pace with Sarah’s massive head as she explained that people were probably still unnerved at being ruled by dragons. They needed more time to embrace the changes and feel at peace with them.
Shadros glanced at Thayle and nodded at her explanation. “We look fearsome to the humans, but I have to say that in this form, you look beautiful.” He huffed and turned away as Thayle lost her balance, struggling to level off her flight.
“Did he just compliment you?” Lilly asked.
“He did!” Thayle said in shock. “Will wonders never cease?”
“He is growing very bold,” Sarah remarked as she watched him spread his wings. “But he is right. You are very beautiful like this.”
“We should probably go down and deal with the panic,” Gersius suggested with a sigh.
“Do we have to? I want to fly more.” Thayle protested.
“Little broodling, we will make the people aware of what we are doing so they won't panic, and then we will fly some more,” Sarah corrected.
Thayle blushed at being called a broodling in such a tender way. “Yes, mother,” she said teasingly.
One by one, they began to circle, returning to the terrace to change back and hurry to dress. Once safely inside, Gersius took note of his image in the mirror as he blinked his eyes. He commented on how they all had glowing eyes now and how the look was intimidating.
“It only makes you look more authoritative,” Sarah suggested.
“It makes you look powerful,” Thayle said as she brushed Lilly’s hair.
Gersius stood tall in the mirror and took on a stone visage, his eyes burning like fire. “It does, actually. I like it.”
Sarah adjusted his collar and smiled at him before leaning in close. “I like how it looks on you two,” she said in his ear. She then turned and sauntered to Lilly and Thayle. She wore her black dress that hugged her body, and every curve was on display as the two women watched her walk over.
“I enjoyed our time flying together. I look forward to doing more,” she said and took up a hairbrush.
Thayle smiled at her. “I enjoyed it too. I wanted to stay up there and fly all day.”
Sarah nodded as she began to brush Thayle’s hair. “All broodlings do when they first learn how to fly.”
Thayle sighed and looked down at Lilly’s hair, allowing the silken strands to pour through her fingers. “I have known levels of sorrow and joy like never before since I joined this family. I keep thinking there is nothing more I could be surprised by, and then I am swept off my feet.”
“You do tend to glow with warmth over the bind when something new strikes you. You enjoyed being called a broodling,” Sarah pointed out.
“Just like Lilly likes it when I call her sweetheart,” Thayle said with a laugh as Lilly’s aura lit up.
Sarah ran a hand over Thayles cheek. “I found it fun when you called me mother.”
Thayle turned to look into Sarah’s eyes. “You are in many ways a mother to me. You are so much older and wiser. You know the ways of politics, people, and the court. You have so much knowledge and experience to teach me.”
“So I am very much a mother to you then?” Sarah asked.
Thayle shook her head. “You are my wife, and I love you. But you frequently fill a very dominant role in our relationship. I know how important your dragon culture is to you, so I want to honor that and address you as you desire.”
“I take no issue with that, my daughter,” Sarah replied as she brushed Thayle’s hair to a perfect drape. “Be a good dear and finish your sister's hair so we can go.”
“Yes, mother,” Thayle replied, returning to brushing Lilly's hair.
“Hey. I am old enough to be her great grandmother twenty times over!” Lilly argued.
Sarah gave Lilly a tall matronly stare with a firm jaw and glaring eyes. “And I am old enough to be that to you. Now sit still so your sister can finish your hair.”
Lilly melted under Sarah’s gaze and looked down. “Yes, mother,”
Sarah walked over to Gersius, who was smiling at her. “Now, what was that all about?”
“Just putting the children in their place. You have to keep firm control of them, or they will run amuck.”
“I know what this mother stuff means to you, but you don’t find it unsettling?” Gersius asked with a smirk.
Sarah shook her head and smiled back as she took hold of his hands. “I know what they are to me and that they are only respecting my great age. It comes naturally to dragons to differ to the eldest and use family terms to address them. In many ways, it is the only family we dragons have.”
“I do not like thinking of them as anything but my wives,” Gersius replied with a glance at the two women.
“You're a human man,” Sarah interjected. “You must respect the nature of your heart and treat them as you need to. If it bothers you, I will ask them to use the term only when we are alone.”
Gersius gave her a firm ‘hmm’ and let it rest as he finished putting on his coat.
They were ready with Gersius in his gold and red. Sarah in her lacy black. Lilly wore her simple white gown with the flower pattern, and Thayle had on a dark blue dress with white roses. They made their way down the halls and arrived at the council room to a buzz of activity.
“There you are!” Lord Greymorn called as they entered the room. “By the divines, what happened to your eyes?” Now everyone in the room went silent as they turned to regard the four leaders of the empire.
Gersius led his wives to four ornate chairs, seated at the top of three steps, so they presided over the room. He remained silent until his wives were seated, and only then did he turn to address the room.
“Are you all here because of the dragons over the city?” he asked.
Lord Greymorn dipped his graying head in agreement. “We could tell that two of them were the Lady Sarah and Lilly, but two smaller ones were fighting with them.”
Thayle had to cover her mouth with a hand to keep from laughing. Lilly looked about as if confused by the statement but kept silent as Sarah took a break. She sat calm and regal with her head thrown back and her red hair framing her face. It was clear she was going to speak, so all eyes turned to her as she narrowed her gaze.
“Did you honestly think two tiny dragons were a match for either of us?” she asked him.
The man twitched as Sarah addressed him, wringing his hands nervously as he went to reply.
“Pardon my Lady, but it seemed like you were having trouble catching them.”
Thayle and Lilly both let out a little snicker and looked at one another with smiles. Sarah gave them both a stare and then turned to address the nervous man.
“Those little dragons were not attacking, and we were not trying to catch them. They were Lord Gersius and Lady Thayle learning how to fly.”
The silence in the room said everything they needed to know. Some eyes went to Gersius as if he could explain what Sarah had just said. He shook his head at them and folded his arms in annoyance, wondering why they found it so hard to believe.
“Why do you think our eyes glow? You know the dragon's eyes glow for a short while after they change forms. Why then do you think Lady Thayle's and my own eyes glow?”
The room was silent for a long moment until Lord Greymorn finally spoke. “So you are also dragons?”
Gersius shook his head. “No, we are human as you are. But we are slowly gaining strength and gifts from Lilly and Sarah. Every day we share our love, the stronger those gifts become.”
Whispers circulated the room as people commented to one another about it. Lord Greymorn took a breath and steadied himself. “So you can take a dragon form then?”
Gersius felt a twinge of irritation at the questions. “We take a partial form. It still looks very human except for the wings.”
More whispers circulated the thirty or so people in the room, and some fingers started to point.
“Why does any of this bother you, fools?” Sarah asked. “I sit here a great red dragon in human form. Besides me sits a great blue. We have done many amazing things in your city and displayed our power for all to see. Why do you find his words so hard to believe, considering all you have already seen?”
“It is just unheard of,” Lord Greymorn began.
“Many things were unheard of before we came. None of you knew dragons had a human form. None of you believed a dragon could love a man or a woman. None of you believed we could be trusted or that we would help you. Yet all these things have come to pass. Why then is this one little thing too hard to accept?”
Thayle leaned over to Lilly as they continued to speak. “Lilly, I think I should show them.”
“Show them what?”
“My dragon form. Let them see what it looks like up close,” Thayle suggested.
Lilly looked around the room at the assembled people. “I do not wish to have to kill these people if they react poorly to your beautiful form.”
Thayle laughed, drawing a glare from Gersius and Sarah.
“I have a suggestion,” Thayle said, standing up. “I will show you and end your disbelief.”
Sarah smiled gently and nodded in approval. “Lilly, daughter, go and fetch her dress from earlier.”
Lilly tilted her head to the side at being called daughter publicly and smiled. “Yes, mother,” she said with a slight bow and hurried out of the room.
“What are you doing?” Gersius said across the bind.
“I am taking charge of the broodlings,” Sarah responded.
“You realize some of them will assume you are their actual mother,” he commented.
“They all know we are your wives. None of them will be foolish enough to make such an accusation,” Sarah scolded back.
“You three keep up this mother daughter act, and somebody will accuse you of impropriety when they discover you take them with you to bed.”
Sarah sat tall and motionless in her chair as they spoke. “Let them dare to accuse me of anything. I will show them just how powerful I really am. If I want to call my wives broodlings or daughters, I will, and none will tell me I can't.”
“Please, Sarah,” Thayle said soothingly across the bind. “If it bothers him, we should be more careful about how we use it.”
“Thank you,” Gersius replied with a silent nod her way.
“Oh fine,” Sarah growled over the bind. “I was only doing it because I enjoy the acknowledgment of my age and power.”
“Which I will not deny them the right to do, but others may not understand,” Gersius pressed. “At the very least, we should make some effort to explain it if you want to use the terms publicly.”
“That is probably a good suggestion,” Thayle replied. “Look at how they jumped to conclusions about our dragon forms.”
Sarah looked over the room with narrow eyes as she grumbled about humans and their inability to accept dragon ways.
Gersius went to comment, but Lilly returned to the room with the white dress and waited for instruction.
“And how do you plan to change?” he asked with a smirk at Thayle.
Thayle glared at him before tossing her head with a smile. “Come, Lilly,” she said and got up. She led Lilly to the wall where a long red curtain woven with the symbol of Astikar hung. She took the dress from Lilly's hand and then had Lilly hold the fabric of the curtain while she stepped behind it.
“What is she doing?” Lord Greymorn asked.
“She is showing you her beautiful form. Now be quiet until she is ready,” Sarah quipped.
The whole room watched in silence a swirling white cloud formed behind the curtain. It billowed and rolled as if in a stiff breeze before a flash lit up the wall behind it. Lilly let the fabric drop away as a shadowy form moved in the cloud. Thayle stepped out in her white dress and casually strode across the room toward the stunned onlookers.
“It’s covered in scales!” one man shouted as other voices muttered in shock. The scene was tense, and people backed away as Lilly grew angry at their reactions.
The sound of a sword being drawn caused Sarah to lurch up from her chair. “If one of you draws a weapon, I swear to you I will burn everyone in this room to cinders!” Her voice boomed in the dual voice of the dragons, and her eyes burst forth in renewed light. Gersius put his hands to her shoulders and eased her back into the chair. He then turned and motioned Thayle to come forward.
Thayle cautiously stepped up and stood before the assembled onlookers. She looked to Lilly nervously and was reassured to see Lilly smile at her appearance.
“I am still me. This is just the magic of the dragon bind. Gersius and I can draw on might and power from both Lilly and Sarah. We can use this power to do things like this.” She wasn't sure if her words were having any effect, but eventually, people approached.
Lord Greymorn stepped up as she arrived with his brows lifted high and his mouth agape.
“You look like one of them,” he stammered.
Thayle put her hands on her hips. “One of who? A dragon?”
“Yes,” he replied.
“Is there something wrong with that?” Lilly asked, her voice sounding annoyed.
The lord twisted his hands together in obvious discomfort. “Well, no. I mean, it is surprising, but I see no reason why it should matter.”
“Then I wish to hear no more about it,” Sarah said with a toss of her head. “My husband and wife can take a dragon-like form. That is what you saw in the sky above the city. The city is still secure, and the people are safe. Pass the word and make the people aware that they will likely see more of them in the skies above.”
Lord Greymorn nodded vigorously. “I will send word and have criers sent out to make the people aware.”
“Good,” Gersius replied, sitting down beside Sarah.
“One more thing,” Sarah added and took his hand. “We dragons have an order based on age. As I am the oldest dragon in the land, younger dragons refer to me as mother. My wives do the same out of respect for my age and place in our household. I do not want you humans misconstruing what that means. They are wives, not daughters. The title of mother is only to honor my place.”
The look on Lord Greymorn’s face was one of begrudging acceptance. He nodded and assured her he and the others understood and would pass it along.
Thayle turned to look at Gersius and Sarah as an idea dawned on her. “Why don’t I stay in this form for the banquet tonight. Many more of the nobles and officials will be there. It might help spread the news more quickly to allow the wider people to see me.”
“I do not wish people to gawk at my wife,” Gersius said dryly.
“She has a point, though, husband. It will do well to let the men who run things see her. The people look up to these men, and if they are keeping a level head, so will the people.”
Gersius nodded with a frown on his face. “Very well. Thayle will attend the banquet as she is now.”
Sarah took a breath and settled her gaze on the crowd before them. “Let the guests know that Lady Thayle will be attending the banquet tonight in her dragon form. That should ensure a good attendance.”
Lord Greymorn bowed with a sweep of his arm. “I will see the word spread.”
Gersius dismissed the council and spoke with a few who remained of other matters. Sarah sat in her chair perfectly still with her arms draped over the armrests. She smiled as they left the room and even more when she looked at Thayle's scaled form.
“I find this form of yours pleasing,” Sarah said when all the people were far enough away.
“I am glad you like it,” Thayle teased with a twist of her hips.
“I think I will take my daughters shopping. I need to get you a dress that fits this beautiful form.”
Thayle blushed and looked away. “You really like this form?”
“I find your human form pleasing. But I am a dragon at heart, and I find your blending of the two to be very attractive.”
Thayle looked Sarah in the eyes and smiled. “Can I have a blue dress to match my scales?”
Sarah took on a stone expression as she considered Thayles form. “I want you in white with soft blue ruffles.”
Thayle lowered her head. “Yes, mother.”
Sarah smiled in satisfaction. “Husband, I am taking our daughters shopping to get Thayle a new dress.”
Gersius looked up from the conversation he was having across the room and waved his consent.
“Your father is such a good man,” Sarah said. “Come, broodlings. I want you to hold hands and do not get lost.”
Lilly smiled at Thayle as she took her hand, and both women answered in unison. “Yes, mother.”
They stopped in their private rooms so Thayle could change back. Then they went out into the high streets to the tailor shop that made most of their dresses. The two women who did most of the work greeted them with bows and sweet praises and endless comments about how lovely their eyes looked with the radiance.
“All aglow like stars,” one of the women said. Sarah took charge of the conversation and told them what she wanted for Thayle. The women exchanged glances when Sarah told them to make it fit around the wings.
“Beggin your pardon, My lady, but what wings?” the older woman had asked.
Sarah smiled and sat down on a cushioned chair. “Show her, my daughter.”
Thayle began to disrobe behind a screen and then went through the transformation. Both women screamed, and one fainted as Thayle walked out from behind the bind. After ten minutes of coaxing the women and assuring them that Thayle was safe, they reluctantly got to work measuring a dress to fit her taller frame and wrap around her wings. The ladies came up with a clever design that allowed the dress to open in the back to fit her wings. Two halves of fabric then ran down her back between them and buttoned together.
Sarah made them show her fabric after fabric and decided against her original white color. Instead, she picked out a shimmering bright blue and paired it with metallic silver for the trim and lacework.
Thayle questioned what Sarah had in mind as she had the two women shape the dress to hug her form like Sarah's black dress did.
“I want to show off your curves,” Sarah said and motioned for her to spin around.
When it was all done, it was a simple gown that ran down Thayles body like a second skin and rolled over her hips, making them obvious to any eye. Her neck was cut low and laced with silver. The arms were bare, and Sarah said she needed to show a little skin so people could see the scales.
When it was done, Sarah had her change back and then took them down the street to jewelers. There, Sarah, had the man measure out quite a length of silver chain. She had him fashion it into lengths that had shorter lengths hanging off of it. From these shorter lengths hung green stones or silver images of dragons heads.
Lilly and Thayle watched with interest as Sarah made specific demands of the chains and had the man work on them over and over. When she was finally satisfied, she had it packed and left the shop with it in hand.
“What was that all for?’ Thayle asked.
“I will show you later. You are going to love it,” Sarah assured and took her hand. Together, the three-headed back with packages in hand, anxious for the night ahead.
Gersius stood in the banquet hall talking to a tall man in deep reds and blacks. He had shoulder-length hair and thick brows that nearly met in the center. He was part of a group from beyond the southern border. They had seen the result of the recent invasions of the empire and chosen to attempt to gain land more diplomatically.
“The southern provinces were never part of the original empire,” the man said in a snide tone.
Gersius took a sip from his glass as he stared at the man.
“They were claimed by the kingdoms that were part of the empire. So they are now imperial lands,” he replied in a dry, firm tone.
“But the kingdom of Oskelith feels they are rightly their lands,” the man said.
Gersius nodded. “Then let them field an army to get them back.”
The man glared at him with dubious eyes. “I have not come here to start a war.”
“That is good,” Sarah said as she joined his side, slipping her hand into his fee one. She stood tall beside him with a stern face. She had on her black dress and her silver crown. Her hair was pulled through her golden ring, and her lips were painted a dark nearly black red. “Oskelith can't field a tenth of what the empire can and, as I recall, has no dragons.”
The man seemed to sneer for a moment and then regained his composure. “I only came here to ask if you would see reason and restore what was once rightfully ours.”
Gersius glared at the man. “Those lands were taken nearly three hundred years ago. Oskelith formed as a kingdom just a hundred years ago. You have no legitimate claim to them.”
“I understand your point of view, but they are the traditional homelands of the Oskelith people.”
Sarah squeezed his hand to let him know she wished to address this current quibble.
“I have been to the southern provinces. None of its people ever expressed any desire to be returned to Oskelith. They were overjoyed to be a part of the new empire.” She was polite but direct, her tone conveying that her words were final.
“But many of the people who dwell in Oskelith descended from those lands,” another of the men pleaded.
Sarah frowned with stern eyes. “Half the empire has descended from someplace else. And I suspect a good portion of your people are descended from lands inside the empire proper. Perhaps it is Oskelith that should be surrendering land.”
“My Lady, if you will only listen to reason,” the new speaker pleaded.
“Enough!” Gersius barked. “You want those lands because of the fine logging and the Miradel river barge trade. You don't care about its people or the people descended from it.”
The man scowled visibly and glared back at Sarah.
“I suggest you politely walk away before I feel the need to kill you,” Sarah commanded.
The man bowed his head slightly. “If you will excuse me,” he said as he turned and walked away.
Gersius played with Sarah's hand as they watched him go. “That was rather direct of you.”
“So says the man who told him to field an army if he wanted it back,” she replied.
He smiled and took another sip of his wine. “And where are Lilly and Thayle?”
“Our daughters are about to arrive. I can’t wait for you to see what I have done with them.”
Gersius glanced at her with a gentle smile. “How long are we going to keep up this little game?”
“Until I tire of it,” Sarah said.
“You don't find anything wrong with calling two women you intend to make love to latter your daughters?”
She gave him a stern look with pursed lips. “How many times must I explain this? They are only expressing their acknowledgment of my station.”
“Your station?” he said with a raised eyebrow.
Sarah stood tall with a thin smile. “I am the largest and the oldest.”
“Oh yes, you are the alpha. How could I forget.”
“Indeed, how could you?” Sarah stated with a stern tone. She held it a moment before breaking out into a broad smile. “I enjoy them calling me mother. Let me have my fun while I can.”
Gersius relented and played with her hand. “I will not bother you about it again.”
She smiled and turned to look at the entrance door at the back of the hall. “They are here. I can feel them.”
Gersius looked up at the door as two forms appeared in the doorway.
“The Lady Lilly and Lady Thayle Dra’Udwen!” the announcer called out.
Hushed whispers spread across the masses of people. Word had gotten out quickly that Thayle would be in a dragon form, and the hall was packed with people. Many more than had been invited were here from petty precepts to king regents.
Lilly stepped into the light of the door dressed in deep blue. The material of her dress ruffled down her legs and trailed slightly on the floor. Around her waist was a silver belt with blue stones. Her shoulders were bare, and her upper arms were wrapped in silver bands that wound serpent-like up her arms. On her head was her tiara with its great bluestone, and her hair was braided back and woven with a silver cord. Her eyes were shadowed, and her lips bright blue. She stood tall and regal as she stepped into the light of the hall and stopped to look back.
Gasps went up as Thayle entered the room. She was as tall as Lilly, wrapped in a shimmering light blue that seemed to reflect the light of the hall as much as her scaled skin did. It hugged her frame like a second skin and made her curvy appearance all the more alluring. Her black hair ran down her back but was encased in a net of fine silver. On her hear was her tiara with its greenstone shining radiantly in the light from between two horns. Her waist was belted Like Lilly's, only with red and silver. Of all the ornamentation on her body, it was what was done with her wings that drew the eye.
Gersius glanced at Sarah, who only stood tall and proud as the whole room caught sight of them.
Thayle held her wings out slightly so all could see. All across the arms of the wings was a mesh of silver that sparkled in the light. Delicate chains of silver hung down and ended in green stones or silver dragon heads, but all along the length of the chain were small red stones. The polished silver made her wings sparkle as if frosted with stars and mists, framing her tall image.
“She looks amazing,” Gersius stammered.
“I knew she would. I hope she enjoys her night being the center of attention,” Sarah said with a pleased smile.
“Thayle is not one to like attention. She prefers to work from the shadows,” Gersius whispered back.
“Our daughter is an empress now. She must learn to stand tall and let the people know who she is.”
“Our daughter,” Gersius said again with a laugh.
Lilly took Thayle's hand and walked across the room, the crowd parting for them as they passed. Whispers and finger-pointing followed in their wake as they finally arrived before Sarah and Gersius.
“You look lovely,” Gersius started and then glanced at Sarah, who held a pleased expression.
Thayle and Lilly smiled before glancing around at the people staring at them.
“I can hear them whispering. Some of them think she looks beautiful. Some of them think she is a monster,” Lilly started, looking back at the crowd.
“Give them time to adjust to the form,” Gersius said. “They will see that it is only her appearance that has changed. She is still the beautiful woman she always was.”
“She is even more beautiful now,” Sarah stated.
“I like my red,” Thayle said with a bowed head.
Sarah smiled at the recognition. She had indeed gone to great lengths to add a little red to Thayle's color.
“You wanted some red so badly,” Sarah intoned with a smile.
Thayle shook her wings to make the gemstone sway before turning to face the crowd. “I suppose I should go mingle now. Many of them will want to talk to me.”
Gersius released Sarah so he could take one of Thayle’s hands. He looked intense as he met her gaze and spoke across the bind. “Do not feel you have to entertain any question they ask. You are an empress and not required to put them at ease.”
Sarah nodded her head gently in agreement before looking to the blue-haired beauty beside her. “Lilly, dear, please stay by your sister's side and keep her company.”
Lilly took Thayle’s hand again and smiled at her. “I will always be at Thayles side.”
The two walked off hand in hand and returned to the gathered crowd, almost immediately being surrounded by people.
Sarah watched them go and took a sip of wine before responding to the thoughts in her husband's mind.
“You promised not to bother me about it, but I can feel you react every time I call them daughter. You have to understand I am a very old dragon, and I still feel the need to establish my place based on my age. There are three women in this relationship; it is only right that they acknowledge me as their alpha.”
Gersius nodded. “So long as this does not make them feel less of a wife to me, I will not interfere.”
Sarah smiled at him. “Please, I would never actually treat them as less. In her heart, Lilly carries you above all of us, and Thayle does the same with Lilly.”
“Thayle loves me deeply as well.”
“Of course she does, but Lilly is her world. It is plain to see the woman practically worships Lilly.”
“Thayle has a fondness for women. She is rather attracted to you as well,” Gersius pointed out.
Sarah smiled at his comments. “She is, but we need more time to settle into each other. What I am most interested in is the unspoken attraction that was so obviously put on display earlier.”
Gersius looked at her with heavy brows. “What unspoken attraction?”
Sarah turned to face him and looked directly into his eyes. “You have my color in your dragon form when you originally had Lilly’s.”
“You both said so yourself, your fathers were reds, and your age and power are stronger than Lilly's.”
Sarah put a hand to his chest. “We said that, so we didn't need to say the truth.”
“What truth?” he asked, his voice dipping lower.
“You have taken the color of the woman to who your heart is most connected.”
Gersius went silent a moment. “I do not like that opinion. I love Lilly with all my heart, and I would die to protect her and kill for her honor.”
“But you feel more at ease with me, don't you?” Sarah asked.
Gersius looked around a moment and then across the room at Lilly and Thayle.
“I love them both. I am deeply connected to them and would lay my life down for either of them. But you are right. It is clear Thayle loves Lilly more. She never stops trying to show me her love and affection, but she has to try. With Lilly, that love and affection flows naturally.”
He paused and took another sip of his wine. “I love Lilly as deeply as any man can love a woman. I can not think of any challenge I would not face for her. I would lay my life down a hundred times to protect her. It is just that sometimes she,”
“Behaves like a child,” Sarah finished for him.
He nodded his head. “Lilly shows more love than any person I have ever known. And she shows it most often for me. I know she would die for me if the choice came.”
“We all would. Lilly's and Thayle's love for you is strong and unquestioned. And none of us would dare to suggest you don't love them back every bit as strong. But be honest. Out of all your wives, which of them is most suited to stand at your side and rule your empire?”
Gersius let out a slow sigh. “You are.”
Sarah lifted his chin with a finger. “They understand that too. That is why they call me mother. We are playfully establishing our place with each other. But understand this. I will never try to get my way over either of them based on my age or my place with you. As far as I am concerned, Lilly rules, and Thayle as at the very least my equal.”
“You see Lilly as the head?” he asked her.
“Lilly was the first, and she has saved your life many times. It is with Lilly you have made all your future plans. To live in her valley and grow a small forest. You and Thayle have done nothing but plan your lives to revolve around Lilly.”
“We did not mean to exclude you,” Gersius began, but Sarah silenced him.
“I am looking forward to living in this quiet remote valley with you all. I may be an empress here, but when we are a family in our home, I will be mother, and I will cook and clean for you all.”
Gersius understood what she was saying. She was more than willing to put them above herself to make them happy. He also understood that she was right; he did see her as his true equal. He put down his drink to take her hand and leaned in for a kiss. “You are my empress, the fire of my heart,” he said before kissing her gently.
Sarah smiled and coiled a hand around his back. “And you are my greatest treasure,” she whispered back and joined in a second kiss.
Around them, the masses of people took little notice as the two glowed in love.
Comments
Sam4005
good chapy ty for chapy
