Chapter 71: Heavy Is the Head

The King of the wood elves felt a small smile creep onto his face as most of his entourage departed toward the palace, leaving only his guests, his ward, her custodian, and his guards, plus a few who seemed reluctant to leave. His faithful herald Delabor had already departed to make preparations at the restaurant.

The King wondered if letting the chef cook for them and allowing the guests they would displace dine at the palace was too much in compensation. The chef -- able to say that he had cooked for The King -- would literally never want for cooking opportunities for the rest of his life, and the guests would enjoy the honor of the appointment for decades to come. Still, it was better in such cases to do too much than too little.

“My king, might I speak with you privately?” Plesius asked.

“You may.” The King replied, then stepped a few paces away from his guests, who were all congratulating the prophet’s betrothed on her boldness. The girl was smiling with red cheeks and looked quite happy despite the magical disguise marring her features. He assumed that such a disguise must come from her demon, for no woman he had ever met would willingly wear a disguise gem that would reduce her attractiveness.

When he made no effort to see through the disguise, Sarah looked both as if she had a few unwanted pounds and simultaneously as if she was too skinny in places, and her figure was entirely unimpressive. Her face was feminine, but not particularly so and certainly not particularly attractive. However, her kind eyes and smile softened the blow somewhat. The disguised eyes were a dull brown color and her hair was frizzy and looked quite unhealthy.

But when The King applied some effort to see through the relatively weak disguise, he saw something quite different. In contrast to the disguise, her real form was obviously healthy with no hint of unwanted weight or skinniness, and her overall figure was attractive. Her real face was feminine and pretty, though not excessively so; roughly in line with the prophet’s other wives. Her real eyes were a brilliant shade of green that reminded the King of an emerald when it caught the sunlight. Her real hair was lustrous and cascaded down her shoulders, probably earning the title of her best feature. In fact, her hair rivaled the prophet’s sixth wife and even The King’s own wife in its beauty.

“The possessed girl is indeed a disturbing sight to behold, is she not my king?” Plesius said quietly, likely because The King had let his gaze linger for a moment.

“Speak your mind Plesius.” The King instructed, not agreeing but not wanting to address it at the moment.

“Is it not possible that he--” Plesius inclined his head slightly toward Ethan. “--is a false prophet? That he seeks to bring ruination on your realm through pernicious means?”

The King considered how to respond for several moments, once again lamenting the fact that as The King, he could not simply ask a question, even a rhetorical question, as everyone else in the realm could. He knew it was a long-held tradition, but he struggled to see why it would be dishonorable for him to admit that he didn’t know something. He was but an elf, not Illuminar -- blessed be He -- nor a member of the God of Light’s divine council, nor even an angel. He was but a mortal; why should he not admit that in many things, he did not know?

Alas, that was but one thing he hoped that the prophet might address.

“You forget, Plesius, that he traveled to Mount Ianis and met with the God of Light Himself.” The King replied.

“Might he not have attempted to deceive us in that?” The high priest replied. “He visited the mountain, but perhaps did not venture much beyond where the guide stops, and thus used deception to legitimize an office he falsely claims to have. If Saidow himself clothes himself as an angel of light, then would not his servants do likewise?”

“He does not look like an angel of light to me.” The King replied, internally sighing. Plesius never changed, and thus The King was glad that the high priest would not be present for the upcoming meal. That had nothing to do with why he had been excluded of course. The exclusion had purely been ... what was that phrase the Prophet had once used? ‘Damage control’? Yes, that sounded correct and also accurate.

“Pardon my king, but I meant that a mortal servant of Saidow might pretend to be a prophet, not that this dragon was pretending to be an angel of light.” Plesius’s smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Might that be so my king?”

“Many things are possible; some are probable; and others, time must reveal.” The King quoted an old Elven proverb.

“You are wise my king.” Plesius bowed his head, but his tone would not have convinced a five-year-old child. It fell short of being disrespectful, yet it was only barely on the proper side of the line.

“Attend to your duties, high priest.” The King said cordially, but firmly. “I shall sup with the prophet and his companions, and perhaps learn more.”

“Yes my king.” Plesius bowed and then left, his smile growing ever more fixed and forced as he did.

The King suppressed a sigh.

He looked over to where the prophet and his wives were all smiles, likely at their apparent verbal victory over Plesius. Ah, the folly of youth. The King made a mental note to pull the prophet aside and impart some hard-earned wisdom to help him avoid such grievous mistakes in the future. Yes, he would definitely need to be warned of that, and soon. However, in private was best, which meant that this meal would not be a suitable occasion.

His eyes landed on his ward and a smile came unbidden to his face. It would not be proper for The King to greet a misbehaving ward warmly on the first meeting, but enough time had now passed that it would be fitting and proper for him to greet her as he would’ve wished.

“Wild Child.” He said, indicating that she should come closer.

She smiled widely and hurried over, giving him quite a tight hug which he returned. She may not be the fruit of his loins, nor even blood-related, but in his mind, she was as much his daughter as if he had sired her himself. He smiled at her tight and affectionate hug.

“I’m sorry.” She said, still hugging him tightly. “I knew you wouldn’t want me to go, I just ... I couldn’t stop myself.”

“It is forgiven, though regrettably, it cannot be forgotten.” He replied kindly.

She gave him an extra squeeze and then stepped back, and then looked at the custodian’s cuff on her wrist. “I know. I kind of guessed this was coming.”

“It is good to see you in good health and bright spirits.” The King said, that part of his heart in which his children lived feeling quite warm at her return.

“It was wonderful.” Pelathea said, a wistful look in her eye.

“Perhaps I shall arrange for you to tour the kingdom on the royal airship...” He looked at her pointedly. “ ... If you can behave.”

“I’ll try.” She replied. “I um, my custodian suggested a compromise that I think I can live with, so I really will try.”

The King smiled; he had not expected Ahjah to work so quickly. “I am gladdened to hear that.”

He made a mental note to send a letter later that day concerning an upgrade to Ahjah’s payment for his services; such speedy and effective service deserved a reward. He looked at his ward. “Do treat the honorable Ahjah as is proper for one such as yourself to treat her custodian.”

She nodded. “I will.”

“Since he was not informed of your arrival until recently, he will need to attend to a few affairs in the coming days.” The King said. “As is proper, you will accompany him for such things; feel free to have any of the prophet’s wives or companions join you should you wish it.”

“I will, thank you.” She did a head bow, as was traditional when The King bestowed a favor. Personally, he thought that between members of his immediate family, the rules of family decorum should apply, not the rules of royal decorum. However, that was not the tradition and, of course, he would not dishonor the wisdom of his ancestors nor dare say they were mistaken by disagreeing with such a tradition.

Or at least, he would not give voice to such disagreement.

Sarah watched Thea speak with The King and saw some of the tension drain from the gorgeous elf as she did. It seemed like she was not truly in trouble, which was good because that would’ve been a huge shame. Seeing their hug had made Sarah smile.

“Tell me true, friend of Pelathea Wild Child.” Ahjah said to Sarah. “Is she as much trouble as I have been led to believe, or does she simply chafe in her gilded cage?”

Sarah smiled. “I don’t think either. She has a mischievous side, though it’s entirely innocent and I don’t think she would ever intentionally hurt someone. And I don’t think that ‘chafe’ is the right word. She’s a really grateful person, just there are things she likes and she doesn’t get to do them as much as she would like.”

Ahjah made a thoughtful sound. “That was a wise and measured answer.”

“Thank you.” Sarah smiled wider.

Not long afterward, The Queen exited the palace with two handmaidens and a half-dozen guards in tow. The Queen was of course Alana’s aunt, the sister of Kalaya Kalon, Alana’s mother. Sarah could see the family resemblance, but The Queen was one of the most beautiful women that Sarah had ever seen. Perhaps not quite as beautiful as Selene, but not far either.

Curiously, while Alana’s aunt was gorgeous, Alana herself was ‘merely’ very pretty. Sarah had heard that Kalaya was just as pretty as her daughter, so apparently, The Queen had been the blessed daughter in the family as far as beauty went.

Thea hurried toward The Queen when she saw her and the two hugged tightly. According to Beth, who had spent a little time with The Queen in the Hanging Gardens while Ethan had met with The King, The Queen was a kind woman and easy to talk to.

Once The Queen had arrived, the party walked about half a mile into the city, surrounded by guards the whole time. Sarah felt like she spent more time with her mouth hanging open in awe than was strictly healthy.

The city was gorgeous.

It seemed like everything was made from sculpted wood, and much of it was still living wood too. The entire thing was one seamless work of art, even though each ‘building’ had its own unique flair and design. The differences seemed to flow into each other and have an underlying pattern to them that made them look wonderful together, even with how different they were.

Also incredible was how the tree canopy above them affected the walk. It was almost like walking in a sparse forest with how the light came through the canopy high above their heads. Somehow, she felt like she was in the middle of a great city and a great forest all at once.

“It’s amazing, isn’t it?” Taloni said from beside her.

Sarah could only nod in wonder.

They eventually arrived at the restaurant, and there was a small group of wood elves lined up to greet them outside of it. Sarah guessed that they were the displaced diners, but judging from the wide smiles on their faces, they weren’t the slightest bit bothered. In fact, nearly all of them bowed with exuberance and thanked The King with brilliant smiles.

“Come, please be seated.” The King said, indicating that the Argo’s crew should enter.

Sarah did, waiting with bated breath to see what it would be like.

She wasn’t disappointed.

She felt like she’d stepped into a zoo made of wooden sculptures. All around the room, almost everything except the table tops -- even the table legs -- had been made of wood carved to look like animals. And not just looked like, they were so lifelike that despite not a single one having a drop of paint, Sarah almost had a hard time believing they were sculptures and not animals frozen in time by some kind of stasis spell. She was glad that none of the sculptures were of predators looking like they were about to pounce; she would never have felt at ease if they were.

The walls were carved to look like various types of terrain, like the prairie, or a forest, or even a desert, and the carved animals around the room matched the habitats near them. The ceiling was made of large glass blocks, and the frame of the blocks resembled tree limbs, so the effect was to make it feel like they were eating outside surrounded by peacefully grazing animals.

It looked like the room had been reconfigured for them because she very much doubted that it usually had the tables positioned in a hollow square to seat exactly the number of people who would be eating here.

It wasn’t until Sarah saw the silver utensils and gold-trimmed places that she remembered something: she had no idea how to eat like a proper lady.

She swallowed hard.

Next to her, Taloni did the same thing and then gave Sarah a slightly fearful look. Sarah knew exactly how she felt and grimaced. She didn’t know what to do about it either, then she saw Thea a bit ahead of her and had an idea.

“Thea.” She whispered, hopefully loud enough to get her attention.

Thea clearly didn’t hear her, but Ahjah’s ears perked up since he was behind her. He looked back at Sarah, and then subtly touched Thea’s shoulder to get her attention and flicked his eyes toward Sarah once he had it.

Thea raised her eyebrows.

Sarah glanced pointedly at the fancy place setting, grimaced, then flicked her eyes at Tee.

Thea looked confused for a moment, then smiled.

Somehow, Thea managed to seat herself between Sarah and Taloni without making it awkward; Sarah highly doubted anyone had even noticed. Ahjah sat down on Sarah’s other side, probably to keep close to the elf for whom he was functioning as a custodian. As the meal began, Thea and Ahjah subtly prompted Taloni and Sarah respectively on the proper etiquette. They were both so subtle about it that she didn’t think a single person outside the four of them would’ve known.

She couldn’t describe how much she appreciated that.

“And that’s the story.” Ethan finished recounting the broad strokes of what had happened since he’d left Nalatia the last time, obviously with lots of input from his wives. He’d left out all of the more sensitive things like Lord Delmar being a dragon, the demon-possessed men, Lady Ekthros’s involvement, his conversations with Colonel Forsythe about installing Duke Farbrottan, and other sensitive topics.

“There’s more I’d like to say, but maybe not so publicly.” Ethan added to make sure that he didn’t give the impression that he was hiding anything, and also to let The King know that he’d like to talk to him privately.

“I would be honored to enjoy a more private conversation.” The King replied. “There are matters of which I would speak to you as well.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Ethan smiled.

“Not today of course.” The King said. “You have had a long journey and should take a respite before discussions of any import happen. Come to the palace tomorrow morning and we will discuss it at length.”

“I would be hap-- uh, honored to.” Ethan replied, trying to kick his brain into ‘honor language mode’. It wasn’t easy.

^∗Sir, could you ask about my mother and removing her shame?^∗ Alana thought to the group chat. ^∗I would ask, but I think it’ll work better coming from you given my status.^∗

Ethan smiled at her, then addressed The King. “So question. The last time I was here, we were talking about a few things, among them witnesses and a conviction before someone is shamed, and also the possibility of a shamed woman repenting and then becoming unshamed.” He paused. “And yes, I’m referring to Alana’s mother. Has there been any progress or discussion on that since then?”

The Queen chuckled and looked at The King as she spoke. “I believe you kicked a fairy’s nest with those comments. He has enjoyed precious few peaceful afternoons since then.”

Ethan chuckled as well. “Sorry, but it seemed important enough to bring up.”

The King had an amused smile on his face. “Prophets of Illuminar -- blessed be He -- have long had a history of disrupting long-held traditions throughout the Ten Kingdoms.”

“What about beyond the Ten Kingdoms?” Selene asked.

“Illuminar is known outside the Ten Kingdoms, though usually not worshiped nor honored.” The King replied, his face somber.

Ethan stared for a moment. “Wait a minute, you’re telling me that Illuminar -- apparently the God who created everything -- isn’t even recognized outside the Ten Kingdoms?”

“He is, but not widely.” The Queen replied.

“Illuminar -- blessed be He -- allows mortals the choice of whom to serve.” The King said. “He does not compel worship nor honor from any mortals. Though he has sent prophets to all of them, many rejected Him in favor of other gods.” He paused. “The common tongue does not have a word to indicate other powerful spiritual beings who are above angels and below the One True God, the Creator of all things; this is a grave oversight.”

The Queen nodded.

“Other gods?” Ethan asked. “You mean, like fake ‘gods’--” He put ‘gods’ in air quotes. “--who don’t actually exist.”

“That would be an idol Master.” Taloni spoke up. “I think The King means Archangels, or even more powerful beings that Illuminar -- blessed be He -- created.”

“Your third wife is correct.” The King replied. Ethan didn’t miss that he hadn’t used her name nor looked directly at her. However, he also got the distinct impression that The King would have no problem doing so, unlike certain other wood elves.

The King continued. “Many of them rebelled with the enemy when he rebelled, sparking the war in the heavens spoken of in the Book of Light.” He looked at Ethan. “You inquired about the argument that an elf’s shame can be removed, and how it has fared in your absence.”

Ethan nodded.

Beside him, Alana scooched a bit closer and leaned in a fraction.

“The luminars are divided.” The King continued. “Perhaps one-quarter of them are ardently in favor, nearly half are vehemently opposed, and the rest fall somewhere in between.”

“How many of the luminars in the middle could be persuaded?” Alana asked.

“Your first wife asks a poor question.” The King said. “The correct question would inquire as to the Book of Light’s position on the topic. That of course is the debate.”

“I’d ask about the specific verses, but that seems like a bit of a heavy topic for dinner right now.” Ethan said.

“Given that the luminars have been debating it endlessly for weeks now, I would agree.” The Queen said with a smile.

The conversation turned to other, lighter matters after that. Ethan let it and didn’t try to bring up anything important because there were people around whom he didn’t want to talk about such things, like the guards and waiters.

Eventually of course, The Queen -- being a woman and therefore very interested in such things -- turned to Sarah. “Might I inquire as to when you and the prophet are going to be wed?”

Ethan and Sarah looked at each other.

She didn’t seem ready to volunteer, so he spoke up. “Well, I told you about the birthdays. We were originally waiting until after I married Selene, but since I have...”

“We don’t know.” Sarah said, finally finding her voice.

“It would be among the greatest honors of my life if you would be wed here in Nalatia.” The King said. “I offer the services of the royal artisans to consult in the decorations, my own personal craftsmen and designers to give it shape and form, the royal chefs to give it taste and warmth, and it shall all be paid for by the crown with not one copper required from your own treasury.”

Ethan and Sarah stared at him.

His other wives did as well.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Thea grin.

“You ... you’d do that?” Sarah breathed.

“I would.” The King confirmed.

“That’s ... thank you.” Ethan said. He had been wanting to give her an incredible wedding, but had no idea how to or if he would be able to afford it. This changed everything.

“Thank you so much.” Sarah said, her tone low and disbelieving.

“We would be exceedingly honored to do it.” The Queen said with a wide smile. “I thought I only had one wedding left to help plan--” She indicated Thea. “--but if you will allow me, I would so enjoy helping you plan yours as well.”

“O ... okay.” Sarah nodded, looking like she’d just been dazed by a near-knockout punch.

The Queen beamed.

Alana couldn’t help but notice the brilliant smile coming from Sarah for the rest of the meal, and it brought a smile to the elf’s face as well.

Next to her, Rachel gave her a gentle nudge and flicked her eyes at Sarah. “I love seeing her smile like that.”

“Me too.” Alana grinned back.

The food had been delightful and the conversation pleasant, if slightly superficial due to the number of people who could overhear. After the meal was finished, Ethan and The King walked out together with everyone else behind them. The sun was past the halfway point in the sky and she guessed it was about two o’clock in the afternoon, maybe a bit later.

“Tomorrow morning then?” Ethan asked The King.

He nodded. “Come to the palace at that time and we shall discuss things in more depth.”

“Looking forward to it.” Ethan nodded.

“Until then, some of the most devout members of my royal guard have volunteered to protect you and your wives during your stay in Nalatia.” The King indicated a group of royal guards that Alana had noticed, but just assumed that they were part of The King’s guard. On closer inspection though, their uniforms had a slight difference from the other guards. They all had a small white emblem of a seven-pointed star on their uniforms in the upper left of the torso, which she assumed indicated ‘prophet’s guard detail’.

“Thank you so much.” Ethan said, relief in his tone. After a moment, and without prompting, he added. “We’re honored to accept, and we appreciate it so much.”

“You are welcome.” The King smiled, then looked at Thea. “Wild Child, I shall extend a freedom to you, on the understanding that it will be removed upon the first infraction: you may remain with the Argo’s crew provided your custodian remains with you.”

Thea’s eyes lit up. “Thank you!”

The King nodded his head once with a smile. “You are welcome.” He looked at Ethan and inclined his head respectfully. “Good day.”

“You too.” Ethan smiled.

The King and Queen departed with their guards, leaving the Argo’s crew behind. No sooner had they left, then one of the guard group that had remained behind stepped up to Ethan.

“Prophet.” He bowed low and then stood again. “It is our honor and privilege to protect Illuminar’s prophet -- blessed be the God of Light -- in this fair city.”

“I really appreciate that and I’m honored by your presence.” Ethan replied, returning the bow in the way that Alana and Rachel had suggested before they had arrived in Nalatia.

Alana smiled to herself; he really was making an effort and it was good to see.

“There is one who wishes to speak with you, and he is known to us.” The head guard said, then turned and indicated another elf dressed in fine clothes who was waiting beyond the guard’s perimeter.

“Absillion!” Thea waved to him as a wide grin broke out on her face.

“You know him?” Alana asked.

“He works for my sister.” Thea explained. “Mostly, she sends him whenever she wants to invite anyone over.”

Ethan beckoned the elf closer.

In Alana’s opinion, he was the picture of a proper elf whose profession was service. His uniform was a handsome brown color, like a healthy and thriving tree. He had a little bit of gray about the temples and his hair was immaculately combed into the style that openly declared him to be an honorable servant. While he did appear to be suitably formal in his movements and mannerisms, he had kind eyes.

“Honored prophet.” Absillion bowed deeply to Ethan. “I represent Sarisa Numatia Asimentae, called Beautiful Philanthropist.”

Alana resisted the urge to chuckle at the faces Ethan was trying not to make.

Absillion continued. “She would be honored if you would dine with her this evening.”

“Uh...” Ethan looked at Thea.

“I’d love to see her.” Thea beamed. Behind her, Ahjah looked curious.

^∗We did want to meet her to see about helping Kalaya.^∗ Rachel thought to the group chat.

“We would be honored to accept.” Ethan said.

“Excellent.” Absillion bowed again. “We can depart at your convenience, whenever that might be. She will be available for afternoon tea of course, or you could arrive for dinner.” He looked at all of them for a moment, then added. “Or if you prefer, some could depart now and some later.”

Alana smiled.

Thea’s sister sounded very amiable and Alana was really looking forward to meeting her mother’s best friend. She wanted to see her mother again too obviously, but that would be hard until her shame was removed.

“Actually, I was thinking of taking a walk with Selene.” Ethan looked at her.

Selene hesitated. “I would really love to, but your other wives have been letting me monopolize your time so much lately that I’m starting to feel bad about it.” She looked at them and hastily added. “Not that I don’t appreciate it, I do, but I really shouldn’t accept.” She stepped over to Sarah and put an arm around her. “Why don’t you take that walk with Sarah?”

“Me?” Sarah’s eyes widened.

“Sarah, you’re not sleeping next to him...” Selene whispered, then added. “ ... or with him.” She winked, then spoke at a normal volume level. “So seriously, take a nice long walk with Ethan because we get him more than you do.”

“Um, okay.” Sarah smiled widely.

“If it will make you more comfortable, I will meet you at your airship when the honored prophet finishes his walk with his honored betrothed, thus, everyone will be able to travel together.” Absillion offered. His diction was perfect.

“Let’s do that.” Alana said, not perfectly comfortable traveling without Ethan, even with The King’s guards around to protect them.

Ethan looked at him and smiled. “You’re pretty sharp.”

“Thank you, honored prophet.” He head bowed.

“So, walk?” Ethan offered his arm to Sarah, who took it beaming. They started walking and some of the royal guards followed behind them.

Alana watched them walk away, then turned to Selene. “For someone who hated the idea of sharing your husband, you’re pretty good at it.”

She shrugged a bit. “Well, I had some good role models.” She looked around at her fellow wives with a smile. Every once in a while, mostly when she smiled, Alana was caught off guard by just how unbelievably gorgeous Selene was. She wasn’t Rachel of course, but wow.

“So, what’s your sister like?” Beth asked Thea.

“Um, she’s naturally more shy than I am, but she’s mostly grown out of that.” Thea replied, then added with a sigh. “I’m a bit jealous that she got our mother’s red hair, I always loved her hair, but I can’t reasonably complain about how I look, so...”

Alana chuckled.

“She’s whip-smart too.” Thea added. “And more importantly, she has a really good heart. She’s not my guardian or anything, but she’s done everything she can to be a good sister to me.”

Alana nodded slowly, looking forward to meeting her.

Sarah had her arm through her betrothed’s arm as they walked down a busy wooden street in the capital. He had a smile on his face too, and she got the distinct impression that he was proud and happy to have her on his arm. She was a betrothed woman walking arm-in-arm with her future husband. It was such a perfectly, wonderfully, amazingly normal thing to do that she couldn’t have stopped smiling if she wanted to.

She sighed.

“Happy huh?” He asked.

“Yeah.” She sighed.

“Let me guess: because we’re doing something so normal?” He asked.

“Yeah.” She nodded, her heart feeling full to bursting. “I know it’s silly, but...” She trailed off, not sure how to finish her sentence.

“It’s not silly.” Ethan told her. “If something makes you happy, there’s nothing wrong with that.” He paused. “Well, unless it’s wrong, but you’re much too good a person for something wrong to make you happy.” He flashed a grin at her.

She smiled back and then sighed.

“Oh, look at that building.” She pointed to one where the branches jutting out from the tree trunks that formed the walls had been braided or twisted together to form a massive awning.

“That’s pretty cool.” Ethan smiled.

“So, what would make you happy?” He asked a minute later.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, what do you want to do with your life?” He asked.

Sarah opened her mouth, hesitated, then closed it again. It took her a moment before she spoke. “I’m not sure what you mean.”

“Well, we’re betrothed now.” He replied. “At some point, we’ll get married and then eventually we won’t be fighting two lords and we’ll be able to settle down. Alana will probably want to take up enchanting, Beth will be happy as long as I supply her with a library of books to read, Tee will want to pilot the Argo whenever she can, Rachel wants to become an arch mage, Kendra isn’t sure, and Selene will always want to help people, likely through her legal mind or sword arm.” He looked at her. “What about you?”