After long traveling and following more rumors then should be mentioned, we finally got wind of Jill and Mikota's location. Maxine, Sasha, and I all traveled to a mountain village and found them living among the people. After a short reunion, introduction, and heavy mediation from Sasha, Jill was able to greet Maxine properly.
Once I had explained the situation to Jill, she relaxed. While she seemed to understand the meaning, she appeared to be holding something back, but I wasn't about to push at this point. Jill also talked about a particular person here that could be the final puzzle piece to our project. According to what she said, though, recruiting the person would not be an easy task. On top of that, I was the only one that could do it, according to Jill and Mikota.
After we sat down to eat and finished, Jill and Mikota took us to see the Fire user. We had to travel to a cave just outside the mountain top village. Once there, we walked into a cave that was covered in scratches and soot marks. It looked like a large scale battle had gone on inside this cave, but Jill motioned for us to follow her in deeper.
I was starting to get a bad feeling about this.
After only a short walk, the cave closed into a single door. Jill approached the door quietly and called out a name, Kyrina while knocking softly. Nothing happened at first, but then a pretty face stuck out of the door and quietly conversed with Jill.
Soon, we were invited inside, and I was pleasantly surprised to see that the place was very well kept. From the burn marks and scratches, It was like walking between movie sets. There were two red velvet sofa's with curling wooden legs and a reading chair of the same design. On a coffee table in the middle sat a teapot and some water.
"Everyone, I would like to introduce Kyrina. They are a Dragon-Kin and protect the area up here in the mountains," Jill introduced the shy woman, and she gave an awkward curtsy.
"Hey, It's nice to meet you all," Kyrina was almost shaking with nervousness as she spoke, so Jill put her arm around the girl and led her back into what seemed to be the kitchen area.
I looked to Sasha and then mouthed "they?" as a question, but a sound from the kitchen interrupted our wordless exchange. SWIWHP! A sound similar to something getting sucked into a small hole. In a moment, Jill came back out, but she was followed by a man this time.
The man looked very similar to Kyrina, except the hair was tied back and, well, he was missing the chest enhancements. This person had a very different air about them, more confidence and surety about himself, then the woman showed. The man stepped forward and struck a pose, but when he spoke, even though the tone was drastically different, I could still hear the similarities.
"Well, it seems some new guests have arrived! My name is Kyrin. What brings you all to my cave on this day? I hope you haven't come to stir up trouble on my mountainside, have you? We might come to blows! Haha!"
The difference was Bipolar. Even in the short time that I saw Kyrina, I figured out what was going on here. I knew there wasn't anyone else but Kyrina here when we arrived, I could sense her with my earth magic, but the total amount of people here hasn't changed. Before I could react to this information, something started to happen with Kyrin.
"Why are you so mean to these new people and acting like this?" Half of Kyrin's face changed into Kyrina's face, giving them a confusing and disturbing visage.
"I told you to stay back, and I would deal with these interlopers. They will bring ruin to us! You know what the others were like! Why do you think these will be different?"
"You can't keep acting like this. I'm tired of always being locked away!"
"Don't try to take over!" Kyrin began to scream, and trails of smoke rose from his mouth.
"Get out now!" Jill and Mikota both yelled, scrambling to the door.
"Let's go! Crystal wall Maxine so we don't get cooked!" I took Maxine's hand and poured magic into her.
Crystal walls rose behind us as we tried to escape the dragon fire. The walls began to melt, but Jill came back and lent Maxine her power to fuse the walls with ice. When the flames stopped, I had to catch Maxine as she passed out from overexertion.
Jill led us back to the village in silence. Maxine was snuggled into my chest now as I carried her. She had woken up along the way back but pretend she was still sleeping. I didn't mind lifting her small petite frame, considering how she had saved all their lives back there.
Jill was going to have some explaining during the bath tonight!
Chapter 43: Two Thoughts Of One Mind
As we walked back, I could see the guilt on Jill's face, and she wouldn't look me in the eyes. Maybe I should talk to her alone? I decided that talking to her first was the best option, instead of bringing it up with everyone. Even though the choice she made in taking us all there without warning was everyone's business, I would give her a chance to explain like Jill always did for me.
We all ate in silence, and when I suggest we all soak in the spring here, everyone's faces brightened. As we walked by the rooms, I stopped Jill and told the others to go ahead. I took Jill into one of the two places we had and sat with her on the bed inside.
I reached over and took Jill's hand and turned my body to face her more or less. When our eyes met, there was indecision and doubt in Jill's eyes that hadn't been there since we were kids. Jill was always the strong one that pulled me out of trouble and made sure I was still ok, so I approached the topic with understanding and openness.
"So, what's got you so troubled?"
Jill blink at me, probably thinking I would be more upset or ask a different question, but she took a deep breath and started to explain.
"When we first got here, the people told us about Kyrina and Kyrin. At first, we thought that they were talking about two different people. Maybe twins or something like that, but the village tried to explain that it was two people in one body. Together, Mikota and I visited them, and we tried questioning them about it and almost died just like we did just now. Mikota saved us by using her dark magic to confuse them, but now that person has started to act more erratic, but they are becoming aware of the other."
"So what you mean to say is, the dark magic caused the personalities to split apart? And now they are like warring factions? So why not tell us this?"
"I don't know, Dave. Honestly, I didn't think they would lose control so easily. We kept our distance and observed them, but we hoped that meeting them with a blank mind about the situation would help. It was my mistake, and I'm really sorry. I just keep thinking about Kyrina getting pushed down in the darkness when that bully Kyrin takes over. You saw it, right? It's not just a personality change; their whole body shifts sexes."
"I did notice that, and it did seem strange. I have never seen anything like that, but is that a normal thing for a Dragon-Kin?"
"I don't know a lot about them, but I have heard that they usually pick a certain sex to assume around the age of ten, but Kyrina is, according to the women here, twenty-three."
"Was Kyrina always here? Or did they come from somewhere else?"
"We asked around about that, but the best we could find is that he fled from another kingdom. They also said that they were near death when they arrived, and one of the ladies that had cared for them whispered to me about signs of sexual assault. They shifted back in forth through recovery, so the lady was able to determine this happened in both forms."
My stomach tied a vicious knot, and I felt sick from the information. Anger flared and burned inside now, so I squeezed Jill's hand while wiping tears from her face with the other. This reason must have torn her up inside this entire time, and that was why she was acting so recklessly.
I wrapped my arms around Jill and pulled her close, kissing her forehead. She cried in my arms, and I let her shed the tears of frustration and helplessness. After the sobs stopped, Jilled pulled back from my chest and looked up into my eyes with her eyes that were still glassy and rimmed with tears.
"What are we going to do?" Jill asked in a choked voice and sniffling.
I pulled
a square of cloth from my breast pocket and handed it to Jill before standing up in front of her.
"First, you need to clean your face up, so the other girls don't see Mother Jill like this, and then we will join the girls and figure this out as a team, ok?"
Jill wiped her face off and nodded to me. Then she stood up and came over to wrap her arms around my neck, pulling me down for a kiss. After, before completely pulling away, she asked me in a low and seductive voice, "so, when do I get to become one of Dave's wives?"
Jill grabbed between my legs and made my eyes bulge at the rough handling. Jill giggled, turning and leaving the room before I could catch my breath. I made it to the bath spring, and all the girls were already soaking and talking to each other.
Mikota already glued herself to Jill's side, and she glared at me as I entered, no doubt angry that I had alone time with Jill. Once the other two noticed me come in, they separated and watched me with hungry eyes as I slid behind a vertical blind with a large Koi fish woven into it. As I stripped down, I could hear the girls already trying to develop plans of attack.
"What if we have a party and invite them?" That was Maxine's voice.
"So they can barbeque the guests?" Sasha's voice questioned back.
I walked out in a towel to the girl's discussion that sounded like the girls were getting heated. Jill and Mikota were blowing bubbles while watching, not wanting to get between the two girl's arguments. Before it could get any more heated, I slid into the water between them, and the arguing stopped.
"Come on. We have to work together on this. there is no point in arguing if it doesn't help solve the problem."
I tried to look at both girls at once, but they both turned their heads and moved away in separate directions. I sighed. Now they were both mad at me for getting between them. Before they could get far, I grabbed the two of them and pulling to me.
"Enough talking about tomorrow! Let's enjoy the nice water and each other since it's been so long since we have all been together, ok? I have a plan for tomorrow, and I think it will be best if I just go alone."
The girls all tried to protest, but I put a hand up to signal that the talk was over. Both girls let the tension go out of their bodies and relaxed into my arms. If I were right, I would have to form some kind of connection with both sides.
After the bath, we all got dried off and left for our rooms. Jill and Mikota took the place they had been staying in, and Maxine and Sasha came with me. Our room had two beds, one for Maxine, because she refused to wear chainmail to bed.
It occurred after one night of trying to sneak into my bed after refusing to where the second smaller version I had bought her. After waking up to claws digging into her, she decided that she would have to settle with the second bed unless Sasha were in a different room. It was a scary situation that could have been worse if Sasha was startled and with no Jill.
I did feel bad for Maxine, and we had gotten two rooms a couple of times so she could have some alone time with me. I felt awkward when they talked about who what get to do what and when, but they got along and didn't seem to hold resentment towards me. Maxine had turned over already, so Sasha blew the candle out, and we laid down. Soon, I was fast asleep.
Chapter 44: Council Of Wives
The next day I said my goodbyes to the girls and said I would be back later. I had no idea at the time that I would be returning to a court hearing between my two wives and wife to be. At that time, I would be judged for my choices made without their consent.
I left the girls to head out into the village and talk to the woman Jill had spoken with. She was a lady by the name of Jezra, and she worked as one of the town's healers. Jill had given me directions, and I arrived outside a hut built into the mountainside.
"Hello?" I called out as I pushed aside the heavy door flap.
Inside was a bare room with a table in one corner, a stove, and a bookshelf. A wooden wall separated this room from another that I could hear rustling and movement. I tried to call out again, but as I opened my mouth to speak, the flap in the partition flew open.
A wizened woman who looked older than the mountain strode out sporting a cane. She looked everywhere but at me, and then her eyes locked onto me like a targeting system. The human wrinkle raised her club and pointed it at me.
"What do ya want?!"
The woman shook back and forth while holding out her stick, the feat causing her wrinkles to move like breaking waves. I screwed my face into a scowl to prevent a full-on laughing fit and took a long and deep breath. After letting the breath out and wiping away a tear, I spoke.
"My name is Dave. I'm good friends with Jill, and she told me you might be able to help me understand somethings better."
The cane dropped down at Jill's naming, and the old woman went and sat down as I finished speaking. She motioned to a teapot and a bucket of water, so I went and got some water on for tea. Only after I had served the tea did Jezra speak.
"So, you want to know about Kyrina and Kyrin, hmm? Not a lot more I can tell you that I haven't told Jill."
"I really want to know about Kyrin and what makes him so angry besides the obvious trama. I can't change that, but maybe there is something we can do to make them accept each other?"
"Kyrin is what I would call an overprotective brother for Kyrina. Before, Kyrin couldn't protect either of them, and he feels responsible for that. Now he pushes everyone away to keep Kyrina safe in his view."
"I see. I think I'm starting to get a better picture of what's going on here. Thank you for your time and tea mam," I leaned over and kissed the old healer's wrinkled forehead.
"What was that for? I didn't do anything but tell you what I already had, didn't I?!"
"Don't worry about it. Sometimes hearing it from the source can give you a more emotional understanding," I told Jezra as I left.
I left the village and traveled back down to the burnt-out cave where we almost died fleeing. Remenants of the melted crystal walls remained, but the door was intact and closed. I approached the door slowly but stop two-meters away and called out.
"Kyrin, it's Dave, I didn't get to introduce myself yesterday, and I would like to talk. I'm here alone."
I heard some talking inside and then some raised voices. I took a step back, but the voices lowered, and the door opened. The man Kyrin stepped out and closed the door behind himself, and stood with arms crossed, glaring at me.
"What do you want? Come to make fun of us or to take pity?"
The words were laced with acid and meant to push people away. I shook my head and then moved over to a melted wall. Kyrin eyed me with suspicion but said no more.
"I'm here to recruit you, and to show you I'm different."
"Pfft, different. What does that even mean? Different from what, hmm? We have met many different people, and it always turned the same for us."
"I can't promise it will be easy, but what I can promise is that we will all be there for you. The choices you two make would be different now if you chose to follow us. Let Kyrina out so she can enjoy being a girl. I know what happened wasn't fair, and that's not your fault. Look at it this way, you can rest and watch over her from the background."
"You! How do I know I can trust you? Too many times now, what's stopping you from turning on us?"
"Well, I have been thinking about this. Nothing but time can build trust, but what I can do is take Miss Kyrina as my wife."
"SWIWHP!"
In a mindbending display, Kyrin's body sucked into a single point and expanded out again. Before me now stood the beautiful and red-faced Kyrina, dragon tail twitching behind her. She began to try to speak, but the words ceased to exist before they could leave her mouth.
I slowly stepped closer, putting my hand up to stop her from speaking and then pulling her into me. Kyrina began to cry into my shirt slowly, and I held her until she stopped shaking. After I lifted her chin and kissed her forehead, I spoke to her while looking into her green eyes.
"You
r new sisters and I will take care of you from now on. I'm not saying you shouldn't let Kyrin out, but I think now he should be able to relax in the background. Tonight I would like you to come and meet everyone."
"Do you really think that is a good idea after yesterday?" Kyrina's face partially shifted to Kyrin's, and I stepped back in shock, the up-close magical shift caught me off guard, but I recovered.
"Yes, it will be a good chance for you two to get out. These are all my good friends, and I will stay by your side the entire night."
Kyrin sighed and faded back into the background while another sigh followed from Kyrina as her face shifted back. Her face reddened when she noticed me watching the transformation, and she turned away from me in embarrassment. She looked cute, and I finally got a chance to really look at her.
Like Maxine, small wings sprouted from the top of her head, and a thick pink tail fell behind her. She wore a black dress that she always seemed to shift into from Kyrin's light plate he wore. Later I would ask about her dress, but for now, just mollifying her should be the right choice.
Harem Reborn c1-297 Page 24