Chapter 19: Beautiful Frailty

I self-edit and admit editing isn’t my greatest skill. I apologize in advance for anything I missed.

Beth took a deep breath, relishing the sensation of air rushing into her lungs. She hadn’t breathed in two weeks because there was no air on the Astral Plane. She had never before realized just how wonderful it felt to breathe.

As the air rushed in, she smelled the stench of ... Something. She wasn’t sure what it was, but it reeked to the high heavens and was glorious. Until this moment, she hadn’t realized just how much she missed being able to smell. There was no sense of smell on the Astral Plane. The stench was disgusting ... and wonderful.

But best of all, she could feel Ethan.

He was holding onto her tightly as if he never wanted to let her go. She didn’t want him to. She hadn’t realized it until now, but she’d gone a two full weeks essentially without contact with another living person besides Gabriella.

It felt amazing.

Oh Illuminar in heaven, it felt amazing.

She simply couldn’t describe how wonderful it was to have his arms around her. She could almost feel herself tearing up as she squeezed him a little tighter.

“Don’t let go.” She whispered.

“Never.” He whispered back. “You’re stuck with me from now on.”

She sighed and tried to snuggle closer. It was hard, as getting closer would involve some positions that she wasn’t willing to be in with other people there. Well, maybe Alana, Taloni, or Rachel, but no one else. She had just enough time to register the strangeness of including Rachel — who wasn’t married to Ethan — on that list before he broke in on her thoughts.

“I missed you.”

She sighed again. “I missed you too. So, so much.”

“Let me look at you.” He said as he released her. He stared into her face with a look that made her heart melt. His eyes were twinkling and the smile on his face was mirrored by the happiness in his eyes. He almost looked like he was glowing.

She couldn’t see through is disguise gem anymore, but she knew that it would accurately convey emotion. There was no doubt he was overjoyed to see her. She thought he would be, but the look in his eye put every doubt to rest.

“Hello beautiful.” He said softly after gazing at her for several seconds.

“Hello handsome.” She felt like her heart would burst if it was any fuller.

He reached up and tenderly brushed her cheek with the back of his hand. She sighed and leaned into that hand, scarcely believing this was real. After two weeks, it felt like a lifetime since he had touched her like this.

Ethan looked at his hand, which was now streaked with the blood she’d lost two weeks ago in that alley. It had all unfrozen when the stasis spell was lifted, and she did look a bit of a mess. Her dress was covered in blood, especially the back. Her hair was damp with blood and looked more like it had come from Rachel’s head than her own. She knew her face, hands, and body were covered in blood, too but it was okay.

She was alive.

Ethan was here.

She smiled.

“My blushing, bloody bride.” He said with a wink as he gave her the once over with a more practical appraisal.

She made a noise somewhere between a groan and a chuckle.

Rachel cleared her throat.

Beth was abruptly reminded that it wasn’t just the two of them in this moment of perfect, incandescent happiness. She looked around at the four other people there, and felt a slight twinge of shame as her gaze settled on Alana.

She hadn’t exactly been mean to her, but she couldn’t think about her own behavior without wanting to hide under a rock. Frankly, she was a little surprised that the lovely wood elf even wanted her around. She wanted to make it up to her somehow, but didn’t know how. Gabriella’s suggestions to ‘use her words and then her lips and tongue’ didn’t make much sense at the moment.

“Welcome back Beth.” Alana said with a wide, genuine smile.

“Thank you.” Beth said, biting her lip.

“It’s good to see you Beth.” Rachel said. She still looked tired from breaking the enchantment, but her face was all smiles.

Beth smiled at the redhead. “Thank you so much for everything you’ve done.” She looked at both women. “Thank you both so much. I wouldn’t be here without you.”

Beth turned to Ted and Sophia who were both sitting there with their mouths agape. “Thank you both. I’d give you a hug, but...” She looked down at her bloody dress.

“We were happy to help.” Ted said after a moment. He looked like he couldn’t believe what was before his eyes. The blonde teen could empathize, having seen all the wonders in Ethan’s world that seemed to defy all reason and explanation.

Sophia smiled. “I’m so glad we helped.”

“Now, we need to get you out of those bloody clothes.” Ethan said completely deadpan without a hint of flirtatiousness ... until she noticed the twinkle in his eyes. He stood and offered her his hand.

She took it and also stood, then looked down at herself and wrinkled her nose. “Ugh, I really am a mess.”

“You’ll want to get that blood out of your hair before it dries, especially because you’re a blond; trust me.” Sophia said.

“Is there a bathhouse nearby?” Beth asked. “I didn’t see one at the apartment.”

Ethan chuckled. “The apartment has a shower, which is better.”

“Better than a hot bath?” Beth raised her eyebrow.

He nodded.

“You can’t walk down the street like that though.” He pointed out.

That seemed to shake Ted out of his astonishment. “You shouldn’t be walking at all. You were dead a few minutes ago. You need a complete check-up.”

“She’s fine.” Rachel said. “I checked when I healed her broken ribs.”

“Checked with what?” Ted asked. “You don’t look like you have any scanners or ... wait, did you say ‘healed her broken ribs’?”

“I used magic.” The redhead shrugged like it was no big deal.

Ted stared incredulously.

“Beth, I have a blanket you can wrap yourself with.” Ethan said. “That should keep all the blood out of sight for a while until we get back to the apartment to get you cleaned off.”

“But you can’t walk anywhere, not until we’ve checked you out.” Ted repeated rather firmly.

“She’s fine.” Rachel repeated just as firmly, and the redhead looked like she was getting annoyed.

“But--” Ted started to say when Sophia put her hand on his arm.

“How about we give you a ride to your apartment in the ambulance?” She suggested to Beth. “That way, Ted can make sure you’re okay during the ride and you won’t risk someone seeing a bloody teenage girl walking around town?”

Beth looked to Ethan for a decision

“That’s not a bad idea.” He nodded.

“Are you sure?” Rachel asked. She started looking a little green around the gills at the prospect of entering the ambulance, much like she had looked when Ethan had explained the concept of a transfusion. “I mean, getting into the belly of one of those steel beasts? That seems ... Is that even safe?”

Beth resisted the urge to laugh. The mage would fearlessly charge a necromancer without a second thought, but was mortified by the thought of entering one of those horseless carriages.

“I promise it’s perfectly safe.” Ethan said.

Rachel closed her eyes, took a deep, calming breath, then nodded. “If you’re sure.”

“I am.” He said with a chuckle.

“Cool.” Beth grinned. “I’m sitting next to Ethan.”

Hailey took a deep breath and let it out slowly as she walked back into Jason’s apartment. Strangely, she didn’t think of it as ‘her and Jason’s apartment’ anymore. Not after being away for so long, and not since Melinda had moved in and was carrying Jason’s child.

She couldn’t decide how she felt about that.

They had obviously thought that she was dead. If she had been dead, she would’ve wished they’d found each other ... but she wasn’t dead. She was very much alive and she wanted Jason back. Yet at the same time, she didn’t think it was right to take him from Mels.

She stepped out of the way as Jason help Melinda up the rest of the stairs. The Latina woman was clearly having a bit of trouble with the stairs to their second floor apartment with her being so pregnant. Jason was very thoughtful and attentive, helping her whenever she needed it.

She sighed; that could’ve been her.

It had been her.

She felt a slight pang of regret at not telling Jason about their baby, but just couldn’t bring herself to. She wasn’t sure she would ever be able to. It hurt too much just to think about it.

She held the door for Melinda and Jason, then closed it behind them. They both looked at her fondly, but also with uncertainty. She hoped they would be okay with her intruding.

“So Hailey, remember how I disappeared at the police station for a bit?” Jason asked.

“Yeah.”

“Well, I was trying to think of how we could welcome you home properly. So I stopped at the store and grabbed what we need for your favorite dinner.”

Hailey felt her stomach rumble at the same time that her mouth fell open. “You didn’t?”

“Brats and beer with sauerkraut still sound good?” Melinda asked with a smile.

Hailey felt like she was going to cry as she nodded.

“Good, then you’re making the sauerkraut.” He said.

“I’ll get the condiments going.” Melinda said and they all set off to work.

It was just like old times.

Hailey asked how their lives were going as she emptied the jar of sauerkraut into a colander and squeezed all the brine out into the sink. She then tipped the dried mass into a saucepan with an entire stick of butter. Moments later, Melinda supplied some thinly sliced onion wedges which Hailey also tipped into the saucepan. Jason and Melinda caught her up on all the news while she caramelized the sauerkraut and onion in the butter.

“Oh God I haven’t smelled that in way too long.” She said and inhaled the wonderful scent of the slightly caramelized sauerkraut.

“How about this?” Jason asked as he pulled the lid off the pot in which he was cooking the bratwurst. As usual, he had submerged the brats in their favorite beer and was cooking them that way. It was a shame to waste the beer, but the brats absorbed the flavor and became heavenly.

“Perfection.” Hailey sighed, imagining what they would taste like on a bun with the slightly caramelized sauerkraut and onion on top and some spicy brown mustard. Not long after, dinner was finished and they sat down at the table to eat.

It was wonderful.

It wasn’t exactly the same as it had been four years ago, but it was close. They chatted like the old friends they were. There was a bit of underlying tension and awkwardness, but overall it felt much like it used to feel when they all hung out together before. The food was amazing. Her favorite meal in the world somehow tasted even better.

“That was amazing.” Jason said when he had finished.

“Hear, hear.” Melinda agreed. “The baby agrees too.” She said as she put her hand on her stomach. “He just kicked.”

“Aww.” Hailey smiled.

“Do you want to feel?” Melinda asked. “He’s still moving and will probably kick again.”

Hailey bit her lip, then leaned forward a bit and put her hand on the other woman’s stomach. A few seconds later, she felt a tiny impact as the baby kicked again.

“You said it was a boy?” Hailey asked.

Melinda nodded.

“Do you have a name?” She asked, realizing it was quite awkward to feel her former boyfriend’s child in the womb of her best friend. Still, it made her happy that Melinda had a child and that she seemed so happy about it.

“Not yet.” Jason said. “However, I think ‘Ethan’ is climbing the charts.”

“I would be okay with that.” Melinda said. “He did bring Hailey back to us.” She looked at Hailey looking happy, though slightly conflicted.

Hailey didn’t blame her.

It was quite possible that her mere presence could cause a lot of problems for the couple. She didn’t want to cause problems. She didn’t want to cause a rift between Jason and Melinda and she didn’t want to be a third wheel either. She wanted Jason back without taking him from Melinda. The only way she could see that happening was something like what Ethan had with his wives.

She’d seen it work, she just didn’t know if it could work for them. If she was perfectly honest, she didn’t want to share Jason. Knowing Melinda, the Latina woman wouldn’t want to share him either. However, she herself might be willing if it was the only option.

She wondered if Melinda felt the same.

“So, I know we’re all in a strange place.” Jason said heavily. “I know there’s a lot going unsaid and a lot of things we need to figure out. However, I say we leave that until tomorrow. Tonight, let’s celebrate this wonderful occasion and just be happy. Tomorrow, we’ll figure out what we need to do. Sound good?”

Hailey and Melinda both nodded.

“Good.” He smiled. “Now, I can think of something we all enjoy that we haven’t done together in four years.” He looked at Hailey. “How’s that sound ... shiny?”

She smiled as she recognized the lingo from their favorite TV show. “I would love to. I haven’t seen Firefly in way too long.”

They all cleaned up after dinner and then sat on the couch. It wasn’t until they had all sat down that Hailey realized that she and Melinda had naturally sat on either side of Jason. While that might’ve seemed natural to an observer, it wasn’t. Hailey had always sat in the middle before.

“Oh, I’ll be right back.” Melinda said as she pulled herself up off the couch, her stomach preceding her into the bedroom. She came back a minute later with...

Hailey started to get choked up.

“Here you go.” Melinda said as she draped the blanket over her friend

Hailey blinked back the tears as she held the blanket. It was ugly as sin, but also warm, soft, and her favorite blanket in the world. Melinda and Hailey had made it together when the former had decided to take up quilting. The experiment had lasted exactly one quilt, which Mels had given to her.

She wrapped it around herself as Jason queued up the first episode. She remembered the couch too. It had taken the three of them an hour to get it up the stairs into apartment. Sitting there, wrapped in her favorite blanket, on her favorite couch, watching her favorite TV show, with her two favorite people, after eating her favorite meal, she felt good.

She hadn’t actually felt ‘good’ in ages.

Certainly not since arriving in the Ten Kingdoms.

She fully intended to fall asleep on the couch while watching Firefly. For the first time in four years, she felt like she could truly relax. Yes, there things to figure out tomorrow; but not tonight.

Tonight, everything felt cozy and right.

Selene yawned and then took another measured sip of her lukewarm coffee. It was almost ten O’clock and none of the people she was looking for had shown up yet. The coffee had cooled hours ago and she was starting to think that it might be a good idea to setup a targeted long-distance motion sensor and get some shut eye.

Then an ambulance pulled up and stopped right in front of the yoga studio she’d been watching.

The back door opened and a male EMT hopped out, followed by the strange dragon-man she was watching for. He looked human to her. She took down the number of the ambulance and a description of the EMT.

Moments later, the dragon-man helped someone out of the back.

It was a girl who looked to be in her mid-late teens, with heavily died hair that was mostly dark, but had plenty of blond in near the top. She pulled up her binoculars and saw that it wasn’t dye.

It was blood.

The girl was covered in it. She was holding a blanket around herself, but wasn’t paying much attention to it. Selene could see that her dress was covered in blood when the blanket swung open. The dragon-man quickly pulled it closed again, and the bloody girl gave him a flirtatious glace.

Selene pulled on her earphones, which were connected to the long-range shotgun microphone.

“--supposed to be pulling my clothes the other way.” The bloody blonde whispered into his ear, though Selene could hear every word thanks to modern surveillance equipment.

“Don’t die next time and I’ll pull them any way you want.” The dragon-man’s back was to her so she couldn’t see his face. However, his body language looked happy. So did the girl’s.

“I promise.” The girl said, then parted the blanket and looked down. “Speaking of clothes, I think this dress is a lost cause; I’ll never get all this blood out of it.”

“We brought another dress for you, so as long as I can get you out of it, I’m not too worried.” The dragon-man whispered back with a flirtatious tone.

Selene rolled her eyes as two other women from earlier hopped out of the back of the ambulance. The redhead looked like she might be sick, but the brunette just smiled dreamily at the flirting couple like she was looking at the most amazing, romantic sight in the world.

Strange.

Selene could’ve sworn the brunette and the dragon-man were involved, given their body language earlier. She almost thought the redhead might’ve been involved with him too, or at least was attracted to him. Yet he was openly flirting with the bloody girl. She frowned: she must’ve read it wrong.

“Thanks again for everything.” The dragon-man said to the male paramedic while holding out his hand. “I really appreciate.”

“Don’t mention it.” The paramedic replied as they shook hands.

“I won’t, and I’d prefer if you didn’t either.”

The paramedic nodded. “Yeah, I supposed I’ll put what you said on the 911 call in my report: slipped knife, heavy bleeding, needed a transfusion and stitches. Hopefully it won’t raise any eyebrows because I don’t think magic and raising the dead would go unnoticed.”

“Exactly.” The dragon-man said. “I was hoping to keep a very low profile while I’m back on Earth.”

Selene stared.

Magic? Raising the dead? ‘Back on Earth’? They must be a code words. That’s it; that’s all it really could be. They were using code words and she didn’t have the key to crack it.

The paramedic looked confused. “Back on Earth?”

“Yeah, I’ve been gone for ... Oh, almost two months now. I used a portal to get back this morning.”

Selene smiled as she jotted that down. ‘Almost two months’ was a fairly concrete timeframe she could work with. When she got a few minutes, she was going to cross-check her picture with anything out of the ordinary in the area from ‘almost two months’ ago.

“But how...?” The paramedic shook his head. “Never mind; I don’t want to know. Take care and no offense, but I hope I never see you again.”

“None taken, and likewise.” The dragon-man looked at the blonde with blood in her hair. “I don’t plan on letting her die again, that’s for damn sure.”

The paramedic nodded, walked to the front of the ambulance, got in, and it drove away.

The four remaining people — the dragon-man, the blond, the brunette, and the redhead — waved as they drove away. Once they were gone, the dragon man looked at the blonde and the brunette, then kissed them both, one after the other. It was clearly a romantic kiss shared by lovers, and he kissed them both right in front of each other.

Strange.

“I love you ladies.” He said.

“I love you too.” They both replied gazing at him adoringly.

Then he led all four through a door on the left side, the mirror image of the one she’d used earlier that day. Less than a minute later, the light turned on inside the upper left-hand apartment.

“That snake.” Selene mumbled as she realized Jason must have given them an apartment to use.

Fairly confident they were retired for the night, Selene pulled off the headphones and leaned back in her chair.

This was weird.

Very weird.

First the picture and now all this strange talk about magic, leaving Earth, and now portals? She was sure they were using code words, but didn’t have enough information to even try cracking it. However, the picture...

She pulled out her phone and texted her dad. “Could you call me when you get a minute?”

Her phone started buzzing about thirty seconds later.

“Hey dad.”

“Hi, what’s up?”

“I’m going to send you a picture, and I want you to tell me what you see.”

“Sure.” He replied.

“Sent.” She said as she pushed the button to share it.

“Got it, let’s see ... Hmm ... This is a pretty good job with the edit there. I can’t even see the edges where you pasted this reptile, alien, dragon thing in. Good job.”

“That’s just it dad, I didn’t edit the photo.” She replied, and then told him about the photo changing when she got far enough away from the subject, and how it looked like a man when she’d snapped the photo.

“It’s not April 1st is it?” Her dad replied with a chuckle.

“No, and I’m not joking.” She said seriously.

“Oh. Hmm...” He was silent for a moment. “I just finished a class at the dojo. Let me get home and I’ll analyze it on my computer. Please send me a hi-rez version via email.”

“Thanks dad, I appreciate it.” She said as she did so. “I don’t think it’s the picture, but it would be good to have a second set of eyes on it.”

“Is this for a case?”

“Sort of?” She replied. “It is related to my current case, but it’s so weird I wanted a second opinion before I said anything to Mason about it.

“Understood. Oh, by the way your mother wanted me to give you a message.” He said with a chuckle.

“Let me guess: my eggs are dying and I need to find a man and use them before she loses her chance at grandkids?”

“Nope, it’s the other one.”

“Yes I remember to lock my door.” Selene sighed.

Her dad laughed. “You can’t blame her for caring.”

“I know.” Selene sighed again. “But I’m not helpless and I’m only twenty three; my eggs are just fine and she has beat the husband thing into my head for most of my life. It’s not likely I’ll ever forget.”

“Certainly not with your mother to remind you.” He chuckled. “Seriously though, did you think about what I said last time? I don’t want my little girl ending up all alone and helpless.”

Selene laughed. “Yes, I’m sure I’ll forget nearly two decades of Brazilian Jujitsu once I can’t find a husband.”

“Your teacher would be sorry sad to hear that.” He said with mock concern. “You know, I hear he’s a handsome, wise, and discerning fellow.”

Selene smiled but rolled her eyes. “Just keep telling yourself that.”

“Oh, I will.”

She chuckled as she shook her head. “Seriously though, I have thought about it. I promise, the first decent man I meet who isn’t scared of me when they learn what I’m capable of will be given a fair shot.”

“Scared of you? It almost sounds like people find my little bubble angel scary.”

“Oh my God dad!” She blushed. “I was like, five years old. Please stop calling me that.”

“Hey, angels have a direct line to the Big Guy, not me.”

“I’m hanging up now.” She said, then added a bit more seriously. “Thanks for looking at the picture.”

“You’re welcome ... my little bubble an--”

She couldn’t help but smile as she hung up on him mid-sentence, knowing he’d burst out laughing when she did. She could imagine the expression and exactly how he would do it too.

For a brief moment, the thought that she would love to have a man who’d do the same thing flited through her mind. Her dad was right about ending up lonely, but she had yet to meet an eligible man who wasn’t intimidated by her. It would be nice to have someone with whom she could talk things over though.

For now, she went to her father when she needed a second opinion or someone to talk to. It was nice, even if he insisted on calling her by embarrassing childhood nicknames.

Alana had made sure that any blood which dripped from Beth’s clothes was wiped up before they entered the apartment. However, she hadn’t understood how they would clean the blood off Beth herself because she hadn’t seen a bathtub in the apartment. Now, she was looking at a marvel.

“That’s ... that’s just incredible.” She breathed.

Rachel — who was standing just outside the open bathroom door — whistled. “It’s like a tiny waterfall.”

Ethan nodded. “It’s called a shower, and the water is hot too.”

Alana reached her hand out through the open shower door to feel water that was the perfect temperature for taking a hot bath, only it was continuously falling.

“By Illuminar, That’s one of the most wonderful things I’ve ever seen.” The wood elf breathed.

“How does it work?” Beth asked.

“I’ll explain later.” He replied. “Right now, let’s get you into the shower before all that blood dries.”

“That’s my cue to leave.” Rachel said, leaving and closing the door behind her.

Suddenly, Alana felt slightly nervous. The bathroom was large enough to comfortably fit the three of them. However, she had never been in the same room with another naked woman before.

“Um, I’ll join Rachel.” She said and turned to leave.

“You don’t have to go.” Ethan said.

“Yes, but this is the same room in which we all relieved ourselves earlier.” The wood elf pointed to the toilet, which in and of itself had taken some getting used to. It wasn’t much more than an excuse, but she was really nervous and felt like she needed one.

“Well you don’t have to stay; I’m just saying you don’t have to leave.” He replied and turned to Beth. “So you should ... Oh.” He nodded as comprehension dawned. “You’re uncomfortable with the idea of being naked around each other.”

Alana nodded, Beth bit her lip.

“I won’t make you do anything you’re not comfortable with.” He said. “You can leave, or even just turn around while we get in. The glass on the shower is frosted, so you won’t see anything.”

“We?” Beth asked.

He nodded, and the disguise gem flicked off. There was blood streaked across his scales from holding Beth after she’d woken. “I need to clean it off somehow.”

“Maybe I’ll just turn around?” Alana said. She didn’t want to leave the room because Ethan was there, but didn’t feel quite right seeing Beth naked.

“Ethan, would you care to help me?” Beth said from behind her with a flirtatious affectation in her voice.

“I would be honored.” Came his equal flirtatious reply.

Alana wasn’t the least bit jealous — quite to opposite, she was happy they were flirting — but she somehow felt like she was intruding. There was the sound of clothes rustling, then one of those ‘plastic bag’ things rustling as someone — probably Ethan — put her bloody clothes in them.

Beth was probably naked behind her.

Alana heard the shower door close and then Beth almost moaned as she heard the shower water started splashing off of her. “Oh dear Illuminar in heaven, this is amazing.”

“Oh shoot.” Ethan said. “I forgot about towels ... I’m going to see if I can borrow a few from Jason and Melinda. Be right back.”

He flicked on his disguise gem and darted out of the room.

“I’m in, you can relax.” The blonde teen said after he left. There was a hint of nervousness in her voice too.

“You too?” The wood elf said as she turned around.

“It’s a little awkward.” Beth admitted from behind the door. The shower door and walls were made of glass, but it was frosted so she couldn’t see Beth inside the shower. She could both hear Beth moving and see the faintest outline of her young body though.

“Yeah, you should’ve been there when Taloni and I woke up next to him not wearing our dresses.”

“I was there.” Beth said, and something in her voice sounded sad.

“Oh?”

“Yes.” Beth sighed, though probably because of the water not the memory. “It was rather like watching one of the Dominus novels play out in front of me.” She giggled.

“The ‘Dominus novels’?” Alana repeated. “What are those?”

“It was a series of novels set back in the good old days of the Ten Kingdoms. ‘Dominus’ is a slightly antiquated but very respectful way of saying ‘lord’, though it also suggested an element of mastery or ownership, so it fell out of use in favor of ‘lord’.”

“I’ve never heard of them.”

“I used to love them, but father removed them from the library when he found out a Dominus would occasionally take an additional wife. Still, they were really fun to read.”

“Oh, why did Taloni and I remind you of that?”

“There were a couple where the Dominus took more than one wife, and the wives were always nervous being naked around each other at first, but then they would...” Beth paused, then let out a startled gasp.

“What?”

“Nothing.” Beth replied a little too quickly.

“Then they would what?” Alana asked again.

“Um, they would ... ah ... um... ‘get closer’.” The last two words were slightly squeaked out as if she was forcing herself to say them.

She wasn’t sure that she wanted to know what the blonde meant, but asked anyway. “What do you mean by ‘get closer’?”