"All of my craziness, moodiness, and my insane ideas. Not to mention that I have a time limit and eight kids that would be yours to take care of after I am gone. There is also the issue of if I become a king and you are my queen, you would have to rule once I was gone. Both of which mean you would have to live on after I am gone. That is a lot to commit to."

Lin says "I will admit that there are some things I haven't thought about in that list. What worries me is the fact that you are implying that I haven't already seen the full extent of your moodiness?!"

That makes me laugh and once I am done laughing I move to kiss Lin deeply. She eagerly returns the kiss, but what makes me happy is that she didn't just dismiss my point. I want her to fully consider what marrying me would entail before it is too late.

If she decides she doesn't want to marry me, I would be fine with that. I would be fine with things staying as they are now, just as long as she is with me. However, if she decides she is okay with all my faults and the responsibilities, I will marry her.

Not only do I think she will make a good queen, but I also think she will continue my work. The biggest problem I face in turning the beastmen into a kingdom is my death. Without me around they are highly likely to fall apart again immediately.

I am pulled from my thoughts by the server returning with our drinks, which she sets on the table. I pick mine up but stop at a strange smell and quickly reach out to stop Lin from drinking. Taking her drink, I sniff it and find the same smell coming from it, the server watches me nervously.

Lin says "What's wrong, Ash?"

"These drinks are poisoned."

Lin says "What?!"

She quickly casts a spell on the two cups while I stare intently at the server.

Lin says "You're right, they are poisoned and it is a fairly nasty one."

Sheraf opens the door and walks in, causing the server to sigh in relief. From that I can tell that she was ordered to poison us and not acting on her own. So, I turn my gaze to Sheraf, who is looking at the untouched cups nervously.

"So, mind telling me why you ordered your people to poison us?"

Lin says "Ash, stay calm, there are innocents in this inn."

"Don't worry, I am calm. The poison isn't magical, so it couldn't really hurt either of us. Even if it did affect us I have spells to counter poison. Her explanation will determine if I stay calm or not. Now, Sheraf, tell me why you tried to kill us."

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Sheraf says "At first I thought you were just trying to lure me out to be enslaved, that I was willing to let pass. After all, I am used to dealing with humans and their darker natures. However, then you went and mentioned my nephew, a name you shouldn't know. That told me you were specifically targeting me and I couldn't let that pass."

"Your nephew?"

Sheraf says "Stillwater."

I take out my communication amulet and call Stillwater, but I change how it works. Basically, I put it on speakerphone so that everyone can hear the conversation.

Stillwater says "Ash, is something wrong?"

"Do you know someone named Sheraf?"

Stillwater says "No, I can't say that I have ever heard that name before. Why?"

Sheraf says "Sheraf is the name I took when I started living among the humans. My elven name is Ragingwater."

Stillwater says "Aunt? Is that really you? What's going on? You are supposed to be dead?!"

Sheraf says "Hi, kiddo. Is that what you were told? No, I'm not dead. I chose to leave the island to avoid the marriage your dad was trying to force me into. That aside for the moment, what is going on?"

Stillwater says "Good question. Ash?"

"I needed you to verify her identity before I decided what to do about her trying to poison Lin and I."

Stillwater says "What?! Are you alright??"

"We are fine, which is why she is still alive. Since she is your relative, what do you think we should do with her?"

Stillwater says "I haven't seen her since I was a child, but the few stories I heard about her make me think she would be useful. If possible, I would ask you to spare her and let her join us on the ship."

Sheraf says "Ship? What ship? Nephew, what is going on? Why are you acting subservient to this human?!"

Stillwater says "That is too long of a story to tell right now. The short of it is that Ash is not a human, he has saved our entire race, and he is currently taking all of us to a new home."

Sheraf says "Saved our race? What happened after I left?!"

"Stillwater, this isn't working, you are just giving her more questions. Head to our cabin, I will open the gate so you can come through and explain it to her. However, I will be providing the food."

Stillwater says "Alright, give me a minute to grab Brightfire."

Lin says "She is watching the kids so she should already be in our cabin."

After waiting for a minute in silence, I open the gate so Stillwater and Brightfire can come through. The first thing Stillwater does is introduce Sheraf to his daughter, which is quite emotional. It turns out that Stillwater's parents are both dead now along with his sister. So, finding a living family member is a big deal for both of them.

After watching them together, there is no way that I am going to kill Sheraf. Using the food pouch, I take out food and drinks for everyone while Stillwater starts explaining. Sheraf constantly interrupts with questions making the story take much longer.

Stillwater says "Aunty, if you don't shut up and let me finish, this is going to take all night!"

Sheraf says "Sorry. I just can't believe how much I have missed. Part of the reason I left the island is because it was so boring. Nothing ever changed and all the elders, including your dad, wanted to keep it that way."

"So, that's where Brightfire gets it from!"

Brightfire glares and says "Shush, you."

To head off an argument, Stillwater returns to what he was saying before he was interrupted. Sheraf doesn't stop her interruptions, but she does reduce the frequency of them. Stillwater ends up talking throughout dinner and dessert and shows no sign of stopping on his own.

"Alright, Stillwater, that's enough for now. She should have enough of an idea of what's going on to decide if she wants to go with you."