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Chapter 36

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When Argent was angry, he made sure the whole palace knew it.

"What do. you mean the backup scrolls are missing?" roared Emperor Argent.

The clerk who had been sent from the archives looked terrified. He had been sent, instead of his boss to deliver the unhappy news. Dewey, the head librarian, having a highly developed sense of self-preservation, had already left for the day, not bothering to tell his subordinate how the message would likely be received. Dewey had checked the private stacks twice before declaring them missing.

"These things happen from time to time. You seem to have misplaced your copy, so surely you must understand. I will send the message to pull a copy from one of the auxiliary libraries."

That had not appeased Argent as, unfortunately, they had also reported the scrolls missing from their archives.

Upon further inquiry, old Talmadge, one of the curators, seemed to remember one of his younger associates showing a pretty young thing around in the restricted area a hundred years or so ago. He had seemed quite enamored with her at the time. He was willing to break the rules about unauthorized visitors just to impress her with the private collection. The fool had fallen down some stairs a short time later. Certainly a tragedy. The young woman had been devastated. Dewey had put the matter out of his mind as nothing important had gone missing.

Now the Emperor was all in a bother about some obscure scroll that nobody even used anymore. Why could it possibly matter? He was sure the information was out there somewhere. Someone had to have a copy lying about. If not, he would find someone who knew the requested spell and have it transcribed.

Apparently, the Emperor hadn't been that angry. The clerk had been offered a tour of the citadel. There was probably a lot to see there.

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Albarad was talking with his wife. It was a tense conversation. Ardwella hoped the room she and her husband were currently occupying at the temple was well soundproofed. He was yelling.

"If I am to understand you correctly, not only did you make huge changes in our son Lothinar, which I can't even begin to fully comprehend, you are now doing things to our unborn daughter!?"

I am not changing her very much. I can't help it if she will be beautiful. That is something that would be her birthright naturally because we are her parents.

“More like because you are going to be her mother. How could I ever have believed that what was going on with you was somehow normal? That Cantrell fellow is right. It’s unnatural.” She’s going to be just like Lothinar!”

"No, Lothinar is a one-off. The circumstances that allowed me access to so much of Esmarilla's power have changed. I wanted this daughter to be.... well, for you. To make up for things…”

"For me? That doesn't make sense. What's my son all about then?"

”I was selfish. I had all that power just sitting there. I wanted to find a path forward to restore the water dragons. I changed him too much. I made a useful tool. I know it was unfair to both of you.”

” I’m surprised he isn’t angrier at you,” said Alberad. “Ardwynn seems to be”

”His anger with me will come eventually, but I am willing to pay that price. That’s when he will need you the most, Alberad”

”To talk him out of vengeance?”

In the courtyard, Esmarilla rumbled.

”Hopefully not only that, but also to remind him that he is at least half good”

Alberad sighed

“Exactly what changes are you making in our unborn daughter?”

”Only making her oblivious to the effects that she will have on the opposite sex naturally and slightly slowing the onset of her extreme femininity. Delaying her developing those very popular extra curves. It will make her teen years much easier.on you raising a tomboy. You can do fun things together.

”I’ll still probably have to keep boys away with a stout stick”

“You can probably count on it. It’s a good thing I’ve already given you lots of practice in that regard, “ she said, smiling and giving him a devastating wink.

”Well, it’s not like I can stop you anyway”

”No, but I would like your blessing”

”Fine,” he said. “But that’s it”

”Yes, Darling.”

Alberad grimaced and looked about. “That sneaky Cantrell was probably around here somewhere, he thought. I wonder if Starett could lend me a stick?”

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Cantrell was not around. He was on his way back to Tasumakoji. Mavis had offered him a ride on Aleena. Apparently, Aleena had her male dragon partner at home guarding the nest and was enjoying a brief reprieve from egg-watching. Cantrell tried to avoid ogling, but the young female elf did look extremely nice in that swimsuit. She leaned pleasantly against him as the dragon swiftly swam through the smooth waters.

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Being on the lake reminded him of a song he had heard as an emissary on one of his trips. It was to some islands inhabited by humans far out in the ocean. Another lifetime ago, it seemed. The humans had sailed on tall wooden boats. He somehow found himself singing the song now, his voice soaring with emotions he didn’t fully understand.

“Beyond the windswept cliffs with gulls in flight

The shining sea stretches her long luminous legs

Sparkling in the sunshine, her gaze is turned away

Hiding her surely present sweet, but salty smile

Mortal men have foolishly set their hearts on wooing her

Throwing themselves wildly into her deadly depths

The flames of their passions were extinguished early

A meager flicker of life’s candle quenched in the questing

The heat of their passions, unseen, unknown, and unfelt

In the icy heart of her final embrace, feeding squids and snails

Leaving only the songs of mothers and jilted lovers

To mark the places they used to hold between the sea and sky”

His voice faded off, a slight echo returning as they neared the shore.

“That was amazing, Cantrell”! Swooned Mavis. “Where did you learn that song?”

”The sailors of Savintra taught it to me. It seems so long since I have even thought of them.”

”Is sailing dangerous? It sounded that way from the song”

”Yes, I wonder how many of them were eventually able to return home…” He finally said. “One of them helped me translate it into Elvish. I think it’s prettier that way, of course, but it was nice in the human language too.”

”Perhaps if I can not find a way to break this power Ardwella has over me I will travel again to those islands. And if that fails to ease this compulsion, then I will cast myself into the salty sea.”

Mavis caught him with a strange look

”Lothinar’s mother has power over you?”

”Forgive me, Mavis, I didn’t think that I had said those words out loud. I am not at all myself today”

The bikini-clad elf scrunched up her face in a dramatic pout.

”Warden Cantrell, we are almost back. I’m going home to get out of this suit and into something nice. You are going to dress and pick me up for dinner. You are taking me somewhere fancy. Then afterwards, I am going to take you home and make you completely forget about that old lady Ardwella forever!”

‘Hey,” he thought. “It's probably worth a try.”

The water dragon grinned in agreement. She had been taking smiling lessons from Candasar but still needed more work.

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Tundor and Candasar flew swiftly over the forest. They were hunting deer. Suddenly a herd, spooked by ancient instinct broke from the trees and into a meadow. The dragons swooped quickly down, each pummeling their respective prey into the rocky hillside. The struggles ceased almost instantly.

Tundor looked at Candasar and grinned. “It sure is easier this way than trying to sneak up on them”

”The fact that you could hunt these animals without wings is pretty amazing, Tundor”

“The elven magic helped a lot,” he said. “You missed out on that hunting style going straight to wings. Although, from what I could see, I had a much easier transition.”

”Without Lothinar’s bond, I don’t think that I would have survived it,” said Candasar. “I don’t know if the other water dragons will either unless they have a bond first to help with the agony. Our race’s future is going to be the eggs. Dragons like you that continue to hatch from now on. We absolutely must keep them from the Emperor. You have shown us all the way”

”Without you, I would have been at the bottom of the lake. Come on, let’s eat these deer. I’m starving. Then I want to get back “

They finished in just a few minutes.

”Deer don’t seem as big as they used to be, do they?” Asked Candasar, “Do you remember when we would split one?”

”Of course, “ said Tundor. ”What do you think I should do? About bonding “

”Do you want me to tell you what I think, or would that be too pushy?” asked Candasar

“I asked, “ he replied.

”Well, I always assumed it would be Ardwynn," Candasar replied. “After all, I am bonded to Lothinar. It makes all four of us a nice pairing. With your bond with her, all four of us will probably be able to live for a very long time, if not forever”

”Forever is a really long time.”

”Are you not sure of me? Asked Candasar “Our great age difference will be meaningless soon”

“I don’t think we will be the problem, “ he replied. “Second, we have to survive what is coming. This calm can not last.”

“And what is to be done first?” She asked, amused at the juxtaposition.

”First, we need to ensure that Ardwynn doesn’t fall out of love with Lothinar when my bond rearranges her senses.”

”Well, that might make things awkward…..”

”I’ll try to do what I can,” Tundor said. “Hopefully, your elf’s masculine charms will hold up under new, more severe scrutiny “

“Come on, Tundor, Have you seen him?”

”Yes, but I have different standards”

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The dragons returned to find Lothinar and Ardwynn waiting for them in the dragon's spacious room. They dragged over a couple of chairs and finished eating soup and bread.

“Thanks for letting us know through Lothinar’s bond that you were coming back,” said Ardwynn to Candasar “I wanted to talk to Tundor about the bonding”

”Don’t worry, we talked about it, and I feel that it’s best to choose you for many reasons,” said Tundor.

Lothinar and Candasar exchanged an awkward look. Ardwynn looked down apologetically.

“I’m sorry, Tundor I just don’t think that I can go through with it”

”Really? Why not?” I’m housebroken. “You're kidding, right?”

”Fundamentally, she is afraid. Afraid that it will make her feel too different about me.” Said Lothinar.

Tundor blinked as he realized it.

“You know, I don’t think it’s Ardwynn who is the one who is afraid. I think it’s you, Lothinar. If her feelings change, it’s not Ardwynn that will be hurt. She will just be angry. You have the most to lose! She is turning down dragon bond immortality to cover for you.”

Lothinar looked at his bride. She had tears in her eyes.

“Is this true? Did you lie to me?

She nodded. “I don’t want to lose what we have now, but if it’s just pheromones and I break free, I’ll probably not even care. I’ll just take Tundor with me and go. “

”We don’t even know that’s going to happen,” he protested. “I’d like to think our relationship is based on more than that!”

”Can we take the chance?” Asked Candasar.

”I think we have to,” said the handsome elf.

Tundor walked over to stand next to Ardwynn

”Are you willing to bond with me now?”

Ardwynn nodded her head but did not raise her eyes. She turned and placed her forehead against his face. He felt magic begin to flow from her. It was strange but sweet. Tundor began to answer back with his own considerable magic. It was white as snow. Soon it became a blizzard.

Ardwynn’s legs began to buckle, and Lothinar was there catching her and helping her get to one of the chairs. She looked into his eyes and smiled warmly. He looked frantic and anxious.

”It’s fine…It’s fine. I still totally love you, you big handsome elf. Everything is wonderful!” But I think you need a shower.”

Lothinar laughed in relief. Yeah, I’ll have to be more careful of that. Then he spun her around and kissed her soundly. She kissed him back.

Tundor, the white dragon, watched the display of affection between the two elves with relief. Everything had worked out for the best. But strangely, instead of the warm feelings of gratitude, love, and affection he had once had for the slightly ugly elf Lothinar, he now only felt a cold apathy and a little unspecific irritation. He hoped that they could continue to get along. They would be spending a lot of time together. For some reason this particular elf seemed to always push his buttons.

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