fandomania | The Adventure continues... (Reply)

Our eggs:

Our hatchlings:

The Story:

I drifted back to consciousness. I felt so drained; I had no energy to even open my eyes.

I heard a female dragon speaking.

“She was at the edge of death. If, as you are telling me, she recently used an enormous amount of her powers without proper control, then this must have affected the fetuses. I have never seen human babies so charged with power. They have drained what was left of her force. The only reason she didn’t die was because Loysa infused Patra with some of her power. Unfortunately, the fetuses are continually draining her. She won’t live much longer unless we can do something to control the force drainage.”

“WHAT DO YOU PROPOSE TO DO, FIORENZIA?”

“I will need your help in this. We need to devise a spell to protect Patra from her fetuses, while at the same time allowing in all the proper nutrition and nurture needed for the babies to thrive and grow. Somehow, they are confusing power with nutrition. This spell will have to very precise and complex. Otherwise, it can lead to complications later on.”

“TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT ME TO DO.”

“First we need to consult your library.”

“Orlando, how is she?” Donal asked passionately. “You have to tell me what is going on! I am going out of my mind with worry!”

“DONAL, I AM NOT GOING TO LIE TO YOU. PATRA IS GRAVELY ILL. SOMETHING HAPPENED TO THE BABIES WHEN PATRA USED HER FORCES TO KILL JAIZEL AND TO HEAL YOU. SOMETHING MAGICAL IS GOING WRONG AT THE MOMENT. RIGHT NOW THEY ARE DRAINING HER OF HER POWER AND FORCE. FIORENZIA AND I HAVE HER STABLE FOR THE MOMENT, BUT WE HAVE TO WORK ON A SPELL TO HELP PROTECT PATRA AND STILL ALLOW THE BABIES TO FLORISH AND GROW. PATRA AND THE BABIES ARE SO INTERMESHED ESSENTIALLY THAT IF ONE DIES, THEY ALL DIE.”

“Babies?”

“YES, DONAL, PATRA IS CARRYING TWINS, VERY LIKELY IDENTICAL TWINS. IT RUNS IN HER FAMILY, REMEMBER?”

“I remember.”

”FIORENZIA AND I HAVE TO GO AND WORK ON THIS SPELL. IT IS GOING TO HAVE TO BE VERY PRECISE AND COMPLEX. THERE IS A RULE, AN IMPORTANT RULE, IN MAGIC CALLED THE RULE OF UNINTENTIONAL CONSEQUENCES. EVERYTHING WE DO HAS CONSEQUENCES. EVERY DECISION, EVERY SPELL, EVERY ACTION. EVERYONE, BOTH MAGICAL AND NON-MAGICAL, IS AFFECTED BY THIS RULE. A MAN DECIDES TO HAVE SEX WITH THE WOMAN HE LOVES; THE CONSEQUENCE CAN BE PREGNANCY. A CHILD DECIDES TO STEAL A BUSHEL OF APPLES; THE CONSEQUENCE COULD BE A BELLYACHE OR PUNISHMENT, IF CAUGHT, OR BOTH. A MAGIC USER DISPERSES RAIN CLOUDS BECAUSE HE DOESN’T WANT TO GET HIS CLOTHES WET; THE CONSEQUENCE COULD BE A DROUGHT WHERE HE LIVES. SO FIORENZIA AND I HAVE TO BE CAREFUL ABOUT THE SPELL WE ARE GOING TO MAKE. WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT THE CONSEQUENCES THAT MAY OCCUR ARE GOING TO BE ACCEPTABLE AND FORESEEABLE.

“YOU MAY STAY WITH PATRA, BUT REALIZE THAT I HAVE PUT HER AND THE BABIES IN A LIGHT STASIS SPELL, SO THAT SHE WON’T GET WORSE WHILE WE ARE WORKING.”

“Is the spell working? Patra has tears running down her cheeks.”

“OH %$&@#!”

Orlando muttered something in Old Tongue and things went black again.

When I came to it was to daylight and sunshine. Donal was sitting by the bed, holding my hand. He smiled at me and said, “Good morning, love. Welcome back. You have had me so worried.”

“I am so sorry. I am sorry that I am such a constant source of worry. I don’t want to be sick all the time.” I didn’t want to, but I started to cry.

Donal sat on the bed and took me into his arms and held me to his chest. “Shh!!! Shh!!! Love, don’t cry! Everything is going to be alright! I love you! Right now you have to concentrate on regaining your strength, so that you and our babies will happy and healthy again.”

“The babies are alright?” I asked anxiously.

“Yes, they are. And so you will be also. You just have to rest and recuperate.”

I sighed. “You must be very tired of always having to take care of me…” I said miserably.

“No, love, I am not, nor will I ever be so. That is what love is about. You accept your loved one as they are. You love them and continue to love them no matter what happens to them, no matter how they look, no matter who they are, or what imperfections they have. I love YOU. I love you when you are sick. I love you when you are sad. I love you when you are happy. I love you when you exasperate me. I will love you when you are old and gray and wrinkly. I will love you forever.

“I know that you haven’t had much experience in love. Life hasn’t put you in its path often. I am hoping that you will come to understand this one day.”

“I do! I really do!” I said earnestly. “I feel for you in just that same way. It is just I have these horribly stupid nagging doubts. I sometimes wonder why you can love me as you do.”

“That is because of what Jaizel did to you. He didn’t just beat up your body; he also beat up your spirit and your feeling of self worth. He made you feel unlovable, when you are really the opposite. You need some time to heal those scars. I want to help you heal. So whenever you feel this way again, please tell me about it? Let me help you recover?”

“I will try.”

“That is all that I ask, love.”

Donal continued to hold me until I fell asleep again.

I woke up sometime later. There was a commotion going on in the house. I heard angry voices and the sounds of fighting. A few minutes later, five soldiers came bursting into my room.

“Lady Patra finSorda?” demanded the commander of the group.

I tried to sit up, but I was too weak to do so. “Yes.” I managed to get out.

“Lady Patra finSorda, you are hereby under arrest for the murder of your husband, General Jaizel finSorda. You will come with us now to the Courthouse, where you will be tried and executed for your crimes.”