A Dragon's Tale
Copyright© 2022 by Antiproton
Chapter 85: Things Lost ... and Found?
Fantasy Sex Story: Chapter 85: Things Lost ... and Found? - An accident + Magic = A man's mind in a dragon's body. After being pulled into a high-fantasy world of elves, magic, and airships, our hero finds himself chased by lords, hunted by mages, and fighting to protect and nurture those he loves while also fighting his new dragon instincts. I promise a happy ending to this character-driven saga, but don't forget: "the course of true love never did run smooth".
Caution: This Fantasy Sex Story contains strong sexual content, including Ma/Fa Fa/Fa Mult Consensual Mind Control Reluctant Romantic Lesbian BiSexual Heterosexual High Fantasy Restart Magic non-anthro MaleDom Light Bond Group Sex Harem Polygamy/Polyamory Cream Pie First Oral Sex Pregnancy Slow
Ethan took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He glanced at the waitress in the restaurant, though ‘diner’ was probably more accurate. She was an elf, so it was hard to guess her age, but she was certainly at least middle-aged. She couldn’t be much younger than Nakhim Nalfigar, given the story that Falkaan had just told, so that seemed right. She looked like she carried the weight of the world on her shoulders, and it showed in her posture and on her face.
“Ethan, can we help her?” Sarah asked.
He turned to look at his betrothed and couldn’t help but smile into her gorgeous emerald eyes. She had a heartfelt look of concern in her eyes and her body language screamed that she wanted to help.
“I don’t know.” He replied honestly.
Sarah looked confused for a moment, then spoke again. “I meant that I know we can help, I was asking if you would be willing to.”
He imitated Yoda. “So certain are you?”
“I am.” She nodded without a trace of doubt in her tone, and she obviously missed the reference.
At another part of the table, Selene smiled, obviously suppressing a chuckle; at least he could rely on Selene to get his Earth humor.
“Dominus, I second that.” Beth said.
“Master, I would like to help her too.” Tee added.
Ethan hesitated, self-aware enough to know that his hesitation was coming from his experience with his ex-fiancée back on Earth. Man, he’d really dodged a bullet there. He thought about it for a moment, then looked at Selene. “Can you see if she was being evil to Nakhim, or if she was just young and naive?”
“I could...” Selene replied hesitantly.
“Problem?” He asked.
“I’m not thrilled about jumping into just anyone’s head.” Selene replied. “The bad guys, sure. If someone is trying to hurt us, absolutely. But she’s neither, and it’s a serious violation of privacy.”
“Of all the telepaths in all the towns in all the world, I marry the one with a conscience.” He winked.
Selene chuckled.
“I do not possess such reservations.” Myla spoke up. “If Selene’s heart feels significant reluctance to ascertain the disposition of her character, I could undertake that task instead.”
“I’d be more comfortable not doing it.” Selene nodded, then smiled wryly. “It somehow feels less bad to let someone else do it for me.”
“Hai.” Myla nodded, then closed her eyes.
Alana looked at him, her eyes slightly narrowed. “I can tell when you’re trying to be open-minded even though you don’t want to be. I’m especially proud to be your wife when you do things like that.”
“Thanks.” He smiled and sat up a little straighter.
“Her situation has some complexity.” Myla said after a minute or two. “She did not have malice in her heart toward Nakhim, and in fact had some small affection in her heart towards him. It was not strong, but it was present. At the time of the event, she did not consider that he would be so severely displeased, despite her deducing that he would have some displeasure.”
Ethan frowned.
“She revealed the information at her father’s insistence, and in fact, his outright command.” Myla continued. “Since she revealed the information in obedience to her father, to this day, she does not believe that she engaged in wrongdoing. However, she has much regret in her heart over how the situation resolved itself.”
“That she hurt Nakhim, or that she ended up penniless?” Ethan asked.
“Her greater regret is at her current life situation.” Myla replied. “However, her heart had regret for the pain she caused him when the event happened, and such regret persists to this day. It is less than she feels over her life situation, but present.”
Ethan sighed. “Dang, I hoped it would be simple.”
“Ethan, if I’ve learned one thing from poking around in other people’s heads, it’s that people are basically never simple.” Selene said.
He inclined his head in concession.
“What about the other elf she started flirting with right afterward, the one she ended up marrying?” Beth asked.
“Her attraction was faint, and even then consisted entirely of physicality.” Myla replied. “The primary object of her flirtations was to induce Nakhim to jealousy in an attempt to recover his affections.”
Selene winced. “File that under ‘epic fail’.”
“That would indeed be an accurate assessment.” Myla agreed.
Ethan frowned.
“Can we help her?” Sarah asked again, her emerald eyes still pleading.
He tipped his head one way, then the other, then looked at Myla. “Is she a good person?”
“She possesses complication in that arena.” Myla replied. “She would not intentionally cause harm to anyone who had not wronged her. However, in her current life circumstance, she would likely be willing to perform actions of questionable morality and legality to improve her situation, provided that it was not likely to cause significant harm to anyone, whether financial or physical.”
“I was hoping you’d say that she was a saint.” Ethan sighed.
“Ethan, almost no one is a saint.” Alana pointed out. “If we only help saints, we won’t help very many people.”
“That’s fair.” He nodded.
“Please?” Sarah asked.
Ethan hesitated a moment, then a strange thought occurred to him: was this how Illuminar felt when someone prayed for someone else? Huh, he thought about that for a moment, decided that he hoped that Illuminar was a better person than he was, and then pushed the thought out of his mind.
He looked at Sarah for a long moment, then turned in his seat and raised his hand to the waitress to get her attention. She noticed him and made her way over. Ethan was pretty sure that if she had been on Earth, she would’ve been a heavy smoker. It was probably good she wasn’t.
“Did you need something?” She asked.
“Only sort of.” He replied. “You got a minute?”
“I can if I need to.” She glanced back toward the kitchen.
∗Myla says that you should offer her a copper.∗ Selene thought to everyone.
Ethan fished one out of the front pouch on his belt and set it on the table right in front of her, then looked up at her. “Copper for your thoughts?”
Her eyes locked on the single copper for several long seconds, then she looked at him. “Only my thoughts?”
“Yup.” Ethan nodded.
She hesitated, eyed the copper, then looked at him with slightly narrowed eyes. “If this is a prelude to a proposition, I will not accept it.”
Ethan resisted the urge to chuckle. “I have never done that, and I would never do that. We--” He indicated everyone around the table. “--want to talk to you for a few minutes.”
The waitress hesitated and then looked around at all of them, her eyes finally settling on Sarah.
“We want to help.” His betrothed said, and a blind man could see that she cared.
“Pull up a chair.” Ethan said, then tipped his own chair back far enough to reach an unused chair at another table and pull it closer.
The waitress hesitated for several long moments, looked at the copper, looked at the chair, and then looked at Sarah for several long moments. Honestly, she looked like she was afraid that they would attack her. After a final glance at Sarah and then the copper, she finally accepted the chair and sat down. Notably, she sat down far enough away that the table wouldn’t make it hard for her to bolt.
“What did you wish to know?”
“Thank you so much Marge, I’m really appreciating this.” Fiona said to the Helene’s cook, who was also the castle’s cook when Lord Delmar was in Karnas, and she was Fiona’s former boss as well.
“It’s no trouble.” Marge replied as she punched down a lump of dough and then began kneading it.
“Well, thank you again anyway.” Fiona replied with a smile, then left the Helene’s galley and headed up toward her room. Conner would need to be nursed before he went down for the night, and her breasts were feeling a little full anyway.
Not long afterward, she was in the rocking chair in the converted playroom right next to her and Lord Delmar’s room. She smiled as she thought about that; he had converted it just for her, and it had been one of those little early indications that he cared.
As she nursed, she found herself thinking of the upcoming luncheon with Rachel that was planned for the next day. It could be a wonderful thing for her husband to reconnect with his daughter, and she hoped it would be. She wasn’t quite sure how it would go, but she was hopeful.
“Illuminar, could you be helping this lunch to go really well?” She asked as she looked out the porthole into the night sky. “I would be loving it if they could be repairing their relationship, even with my husband hunting Ethan.”
She switched Conner to the other breast, not bothering to cover herself back up since the only other person who might see her was Lord Delmar. Honestly, she was hoping he would. She knew it was a bad idea to compare husbands, but her first husband had wanted to spend time with her in the bedroom as often as possible, even twice a day. She smiled as she thought about their record, which was three. She hoped that Lord Delmar might want to break that record at some point.
She heard the door to the bedroom open, then close. A moment later, her husband appeared at the doorway.
Fiona smiled at him, then adjusted slightly in her chair so her one naked breast was more visible to him. He didn’t react much, but she could’ve sworn that his eyes momentarily flicked down to her breast. It was too fast and too subtle to be sure, but she thought so.
“I was finishing preparing everything for the lunch with Rachel, Sarah, and Sarah’s friend Amy.” She said, wanting to keep him there with her breast out as long as possible.
“Thank you Fiona.” He said. “I am grateful for your efforts on this.”
“I was happy to be helping milord.” She replied, and let her joy show on her face.
He nodded once.
“I’m also happy to be letting you look milord.” She said after a moment, pushing her chest out slightly. “If you were wanting to look more often, I would be loving that.”
He looked her in the eyes for a long moment, then his eyes adjusted downward for a moment. They lingered for perhaps a second, then he looked her in the face again.
“What are you thinking Milord?” She asked, her nether regions waking up at his attention.
“While this is poor form for a husband, especially a former widower, I was comparing.” He replied. “You have slightly more defined areola than Helene had, and slightly more prominent nipples as well. I have no particular preference for either, I was merely noting the difference.”
Fiona nodded slowly. “Well, I’m knowing how much you were loving Helene, and I was hearing some stories about how you two were ... amorous in public, so I’m knowing you were very attracted to her. I’m thinking that me equaling her in some way is a compliment.” She tried to put the best spin on it she could.
The corners of her husband’s mouth inched upward slightly, though returned to normal after a moment. “It was not intended as a compliment, but your conclusion is fully justified.”
Fiona beamed. “I’m glad to be hearing that.”
“Helene always looked on the bright side as well.” He continued. “I grew to appreciate that about her.”
Fiona nodded.
“I do look occasionally.” He added.
“Oh?” She asked; that was news to her.
“I routinely rise before you awake, and — just like Helene — you remove your clothes in your sleep.” He replied. “I am not a eunuch, and therefore find the sight...” He paused, probably for effect. “ ... diverting.”
Fiona bit her lip. wishing Conner would finish because she had some things she wanted to do.
“Not tonight.” He said, though she thought she detected a hint of ... of something in his tone. “I must return to the palace for a meeting with Prince George regarding the revelation of my species to Narlotten.”
She nodded. “How is that going?”
“Much planning is being done, though none have succeeded in producing a plan superior to what Lady Ekthros and I spent many years preparing.” He replied. “The more pressing concern is how to reveal it to the members of my council.”
“Mage Weston is here, and he’s a very understanding person.” She said. “Could you be telling him first to see how he would be taking it? I’m sure he’d be willing to keep it a secret until you tell the rest of your council, and Narlotten after that.”
He didn’t reply immediately, and when he did, his tone was pensive. “That is worth considering. Thank you Fiona.”
“You’re welcome milord.” She replied with a smile.
He looked her in the eyes for a moment, then deliberately lowered them to her chest, looked her in the eye once more, then left.
Fiona would’ve preferred a different ending to the evening, but that was very much progress.
“What did you wish to know?”
Ethan considered the waitress’s question for a moment before answering. Sure, Myla could poke around in her head and get a sense of things, but he wanted to get an idea himself, firsthand. However, he needed to be careful about it; clever.
“Well first, what’s your name?” He asked.
“Delilah.” She replied cautiously, as if it was a trick question.
∗Damn.∗ Selene thought to him with laughter in her mental tone, though her face was straight. ∗Make sure that Nakhim’s real first name isn’t Samson.∗
∗Right?!∗ He thought back, then spoke. “So, you’ve already met my betrothed.” He indicated Sarah.
Delilah nodded.
“She has many wonderful qualities, and one of them is that she wants to help everyone that she meets.” He looked at the waitress. “What would help you?”
Delilah swallowed. “I do not think anything would.”
“Why not?” He asked.
“Consider what life has taken from me.” She replied, and her jaw was a little ... stiff. “I have passed middle age, I cannot bear children, and the two I once conceived never...” She stopped, then swallowed. “I have no family to speak of, life and age have taken the beauty I might have used to attract a husband, and I have no children to take care of me when I can no longer do this.” She indicated the restaurant around them.
“You can’t think of anything that might help?” Ethan asked.
She shook her head. “It would take Illuminar Himself — blessed be He — or His prophet to help.”
“The Prophet can be hard to find.” Beth said with a suppressed smile. “You never know what he’s up to.”
“Have you met him?” Delilah asked.
Beth hesitated. “I have.”
It almost looked like the waitress was going to ask a question, then she sighed.
“You didn’t say how we could help you.” Ethan said.
“Save for charity, which would be dishonorable to accept on a long-term basis when I can work, I cannot think of a way.” She paused. “Unless, perhaps, you know of an elf who wishes for a second or third wife who could not bear children for him.” Her tone was skeptical and had a touch of bitterness in it.
∗That might actually be a selling point for Nakhim.∗ Rachel pointed out. ∗No kids means no other heirs competing for an inheritance.∗
∗Fair point.∗ Ethan replied.
∗Okay ladies, follow my lead.∗ Alana thought to everyone, then spoke aloud to Delilah. “You mentioned children, were you married?”
“Once.” Delilah nodded. “He was--” She stopped. “It was a long time ago.”
∗Rachel, you’re up.∗ Alana thought to everyone.
“What happened to him?” Rachel asked.
“He was not well.” She replied. “Our life circumstances changed and his health declined dramatically, and eventually, fully.”
∗Kendra, do your clinical voice and ask if any former suitors would be interested.∗ Alana thought to everyone.
“You seem to detest your situation.” Kendra said, her tone clinical. “Is there a former suitor who might help you out of it? Perhaps through marriage?”
Delilah’s face got slightly more — for lack of a better term — rigid. It seemed like she was trying to conceal her reaction, but she did a terrible job.
“I do not think so; I did not have many suitors.” She replied.
“As I understand it, ‘not many’ usually means more than one.” Rachel pointed out.
“Only one other.” She replied. “But my father ensured that he would never be interested.”
∗Kendra.∗ Alana thought to everyone.
“I don’t mean to be rude, but you said that you no longer have any family to speak of; if your father isn’t alive anymore, how could he get in the way?” She asked.
Delilah’s face got rather stiff. “I would prefer a different topic.”
“Who was the second suitor?” Ethan asked. “The one you didn’t marry.”
The stiff look on her face cracked for a moment as the corners of her mouth momentarily pulled upwards, but it was short-lived. “He would not be interested.” After a moment, she stopped and then looked around at all of them. She got a small frown on her face and her eyes narrowed slightly. “Why do you ask?”
“Because I wanted to see if you’d drop his name, and honestly, Nakhim is being an ass.” Ethan replied, figuring that there was no reason to hide it now that she was suspicious.
She stood up. “Whatever your designs on him, I will not be a part of them.” Her mouth was a thin line and her jaw was clenched. She glanced at the copper that Ethan had offered her, which was still on the table. She hesitated, then turned pointedly and walked away.
Ethan slowly drummed his fingers on the table, then looked at Myla. “Would you have guessed that she would react that way?”
“No, Meelas.” She replied, a small note of confusion in her tone.
Ethan shrugged. “I suppose even reading someone’s mind doesn’t mean you can tell what she would do.”
“I must agree with that apparent truth, Meelas.” Myla agreed.
“Hmm, interesting.” Ethan mused, then looked at Sarah. “Well, that makes me more inclined to help her. She might not be a saint, but it seems like she still cares for him.”
“So, can we help her?” His betrothed asked.
He nodded. “Yeah, I think we can.”
He stood up and turned toward Delilah, who was at the other end of the diner. “Delilah.” He called loud enough to catch her attention.
She turned the upper half of her body and head to look at him, but didn’t face him. “Yes?” Her tone was controlled, but also rather cold.
“What would it take to convince you that I mean him no harm?” Ethan asked. He could just drop the disguise gem, but was curious how she would reply.
“Convince the Prophet of Illuminar to come here and swear you mean well.” Delilah replied. Judging by her tone, she thought that pigs flying was more likely.
“Well, since you asked...” Ethan shrugged, then clicked his disguise gem off. He was wearing his armor, as he always did when he left their suite, so he should be easily recognizable.
Delilah gasped and nearly jumped out of her skin.
“Ladies, turn yours off as well.” Ethan said casually.
Moments later, Delilah’s mouth fell open. She looked from one to another of his wives, her eyes getting bigger as she did so.
“I’m not that big into subtlety.” Ethan said. “I was being honest when I said that Nakhim was being an ass.”
After a moment, the waitress looked at him, her face getting slightly pale.
“We didn’t know who you were when we arrived, and only found out afterward.” Ethan continued. “I thought we were only here to hear the story of how Nakhim became such a misogynist.” He paused. “Did you know that he was one?”
Delilah shook her head, and it seemed to take several seconds for her to find her voice. “He ... he always seemed nice to...” She trailed off as she stared at him.
“Yeah, well, as best I can figure, the way you treated him soured his view of women.” Ethan replied.
Delilah frowned.
She also nodded, but the frown made Ethan think that she wasn’t convinced.
“I was telling the truth that Sarah really wanted to help you, and not because she wants something from you; she really is just that kind.” He continued. “I’m a little more practical, but honestly, seeing that you turned down that copper even though you’re obviously hard up for coin made me want to help you more. So, now that you know who I am, let me ask again: What would help you?”
“I ... I don’t know.” She replied after several long seconds.
“Buying out her work contract.” The cook in the kitchen said. “She has a few years left on it, and unless someone does that, she can’t go anywhere or do anything.”
∗My lord, nod your head slowly like you’re thinking.∗ Rachel thought to everyone.
He did. ∗What’s a work contract?∗
∗Basically, she agrees to work a specific job for a certain time, and is guaranteed food, shelter, and clothing in return. Poor people tend to like the extra security.∗ Rachel explained.
∗Thanks.∗ Ethan replied, then spoke aloud. “How much is left on her work contract?”
“Tell you what, I’ll sell her work contract to you for a single copper — and that’s just to make it legal — if you’ll walk out of here like that so everyone can see that the Prophet of Illuminar — blessed be He — and his wives ate here. That’ll be worth more than a buyout would be.”
“You’re the holder?” Alana asked.
“Yes ma’am.” He nodded. “This is my restaurant.”
Delilah hesitated. “But I would have to agree before you sold it, and...” She looked at Ethan.
“Del, take him up on it.” The cook, and apparently owner, said. “Opportunities like this don’t present themselves often.”
She looked at Ethan and company. “Do you swear on Illuminar himself that you won’t let me starve?” Judging by her tone, which had a trace of suspicion in it, she was genuinely concerned that he might.
“I promise.” Ethan said, thinking that if worst came to worst, she could come on the Argo. He was certain that wouldn’t be necessary because he knew enough people that someone would be able to find her a job. And again, there was always the Argo if that didn’t work. And that was assuming that Nakhim wasn’t interested.
Delilah hesitated. “Okay.”
“No ‘thank you’?” The cook admonished with the kind of sigh that a parent might make when reminding a child of something for the millionth time.
“Thank you.” She said to Ethan and company.
“You’re welcome.” He replied, then grabbed the copper from the table and gave it to the cook.
The cook beckoned him toward the back, and Alana followed them. The cook had a small office of sorts off the kitchen and he fetched a scroll from it. He rolled it out, signed his name, had Ethan sign his — which he only did after Alana read it since it was in elvish and he couldn’t read it — and then handed him the scroll.
“She’s your responsibility now.” The cook/owner said. “Remember, the work contract says that you can’t ask her to do anything other than food service type work, and you have to make sure she’s taken care of.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” Ethan replied, shook the elf’s hand, then they headed back out front, him carrying the scroll.
∗I asked Thea, she can put her up in the servants’ quarters for now, and employ her as a server for the guards and such.∗ Selene thought to everyone. ∗She’ll have someone meet us outside our suite building to take her there.∗
∗Perfect, thanks, and tell Thea thanks for me.∗ Ethan replied.
∗Will do.∗ Selene replied.
“Okay, let’s blow this popsicle stand.” Ethan said aloud, leading to a bunch of strange looks.
“It’s an idiom from Earth; it means ‘let’s leave’.” He explained.
“I will need to visit my living quarters first.” Delilah stated. “I have a few things that I would not like to leave behind.”
“Sure.” Ethan agreed.
“This kind of thing will cause trouble in the Wilding Lands.”
Selene looked at Kendra and considered what her friend had just whispered as they were walking toward Delilah’s living quarters. “Because they won’t like it, or because he’ll want to help everyone?” Selene replied just as quietly.
“Mostly the latter.” Kendra replied. “I’m not saying we shouldn’t help, we probably should, but we need to be careful.”
“Wait, we ‘probably should’?” Selene raised her eyebrow.
“Mission creep can be deadly.” The former Aldmiri replied, but didn’t elaborate.
“What makes you say that?” Selene asked when she didn’t clarify.
“Experience.” Kendra replied calmly. Selene got the distinct impression that there was a story there, but also that it would take Ethan and about a gallon of whiskey to get her to tell it.
“You have to give me more than that.” Selene whispered, figuring that there was no harm in trying.
“Lots of experience.” Kendra replied with the tiniest trace of a wry smile on her face.
“Careful, you’re getting downright expressive there.” Selene chuckled.
Thankfully, nothing bad happened on the way to Delilah’s living quarters. She hadn’t grabbed much at all, just a dress or two and a small collection of things that she ended up putting in a pillowcase to carry. It was a sobering reminder that sometimes, life could hit you like a wrecking ball.
∗So Boss, what’s the plan here?∗ She thought to the group chat as they started walking back toward their suite.
∗Honestly, I don’t really have a plan.∗ He replied. ∗I’m trying to decide if we should try to be sneaky, or just get a meeting with Nakhim and tell him what we found.∗
∗I doubt that we’ll be able to be more sneaky than Nakhim; House Nalfigar does have a certain reputation.∗ Alana pointed out.
∗And, if he isn’t interested in her, trying to be sneaky could backfire.∗ Rachel said, which made Selene smile; that particular Earth idiom seemed to be catching on among her fellow wives.
∗Okay, well, then I suppose I’ll just try to get a meeting with him and tell him what we found.∗ Ethan replied.
∗He might already know.∗ Kendra pointed out. ∗The odds are very high that he’s watching you closely.∗
∗Let the customer come into the store?∗ Selene suggested. ∗Maybe he’ll contact you?∗
∗Doubtful, as that would make it look like Nakhim wanted something from us, and he wouldn’t like that look.∗ Alana countered.
∗I’ll reach out in the morning; it’s tired and I’m late.∗ Ethan replied, then stifled a yawn.
∗Strike that, reverse it.∗ Selene replied in a passable mental imitation of Willy Wonka, the older version played by Gene Wilder.
Thankfully, nothing bad happened on their way home either. Thea did indeed have a servant waiting to lead Delilah to the servants’ quarters, and he identified himself as such. Delilah was staring at the palace and obviously hadn’t heard him, so Sarah gently nudged her. Of course, Sarah had been talking to her on the way back to the palace, though nothing of any real importance was said.
“They’ll take care of you.” Ethan said to her. “Don’t worry.”
“I was not worried, it has merely been a long time since I have been to the palace.” Delilah replied.
“Well, you’re back now.” Sarah said brightly.
“Only as a mere servant, but yes.” Delilah replied, then looked at the servant. “Lead on.”
They departed.
Once they were out of earshot, Selene spoke aloud. “Did you notice that she didn’t say ‘thank you’?”
“I did.” Alana frowned. “Considering how much better her life is about to get, that seems odd.”
“Um, I don’t think it’s odd. Or at least, not for her.” Sarah said, and the smile had disappeared from her face.
“Why?” Selene asked as Ethan led them toward their suite.
“Um, I was talking to her on the way here.” Sarah replied. “She ... well, she seems to think that she deserves to be where she was before. Um, I mean her status.”
“Deserves?” Selene asked; that wasn’t good.
“I don’t think that’s a good word, but I can’t think of a better one.” Sarah replied as they entered the building containing their suite. “She doesn’t seem very grateful because she seems to think that she’s finally getting what she deserves.”
“Entitlement.” Ethan frowned. “That’s not good.”
“The cook had to remind her to say thank you.” Kendra pointed out.
“Damn.” Ethan sighed. “How could someone be that entitled after working at the edge of poverty for years?”
“The rich don’t have a monopoly on entitlement; I’ve met plenty of entitled poor people too.” Selene replied. “It’s a human problem, not a wealth problem.”
“Not just humans, but right.” Alana said as they reached their suite.