8 Chapter 8: Dragon- The search (1/2)
Chapter 8: Dragon-The Search
October, 1004 A.D.
\tI had only recently turned twenty-four. I was just graduating from the Arching unit of Havengrove city, under my father, Drakul. But, much to his dismay and disappointment, I didn't want to be an archer or hunter for our great nation.
\tNo, I wanted to be a healer.
\tMy dragon hunting ancestors must have been turning over in their graves.
\tI began reading books on healing methods, learning from different travelers. It w0asn't until I met someone at the Woodworking station that anyone told me of who I should really be learning from.
\t”Healing, hm?” A young, black-headed man asked me. ”Go to the city Library. There is a young girl there, who is from my clan. She should be able to help you.”
\t”What is her name?” I asked him.
\t”Her name is Kassiel, of the Ash clan. She's already world-famous for her healing techniques. I'm sure she'd be happy to take on an apprentice.”
\t”Thank you, Mr.....”
\t”I am Garin, of the Ash clan. She's a cousin of mine. Just tell her who you are, and that I sent you. She'll get right to helping you.”
\tI bowed lightly. ”Thank you, sir.” And I rushed off to the library.
\tI searched and searched, looking around the library, each librarian giving me a different location to try.
\tI was beginning to think that I'd never find this woman, until I crashed hard into someone carrying a large stack of texts.
\tI was frantic to help her pick up her things. ”I am so sorry! I was just searching for someone, and I wasn't paying attention to where I was-” I stopped short when I stood and saw her face.
\tShe had a beautiful face.
\tShe was short, much shorter than myself.
\tShe had long, bouncy, wavy strawberry blonde hair pulled back into a messy pony tail. Her wide, almond-shaped eyes were a bright teal color, with a mossy green around the pupils.
\tHer cheeks were flushed, and her skin was dark, a nice, fleshy tan color underneath her long sleeved gown and apron.
\tAnd then she spoke in a voice that had my heart pounding, and I couldn't even focus on what she was saying because of how beautiful her voice was.
\t”Who are you looking for, sir?” She asked softly. When I didn't respond, she gave me an odd look. ”Sir?” She asked.
\t”Oh!” I snapped out of my daze. ”I am looking for Kassiel, of the Ash clan. Garin told me that I could find her in here, and I desperately want to learn under her to become a healer.”
\tHer smile was dazzling, her teeth bright white and her full lips a beautiful rosy pink color. ”You have found me, then,” she laughed in a tinkle.
\t”You? You're Kassiel?” I asked. ”I've been looking for you for hours!” I said, relieved.
\t”Oh, well, I'm glad that you were finally able to find me, um....”
\t”Dragon, of the Huntsman clan.”
\tShe startled, looking shocked. ”Huntsman clan?” She laughed. ”Shouldn't you be off somewhere hunting in the forest? I am quite sure that master Drakul must be very displeased if one of his relatives is in the library!”
\t”My father has already accepted that I desire to be a healer, much to his dismay and displeasure.”
\tShe jolted again, and gave a frantic little bow. ”Oh, my lord!” She smiled. ”I am so sorry, I didn't realize that you were master Drakul's son. You are a nobleman, I am so sorry that I didn't realize who you were and show you the proper respect!”
\t”Oh, please,” I said, waving it off. ”I'm not worried about that.”
\t”I would be very honored to take you as my apprentice, and tutor you on everything that I know,” she smiled.
\t”It is an honor to meet you then, teacher,” I said, bowing lightly to her. And we both laughed at the irony that I, a nobleman, was bowing to someone who was not of noble birth.
*
December, 1006 A.D.
\t”Oh, my lord!” She cried, throwing her head back softly as I raked my mouth across her bare chest.
\tI smiled against her flesh.
\tI knew that what we were doing was wrong. I knew the sacred elven creed. I knew that it wasn't right.
\tI knew that there were consequences.
\tBut she had pulled me to her, telling me that she could wait no longer. And at her desperate pleas, I simply wasn't able to deny her.
\tOur wedding was only days away, now. But she had to have me then, right then. Something had happened, one of her friends had died and she'd been so upset and lonely....and I'd been around....and it just happened so fast that neither of us could control ourselves.
\tWe were young, in love.
\tWhat was the harm? We were to marry in only a couple short days, anyway. Surely it wouldn't hurt...right?
\tKassiel had taught me much in the time that we had been together. She had taught me everything that she knew about healing, had me read all of her texts....
\tI'd even published a book with all of my newfound knowledge, with her help, of course.
\tKassiel's long, heavy waves of ashy blonde hair bounced as she straddled me, rocking atop of me, and I shuddered beneath her from the beauty of it.
\tA light sheen of sweat graced her features, making her glow in the light of the lanterns spaced around her cottage.
\tHer cheeks were pink with embarrassment and her body's work on top of mine. Blood pumped through her hard, her body flushing.
\tHer heavy, wavy hair bounced and bounced....
\tConsequences....
\tShut up! I told my thoughts. I didn't want to think about that. I wanted to enjoy my fiancé's beautiful, warm, wonderful body.
\tYou must face the consequences of your sins....
\tSilence! I told myself again.
\t”Oh, lord Dragon!” She called my name as I flipped her over, continuing on through the thoughts plaguing my mind. ”Yes! Yes, take me!” She cried.
\tShe shuttered around me, throwing me over the edge, and I cried out the release.
\tLittle did I know that a guard, one who had been in love with her for so long...had come to see her that night, to ask her to reconsider her marriage to me, to ask her to leave me for him.....and had found us and what we were doing.
\tNeither of us noticed his presence outside of her window, and neither of us noticed when he ran away to tell the king of what he had witnessed.
*
\tBeating on the door woke us the next morning.
\t”Kassiel of the Ash clan!” We heard voices. ”We know that you're in there!”
\tKassiel told me to hide, and quickly rushed to answer the door, dressed in a robe. ”Yes, guards?” She asked, her voice shaking.
\tI startled. Guards? Why were guards here?
\t”We got a tip from someone who had come here last night to talk to you that you were being intimate with someone out of wedlock.”
\tI heard her sharp intake of breath. ”That's a lie!” She cried, her voice shaking.
\tI couldn't show myself. If I showed myself, mussed and sweaty, they would know that she was lying.
\t”Then you won't mind coming with us to the city's medical building to be tested, will you?”
\tI could practically feel her body shaking. ”Why, of course not,” her voice was unsteady.
\t”Come with us, then.”
\tThey took her, and once they were gone, I finally came out of my hiding place.
\tIf they found out.... if they found out that she and I had.... been intimate, then.....
\tThen they would execute her.
\tThey would execute her publicly, in the town square....
\tFear struck through my heart.
\tYou must face the consequences of your sins.
\tLater on, that evening, I would go into the city, along with all of the other adult citizens, all of us being summoned by the king, to watch the guards execute Kassiel for being a fornicator.
\tDivine punishment to the impure.
\tThe king would speak to me privately, to inform me that I was to be spared and that I would take her place as the city healer.
\tAnd as they would force her chest over the chopping block, in the indention of the block where the ax would sever her head from her shoulders, she would glance up at me to my place in the crowd.
\tAnd I would cry, as she gave me a small smile, and the ax would swing down and decapitate her.... for being with me.
\tAnd I would curse the king and become angry and bitter, lashing out verbally against him and the city, and I would be publicly beaten for the audacity of such actions.
\tAnd I would sit in a jail cell that night, and weep desperately into my cot as my mother and father tried to comfort me, looking at one another desperately as I sobbed.
\tAnd no comfort would come to me until the day that I delivered a baby girl out of the womb of my mother's best friend.
*
August, 1082 A.D.
\tIt was only a few days after Darah had been executed, and everything had been kept quiet, kept only between me, my parents, and the King of the city.
\tI had promised Darah that I would take the infant girl and raise her, in her stead. The king had reluctantly agreed. But it was proving more difficult than I could have imagined.
\tI had rushed home just before the execution, as Darah prepared the girl's things to come live with me, and prepared a basket with blankets and swaddling next to my bed. I would have to get her a bedroom ready soon enough, but for this stage of her life, I could simply keep her in the room with me.
\tIt was not as easy as I would have imagined, and I grew a fond respect for mothers once I had an infant living under my roof.
\tI was able to feed her with cow's milk and, when that would not satisfy her, deer blood. I had to feed her often, and I had to keep constant vigil over her. Any time I left the girl for even a moment, she would scream as if her life completely depended on my being physically present at her side at all times.
\tI sighed. Sure, she depended on me.... but was I prohibited from eating, or bathing? I couldn't take the girl with me to the washroom, that just simply wasn't proper.
\tMy mother was able to come and stay with me for the first few weeks, getting the hang of things, thankfully. I certainly needed the help.
\t”I remember it like it was yesterday, when you were a baby,” my mother told me offhandedly one morning.
\t”Was it this difficult?” I asked her.
\tShe laughed, pulling her dark, almost black hair into a bun. ”At times, yes. But you will see, this time will pass quite quickly, and you will miss these days when you look back at them. I know that I do.” She kissed my forehead as I rocked Kysael. ”She is quite beautiful.”
\tI smiled. ”She is. A very charming baby. If only she were not so fussy.”
\t”She misses her mother,” my mother told me. ”I've seen it a couple of times before, at the orphanage.”
\t”The orphanage...?”
\tMy mother smiled. ”Yes, I go there and visit the children sometimes. Newborns, in particular, have a hard time adjusting to the outside world without the comfort of their mothers. They can sense the difference. They eventually grow to accept the love and comfort of others, but it is a difficult process for them.”
\t”I....I didn't know that,” I told her softly.
\tShe nodded, stroking Kysael's soft tufts of hair. ”She will grow accustomed to it, my son. Just give her time. She just doesn't understand where her mother has gone.”
\tTears stung my eyes and my blood boiled with leashed rage as I thought about where her mother had gone and why, but I pushed down the lump in my throat and cuddled Kysael's small, tiny body into my chest, and she snuggled into the warmth.
*
September, 1083 A.D.
\tKysael was just over a year old, now, and she was toddling around everywhere. It was almost impossible to keep her clean, and it was even harder to keep her out of everything.
\tShe was very active, and spent most of her time latched to my legs.
\tThe King had allowed me to be very lax in my job, but I was going to have to go back full time, soon.
\tMy mother and father had agreed to help me take shifts in Kysael's care.
\tBut the girl could hardly stand to be away from me, and cried almost every time I was out of her sight.
\tShe was just now beginning to speak, and I spent my free time helping her sound out words, learning colors and shapes and letters.
\tShe was growing. And I felt that Darah would have been proud of her daughter.
\tKysael's brother was around often, but he was staying in between his uncle's home and their grandparent's home, as their grandparents knew what Kysael truly was. Darah had left letters for them, and told them that I was to have primary care for Kysael. As it turned out...they had no problem with that whatsoever. They were not cruel to Kysael, but they certainly saw her as the reason for their daughter's untimely death.
\tAnd my mother had been right, as it turned out, and the difficulties of Kysael's newborn days passed quickly. And as I looked back, I couldn't believe how fast she was growing.
\tI thought about the future. What would her future hold? What kind of woman would she turn out to be, under my raising?
\tWhat kind of life would she have in this city?
\tWhat kind of influence would she have on the world?
*
December, 1101 A.D.
\tKysael looked beautiful as she came down the aisle toward me, her body shaking the entire time. I was hyper aware of every single muscle spasm, each nervous glance she made. I looked at her, and saw her as the child that I'd raised through the years, to the young lady that she had become...that I was about to marry.
\tYears of following her, being devoted to her safety and protection, helping her through difficult times....it still hadn't prepared me for this.
\tDespite my vow to do so if she couldn't find a husband, I still hadn't really gotten used to the idea in its complete entirety.
\tIn my recollection of Kassiel, I could see, truly see, the resemblance. It was uncanny.
\tTheir hair was almost the same color, Kysael's a little more wheat than strawberry considering how much more time she spent outdoors than Kassiel had. Kassiel had been blessed with a beautiful, light strawberry blonde hair color with shimmery streaks in it. Kysael's had the barest hint of strawberry in her hair in the right lighting, because her mother Darah was auburn haired. Kysael's hair was a shimmery silver with wheat and strawberry blonde streaks, more rather.
\t But their faces were the same shape. Their eyes were the same shape.
\tTheir body structure was similar. And I was overwhelmed by the hidden away feelings that were forced to stir through my heart by my own thoughts.
\tYes, Kassiel and Kysael were truly alike. Both of them fierce in their own ways, determined, strong, stubborn.
\tBut this wasn't Kassiel.
\tI forced myself to be aware of that, even as I saw the black onyx hairpin holding back part of Kysael's hair, that hairpin that Kassiel had favored deeply...and smelled the sweet perfume radiating from Kysael that Kassiel had been so fond of.
\tNo, this wasn't Kassiel....but it was close...uncomfortably close.
\tKelose's assassin knife brought me back to myself, though, strapped to her hip in proud representation of him.
\tAnd I remembered that, though she had feelings for me...this was hard on her, as well.
\tSince she had met Kelose, it wasn't I whom she had intended to meet at the end of her march down the aisle. No...it was Kelose.
\tI knew that she had grown very fond of him, and that she had been prepared to live the rest of her life with him, so intent on doing so that she began the Soul Bond with him.
\tI knew that this was going to be painful for her.
\tWith nervous glances and shaking hands, we repeated our vows after King Emron.
\tAnd then...then, it had come time to kiss her, to make it a lawful, binding marriage....
\tAnd, for some reason, I hesitated.
\tOnly moments later, as our lips met to seal the union, something changed. It wasn't so hard. One of the hardest parts was over.
\tAll that was left was the bedding ceremony. Kysael expressed to me that she wanted the intimacy, wanted to have me. I had known it, already, the way that she looked at me. I knew she wanted me. And she deserved that. The women of our race were taught from an early age that the wedding night was important, special, that they should long for it and want it. And even if Kysael hadn't been expressly taught that, it was completely natural for a young woman to want to be freshly bedded by her husband. It was instinct.
\tI knew that we would be forced to consummate in front of the king, anyway. I knew that she wasn't entirely pure, since she had started the soul bond with someone else and she had given oral relations to Kelose, but her body was still pure.
\tBut she deserved, for once in her life, to be able to experience what it was like to be one of our people. This was right, in the sense that it was what we deserved. It was holy. It was honorable, in our new marriage. I reminded myself of that.
\tWhen we had reached our home, we had both been nervous, of course. We had started kissing, despite my irritation with the king....and gradually we moved ourselves to the bedroom.
\tAnd as her body became bare to my eyes, I felt my heart quicken.
\tShe was beautiful, with a perky, rounded chest and wide, full hips, and lean legs that were muscular from years of running.
\tHer body was well toned, her abdomen flat and lean, actually meatier than I would have anticipated. With her clothes on, she looked as if she were much tighter skinned than she was, but there was an attractive amount of flesh on her hips and belly. I wouldn't call her chubby by any means, but she wasn't a muscle machine, either. Her body was littered with scars, but that only served to give an air of strength and courage about her that made her even more appealing.
\tAnd then I saw something that had me flushing, my head spinning at her...consideration. She truly had been thinking of me, of what would be pleasing.
\tShe was a good wife already. She had considered my feelings. I worked over her body until she was ready, and I inspected her briefly, nodding in a barely perceptible way against her thigh, letting her know she was safe. I didn't know why, but I had this sense that she was afraid she wasn't pure. Whether because of the Soul bond, or because of her race, I couldn't be sure. But I gave her that simple assurance before I climbed my way up her body and made my way inside of her.
\tI barely noticed when the king took the sheet out from under us, showing the proof that we had legitimized our union to the people, and I continued making love to her, losing myself in her. I lost myself in her far easier than I had ever thought possible, and in an extremely distant part of my mind, I wondered if I didn't have romantic feelings for her, after all....
\tI could hear her breath quicken and she suddenly clenched, tightening around me and throwing her head back, her mouth open and her chest heaving with airy gasps as she reached her peak. I followed closely behind her, the overwhelming heat of our union and my sudden flood of desire and feelings for her too much to bear any longer. I released everything that I had into her, giving her something that I hadn't thought that I would for many, many years. It certainly wasn't my intention to lose myself enough to release myself and empty myself inside of her body.
\tSuddenly, we felt the ground shake beneath our feet, and we were startled out of our consummation. We dressed ourselves and ran outside to see everyone running for their lives, proclaiming that our city was under attack.
\tKysael's eyes were angry and frightened. I knew she was angry, and I could hardly blame her. The exhilaration of our releases left us quickly, and I didn't notice at that moment that my scent had overtaken hers, starting to form inside of her and take root. My mind was too frazzled with what was going on to take note of it in that moment.
\tI begged her to escape, to run away or evacuate the city with the women and children-and only after kissing me, her hair whipped out of its bindings as she took off into the direction of the battle, and I'd called out her name, trying to stop her.
\tBut her Wraith speed was superior to my own, and I could not catch her.
\tI'd rushed to the battlefield myself, looking for her everywhere, worried when I couldn't find her.... when I got too distracted in looking for her, and a Darkelf managed to pin me beneath him, stabbing me through the chest.
\tI could honestly say that I had never been so distracted that way, before. I had never let an enemy get the better of me like that. Kysael had certainly worked her way into my heart more than even I had realized. I tried so hard to force the enemy off of me, but I was too distracted.
\tI'd cried out in pain, of course. Never had I suffered such a severe injury. To make matters worse, my arms were about to give out on me, almost letting the Darkelf decapitate me, when Kysael ran up and dispatched him. Her body was fluid and graceful in its movements, and I idly wondered how she had known where to find me. We were not bonded, only married and freshly consummated. Her senses of me didn't make sense. Perhaps it was my blood...?
\tAnd as I reflected on it now, in the present tense, perhaps it was her fresh connection with me through our newly conceived life that we'd made together, that had told her where she could find me.
I went back to my reflection of the past events…
I watched with sorrowful, horrified eyes as her body fell, eyes wide with shock, as she saw herself kill another person for the first time. I could see the heavy weight that it added to her, the burden that it placed on top of her already mile-high stack of burdens.
\tShe snapped out of her daze quickly, coming and feeding me her blood, promising that she would not allow me to die. Her blood was both sweet and bitter on my tongue, and my body felt as if I were being drowned and boiled alive.
\tSomething was different.
\tI'd never tried her blood. It was unnatural.
\tShe went on to fight more, and when Grimoir was killed defending her, I watched in fascinated horror as she ripped the man's throat out with her fangs, his blood running down her chin and onto her white tunic that had been meant for travelling for our wedding night.
\tAnd I finally healed and was able to keep fighting alongside her.
\tI'd watched the Darkelf in charge, the only one in the color white, who stood a good ninety-five or so inches tall, towering even over me, as he stared at her with fascinated, lustful longing. My blood boiled. How dare he look at her that way, she was mine!
\tI was startled at my own thoughts, but I pushed it out of my mind as I watched him take one more glance at her before he and his troops escaped.
\tOur people cheered as we drove them out of the city, and out of our borders.
\tAfter the battle, I escorted her home.
\tI felt different. My desire to protect her was stronger, and I had a new desire, a desire to serve her that had not been there before the battle. Something had changed. I felt.... more attached to her.
\tI wanted to do anything for her in the moment.
\tAnd that's when I smelled it. It was so faint, so slight, that it was barely perceptible. It was so easy to miss, to overlook. But in that moment, I smelled my scent inside of her. I knew what that meant.
\tWe had made a child.
\tFear, but unquenchable joy sprung forth in my heart. I had not intended to have children with her until we absolutely had to. I knew that the king would use them to breed strong soldiers in the future, and I wanted to protect her and our children from that fate.
\tI was afraid, because I wasn't ready to be a father. Not a true father. I had practically raised this girl, and now I held this strange new sense of feeling for her that I couldn't explain and I didn't understand why it was that I was feeling this way.
\tBut something inside of me, something primal in my heart of hearts, was so pleased and proud that this amazing, strong, fierce young woman would mother my children. That her body could, in fact, take my seed and form fresh life with it. The fact that her body could take something so basic from my own, and transform it and nourish it to become our offspring…
\tIt gave me the strangest and most shocking of primal desire and pride that I had ever felt, and I had never been more turned on than in that moment.
\tAnd I made her uncomfortable, with my newfound lust for her… and she sent me to my room. The thought was humorous, almost. She scolded me as if I were a child. But I felt compelled to obey her, oddly.
\tMe, despite that I was her husband, now. I thought that it would be best for me to be away for a couple of days after that.
\tThe day after the war, we had an entire day to remorse all of our fallen comrades in arms. Funerals took place. No feasts, no music, no songs. There was nothing but sorrow. I decided it would be best, considering all that had happened, to give Kysael some space.
\tAnd I needed some space, as well. My odd lust for her was something that I wasn't comfortable with. Who knew how I would react to her if I saw her, now that she was carrying my seed in her womb.
\tThe War Council gathered the day after that, two days after the war. The king had arranged for an emergency meeting. The meeting lasted for a while, going over future battle strategies, things we could have done better, more organized. And it was getting later into the night.
\t”We have one more matter to discuss,” the king said after a few hours. ”We have an opportunity to appoint Kysael of the Cedar-the Huntsmen clan-a member of the Royal War Council to reward her for her services.”
\tThere were surprised and angry whispers, but Vintice silenced them.
\t”That girl killed twelve Darkelves, all on her own. She is not even an adult, yet. For someone of her age to hold that much power, we would be foolish not to consider her as a valuable addition to this council. She is already on the Hunting Squad Council. She is already a direct servant, a weapon if you will, to the King. Promoting her to an all-out Royal War Council member is what should be done.”
\t”Vintice is right,” my father said. ”I believe that she would be a great asset to us.”
\t”I do not trust that vile creature!” The leader of the Hellebore clan shouted. ”Not after what she did to my son, Kelose.”
\t”We are all aware of your personal grudge against her, father,” Showyn spoke up. His voice was annoyed, yet amused. ”But Kysael is loyal, powerful, and smart. She took on a full-fledged Wraith on her own, and then she proved her loyalty again by taking on the Darkelves. She has proven her loyalty and her worth each and every time she has hunted down our enemies for the Assassin Association, hunted down meat for our vendors. Your personal vendetta against her is irrelevant.”
\t”I say we have a vote,” I said. ”That way, it will be fair.”
\t”I agree,” said King Emron.
\tBefore we could begin the vote, the door to the War Chamber was burst open, and a messenger came running into the room.
\t”Y-Your Highness! You must come to the throne room at once!”
\tAll of us quickly filed out of the War Chamber, making our way quickly to the throne room, following the messenger.
\tThere before us stood a Wraith man, and several uncomfortable guards. He was not short but not overly tall. He had long, pitch black hair pulled back into three braids down his back. He had an onyx, spiked crown on his head.
\tHe turned to face us, and I jolted when I saw Kysael's eyes and Kysael's markings. I knew who he was immediately, as did my father.
\tMy father and I met each other's eyes, giving small nods.
\t”Bow,” a servant with the Wraith said.
\t”And who are you,” King Emron spoke to the Wraith in charge directly. ”That I must bow to you?”
\t”You ignorant woodland scum! You shall show more respect for the crowned prince of the Wraiths or we will have your head on a spike!” The servant shouted. Emron startled, giving his attention to the Wraith prince before giving a slight bow.
\t”What might I do for you, crowned prince of the Wraiths?” Emron asked.
\t”King Emron,” he spoke, his voice soft like velvet and full of underlying authority. You could just hear from his voice how utterly powerful he was. ”I was made aware of the existence of a child, an unknown child to me, a young woman. She would be about twenty now, with markings just like my own. Where is she?”
\tI spoke up. ”Who are you to her? What do you want with her?”
\tHe smiled a thin smile. ”I am Moserre, Crowned Prince of the Wraith City of Lykra, and I would like to meet her. I do not mean her any type of harm. I was simply told of her existence and wished to meet the girl myself. Where is the woman who birthed her...? Darah? She can prove to you that I am being true.”
\t”I am....sorry, my Lord,” I said softly. ”But Darah is no longer alive.”
\tHis eyes widened, and he looked away, a small blush on his face, looking as if he were lost in thought. ”Oh, I see. That is quite a shame. She was such a beauty, such a fiery spirit. But it can't be helped now. Then...can someone take me to the girl? I vow to you all, my intentions are nothing but honorable.”
\t”How did you hear of her?” The king asked.
\t”The girl had a run in with one of my servants, and he told me about her. I wished to come and meet her for myself, to see her. It is with a heavy heart that I hear of Darah's untimely demise... Had I known about the girl's existence, I would have seen to it that she'd been brought to Lykra, to be with her own people.”
\t”When would you like to see her?” I asked.
\tMoserre looked at me, then. ”Would you take me to see the girl now?”
\t”Now? Why ask me?” I asked, surprised.
\t”Because you immediately jumped to question my intentions when I asked about her before. She is obviously very important to you.”
\tI nodded. ”And you promise that you intend no harm for her?”
\t”I give you my word. Now, please take me to see her.”
\tI nodded, and we left the palace and made the journey to our home, taking about an hour's time.
\t”How do you know the girl?” He asked me along the way.
\t”I am the one who delivered her out of her mother. I swore an oath to protect her from that day forward. And I am the one that has raised her.”
\t”I see. And when was it that you began to let her feed from you?”
\tI smiled. ”A few years ago.”