Greetings all readers!
It's that time again for an update about Cupcake. We have finally managed to raise her weight above 300 g. Before she was diagnosed with her tumours, she lost some weight, and we have been working hard to increase her weight. After more than a month of diet changes, she has finally crested 300 grams and I am so happy. She's had a couple of good days, which makes me happy.
Now onto Fell Dragon. Today we get to meet Aife, the wife of Jethron, and learn more about their lives together. For those of you who don't recall, but a year ago 
Saita thought she would be nervous when they reached the Dekai planet, but there was something familiar about it. As soon as she saw the buildings, she felt right at home. The designs were similar to the images she had seen in the facility when she was growing up. Her remaining calm allowed Doran a chance to be calm. Jethron seemed to be the only one who was jittery.
“Why so nervous?” asked Saita as she stood next to him.
“Dekai relationships are…complicated.” He grinned. “My wife isn’t pleased with what I did so this can play out in one of two days. Either she kills me, or she kills you.”
“Aren’t Dekai women subservient to the men?” asked Doran.
“That’s where a lot of people don’t understand our culture. Fathers are allowed to barter away daughters more than sons, but if the daughter isn’t happy in her marriage, she makes it very well known. They get given a weapon at the wedding to…how can I put this?”
“Protect her virtue.” Said Saita with a grin.
“That. I wasn’t raised by the Dekai, I was raised with the Saith. It was a cultural shock, to say the least. It took a few years before our first son was born.” Jethron blushed.
“Do I need to be concerned for my charge?” asked Doran.
“I’ll be fine. Where is Silens?”
“She had opted to remain in the ship until you return home. She has no love for the Dekai or Kai. It is better for her and any who stand in her way, trust me.” Jethron took a deep breath and then continued, “We will be escorted from where we land to the castle. Once there, you will meet my family, spend a few days, and then I will send you home.”
“If all goes well.” Stated Saita.
“If all goes well.”
“Are you afraid of your wife?” inquired Doran.
“Aren’t you?”
Doran decided it was best to not answer that question.
As soon as the ship had landed, they were instructed to leave their belongings, which would be carried by servants. They were then met by two groups of Dekai, the one group elderly clad in black, and a younger group clad in grey. They said nothing but walked in single file on either side of Jethron. There were no greetings, just silence.
Saita knew this was some kind of ceremony, and so remained quiet, though she was aware that she was getting a lot of sideways glances.
“They sense you are of me.” Explained Jethron.
“Why are they not speaking to you? Aren’t you king?”
“I was.” He grinned, “When I did what I had to save you, I put Aife on the throne to protect our children and interests. She is Queen, I am but her husband. I am looking forward to seeing her face when you walk in.”
“Limp in.” Saita indicated the energy crutch.
“I’m glad to see you have a sense of humour after all of this.”
“What else can I do? This is the hand that fate has dealt me. The best I can do is…” Saita paused as she sensed something. “What is that?”
“That would be Aife.” Jethron grinned and blushed a little. “She is showing off in the challenge.”
“Should I answer?” Saita chuckled.
However, Jethron was no longer paying attention to her as a Dekai stepped before the procession with a massive double-headed axe that rested on her shoulders. She was at least Jethron’s height, but her build was that of a fighter. Her midnight blue hair was short, standing in large tuffs over her head, and her emerald eyes glowed in what appeared to be anger. Her power, which she wasn’t hiding, dwarfed those gathered. The elders and the coloured soldiers stepped aside immediately as the black armour-clad woman stepped forward to plant the axe’s staff between Jethron and herself. She then unfurled her large grey wings and stared menacingly at Jethron while he seemed to be grinning a little.
“My Queen.” He said in a half whisper as he knelt before her, “My neck is for your taking.”
One by one, the other Dekai dropped to their knees until only Saita and Doran were left standing. The two humans looked at each other and then respectfully dropped their heads and bowed with a right hand over their hearts.
Jethron looked up at the woman who had been chosen for him and he couldn’t help but fall in love with her all over again. It had been decades since their disastrous first meeting and betrothal. They couldn’t stand each other and wanted nothing to do with each other, but Jethron’s council had insisted that he bind himself to her family. He never knew what Aife’s father had said to her to convince her to bind to him, but she had made a show of that massive axe from the day they were wed. It would be a constant thorn in Jethron’s side which progressively got worse as the populace demanded an heir be born.
He hadn’t known how to approach Aife. He wasn’t raised as a Dekai; he didn’t know all the niceties and Sedeath had refused to help him. He had spent weeks agonising over what to do and what to say to a near stranger he had been living with for months. Brucel and Saasha’s relationship was all he knew of, and he had tried to model his behaviour after his father, but all that had gotten him was a snort of disgust from the barbarian of a woman who would then promptly leave his castle to go hunting or find a skirmish to fight in.
In time he grew bitter and ignored her when she eventually returned to his castle. She did not like that. He had been in the middle of a council meeting when that damned axe was thrown at him. Instead of hitting him, it bit into the wood of the table before him, and it bit deep. It had been a forceful throw. He had angered her. He had dismissed his council but remained seated. Once the room had been cleared, he didn’t hold back his bitterness. He had roared his displeasure at her attitude toward him and the work he did. Aife had taken it all in stoically as she leaned against the doorframe of the room. Jethron had never raised his voice to a woman before, but almost a year of a frustrating and fruitless wedding had driven him to the edge.
“You aren’t much better.” She muttered when he was done.
“Excuse me?”
And that was when she tore into him. Screaming profanities and desires at him in equal measure. He had seen her in a new light that day. She had the strength of his mother, but she was nothing like her. She was her own person and until he really took the time to get to know her the axe would always be in his way. However, now with wounded pride, he roared back at her. The fight lasted for several days. It would only end when one grew tired of the other and they left the room they were fighting in, and it was reignited when they came face to face once again. The castle and the race were at a loss as to what to do with their king and queen. In the end, the two of them barely spoke to each other. Weeks turned into months and months into another year. The call for an heir was quashed as Jethron was no longer willing to entertain the thought as it was clear his wife had no interest.
The role of king was stressful, and Jethron would often disappear into the forests beyond the mountains. This place was filled with beasts he had never seen on the Saith home world, but they generally left him alone as his mood was enough to send a dark aura out from him. He eventually found himself resting on his back on a small cliff overlooking a small pool of water at its base. Above him was the clear sky as someone had cut these trees back, he had no idea why. That was until one day his relaxing nap was disturbed by the flapping of a pair of wings.
Wearily he opened his eyes to see Aife land next to him with a sour look on her face. Jethron rolled over and avoided looking at her. This was just one of the many places of solitude she had managed to find and disturb. He was debating whether he should leave or not when he heard a splash below him. Startled, he rolled over and looked down to see ripples within the water below. It wasn’t the only thing he saw. Beside him lay the clothes Aife had been wearing and her axe. Jethron had never seen her without her axe. She even kept it in bed with her.
He returned his sight to the pool just in time to see Aife fly out of the water to grab him by his shoulders. The next thing he knew they were falling back into the water. Jethron barely had enough time to draw in a breath before he fell onto Aife as she slammed into the water. Her grip was like steel, but he didn’t struggle. There was no point to it. She couldn’t risk killing the king with there being no heir. If she did, Malekai would ascend to the throne. He held his breath and waited for her to release him.
With a combination of kicks and flapping of her wings, she dove them deeper underwater. Just when Jethron thought his lungs would burst, he was flung upwards. His head broke the surface of the water and he gasped for air. He was in a cave that was lit with a bioluminescent growth on the walls. It was a large cave, but damp. Coughing a little, he swam to the edge of the water and pulled himself out of the water. As soon as he was out of the water, he realised the inside of the cave was quite warm, unlike the water he had just exited.
He spun around as Aife broke the surface with a gasp. Now, his annoyance flared. What was she thinking? She could have killed him. But as he prepared to yell at her, she pulled herself from the water, naked. Immediately he turned his head, wanting to give her some privacy, but then realised that her clothes were still above them somewhere. While his head was turned, he didn’t see her approach him rapidly. She gripped the front of his shirt and pushed him until his back contacted the wall behind him. He gasped at the suddenness and almost stopped breathing when she kissed him. He couldn’t help that his body immediately reacted to the attention.
“Ah good! You do like women.” Said Aife with a terrifying grin.
“That was uncalled for! You could have asked!” Ashamed, he had pushed her away from him.
“You could have said.” She stated as she set her hands on her hips and grinned at him.
This was the first time he had seen her unclothed. Her pale grey skin matched well her dark blue hair, and her green eyes were maliciously sparkling at him. He immediately looked away and she chuckled.
“Never seen one of our kind naked before, Your Majesty?”
He knew she was mocking him, but he refused to take the bait, “Of course not! I was raised by less uncouth people.”
The grin that had been plastered on her face fell from it and she said, “I could leave you here to rot you know.”
“And you assume I don’t know how to get out of this place.”
They stared at each other before Aife sat down with her lower wings trailing in the water behind her. She sighed and said softly, “I don’t know how to get through to you.”
Startled, Jethron also sat down but leaned forward a little to allow his wings to rest comfortably behind him. He looked at the naked Dekai before him and said, “I don’t understand you. Surely you didn’t want this union?”
“I didn’t.”
Initially, Jethron was surprised by the hurt he felt. They had been married for years. Then it dawned on him. She said didn’t, not don’t.
“Look, no axe.” She said as she showed him her hands.
“You’re only marginally less dangerous now. I have seen you train hand-to-hand with the soldiers of the castle.”
Frustration shone on Aife’s face, and she pointed to him, “You must reciprocate.”
“Excuse me?”
“By the Elders!” she yelled, “Get undressed!”
The axe not being present is a big deal for Aife, as female Dekai are bartered away by their fathers, but their mothers give them their weapons as a way to "protect" their virtue. Setting aside the weapon means the woman accepts their husband. The weapon can never be taken away, so while the woman may be forced into marriage, they actually have all the power. And there you have it, the start of an odd royal couple. For the rest of this scene please join us next week!
For those of you who have never heard of Fell Dragon you can find Book 1 here, Book 2 here, Book 3 here, and Book 4 here
If you have any questions, feel free to ask me. I love discussing my books!
As the series continues, it will combine with another book series I wrote. To avoid confusion about what is happening, introductory chapters will be introduced separately so that you don't have to be lost. However, these chapters will contain spoilers. You can find these chapters here:
Races Explained
Banishment
Royal Guard
Saasha’s Direct Family
Saith Characters Recap
Human Characters Recap
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Haven't read the other parts yet? Follow these handy links:
Part 1>>You are Here>>Part 3
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