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Chapter 5
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There was a knock at the door. Albarad winced a little as he got up from the kitchen table and went to answer it. Some of his wounds, though healed, were still a little sore. Muina smiled sympathetically as she put a cover over the pan to help keep his third buckwheat cake warm. By the time he reached the front door, however, Ardwella had beaten him there and already opened it. Lothinar was standing on the porch. Ardwella stepped back, and Albarad moved up to see better. Standing near Lothinar was Mandel. That was a surprise.
"I hope I'm not intruding...." Lothinar said.
"Of course not!" Albarad said. I hope that, in some ways, you still consider this place your home. You did grow up here."
"I don't remember this at all," Mandel said from behind him.
"You're not supposed to," Lothinar replied, looking back. "I told you we grew up separately. We're here to see if you remember your mother."
"Is this her?" Mandel asked, looking at Ardwella "She looks somewhat familiar. He took a second look. Whoa, he said. She's way too young to be my mother! Plus, she's super hot! Do I have a sister?"
"I've already explained this to you," said Lothinar, trying to be patient. "Yes, you have a sister, but she's not here. This is MY mother. Your mother is her twin?"
He looked skeptical.
Muina came from the kitchen. She was wiping her hands on a dishtowel.
"Mandel?" she asked with a worried look on her face. "Is something wrong? Is Mavis alright?"
"That's YOUR mother," said Lothinar.
Mandel looked at her, then he looked back at Ardwella.
"Nope! I'm not buying it." Mandel said. "I see similarities, but this woman is at least twice as old as the one you claim to be her twin. What are you trying to pull here?"
Muina gasped and put her face in her hands. She was crying!
"That was rather rude," said Albarad angrily. "You hurt your mother's feelings!"
"Whatever!" said Mandel. He spun around and walked back out into the yard. Albarad watched him as he stopped near two good-sized dragons. Albarad recognized them as Lothinar's own Candasar and Firestorm. They both seemed to have grown since he had last seen them. Mandel started talking to the blue one. She shook her head at him.
"Fine! I'll walk!" he shouted. Mandel stalked off into the forest.
"What in the hell is going on, son,” asked Albarad. "I thought he was running the government! What's Mandel even doing here?"
“It’s kind of hard to explain, Dad.”
Lothinar carefully stepped around his father and approached Muina. He very gently moved her hands and made her look him in the eyes.
"I'm so sorry, Auntie. He's not himself,” said Lothinar. Cantrell brought him to us just a few hours ago. He was... actually..dead. I guess the good news is he's obviously alive again."
"HE WAS DEAD!?" she exclaimed, starting to run toward the front door. He held on to her hand, and she didn't get far.
"Listen first, please... " He grimaced. "There was apparently an assassination attempt. Well... it was more than an attempt. It was successful. Mandel was at the capitol. He was accepting the official surrender of the opposition when someone in the crowd jumped him. It was apparently an outlier and working alone. They are looking into it. The killer was the husband of one of Argent's daughters. He ended up dead for his treachery but by then.... " Lothinar frowned. "It was too late."
"Let me go to him." she cried.
"He didn't know you. He didn't even know Cantrell. Cantrell has basically been his right-hand man!" Lothinar reminded her. "We were hoping that by seeing you, his memories would come back."
"Well, they obviously didn't!" she said angrily. "What if they never do?"
"Well then, I guess he's lucky to be alive... and he’s healthy, except for the memory loss. We can be thankful for that. We shouldn't give up hope about his memory…at least not so soon." Lothinar said.
"What can we do?" asked Albarad. Ardwella nodded, apparently asking too.
"I'm actually hoping you could help us take care of him. Watch him. Perhaps with Aunt Muina around him... Well, he might start remembering things."
"Of course," said Ardwella. "He's family."
"Right now I'm going to try and track him down and bring him back here. If I can, that is."
"Why couldn't you do that?" Muina asked.
"Well, I'm sure I could." Lothinar chuckled grimly. "Right now, though, it's not about my ability to subdue him and drag him back here. It’s more about trying to get him to cooperate willingly," he said. "He's a bit volatile and angry right now."
"Is he safe to be around?" asked Muina? Do you think he's capable of hurting anyone?"
"I actually have no idea," said Lothinar. "You know him better than I do."
"Where's Heirwynn?" Albarad suddenly asked. He got a vacant look on his face. "Nevermind.... I still haven't gotten used to this. She's out taking a walk with Snow and Night-Sky. Night-Sky says they haven't seen anyone, but I told him to be careful."
"I'm embarrassed to admit this, but it honestly slipped my mind that you have a young female ward living with you. Maybe this wasn't a great idea." Lothinar said apprehensively.
Heirwynn burst out of the tree line. She was running. She pulled up at the porch. Night and Snow ran up behind her.
"Night-Sky told me that Lothinar was here with Mandel.” She said breathlessly. She smiled at Lothinar. “Thank you for helping all of us last night. It was a terrible time. You were so busy! I've been looking forward to meeting you again under better circumstances.”
"I would like that too," said Lothinar apologetically. "But things are definitely still not settled. You didn't see another elf out there running around in the woods did you? It's Mandel. I'm afraid he's not at his best."
Heirwynn’s smile faltered. "No, I didn’t see anyone," she said. "What's happened? Is he alright?"
"Not at all, but we are trying to get him sorted out. Cantrell actually went back to the capitol this morning." He looked at his mother oddly. "I actually had to ask Zinariya to do me a favor and teleport him there. Mavis was probably going crazy with worry, and Esmarilla is currently in no condition to fly.”
Ardwella frowned. "What happened to Esmarilla?" She asked.
"Overflight..... At least, that's what she called it. I think it's something like a strained muscle. It only affects her wings, but it's painful."
"Ah!" said his mother. "That makes sense, She was obviously running against the clock to get Mandel back here quick enough to... you know... " She side-eyed Muina.
"Speaking of Mandel. I really need to find him before he gets into any more trouble," said Lothinar.
"I'm coming with you!" said Muina.
"I don't know...." said Lothinar. "His reaction to you wasn't what I was hoping for."
"I need to come," she said. "Please don't make me stay behind! You have two dragons with you!"
Lothinar sighed heavily. "Ok. I promised Michelle that she could say goodbye to you before she left anyway. I hope she’s home. She keeps threatening to go into town and buy a dress.
"Michelle?" asked Muina. “Do I even know someone named Michelle?"
"Oops," Lothinar said under his breath. "I guess there is no way you could have known this yet. Michelle is a human girl I met in Silvantra. Think about how Zinariya formed a…partnership with my mother... " He paused and looked at Ardwella again. "and, of course, Aunt Siophra. Your old bond, Vanquish, is doing something like that with Michelle.
"There's no way!" said Ardwella. Zinariya was a very small dragon. Vanquish?.. She's huge!"
"Not anymore," said Lothinar. "I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but her original body died. It was a tragic accident. Luckily she was able to transfer her consciousness.”
Ardwella looked thoughtful.
"But how could she die? She was so powerful!” Muina stammered.
"I will try to explain as we go, Auntie. But go, we must." Lothinar looked at his parents and nodded.
"I really need to sit down with you and catch you up on all that's been going on since I left for Silvantra. No time now, though. I promise I'll be back after we find Mandel.
He jogged toward Firestorm.
"You are going to let me ride Candasar?" Muina asked, keeping up with him.
"Don't you like blue dragons?" Lothar laughed.
"Of course I do. Vanquish ..was one. I really want to know what happened to her."
"Why don't you ask her yourself? After we find Mandel, of course," he said, climbing quickly on Firestorm.
Muina thought it might be her imagination, but Firestorm looked quite smug, and Candasar seemed a little annoyed as Muina climbed on her.
"We will probably be able to spot him from the air," said Lothinar.
”Let’s hope so.” Said Muina.
Both dragons leaped into the sky. Firestorm jumped first. It was probably her imagination, but Muina thought she could feel Candasar grinding her teeth.
---------------------------------
Zinariya had teleported Cantrell back to the Capital. She had wanted to hang around for Marg to return She had so many questions for the older Golden Dragon. But the fact that it was Lothinar that had asked seemed to make it suddenly all right with her mother Zinariya was eager to be out from under her constant scrutiny. The more time away from that, the better! It was almost unbearable how her mother Candasar moped around, sighing and staring at her. What did she expect Zinariya to do? Read her mind?
They had arrived with a double pop in the inner courtyard behind the fortified wall. A couple of guards jumped in surprise and one had even pulled out his sword before he recognized Cantrell. They jogged over.
”How is Mavis?” Cantrell asked.
“She is still very upset.” said one of the guards.
Then he asked. “Who’s the girl?”
”We just teleported into a high-security area,” said Cantrell. “Who do you think the ‘girl’ is? Look at her eyes, Telehalla.”
”They are very interesting. Oh wow! her eyes are sort of gold! Could this possibly be that teleporting assassin that you were working with before? I heard about her.” He looked again. No, maybe not. I heard SHE was super hot. This girl isn’t bad, but…..”
”What!?” Zinariya practically screeched. “I’m so terribly sorry my current appearance disappoints you! Of all the shallow, petty….chauvinistic things you might say….”
‘Cantrell quickly interrupted her. “Thanks for bringing me here, Zinariya, but don’t you need to be getting back? Lothinar made me promise not to keep you here unnecessarily long.”
‘Zinariya glared at Telehalla some more, rolling her eyes. She really wanted to teleport the rude guard into the nearest lake, but the only one she really had a good spatial location lock on was all the way back near Delora. That was literally taking things too far. She stuck her tongue out at him instead. She quickly walked off a few paces and shifted back into dragon form in a golden shimmer. She would not allow her female elven form to be further evaluated by this rude elf!
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
After her transition, the guard named Telehalla was standing there with his mouth hanging open. Other guards were running up to see what was going on and even possibly evaluate the threat of the magically appearing golden dragon. Some of them even had their hands on their weapons.
“I’m suddenly not feeling appreciated here, Cantrell, or even safe.” She said angrily.
Cantrell noticed many of the elves preparing for violence. Spears and swords, even several arrows, were nocked. He walked over, getting very close to Zinariya, if anything, causing even more consternation in the guards, who tensed up.
”We just had an assassination here, Zinariya. Mandel was killed. They are guards. They are feeling terrible about that and are understandably on edge. You are an unknown factor at this point. They are just trying to protect me.”
”But I helped you….” She protested. The guards were closing in tighter.
”Stand down, men!” Cantrell bellowed.
“Where did that dragon come from!?” Someone else yelled. “We may have a breach!” Came another voice.
”Perhaps you should make a strategic withdrawal.” Said Cantrell with concern in his voice. “I will send Lothinar further information and updates through my bond with Esmarilla. Tell him to speak with her to do the same."
Zinariya frowned, looked at the encroaching group of nervous guards, and suddenly popped away.
Cantrell put his finger in his ear and quickly wiggled it. He was trying to do something about the ringing caused by the proximity of the teleportation pop. The sound created by the air displacement of a dragon leaving was certainly much louder than that of a smaller elf.
He reached out through the telepathic bond to his dragon.
“Esmarilla? Did Zinariya make it back home?” He asked.
”Hold on, I will go check.” Answered Esmarilla. About half a minute went by as Cantrell stood there somewhat glaring at the guards. They had been surprised but then visibly relaxed at the disappearance of the golden dragon. Telehalla looked like he was actually starting to realize how badly he had screwed up.
“Yeah, she’s back, but she looks pretty angry. She just switched back to elf form and is ranting something about needing to find a mirror. Do you know if Ronni has a mirror inside the house?”
”You know, I think that there was.” Said Cantrell. “Unfortunately it was hanging on the wall that was torn off and fell into the yard when Mo-Rung decided to try and tear the place down. I’m going to have to speak to one of the accountants and possibly someone in the construction department and see if we can make proper restitution to Ronniflass regarding all of this.”
”Thank you, Cantrell. You know we dragons most often don’t have access to a lot of cash. We normally don’t need it.”
”I can see situations going forward from here where that’s going to substantially change, Esmarilla.”
”I don’t have pockets, Cantrell. That’s one of the reasons I keep you around.”
Cantrell laughed, then stepped around the confused guards. He needed to find Mavis and tell her the good news that her brother was alive. The part of the conversation where they would discuss her role as Empress for the foreseeable future was going to be more difficult. Cantrell was praying that the new “dragon god,” as Lothinar was starting to be called, was going to do something about that.
Wearily he began climbing the stairs that led into the Imperial Towers. When he finally reached his room, he found her pacing. She was mumbling and talking to herself under her breath. When she saw him, he could see the hope in her eyes.
"We made it in time. He's alive," said Cantrell.
She collapsed onto the bed in obvious relief.
"Thank the gods!" she exclaimed.
He grimaced. "There were some problems," he said. "Lothinar wasn't there, but Candasar was. We were definitely running out of time, so she tried to bring him back by herself. " He took a breath. "She did have some help from another golden dragon that I've never seen before. She's like an older version of Zinariya. It turns out she's Esmarilla and Vanador's mother.
"That's interesting, but tell me about Mandel," she demanded. "What sort of problems?"
"Mandel doesn't know me. He doesn't know Lothinar either. I'm thinking he might have some sort of memory loss or possible brain damage." Cantrell said carefully. "I don't think he's in any condition to actually rule. At least not yet."
"I thought you said Lothinar wasn't there!"
"What Candasar did.... It was actually very brave. We certainly owe her. It hurt her, Mavis. She collapsed. Lothinar felt that and came back very quickly. She got back up but I could tell she wasn't herself. She seemed disoriented. It was probably because she was central to bringing hundreds of humans back to life the night before, in Delora. Of course she had Lothinar's help with those resurrections."
"They have been busy!" said Mavis.
"Yes, but the reason for all this is worse. The last two of Argent's daughters made a last-ditch attack there. just the night before. They were probably after eggs. It was horrifying.... What they did.... They ate the body of a young dragon. They killed hundreds of innocent humans. I'm not feeling quite so bad about helping Ardwella kill the rest of them at this point.
"Slow down, Cantrell. That's a lot to process. Do we?..., Do I.... as the empress, need to send troops out there? What should I do?"
"Things are changing Mavis. They are changing fast. Lothinar has new powers. That's what attracted the attention of this ancient Gold."
"What does SHE want?" asked Mavis. "You said she was Esmarilla's mother? Can we trust her? Oh this is too much!" She walked over and opened a flask that was sitting on the nightstand. She tipped up the bottle and took a substantial drink from it.
"What is that?" Cantrell asked.
"I don't actually know," she said. "It was something the royal medical practitioner gave me. He said it would calm my nerves. I've been quite distraught! Especially after you left. I rely on you heavily, you know. You're my rock." she said, smiling slightly.
"Give me that," he said. He opened the top again and smelled it. "This is Laudanum. They make it from poppies. I don't think you should be drinking this."
"It helped," she said.
"I'm back now. Lean on me. That stuff is highly addictive."
"So are you," she said, smiling coyly. "Come here! Your Empress has need of you."
"There is really a lot to do, Mavis," he said.
"It can wait. I want to thank you for saving my brother."
"You know I did that out of self-interest, don't you?" He said. " I really don't want to be stuck here,"
"I don't either. But at the moment, being a queen has its perks. I have some very specific commands for you."
He looked into her eyes. She looked a little woozy.
"I live to serve," he said.
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"I'm so glad you brought these fish!" said Ardwynn. She was picking through the bones of a fat lake trout and getting every morsel.
"They were a gift from Emerald the lake dragon. Said Michelle. She stopped by to visit again. I think she was actually looking for Lothinar. She seemed rather disappointed not to find him here.
Ardwynn stopped eating and pushed the plate away.
“She’s a green?
”Well, obviously,
Ardwynn sighed. "How many actual different dragon colors are there?"
"Well," said Michelle, "It sort of depends on who you ask. There are all the metallic colors, obviously, but those are pretty rare. You know, blue, yellow, red, white, black. You've met examples of those. There are also several other colors as well. Sometimes you will get a blend. Orange is pretty uncommon, but it happens. Purple is really rare. I think it's because blues and reds almost never get together. You know, I should write all of this down in some sort of book and leave it for Lothinar before I go. "
"You failed to mention green," said Ardwynn. "What magical superpowers are green dragons supposed to have."
"It's not what you think," said Michelle. "You probably think they help green things grow, right?"
"It crossed my mind," said Ardwynn. "One of Lothinar's original strengths was that he was very good with plants."
"Well, it's not that," said Michelle. "It's actually poison."
"What!?" Ardwynn almost choked. "Should I be worried about the fish I just ate?"
Michelle laughed. "No... I'm sure she didn't try to poison you. She's actually trying to get on your good side. I'm sure you can guess that she probably wants a chance to bond with Lothinar too."
"I know that I can't possibly control every outcome, but I'd really like to take that slow," said Ardwynn. "Especially now that Firestorm...."
"Can shift into elf form?" Michelle finished for her. "Look, I had a talk with Rose."
"Who the hell is Rose?" demanded Ardwynn.
"Sorry, that's the name Firestorm wants to use when in elf form. Personally, I think it's an affectation that she will soon grow out of. She thinks Rose is a more feminine name."
"She's totally in love with him, isn't she," asked Ardwynn.
"I'm afraid so," said Michelle. "Probably worse... " she paused. "then I am, in fact. They share a deep bond as well. She is probably your greatest competition."
"I'd like to try and not think of this as a competition," said Ardwynn. "I'm actually his wife."
"You are. And remember... In spite of my best attempts, Lothinar has stayed faithful to you. That's actually rare and rather admirable. You know he turned down a chance at... Rose, already."
"Well, she didn't waste any time." pouted Ardwynn.
"He was actually extremely perceptive and gracious about it. How could he not be? He does love her, you know."
"But as his DRAGON!"
"She's actually quite beautiful."
"Stop. Just stop. I don't think I can deal with this."
"You are going to have to. Eventually."
Ardwynn sighed heavily. "What about the green one?" she asked. "The poisonous one."
"Don't worry. I told her in no uncertain terms that Lothinar isn't taking any more bonds right now. She looked disappointed, but I think she understood. She's actually pretty sweet for a green... Now! How would you like to come with me to go dress shopping? When Vanquish... The original version destroyed Michelle's dress on the first night we met, and I was promised another one. I intend to collect on that long term debt before I have to meet Enderline again. I do want to look my best." said Michelle laughing. I hope that the dressmaker's shop in Delora wasn't too badly damaged during the attack."
"The dressmaker herself probably was. Quite damaged I mean. She might not even be open for business today. I'm guessing that waking up after being dead might have changed her priorities."
"It certainly did for me," said Michelle. She suddenly looked a little guilty. "And for you!"
"I've come to realize that you meant well," said Ardwynn. "I've decided to forgive you for that."
Michelle looked like she was thinking about something. "Now that you are back, we need to make sure everyone knows that you no longer have Argent's taint. Dragons will know.... If they bother to give you a sniff. And they are the most likely ones to be concerned about that. But after the massacre...."
"The humans in town are going to be very unhappy with me if they realize that I started out related to Argent, won't they?" Ardwynn said, suddenly seeming to realize how likely that was to occur in Delora.
"You know," said Ardwynn. "Maybe we shouldn't go shopping. My parents had a house nearby. It's actually in the elven village of Tasumakoji, not in Delora. My mother had a lot of dresses. Most of them were probably never worn. I bet some of them would fit you. I'd be willing to let you try them on and take anything you like."
"You have a house?" asked Michelle in surprise.
"Yes, it's quite a big one. It even has all the walls intact," said Ardwynn.
"What are we doing up here in this little shack in the mountains?"
"I know! Right?
Just then, Zinariya burst in. She looked really angry. She looked at Michelle and Ardwynn.
"I have questions!" she said loudly. "Is there a mirror in this house?"
"What's gotten into you?" asked Ardwynn.
"I just got back from taking Cantrell to the Capitol." she yelled.
"And...?" said Michelle.
"And... And... One of the male guards disparaged my loveliness!"
"That's just not possible," said Michelle. "You're beautiful. I mean as an elf AND as a dragon."
"You would think so!" said Zinariya. "But some elf guard there started comparing me to Ardwella and..."
"Oh," said Ardwynn. She and Michelle shared a meaningful look.
"Listen, sweetie. Your still young." began Michelle. I'm sure things will change for you, even as an elf. I mean... I could probably use a little more in that department. You can't really compare yourself with Ardwella."
"I don't understand!" said Zinariya.
"Don't look at me. I'm nursing a baby right now. These are working breasts. said Ardwynn. They are never the same afterward either."
"You are talking about about breasts!" said Zinariya. "I do remember Ardwella's. They did seem quite large."
"If he was comparing you to Ardwella, it was probably that," said Ardwynn. "I mean, the rest of her is pretty spectacular, too."
"But I did that. I gave her a physical makeover! I made a lot of improvements when I was sharing her body!"
"Then you probably only have yourself to blame," said Michelle.
"That's really unfair," said Zinariya.
"I know what would probably cheer you up," said Ardwynn. "You can take us over to my house and look at dresses with us!"
"I don't know...." said Zinariya. My mom doesn't want me going too far."
"I'm sure that I have several mirrors," said Ardwynn with a grin. Besides, Candasar isn't here. She’s off somewhere helping Lothinar with Mandel."
"Hmm." said Zinariya. "I guess I could try experimenting with my elven shape if I had a mirror to look at. Maybe I can make that guard eat his words!"
"That's the spirit!" said Michelle.
---------------------------------------------------
It didn't take long for Lothinar to spot Mandel. He was down at the lake, splashing around in the shallow water. Both dragons landed on the shore.
"Stay here for a minute," Lothinar said to Muina. "I would like to try and talk to him first."
"But..."
"It won't take long. I'll signal you when I want you to come over."
Lothinar slipped off Firestorm and walked slowly over to his half-brother. Mandel was looking into the water.
"Hey, little fishies! Are you going to grow up soon to be big fishies so we can eat you?"
Mandel was talking to minnows, but as Lothinar approached, he suddenly stood up and spoke to him.
"Oh Hi Lothinar. Sorry for running off. I'm feeling much better now." He looked past Lothinar and spotted Muina still sitting on the dragon."
"Hi, Mom!" he hollered. Then he waved.
"You seem better," Lothinar said to him. "At least not so angry. And you seem to finally remember your mother."
"Sure!" he said. "The dragon helped me."
"One of my dragons?" Lothinar asked, confused.
"No. The green one! Her name is Emerald." he said.
From a distance, Lothinar could see a green dragon flying towards them. She looked very familiar. She landed next to them and Lothinar wasn't that surprised when Mandel threw his arms around her neck.
"You came back!" he said happily.
"I told you that I only needed a few minutes to say goodbye to the others in my tribe. I felt that I owed them an explanation."
"Mandel only nodded." He went back to looking at the minnows.
"I found him down here, alone," Emerald said to Lothinar. "At first, I thought it was you coming back to give me a second chance."
"Second chance?" asked Lothinar.
"I spoke with Michelle this morning. She told me that under no circumstances would you be taking additional bonds right now."
"Well," said Lothinar. "I suppose she's mostly right. But if you were going to ask something like that, it would have been better to speak to me about it. The females in my life can be a little territorial."
"Are you taking bonds?" asked Emerald. "Because I have a few friends who...."
"She's MINE!" Mandel suddenly said. "Mine. mine mine." He pointed at Emerald. Then he suddenly started looking at the minnows again.
Emerald looked embarrassed. "I'm trying to work with him, but he still has these episodes," she said forlornly. "He's very passionate, but his mind is damaged. I'm trying to allow him to lean on mine. I have a lot of history with fish."
"You bonded," said Lothinar.
"I didn't realize." said the dragon. "He just looked so much like you. I thought...."
Muina came running over.
"Hi, Mom!" Mandel said again.
"Well, that's an improvement," said Muina. "At least he remembers me."
"There are images in his memory. They are not well connected," said Emerald. "I'm helping him as best I can."
Muina looked at the green dragon. "You do realize that he is the Emperor of the Elven lands."
"No, I didn't realize that," said Emerald. "That doesn't really matter much to me. I know it sounds important. I don't know what he actually does, but I'm sorry to say he's probably not going to be able to fulfill that obligation. I'm barely keeping him together right now."
"Your personal vocabulary is better," commented Lothinar.
"He's still got the words," said Emerald. "He had a pretty good education at some point. I know a little bit about a lot of things that I didn't used to. I know Mavis and Cantrell. There is this little serving wench at the Capitol. He's not supposed to be diddling, but he diddles fairly frequently."
"What?!" Muina almost shouted.
"You know the bonded have no secrets, Auntie," said Lothinar. "And it's hardly a crime."
"He thinks she loves him, But I think she's just trying to get into his bed for political gain," said Emerald. "There are little warning signs."
"It's good that you found out about that," said Lothinar. "In his job it's very hard to find someone you can really trust."
"I trust HER!" said Mandel. He pointed at Emerald.
"We need to talk, Emerald," Lothinar said. "There have been some changes you may want to know about before you invite a female into his life. Especially now."
"I've heard things," said Emerald. "Rumors. Are they true?"
Firestorm suddenly shifted. She walked over to them. "Hi, I'm Rose," she said. "Lothinar is right. There have been some changes."
"I see," said Emerald. "Can you teach ME how to do that?"
"I can't, but I know someone who probably can," said Rose.
"He will have needs," said Emerald. All males do."
Lothinar looked embarrassed. Rose prodded him in the ribs. "Did you hear that Lothinar? All males do!"
"Mandel is handsome," said Emerald. "Of course, you are as well, Lothinar. But have either of you thought about shaving your heads?"
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