Note to the reader: *.......* means he's saying that in his head.

************************************************

Chapter 37

I went to find Fraya, but it turned out she was helping Jenny and her sisters do the paperwork so I couldn't talk to her. I took a stroll through the palace garden since I had nothing better to do. It was a beautiful sunny day with no clouds in sight. The flowers were just now beginning to grow back since they hadn't been cared for until we reclaimed the palace.

I found a nice quiet spot to nap on and closed my eyes for a few hours. A young brown haired maid woke me up with a deep blush.

Maid:"S-sir, the queen needs your help w-with an issue."

Falon:"Issue? What kind?"

I rubbed my eyes as I sat up bringing myself closer to the maid. Her face turned to a darker shade of red.

Maid:"I-I'm not s-s-sure."

*I guess she has a weak resistance to the charm ability.*

Falon:"Alright I'm on my way."

The maid led me to a meeting room where the council of elves, left here by the elven king, discussed political matters with the current ruler which is Jeanette. I entered the room drawing all eyes to me. Six elves make up the council and they were all seated across from Jeanette. I was in my Willow form since that's my public face and went to stand behind Jeanette.

Council Elf:"We have come to a decision. We believe that sending Cal, Ruby and Fraya would resolve the situation."

Jeanette:"Why should I send my family when I have an army at my command?"

Council Elf:"We believe the issue will be resolved faster and with less bloodshed if they were to go."

Jeanette turned to me.

Jeanette:"Willow welcome. I called you because I would like your advice. Haven is currently under the control of a mercenary group known as Angels. They have been basically holding the city hostage. They do whatever they want with no regard for anyone else. How would you handle this issue?"

Willow:"If you're thinking about sending any of the girls then you should probably hear what they have to say on this matter."

Jeanette:"You're right. Steph, please ask Cal, Ruby and Fraya to join us."

Jeanette ordered that brown haired maid from earlier and she headed off to find them.

Willow:"I do see the benefits of sending them. I think that if they want to go we should send them."

Jeanette:"Then I'll leave the decision up to them."

After a while of waiting each girl showed up. I was curious why the brown haired maid was allowed in this room during a meeting, but since no one seemed to mind I just brushed the thought aside. Jeanette explained the situation to the three girls.

Jeanette:"Would you like to subjugate the mercenaries?"

Ruby:"I'll go."

Ruby stepped forward with her hand raised. The other two looked over at her then stepped forward.

Cal:"I'll join her."

Fraya:"I'll help."

Jeanette:"I guess it's decided then. Be ready to depart tomorrow."

Cal:"Sure."

Fraya:"Yes."

Ruby:"Fine."

The council was satisfied with the decision so the meeting was concluded. Jeanette and I were the last ones to leave the room. Fraya was going to continue helping with the paperwork so I decided to hold off on talking to her. I changed back to my Falon form.

*I'll wait till after she gets back to talk to her.*

I spent the rest of the day with Tessa. We talked a lot and she told me that she already had a plan for the wedding. I was happy to hear it since I had no idea how to plan a wedding. We had a little fun before going to bed that night. I got up early and left the room. As I was walking down the hallway I found Ruby was already up.

Falon:"Hey Ruby."

Ruby:"Falon, good morning."

Falon:"I was just about to go for a morning walk. Would you like to come with me?"

Ruby:"Sure."

The two of us exited the palace and started walking towards the garden.

Ruby:"Falon. Can I answer your question now?"

Falon:"Sure. I've been waiting for your answer."

Ruby was blushing and seemed nervous.

Ruby:"I-I'd like to be your w-w-wife."

I stopped walking and placed my hands on her shoulders then looked into her eyes.

Ruby:"W-what?"

Falon:"You look so cute right now."

Ruby punched me in the stomach.

Ruby:"We're having a serious conversation!"

Falon:"Sorry. I'll fix the mood."

I kneeled down on one knee.

Falon:"Will you marry me."

I plucked one of the newly grown flowers and held it out to her.

Ruby:"Y-yes!"

She hugged me and I stood up. We came apart for a second then I pulled her into a kiss. When it was over she hugged me again and buried her face in my chest.

Ruby:"I love your scent!"

Falon:"Ok."

She finally separated from me after a minute of smelling my chest.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Ruby:"I have to get ready. I'll be leaving soon."

Falon:"Go ahead. We'll have plenty of time to spend together after we're married."

Ruby was smiling and gave my chest one more sniff before running off.

*I wonder what I smell like to her?*

After a walk alone around the garden I went to see the girls off. I said my goodbyes to each of them then Cal pulled me over to the side.

Cal:"You haven't talked to Fraya yet have you?"

Falon:"No. Not yet."

Cal:"Leave it to me. I'll talk to her while we're on this trip."

Falon:"That would really help. Thanks."

I gave her a hug and she licked my ear.

Cal:"I expect some private time when I get back."

Falon:"Sure. It'll be a reward."

She climbed into a carriage with the other two and it started moving down the road. I didn't really do anything for the rest of that day, but I did make a decision. I decided to leave for the beastman capitol and collect the next tablet piece. I announced it during dinner and Jeanette was the only one that complained. I also planned to take Laya along like last time. I spent my finally night with Tessa, but we only slept.

Horses and supplies were prepared for us the next day. Laya and I told everyone goodbye then left. We were hoping to make it back as soon as possible. I was a little worried about the trial, but I knew I had to do them. I had two pieces and now I was on my way to collect the third.

*Maybe being a god won't be so bad.*

*******************Cal POV*******************

We made it to Haven ahead of schedule and entered the city pretending to be merchants. We planned to pretend to be merchants while we gathered information on the Angels which is why we left Gart in a carriage instead of on our own horses. The carriage was filled with different things that we planned to sell while here as part of our cover. A carriage ride from Gart to Haven takes longer then being on horseback, but we ended up getting here faster then we thought.

The town didn't seem in bad shape. Last time I was here part of it was on fire so things have changed. There were new buildings and new streets. The most noticeable change was the building near the center of the city. It was huge and gave off the feel of a small fortress.

Fraya:"What do you think that buildings used for?"

Cal:"It's probably the Angels base. I wonder how long they've actually been here."

Ruby:"Yeah. That base had to take a while to build."

We found an inn to stay at and decided to keep our distance from that base until we gathered some information. A woman was waiting at the counter when we entered.

Cal:"Hello. We'd like one room for a week."

Woman:"The rooms only have two beds in them, but for a little extra we can move another bed in."

Cal:"Sure. How much."

Woman:"6 silver for the week."

Cal:"We can do 4."

Woman:"No deal."

Cal:"Fine."

I turned around and walked away. The other two followed me.

Woman:"Wait! What about 5 silver!"

I didn't even stop and ignored her.

Woman:"Fine! 4 but your meals are separate!"

The three of us stopped, turned around and walked back.

Cal:"That's fine."

The meals didn't really matter to us since we would be able to get better food somewhere else. We took inventory on the items in the carriage and went to bed. The next day we divided up jobs. Fraya had very loud and noticeable weapons so we had her stay with the carriage selling things while we gathered information. If a fight broke out Ruby and I could settle it without drawing to much attention to ourselves, but that was impossible for Fraya.

I quickly learned that the Angels were feared by most of Havens citizens.

Man:"Anyone who's ever gotten on their bad side has disappeared."

Cal:"Are you sure they disappeared because of the Angels?"

Man:"I saw an execution once. I was burying............something in the woods just outside of Haven when a group of guys got close to were I was. I jumped into the hole I had just dug and peaked over. I saw the leader of the Angels push a guy down onto his knees then fried him with lightning magic."

Cal:"Lightning magic!? How strong of a Mage is their leader?"

Man:"I'm not sure, but he doesn't have blue hair. It's brown."

Cal:"Brown? Someone with brown hair could never use lightning magic. It must be a disguise."

Man:"Oh yeah! I almost forgot. Their leader wears these golden bracers with a little lightning bolt on them."PREVIOUS CHAPTER-Back to Main Page-NEXT CHAPTER